the fine to which Yazid had been condemned. Hajjaj foreboded evil, and
prayed eagerly that he might die before Walid. His death took place
about the end of Ramadan 95 (June or July 714).

7. _Reign of Suleiman_ (_Solaiman_).--Suleiman had early missed the
throne. Walid wished to have his son Abdalaziz chosen as his successor,
and had offered Suleiman a large sum of money to induce him to surrender
his rights. Walid went still further and sent letters to the governors
of all the provinces, calling on them to take the oath of allegiance to
his son. None, except Hajjaj and his two generals Qotaiba b. Moslim and
Mahommed b. Qasim, consented thus to set at naught the order of
succession established by Abdalmalik; and Suleiman succeeded without
difficulty on the death of his brother Jomada II. 96 (February 715). We
can easily conceive the hatred felt by Suleiman for Hajjaj and for all
that belonged to him. Hajjaj himself was dead; but Suleiman poured out
his wrath on his family and his officers. The governors of Medina and
Mecca were dismissed; Mahommed b. Qasim, the conqueror of India, cousin
of Hajjaj, was dismissed from his post and outlawed. Qotaiba b. Moslim,
the powerful governor of Khorasan, tried to anticipate the caliph by a
revolt, but a conspiracy was formed against him, which ended in his
murder. Some historians say that he was falsely accused of rebellion.

Yazid b. Mohallab, the enemy of Hajjaj, was made governor of Irak. His
arrival was hailed with joy, especially by the Azd, to whom his family
belonged, and the other Yemenite tribes. Yazid discovered soon that the
system of taxation as regulated by Hajjaj could not be altered without
serious danger to the finances of the empire, and that he could not
afford the expenses which his prodigal manner of life involved. He
therefore asked the caliph to give him the governorship of Khorasan
also, and took his residence in Merv, where he was free from control. On
his return to Khorasan he set on foot a series of new expeditions
against Jorjan and Tabaristan, with only partial success. He sent,
however, to the caliph an exaggerated account of his victories and the
booty he had made. He had cause to repent this later.

Walid had, in the last years of his reign, made preparations for a great
expedition against Constantinople. Suleiman carried them on with energy,
and as early as the autumn of A.D. 715 Maslama invaded Asia Minor at the
head of a numerous army, whilst a we