Hisham ibn Abu-al-Malik (691-6 February 743) was the Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate from 724 to 743, succeeding Yazid II and preceding al-Walid II.
Biography[]
Hisham was born in 691, the son of Caliph Abu-al-Malik. Hisham was a Sunni Muslim Bedouin, and he succeeded his brother Yazid II as Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate after his death in 724. Hisham faced several military setbacks, such as a defeat at the 730 Battle of Marj Ardabil at the hands of the Khazars and the 731 defeat at the Battle of the Defile against the Turgesh, but he was victorious over the Hindu rebellion in Singh, killing their leader Jai Singh. His half-brother Maslama ibn Abu-al-Malik besieged the city of Constantinople in the Byzantine Empire and fought the Khazars, while his son Mu'awiyah ibn Hisham also fought the Byzantines. Also, his general Abdul Rahman al-Ghafiqi invaded Francia, although he was slain at the Battle of Tours in 732 after a defeat by the Frankish prince Charles Martel. When Hisham died in 743, he was succeeded by al-Walid II.