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{{short description|Caliph of Córdoba (r. 976–1009; 1010–1013)}}
{{Expand Spanish|topic=bio|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   = Sulaymān ibn al-Hakam
| birth_date   = 966
| birth_place  = [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]]
| death_date   = 1013
| 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.{{sfnp|Brill, E.J.|1993}}

==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|Córdoba]]) 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 Córdoba]]. Hisham II was a minor at the time of his accession and therefore 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 [[Almanzor|Abu ʿĀmir Muḥammad]] (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 Córdoba. 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.{{sfnp|Clarke|2016|pp=67-83}}

Almanzor 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 Córdoba]]. 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]] became the ruler of the Caliphate and led successful campaigns against [[Navarre]] and [[Barcelona]]. In 1008 [[Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo]] is said to have poisoned his brother ([[Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar]]) which led to his death in October 1008.{{sfnp|Adang|Fierro|Schmidtke|2012}} In February 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|Córdoba]]. 

On 9 November 1009, just months after taking control of the Caliphate, Muhammad II was overthrown by a Berber and Castilian army when [[Sulayman ibn al-Hakam]] led those forces into the capital city of Córdoba forcing Muhammad II to flee to Toledo. After capturing the city, Sulaymān freed Hisham II from imprisonment and reinstated him as caliph. After a few days, however, Sulaymān deposed Hisham II and was elected caliph by his Berber troops, assuming the title (laqab) of al-Musta'in bi-llah ("He Who Seeks for God's Help"). Hisham II was placed under close guard and removed entirely from the machinery of government.{{sfnp|Kennedy|2014|p=127}}{{sfnp|Flood|2018|p=64}}

Sulaymān remained caliph only until May 1010 when Muhammad II defeated Sulaymān's Berber army at the [[Battle of Aqbat al-Bakr]]. After the battle, Muhammad II advanced to Córdoba where he was once again installed as caliph while Sulaymān withdrew to the southern region of Al-Andalus. Hisham II was not restored to power by Muhammad II but remained a political pawn in the ongoing civil war.{{sfnp|Kennedy|2014|p=127}}

Approximately one month later, Muhammad II was removed from power in a coup by his Chamberlain, [[Wadih al-Siqlabi]]. Muhammad II attempted to flee Córdoba, reportedly disguised as a woman. He was ultimately arrested by Wāḍiḥ, put on trial, and executed on June 23, 1010. Hisham II was then restored to his position of caliph and he subsequently appointed Wāḍiḥ as his Chamberlain. So as it had been in the past, Hisham II was only the titular head of the Caliphate with the real power held by others.{{sfnp|Kennedy|2014|p=127}}{{sfnp|Scales|1994|pp=78}}

Approximately four months later in November 1010, Sulaymān and the Berbers began a siege of Córdoba that would last for two and a half years. During that time, Hisham II took a more active role interacting with the people of Córdoba encouraging them to defend the city and themselves. In May 1013, the Berbers accepted the surrender of a weak and desperate city. By that time Wāḍiḥ had been executed for treason. Sulaymān was once again appointed Caliph. Hisham II's fate is unclear. Some historians believe that he was killed by the Berbers. Other historians believed he escaped and went into exile.{{sfnp|Kennedy|2014|pp=127-129}}{{sfnp|Scales|1994|pp=78-79}}{{sfnp|Bury|1922}}

==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|2014|pp=130–131}}

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

==Citations==
{{Reflist|25em}}

==References==
{{refbegin|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book |last1=Adang |first1=Camilla |last2=Fierro |first2=Maribel |last3=Schmidtke |first3=Sabine |title=Ibn Ḥazm of Córdoba: The Life and Works of a Controversial Thinker |date=2012 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-24310-1 }}{{pn|date=April 2021}}
* {{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, E.J.|publisher=BRILL }}
* {{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}}
* {{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 }}
*{{Cite book |last=Flood |first=Timothy M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Euh3DwAAQBAJ&dq=Hisham+II+palace&pg=PA62 |title=Rulers and Realms in Medieval Iberia, 711-1492 |date=2018-11-09 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-3372-5 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Kennedy |first1=Hugh |title=Muslim Spain and Portugal, A Political History of al-Andalud |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon, Oxon |isbn=978-0-582-49515-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/muslim-spain-and-portugal-a-political-history-of-al-andalus-by-hugh-kennedy/page/127/mode/1up |access-date=14 October 2025}} 
*{{cite book |first=Peter C. |last=Scales |title=The Fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba: Berbers and Andalusis in Conflict |year=1994 |publisher=E. J. Brill}}
{{refend}}

==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)
<br>
{{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]]