al-Abbas ibn al-Walid

He distinguished himself as a military leader in the Byzantine–Arab Wars of the early 8th century, especially in the Siege of Tyana in 707–708, and was often a partner of his uncle Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik during these campaigns.

[5] He first appears in the 707 campaign against the important Byzantine fortress of Tyana in Cappadocia, where he led the Arab army alongside his uncle Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik.

Under Sulayman and his successor, Umar II, Abbas was precluded from any military roles, including the 717–718 Siege of Constantinople, the pinnacle of the Umayyad war effort against Byzantium, which was led by Maslama.

[10][5] His renewed fortune was relatively short-lived, as he once again became sidelined by a new caliph, this time Yazid II's successor, Abbas's uncle Hisham (r. 724–743), under whose reign he did not participate in any military campaigns.

[13] By the time of Hisham's death in 743, Abbas was likely "the most senior figure in the wider Marwānid family", according to the scholar Leone Pecorini Goodall.

Greek labourers from Asia Minor, who were likely captured by Abbas during his previous campaigns against the Byzantines, were utilized, in addition to Nestorian quarry workers and Coptic artisans.

[17] During the reign of his cousin, the unpopular al-Walid II (r. 743–744), Abbas was initially reluctant to oppose the caliph and counselled against provoking a civil war.

[5] Neither Yazid nor his successor Ibrahim lasted long on the throne, which fell to the general Marwan ibn Muhammad (r. 744–750) during the ensuing civil war of the Third Fitna.