Abu al-Ward

Majza'a ibn al-Kawthar ibn Zufar ibn al-Harith al-Kilabi (commonly known as Abu al-Ward, also transliterated Abu'l Ward) (died 750) was a mid-8th century Umayyad governor of Jund Qinnasrin, a cavalry commander of Caliph Marwan II and later a leader of a rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate in Syria which aimed to reestablish the Umayyad Caliphate in 750.

Biography

Abu al-Ward belonged to the 'Amer ibn Sa'sa' tribe and was a grandson of the tribe's well-known chief, Zufar ibn al-Harith, who had rebelled against the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (r.). Abu al-Ward became a strong supporter of Umayyad caliph Marwan II. He was appointed the governor of the Jund Qinnasrin (Chalcis) district by Marwan II. In 745, Abu al-Ward was dispatched to the Ghouta oasis to aid the Qaysi governor of Jund Dimashq (Damascus), Zamil ibn Amr, and the city's residents, counter a siege by Ghoutah's Yamani inhabitants led by Yazid ibn Khalid al-Qasri.

Later in 745, Marwan dispatched Abu al-Ward with a large army to suppress a revolt in Jund Filastin (Palestine) by Thabit ibn Nu'aym, the commander of the Umayyad army in Palestine. Thabit reached as far as Tiberias, the capital of Jund al-Urdunn, which he besieged. As Abu al-Ward departed Damascus on his way to Tiberias, word of his coming aid spurred the inhabitants of Tiberias, led by governor Walid ibn Mu'awiyah ibn Marwan, a nephew of the deceased Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik, to break Thabit's siege, oust his army from the vicinity and capture his camp. Abu al-Ward arrived later and pursued Thabit, who had withdrawn to Palestine and assembled his kinsmen and his army forces. In the ensuing battle, Abu al-Ward defeated Thabit's forces, prompting Thabit to flee once more. Three of his sons, Nu'aym, Imran and Bakr, were wounded and captured by Abu al-Ward. They were sent to Marwan who had them treated for their wounds. Thabit was eventually captured and sent to Marwan, who subsequently had him and his sons' limbs chopped off and their bodies hung on the gate of the Umayyad Mosque.

Revolt against Abbasids

In early 750, following the Abbasids' rout of Marwan's army at the Battle of Zab, Abu al-Ward surrendered to the newly-appointed Abbasid governor of Bilad al-Sham (Syria), Abdallah ibn Ali. By surrendering he was able to secure a position for himself and his Qaysi confederation in the Abbasid army. Despite declaring his allegiance to the Abbasids, Abu al-Ward defected from the Abbasids and took up the cause of the Umayyads, with whom he had longtime ties of loyalty and kinship, particularly the families of Marwan II and Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik. Abu al-Ward made his decision to revolt and canceled his allegiance to Abdallah ibn Ali after hearing that the Abbasid army's Khorasani contingent at Balis allegedly insulted the descendants of Maslama and their women. He assembled an army of his Qaysi loyalists and kinsmen, and attacked the Khorasani officer who was headquartered in Maslama's old fort near Balis and raised the white flag of the Umayyads over the fort. Thereafter, he instructed his loyalists at Qinnasrin to raise the Umayyads' flag. Abu al-Ward was soon joined by an Umayyad family member, Abu Muhammad al-Sufyani, and his Yamani loyalists. Abu al-Ward assumed command over the revolt's military operations, while Abu Muhammad assumed its political leadership.

Although Abu al-Ward's unification of the Qaysi and Yamani confederations, who were typically rivals, and Abu Muhammad's cultivated image as a messianic Islamic figure, represented a powerful combination, the revolt was suppressed relatively quickly. After Abu al-Ward's forces defeated Abbasid troops near Qinnasrin (Chalcis), the Abbasid army intercepted his army in the vicinity of Homs. In the ensuing battle, Abu al-Ward was killed along with 500 of his kinsmen and Qaysi soldiers. The Abbasids proceeded to defeat the rebels at Palmyra and Abu Muhammad fled Syria.