Abd Allah ibn Yazid

Lore & Background

Abd Allah ibn Yazid was the son of Caliph Yazid I and Umm Kulthum, daughter of the commander Abd Allah ibn Amir of the Banu Abd Shams. After the deaths of Yazid and his brother Caliph Mu'awiya II, Umayyad rule collapsed across the Caliphate. The Banu Kalb, old tribal allies of the Sufyanids, rallied loyalist tribes to appoint a replacement for Mu'awiya II. The governor Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri, who backed the anti-Umayyad Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, arrested Yazid's cousin Walid ibn Utba, but Abd Allah, his brother Khalid, and their Kalbite backers freed him. The chief of the Kalb, Ibn Bahdal, nominated Khalid and Abd Allah as candidates for the caliphate, but other loyalist tribesmen opposed them due to their young ages, and Marwan ibn al-Hakam was appointed instead.

Abd Allah was known as the 'finest archer of the Arabs of his time' according to the historian al-Tabari. He was called 'al-Uswar,' from the Persian word for 'horseman.' A poet said of him: 'The people claim that the best of all Quraysh when they are mentioned is al-Uswar.' He later served as the right-wing commander of Caliph Abd al-Malik's army when it wrested control of Iraq from the Zubayrids at the Battle of Maskin, while his brother Khalid commanded the left wing.

Reader's Guide

Abd Allah ibn Yazid's significance lies in his reputation as the preeminent archer among the Arabs of his time, a distinction recorded by the historian al-Tabari. His epithet 'al-Uswar,' derived from the Persian word for horseman, reflects his dual mastery of archery and cavalry warfare. As an Umayyad prince of the Sufyanid line, he played a role in the turbulent period following the deaths of his father Yazid I and brother Mu'awiya II, when the Umayyad caliphate nearly collapsed. Though passed over for the caliphate due to his youth, he remained a loyal commander, leading the right wing of Abd al-Malik's army at the Battle of Maskin, which secured Iraq for the Umayyads. His legacy is preserved through his martial skill and his place in the genealogical and political history of the early Umayyad dynasty, as well as through his descendants: his daughter Abda married Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, and his son Ziyad (Abu Muhammad al-Sufyani) later proclaimed himself caliph and led a rebellion against the Abbasids.

Did You Know?

• Abd Allah was known as 'al-Uswar,' from the Persian word for 'horseman.'
• He commanded the right wing of the Umayyad army at the Battle of Maskin in 691.

The Succession Crisis of 684

After the deaths of Caliph Yazid I in 683 and his heir Mu'awiya II in 684, the Umayyad Caliphate fractured. Most provinces and the Syrian military districts turned to Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr of Mecca as their caliph. In Damascus, the Banu Kalb—long-standing tribal allies of the Sufyanid line under whom they enjoyed privileged court positions—mobilized Umayyad loyalist tribes to select a replacement. The chief of the Kalb, Ibn Bahdal, a cousin of Yazid himself, put forward Abd Allah and his brother Khalid as candidates for the caliphal throne. However, the other loyalist tribesmen rejected the nomination, citing the young ages of both princes. In the turbulent political climate, the governor Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri, who supported Ibn al-Zubayr, had arrested Yazid's cousin Walid ibn Utba; it was Abd Allah, Khalid, and their Kalbite supporters who secured his release. Ultimately, the tribes settled on Marwan ibn al-Hakam, a distant Umayyad relative, who went on to defeat Dahhak at the Battle of Marj Rahit in 684.

The Finest Archer and the Battle of Maskin

The ninth-century historian al-Tabari described Abd Allah as the finest archer among the Arabs of his era, a reputation that earned him the epithet al-Uswār, derived from the Persian word for horseman. An unnamed poet, quoted by al-Tabari, declared that when the people of Quraysh—the tribe of the Prophet Muhammad and the caliphal family—were discussed, al-Uswār was held up as the best among them. This martial renown found its most significant expression in 691, when Caliph Abd al-Malik dispatched his army to wrest control of Iraq from the Zubayrid forces during the Second Fitna. Abd Allah commanded the right wing at the decisive Battle of Maskin, while his brother Khalid took the left. Their combined leadership helped secure the Umayyad reconquest of the province. Earlier, Abd Allah had also commanded part of the army that took over Iraq from anti-Umayyad forces, cementing his role as a key military figure in the dynasty's restoration.

A Web of Umayyad Marriages

Abd Allah's marriage choices reflected the tightly interwoven nature of Umayyad dynastic politics. He wed his cousin Atika, daughter of Yazid's brother Abd Allah, and another Sufyanid kinswoman, Umm Kulthum, daughter of Anbasa ibn Abi Sufyan. He also married A'isha, daughter of Sa'id ibn Uthman (son of Caliph Uthman) and Ramla bint Abi Sufyan. After the death of her first husband, Khalid ibn Amr, a grandson of Uthman, he took her widow Umm Uthman, daughter of the distant Umayyad kinsman Sa'id ibn al-As, as his wife; with her he fathered sons Abu Utba and Abu Sufyan. He subsequently married Umm Uthman's niece, Umm Musa, daughter of Amr al-Ashdaq ibn Sa'id ibn al-As. Additionally, he wed A'isha bint Zabban of the Banu Kalb, the very tribe whose loyalty had been crucial to the Sufyanid cause. These unions bound the Sufyanid line to multiple branches of the broader Umayyad family and to the tribal power base in Syria.

The Sufyanid Line's Long Shadow

Abd Allah's family continued to shape Umayyad and post-Umayyad politics long after his own lifetime. His daughter Abda married Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, who ruled from 724 to 743, linking the Sufyanid branch directly to the Marwanid caliphal throne. His son Ziyad, known as Abu Muhammad al-Sufyani, served as a Damascus-based commander under Hisham's successor al-Walid II. When the Abbasid revolution swept through the caliphate, Ziyad proclaimed himself caliph and led a rebellion in Syria against the new dynasty, demonstrating that the Sufyanid claim to leadership retained enough resonance to inspire armed resistance. The political entanglements Abd Allah navigated in his own time—counselling his brother-in-law Amr al-Ashdaq against meeting Caliph Abd al-Malik after the latter's 689 coup, only to see the advice ignored and the man executed—illustrate how deeply personal relationships and dynastic loyalty were entangled with the survival of the Umayyad house.

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