Editing Marwan I (section)

==Early life and family==

[[File:Abbreviated Umayyad Family Tree.png|thumb|right|upright=1.75|alt=A schematic diagram of the Umayyad ruling family with caliphs highlighted in blue, green and dark yellow|Family tree of the [[Umayyad dynasty|Umayyad clan and dynasty]]. Marwan and the line of caliphs descended from him are highlighted in blue, the Sufyanid caliphs in yellow and Caliph [[Uthman]] in green]]

Marwan was born in 2 or 4 [[Hijri year|AH]] (623 or 626 CE).{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|p=621}} His father was [[al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As]] of the [[Banu Umayya]] (Umayyads), the strongest clan of the [[Quraysh]], a polytheistic tribe which dominated the town of [[Mecca]] in the [[Hejaz]].{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|p=621}}{{sfn|Della Vida|Bosworth|2000|p=838}} The Quraysh converted to [[Islam]] en masse in {{circa|630}} following the [[conquest of Mecca]] by the Islamic prophet [[Muhammad]], himself a member of the Quraysh.{{sfn|Donner|1981|p=77}} Marwan knew Muhammad and is thus counted among the latter's {{Transliteration|ar|[[sahaba]]}} (companions).{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|p=621}} Marwan's mother was Amina bint Alqama of the [[Banu Kinana|Kinana]],{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|p=621}} the ancestral tribe of the Quraysh which dominated the area stretching southwest from Mecca to the [[Tihama]] coastline.{{sfn|Watt|1986|p=116}}

Marwan had at least sixteen children, among them at least twelve sons from five wives and an {{Transliteration|ar|[[umm walad]]}} (concubine).{{sfn|Donner|2014|p=110}} From his wife A'isha, a daughter of his paternal first cousin [[Muawiya ibn al-Mughira|Mu'awiya ibn al-Mughira]], he had his eldest son [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|Abd al-Malik]], Mu'awiya and daughter Umm Amr.{{sfn|Donner|2014|p=110}}{{sfn|Ahmed|2010|p=111}} Umm Amr later married Sa'id ibn Khalid ibn Amr, a great-grandson of Marwan's paternal first cousin [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who became [[caliph]] (leader of the Muslim community) in 644.{{sfn|Ahmed|2010|pp=119–120}} Marwan's wife Layla bint Zabban ibn al-Asbagh of the [[Banu Kalb]] tribe bore him [[Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan|Abd al-Aziz]] and daughter Umm Uthman,{{sfn|Donner|2014|p=110}} who was married to Caliph Uthman's son al-Walid; al-Walid was also married at one point to Marwan's daughter Umm Amr.{{sfn|Ahmed|2010|p=111}} Another of Marwan's wives, Qutayya bint Bishr of the [[Banu Kilab]], bore him [[Bishr ibn Marwan|Bishr]] and Abd al-Rahman, the latter of whom died young.{{sfn|Donner|2014|p=110}}{{sfn|Ahmed|2010|p=111}} One of Marwan's wives, Umm Aban al-Kubra, was a daughter of Caliph Uthman.{{sfn|Donner|2014|p=110}} She was mother to six of his sons, [[Aban ibn Marwan|Aban]], Uthman, [[Ubayd Allah ibn Marwan|Ubayd Allah]], Ayyub, Dawud and Abd Allah, though the last of them died a child.{{sfn|Donner|2014|p=110}}{{sfn|Ahmed|2010|p=114}} Marwan was married to Zaynab bint Umar, a granddaughter of [[Abu Salama]] from the [[Banu Makhzum]], who mothered his son [[Abd al-Malik ibn Umar ibn Marwan#Ancestry|Umar]].{{sfn|Donner|2014|p=110}}{{sfn|Ahmed|2010|p=90}} Marwan's ''{{Transliteration|ar|umm walad}}'' was also named Zaynab and gave birth to his son [[Muhammad ibn Marwan|Muhammad]].{{sfn|Donner|2014|p=110}} Marwan had ten brothers and was the paternal uncle of ten nephews.{{sfn|Bosworth|1991|p=622}}