Marwan II
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From The Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, 1923
Courtesy of The General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin
Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan or Marwan II (688-750) (Arabic: مروان بن محمد بن مروان بن الحكم) was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 744 until 750 when he was killed. He was the last Umayyad ruler to rule from Damascus.
Marwan took the caliphate after his cousin Ibrahim abdicated and went into hiding. Before becoming caliph, Marwan had served as governor of Azerbaijan. In this capacity he fought a costly war against the Khazar Khaganate winning a Pyrrhic victory, unable to secure his conquests.
Upon taking the caliphate, Marwan inherited an empire that was falling apart. Anti-Umayyad feeling had become very prevalent, especially in Iran and Iraq, and the Abbasids had gained a lot of followers. As such, Marwan's reign as caliph was almost entirely devoted to trying to keep the Umayyad empire together.
Marwan would not be able to do so. Despite some early victories, he eventually suffered a decisive defeat by Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah on the banks of the Zab River. At this battle alone, over 300 members of the Umayyad family died. Afterwards Marwan frantically searched for refuge; hoping to find it in the west, he traveled to Egypt, but was caught while crossing the Nile and killed. His death signalled the end of Umayyad fortunes in the East, and was followed by the mass-killing of Umayyads by the Abbasids. Almost the entire Umayyad dynasty was killed, except for the talented prince Abd ar-Rahman who would escape to Spain and reestablish the Umayyads there.
| Preceded by: Ibrahim | Caliph 744–750 | Succeeded by: As-Saffah |
| Umayyad leader 744–750 | Succeeded by: Abd ar-Rahman I |
de:Marwan II. fr:Marwan II id:Marwan bin Muhammad ka:მურვან II იბნ მუჰამედი ms:Marwan bin Muhammad
