Muawiyah was appointed as the Governor of Syria after his brother Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan died.[6]
During the time of Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muawiyah convinced Talha and Zubayr to revolt against Ali.[7] This led to the Battle of the Camel, the first battle in the First Fitna (the first Islamic civil war). In 657, Muawiya's army attacked the army of Ali at the Battle of Siffin. After the death of Ali in 661, Muawiya's army approached that of Ali's son and successor, Hasan ibn Ali. In order to avoid further bloodshed, Hasan signed a peace treaty with Muawiyah.[8] Muawiyah then assumed power; however, Muawiyah ended up breaking all his requirements set out by the peace treaty.[9]
In power, Muawiyah developed a navy in the Levant and used it to confront the Byzantine Empire in the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara. The caliphate conquered several territories including Cyzicus which were subsequently used as naval bases.[10]
During the time of Muhammad
Muawiyah worked as a scribe for Muhammad. According to al-Baladhuri, Urwa ibn az-Zubayr, relating from his father,
Aisha said "I went to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who was in a room with Umm Habiba (Muawiyah's sister and Muhammad's wife) on her day. Muawiya knocked on the door and he gave him permission to enter, which he did. He had a pen behind his ear which he had not used.
The Prophet said, 'What is this on your ear?' He said, 'A pen which I have made ready for Allah and His Messenger.' The Prophet said. 'May Allah repay you well on behalf of your Prophet! By Allah, I will only ask you to write down revelation from heaven."[19][20]
According to Ibn Kathir in his book Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, Ibn Abbas said that Abu Sufyan asked Muhammad if he could make his son Muawiyah a scribe which Muhammad granted. Therefore, Muawiyah became his scribe.[18]
According to historians, Muawiyah was one of at least 29 scribes. However, as most of the Qur'an had been revealed prior to Muawiyah's conversion to Islam, there was little for him to write.[21]
Muawiyah during the Rashidun Caliphate
Under Abu Bakr
During the time of Abu Bakr, Muawiyah used to serve under his brother Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan (Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan is not to be confused with Yazid ibn Muawiya who was the caliph during the period in which Husain ibn Ali was martyred at the Battle of Kerbala). Muawiyah was one of the first to be sent into Syria.[22][23][24][25]
Battle of Yarmouk
In May 636, Emperor Heraclius launched a major expedition against the Muslims, but his army was defeated decisively at the Battle of Yarmouk in August 636.[26] In the battle, Muawiyah's brother Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan served under Khalid ibn al-Walid and Abu Ubaydah and was in command of one of the wings and Muawiyah was his second in command. Muawiyah's mother Hind also took part in the battle.[26]
Governor of Syria
In 639, Muawiyah was appointed as the governor of Syria by the second caliph Umar after his brother the previous governor Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan and the governor before him Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah died in a plague along with 25,000 other people.[27][28] 'Amr ibn al-'As was sent to take on the Byzantine army in Egypt.
With limited resources Muawiyah's marriage to Maysum was politically motivated, as she was the daughter of the chief of the Kalb tribe, that was a large Jacobite Christian Arab tribe in Syria. The Kalb tribe had remained largely neutral when the Muslims first went into Syria.[29] After the plague that killed much of the Muslim army in Syria, by marrying Maysum, Muawiyah started to use the Jacobite Christians, against the Romans. Muawiya's wife Maysum (Yazid's mother) was also a Jacobite Christian.[30] With limited resources and the Byzantine just over the border, Muawiyah worked in cooperation with the local Christian population.
According to some books[31] the town of Caesarea was taken by Muawiyah in 640, when the last Byzantine Roman garrison in Syria and Palestine surrendered. But according to Al-Imam Al-Waqidi, the author of the oldest history books on Islam it was Muawiyah's friend 'Amr ibn al-'As who expelled the Roman army from Caesarea. 'Amr ibn al-'As who along with Muawiyah's brother Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan who later became the governor of Syria, expelled the Roman armies from many Syrian cities and later 'Amr ibn al-'As also moved into Egypt.[32]
Under Muawiyah's governance the Syrian army became a major military force. He picked out the best leaders from various tribes whereas elsewhere in the state the military units were still based along tribal lines. He personally saw to the comfort and the equipment of the troops, increased their pay and paid them on a regular basis when they were on duty. He kept the troops in training by an annual expedition against the Byzantines and therefore kept the Byzantines in a constant state of unease and therefore kept his northern border safe.[33] He encouraged innovations in military technology. Muawiyah's armies used "Minjenique" machines to propel large stones onto enemy ramparts. He modernized the army, introducing specialized units for desert combat and snowy terrains. New forts were also built.
Muawiya left the Byzantine and Persian administrative structures intact, being sure not to give his largely non-Muslim subjects any incentive to revolt.[34]
The postal system, which was created by Omar ibn al Khattab for military use, was now opened to the public by Muawiya.[35]
Uthman dismissed 'Amr ibn al-'As from governorship of Egypt so Muawiyah asked him to join him in Syria.
Muawiya was one of the first to realize the full importance of having a navy; as long as the Byzantine fleet could sail the Mediterranean unopposed, the coastline of Syria, Palestine and Egypt would never be safe. Muawiyah along with Abdullah ibn Sa'd the new governor of Egypt successfully persuaded Uthman to give them permission to construct a large fleet in the dockyards of Egypt and Syria.[36][37]
Therefore, to stop the Byzantine harassment from the sea during the Arab-Byzantine Wars, in 649 Muawiyah set up a navy; manned by Monophysite Christians, Copts and Jacobite Syrian Christian sailors and Muslim troops.[36][37] During his naval expeditions in AH 28 he took Rhodes and later in AH 29 he took Cyprus.[33] He was accompanied by one of his other wives, Katwa, who died in the course of the expedition.
Muawiyah had asked Umar once and Uthman twice for permissions to undertake such naval expeditions.[33][36][37]
The first real naval engagement between the Muslim and the Byzantine navy was the so-called Battle of the Masts (Dhat al-sawari) or Battle of Phoenix off the Lycian coast in 655.[38][39][40][41][42][43]
Under the instructions of the caliph Uthman ibn al-Affan, Muawiyah then prepared for the siege of Constantinople.[37]
As Uthman ibn al-Affan became very old, Marwan I a relative of Muawiyah slipped into the vacuum and became his secretary and slowly assumed more control and relaxed some of the restrictions on the governors.[44]
First Fitna
After Caliph Uthman was assassinated in 656, his successor Ali failed to arrest and punish the perpetrators. Because of this, Mu'awiyah saw Ali as an accomplice and did not want to acknowledge Ali's rule. Their troops confronted each other in the Battle of Siffin in 657, which was finally resolved by negotiations. These negotiations made Ali's claim to the caliphate dubious and some of his supporters broke away into a group known as the Kharijites. The Kharijite rebellion against Ali culminated in his assassination in 661. At the time, Mu'awiyah already controlled Syria and Egypt, and with the largest force in the Muslim realm, he laid the strongest claim on the caliphate.[45]
Muawiyah as Caliph
Muawiyah was crowned as caliph at a ceremony in Jerusalem in 661.[46]
He came to Madina and spoke to the people, saying,
"I desired the way followed by Abu Bakr and 'Umar, but I was unable to follow it, and so I have followed a course with you which contains fortune and benefits for you despite some bias, so be pleased with what comes to you from me even if it is little. When good is continuous, even if it is little, it enriches. Discontent makes life grim."[47]
He also said in an address which he delivered to the people,
"O people! By Allah, it is easier to move the firm mountains than to follow Abu Bakr and 'Umar in their behaviour. But I have followed their way of conduct falling short of those before me, but none after me will equal me in it."[47]
Ali's caliphate lasted for around 4 years. After the treaty with Ali's son Hassan, Muawiyah ruled for nearly 20 years most of which were spent expanding the state.[48]
Military expeditions
After the peace treaty with Hasan, Muawiyah turned his attention back to the Romans. In 674, Umayyad naval and army forces under the command of Muawiyah's son, Yazid ibn Muawiyah,[49] laid siege to the Byzantine capital of Constantinople,[50] but were defeated when the Byzantines introduced Greek fire to the naval battlefield.[51] This siege is even mentioned in the Chinese dynastic histories of the Old Book of Tang and New Book of Tang.[52] They record that the large capital city of Fu lin (拂菻; i.e. the Byzantine Empire) was besieged by the Da shi (大食, i.e. Umayyad Arabs) and their commander "Mo-yi" (Chinese: 摩拽, Pinyin: Móyè), who Friedrich Hirth has identified as Muawiyah I.[52] The Chinese histories then explain that the Arabs forced the Byzantines to pay tribute afterwards as part of a peace settlement.[52]
Further west, the Umayyads were keenly aware of Sicily's strategic importance and Muawiya was the first caliph to begin raiding the island in 670.[34] That same year, the Umayyad general Uqba ibn Nafi founded the garrison town Kairouan in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia). It was used both as a base for military operations and as an administrative centre for north Africa, replacing Carthage.[34][53] A few years later the Umayyads also crossed over into Spain and southern France under the command of Tariq ibn Ziyad and Musa bin Nusayr.
Leadership style
Welfare state
During the time of Muhammad, the poor were fed in Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina. The revenues of the land in Fadak near Madina were also used for the poor as ṣadaqa, and travelers in need. Later Umarformalized the welfare state Bayt al-mal.[57][58][59] The Bayt al-mal or the welfare state was for the Muslim and non-Muslim poor, needy, elderly, orphans, widows, and the disabled. The Bayt al-mal ran for hundreds of years under the Rashidun caliphate in the 7th century and continued through the Umayyad period and well into the Abbasid era. Umar also introduced child benefit and pensions for the children and the elderly.[60][61][62][63]
Both Ali and Muawiyah continued the welfare state. Ali was extremely caring towards the poor and when he became caliph the revenue from the land of Fadak continued to go towards the poor.
Because of Muawiyah's families previous opposition to the Muslims, before they converted to Islam, there was still some level of resentment towards him. Some of his relatives had been killed in battles fighting against the Muslims. But Muawiyah felt that after his conversion to Islam, for over 20 years, he had been the governor of Syria and expanded the state, confronted the Romans, built up a good administration, a good economy and therefore felt that people should not resent his past.
On one occasion, Mu'awiya ascended the minbar and praised Allah. When he wanted to speak, a lad of the Ansar interrupted him and said,
"Mu'awiya! What makes you and the people of your house more entitled to this wealth than us! We have no wrong action against you that we know of other than our slaying of your uncle Walid, your grandfather 'Uqba, and your brother Hanzala." Mu'awiya said, "By Allah, nephew, you did not kill them. Rather Allah killed them with angels upon angels at the hands of the sons of their father. That was not a fault nor a loss." The Ansari said, "So where is the fault and loss then?"
He said, "You spoke the truth. Do you need something?" He said, "Yes. I look after an old woman and sisters and things have been hard on us." Mu'awiya said, "Take what you can from the treasury." The boy took it and then Mu'awiya resumed his khutba.[64]
Conduct towards non-Muslim subjects
Muawiyah governed the geographically and politically disparate caliphate, which now spread from north Africa in the west to Afghanistan in the east, by strengthening the power of his allies in the newly conquered territories. Prominent positions in the emerging governmental structures were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine governments. The employment of Christians was part of a broader policy of religious tolerance that was necessitated by the presence of large Christian populations in the conquered provinces, especially in Syria itself. This policy also boosted his popularity and solidified Syria as his power base.[65][66]
Muawiya's wife Maysum (Yazid's mother) was also a Jacobite Christian from the Kalb tribe.[30] His marriage to Maysum was also politically motivated, as she was the daughter of the chief of the Kalb tribe, that was a large Jacobite Christian Arab tribe in Syria. The Kalb tribe had remained largely neutral when the Muslims first went into Syria.[29] After the plague that killed much of the Muslim army in Syria, by marrying Maysum, Muawiyah also used the Jacobite Christians, against the Romans.
Muawiyah is reported to have said:
"I observed the Messenger of Allah perform Wudhoo (ablution) and when he finished, he looked at me and said; 'O Muawiyah! If you get to rule then fear Allah and be just to the people.'
Due to that statement of the Prophet I was convinced that I would one day be held accountable for undertaking the task"[67]
Tom Holland writes [68] Christians, Jews, Samaritans and Manichaeans were all treated well by Muawiyah. Muawiyah even restored Edessa's cathedral after it had been toppled by an earthquake.[69] Savagely though Muawiyah prosecuted his wars against the Romans, yet his subjects, no longer trampled by rival armies, no longer divided by hostile watchtowers, knew only peace at last. Justice flourished in his time, and there was great peace in the regions under his control. He allowed everyone to live as they wanted."[68][70]
Political finesse
In a manner similar to Byzantine administrative practices, Muawiyah instituted several bureaucracies, called divans, to aid him in the governance and the centralization of the caliphate and the empire. Early Arabic sources credit two diwans in particular to Muawiyah: the Diwan al-Khatam (chancellery) and the Barid (postal service), both of which greatly improved communications within the empire.[71][72][73]
Mu'awiya could be seen speaking to the people on the minbar of Damascus wearing a patched garment. Yunus ibn Maysar al-Himyari said, "I saw Mu'awiya riding in the Damascus market wearing a shirt with a patched pocket, going along in the Damascus markets."[74]
Muawiyah was very skilled at dealing with the Romans. Abdullah ibn Zubayr, who could see troubles ahead after the death of Muawiyah and was opposed to the appointment of Yazid, later said of Muawiyah:
"Truly the son of Hind deployed a dexterity and mental resourcefulness as one will never see after him. When we tried to impose something on him, an irritated lion with claws unsheathed would not show more audacity than him. He knew when to give into us, to even allow himself to be tricked when we tried to do that to him. He was the most artful of men, more crafty than a thief. I wished that we would never lose him, just as a rock remaining on this summit" pointing to the mountain of Abu Qubays outside Mekka.[75]
When his friends expressed surprise at the vastness of his gifts to his opponents, he told them "a war costs infinitely more".[76]
Muawiya was welcome to his subjects at every hour of the day, including mealtimes.[35] Therefore, he knew what people were thinking and saying.
Muawiya and his governors maintained an open table for people to come in and eat. Once an Arab seated at the end of the room did not hesitate to pull to himself a plate which had been placed in front of Muawiya. So Muawiyah said "You plunder very far!" The Arab replied, "After a year of drought, it is necessary to be well placed in order to find pasture!"[35]
The deliberations between Muawiyah and the people took place in the community mosque, where the people were free and unconstrained towards the khalif.[77]
Muawiya did not rely on the old aristocracy but looked for merit and loyalty. Most of his prominent governors were not even Qurayshi let alone Umayyad. He also had the faculty of winning over and retaining people he distrusted like Amr ibn al As.[77] His most important early governor in Kufa was Mughira ibn Shuba. At Tabri recounted: "Al-Mughira liked things to run smoothly; he behaved well with the people and did not ask sectarians about their sect. All he would say was "Allah has decreed that you will continue to disagree and Allah will judge between His creatures concerning that about which they disagree." So people felt safe with him. Until the Kharijites resorted to violence then the Kufas agreed to expel them.[78]
He also paid a lot of attention to the economy and agriculture;[79] this allowed him to finance his expeditions.
According to al-Qasim bin Mukhaimirah, Abu Maryam al-Azdi said that he entered upon Muawiyah who said:
"What blesses us with your presence, O Abu Fulan (Father of so and so a common Arab expression)? " I said: "A hadeeth I heard that I want to tell you. I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: 'Whoever Allah entrusts with authority over the affairs of the Muslims and he neglects the needs and wants of the poor amongst them, Allah will neglect him and his needs and wants."
He added that Muawiyah appointed a man in charge of addressing the people's needs upon hearing the Hadith.[67]
Appointment of Muawiyah's son as next Caliph
One of Muawiyah's most controversial and enduring legacies was his decision to designate his son Yazid as his successor. Yazid was experienced militarily, after taking part in various expeditions and the siege of Constantinople but politically inexperienced. Marwan also wanted Yazid to be the caliph so that he could run things behind the scenes, as he would become the senior member of the Umayyad clan after Muawiyah's death. Mohammad, Abu Bakr and Umar also mistrusted Marwan and he had lived in Taif during their rule, where he became friends with Hajjaj.
Marwan
Tom Holland writes "Tempers in Medina were not helped by the fact that the governor in the oasis was none other than the fabulously venal and slippery Marwan. Rumours abounded that it was he, back in the last calamitous days of Uthman's rule who had double crossed the war band that had come to Uthman. The locals mistrust of their governor ran particularly deep. Nothing he had done had helped to improve his reputation for double dealing.[80]
Ibn Kathir wrote in his book Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayahthat "in the year 56 AH Muawiyah called on the people including those within the outlying territories to pledge allegiance to his son, Yazeed, to be his heir to the Caliphate after him. Almost all the subjects offered their allegiance, with the exception of Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr (the son of Abu Bakr), Abdullah ibn Umar (the son of Umar), al-Husain bin Ali (the son of Ali), Abdullah bin Az-Zubair (The grandson of Abu Bakr) and Abdullah ibn Abbas (Ali's cousin). Because of this Muawiyah passed through al-Madinah on his way back from Makkah upon completion of his Umrah Pilgrimage where he summoned each one of the five aforementioned individuals and threatened them. The speaker who addressed Muawiyah sharply with the greatest firmness amongst them was Abdurrahman bin Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq, while Abdullah bin Umar bin al-Khattab was the most soft spoken amongst them.[81]
Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr and Abdullah ibn Umar were mid level Muslim commanders at the Battle of Yarmouk that took Syria. Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakr's sister Asmā' bint Abu Bakr also fought in the Battle of Yarmouk and was opposed to Yazid.[82]
Muawiyah then delivered a sermon, having stood these five men below the pulpit in full view of the people after which the people pledged allegiance to Yazeed as they stood in silence without displaying their disagreement or opposition for fear of being humiliated. Saeed bin Uthman bin Affan, the son of Uthman also criticized Muawiyah for putting forward Yazeed."[81] They tolerated Muawiyah but did not like Yazeed.
The following year Muawiyah removed Marwan bin al Hakam from the position of governor in Madina and appointed al-Waleed bin Utbah bin Abi Sufyan.[83]
Muawiyah warned his son Yazid that Husayn, the younger brother of Hasan ibn Ali, would potentially be a problem for the dynasty. However, according to some sources, Muawiyah advised his son to act towards Husayn "gently".
According to a claim by a sunni source, Muawiyah warned Yazid against mistreating Husayn ibn Ali.[84] His final warning to Yazid was: "As for Husayn what can I tell you concerning him? Be careful not to confront him except in a good way. Extend to him a free hand [literally, a long rope], and let him roam the earth as he pleases. Do not harm him, yet show him the thunder and lightning [of your anger]. Never confront him with the weapons of war but rather bestow on him generous gifts. Give him a place of honor near you and treat him with due reverence. Be careful O my son, that you do not meet God with his blood, lest you be among those that will perish"[85]
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