That same year Maslamah also campaigned against Barujmah (1) and captured several strongholds—Barujmah itself, the Iron Fortress, and Sirra (2)—then spent the winter in Byzantine territory.

In the same year ʿUmar ibn Hubayrah al-Fazari mounted a naval expedition against the Byzantines and likewise wintered there.

During this year ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Musa ibn Nusayr was killed, and his severed head was presented to the Commander of the Faithful Sulayman ibn ʿAbd al-Malik by Ḥabib ibn Abi ʿUbayd al-Fihri.

That year, too, Sulayman appointed Yazid ibn al-Muhallab governor of Khurasan in addition to his command over Iraq. The occasion for this was that after Wakiʿ ibn Abi Sud had slain Qutaybah ibn Muslim and his offspring, he sent Qutaybah’s head to Sulayman and thereby won his favor, whereupon Sulayman wrote to him conferring the governorship of Khurasan. Yazid ibn al-Muhallab, however, dispatched ʿAbd al-Rahman (3) ibn al-Ahtam to Sulayman ibn ʿAbd al-Malik to make a graceful case for Yazid’s claim to Khurasan and to undermine Wakiʿ ibn Abi Sud. Ibn al-Ahtam—an exceptionally shrewd and crafty man—traveled to Sulayman and persisted with him until the latter dismissed Wakiʿ from Khurasan and appointed Yazid to it along with Iraq. Sulayman sent the official decree with Ibn al-Ahtam, who covered the distance in seven days, delivered the writ to Yazid, and handed over authority for Khurasan together with Iraq. Although Yazid had promised him one hundred thousand, he did not fulfill that pledge.

Yazid then sent his son Mukhlad ahead of him to Khurasan, carrying a letter from the Commander of the Faithful that read in substance: “The Qays claim that Qutaybah ibn Muslim never broke his allegiance; if Wakiʿ nevertheless attacked him on the accusation of rebellion when he had not rebelled, shackle Wakiʿ and send him to me.” Mukhlad arrived first, arrested Wakiʿ, punished him, and imprisoned him before his father reached the province. Wakiʿ ibn Abi Sud had governed Khurasan for nine—or, according to another report, ten—months. Yazid ibn al-Muhallab then arrived, assumed control of Khurasan, and remained there, appointing deputies in its various districts whose names Ibn Jarir has recorded (4).

[He added: Yazid ibn al-Muhallab next marched on Jurjan, which at that time was not a walled city with gates but rather a region of mountains and valleys. Its ruler was called Ṣawl. The inhabitants withdrew to a fortress there—some say to an island in a nearby lake—whereupon Yazid’s forces seized them from the lake, killed great numbers, took captives, and carried off abundant spoils] (5).

He also said: In this same year Sulayman ibn ʿAbd al-Malik led the people in the pilgrimage. The provincial governors remained as listed for the previous year, except that Wakiʿ ibn Abi Sud had been removed from Khurasan and that province, together with Iraq, was now under Yazid ibn al-Muhallab ibn Abi Ṣufrah.