to him Marwan ibn Muhammad—who was then governor of Armenia—offering his blessings for the authority with which Allah had entrusted him over His servants and for the firm establishment of his rule; congratulating him on Hisham’s death, his triumph over him, and his seizure of his wealth and estates; and informing him that he had renewed the oath of allegiance to him in his province and that the people there had rejoiced at the news. He added that, were it not for his fear of leaving the frontier exposed, he would have appointed a deputy and come in person, longing to see him and converse with him face to face.

Thereafter al-Walid at first conducted himself toward the people in exemplary fashion. He assigned to every chronically ill, leprous, or blind person a servant, distributed choice goods and presents from the treasury to Muslim households, and increased the stipends of the populace—especially the Syrians and the incoming delegations. He was generous, widely praised, and an accomplished poet, never refusing anyone who asked of him.

Among his verses in which he praises his own liberality are:
I have pledged to you—unless hindrances bar the way—
that the sky of distress above you will swiftly clear;
Soon both fulfilment and an increase shall arrive,
a bounty from me to you, bestowed freely. (1)
Your Muharram is your register and your pay:
for a whole month the scribes will write it out and seal it. (2)

In this same year al-Walid secured the pledge of allegiance for his son al-Hakam and then for ʿUthman, that the two of them should be the heirs apparent after him. He dispatched the text of the pledge to Yusuf ibn ʿUmar, governor of Iraq and Khurasan, who forwarded it to the deputy of Khurasan, Nasr ibn Sayyar. Nasr thereupon delivered a grand, eloquent, and lengthy sermon on the matter, the full text of which Ibn Jarir transmits. (3)

Al-Walid’s dominion was thus firmly consolidated in both East and West, and oaths of allegiance for his two sons were taken throughout the provinces. Al-Walid then wrote to Nasr ibn Sayyar granting him independent authority over Khurasan. Shortly thereafter Yusuf ibn ʿUmar arrived in audience with al-Walid and asked that the governorship of Khurasan be restored to him; the caliph complied, returning it to him as it had been in Hisham’s days and stipulating that Nasr ibn Sayyar and his officials were henceforth to operate under Yusuf ibn ʿUmar’s command.

Yusuf ibn ʿUmar therefore wrote to Nasr ibn Sayyar, summoning him to the Commander of the Believers with his family and dependants and instructing him to bring abundant gifts and presents. Nasr accordingly set out with a thousand male slaves mounted on horses, a thousand maidservants, and a great quantity of silver and gold ewers together with many other precious items. Al-Walid also wrote to him, urging him to make haste and requesting that he bring along tamburs, lutes, female singers, falcons, fine parade horses, and other accoutrements of amusement and debauchery. The people found this distasteful and came to despise him for it.

The astrologers said to Nasr ibn Sayyar, “Civil strife will soon erupt in Syria.” He therefore began to slow his march. When he was partway along the road, couriers reached him and informed him that Caliph al-Walid had been killed and that a great turmoil had broken out among the people in Syria. He accordingly diverted with all the gifts, presents, and stores in his possession to one of the cities and remained there. News then reached him that Yusuf ibn ʿUmar had fled from Iraq and that affairs had fallen into disarray—all on account of the caliph’s murder, as we shall relate, and Allah alone is the One whose help is sought.