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Mu'awiya ibn Yazid ibn Mu'awiya (; –684), commonly known as Mu'awiya II, was the third Umayyad
caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
, ruling for less than a year in 683–684. He succeeded his father
Yazid I Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (; 11 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from April 680 until his death in November 683. His appointment by his father Mu'awiya I () was the first ...
as the third caliph and last caliph of the Sufyanid line in the Umayyad dynasty. He ruled briefly in 683–684 (64 AH) before he died.


Early life

Mu'awiya was born in
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
as the son of
Yazid I Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (; 11 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from April 680 until his death in November 683. His appointment by his father Mu'awiya I () was the first ...
and an unknown mother from the Kalb tribe. She is often confused with Umm Hashim Fakhitah bint Abi Hisham, mother of Mu'awiya's half-brother Khalid ibn Yazid. His father, Yazid died on 11 November 683 in the central Syrian desert town of Huwwarin, his favourite residence, aged between 35 and 43, and was buried there.


Reign

Before Yazid I died, he had the ''
bay'ah ''Bayʿah'' (, "Pledge of allegiance"), in Islamic terminology, is an oath of allegiance to a leader. It is known to have been practiced by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Bedouin culture it was a procedure for choosing the leader of the trib ...
'' made to his son Mu'awiya. Mu'awiya succeeded his father in
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
in 64 AH (November 683 CE), at an age of somewhere between 17 and 23. He was supported by the Kalb tribe, but his authority was likely only recognised in
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
and southern Syria, with
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (; May 624October/November 692) was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the Umayyads from 683 until his death. The son of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Asma bint Abi Bakr, and grandson of ...
claiming the caliphate from his base in the
Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...
. Mu'awiya's reign would have lasted for about 20 days to 4 months, but likely no more than 2 months. Given the short span of time, few events were possible, and some of those transmitted may be unreliable political and sectarian fabrications. These include: *Being a member of the Qadariyya, resulting from the belief that Mu'awiya abdicated before his death. *Denouncing his predecessors' tyranny and injustice towards the
Alids The Alids are those who claim descent from Ali ibn Abi Talib (; 600–661 CE), the fourth Rashidun caliph () and the first imam in Shia Islam. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The main branches are th ...
. *Having the kunya ''Abu Layla'' ("Father of Layla"), a name often applied to weak persons. This was suspicious because he had no children. *Abdication before his death, originating from later Marwanid propaganda. What does seem certain, is that Mu'awiya continued his father's policy and remitted a third of the taxes. During his reign, Mu'awiya suffered from ill health and so had to stay in the Umayyad palace (') in Damascus. His adviser
Al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri Al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri (; died August 684) was an Umayyad general, head of security forces and governor of Damascus during the reigns of caliphs Mu'awiya I, Yazid I and Mu'awiya II. Though long an Umayyad loyalist, after the latter's death, ...
took care of practical affairs. After 40 days however, Mu'awiya abdicated from the throne. He said to his family members:'My father was cruel. He massacred the family of the Prophet for the throne. Therefore I curse this throne... give it to whoever you want.'


Death and legacy

It is unclear how Mu'awiya died, although
jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or, less frequently, greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving ...
and a plague have been named as causes. Since he had no children and either refused or was not given the opportunity to appoint a successor, the campaigns against Ibn al-Zubayr's revolt came to a complete stop. Umayyad power temporarily collapsed until
Marwan I Marwan ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As ibn Umayya (; 623 or 626April/May 685), commonly known as MarwanI, was the fourth Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad caliph, ruling for less than a year in 684–685. He founded the Marwanid ruling house of the Umayyad ...
took back control. In his ''al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya'',
Ibn Arabi Ibn Arabi (July 1165–November 1240) was an Andalusian Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest com ...
claimed that Muawiyya II was a spiritual Pole (''Ghawth'') of his time and one of the few in history having such a spiritual degree combined with a temporal power, like Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali and Umar ibn Abdul-Aziz."Parmi les Pôles, il en est dont l'autorité se manifeste et qui détiennent le Califat extérieur, de même qu'en vertu de leur degré spirituel ils détiennent la lieutenance ésotérique. Tel fut le cas de Abû Bakr, de 'Umar, de 'Uthmân, de 'Alî de Al Hasan, de Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan,de Mu'âwiyah Ibn Yazîd, de 'Umar Ibn 'Abd Il 'Azîz et de Al Mutawakkil " (translation: There are Poles whose authority is manifest and who hold foreign Caliphate, and that according to their spiritual degree they hold esoteric authority to. Such was the case with Abû Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmân, 'Alî, Al Hasan, Mu'âwiyah Ibn Yazîd, Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, 'Umar Ibn 'Abd Il 'Azîz and Al Mutawakkil) ''Le Sceau des Saints'', trans. Michel Chodkiewicz,
Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003, it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by G ...
, Paris 1986, .


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muawiya 02 660s births 684 deaths 680s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 7th-century Umayyad caliphs 7th-century deaths from plague (disease)