Aban ibn al-Walid ibn Uqba
Aban ibn al-Walid ibn Uqba أبان بن الوليد بن عقبة | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Hims, Qinnasrin and Arminiya | |
| In office 684–691 | |
| Monarchs | Marwan I Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan |
| Preceded by | Nu'man ibn Bashir (Homs) |
| Succeeded by | Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik (Homs) Muhammad ibn Marwan (Qinnasrin/Arminiya) |
| Personal details | |
| Relations | Banu Umayya (clan) |
| Parent |
|
| Relatives | Al-Walid ibn Hisham (nephew) Uthman ibn Affan (half-uncle) Uthman ibn al-Walid (brother) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Umayyad Caliphate |
Abān ibn al-Walīd ibn ʿUqba ibn Abī Muʿayṭ (Arabic: أبان بن الوليد بن عقبة بن أبي معيط) was a member of the Umayyad family who served as governor of Hims, Qinnasrin (with the Jazira) and Armenia for the caliphs Marwan I (r. 684–685) and Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705).[1] His brother Uthman may have been his deputy in Armenia, or a governor in his own right, while another deputy of his was Dinar ibn Dinar, who defeated the Byzantines in 694/5.[1]
In circa 688/89, Abd al-Malik tasked Aban with suppressing the rebellion of the Qaysi chieftain Zufar ibn al-Harith al-Kilabi, who, from his fortified, strategic outpost of al-Qarqisiya on the Euphrates, posed a nagging obstacle to the caliph's planned conquest of Iraq. That province was controlled by Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr on behalf of his Mecca-based brother, Abd Allah, a rival caliph to Abd al-Malik. Zufar recognized the suzerainty of Ibn al-Zubayr and had previously staved off the Umayyad commander, Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, in 685/86. Aban defeated Zufar in battle, during which Zufar's son, Waki', was killed. This death turned the conflict into a personal vendetta, making it much harder for Abd al-Malik to negotiate with Zufar until several years later.[2][3]
Family
Aban was a member of the Banu Abi Mu'ayt, a sub-lineage of the Umayyad dynasty. He was the son of al-Walid ibn Uqba, who served as the governor of Kufa under Caliph Uthman (r. 644–656). His father and Caliph Uthman were half-brothers, sharing the same mother, Arwa bint Kurayz. Through Arwa, Aban was a great-grandson of Umm Hakim bint Abd al-Muttalib, the paternal aunt of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. This lineage placed Aban's family in the inner circle of the early Muslim elite, though they remained a distinct branch from the Marwanid line that assumed the caliphate in 684.
References
- ^ a b Crone 1980, p. 124.
- ^ Dixon 1971, pp. 92–93.
- ^ Rotter 1982, p. 209.
Sources
- Crone, Patricia (1980). Slaves on Horses: The Evolution of the Islamic Polity (1980 ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521229616.
- Dixon, 'Abd al-Ameer (1971). The Umayyad Caliphate, 65–86/684–705: (A Political Study). London: Luzac. ISBN 978-0718901493.
- Rotter, Gernot (1982). Die Umayyaden und der zweite Bürgerkrieg (680-692) (in German). Wiesbaden: Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft. ISBN 3-515-02913-3.