Sufyan ibn al-Abrad al-Kalbi al-Asamm (Arabic: سفيان بن الأبرد الكلبي, romanized: Sufyān ibn al-Abrad al-Kalbī al-Aṣamm; fl. 684–701) was a general of the Umayyad Caliphate who served under caliphs Mu'awiya II (r. 683–684), Marwan I (r. 684–685) and Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705). He backed the latter against his own tribesmen during a coup attempt in 689. He was a key figure in securing the Umayyad hold over Iraq during the governorship of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, helping the latter defeat the Kharijites in 696–697 and the rebellion of Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath in 700–701.
Sufyan ibn al-Abrad belonged to the Banu Kalb tribe, which was a key backer of the Umayyad dynasty during the leadership crisis over the Caliphate in the wake of Caliph Mu'awiya II's death and the Second Muslim Civil War.[1] Sufyan's father was al-Abrad ibn Abi Umama ibn Qabus ibn Sufyan and, like the chief of the Syrian Kalb, Ibn Bahdal, they hailed from the tribe's princely clan, the Banu Haritha ibn Janab.[2] Sufyan was nicknamed al-Asamm ('the deaf' or 'the undeterrable').[3]
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 Ibn Bahdal, that proclaimed the legitimacy of the Umayyads and the disparagement of their Mecca-based rival for the caliphate, Abd Allah 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 freed Sufyan.[1]
Marwan I acceded with the critical help of the Kalb, and was succeeded by his son Abd al-Malik in 685. In 689, Sufyan and Ibn Bahdal backed Abd al-Malik against the Umayyad prince Amr 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 own brother, Zuhayr ibn al-Abrad. The leading Kalbi warriors on either side dueled 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.[4]
Abd al-Malik dispatched Sufyan at the head of a regiment of Syrian troops to reinforce the governor of Iraq, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf.[5][6] 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.[6] Sufyan's men defeated the rebels, pursued Shabib and killed the Kharijite leader in a battle at Ahwaz in 696–697.[7][8] Sufyan was later sent to pursue another Kharijite band, that of the Azariqa, in Tabaristan, where his forces,[9] together with a Kufan army led by Ishaq ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath, killed their leader Qatari ibn al-Fuja'a.[10]
In 700–701, 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.[5]
The historian Antoine Borrut describes Sufyan as "an astute general with outstanding military skills, who was celebrated for his bravery"[3] and the historian Hugh N. Kennedy calls him a veteran commander "who did so much to secure Iraq for the Umayyads".[11] He was among the forerunners of the professional commanders who emerged under the Abbasid Caliphate.[3]
