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{{short description|Caliph of Córdoba (r. 976–1009; 1010–1013)}}
{{Expand language|topic=|langcode=es|otherarticle=Hisham II|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Hisham II<br />{{lang|ar|ھشام المؤيد بالله}}
| image        = Silver dirham LACMA M.2002.1.437 (2 of 2).jpg
| image_size   =  
| title        = al-Mu'ayyad bi'llah
| caption      = Silver [[Dirham]] of Hisham II, minted in [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]] in 393 AH (1002 AD)
| succession   = 3rd [[Caliphate of Córdoba|Caliph of Córdoba]]
| reign        = 16 October 976 – 15 February 1009
| reign-type   = 1st reign
| predecessor  = [[Al-Hakam II]]
| successor    = [[Muhammad II of Córdoba|Muhammad II]]
| reign1       = 23 July 1010 – 19 April 1013
| reign-type1  = 2nd reign
| predecessor1 = [[Sulayman ibn al-Hakam]]
| successor1   = Sulayman ibn al-Hakam
| birth_date   = 966
| birth_place  = [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]]
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1013|4|19|966|df=yes}}
| death_place  = Córdoba
| father       = [[Al-Hakam II]]
| mother       = [[Subh of Córdoba|Subh]]
| religion     = [[Islam]]
}}

'''Hisham II''' or '''Abu'l-Walid Hisham II al-Mu'ayyad bi-llah''' ({{lang|ar|ابو الولید ھشام المؤيد بالله}}, Abū'l-Walīd Hishām al-Muʾayyad bi-ʾllāh; 966 – 1044) (son of [[Al-Hakam II]] and [[Subh of Córdoba]]) was the third [[Umayyad dynasty|Umayyad Caliph]] of Spain, in [[Al-Andalus]] from 976 to 1009, and from 1010 to 1013.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ro--tXw_hxMC&q=Hisham+II&pg=PA1009|title=First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936, Volume 3|access-date=25 September 2016|isbn=978-9004097964|year=1993|last1=Brill|first1=E. J.|publisher=BRILL }}</ref>

==Reign== 
[[File:Hisham II of Córdoba Dinar 94227.jpg|300px|thumb|[[Gold dinar]] of Hisham II al-Mu'ayyad bi-llah, First reign, (976–1009) al-Andalus ([[Córdoba, Spain|Cordoba]]) mint. Dated (AH 396) 1006/7 AD]]
In 976, at the age of 10, Hisham II succeeded his father [[Al-Hakam II]] as [[Caliph of Cordoba]]. Hisham II was a minor at the time of his accession and therefore was unfit to rule. In order to benefit the Caliphate, his mother [[Subh (sultana)|Subh]] was aided by first minister Jafar al-Mushafi to act as regents with [[al-Mansur ibn Abi Aamir]] (better known as "Almanzor") as her steward. In 978 Almanzor manipulated his way into the position of royal chamberlain. In an attempt to position himself as a prospective ruler of the Caliphate, Almanzor and General [[Ghālib ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān|Ghalib al-Siklabi]] sabotaged the brother of [[Al-Hakam II]] who was set to succeed his brother and become the next Caliph of Cordoba. Still too young to rule, Hisham II handed the reins of power over to Almanzor in 981, who became the ''de facto'' leader of the Caliphate until his death in 1002.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Clarke |first1=Nicola |title=Heirs and Spares: Elite Fathers and Their Sons in the Literary Sources of Umayyad Iberia |journal=Al-Masāq |date=2 January 2016 |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=67–83 |doi=10.1080/09503110.2016.1152805 |s2cid=146870151 |url=https://eprint.ncl.ac.uk/fulltext.aspx?url=219590/3BC5371E-74D6-4344-B832-6B1780DB62C6.pdf&pub_id=219590 }}</ref> [[Al-Mansur ibn Abi Amir]] perpetuated his position as the omnipotent ruler in charge of the empire while he exiled Hisham II and essentially kept him prisoner for most of his reign as the third [[Caliph of Cordoba]]. With his countless successful campaigns against Christian powers in the Spanish North such as Barcelona in 985, León in 988, as well as a major strike on the church of St. James in the [[Galician-Asturian|Galician]] city of [[Santiago de Compostela]] in 998,{{fact|date=April 2021}} [[Almanzor]] is known for bringing the [[Caliphate of Córdoba]] to its apex of power in [[Islamic Iberia|Islamic Iberian history]].

In 1002, after the death of his father (Almanzor), [[Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar|Abd al-Malik]] (1002–1008) became the ruler of the Caliphate and led successful campaigns against [[Navarre]] and [[Barcelona]]. In 1008 [[Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo]] (1008–1009) is said to have poisoned his brother ([[Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar]]) which led to his death in October 1008.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Adang |first1=Camilla |last2=Fierro |first2=Maribel |last3=Schmidtke |first3=Sabine |title=Ibn Ḥazm of Cordoba: The Life and Works of a Controversial Thinker |date=2012 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-24310-1 }}{{pn|date=April 2021}}</ref> In 1009, while [[Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo]] was waging war against [[Alfonso V of León|Alfonso&nbsp;V]] in [[León, Spain|León]], [[Muhammad&nbsp;II al-Mahdi]] usurped the throne from Hisham II then held him hostage in [[Córdoba, Andalusia|Cordoba]]. In November of the same year, just months after initiating his control as the ruler of the Caliphate, [[Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar|Muhammad&nbsp;II al-Mahdi]] was overthrown by a primarily Berber army (that he had previously commanded, but by which he was later abandoned) which was led by [[Sulayman ibn al-Hakam]] in the battle of Alcolea. After the battle, Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo was exiled to [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] at which point Sulayman laid siege to Cordoba freeing Hisham&nbsp;II from the imprisonment that took place under the rule of [[Muhammad&nbsp;II al-Mahdi]]. [[Sulayman ibn al-Hakam]] was appointed to Caliph by his Berber army and maintained that position until [[Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar|Muhammad&nbsp;II al-Mahdi]] re-conquered the territory in May, 1010. Finally the Slavic troops of the Caliphate under al-Wahdid restored Hisham&nbsp;II as Caliph (1010–1013).

Hisham II was now under the influence of al-Wahdid, who was nevertheless unable to gain control of the Berber troops – these still supported Sulayman, and the civil war continued. In 1013 the Berbers took Cordoba with much plundering and destruction. What happened to Hisham after that is uncertain – supposedly he was killed on 19 April 1013 by the Berbers. In any case, Sulayman al-Mustaʿin (1013–1016) became Caliph.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=exuwlXT-ys0C&q=Hisham+II&pg=PT342|title=The Cambridge Medieval History vol 3 - Germany and the Western Empire|access-date=25 September 2016|last1=Bury|first1=John Bagnell|year=1922}}</ref>

==Revival under the taifa kings==
Due to his disappearance, and hence his possible survival, Hisham II was revived as a symbol of legitimacy by the [[taifa]] kings who appeared following the definitive collapse of the caliphate: in 1035, the ruler of the [[Taifa of Seville]], [[Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abbad]], announced that Hisham had reappeared, and declared his allegiance to him. Other taifas falling under Seville's sway during the following years followed suit. It was not until 1060 that the Sevillan ruler [[Abbad II al-Mu'tadid]] acknowledged that this supposed Hisham had died in 1044 without a successor, but the "convenient fiction" of his survival lasted until at least 1082–83, when his name still appears in the coins of the [[Taifa of Zaragoza]].{{sfn|Kennedy|1996|pp=130–131}}

==See also==
{{portal|Islam|Spain|Biography|History}}
*[[Jacob ibn Jau]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book | last = Kennedy | first = Hugh | author-link = Hugh N. Kennedy | title = Muslim Spain and Portugal. A political history of al-Andalus | year = 1996 | location = London | publisher = Longman | isbn = 978-0-582-49515-9 }}

==External links==
*[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/45966/rec/1 Al-Andalus: the art of Islamic Spain], an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Hisham II (see index)

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Caliphate of Córdoba|Umayyads of Córdoba]]|||||[[Umayyad dynasty|Umayyad Dynasty]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[al-Hakam II]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Caliph of Córdoba]]|years=976–1009}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Muhammad II of Córdoba|Muhammad II]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sulayman ibn al-Hakam]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Caliph of Córdoba]]|years=1010–1013}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sulayman ibn al-Hakam]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Umayyads}}
{{Umayyad governors of al-Andalus}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hisham 02 Of Cordoba}}
[[Category:966 births]]
[[Category:1013 deaths]]
[[Category:Spanish people of Basque descent]]
[[Category:10th-century caliphs of Córdoba]]
[[Category:11th-century caliphs of Córdoba]]
[[Category:Medieval child monarchs]]
[[Category:Umayyad caliphs of Córdoba]]