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Khalid Ibn Yazid Ibn Muawiya

خالد بن يزيد بن معاوية

The Umayyad prince-alchemist — first patron of translated medical, astronomical and alchemical books 1

Depth

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Identifiers
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Overview

Khalid ibn Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan. Ibn al-Nadim says that he took care to bring out the ancient books on the craft, and that he was an eloquent poetic orator. 2

The craft

Ibn al-Nadim says that he was the first for whom books of medicine, the stars and alchemy were translated. He is also reported to have said that he had desired the caliphate, but it was turned away from him, so he sought the craft so as to make his companions and family independent of the sultan's door. 2

His books

Ibn al-Nadim saw some five hundred leaves of his books and poems. Among his books are Kitab al-Haraharat (The Book of Heats), al-Sahifa al-Kabir (The Great Page), al-Sahifa al-Saghir (The Little Page), and his book of counsel to his son on the craft. 2

Connections

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Participated in
The Papyrus Affair and the Striking of the Dinars

People and things also explored

Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan· al-Mada'ini· عوانة بن الحكم· The Papyrus Affair and the Striking of the Dinars

Sources

  1. al-Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim
  2. al-Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim , p. 497-498
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Khalid Ibn Yazid Ibn Muawiya”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/khalid-ibn-yazid-ibn-muawiya/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-19.

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Related

Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan

Caliph of the Umayyads; al-Hajjaj was his governor, and the companions of Ibn al-Ash'ath deposed him, saying that deposing al-Hajjaj meant deposing Abd al-Malik. He died in 86. According to al-Mas'udi, he was given the oath of allegiance on the night of Sunday, the first of Ramadan 65, and died at Damascus on Saturday, fourteen days into Shawwal 86, aged sixty-six. He loved poetry, boasting and panegyric; avarice predominated in him, and he was ready to shed blood. When he kept company with al-Sha'bi, he said to him: 'Do not help me in what is ugly, and do not correct my error in my assembly. Show me your understanding through your glance and your hearing, and know that the rightness of listening is greater than the rightness of speech'. He killed Amr ibn Sa'id al-Ashdaq in 70, after letters had passed between them seeking power. The chamberlain shut the door on Amr, leaving his companions outside; Abu al-Za'za'a was ordered to strike his neck, and his head was thrown to his companions, who scattered. It is also said that a chain was put on him, and then he ordered his brother Abd al-Aziz to slaughter him; Amr said to him: 'Betray, O son of al-Zarqa'!' and he threw dinars among the people, who busied themselves with them and stopped fighting. He wrote to al-Hajjaj asking him to describe the strife to him. Al-Hajjaj wrote that strife is kindled by secret talk, reaped by complaint and produced by sermons. He wrote back that he had hit the mark and described it well; if he wanted his subjects to be straight with him, he should subdue them with unity, give them the gifts of division, and attach need to them. When news of Ibn al-Ash'ath's deposition reached him, he went up the pulpit and said: 'O God, do not give us power over one better than us, nor give those better than us power over us. O God, unleash the sword of the people of Syria against the people of Iraq until it reaches Your pleasure; and when it reaches it, do not pass beyond Your wrath with it'. In one of his years of pilgrimage he ordered gifts distributed to the people; a purse was brought out, inscribed 'from the alms', and the people of Medina refused to accept it, saying that their gift came from the fay'. He struck them on the pulpit with the parable of the serpent guarding its treasure, and said: 'O assembly of Quraysh, you had Umar as your governor; he was harsh and rough, and you listened to him and obeyed. Then you had Uthman, who was gentle and mild, and you attacked him and killed him. Then we sent Muslim ibn Uqba against you on the day of al-Harra, and you killed him. We know that you will never love us, and you remember the day of al-Harra, and we will never love you, and we remember the killing of Uthman'. The book mentions that he was the first to set aside a day for examining grievances, set four hundred dinars as the upper limit for dowries, and ordered that the judgments of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr be enforced without reversing them. The book also says that he urged his commanders to beware of night raids and sent spies ahead of every army; that he consulted people before sending an army to the land of the Romans; that in his advice to his sons he told them to act on the opinion of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz and consult him; and that he advised al-Walid to honour al-Hajjaj, because he had paved the way for him. It also says that he died in Damascus in 86 AH; al-Walid led the funeral prayer over him, and he was buried between Bab al-Jabiya and Bab al-Saghir.