This comprehensive monograph examines the reign of the Umayyad Caliph Hishām ibn ʿAbd al‑Malik (reigned 724–743 CE) and argues that the decline and ultimate collapse of the Umayyad state in 750 CE cannot be explained solely by internal dissensions, but resulted from a combination of compounding external pressures beyond the caliphate’s ability to manage. Blankinship explores how the d…