Umm al-Hajjaj bint Muhammad
Umm al-Hajjaj bint Muhammad (Arabic: أم الحجاج بنت محمد) was the famous principal wife of the ninth Umayyad caliph Yazid II and mother of eleventh Umayyad caliph Al-Walid II.
| Umm al-Hajjaj bint Muhammad أم الحجاج بنت محمد | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consort of the Umayyad caliph | |||||
| Tenure | 720 – 722/24 | ||||
| Born | 700s Taif, Umayyad Caliphate | ||||
| Died | Damascus, Umayyad Caliphate | ||||
| Spouse | Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik | ||||
| Children |
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| House | Banu Thaqif (by birth) Umayyad (by marriage) | ||||
| Father | Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi | ||||
| Religion | Islam | ||||
Biography
Her full name was Umm al-Hajjaj bint Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi, she belonged to Thaqafi tribe.
Yazid established marital ties to the family of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf (d. 714), the powerful viceroy of Iraq for his father, Caliph Abd al-Malik, and brother, al-Walid I (r. 705–715). He married al-Hajjaj's niece, Umm al-Hajjaj, the daughter of Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi.[1][2] During her uncle's lifetime, she gave birth to Yazid's sons: al-Hajjaj, who died young, and al-Walid II, who became caliph in 743.[1]
Umm al-Hajjaj became very influential wife of Yazid II. Her second son al-Walid, who was born in 709, was considered a candidate to the Caliphate throne.
Her husband, Yazid II died of tuberculosis[3] in Irbid, a town in the Balqa subdistrict of Jund Dimashq (the military division of Damascus corresponding to Transjordan) on 24 Sha'ban 105 AH (26 January 724).[4] His son al-Walid or half-brother Hisham led his funeral prayers.[5] Yazid had intended to appoint al-Walid as his immediate successor but was persuaded by Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik to appoint Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, followed by al-Walid.[6]
Umm al-Hajjaj died during her husband reign or during her reign of brother-in law Hisham.
References
- Wellhausen 1927, p. 312.
- Powers 1989, pp. 89–90.
- Pellat 1971, p. 2.
- Lammens & Blankinship 2002, p. 311.
- Powers 1989, p. 194.
- Blankinship 1989, p. 87, note 439.
Source
- Powers, David S., ed. (1989). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXIV: The Empire in Transition: The Caliphates of Sulaymān, ʿUmar, and Yazīd, A.D. 715–724/A.H. 96–105. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-0072-2.
- Wellhausen, Julius (1927). The Arab Kingdom and Its Fall. Translated by Margaret Graham Weir. Calcutta: University of Calcutta. OCLC 752790641.
- Pellat, Ch. (1971). "Ḥabãba". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Volume III: H–Iram (2nd ed.). Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 2. OCLC 495469525.
- Blankinship, Khalid Yahya, ed. (1989). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXV: The End of Expansion: The Caliphate of Hishām, A.D. 724–738/A.H. 105–120. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-88706-569-9.
- Lammens, H. & Blankinship, Kh. Y. (2002). "Yazīd (II) b. ʿAbd al-Malik". In Bearman, P. J.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Volume XI: W–Z (2nd ed.). Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 311. ISBN 978-90-04-12756-2.