Abdulmalik 2 | Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire |
| Sex | M |
| Floruit | L VIII |
| Dates | 792 (taq) / 798 (tpq) |
| PmbZ No. | 19 |
| Variant Names | Abimelech; `Abd al-Malik |
| Religion | Muslim |
| Ethnicity | Arab |
| Locations | Lydia; Malagina (Bithynia); Galatia; Cappadocia |
| Textual Sources | Bar Hebraeus, Chronographia, tr. E. A. W. Budge, The Chronography of Abu 'l-Faraj (London, 1932; repr. Amsterdam, 1976) (history); Theophanes Confessor, Chronographia, ed. C. de Boor, 2 vols. (Leipzig, 1883-85, repr. Hildesheim/NewYork, 1980); tr. and comm. C. Mango and R. Scott, The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor, Oxford 1997 (chronicle) |
In the year 1104 Sel. (792/793) Abdulmalik 2 returned from the lands of the Romans with much plunder and in the same year his son Abd ar-Rahman 8 captured a fortress in Cappadocia: Bar Hebr., p. 119. When Nikephoros 8 became emperor, `Abd al-Malik (Abdulmalik 2), then commander of the Arab army, was warned by Elpidios 2 to prepare for war: Bar Hebr., p. 121.
An Arab commander, Abdulmalik 2 raided Cappadocia and Galatia in late 797; an embassy for peace sent to him by the empress Eirene 1 (see Dorotheos 1 and Konstantinos 14) was unsuccessful: Theoph. AM 6290. In late 798 he again led an expedition into Roman territory; he reached Malagina (in Bithynia) and raided the imperial stables where he seized horses owned by Staurakios 1 and also the parade horses and imperial baggage-train (τὴν βασιλικὴν προμοσέλλαν) before withdrawing safely. Some of his forces raided Lydia, while others defeated the troops of the Opsikion and the Optimatoi under Paulos 10: Theoph. AM 6291.
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