Hisham ibn Isma'il al-Makhzumi


Hisham ibn Isma'il al-Makhzumi was an eighth century official for the Umayyad Caliphate, and the maternal grandfather of the caliph Hisham ibn 'Abd al-Malik. He served as the governor of Medina from 701 to 706.

Career

Hisham was a member of the Banu Makhzum, a clan of the Arab tribe of Quraysh, being a great-grandson of al-Walid ibn al-Mughira. He himself gained prominence when his daughter A'isha married the fifth Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, and in 691 he became a grandfather to the future caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, who was reportedly named after him at A'isha's insistence.
In 701 Hisham was appointed as governor of Medina by his son-in-law. During his time in that position he dismissed Nawfal ibn Musahiq al-Amiri from the head of the judiciary and appointed Amr ibn Khalid al-Zuraqi in his stead, and led the people of the city in rendering the oath of allegiance to Abd al-Malik's sons al-Walid and Sulayman. When the faqih Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab refused to give the oath, Hisham ordered him to be beaten and imprisoned, and subjected him to a mock execution by having him marched to a mountain pass where individuals would normally be killed and crucified. He also led the pilgrimages of 703 and 704, and possibly those of 702/3 and 705 as well.
Following the death of Abd al-Malik in 705, Hisham was initially confirmed as governor by his successor al-Walid I. The new caliph disliked Hisham, however, and in early 706 he dismissed him in favor of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz. Al-Walid also instructed Umar to display Hisham in front of the people of Medina, as a form of humiliation for his conduct during his governorship, but Hisham was spared from further harm after both Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab and the Alid Ali ibn al-Husayn ordered their followers to refrain from acts of retaliation against him.
Two of Hisham's sons, Ibrahim and Muhammad, later served as governors of Medina for Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, but fell out of favor during the reign of Hisham's successor al-Walid ibn Yazid and were tortured to death by Yusuf ibn Umar al-Thaqafi in 743. A third son, Khalid, participated in the failed rebellion of Sulayman ibn Hisham in 744 and was consequently executed by the caliph Marwan ibn Muhammad.