Maslama ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (; died ), also known by his kunya Abu Shakir, was an Umayyad prince and commander. His capture of the southern caverns of Cappadocia and the fortress of Ancyra in 739 marked the last Umayyad military gains in the wars with Byzantium. Despite the abortive attempts by his father Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik to install Maslama as his chosen successor in place of al-Walid ibn Yazid, Maslama became a close companion of al-Walid and defended him from his father's machinations. As a result, he was spared the fate of his brothers who were imprisoned upon al-Walid's accession in 743. Nothing is heard of Maslama afterward and he may have been killed in a massacre of the Umayyad family by the Abbasids following their takeover of the Caliphate in 750. Early life and plans for caliphal succession Maslama was the son of the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik and the latter's wife Umm Hakim, the daughter of Yahya ibn al-Hakam, a brother of Hisham's paternal grandfather Caliph Marwan I. Umm Hakim, like her mother Zaynab bint Abd al-Rahman, was well known for her beauty, and her fondness for wine was the subject of contemporary poetic verses preserved in the Kitab al-aghani (Book of Songs) of Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani (d. 967). Maslama was married to Umm Salama bint Ya'qub ibn Salama, a member of the aristocratic Banu Makhzum clan and a fourth-generation descendant of al-Walid ibn al-Walid (brother of Khalid ibn al-Walid). She later married the first Abbasid caliph as-Saffah. Following his accession, Hisham attempted to secure Maslama as his successor in place of the appointed successor, his predecessor's son al-Walid ibn Yazid II (known as al-Walid II). Hisham's initial attempts following the Hajj of 735 to persuade al-Walid to step down in favor of Maslama or give Maslama the oath of allegiance as al-Walid's successor were rejected by al-Walid. Afterward, Hisham sought to undermine al-Walid and secretly gathered support for Maslama. The latter's nomination was supported by his paternal uncle, the famous general Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik, Hisham's maternal grandfather, the former governor of Medina Hisham ibn Isma'il al-Makhzumi, and his sons Ibrahim and Muhammad, and the sons of the influential Banu Abs chief of northern Syria, al-Qa'qa' ibn Khulayd. Maslama's mother Umm Hakim also lobbied for her son's succession.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Overview

Maslama ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (; died ), also known by his kunya Abu Shakir, was an Umayyad prince and commander. His capture of the southern caverns of Cappadocia and the fortress of Ancyra in 739 marked the last Umayyad military gains in the wars with Byzantium. Despite the abortive attempts by his father Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik to install Maslama as his chosen successor in place of al-Walid ibn Yazid, Maslama became a close companion of al-Walid and defended him from his father's machinations. As a result, he was spared the fate of his brothers who were imprisoned upon al-Walid's accession in 743. Nothing is heard of Maslama afterward and he may have been killed in a massacre of the Umayyad family by the Abbasids following their takeover of the Caliphate in 750. Early life and plans for caliphal succession Maslama was the son of the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik and the latter's wife Umm Hakim, the daughter of Yahya ibn al-Hakam, a brother of Hisham's paternal grandfather Caliph Marwan I. Umm Hakim, like her mother Zaynab bint Abd al-Rahman, was well known for her beauty, and her fondness for wine was the subject of contemporary poetic verses preserved in the Kitab al-aghani (Book of Songs) of Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani (d. 967). Maslama was married to Umm Salama bint Ya'qub ibn Salama, a member of the aristocratic Banu Makhzum clan and a fourth-generation descendant of al-Walid ibn al-Walid (brother of Khalid ibn al-Walid). She later married the first Abbasid caliph as-Saffah. Following his accession, Hisham attempted to secure Maslama as his successor in place of the appointed successor, his predecessor's son al-Walid ibn Yazid II (known as al-Walid II). Hisham's initial attempts following the Hajj of 735 to persuade al-Walid to step down in favor of Maslama or give Maslama the oath of allegiance as al-Walid's successor were rejected by al-Walid. Afterward, Hisham sought to undermine al-Walid and secretly gathered support for Maslama. The latter's nomination was supported by his paternal uncle, the famous general Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik, Hisham's maternal grandfather, the former governor of Medina Hisham ibn Isma'il al-Makhzumi, and his sons Ibrahim and Muhammad, and the sons of the influential Banu Abs chief of northern Syria, al-Qa'qa' ibn Khulayd. Maslama's mother Umm Hakim also lobbied for her son's succession.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Maslama ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (; died ), also known by his kunya Abu Shakir, was an Umayyad prince and commander.