al-Abbas ibn al-Walid

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Al-Abbas ibn al-Walid ( Arabic العباس بن الوليد, DMG al-ʿAbbās b. al-Walīd ; † 750 in Harran ) was an Arab general. He came from the Umayyad dynasty and was a son of Caliph al-Walid I.

Life

Little is known about the early life of al-Abbas ibn al-Walid. One of the Arab sources who report on him is Tabarī . Abbas became famous mainly for his energetic participation in the frequent wars of the Umayyads against the Byzantine Empire . With regard to the details of these battles, Arab and Byzantine sources often diverge from one another. Abbas is mentioned for the first time in connection with military conflicts in AD 707, shortly after his father al-Walid I took office. At that time, he and his uncle Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik participated in the assault on Tyana , an important fortress the Byzantines in Cappadocia. The city initially withstood a long siege by the Arabs in the winter of 707/708 , but had to surrender in the spring of 708, when Byzantine troops sent for relief suffered a defeat. The residents were enslaved. According to Arabic chronicles, Abbas is said to have played a major role in the conquest of Tyanas: when the Arabs had already lost their courage, his decisive demeanor persuaded those who were already fleeing to turn around and resume the fight, which ultimately led to the victory of the besiegers. Byzantine sources like Theophanes also mention the capture of Tyanas, but date it two years later than the Arabic sources.

In the next few years Abbas carried out regular campaigns against Byzantine Asia Minor , sometimes operating together with his uncle Maslama and sometimes alone. Particularly noteworthy is his conquest of Sebaste in Cilicia in 712 and of Antioch in Pisidia in the following year, whereby, according to Theophanes, he made numerous prisoners. In 720 Abbas and after him also Maslama were sent to Iraq to suppress an uprising that the governor Yazīd ibn al-Muhallab had instigated in Basra after the death of Omar II . The revolt failed and Yazid fell fighting the caliph's forces. When Walid II came to power, Abbas initially wanted to remain loyal to him and dissuade his brother Yazid ibn al-Walid from overturning plans, but in the end he had to participate. Walid II was killed in April 744 and Abbas' brother as Yazid III. the subsequent caliph. Soon after, however, Marwan II was able to ascend the throne. The new ruler had Abbas thrown into a dungeon in Harran, where Abbas died in 750 of a disease that was rampant at the time.

literature

personal data
SURNAME al-Abbas ibn al-Walid
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Arab general
DATE OF BIRTH 7th century
DATE OF DEATH 750
Place of death Harran