Sufyan ibn al-Abrad belonged to the Banu Kalb tribe, which played a key role in the preservation of the Umayyad Caliphate during the leadership crisis in the wake of Caliph Muawiya II’s death and the Second Muslim Civil War. Sufyan was nicknamed al-Asamm. During the leadership crisis in Damascus, the governor of the province, al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri, refused to read a letter during the Friday prayer from the Kalbi chieftain and staunch Umayyad loyalist, Ibn Bahdal, that proclaimed the legitimacy of the Umayyads and the disparagement of their Mecca-based rival for the caliphate, Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr. In reaction to his refusal, Sufyan was one of a number of Umayyad loyalists in attendance who repeated after the other the contents of the letter. They were subsequently jailed by al-Dahhak. However, a group of Kalbi tribesmen soon after went to the prison and secured Sufyan’s release. Marwan I acceded with the critical help of the Banu Kalb, and was succeeded by his son Abd al-Malik in 685. In 689, Sufyan and his Kalbi kinsmanHassan ibn Malik ibn Bahdal backed Abd al-Malik against the Umayyad princeAmr ibn Said al-Ashdaq when the latter rebelled and seized the capital Damascus during Abd al-Malik’s absence. Sufyan fought against Humayd ibn Hurayth ibn Bahdal, another senior Kalbi, and his brother Zuhayr ibn al-Abrad. The leading Kalbi warriors on either side duelled with each other during the standoff outside the caliph’s palace, where al-Ashdaq had barricaded himself. They were ultimately compelled by their womenfolk and children not to shed each other’s blood for the sake of the Umayyads. Al-Ashdaq ultimately surrendered and was executed by Abd al-Malik. During the reign of Abd al-Malik, the caliph dispatched Sufyan at the head of a regiment of Syrian troops to reinforce the governor of Iraq, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. The latter, with his Iraqi troops, had been unable to repel a Kharijite assault on Kufa led by Shabib ibn Yazid al-Shaybani and requested Syrian troops. Sufyan’s men defeated the rebels, pursued Shabib and ultimately killed the Kharijite leader in a battle at Ahwaz in 696/97. Sufyan was later sent to pursue the Kharijites deep into Tabaristan, where his forces, together with a Kufan army led by Ishaq ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath, killed their leader Qatari ibn al-Fuja'a. In 700/01, Sufyan led the small Syrian contingent that held out with al-Hajjaj in Basra during the mass revolt of the Iraqi tribal nobility led by Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath. After a month of repulsing Iraqi attacks, Sufyan led his men in a charge against the rebels and forced them to withdraw to Kufa. Later, when al-Hajjaj received significant reinforcements from Abd al-Malik, Sufyan commanded the Syrian cavalry that stamped out the revolt.
Assessment
Historian Antoine Borrut describes Sufyan as "an astute general with outstanding military skills, who was celebrated for his bravery" and historian Hugh N. Kennedy calls him a veteran commander "who did so much to secure Iraq for the Umayyads". He was among the forerunners of the professional commanders who emerged under the Abbasid Caliphate.
