With the death of "Yazid".. a young man of twenty sits in his place on the seat of the caliphate, whose name is "Muawiya" as well.. "Muawiya ibn Yazid ibn Muawiya".
This "Muawiya II" tried to reach out to "Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr".. in order to stop the bloodshed.. and there were preachers who were cursing Imam "Ali", may God be pleased with him, from the pulpits of Damascus, and he stopped them.. and he honoured the family of the Prophet.. and treated them with the finest hospitality.
And after about a month.. he ascends the pulpit in the Levant...
And he steps down from the caliphate!
"Muawiya II" decided to step down from the caliphate, and to forfeit for the Umayyads the privilege they had fought for long years.. and to return the matter to consultation among the Muslims.
But the matter is not that simple.. the notables of the Umayyads ascend the pulpit.. and bring the young caliph down.. and shout to the people that "never mind, the caliph is a little unwell, folks.. come on now, out of here".. and they try to get him alone and persuade him to change his mind, to no avail.
And the first candidate after him was "al-Walid ibn Utba".. and the notables of the Umayyads meet with them and try to persuade the caliph otherwise, to no avail.. he does not want to rule over corpses, severed limbs and blood.. they urge him and court him in vain.
And suddenly the young man is struck by a strange illness.. and he begins to vomit and turn pale.. exactly as happened to "al-Hasan ibn Ali", may God be pleased with them.. and.. and he dies.
And while "al-Walid ibn Utba" is praying the funeral prayer over him.. as the one who was about to receive the allegiance as the caliph after him.. he suddenly drops dead.. and "Marwan ibn al-Hakam" arrives, the man whom "Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr" had expelled from Medina.. and he announces that "al-Walid" was suddenly struck by the plague while he was praying.. and that this caused his death. Of course, medically this is mere nonsense.. no one is suddenly struck by the plague and dies that instant.. but that is what was said.. and in the sixth century everything is believable.
And the allegiance had in fact begun to go, from every region, to "Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr".. even from the Levant, the stronghold of the Umayyads, which began to split in a terrifying division.. some people leaned towards the allegiance of "Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr", and these are called the "Qaysites", led by "al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri", and another group preferred to remain loyal to the Umayyads, and these are the "Yemenites".. led by "Hassan ibn Malik al-Kalbi".
And the Umayyads decide to swear allegiance to "Marwan ibn al-Hakam".. and when that happens.. "al-Dahhak" hesitates and declares loyalty to the Umayyads.. but his men begin to split, because a group preferred to remain loyal "to Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr".. so he decides to hold fast to the allegiance of "ibn al-Zubayr" and he takes his men and heads to "Marj Rahit", and there the people of Damascus swear allegiance to him.. meaning they become followers of "al-Zubayr".
And here "Marwan ibn al-Hakam" moves with an army to "Marj Rahit".. and a battle bearing the same name is fought between them, called "the Battle of Marj Rahit".. in which "ibn al-Hakam" prevails.. after twenty days of terrible, ferocious fighting.. in which the Companion "al-Numan ibn Bashir" was killed.. the governor of Homs.. who had also sworn allegiance to "al-Zubayr"..
The matter is settled for "Marwan" in the Levant.. so in the same year, 65 AH, he decides to begin his struggle with "ibn al-Zubayr" in the Hejaz.
He sends a huge army led by "Hubaysh ibn Dulja al-Qayni".. and it reaches Medina.. and because it was better equipped and far stronger.. "ibn al-Zubayr's" forces withdraw before it.. and "al-Zubayr" discovers that "Marwan's" forces are far stronger than his army.. so he sends to the governor of Basra, "al-Harith ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Rabia", asking for his support.
The governor of Basra responds.. and sends an army.. led by "al-Hanaf ibn al-Sajf al-Tamimi", which joins with "ibn al-Zubayr's" men and they confront the forces of "Marwan ibn al-Hakam".. and defeat them utterly at "al-Rabadha", east of Medina.
"Marwan" decides first to fortify his rule and himself and to pull his affairs together.. and then to return to fighting "Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr".. and he was anxious about "Khalid ibn Yazid".. according to the rules of the Umayyads.. for Khalid is the heir of Yazid and his son.. and he could snatch power from "Marwan" at any moment.. so they advise "Marwan", in order to ward off the evil and the danger of "Khalid".. that there is no solution but for him to marry his mother.. Khalid's mother.. and the widow of Yazid.
In this way "Khalid's" standing shrinks in people's eyes and they belittle him.. and people at that time thought this way.. and this idiotic way of thinking still exists in our societies in varying degrees.. this is a grown man and his mother has married.. so he is a laughing stock for some incomprehensible reason. And this is what "Marwan" decides to do with "Khalid".. so he proposes to his mother.. and she agrees and marries him.
Now "Marwan ibn Abd al-Malik" is in the position of "Khalid's" father, so he begins to insult him and belittle him in every gathering.. and mock him.. so that he would not covet power and turn against him.. until a black day.. on which "Marwan" summons Khalid to a gathering attended by many people.. from the great and the small of the land... and when he arrives.. he calls him obscene names.. and speaks of how he had lain with his mother the night before.. and came to her from behind.. in an extremely insulting turn of phrase.
At that moment "Khalid" realises "Marwan's" game.. and that he can never rule.. while he is mocked before the very people he was supposed to rule.. so he leaves the gathering and goes to his mother.
And his mother hears of the matter.. and her slave girls confirm it to her.. so she hides it in her breast.. and she waits for "Marwan" at night, adorned and perfumed.. and she fondles him and dances for him and pours him wine until he is utterly drunk.. and then, as he lies gasping between consciousness and oblivion.. she places a pillow over his face and sits on top of it.. and he breathes his last, suffocated beneath her weight.. after only one year of his rule.
And she sends her slave girls to spread the word that "Marwan" died between his wife's thighs.. and in an extremely ingenious move.. she sends another band of slave girls.. to say that Marwan died during his prayers, in piety and devotion, while standing in night prayer.
And "Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan" rushes to his father's wife asking her how he died.. and she tells him the truth.. so he draws his sword and is about to kill her.. but his men say to him.. if he kills her.. people will be certain of the other account.. that "Marwan" died a humiliating death.. not in prayer or anything of the sort.. so he is forced to leave her, almost bursting with rage.
And so "Marwan ibn al-Hakam" is assassinated too.. like almost everyone who came before him under the umbrella of the so-called caliphate...!
And after "Marwan", his son "Abd al-Malik" takes over, and his war with "ibn al-Zubayr" begins.. and that is a war that would take long to speak of.
And there remains more to be said.
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The previous posts are in the first comment.
The picture is from the city of Basra.