Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan in the context of "Abu Sufyan ibn Harb"

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⭐ Core Definition: Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan

Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan ibn Harb ibn Umayya (Arabic: يزيد بن أبي سفيان بن حرب بن أمية, romanizedYazīd ibn Abī Sufyān ibn Ḥarb ibn Umayya; died 639) was a leading Arab Muslim commander in the conquest of Syria from 634 until his death in the plague of Amwas in 639. Following the capture of Damascus around 635, he was placed in command of the city and its military district. After the death of the overall Muslim commander of Syria, Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah, in 639, he was appointed by Caliph Umar (r. 634–644) the governor of Damascus, Jordan and Palestine.

Yazid was the elder half-brother of Mu'awiya I, who was appointed as his successor over Damascus and Jordan by Umar and gradually became governor over all of Syria.

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Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan in the context of Abu Sufyan

Sakhr ibn Harb ibn Umayya (Arabic: صَخْرِ ٱبْن حَرْب ٱبْن أُمَيَّةَ, romanizedṢakhr ibn Ḥarb ibn Umayya; c. 560—653), commonly known by his kunya Abu Sufyan (Arabic: أَبُو سُفْيَانُ, romanizedAbū Sufyān), was a prominent opponent-turned companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was the father of the first Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680) and namesake of the Sufyanid line of Umayyad caliphs which ruled from 661 to 684.

Abu Sufyan was a leader and merchant from the Quraysh tribe of Mecca. During his early career, he often led trade caravans to Syria. He had been among the main leaders of Meccan opposition to Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, commanding the Meccans at the battles of the Uhud and Trench in 625 and 627 CE. However, when Muhammad entered Mecca in 630, he was among the first to submit and was given a stake in the nascent Muslim state, playing a role at the Battle of Hunayn and the subsequent destruction of the polytheistic sanctuary of al-Lat in Ta'if. After Muhammad's death, he may have been appointed as the governor of Najran by Caliph Abu Bakr (r. 632–634) for an unspecified period. Abu Sufyan later played a supporting role in the Muslim army at the Battle of the Yarmuk against the Byzantines in Syria. His sons Yazid and later Mu'awiya were given command roles in that province and the latter went on to establish the Umayyad Caliphate in 661.

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