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| Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik | |
|---|---|
| Name | Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik |
| Native name | سليمان بن عبد الملك |
| Birth date | c. 674 |
| Birth place | Medina |
| Death date | 22 September 717 |
| Death place | Damascus |
| Burial place | Syria |
| Succession | 6th Umayyad caliph |
| Reign | 715–717 |
| Predecessor | Al-Walid I |
| Successor | Umar II |
| Father | Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan |
| Dynasty | Umayyad Caliphate |
Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik was the sixth caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 715 to 717. He belonged to the Banu Marwan branch of the Umayyad dynasty and was a son of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. His brief reign intersected with administrative reforms, frontier campaigns against Byzantine Empire, relations with provincial elites in Kufa, Basra, and Ifriqiya, and infrastructural projects centered on Damascus and the Hajj routes.
Born circa 674 in Medina during the late Rashidun Caliphate period, he was reared within the Umayyad household of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan alongside siblings such as Al-Walid I and Yazid II. He witnessed the consolidation of Umayyad authority after the Second Fitna and the administrative centralization under Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf and Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik's father, learning courtly practice amid interactions with figures like Marwan I, Uthman, Mu'awiya I, and provincial governors in Syria, Iraq, and Egypt. His upbringing exposed him to rivalries involving clans such as the Banu Hashim and the Qays–Yaman factional alignments that shaped Umayyad provincial politics.
Succeeding Al-Walid I in 715, his accession followed palace deliberations in Damascus and consultation with Umayyad notables including members of the Umayyad family, tribal leaders from Yemenite and Qaysi factions, and military commanders posted in Constantinople and Constantinople's frontier provinces. He confirmed provincial appointments in Iraq and Ifriqiya, negotiated succession arrangements with persons like Umar II and courtiers tied to Marwan II's faction, and sought to stabilize relationships with influential governors such as Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik and Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf's successors. To consolidate power he balanced patronage between Syrian elites in Jund Dimashq and frontier commanders confronting Byzantium and Khazars.
His fiscal measures adjusted the revenue systems inherited from Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and Al-Walid I, interacting with provincial treasuries in Kufa, Basra, and Egypt. He continued coinage reforms initiated under Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf and overseen by Umayyad mint officials in Damascus and Fustat, maintaining the dirham and dinar standards while supervising fiscal collectors and land registries influenced by practices from Sasanian and Byzantine administrations. His short reign saw efforts to manage stipends for veterans from campaigns led by commanders such as Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik and to regulate tax farming contractors known from earlier administrations like those of Yazid I and Mu'awiya II.
He prioritized frontier offensives against the Byzantine Empire, renewing expeditions to Anatolia and the Armenian marches under generals associated with the Umayyad household, drawing on commanders such as Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik and veteran contingents from Palestine and Jordan. Naval and land operations aimed at capturing Byzantine strongholds and protecting lines to Constantinople involved clashes reminiscent of earlier campaigns during the reigns of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik and Al-Walid I. He also managed relations with neighboring polities including the Khazar Khaganate, the Turgesh, and frontier emirates in Transoxiana, while maintaining diplomatic and military equilibria with the Byzantine court and provincial themes in Anatolia.
His patronage continued Umayyad investments in monumental and religious architecture centered on Damascus and pilgrimage infrastructure for the Hajj routes linking Mecca and Medina with Syrian staging posts. He supported repairs and enhancements to roads, caravanserais, and waterworks drawing upon craftsmen and administrators experienced during the construction of the Dome of the Rock and public projects commissioned by Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and Al-Walid I. His court maintained patrons among poets, jurists, and artisans connected to cultural centers such as Ctesiphon, Fustat, and Kairouan.
He engaged with leading jurists and scholars in Medina, Kufa, and Damascus, attempting to sustain the Umayyad rapport with the ulama while navigating tensions with movements sympathetic to Alid claims and the broader Shi'a milieu. His administration continued previous Umayyad positions on religious adjudication, engaging jurists influenced by schools that later evolved into the Maliki and Hanafi traditions, and interfaced with theological currents connected to debates in Kufa and scholarly networks tied to Hadith transmission and qadi appointments.
He died in 717 in Damascus after a reign of roughly two years, precipitating the accession of Umar II and ongoing contestation within the Umayyad house involving figures like Marwan II and provincial elites from Iraq and Ifriqiya. His legacy is assessed through continuities in Umayyad frontier policy, fiscal practices, and architectural patronage that linked his brief rule to longer-term developments under successors such as Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik and the eventual decline leading to the Abbasid Revolution.
Category:Umayyad caliphs Category:7th-century births Category:717 deaths