Editing Umayyad Caliphate (section)

====Marwanid transition and end of Second Fitna====
[[File:Second Fitna Territorial Control Map ca 686.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|alt=Map of the Middle East with shaded areas indicating the territorial control of the main political actors of the Second Muslim Civil War|Map of the caliphate during the [[Second Fitna]] in {{circa|686}}. The area shaded in red represents the approximate territory of the Umayyads, while the areas shaded in blue, green and yellow respectively represent the territories of the [[Mecca]]-based caliph [[Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr]], the pro-Alid ruler of [[Kufa]] [[Mukhtar al-Thaqafi]], and the [[Kharijites]] ]]

Umayyad authority nearly collapsed in their Syrian stronghold after the death of Mu'awiya II.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=90–91}} Al-Dahhak in Damascus, the [[Qays]] tribes in [[Jund Qinnasrin|Qinnasrin]] (northern Syria) and the Jazira, the [[Judham]] in Palestine, and the Ansar and South Arabians of Homs all opted to recognize Ibn al-Zubayr.{{sfn|Crone|1994|p=45}} Marwan ibn al-Hakam, the leader of the Umayyads expelled to Syria from Medina, was prepared to submit to Ibn al-Zubayr as well but was persuaded to forward his candidacy for the caliphate by Ibn Ziyad. The latter had been driven out of Iraq and strove to uphold Umayyad rule.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=90–91}} During a summit of pro-Umayyad Syrian tribes, namely the Quda'a and their Kindite allies, organized by Ibn Bahdal in the old Ghassanid capital of [[Jabiya]], Marwan was elected caliph in exchange for economic privileges to the loyalist tribes.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=91}}{{sfn|Crone|1994|p=46}} At the subsequent [[Battle of Marj Rahit (684)|Battle of Marj Rahit]] in August 684, Marwan led his tribal allies to a decisive victory against a much larger Qaysite army led by al-Dahhak, who was slain.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=91}} Not long after, the South Arabians of Homs and the Judham joined the Quda'a to form the tribal confederation of [[Yaman (tribal group)|Yaman]].{{sfn|Crone|1994|p=46}} Marj Rahit led to the long-running [[Qays–Yaman rivalry|conflict between the Qays and Yaman]] coalitions. The Qays regrouped in the [[Euphrates river]] fortress of [[Circesium]] under [[Zufar ibn al-Harith al-Kilabi]] and moved to avenge their losses.{{sfn|Wellhausen|1927|pp=201–202}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2001|p=33}} Although Marwan regained full control of Syria in the months following the battle, the inter-tribal strife undermined the foundation of Umayyad power: the Syrian army.{{sfn|Wellhausen|1927|p=182}}

In 685, Marwan and Ibn Bahdal expelled the [[Abd al-Rahman ibn Utba al-Fihri|Zubayrid governor of Egypt]] and replaced him with Marwan's son [[Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan|Abd al-Aziz]], who would rule the province until his death in 704/05.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=92–93}} Another son, [[Muhammad ibn Marwan|Muhammad]], was appointed to suppress Zufar's rebellion in the Jazira.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=92}} Marwan died in April 685 and was succeeded by his eldest son [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|Abd al-Malik]].{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=93}} Although Ibn Ziyad attempted to restore the Syrian army of the Sufyanid caliphs, persistent divisions along Qays–Yaman lines contributed to the army's massive rout and Ibn Ziyad's death at the hands of the pro-Alid forces of [[Mukhtar al-Thaqafi]] of Kufa at the [[Battle of Khazir]] in August 686.{{sfn|Kennedy|2001|pp=32–33}} The setback delayed Abd al-Malik's attempts to reestablish Umayyad authority in Iraq,{{sfn|Kennedy|2001|p=33}} while pressures from the Byzantine Empire and raids into Syria by the Byzantines' [[Mardaite]] allies compelled him to sign a peace treaty with Byzantium in 689 which substantially increased the Umayyads' annual tribute to the Empire.{{sfn|Dixon|1969|pp=220–222}} During his siege of Circesium in 691, Abd al-Malik reconciled with Zufar and the Qays by offering them privileged positions in the Umayyad court and army, signaling a new policy by the caliph and his successors to balance the interests of the Qays and Yaman in the Umayyad state.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=97–98}}{{sfn|Dixon|1969|pp=174–176, 206–208}} With his unified army, Abd al-Malik marched against the Zubayrids of Iraq, having already secretly secured the defection of the province's leading tribal chiefs, and defeated Iraq's ruler, Ibn al-Zubayr's brother [[Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr|Mus'ab]], at the [[Battle of Maskin]] in 691.{{sfn|Kennedy|2001|p=33}}{{sfn|Dixon|1969|pp=235–239}} Afterward, the Umayyad commander [[al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf]] [[siege of Mecca (692)|besieged Mecca]] and killed Ibn al-Zubayr in 692, marking the end of the Second Fitna and the reunification of the caliphate under Abd al-Malik's rule.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=98}}