A son of former governor Umar ibn Hubayra, he became one of the most important partisans of Caliph Marwan II in the Third Fitna, but failed to stem the onslaught of the Abbasid Revolution.
In 746 he defeated the Kharijites under al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Shaybani at Ayn al-Tamr, thereby subduing the Sawad, and managed to extend his control also to Ahwaz, Jibal, and the Jazira.
[2][5] Preoccupied with these campaigns, however, he neglected lending assistance to the governor of Khurasan, Nasr ibn Sayyar, when he was faced with the outbreak of the Abbasid Revolution.
Yazid managed to inflict heavy casualties on the Abbasids in a battle that cost the life of their commander, Qahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i, but he was chased from Kufa by a rebellion of the Yaman faction, and fled to Wasit.
[4][2][5] Two of his sons, Dawud, who was with Yazid at Wasit, and Muthanna, who was governor of al-Yamama, were also killed by the Abbasids, while a third, Mukhallad, survived in Syria, where he and his descendants retained their influence.