April 17 - October 3, 744
April 17 - October 3, 744
After Walid (II) ibn Yazid was killed, Yazid ibn al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik was proclaimed as the new caliph. He was the cousin of the killed caliph, as you can see on the
schema (thanks to
Andalusia blog)
Yazid was proclaimed in Damascus, but not all Arabs supported him.
The Arabs of the region around Homs (near Damascus), still loyal to Walid, rose up and marched on Damascus with the intention of installing as caliph a descendant of the Sufyanid branch of the Umayyad clan, Abu Muhammad al-Sufyani.
Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan, governor of Armenia, had supported Walid and on Walid's death entered Iraq to avenge him.
In Khursani (Persia), the former governor Nasr ibn Sayyar refused to regard the orders of the new caliph and prepared for the war.
Yazid was the talented man. He sent his army against Homa, and his general Sulayman ibn Hisham defeated rebels. The caliph sent the letter “against” Marwan, where he appointed Marwan as the governor of Jazira – it means the governor of the Northern Syria, the very important post in the caliphate. Marwan agreed and returned to Armenia – but Armenia became not-Arabian.
Two Armenian noblemen, brothers David and Grigor Mamikonian, revolted against Arabs in 732. They were arrested and exiled in Yemen. After the death of Hisham, noblemen escaped and returned to Armenia. And, when Marwan with his forces went to Damask, Mamikonian revolted again. They fought the Armenian prince Ashot and forced him to flee [1]. Then they called for help both Khazars and Byzantines.
Constantine V with his army was waiting not far from Armenia, and Baghatur [2] was waiting near Caucasus. Both armies went to Armenia. David became the prince, and Armenia became the vassal of Byzantium and Khazars.
Marwan asked reinforces from the caliph, but the new rebellion begun in Palestine. Tribes prepared to attack Damascus, and Yazid sent his army against these rebels.
Byzantines, Khazars and Armenians went to Syria. Marwan tried to stop them, but he was defeated, his army was almost annihilated and Marwan himself was killed. [3]
The rebellion in Palestine was put down, and the caliph sent his tired army against the enemies. But Byzantines and Khazars also tired – and they came back to Armenia and went home to rest.
Constantine V and Baghatur agreed to divide the Caliphate: Byzantium wanted Palestine and everything to West, Khazaria wanted Mesopotamia and everything to East. During this campaign, Baghatur firstly was interested in Christianity.
Yazid prepared to fight, but suddenly died on October 3, 744.
It was the end of Umayyad Caliphate in TTL [4]
[1] – it is OTL.
[2] - we do not know the exact name of the Khagan in that time. We know, that in 732 Bihar married his daughter to Constantine V. Then Prisbit, the mother of a Khagan, ruled in 730s. probably, Bihar had died. In about 760, Baghatur is mentioned as the Khagan. If he became the Khagan about 735-737, and he was born about in the late 710s – early 720s, I think, he was be able to be the Khagan in 744.
[3] – in OTL, it was the battle of Akronion in 740, where Arabs were defeated with heavy loses.
[4] – in OTL, Marwan was the last caliph. But he was killed in TTL.