Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz

Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
عمر بن عبد العزيز
Gold dinar of Umar, c. 719
8th Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate
Reign22 September 717 – 4 February 720
(2 years, 137 days)
PredecessorSulayman
SuccessorYazid II
Governor of Medina
In office[1]706 – 712
PredecessorHisham ibn Isma'il al-Makhzumi[2]
SuccessorUthman ibn Hayyan al-Murri[3]
Bornc. 680
Medina, Arabia, Umayyad Caliphate
Diedc. 5 February 720 (aged 40)
Dayr Sim'an, Syria, Umayyad Caliphate
Wife
Issue
HouseMarwanid
DynastyUmayyad
FatherAbd al-Aziz ibn Marwan
MotherLayla bint Asim
ReligionIslam

Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan (Arabic: عُمَر بْن عَبْد الْعَزِيز بْن مَرْوَان, romanizedʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Marwān; c. 680 – February 720) was the eighth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 717 until his death in 720. He is credited to have instituted significant reforms to the Umayyad central government, by making it much more efficient and egalitarian. His rulership is marked by the first official collection of hadiths and the mandated universal education to the populace.

He dispatched emissaries to China and Tibet, inviting their rulers to accept Islam. It was during his three-year reign that Islam was accepted by huge segments of the populations of Persia and Egypt. He also ordered the withdrawal of the Muslim forces in various fronts such as in Constantinople, Central Asia and Septimania. However despite this, his reign witnessed the Umayyads gaining many new territories in the Iberian Peninsula.

Umar was considered by many to be the first mujaddid and the sixth righteous caliph of Islam after Hasan ibn Ali according to some Sunni scholars. He was honorifically called Umar al-Thani (Umar II) after his maternal great-grandfather, Caliph Umar (r. 634–644).

  1. ^ Yarshater 1985–2007, v. 23: pp. 131-33, 139, 145, 148, 156, 183, 201-03; McMillan 2011, pp. 95–96, 103–04; EI2, s.v. "Umar (II) b. Abd al-Aziz"); Khalifah ibn Khayyat 1985, p. 311; Al-Ya'qubi 1883, p. 339; Al-Baladhuri 1916, p. 20.
  2. ^ Yarshater 1985–2007, v. 23: pp. 33, 71, 76, 114, 131-33; McMillan 2011, pp. 79, 92–93, 95, 102–03; EI2, s.v. "Makhzum"); Khalifah ibn Khayyat 1985, pp. 293, 311; Al-Ya'qubi 1883, p. 335.
  3. ^ Yarshater 1985–2007, v. 23: pp. 202-03, 206 ff., 214, 217; v. 24: pp. 3-4; McMillan 2011, pp. 105, 110–11; EI2, s.v. "Murra"); Khalifah ibn Khayyat 1985, pp. 311, 317; Al-Ya'qubi 1883, p. 353.

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