Abd al-Rahman ibn Khalid ibn al-Walid (; 616–666) was the governor of

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

under caliphs

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, played a major role ...

() and

Mu'awiya I Mu'awiya I (–April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

(). During Mu'awiya's governorship of Syria (639–661), Abd al-Rahman commanded a number of campaigns against the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

and defended the

Upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia constitutes the Upland and lowland, uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the regio ...

n frontier from the Iraq-based forces of Caliph

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

(). He fought reputably against the latter at the

Battle of Siffin The Battle of Siffin () was fought in 657 CE (37 Islamic calendar, AH) between the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib and the rebellious governor of Syria (region), Syria Muawiyah I, Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan. The battle is named after its ...

in 657 and continued his governorship of Homs and campaigns against the Byzantines after Mu'awiya became caliph in 661. His battlefield reputation and descent from his father, the prominent general

Khalid ibn al-Walid Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arabs, Arab military commander. He initially led campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career ...

, made him particularly popular among the Arabs of

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. Mu'awiya ultimately perceived him as a potential rival of his own son

Yazid Yazīd (, "increasing", "adding more") is an Arabic name and may refer to: Given name * Yazid I (647–683), second Umayyad Caliph upon succeeding his father Muawiyah * Yazid II (687–724), Umayyad caliph * Yazid III (701–744), Umayyad caliph ...

, who he was grooming as his successor, which led the caliph to allegedly order Abd al-Rahman's poisoning in 666.

Life

Abd al-Rahman was born in , the son of the prominent Muslim general and member of the

Quraysh The Quraysh () are an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By ...

i clan of

Banu Makhzum The Banu Makhzum () was one of the wealthy clans of the Quraysh (tribe), Quraysh. They are regarded as being among the three most powerful and influential clans in Mecca before the advent of Islam, the other two being the Banu Hashim (the tribe of ...

. Abd al-Rahman's mother was Khalid's wife Asma, the daughter of Anas ibn Mudrik, a prominent chieftain and poet of the

Khath'am Khath'am () was an ancient and medieval Arab tribe which traditionally dwelt in southwestern Arabia. They took part either in cooperation or opposition to the 6th-century expedition of the Aksumite ruler Abraha against Mecca. After initial hostil ...

tribe who was active during the pre-Islamic period and died several years after the advent of Islam in the 620s. Abd al-Rahman likely entered military service during the caliphate of

(). During Uthman's reign, he was appointed the governor of

Jund Hims ''Jund Ḥimṣ'' (, " military district of Homs") was one of the military districts of the caliphal province of Syria. Geography The capital of Jund Hims was Homs, from which the district received its name. Its principal urban centres in the 1 ...

(military district of

) by

Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan Mu'awiya I (–April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

, the overall governor of the province of

. Abd al-Rahman was dispatched by Mu'awiya to command a number of military campaigns against the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

s in

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and was referred to in the Greek sources "Abderachman". He fended off a raid against Mu'awiya's territory in the

Jazira Jazira, al-Jazira, Jazeera, al-Jazeera, etc. are all transcriptions of Arabic language, Arabic meaning "the island" or "the peninsula". The term may refer to: Business *Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait Locations * Al-Jazir ...

(Upper Mesopotamia) by the Iraqi forces of Caliph

() in 657. Later that year, Abd al-Rahman served as a commander in the Syrian army of Mu'awiya against Ali at the

, where he fought with distinction and held the banner of the Syrians. His brother

Muhajir Muhajir or Mohajir (, '; pl. , ') is an Arabic word meaning ''migrant'' (see immigration and emigration) which is also used in other languages spoken by Muslims, including English. In English, this term and its derivatives may refer in a general s ...

fought for Ali's side in the same battle and was killed. During the subsequent arbitration talks in

Adhruh Udhruh (; transliteration: ''Udhruḥ'', Ancient Greek ''Adrou'', Άδρου), also spelled Adhruh, is a town in southern Jordan, administratively part of the Ma'an Governorate. It is located east of Petra.MacDonald 2015, p. 59. It is the center ...

Dumat al-Jandal Dumat al-Jandal (, ), also known as Al-Jawf or Al-Jouf (), which refers to Wadi Sirhan, is an ancient city of ruins and the historical capital of the Al Jawf Province, today in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is located 37 km from Sakakah. ...

in 658 or 659 between the representatives of Ali and Mu'awiya, Abd al-Rahman was among those in the latter's faction to witness the arbitration document. Abd al-Rahman continued as governor of Jund Hims during the caliphate of Mu'awiya beginning in 661. In 664/665 and 665/666, he led the winter campaigns against the Byzantines along the Anatolian front. According to the Muslim traditional sources, Abd al-Rahman posed a threat to Mu'awiya's ambitions to appoint his own

as his successor and the caliph resolved to eliminate him. At the time, he was the last surviving son of Khalid ibn al-Walid and his descent from the reputable general, as well as his own valor and effectiveness fighting the Byzantines, had endeared him to the Syrian Arabs. To that end, Mu'awiya allegedly had his Christian physician,

Ibn Uthal Ibn Uthal or Ibn Athal () was an Arab Christian from Damascus who was the personal physician of the caliph Mu'awiya I and was regarded as the most distinguished of the medical practitioners of the early Umayyad period. His medical knowledge can be ...

, poison Abd al-Rahman upon the latter's return to Homs from the Byzantine front in 666. The physician was later killed by a kinsman of Abd al-Rahman called Khalid, who was either his son or the son of his brother Muhajir. This Khalid was consequently imprisoned and fined Ibn Uthal's

blood money Blood money may refer to: * Blood money (restitution), money paid to the family of a murder victim * A stream of revenue used by boarding masters for placing many seaman on ships * Money obtained from crime, especially at the cost of another's lif ...

by Mu'awiya to protect him from potential retaliation. Relations between the influential Banu Makhzum, who were mostly concentrated in the

Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...

(western Arabia), and Mu'awiya deteriorated as a result of Abd al-Rahman's alleged poisoning. The Orientalist historian

Henri Lammens Henri Lammens (1 July 1862 – 23 April 1937) was a Belgian Orientalist historian and Jesuit, who wrote (in French) on the early history of Islam. Education and career as a Jesuit Born in Ghent, Belgium of Catholic Flemish stock, Henri Lammens ...

doubts the reliability of the narrative, which he relates to the anti-Christian violence in Homs around that time. Abd al-Rahman's son Khalid was a commander of a naval campaign against the Byzantines in 668 or 669. The line of Khalid ibn al-Walid died out with the deaths of Abd al-Rahman's roughly forty male descendants as a result of a plague in Syria toward the end of the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

period (661–750). Abd al-Rahman is buried alongside his father and one of his father's wives, Fadda, in Homs. In 1908, the Ottoman rulers of Syria built the

Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque The Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque () is a mosque in Homs, Syria, located in a park along ''Hama Street'' in ash-Shuhada Square. The mosque is dedicated to Khalid ibn al-Walid, an Arab military commander who led the Muslim conquest of Syria in the 7t ...

around the site claimed since at least the 12th century to contain their graves.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abd al-Rahman ibn Khalid 616 births 666 deaths 7th-century Arab people 7th-century people from the Umayyad Caliphate Banu Makhzum Deaths by poisoning Umayyad people of the Arab–Byzantine wars People of the First Fitna Tabi‘un Umayyad governors of Hims Umayyad governors of Ta'if