Qurashi Marriage and the Roots of Revolt

Although the rebellion led by Ibn Muʿawiya in 744–7 ce is seen as an important first stage of the Abbasid uprising, the origins of its leader are poorly understood due to a lack of narrative sources. Because of this, modern scholars have often depicted Ibn Muʿawiya as an unremarkable individual who became leader because he was in the right place at the right time. Statistical analysis of the marriages of Ibn Muʿawiya’s ancestors reveals that the rebel was the end product of three generations of tactical relationship-building and not an accidental revolutionary.