32 Facts About Marwan I

Marwan I served as Uthman's governor in Fars before becoming the caliph's.

Marwan I was wounded fighting the rebel siege of Uthman's house, in which the caliph was slain.

Marwan I dispatched an expedition led by Ibn Ziyad to reconquer Zubayrid Iraq, but died while it was underway in the spring of 685.

Marwan I knew Muhammad and is thus counted among the latter's.

Marwan I's mother was Amina bint Alqama of the Kinana, the ancestral tribe of the Quraysh which dominated the area stretching southwest from Mecca to the Tihama coastline.

Marwan I had at least sixteen children, among them at least twelve sons from five wives and an.

One of Marwan I's wives, Umm Aban al-Kubra, was a daughter of Caliph Uthman.

Marwan I was mother to six of his sons, Aban, Uthman, Ubayd Allah, Ayyub, Dawud and Abd Allah, though the last of them died a child.

Marwan I was married to Zaynab bint Umar, a granddaughter of Abu Salama from the Banu Makhzum, who mothered his son Umar.

Marwan I's was named Zaynab and gave birth to his son Muhammad.

Marwan I had ten brothers and was the paternal uncle of ten nephews.

The historian Hugh Kennedy asserts that Marwan I was the caliph's "right-hand man".

The historian Leone Caetani presumed that Marwan I was the organizer of A'isha's strategy there.

Marwan I had fired an arrow at Talha, which struck the sciatic vein below his knee, as their troops fell back in a hand-to-hand fight with Ali's soldiers.

The historian Wilferd Madelung notes that Marwan I "evidently" waited to kill Talha when A'isha appeared close to defeat and thus in a weak position to call Marwan I to account for his action.

Ali pardoned him and Marwan I left for Syria, where his distant cousin Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, who refused allegiance to Ali, was governor.

Marwan I was present alongside Mu'awiya at the Battle of Siffin near Raqqa in 657, which ended in a stalemate with Ali's army and abortive arbitration talks to settle the civil war.

Marwan I had earlier pressed Uthman's son Amr to claim the caliphate based on the legitimacy of his father, a member of the Abu al-As branch, but Amr was uninterested.

Marwan I reluctantly accepted Mu'awiya's nomination of Yazid in 676, but quietly encouraged another son of Uthman, Sa'id, to contest the succession.

Al-Walid accepted, prompting Marwan I, who attended the meeting, to castigate the governor and demand Husayn's detention until he proffered the oath of allegiance to Yazid or his execution should he refuse.

In contrast, Marwan I "realized the importance of the Syrian troops and adhered wholeheartedly to their demands", according to the historian Mohammad Rihan.

Marwan I's rise had affirmed the power of the Quda'a tribal confederation, of which the Kalb was part, and after the battle, it formed an alliance with the Qahtan confederation of Homs, forming the new super-tribe of Yaman.

Marwan I wed Yazid's widow and mother of Khalid, Umm Hashim Fakhita, thereby establishing a political link with the Sufyanids.

Wellhausen viewed the marriage as an attempt by Marwan I to seize the inheritance of Yazid by becoming stepfather to his sons.

Marwan I appointed the Ghassanid Yahya ibn Qays as the head of his and his own mawla Abu Sahl al-Aswad as his.

Marwan I dispatched an expedition to the Hejaz led by the Quda'a commander Hubaysh ibn Dulja, which was routed at al-Rabadha east of Medina.

Meanwhile, Marwan I sent his son Muhammad to check the Qaysi tribes in the middle Euphrates region.

Marwan I made the change after he reached al-Sinnabra and was informed that Ibn Bahdal recognized Amr ibn Sa'id as Marwan's successor-in-waiting.

Marwan I summoned and questioned Ibn Bahdal and ultimately demanded that he give allegiance to Abd al-Malik as his heir apparent.

Marwan I was known to be gruff and lacking in social graces.

Marwan I suffered permanent injuries after a number of battle wounds.

Marwan I was referred to as because his son and grandsons later inherited the caliphal throne.