معاوية بن يزيد بن معاوية

Mu'awiya ibn Yazid ibn Mu'awiya, the third Umayyad caliph. He was made caliph by his father's testament in Rabi' al-Awwal 64 AH, and died at about twenty-one years of age. ²

Al-Suyuti says that he was a young man of piety, and that his caliphate lasted from forty days to three months, during which he was ill and did not go out to the people. He refused to appoint a successor, saying that he had not tasted its sweetness and so would not bear its bitterness. ²

Al-Mas'udi says that he ruled for forty days, and it is said two months, and that he was given the kunya Abu Layla. There is disagreement about his death: it is said that he was given a drink, it is said that he died of his natural death, and it is said that he was stabbed. ³

The museum's data give his birth as 43 AH and his death as 64 AH; both are traditional dates and need an additional source.