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Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan

يزيد بن أبي سفيان

c. 639 CE · c. 18 AH

Commander of the army of Dimashq; when Abu Bakr resolved on the conquest of Syria after finishing the Ridda he deposed Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-As from his banner on Umar's counsel and gave it to Yazid, who marched with his brother Mu'awiya bearing it before him, taking the Tabuk road; per al-Waqidi Abu Bakr assigned him Dimashq of Syria's three districts, and per Abu Yakhnaf he told the commanders 'if you join in battle your commander is Abu Ubayda, otherwise Yazid'.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
Companion · Commander
Counted among
Sunni
Era
The Rashidun Caliphate
Region
Arabia · Levant & Iraq
Identifiers
Wikidata
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

Life in time

525550575600625650675700725 c. c. c. c. c.
Pre-Islamic Arabia · The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate · The Umayyad Period Contemporaries: al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib · Abdullah ibn Abbas · Abdullah ibn Mas'ud · Abdullah ibn Salam · Abdullah ibn Sufyan al-Makhzumi

Overview

Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan (may God be pleased with him) ibn Harb, brother of Mu'awiya, a Companion and commander, and amir of the army of Damascus. When Abu Bakr wanted to raid Syria after finishing with the Ridda, he removed Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-As from his banner, on the advice of Umar, and handed it to Yazid. He set out with it, with Mu'awiya carrying it before him, and took the road of Tabuk 1. He took part in the mobilisation for the conquest of Syria.

Command

According to al-Waqidi, Abu Bakr appointed him over Damascus, one of the three provinces of Syria. According to Abu Mikhnaf, Abu Bakr said to the commanders: "If you unite to fight, your commander is Abu Ubayda; otherwise it is Yazid" 1.

He died in the plague of Amwas around the year 18 AH, and this date is derived in the data 2.

Connections

Explore the connections

Participated in
The Dispatch of the Armies to Syria· The Battle of al-Araba· Battle of Marj al-Rum (15 AH)· The Conquest of Busra· The Conquest of Caesarea· The Conquest of Damascus
Mentioned in
Muwatta 1292

People and things also explored

The Conquest of Syria· Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah· Amr ibn al-As· Khalid ibn al-Walid· Jizya (capitation on treaty peoples)· Abu Bakr al-Siddiq· Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan· Shurahbil ibn Hasana

Sources

  1. Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition) , p.149-150
  2. Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition)
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/yazid-ibn-abi-sufyan/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-19.

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Related

The Conquest of Syria

In al-Baladhuri: when Abu Bakr finished with the apostates he dispatched the armies to Syria, binding three banners — for Khalid ibn Sa'id (whom he deposed), Shurahbil ibn Hasana and Amr ibn al-As — directing them and Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan by the Ayla and Tabuk roads until their number completed at twenty-four thousand; their first fighting came at Dathin and al-Araba, and al-Waqidi's account assigns Amr Filastin, Shurahbil al-Urdunn and Yazid Dimashq; Khalid ibn al-Walid then marched from Iraq reaching them in Rabi' al-Akhir year 13, and they made him commander in every battle; the great battle of Ajnadayn fell on Monday twelve nights remaining of Jumada I year 13, Busra fell by treaty, Shurahbil conquered al-Urdunn by force save Tabariyya, the battle of Fihl came five months into Umar's caliphate with Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah commanding by Umar's investiture, the day of Marj al-Suffar at the new moon of al-Muharram year 14, and then the conquest of Damascus and Bayt al-Maqdis.