Raja ibn Haywa al-Kindi was a prominent Muslim theological and political adviser of the Umayyad caliphs Abd al-Malik, al-Walid I, Sulayman and Umar. He was a staunch defender of the religious conduct of the caliphs against their pious detractors. He played an important role in the construction of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem under Abd al-Malik. He became a mentor of Sulayman during the latter's governorship of Palestine and his secretary or chief scribe during his caliphate. Raja played an influential role in securing the succession of Umar over Sulayman's brothers or sons and continued as a secretary to the new caliph. He spent the last decade of his life in retirement, though he maintained contact with Caliph Hisham.
The ancient ruins of Beisan, Raja's hometown
Raja played a key role in the construction of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem
Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik
Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan was the seventh Umayyad caliph, ruling from 715 until his death. He was the son of Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (r. 685–705) and Wallada bint al-Abbas. He began his career as governor of Palestine, while his father Abd al-Malik and brother al-Walid I reigned as caliphs. There, the theologian Raja ibn Haywa al-Kindi mentored him, and he forged close ties with Yazid ibn al-Muhallab, a major opponent of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, al-Walid's powerful viceroy of Iraq and the eastern Caliphate. Sulayman resented al-Hajjaj's influence over his brother. As governor, Sulayman founded the city of Ramla and built the White Mosque in it. The new city superseded Lydda as the district capital of Palestine. Lydda was at least partly destroyed and its inhabitants may have been forcibly relocated to Ramla, which developed into an economic hub, became home to many Muslim scholars, and remained the commercial and administrative center of Palestine until the 11th century.
Gold dinar minted under Sulayman, possibly in Damascus, in 715 or 716
Ramla (pictured in 1895) was founded by Sulayman at the start of the 8th century and became the capital of his caliphate.
Remains of the White Mosque in Ramla (pictured in 2014) built by Sulayman and his cousin and successor Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz
A 14th-century illustration of the siege of Constantinople