de them
unfit for the imamate. Moreover, it was an affront, in particular, for
the sons of Walid I., who already had considered the nomination of Yazid
II. as a slight to themselves. A conspiracy arose, headed by Yazid b.
Walid I., and joined by the majority of the Merwanid princes and many
Kalbites and other Yemenites who regarded the ill-treatment of Khalid
al-Qasri as an insult to themselves. Various stories were circulated
about the looseness of Walid's manner of life; Yazid accused him of
irreligion, and, by representing himself as a devout and God-fearing
man, won over the pious Moslems. The conspirators met with slight
opposition. A great many troops had been detached by Hisham to Africa
and other provinces, the caliph himself was in one of his country
places; the prefect of Damascus also was absent. Without difficulty,
Yazid made himself master of Damascus, and immediately sent his cousin
Abdalaziz with 2000 men against Walid, who had not more than 200
fighting men about him. A few men hastened to the rescue, among others
'Abbas b. Walid with his sons and followers. Abdalaziz interrupted his
march, took him prisoner and compelled him to take the oath of
allegiance to his brother Yazid. Walid's small body of soldiers was soon
overpowered. After a valiant combat, the caliph retired to one of his
apartments and sat with the Koran on his knee, in order to die just as
Othman had died. He was killed on the 17th of April 744. His head was
taken to Damascus and carried about the city at the end of a spear.

On the news of the murder of the caliph, the citizens of Homs (Emesa)
put at their head Abu Mahommed as-Sofiani, a grandson of Yazid I., and
marched against Damascus. They were beaten by Suleiman b. Hisham at a
place called Solaimania, 12 m. from the capital. Abu Mahommed was taken
prisoner and shut up with several of his brethren and cousins in the
Khadra, the old palace of Moawiya, together with the two sons of Walid
II. One or two risings in Palestine were easily suppressed. But the
reigning family had committed suicide. Their unity was broken. The
holiness of their Caliphate, their legitimate authority, had been
trifled with; the hatred of the days of Merj Rahit had been revived. The
orthodox faith also, whose strong representative and defender had
hitherto been the caliph, was shaken by the fact that Yazid III.
belonged to the sect of the Qadaris who rejected the doctrine of
predestination. The disorganization o