Mu'awiya ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (Arabic: معاوية بن هشام بن عبد الملك, romanized: Muʿāwiya ibn Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; (fl. 725–737) was an Arab general and prince, the son of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 724–743), who distinguished himself in the Arab–Byzantine Wars. His son, Abd al-Rahman, was the founder of the Emirate of Córdoba and the Umayyad line of al-Andalus.
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Origins
Biographical details about Mu'awiya are sparse. His father was Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. His mother was either Umm Hakim (a daughter of Yahya ibn al-Hakam, an Umayyad statesman and brother of Hisham's paternal grandfather, Caliph Marwan I) or an umm walad (slave concubine).
Military career
Mu'awiya is known chiefly for his role in the Arab–Byzantine Wars, where he led many invasions against Byzantine Asia Minor. The first campaign he led was in summer 725, which was carried out in conjunction with a naval attack by Maymun ibn Mihran against Cyprus. According to Arab accounts, Mua'wiya's army reached as far as Dorylaion, capturing many prisoners and sacking several forts. Mu'awiya is also recorded to have launched an expedition in 726, possibly in winter, but nothing specific is known of it. In 727, he led another expedition, alongside Abdallah al-Battal. Battal captured and razed Gangra first, and then their combined forces took the fortress of Ateous, and advanced on Nicaea. Despite a 40-day siege, however, they failed to capture it. In 728 he led the southern expedition into Asia Minor, while his brother Sa'id ibn Hisham led the northern; neither appears to have been particularly successful.