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Al-ʿAbbās ibn al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik was an Umayyad prince and general, the son of Caliph
al-Walid I Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ( ar, الوليد بن عبد الملك بن مروان, al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān; ), commonly known as al-Walid I ( ar, الوليد الأول), was the sixth Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad ca ...
. A distinguished military leader in the Byzantine–Arab Wars of the early 8th century, especially in partnership with his uncle
Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik Maslama ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ( ar, مسلمة بن عبد الملك, in Greek sources , ''Masalmas''; – 24 December 738) was an Umayyad prince and one of the most prominent Arab generals of the early decades of the 8th century, leading severa ...
, he became involved in the civil wars of the mid-740s and was imprisoned. He died in prison of an epidemic in 750.


Biography

Abbas was the son of Caliph
al-Walid I Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ( ar, الوليد بن عبد الملك بن مروان, al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān; ), commonly known as al-Walid I ( ar, الوليد الأول), was the sixth Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad ca ...
(r. 705–715). Little is known about his early life, and Arab and Byzantine sources are often at odds concerning details of his career. He first appears in the 707 campaign against the important Byzantine fortress of Tyana in Cappadocia, where he led the Arab army alongside his uncle
Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik Maslama ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ( ar, مسلمة بن عبد الملك, in Greek sources , ''Masalmas''; – 24 December 738) was an Umayyad prince and one of the most prominent Arab generals of the early decades of the 8th century, leading severa ...
. The town withstood a long siege over the winter of 707–708, and surrendered only after a Byzantine relief army was defeated in spring. During the latter battle, Abbas is said by Arab chroniclers to have distinguished himself for the crucial role he played in stopping the wavering Arabs from fleeing and driving them on to victory. According to Khalifa ibn Khayyat, he was appointed by his father as governor of the district of Homs. Abbas participated regularly in the almost annual expeditions launched into Byzantine Asia Minor during these years. His most notable campaigns were the capture of Sebaste in
Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coas ...
in 712 and of Antioch in Pisidia in 713, the raid into Paphlagonia in 721 where he is reported to have captured 20,000 prisoners, and a raid, placed in 722/723 but possibly reflecting an earlier campaign, that captured a fortress called Siza. Meanwhile, in 720, along with his uncle Maslama, he led the suppression of the revolt of the governor of Iraq, Yazid ibn al-Muhallab. During the reign of the unpopular
al-Walid II Al-Walīd ibn Yazīd (709 – 17 April 744) ( ar, الوليد بن يزيد) usually known simply as Al-Walid II was an Umayyad Caliph who ruled from 743 until his assassination in the year 744. He succeeded his uncle, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. ...
(r. 743–744), Abbas was initially reluctant to oppose the caliph and counselled against provoking a civil war. In the end, however, he participated in the conspiracy and coup that deposed Walid and brought Abbas' brother Yazid III on the throne. Neither Yazid nor his successor Ibrahim I lasted long on the throne, which fell to the general
Marwan ibn Muhammad Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam ( ar, مروان بن محمد بن مروان بن الحكم, Marwān ibn Muḥammad ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam; – 6 August 750), commonly known as Marwan II, was the fourteenth and last caliph of ...
(r. 744–750) during the ensuing civil war of the Third Fitna. Marwan had Abbas thrown into prison in Harran, where he died of a disease in 750.


Founding of Anjar

While the establishment of the ''madina'' ("city") of Anjar (originally "Ayn al-Jarr") in the
Beqaa Valley The Beqaa Valley ( ar, links=no, وادي البقاع, ', Lebanese ), also transliterated as Bekaa, Biqâ, and Becaa and known in classical antiquity as Coele-Syria, is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon. It is Lebanon's most important ...
is normally attributed to al-Walid I, other sources, including the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes the Confessor and contemporary historian Jere L. Bacharach, credit Abbas for the city's founding in the fall of 714. Greek labourers from Asia Minor, who were likely captured by Abbas during his previous campaigns against the Byzantines, were utilized, in addition to Nestorian quarry workers and Coptic artisans. Bacharach states that construction halted during the winter and resumed in the spring of 715. A Friday mosque and an official residence (''dar al-'imara'') were built in Anjar. Its proximity to the ancient city of
Baalbek Baalbek (; ar, بَعْلَبَكّ, Baʿlabakk, Syriac-Aramaic: ܒܥܠܒܟ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In Greek and Roman ...
made Anjar suitable to become an alternative administrative centre for the strategic Beqaa area, but following the death of al-Walid I in late 715 and Abbas' consequent falling out of favour with the new caliphs, Abbas' patronage of the city ended and further construction came to a permanent halt thereafter.


References


Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbas Ibn Al-Walid 7th-century births 750 deaths 8th-century Arabs Arab generals Prisoners and detainees of the Umayyad Caliphate City founders People who died in prison custody Sons of Umayyad caliphs Generals of the Umayyad Caliphate Umayyad governors of Hims Umayyad people of the Arab–Byzantine wars