Yazid ibn Abi Muslim

Who is Yazid ibn Abi Muslim?

Abu'l-Ala Yazid ibn Abi Muslim Dinar was the Umayyad governor of Ifriqiya from 720 until his assassination in 721.

Yazid ibn Abi Muslim was of the Arab tribe of Thaqif. He served in the administration of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, the Umayyad governor of Wasit. He rose in the ranks to become al-Hajjaj's secretary. During the illnesses that plagued al-Hajjaj's health before his death in 714, Yazid ibn Abi Muslim frequently stood in as his deputy. After al-Hajjaj's death, he was confirmed in that post by Caliph al-Walid I.

When the Caliph Sulayman came to power in 715, Yazid ibn Abi Muslim was immediately dismissed. It is said Yazid was imprisoned at that time, but subsequently released when no evidence of misconduct could be found to bring up charges. Another chronicle reports Yazid was only released c. 717 by the Caliph Omar II in an act of general clemency

In 720, in the course of a new administrative sweep, Caliph Yazid II appointed Yazid ibn Abi Muslim as governor of Ifriqiya, with supervisory authority over al-Andalus.

Yazid ibn Abi Muslim's tenure in Ifriqiya was not a happy one. Perhaps recalling the brutish administration of his mentor al-Hajjaj in Wasit, Yazid ibn Abi Muslim showed little respect for non-Arab Muslims under his jurisdiction. His predecessor in Kairouan, Ismail ibn Abd Allah ibn Abu al-Muhajjar had put much effort into integrating Muslim Berbers into the Caliphal mainstream. Yazid immediately went about undoing all that, relegating Berber officers and increasing fiscal exactions upon the Berber populace. Side-stepping the legal prohibitions, Yazid re-imposed the jizyah on Muslim Berbers and expanded other extraordinary taxes and tributes.