Abd al-Malik ibn Umar ibn Marwan

Abd al-Malik ibn Umar was born c. 718.[1] He was a grandson of the Umayyad caliph Marwan I (r. 684–685). His father Umar was the caliph's only son by Zaynab bint Umar, a paternal granddaughter of Abu Salama from the prominent Banu Makhzum clan of the Quraysh tribe and a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad's stepson.[2] Umar resided in a house in Fustat bestowed on him by his half-brother, the governor of Egypt Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan (r. 685–705).[3] A certain "Umar ibn Marwan" mentioned in two Greek papyri from Egypt may be identified with Abd al-Malik's father.[4] Abd al-Malik was initially established in Egypt.[5]

Abd al-Malik was one of the surviving, mostly less eminent, Umayyads to arrive in al-Andalus (Islamic Spain) in the aftermath of the Abbasid Revolution in 750, which brought an end to the Syria-based Umayyad Caliphate and the succession of the Abbasids, who ordered mass executions of members of the Umayyad dynasty.[6] The medieval Islamic tradition holds that he left Egypt and arrived in al-Andalus in May 757–May 758, though according to the modern historian Alejandro Garcia Sanjuan, Abd al-Malik most likely arrived in 754–755.[1] He was accompanied by his cousin Juzayy ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan (d. 757) and their respective children.[7] His distant Umayyad kinsman, a great-great-grandson of Marwan I Abd al-Rahman I,[1] established himself in the peninsula in 755–756 with the support of local Umayyad mawali (non-Arab Muslim freedmen or clients) and friendly Syrian troops in the region and proclaimed himself emir (governor or ruler) in Cordoba.[8] Abd al-Malik was the eldest of the Marwanids in al-Andalus.[1] He is generally credited for counseling Abd al-Rahman to drop the name of the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur (r. 754–775) from the Friday prayer, a traditional acknowledgement of Islamic sovereignty, in 757.[9]

Abd al-Malik gained the confidence of Abd al-Rahman and became one of the Emir's top generals and a strongman of the nascent Umayyad emirate as it expanded its control over the chiefs of the practically autonomous Arab junds (armies or garrisons) and older-established elites across al-Andalus.[1][9] To assert his authority over the junds of Egypt and Homs based in Beja and Seville, respectively, Abd al-Rahman appointed Abd al-Malik the governor of Seville and the western part of the peninsula,[10] and his son Abd Allah the governor of Morón.[1] Although permanent command of the Emir's army was given to his mawali Badr and Abu Uthman Ubayd Allah ibn Uthman, Abd al-Malik was given command of expeditions in 758 and 774.[11] In the first campaign, Abd al-Malik mobilized the jund of Homs and subdued an attempt by the previous ruler of al-Andalus, the Quryashite emir Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri, to regain power.[1]

At some point, Abd al-Malik had been replaced by a leader of the Seville jund, Abu al-Sabbah al-Yahsubi, but the latter rebelled against Abd al-Rahman and was dismissed from the post.[5] Abd al-Malik was the only member of Abd al-Rahman's court to advocate for Abu al-Sabbah's execution,[12] reportedly telling the Emir:

Don't let him get away: for he will bring us calamity
Take a firm hand and rid yourself of this sickness.[13]

Afterward, Abd al-Rahman apparently informed his court that he had already had Abu al-Sabbah executed.[13] The historian Eduardo Manzala Moreno relates the episode to a probable rivalry between Abd al-Malik and his family and Abu al-Sabbah for control of Seville and the jund of Hims.[5] Moreno holds that the ambitions of Abd al-Malik and his family was likely the main cause for the disaffection of the junds in Seville and Beja.[14] In the campaign of 774, Abd al-Malik decisively defeated a wide-scale revolt by the junds, which were led by Abu al-Sabbah's cousins and supporters and who attempted a surprise capture of Cordoba.[15][14] During the campaign, Abd al-Malik condemned and ordered the execution of his son Umayya, the commander of his vanguard, for retreating before the rebels in battle.[1][14] Abd al-Malik's victory sealed the submission of western al-Andalus to the Umayyad emirate.[16] Abd al-Rahman's confidence in Abd al-Malik was also strengthened and consecrated by the marriage of his son and chosen successor Hisham I (r. 788–796) to Abd al-Malik's daughter Kanza.[1]

Abd al-Malik died c. 778.[1] His decisive victories on behalf of Abd al-Rahman were key to the establishment of the Umayyad emirate in al-Andalus.[17] His sons Abd Allah, Ibrahim and al-Hakam all served as viziers of Abd al-Rahman.[1] Abd al-Malik left numerous descendants recorded by the sources, including several who served as viziers or qa'ids (army leaders).[18] A branch of the family settled in Seville and the western areas of the peninsula.[14] As Umayyads, members of Abd al-Malik's family viewed themselves as equals to the ruling emirs in Cordoba.[17]

Abd al-Malik's grandson served as the governor of Beja under Hisham I.[14] A fifth-generation direct descendant, Ahmad ibn al-Bara ibn Malik, served as the governor of Zaragoza, but was suspected of disloyalty and assassinated by order of Emir Abdallah (r. 888–912).[17] The wider family in Seville joined the rebellion against Abdallah but relocated to Cordoba when the troops of Seville surrendered to Emir Abd al-Rahman III in 913.[17] Thereafter, several served as governors, generals and viziers.[17] Another of his descendants was a pretender to the Umayyad Caliphate in al-Andalus in the 10th century.[18]

• Ahmed, Asad Q. (2010). The Religious Elite of the Early Islamic Ḥijāz: Five Prosopographical Case Studies. Oxford: University of Oxford Linacre College Unit for Prosopographical Research. ISBN 978-1-900934-13-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Fierro, Maribel (2011). "The Battle of the Ditch (al-Khandaq) of the Cordoban Caliph ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III". In Ahmed, Asad Q.; Sadeghi, Benham; Bonner, Michael (eds.). The Islamic Scholarly Tradition: Studies in History, Law, and Thought in Honour of Professor Michael Allen Cook. Leiden and Boston: Brill. pp. 107–130. ISBN 978-90-04-19435-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Hernández, Miguel Cruz (1998). "The Social Structure of al-Andalus during the Muslim Occupation (711–755) and the Founding of the Umayyad Monarchy". In Marin, Manuela (ed.). The Formation of al-Andalus, Part 1: History and Society. New York: Ashgate Publishing. pp. 51–84. ISBN 9780860787082.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Hilloowala, Yasmin (1998). The History of the Conquest of Egypt, being a Partial Translation of Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam's Futuh Misr and an Analysis of this Translation (PDF) (Thesis). The University of Arizona.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• James, David (2012). A History of Early Al-Andalus: The Akhbar Majmu'a. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-66943-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Kennedy, Hugh (1996). Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of al-Andalus (First ed.). London: Taylor and Francis. ISBN 0-582-49515-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Morelli, Federico (1998). "P. Vindob. G 42920 e la φιλοτιμία di 'Umar b. Marwán". Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 121: 219–221. JSTOR 20190217.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Moreno, Eduardo Manzano (1998). "The Social Structure of al-Andalus during the Muslim Occupation (711–755) and the Founding of the Umayyad Monarchy". In Marin, Manuela (ed.). The Formation of al-Andalus, Part 1: History and Society. New York: Ashgate Publishing. pp. 85–114. ISBN 9780860787082.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)