Sa'id ibn Abd al-Malik

Sa'id ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (Arabic: سعيد بن عبد الملك بن مروان, romanized: Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān; died 750), also known as Saʿīd al-Khayr ("Sa'id the Good"), was an Umayyad prince and governor. He served as governor of Mosul for an undetermined period under his father Caliph Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705) and was responsible for several building and infrastructural works. He also played a role in the construction of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. He was later granted property in Mosul's vicinity by Caliph al-Walid I (r. 705–715) or Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (r. 717–720), which he developed into an agricultural tract with a canal. In 724 and 725, he led summer campaigns against the Byzantines in Anatolia. During the brief rule of Caliph al-Walid II (r. 743–744), between February 743 to April 744, Sa'id served as governor of Palestine, but was expelled by rebels in the district after al-Walid's death. Sa'id was ultimately killed during the massacre of the Umayyad family near Ramla after the Abbasid victory over the dynasty in 750.

Sa'id al-Khayr

Sa'id ibn Abd al-Malik
سعيد بن عبد الملك
Governor of Mosul
In office
690s  700s
MonarchAbd al-Malik
Governor of Palestine
In office
February 743  April 744
MonarchAl-Walid II
Succeeded byYazid ibn Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik
Personal details
BornUmayyad Caliphate
Diedc. 750
Palestine, Abbasid Caliphate
RelationsUmayyad dynasty
MotherUmm Sa'id
(Umm walad)
FatherAbd al-Malik
RelativesAl-Walid I (brother)
Sulayman (brother)
Umar (cousin)
Yazid II (brother)
Hisham (brother)
Military career
AllegianceUmayyad Caliphate
Service/branchUmayyad army
Years of service720s – 743
RankGeneral
Battles/warsArab–Byzantine wars

Biography

Sa'id was the son of the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik and one of his concubines.[1] He became known as Sa'id al-Khayr,[2] which translates as "Sa'id the Good", because of his piety, pleasantness and charitable works.[3][4] The 9th-century historian al-Tabari notes that he was "man of good character",[5] while the historian al-Baladhuri claimed he practiced asceticism.[2] Between 688 and 692, Sa'id was the supervisory representative of his father for the construction of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.[6]

Governor of Mosul

Sa'id was appointed governor of Mosul by his father (r. 685–705),[7] who had captured it in c.691. Others who served the post at some point during his fathers reign were his uncle Muhammad ibn Marwan and cousin Yusuf, the son of Yahya ibn al-Hakam.[7] Sa'id was responsible for a number of building works in the city during his rule as governor. The historian al-Waqidi attributes the city walls to him, later torn down by the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid in 796.[8] Sa'id is further credited in medieval Muslim sources for constructing a mosque, a monastery, a market, and for paving Mosul's streets.[9][10]

Al-Baladhuri asserts that Caliph al-Walid I (r. 705–715) or his successor Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (r. 717–720) granted property in the Diyar Mudar district, in the vicinity of Mosul, to Sa'id as a qati'a (land grant).[2][3] He had a canal dug through the property, which was later named Nahr Sa'id (Sa'id River) after him.[3][11] Through his irrigation and infrastructural works, he transformed his qati'a from a lion-infested swamp into an agriculturally-productive area.[11] Umar recalled Sa'id to Syria and replaced him with Yahya ibn Yahya al-Ghassani.[12]

Campaigns against the Byzantines

Under caliphs Yazid II (r. 720–724) and Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 724–743), Sa'id led a number of summer campaigns against the Byzantines in Anatolia.[3] In one of the campaigns, he commanded the left flank of the Umayyad army during the summer expedition of 724, but his forces incurred heavy losses.[13] Yazid II was said to have considered Sa'id as a suitable chosen successor to the caliphate and may have encouraged Sa'id to entertain such notions.[3] In 725, Sa'id again led the summer campaign against the Byzantines.[12]

Governor of Palestine

During the relatively short caliphate of al-Walid II (r. 743–744), Sa'id was appointed governor of Palestine.[3] He was known to have governed the district well.[14] According to al-Tabari, when al-Walid II was killed in 744, the Arab tribes of Palestine, led by Sa'id ibn Rawh, a chieftain of the Banu Judham and son of Rawh ibn Zinba, opted for their local Umayyad patron, Yazid ibn Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik, to be their governor.[5] To that end, they demanded that Sa'id, who was encamped in Beersheba or in the vicinity of Bayt Jibrin, vacate the governorship.[5][14] Sa'id obliged and sought safety with al-Walid II's successor, Yazid III, in Damascus.[5] The latter subsequently sent an expedition against the rebels in Palestine.[5] Sa'id's governorship lasted fourteen months, between February 743 and April 744.[15]

In excavations carried out by an Israeli archaeological team in Beit Shean in 1990, a broken bronze weight produced on the orders of Sa'id was unearthed.[16] The weight was most likely produced in Ramla or Jerusalem.[15] In addition to the Muslim statement of belief, the surviving portion of the rare weight bore an inscription in Kufic Arabic that read: "Ordered by the Amir (Governor) Sa'id ibn Abd al-Malik at the hands of ...".[4]

Death

Sa'id was killed alongside dozens of other Umayyads in a massacre by the Abbasids at the Abu Futrus river near Ramla in the wake of the Abbasids' toppling of the Umayyad state in 750.[3]

References

  1. Hinds 1990, p. 118.
  2. Al-Baladhuri, p. 280.
  3. The Islamic Quarterly, Volume 16, 1972, p. 61.
  4. Khamis 2002, p. 145.
  5. Hillenbrand 1989, pp. 189–190.
  6. Gil 1997, p. 92.
  7. Robinson 2004, p. 77.
  8. Robinson 2004, pp. 79–80.
  9. Robinson 2004, p. 80.
  10. Khamis 2002, pp. 145–146.
  11. Kennedy 2006, p. 293.
  12. Khamis 2002, p. 146.
  13. Blankinship 1994, p. 119.
  14. Khamis 2002, p. 147.
  15. Khamis 2002, p. 148.
  16. Khamis 2002, p. 143.

Bibliography

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.