Hisham - 10th Caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty (724-743)

• 10th Umayyad Caliph A.M. Alonso Zaldivar's 6th cousin 34 times removed

Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (691–6th February 743) (Arabic: هشام بن عبد الملك‎) 10th Umayyad caliph who ruled from 723 until his death in 743. When he was born in 691 his mother named him after her father.

Inheriting the caliphate from his brother Yazid II, Hisham was ruling an empire with many different problems. He would, however, be effective in attending to these problems, and in allowing the Umayyad empire to continue as an entity. His long rule was an effective one, and it saw a rebirth of reforms that were originated by Umar bin Abd al-Aziz.

Like his brother al-Walid I, Hisham was a great patron of the arts, and he again encouraged arts in the empire. He also encouraged the growth of education by building more schools, and perhaps most importantly, by overseeing the translation of numerous literary and scientific masterpieces into Arabic. He returned to a stricter interpretation of the Sharia as Umar had, and enforced it, even upon his own family. His ability to stand up to the Umayyad clan may have been an important factor in his success, and may point to why his brother Yazid was ineffective.

On the military front his empire suffered a series of setbacks, including in Transoxiana. Hisham sent armies to end the Hindu rebellion in Sindh, and was successful when the Hindu ruler Jai Singh was killed. This allowed the Umayyads to reassert their rule over some portions of their provinces in India. In Spain, the internal conflicts of the years past were ended, and Hisham's governor, Abd ar Rahman ibn Abdallah, assembled a large army that went into France. He besieged Bordeaux and pushed to the Loire. This marked the limit of Arabic conquest in Western Europe. The wave was halted at the Battle of Tours by Charles Martel who inflicted a crushing defeat to the Arabs.Hishâm ibn 'Abd al-Malik, 10th Umayyad Caliph1

b. 690, d. 743

Father 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwân, 5th Umayyad Caliph1,2 b. circa 646, d. October 705

     Hishâm ibn 'Abd al-Malik, 10th Umayyad Caliph was named in full: Hisham bin `Abdul-Malik bin Marwan.3 Of the Marwanid. He was born in 690.3 He was the son of 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwân, 5th Umayyad Caliph.1,2 Hishâm ibn 'Abd al-Malik, 10th Umayyad Caliph witnessed the death of 'Alî Zayn al-'Âbidîn ibn al-Husayn, 4th Holy Imam of Islam on 31 October 712 or 20 October 713 at 25th of Muharram 94 or 95, Medina, Saudi Arabia; He was martyred of poison in Medina by the order of Husham Ibn Abdul-Malik.4,5,6 Hishâm ibn 'Abd al-Malik, 10th Umayyad Caliph was said to have ordered the martyrdom of 'Ali Zayn, the 4th Holy Imam of Islam on 31 October 712 or 20 October 713.7 10th Umayyad Caliph at Damascus, Syria, between 724 and 743.8 He was a witness where Carolus Martellus, dux Francorum defeated the Saracens and stopped the Moslem conquest of Europe at Tours in October 732 at the area outside of Tours.9 Hishâm ibn 'Abd al-Malik, 10th Umayyad Caliph engaged in several wars with the Byzantines, his army conquered Narbonne and his empire expanded to Poitiers in France, where the Battle of Balat Al-Shuhada' (Tours-Poitiers) took place in October 732.3 He died in 743 at age 53 years.1

Family

Child

Muawiya ibn Hishâm al-Dimashqi+ b. 715, d. 7361,2

Citations

[S187] Royal Genealogy Database, online http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/public/genealogy/

[S1411] Stanley Lane-Pool, The Mohammadan Dynasties, pg. 11.

[S469] Al-Islam.com, online http://www.al-islam.com/

[S256] Messenger of Allah, online http://www.kuwait.net/~akar/html/nabi.html

[S890] Ali Abbas, Shiíite Encyclopedia, Ch 1.b, pg. 41.

[S891] Sayyid Murtada al-'Askari

, The Twelve Successors, (Al-Qalam Translators and Writers Bureau, translator).

[S890] Ali Abbas, Shiíite Encyclopedia.

[S653] PoH, online http://www.friesian.com/

[S247] Transcribed by Joseph P. Thomas The Catholic Encyclopedia.

Inheriting the caliphate from his brother Yazid II, Hisham was ruling an empire with many different problems. He would, however, be effective in attending to these problems, and in allowing the Umayyad empire to continue as an entity. His long rule was an effective one, and it saw a rebirth of reforms that were originated by Umar bin Abd al-Aziz.

Like his brother al-Walid I, Hisham was a great patron of the arts, and he again encouraged arts in the empire. He also encouraged the growth of education by building more schools, and perhaps most importantly, by overseeing the translation of numerous literary and scientific masterpieces into Arabic. He returned to a stricter interpretation of the Sharia as Umar had, and enforced it, even upon his own family. His ability to stand up to the Umayyad clan may have been an important factor in his success, and may point to why his brother Yazid was ineffective.

Source 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hisham_ibn_Abd_al-Malik

Source 2: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hischam_%28Umayyaden%29