the caliph Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, the Marwānid of al-Andalus.
He succeeded his brother al-Mundhir in 275 AH; his dominion spread far and wide. He was counted among the just rulers: steadfast in jihad, constant at the five daily prayers in the great mosque. He left behind celebrated exploits, among them the battle of Balī (1). Ibn Ḥafṣūn had besieged the fortress of Balī with thirty thousand men; ʿAbd Allāh marched against him with fourteen thousand. When the two forces met, Ibn Ḥafṣūn was routed, slaughter swept through his ranks, and few escaped alive. They were adherents of the Khārijite doctrine.
ʿAbd Allāh was also a man of learning and refined culture. Ibn Ḥazm reports that the emir sought a legal ruling from Baqī ibn Makhlad regarding a zindīq (heretic); Baqī ruled that he should not be executed until he is called to repent, citing a hadith in support.
He died at the beginning of Rabīʿ al-Ākhir in 300 AH. After him his grandson al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh assumed power, reigned for fifty years, and adopted the title “Commander of the Believers.” I have discussed him and his forefathers together under the entries for the second century, in the era of Hushaym (2).