Marwan II

Abû `Abd Al-Malik Marwân Ben Muhammad or Marwan II called Al-J `adîy Al-Himâr (??? - 750) became the fourteenth and last Caliph omeyyade of Damas in 744. It is wire of Muhammad, and grandson of Marwan I {{er}}.

Biography

In 732, it is named governor of the Arménie and the Azerbaïdjan by Yazîd II to replace Maslama. Its winter campaign against the Khazars is a failure, it is raised of its function. Its successor, Said Ben Amr Al-Harashi conducted active campaigns but it became blind. Marwân is then restored at this station. It started from Damas with an army of 20000 men. After some successes its army accepted reinforcements until counting 150000 men. The following years it took some fortified towns using clever stratagems.

When Al-Wâlîd II became caliph, Marwân was confirmed at its post of governor. Of the same Yazîd III left him the government of Arménie. When Ibrâhîm seized in its turn the power, Marwân gave the government of Arménie to the one of its officers and went towards Damas with its army. Arrived at the doors of Damas Ibrâhîm left the city and oath (744) lent to him.

Reign of Marwân

The Kharidjites organized a general rising of Arménie and Azerbaïdjan. In Khorasan several Arab tribes being considered isolated capacity revolted. Marwân hesitated to leave Damas to go in person in Khorasan by fear to lose Syria.

The seizure of power by the `Abbasid

Muhammad Al-Bâqir, fifth Imam Chiite resided at Mecque, it accepted there the visit of members of the Abbasid clan accompanied by an young man called Abû Muslim. Muhammad advised in Abû Muslim to wait “the year of the ass”, i.e. the hundredth year of the dynasty in referent with the Sourate the Cow (Coran, II, 259) and with the nickname of Marwân. Because according to him, no dynasty exceeded the hundredth year without disorders violent one coming to announce his ruin. Abû Muslim did not wait so a long time continuing its work of propaganda in favor of the Imams and the Abbasids even after the death of Muhammad (743). Abû Muslim gave like consigns to its partisans to be dressed in black: You equip with black because we are the men with clothing black. He thought that this color was of all more terrifying. The black became thus the color of the Abbasids.

In 747 Abû Al `Abbâs `Abd Allah Ben Muhammad carries out the revolt in Perse. Abû Muslin seizes Merv then it raises the Khorasan against Omeyyades.

During the summer 748, a battle take place between the troops carried out by Abû Muslim and the army omeyyade to Gorgan, ten thousand Syrians were killed. The partisans of the omeyyades of the city were put at death. The governor of Ispahan, remained faithful to the omeyyades raised an army of 100000 men. It was still a defeat for the omeyyades. Finally Abû Muslim enters Koufa and convenes the people to be met in the large mosque. Crowd thought that one was going to lend oath to the one of the descendant of `Ali but it was Abû Al `Abbâs which was indicated to reverse the omeyyades.

When Marwân learned that, it made seize the family members of Abû Al “Abbâs present in Damas and made them assassinate. Khorasan was already in dissidence and with this oath with Koufa the Iraq escaped its turn with the omeyyades, also Marwân considered it the escape towards the Anatolia and to put itself under the protection of king of the country of Roum. He preferred to flee in Syria where he could hope to count on supports.

The army omeyyade of Marwân met the army of the Khorasan directed by `Abd Allah Ben `Alî, an uncle d' Abû Al `Abbâs in the south of Mosul to the confluence of the Zâb river and Tigre. The battle lasted two days, the second day it was the rout for the army of Marwân.

Marwân gathered its family and left towards Syria to take refuge there. Arrived At Damas the inhabitants refused the entry of the city to him, it moved then towards the Palestine and the Egypt. It practiced the Politique burned ground to deprive its prosecutors of provisions. It arrived thus at Fustât (old name of Cairo). It was taken, decapitated and its head was publicly exposed in Koufa (750).

Abû Al `Abbâs decided to destroy the omeyyade family completely. It started by making open the tombs of the caliphs and make burn their corpses. When all the alive members of the omeyyades family were brought together Abû Al `Abbâs made massacre. then it made extend on the bodies a leather carpet on which one was used a meal for those which attended this scene and which ate while the victims expired . It is what was worth in Abû Al `Abbâs its nickname of Have-Saffâh i.e. the bloodthirsty man .

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