Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik

Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik
Died	24 December 738
Allegiance	Umayyad Caliphate
Battles/wars	Arab–Byzantine wars: Siege of Tyana, Siege of Constantinople (717–718); Arab–Khazar wars
Relations	Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (father); Muhammad ibn Marwan (uncle); al-Walid I, Sulayman, Yazid II and Hisham (brothers)

Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik (Arabic: مسلمة بن عبد الملك‎‎, in Greek sources Μασαλμᾶς, Masalmas; fl. 705–738) was an Umayyad prince and one of the most prominent Arab generals of the early decades of the 8th century, leading several campaigns against the Byzantine Empire and the Khazar Khaganate. He achieved great fame especially for leading the second and last Arab siege of the Byzantine capital Constantinople, and for strengthening the Muslim presence in the Caucasus, becoming the "founder of Islamic Derbent".

Maslama was the son of the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (reigned 685–705) and half-brother of the caliphs al-Walid I (r. 705–715), Sulayman (r. 715–717), Yazid II (r. 720–724) and Hisham (r. 724–743). Maslama himself was excluded from the line of succession as his mother was a slave.

He is first mentioned as leading, along with his nephew al-'Abbas ibn al-Walid, the annual summer campaign (ṣawā'if) against the Byzantine Empire in 705. His first major expedition was the 707–708 campaign against the Byzantine city of Tyana in southeastern Asia Minor, which was launched in retaliation for the defeat and death of the distinguished general Maimun the Mardaite the year before. The siege lasted through winter and the Arab army faced great hardship, but after the Arabs defeated a Byzantine relief force in spring 708, the city surrendered. A few months later, in the summer, Maslama led another expedition into Asia Minor and defeated a Byzantine army near Amorium, while in 709 he raided into the region of Isauria.

...
Wikipedia