Muawiyah I

Mu ʿ āwiya I. [ muʕa Wija ː ] (. Arabic معاوية بن أبي سفيان, DMG Mu ʿ āwiya b Abī Sufyan; * 603 in Mecca, † April 18 680 in Damascus ) was the first Caliph of the Umayyad ( 661-680 ) and founder of this dynasty. He is considered one of the most important rulers of the Arab story.

Governor of Syria ( 639-661 )

Muawiya ibn Abu Sufyan was born in 603 as a member of the influential family of the Umayyad in Mecca. Abu Sufyan ibn Harb His father was the leader of the Quraish against the Prophet Muhammad. Muawiya was after his conversion to Islam ( 630) Muhammad as a secretary. Later he took part in the conquest of Syria and was 639 by the Caliph Umar ibn al - Khattab appointed governor of this province. As such, he organized the building of a Muslim fleet in the Mediterranean, the Byzantine fleet was 655 for the first time defeated in the Battle of Phoinix. 663 he was able to advance to the Bosporus by Anatolia.

After the assassination of Caliph Uthman ibn Affan ( 656) to his followers joined Muawiyah partially. This did not recognize the newly elected Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib ( 656-661 ), whom he accused of being responsible for the murder of his predecessor. The dispute culminated in the Battle of Siffin; but as these led to no decision, Ali was an on negotiations. The subsequent cleavage of the party of Ali ( Shia ) strengthened the position Muawiyas.

Caliph ( 661-680 )

After ʿ Alī was assassinated by Kharijites Ibn Muldscham in January 661, Mu ʿ āwiya advanced with his troops in front against Iraq, where Hasan ibn ʿ Alī had been raised to the caliph. With larger sums of money, the transfer of toll income of a Persian province and the recognition of his right to the throne successor could Mu ʿ āwiya end of July Hasan persuaded to abdicate and, in turn, to make him the oath of allegiance. As governor over Kufa al - Mughira ibn he sat Shu ʿ ba a, as governor over Basra in the spring of 662 ʿ Abd ibn ʿ his relatives Aamir.

Later he reorganized the kingdom with the help of Amr ibn al-As in Egypt and Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan in Iraq. It was carried out in different parts of the empire to the still present Byzantine and Persian administrative structures. New capital of the Caliphate was Damascus, which Medina finally lost its political importance.

Continued expansion

Under the rule Muawiyas the Islamic expansion was resumed. Thus began Uqba ibn Nafi under the subjugation of the Maghreb. The conquest of eastern Iran was continued, had where partially formed resistance ( → Peroz of Persia ). The governor of Cyprus signed a contract with the Caliph, who secured him against regular tribute to peace. However, failed with the unsuccessful siege of Constantinople Opel ( 668-669 and 674-678 ), the conquest of the Byzantine Empire, even if that Muslims paid tribute for a short time.

Designation of Yazid and loss of legitimacy

Although the followers of ʿ Ali and the Kharijites further agitated against Muawiya, but his rule was otherwise generally recognized. This changed, however, when Muawiya towards the end of his life his son Yazid as heir -designate, and thus broke the contract he had signed with Hasan ibn Ali. ʿ Abd ar - Rahman, the son of Abu Bakr, accused Mu ʿ āwiya its intention of establishing a hereditary dynasty on the type of the Byzantines and Sassanids. The old resentment against the pagan to the last remaining Umayya clan now live all over again. When the Umayyade Marwan called to the Prophet's companions to make allegiance to Yazid, Aisha bint Abi Bakr railed that the Messenger of God had cursed his father and the curse continues Clinging to him. Many well-known companions of the Prophet, including ʿ Abd, the son of ʿ Amr ibn al - ʿ as, turned away at this time of Muawiya. Others retreated to the Hijaz to Yazid not have to swear allegiance to. In this way Muawiyah lost at the end of his reign much of its political legitimacy in. He died on 18 April 680 in Damascus, where he was also buried.