Al-Asbagh was of the Banu Kalb tribe of Palmyra and thus a member of the Yaman military faction opposed to the Qays (see Qays–Yaman rivalry).
He served as a commander under the Umayyad general Asad ibn Abdallah al-Qasri in Khurasan, a province in the far east of the Caliphate, in 737.
The revolt was suppressed by Marwan II and al-Asbagh escaped the city, though his sons Dhu'ala and Furafisa were captured and crucified.
To conclude the agreement, al-Asbagh and his son Hamza made peace with Marwan in person and the caliph tore down the city's walls.
[1] In 749 the Abbasid dynasty took power in Kufa and in 750 their forces routed Marwan II at the Battle of the Zab and subsequently toppled the Umayyad Caliphate.