It was also said that, in the same year, Yazid ibn Shajarah (1) led the naval expedition, while on land the command lay with ʿIyad ibn al-Harith.

That year Muʿawiyah performed the ʿumrah (minor pilgrimage) in the month of Rajab, and al-Walid ibn ʿUtbah ibn Abi Sufyan conducted the people’s major pilgrimage.

In the course of that year Muʿawiyah appointed Saʿid ibn ʿUthman governor of Khurasan, dismissing ʿUbayd Allah ibn Ziyad. Saʿid made his way to Khurasan and encountered the Turks at the Soghd of Samarkand, where he killed great numbers of them, while a group of his own forces fell as martyrs—among them, it is said, Qutham ibn al-ʿAbbas ibn ʿAbd al-Muttalib.

Ibn Jarir related:

Saʿid ibn ʿUthman ibn ʿAffan asked Muʿawiyah to assign him Khurasan. Muʿawiyah replied, “ʿUbayd Allah ibn Ziyad is already there.” Saʿid retorted, “My father befriended you and elevated you until, through his patronage, you reached an unparalleled station. You have shown no gratitude for his kindness, nor have you repaid his favors. Instead you have put this man—meaning Yazid ibn Muʿawiyah—ahead of me and have taken the pledge of allegiance for him. By Allah, I surpass him in father, mother, and self.”

Muʿawiyah answered, “As for your father’s favors to me, I am indeed obliged to requite them, and part of my gratitude was my pursuit of his blood until matters were clarified; I do not fault myself for my exertion in that. As for the superiority of your father over his, your father is better than I and nearer in kinship to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Concerning the superiority of your mother over his, that is beyond dispute, for a woman of Quraysh is better than a woman of Kalb. As for your superiority to him—by Allah, I would not wish the whole Ghouta were trampled out for Yazid by men like you,” meaning that even if the Ghouta were filled with men comparable to Saʿid ibn ʿUthman, Yazid would still be dearer and more excellent in his eyes.

Yazid then said, “Commander of the Faithful! He is your cousin, and you are the one most entitled to give him consideration. He has taken offense with you on my account, so placate him.” Thus Muʿawiyah appointed Saʿid to the military command in Khurasan. Saʿid marched to Samarkand; the Soghdians among the Turks came out against him, and he fought, defeated, and besieged them in their city. They sued for peace, handing over fifty boys of their nobles as hostages to remain in his custody. He stayed in Termez, failed to honor the treaty, and brought the hostage boys back with him to Madina (2).

In that same year Muʿawiyah called upon the people to pledge allegiance to his son Yazid as heir-apparent. He had resolved on this earlier, while al-Mughira ibn Shuʿba was still alive. Ibn Jarir (3) reports through al-Shaʿbi that al-Mughira had come to Muʿawiyah and asked to be relieved of the governorship of Kufa; Muʿawiyah excused him because of his age and frailty and intended to install Saʿid ibn al-ʿAs in his place. When that reached al-Mughira, he seemed to regret it, so he went to Yazid ibn Muʿawiyah and advised him to ask his father to make him heir-apparent. Yazid did so, and Muʿawiyah asked him, “Who prompted you to request this?” He replied, “Al-Mughira.” Muʿawiyah was pleased with al-Mughira for that, reinstated him over Kufa, and ordered him to pursue the matter. Muʿawiyah then wrote to Ziyad, seeking his counsel, but Ziyad objected, knowing Yazid’s fondness for sport and his devotion to idle amusements.