Marwan I (623-7 May 685) was the Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate from 684 to 685, succeeding Muawiyah II and preceding Abu-al-Malik.
Biography[]
Marwan was born in 623, the son of Hakam ibn Wa'il. He was the cousin of Uthman ibn Affan, and he was a Sunni Muslim Bedouin. Marwan fought at the Battle of the Camel in 656 during the First Fitna against Ali ibn Ali Talib's Rashidun Caliphate forces. He killed his own general Talhah ibn Obaidullah for betraying Uthman. In 684 he became the Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus after the death of Muawiyah II, and his short reign was marked by the Second Fitna, during which he defeated the rebels at the Second Battle of Marj Rahit. He died in 685, and was succeeded by Abu-al-Malik.