Sulayman 4 | Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire |
| Sex | M |
| Floruit | E VIII |
| Dates | 708 (taq) / 717 (ob.) |
| Variant Names | Sulaymãn; Souleïman; Solimas |
| Religion | Muslim |
| Ethnicity | Arab |
| Locations | Damascus (officeplace); Damascus (residence); Syria; Tyana (Cappadocia); Constantinople |
| Titles | Caliph (office) |
| Textual Sources | Bar Hebraeus, Chronographia, tr. E. A. W. Budge, The Chronography of Abu 'l-Faraj (London, 1932; repr. Amsterdam, 1976) (history); Chronicon Anonymi ad annum 1234 pertinens, ed. and tr. J.-B. Chabot, I = CSCO 81-82 (Paris, 1916-20), II = CSCO 109 (Louvain, 1937) (chronicle); Chronicon Anonymum ad annum 819 pertinens, ed. Aphram Barsaum (CSCO 81, 1920), trans. J.-B. Chabot, CSCO 109, Scriptores Syri 56 (Louvain, 1937) (chronicle); Chronicon ad annum Domini 846 pertinens, ed. E. W. Brooks, tr. J.-B. Chabot, CSCO 3-4 (Louvain, 1904); also tr. E. W. Brooks, "A Syriac Chronicle of the Year 846", Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenländ (chronicle); Chronique de Denys de Tell-Mahré, ed. and tr. J.-B. Chabot (Paris, 1895); tr. A. Palmer, The Seventh Century in West-Syrian Chronicles (Liverpool, 1993), pp. 54-65 (chronicle); Michael the Syrian, Chronicle, ed. and tr. J.-B. Chabot, La chronique de Michel le Syrien (Paris, 1899-1904) (chronicle); 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); Zonaras = Ioannis Zonarae Epitome Historiarum, libri XIII-XVIII, ed. Th. Büttner-Wobst, (Bonn, 1897) (history) |
Sulayman 4 was the son of Abdulmalik 1, brother of Maslama 1 and al-Walid (Walid 1): Chron. 1234, ¤155 (p. 300). Cousin of `Umar (Omar 2): Chron. 1234, ¤161 (p. 306).
In 708 Sulayman 4 and Maslamas (Maslama 1) were sent with a large army by the caliph (al-Walid I, Walid 1) to lay siege to the city of Tyana (ἡγεμόνας αὐτοῖς ἐπίστησας Μασαλμᾶν καὶ Σολυμάν); they defeated a Roman army and eventually took the city by surrender: Nic. Brev. 43. According to Theophanes the name of the general who accompanied Maslama 1 on this expedition was Abas (see Abas 1). The Chronicle of 1234 records only Maslama 1.
The identification is not certain but Sulayman 4 is perhaps the brother of Maslama 1 rather than Sulayman 1. On the death of al-Walid in 715, Sulayman 4 succeeded him as caliph: Theoph. AM 6207 (ἀπεβίω Οὐαλίδ, καὶ Σουλεϊμὰν διαδέχεται τὴν ἀρχήν), Chron. 1234, ¤155 (p. 300). According to Theophanes he was summoned by Maslama 1 to come to Constantinople with the Arab fleet to besiege the city (Maslama 1 wrote πρὸς Σουλεϊμὰν τὸν πρωτοσύμβουλον καταλαβεῖν μετὰ τοῦ προετοιμασθέντος στόλου); he arrived on the first of September, 717; his fleet was scattered by adverse winds and largely destroyed by the use of Greek fire; he died on 8 October 717, and was succeeded as caliph by Oumaros (Omar 2): Theoph. AM 6209 (pp. 395-396). He died in October, during the siege of Constantinople; his son Aioub (Ayub 1) also died then, and he was succeeded as caliph by `Umar (Omar 2) son of `Abd al-`Aziz (Abdul Aziz 2), who was his cousin: Chron. 1234, ¤161 (p. 306). The account of the siege in the Syriac Chronicon ad annum 1234 pertinens makes no mention of Sulayman 4's presence during the siege. The other Greek sources record a Sulayman 4 as commander of the Arab fleet during the thirteen months of the siege in 717 and 718: Nic. Brev. 53 (cited under Sulayman 1), Zon. XV 1. 24 (ὁ ἀρχισατράπης Σολιμᾶς). The Greek sources have confused the general Sulayman 1 (Sulayman ibn Mu`ad) with the caliph Sulayman 4 and the fleet commander is to be identified with the former, not the latter.
In the year 1026 Sel. (714/715) Sulayman 4 succeeded Walid 1 as king and reigned for two years and a half; in the year 1027 Sel. (715/716) he gathered soldiers and craftsmen and sent them by sea to Asia, where they captured Sardis and Pergamon and other fortresses; in the year 1028 Sel. (716/717) he gathered his troops in the Meadow of Dabiq and sent them under Ubayda 1 into the lands of the Romans; they camped in Thrace and were defeated by the Bulgars; also in this year his son David 30 captured the fortress of Antigon, but in the month of Elul (September) Sulayman 4 died, on the Meadow of Dabiq; he was succeeded by `Umar ibn `Abd al-`Aziz (Omar 2): Chron. 819, p. 15, 10-27 = pp. 10-11, Chron. 846, p. 233, 26 - p. 234, 17 = p. 583 (Brooks).
In the year 1023 Sel. (711/712) Walid 1 died and was succeeded as king of the Arabs by Sulayman 4, who reigned for two and a half years: Pseudo-Dion., Chron., p. 156, 7-9 = p. 117.
Sulayman 4 was the brother of Walid 1, son of Abd al-Malik (Abdulmalik 1) and grandson of Marwan 1, he succeeded his brother as caliph and ruled for two years and five months; in the year 1027 Sel. (715/716) he ordered Maslama 1 to prepare for a large expedition against Constantinople; he was apparently visited by the Roman general Leo 3: Mich. Syr. II 479, Bar Hebr., p. 107.
Sulayman 4 died during the siege of Constantinople and was succeeded by `Umar (Omar 2): Bar Hebr., p. 108, Mich. Syr. II 485-486., Agapius, Kitab al-`Unwan, tr. Vasiliev, p. 502.
Ruler of the Arabs (Σουλειμὰν ἀρχηγὸς τῶν Σαρακηνῶν); Sulayman 4 went against Constantinople with his fleet while Masalmas (Maslama 1) led the army overland: Const. Porph., DAI 21, 115ff. (this notice has confused the caliph, Sulayman 4, with Sulayman 1). He became ruler of the Arabs after the death of Walid I (Walid 1) and ruled for three years; under him the Romans were attacked by Masalmas (Masalma 1) by land and by Oumar (Omar 3) by sea; he was succeeded by Oumar (Omar 2): Const. Porph., DAI 22, 49ff.
(Publishable link for this person: )