Umm al-Banin bint Abd al-Aziz () was an

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 ...

princess, principal wife of the

caliph

al-Walid I Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (; – 23 February 715), commonly known as al-Walid I (), was the sixth Umayyad caliph, ruling from October 705 until his death in 715. He was the eldest son of his predecessor, Caliph Abd al-Malik (). As ...

and sister of eight Umayyad caliph

Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan (; 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 ...

Biography

Umm al-Banin was the daughter of

prince and powerful governor of Egypt

Abd al-Aziz Abd al-Aziz (, DIN 31635, DMG: ''ʽAbd al-ʽAzīz''), frequently also transliterated Abdul-Aziz, is a male Arabic Muslim given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the words ''Abd (Arabic), ʽAbd'', the Arabic definite article and ...

and his third wife, Layla bint Suhayl. Her grandfather,

Marwan Marwan, Merwan or Marwen or Mervan () is an Arabic male given name derived from the word ''maruww'' () with the meaning of either minerals, 'flint(-stone)', 'quartz"' or 'hard stone of nearly pure silica'. However, the Arabic name for quartz is ' ...

had named Abd al-Aziz his second heir after

Abd al-Malik Abdul Malik () is an Arabic (Muslim or Christian) male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and ''Malik''. The name means "servant of the King", in the Christian instance 'King' meaning 'King ...

. The latter, however, wanted his son

() to succeed him, and Abd al-Aziz was persuaded not to object to this change. In the event, Abd al-Aziz died on 12 May 705 CE (13 Jumada I AH 86), four months before Abd al-Malik. Abd al-Malik nominated his son as heir shortly after her father's death. Umm al-Banin married her cousin al-Walid, Historian Marsham notes al-Walid's marriage to his first cousin, Umm al-Banin, "tied the fortunes" of Abd al-Malik and her father, Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan. From her al-Walid had his sons Abd al-Aziz, Muhammad, Marwan, and Anbasa, and a daughter, A'isha. Her elder son

was regarded by his father as "the , the most forceful personality, amongst his sons", according to the historian

C. E. Bosworth Clifford Edmund Bosworth FBA (29 December 1928 – 28 February 2015) was an English historian and Orientalist, specialising in Arabic and Iranian studies. Life Bosworth was born on 29 December 1928 in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire (now ...

. During this time period, women were not yet completely confined to gender segregated

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

seclusion, and the wives of the Caliphs are still known to have been allowed to give audiences to men. Umm al-Banin successfully asked her husband to given an audience to Governor Al-Hajjaj, after having been informed of his opinion: "women are just for pleasure, and not to be trusted with a secret or to be consukted about affairs of the state" and his opposition to the Caliph taking political advise from women. She let him wait for a long while before finally admitting him, after which she told him: "the Caliph will not take your opinion about his women seriously. You are the most trivial person living, and this is why god has chosen you to destroy the ka'ba uring the trevolf of Ibn al-Zubayr">Ibn_al-Zubayr.html" ;"title="uring the trevolf of Ibn al-Zubayr">uring the trevolf of Ibn al-Zubayrand kill the grandson of Calip Abu Bakr", after which she asked her slave woman to dismiss him.Taef El-Azhari, E. (2019). Queens, Eunuchs and Concubines in Islamic History, 661-1257. Storbritannien: Edinburgh University Press. p. 57-75 Her husband died 715 and was succeeded by nominated heir Sulayman after her brother-in law Sulayman's death. Her brother became caliph because her brother-in-law nominated her brother as successor on his death bed. Umm al-Banin was known as she was a relative to eleven Umayyad caliphs out of fourteen.

Caliphs related to her

Umm al-Banin related to

ruling house both paternally and maternally. She was contemporary and related to several powerful Umayyad caliphs.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Banin Abd al-Aziz 690s deaths 720s deaths Year of birth unknown Women from the Umayyad Caliphate 8th-century people from the Umayyad Caliphate Arab princesses 8th-century Arab people