ABSTRACT
‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz was the Umayyad caliph who ruled from 717 until 720 CE. His popularity with his subjects and his pious persona make him a unique figure in the Umayyad dynasty. Before becoming caliph, he served as governor in Medina and in Mecca and Ta’if from 706 to 712. Here his leniency toward his subjects brought objections from harsher Umayyad officials, particularly al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, the governor of the East. He became a confidant to his predecessor as caliph, Sulayman ibn ‘Abd al-Malik, who overturned his father’s wishes by naming ‘Umar instead of his brother Yazid as his successor. The circumstances of ‘Umar’s appointment were quite unusual. Sulayman conveyed his deathbed wish to substitute ‘Umar for Yazid to his trusted advisor Raja’ b. Haywa, who then convinced the assembled Umayyad leaders to accept Sulayman’s choice without actually revealing whom he had designated. The peculiar rise of ‘Umar has brought speculation that Raja’ orchestrated a coup d’état, or that the Umayyad family was uncomfortable empowering the more wanton Yazid.
