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In early
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic history, the governor of Medina () was an official who administered the city of
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
and its surrounding territories.
During the era of the
Rashidun
, image = تخطيط كلمة الخلفاء الراشدون.png
, caption = Calligraphic representation of Rashidun Caliphs
, birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia
, known_for = Companions of t ...
,
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
and early
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
caliphates, the governor was generally appointed by the
caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
, and remained in office until he died or was dismissed. The governorship was one of the chief administrative positions in the
Hijaz
The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provinc ...
and carried with it certain symbolic privileges, including the opportunity to lead the annual Muslim
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
.
Rashidun governors
Known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib, Medina ( ar, المدينة, meaning simply "The City") became the residence of the
Islamic prophet
Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God in Islam, God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. So ...
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
following his
Hijrah
The Hijrah or Hijra () was the journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina. The year in which the Hijrah took place is also identified as the epoch of the Lunar Hijri and Solar Hijri calendars; its date eq ...
from
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
in 622 AD. Under Muhammad and the first three
Rashidun
, image = تخطيط كلمة الخلفاء الراشدون.png
, caption = Calligraphic representation of Rashidun Caliphs
, birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia
, known_for = Companions of t ...
caliphs, Medina acted as the capital of a rapidly increasing Muslim Empire, but its remoteness from the emerging power centers of
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
eventually undermined its political importance. Following the assassination of the third caliph
'Uthman ibn Affan in July 656 and the outbreak of the
First Fitna
The First Fitna ( ar, فتنة مقتل عثمان, fitnat maqtal ʻUthmān, strife/sedition of the killing of Uthman) was the first civil war in the Islamic community. It led to the overthrow of the Rashidun Caliphate and the establishment of ...
or civil war, his successor
'Ali ibn Abi Talib
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
was compelled to depart from Medina in order to assert his authority in Iraq, and the city lost its status as the capital of the Islamic state.
With the departure of 'Ali from Medina, administration of the city was delegated to a number of representatives appointed by him. These representatives remained in control of Medina until 660, when an army dispatched the
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan
Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
arrived at the city and forced 'Ali's governor to flee to Iraq.
Umayyad governors (661–750)
Following the ascendency of the
Umayyads Umayyads may refer to:
*Umayyad dynasty, a Muslim ruling family of the Caliphate (661–750) and in Spain (756–1031)
*Umayyad Caliphate (661–750)
:*Emirate of Córdoba (756–929)
:*Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خ ...
in 661, Medina's loss of its political significance became permanent. The Umayyad caliphs, who were firmly based in the region of Syria, had few incentives to relocate to the Hijaz, and they generally made their residence in the area of
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
. Although Medina continued to retain its religious importance as one of the
Holy Cities
A holy city is a city important to the history or faith of a specific religion. Such cities may also contain at least one headquarters complex (often containing a religious edifice, seminary, shrine, residence of the leading cleric of the religi ...
of Islam, it became something of a political backwater under the Umayyads and its old elites, the
Ansar, were reduced to acting as a "pious opposition" to the new regime.
As the Umayyads had no interest in returning the capital to Medina, they instead dispatched governors to administer the city on their behalf. Governors were normally selected by the caliph and remained in office until they died or were dismissed in favor of a replacement candidate. In addition to Medina itself, they were sometimes (though not always) given jurisdiction over
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
and
al-Ta'if
Taif ( ar, , translit=aṭ-Ṭāʾif, lit=The circulated or encircled, ) is a city and governorate in the Makkan Region of Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat M ...
, and were often selected by the caliphs to act as leader of the annual
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
to Mecca. In an effort to ensure that Umayyad interests were fully represented in the city, the caliphs usually selected blood or marital relatives for the position, but a few governors, such as with the Ansari
Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm ( ar, أبو بكر بن محمد بن عمرو بن حزم) (died 120/737) was an 8th-century Sunni Islamic scholar based in Madinah.
He is among those who compiled hadiths at Umar II’s behest. Umar asked ...
, were exceptions to this rule.
Governors assigned to Medina during this period played no role in the
Muslim conquests
The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...
due to the lack of active military fronts near the Hijaz, but they were occasionally forced to deal with internal challenges to Umayyad rule. During the
Second Fitna
The Second Fitna was a period of general political and military disorder and civil war in the Islamic community during the early Umayyad Caliphate., meaning trial or temptation) occurs in the Qur'an in the sense of test of faith of the believer ...
the Medinese threw off their allegiance to
Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah
Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan ( ar, يزيد بن معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya ibn ʾAbī Sufyān; 64611 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate. He ruled from ...
(r. 680–683) and expelled all of the Umayyads then in the city; this attempt to regain their old power, however, came to an end with their defeat at the
Battle of al-Harrah
The Battle of al-Harra ( ar, يوم الحرة, Yawm al-Ḥarra ) was fought between the Syrian army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid I () led by Muslim ibn Uqba and the defenders of Medina from the Ansar and Muhajirun factions, who had rebelled agai ...
in August 683, and the city was pillaged by the victorious Syrian troops in retaliation for its disobedience. Shortly afterwards Medina came under the nominal control of the anti-caliph
Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ( ar, عبد الله ابن الزبير ابن العوام, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām; May 624 CE – October/November 692), was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the ...
(r. 683–692), but the Umayyads took back the city near the end of the Fitna and their hold on it was thereafter generally secure until the last years of their rule.
Umayyad control of Medina came to an end during the period of the
Third Fitna
The Third Fitna ( ar, الفتنة الثاﻟﺜـة, Fitna (word), al-Fitna al-thālitha), was a series of civil wars and uprisings against the Umayyad Caliphate beginning with the overthrow of Caliph al-Walid II in 744 and ending with the vict ...
; the city was lost temporarily to
Ibadi rebels in 747, and was then lost permanently with the overthrow of the dynasty by the
Abbasid Revolution
The Abbasid Revolution, also called the Movement of the Men of the Black Raiment, was the overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE), the second of the four major Caliphates in early History of Islam, Islamic history, by the third, the A ...
in 750.
Abbasid governors
The administrative situation of Medina was initially little changed by the coming of the
Abbasids
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
, who were generally centered in the region of Iraq. Governors of Medina continued to be appointed by the caliph and were selected to lead several of the annual pilgrimages. Like their predecessors, the Abbasid caliphs frequently chose members of their own dynasty for the governorship, but they also often appointed individuals from other families who were related to the Abbasids in some capacity.
In the first decades of Abbasid rule Medina was occasionally the scene of
Alid
The Alids are those who claim descent from the '' rāshidūn'' caliph and Imam ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661)—cousin, son-in-law, and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad—through all his wives. The main branches are the (inc ...
rebel movements, but these were generally minor affairs and were easily put down by the government. The short-lived
revolt
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
of
Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al- Ḥasan al-Muthannā ibn al- Ḥasan al-Mujtabā ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib or Muḥammad al-Nafs al-Zakīyya ( ar, محمد بن عبد الله بن الحسن بن الحسن بن علي الملقَّب ...
in 762, which was briskly defeated despite having had strong support from among the Medinese elite, particularly served as a demonstration as to how far the city had declined in terms of actual political influence, and Muhammad's choice to base the rebellion in Medina was specifically criticized by
Muslim historians
:''This is a subarticle of Islamic scholars, List of Muslim scholars and List of historians.''
The following is a list of Muslim historians writing in the Islamic historiographical tradition, which developed from hadith literature in the time of ...
for prioritizing the city's religious significance over any sound strategic considerations. A later revolt by Muhammad's nephew
al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Abid Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī al-ʿĀbid ( ar, الحسين بن علي العابد) was an Alid who rebelled at Medina against the Abbasid caliph al-Hadi. He was killed with many of his followers at the Battle of Fakhkh outside Mecca on 11 June 786, when ...
was also brief and ended in failure at the
Battle of Fakhkh
The Battle of Fakhkh () was fought on 11 June 786 between the forces of the Abbasid Caliphate and the supporters of a pro-Alid rebellion in Mecca under al-Husayn ibn Ali, a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali.
Husayn and his supporters planned an uprisi ...
near Mecca in 786, while the seizure of Medina by a lieutenant of the pro-Alid rebel
Abu al-Saraya al-Sari ibn Mansur in 815 during the
Fourth Fitna
The Fourth Fitna or Great Abbasid Civil War resulted from the conflict between the brothers al-Amin and al-Ma'mun over the succession to the throne of the Abbasid Caliphate. Their father, Caliph Harun al-Rashid, had named al-Amin as the first suc ...
was likewise temporary and the city was soon restored to Abbasid control.
Two major sources for the identities of governors of Medina, the annalists
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari i ...
and
Khalifah ibn Khayyat
Abū ʿAmr Khalīfa ibn Khayyāṭ al-Laythī al-ʿUṣfurī () (born : 160/161 AH/777 AD– died 239/240 AH/854 AD) was an Arab historian.
His family were natives of Basra in Iraq. His grandfather was a noted muhaddith or traditionalist, and Kh ...
, give regular updates down to the mid-780s, but provide only sporadic information after that time. The cessation of coverage, as well as available
numismatic
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects.
Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...
evidence, indicate that Medina may have been declining in importance during this period, and that it was gradually being superseded by Mecca as the primary administrative center of the Hijaz. In the ninth and tenth centuries the Hijaz was also affected by a general economic downturn and Medina began to be threatened by brigand raids, of which at least one was serious enough to prompt the central government to send an expedition to restore order.
With the collapse of the Abbasids' political power in the early tenth century, the
Ikhshidid
The Ikhshidid dynasty (, ) was a Turkic mamluk dynasty who ruled Egypt and the Levant from 935 to 969. Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid, a Turkic mamluk soldier, was appointed governor by the Abbasid Caliph al-Radi. The dynasty carried the Arabic ti ...
ruler of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid
Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Ṭughj ibn Juff ibn Yiltakīn ibn Fūrān ibn Fūrī ibn Khāqān (8 February 882 – 24 July 946), better known by the title al-Ikhshīd ( ar, الإخشيد) after 939, was an Abbasid commander and governor who becam ...
was granted jurisdiction over Mecca and Medina by the caliph
al-Radi
Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad (Muhammad) ibn Ja'far al-Muqtadir ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد (محمد) بن جعفر المقتدر, Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad (Muḥammad) ibn al-Muqtadir; December 909 – 23 December 940), usually simply known by his r ...
in 935. Later that century, the descendants of
Husayn ibn Ali
Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...
gained local control of Medina, and they thereafter ruled the
Amirate of Medina under Egyptian suzerainty down nearly to the
Ottoman conquest in 1517.
[; .]
See also
*
List of Umayyad governors of al-Andalus
The southern part of the Iberian peninsula was under Islamic rule for seven hundred years. In medieval history, "al-Andalus" ( ar, الأندلس) was the name given to the parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Arab and North ...
*
List of caliphal governors of Arminiyah
*
List of caliphal governors of Egypt
*
List of caliphal governors of Ifriqiyah
*
List of Umayyad governors of Iraq
*
List of caliphal governors of Sind
Sind () was an administrative division of the Umayyad Caliphate and later of the Abbasid Caliphate in post-classical India, from around 711 CE with the conquest of Sind by the Arab military commander Muhammad ibn Qasim, to around 854 CE with ...
Notes
References
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* {{cite book , last = Zaman , first = Muhammad Qasim , title = Religion and Politics Under the Early 'Abbasids , publisher = Brill , location = Leiden , year = 1997 , isbn = 90-04-10678-2 , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0xkpdl6UVOwC
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
Governors
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...
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Medieval Islamic world-related lists