Muawiya II

Muawiya II or Muawiya ibn Yazid (Arabic: معاوية بن يزيد‎, translit. Mu‘āwiyah ibn Yazīd; c. 664–684 CE) succeeded his father Yazid I as the third Umayyad caliph and last caliph of the Sufyanid line. He ruled briefly in 683/684 (64 AH) before he died.

Early life

Muawiya was the son of Yazid I and an unknown mother from the Kalb tribe. She is often confused with Umm Hashim Fakhita bint Abi Hashim, mother of Muawiya's half-brother Khalid ibn Yazid.

Caliph

Before Yazid I died, he had the bay'ah made to his son Muawiya. Muawiya succeeded his father in Damascus in 64 AH (November 683 CE), at an age of somewhere between 17 and 23. He was supported by the Kalb tribe, but his authority was likely only recognised in Damascus and southern Syria, with Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr claiming the caliphate from his base in the Hejaz.

Muawiya's reign would have lasted for about 20 days to 4 months, but likely no more than 2 months. Given the short span of time, few events were possible, and some of those transmitted may be unreliable political and sectarian fabrications. These include: