Mu'awiyya

Mu'awiya bin Abi Sufyan (of the Banu Umayya, an elite clan of the Quraysh). A convert to Islam with the retaking of Mecca by the Medinan forces. Died 680.

Mu'awiya's brother, Yazid bin Abi Sufyan, was appointed governor of Syria by 'Umar, a position succeeded by Mu'awiya upon his brother's death without controversy. During 'Ali's removal of 'Uthman's political appointees following his victory at the Battle of the Camel, he attempted to force Mu'awiya to resign as well. However, unlike other appointees, Mu'awiya's power in Syria had been built for a long time. In addition, as a member of the Banu Umayya, 'Uthman's murder furnished Mu'awiya with the need to avenge his relative. As a result, Mu'awiya failed to acknowledge 'Ali's right to the Caliphate until he provided recompense for the death of 'Uthman. This lead to a drawn-out, relatively-non-violent conflict between Mu'awiya's Syrian forces and 'Ali's newly-acquired Iraqi forces during the spring/summer of 657 CE at Siffin (near Raqqa), ended by the Syrian forces holding up Qur'anic leaves, and the Iraqi forces accepting to go into arbitration. The two sides came to the arbitration from equal power stances, weakening 'Ali's position by abandoning his right as "Amir al-mu'aminin," which began to break apart his support (including the Qurra' who felt he had forfeited his natural rights as Caliph). In the meanwhile, Mu'awiya began to suggest new names for Caliph in the arbitration, eventually including his own. Following 'Ali's assassination in 661 CE, Mu'awiya quickly succeeded in occupying the Caliphate.

As Caliph, Mu'awiya quickly worked to consolidate loyalties to the centralized government, mostly through coalition building with important factions. This resulted in less of a centralized state apparatus then a confederation of influential figures who had acknowledged Mu'awiya's superiority. His government did not contain many members of his own family, the Banu Umayya. Mu'awiya's Iraqi policy was eventually delegated to Ziyad bin Abihi (later adopted as bin Abi Sufyan, Mu'awiya's half-brother), a former supporter of 'Ali who, after being reconciled with Mu'awiya was named the governor of Basra, then eventually of all Iraq. Mu'awiya did little during his reign to centralize and standardize power or administration, which mostly continued in its pre-existent loyalties and apparatuses. Mu'awiya's determination to have himself succeeded by his son, Yazid, was controversial, but by the time of his death, the opposition was silenced either by threats or bribes, and Yazid took office (although not without his own trials).

Posted at Feb 19/2009 10:56AM:
ian: Key points: founder of Umayyad dynasty, expansion and consolidation of territory, shifting basis of support to Syrian tribes, emergence of a 'dawla'