Abd al-Aziz's reign was marked by stability and prosperity, partly due to his close relations and reliance on the Arab military settlers of Fustat.
Under his direction and supervision, an army led by Musa ibn Nusayr completed the Muslim conquest of North Africa.
[1] Abd al-Aziz may have visited Egypt when the province was governed by Maslama ibn Mukhallad (667–682), the appointee of Mu'awiya I, founder of the Umayyad Caliphate.
In the summer of 684, when Marwan was elected caliph by pro-Umayyad loyalist tribes in Syria, chief among them the Banu Kalb, Abd al-Aziz was in his father's company.
[3] Afterward, he played a leading role in Marwan's conquest of Egypt from its Zubayrid governor Abd al-Rahman ibn Utba, serving as the commander of a contingent which crossed into the province through the Sinai Peninsula, via the Red Sea port town of Ayla.
[7] Abd al-Aziz also supervised the completion of the Muslim conquest of North Africa; he appointed Musa ibn Nusayr to his post as governor of Ifriqiya.
[8] Fustat was the capital of the province, established in the 640s by the Arab conqueror and first governor of Islamic Egypt, Amr ibn al-As.
Abd al-Aziz was a major patron of architectural projects and his rule marked the heyday of Umayyad-era building works in the city.
[2] The residential complex was also known in the contemporary Arabic sources as al-Madina (the City), giving an indication of its size, covering up to 4–5 hectares (9.9–12.4 acres) including gardens.
[13] In August/September 688, he also built the Qantara bridge over the Khalij Amir al-Mu'minin (Canal of the Commander of the Faithful), which passed through Fustat and connected Heliopolis (Ayn Shams) to the Nile.
[14] The bridge, located in the Hamra al-Quswa neighborhood, was likely meant to serve a major circulatory road in Fustat and its remains were still visible in the 12th century.
[16] When the plague struck Fustat in 689 or 690,[8][2] Abd al-Aziz moved his residence and seat of government about 20 kilometers (12 mi) south of the city and founded Hulwan.
[17] The foundation of Hulwan began a custom of establishing "satellite residence town[s]", which was "repeated countless times by later rulers in various regions of the Islamic world", according to Kubiak.
[18] Abd al-Aziz constructed in Hulwan a mosque, a number of churches (see below) and palaces, and planted vineyards and palm trees.
[17] Abd al-Aziz proved to be a capable governor,[20] and his rule was a period of peace and prosperity, marked by his conciliatory and co-operative attitude towards the leaders of the local Arab settlers (the jund).
[28] The Baghdad-based writer Abu Ubayd Allah al-Marzubani (d. 995) praised Abd al-Aziz for promoting the Arabic language.
[30] One of the governor's Jacobite secretaries, Athanasios, was also allowed to construct a church in close proximity to the Babylon Fortress (Qasr al-Sham) in the vicinity of Fustat.
In 693/94, on one of his visits to Alexandria, he arrested the Christian leaders of the city and dispersed them across the country's villages and rural districts.
[2] In an indication of his piety, he stated on his deathbed his wish to have been a mere cameleer roaming the Hejaz (western Arabia), a man of no consequence or a collection of dust.
[41] Abd al-Aziz highly valued this marital link with the family of the former caliph and spent 400 gold dinars for the wedding.