Saʿīd ibn Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik () ( d. 750) was an

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

prince and commander who participated in the

Arab–Byzantine wars The Arab–Byzantine wars or Muslim–Byzantine wars were a series of wars from the 7th to 11th centuries between multiple Arab dynasties and the Byzantine Empire. The Muslim Arab Caliphates conquered large parts of the Christian Byzantine empir ...

and the Third Muslim Civil War, often in association with his brother, Sulayman ibn Hisham. For revolting against Caliph

Marwan II Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan (; – 6 August 750), commonly known as Marwan II, was the fourteenth and last caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 744 until his death. His reign was dominated by a Third Fitna, civil war, and he was the l ...

(), he was imprisoned in 746, and he died trying to escape.

Life

Sa'id was a son the

caliph

Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (; 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743. Early life Hisham was born in Damascus, the administrative capital of the Umayyad Caliphate, in AH 72 (691–692 CE). Hi ...

(). His mother was either Hisham's wife Umm Uthman bint Sa'id ibn Khalid, who was a great-granddaughter of Caliph

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, played a major role ...

(), or a slave concubine (). Sa'id may have been a pupil of the Muslim jurist

Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri Abū Bakr Muhammad ibn Muslim ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Abd Allah ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (; died 124 AH/741-2 CE), also referred to as Ibn Shihab or az-Zuhri, was a ''tabi'i'' Arab jurist and traditionist credited with pioneering the development of '' s� ...

like his brothers Maslama and Sulayman. Regardless, Sa'id had a reputation as "a sinner", according to the historian Steven Judd, often exposing himself indecently to the women of

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

, where he resided. His actions in that regard led to his imprisonment by his father, the caliph, for an undetermined time. Like several of his brothers he was a commander in the frontier wars against the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. He was one of the leaders of the campaign of 729, during which he raided as far as Caesarea in

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

. He probably did not capture the major city, and it is not clear the extent of destruction wrought upon it. His brother

Mu'awiya Mu'awiya I (–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 death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

, meanwhile, led the other part of that year's campaign. Sa'id was a close ally of his brother Sulayman in the events following Hisham's death in 743 and the succession of their cousin

al-Walid II Al-Walid ibn Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik (; 70917 April 744), commonly known as al-Walid II, was the eleventh Umayyad caliph, ruling from 743 until his assassination in 744. He succeeded his uncle, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. Birth and background Al-W ...

. The latter and many of Hisham's sons, including Sa'id, long had hostile relations. Upon his accession, al-Walid had Sa'id and Sulayman imprisoned. Like his brothers, Sa'id was a supporter of Yazid III, who conspired against and succeeded al-Walid after the latter's assassination in 744. Although Sulayman had dropped his resistance toward Marwan II in 745, he revolted with most of the Yamani troops of the Syrian army against Marwan II at Hisham's old desert capital,

Resafa Resafa (), sometimes spelled Rusafa, and known in the Byzantine era as Sergiopolis ( or , ) and briefly as Anastasiopolis (, ), was a city located in the Roman province of Euphratensis, in modern-day Syria. It is an archaeological site situated so ...

. Marwan dispersed the rebels and Sulayman fled to Iraq, where he recognized as caliph the

Kharijite The Kharijites (, singular ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challeng ...

leader al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Shaybani. Sa'id held out in Homs, which Marwan besieged for six months in 745–746. The city surrendered and had its walls destroyed. As part of the surrender, Sa'id and his sons Uthman and Marwan were handed over to Marwan II, who had them imprisoned in his capital,

Harran Harran is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 904 km2, and its population is 96,072 (2022). It is approximately southeast of Urfa and from the Syrian border crossing at Akçakale. ...

. Shortly before Marwan II's defeat at the Battle of the Zab by the

Abbasids The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes i ...

, who proceeded to topple the Umayyad Caliphate, Sa'id and other Umayyads and notables imprisoned with him broke out of the jail. They were captured by the people of Harran, who then stoned them to death.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *{{The History of al-Tabari , volume=27 750 deaths 8th-century Arab people Sons of Umayyad caliphs Prisoners and detainees of the Umayyad Caliphate Umayyad people of the Arab–Byzantine wars Year of birth unknown People of the Third Fitna 8th-century rebels