Editing Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (section)

===Renewal of Byzantine wars in Anatolia, Armenia and North Africa===
Despite the ten-year truce of 689, war with Byzantium resumed following Abd al-Malik's victory against Ibn al-Zubayr in 692.{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=77}} The decision to resume hostilities was taken by Emperor Justinian II, ostensibly because of his refusal to accept payment of the tribute in the Muslim currency introduced that year rather than the Byzantine ''nomisma'' ([[#Institution of Islamic currency and Arabization of the bureaucracy|see below]]).{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=77}}{{sfn|Mango|Scott|1997|p=509}} This is reported solely by Theophanes and issues of chronology make this suspect; not all modern scholars accept its veracity.{{sfn|Mango|Scott|1997|p=510, note 1}} The real ''[[casus belli]]'', according to both Theophanes and the later Syriac sources, was Justinian's attempt to enforce his exclusive jurisdiction over Cyprus, and to move its population to [[Cyzicus]] in northwestern Anatolia, contrary to the treaty.{{sfn|Mango|Scott|1997|p=510, note 1}}{{sfn|Ditten|1993|pp=308–314}} Given the enormous advantages secured by the treaty for Byzantium, Justinian's decision has been criticized by Byzantine and modern historians alike. However, the historian Ralph-Johannes Lilie points out that with Abd al-Malik emerging victorious from the civil war, Justinian may have felt it was only a matter of time until the caliph broke the treaty, and resolved to strike first, before Abd al-Malik could consolidate his position further.{{sfn|Lilie|1976|pp=107–110}}

{{multiple image
|align=upright
|direction=vertical
|width=250
|image1=Villa romain à Bordj-Djedid, Carthage.JPG
|alt1=The white stone remains of multiple buildings set in a grassy area surrounded by trees with the sea in the background
|caption1=In 698 Abd al-Malik's forces led by [[Hassan ibn al-Nu'man]] destroyed [[Carthage]] (''ruins pictured in 2013''), which signaled "the final, irretrievable end" of [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] power in North Africa.
|image2=Minaret of Mosque Zitouna.jpg
|alt2=An old cityscape view seen through open Arabesque arches with the sea and a hill in the distant horizon
|caption2=The nearby town of [[medina of Tunis|Tunis]] (''pictured in 2017'') was subsequently founded on the caliph's orders and equipped with a naval arsenal.
}}

The Umayyads decisively defeated the Byzantines at the [[Battle of Sebastopolis]] in 692 and parried a Byzantine counter-attack in 693/94 in the direction of Antioch.{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=77}}{{sfn|Lilie|1976|pp=110–112}} Over the following years, the Umayyads launched constant raids against the Byzantine territories in Anatolia and Armenia, led by the caliph's brother Muhammad, and his sons al-Walid, [[Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik|Abd Allah]], and [[Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik|Maslama]], laying the foundation for further conquests in these areas under Abd al-Malik's successors, which would culminate in the [[Second Arab Siege of Constantinople]] in 717–718.{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=77}}{{sfn|Lilie|1976|pp=112–116}} The military defeats inflicted on Justinian II contributed to the downfall of the emperor and his [[Heraclian dynasty]] in 695, ushering in a [[Twenty Years' Anarchy|22-year period of instability]], in which the Byzantine throne changed hands seven times in violent revolutions, further aiding the Arab advance.{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|p=31}}{{sfn|Lilie|1976|p=140}} In 698/99, Emperor [[Tiberios III]] ({{reign|698|705}}) secured a treaty with the caliph for the return of the Cypriots, both those moved by Justinian II, as well as those subsequently deported by the Arabs to Syria, to their island.{{sfn|PmbZ|loc=[https://www.degruyter.com/view/PMBZ/PMBZ11095 'Abd al-Malik (#18/corr.)]}}{{sfn|Ditten|1993|pp=314–317}} Beginning in 700, Abd al-Malik's brother Muhammad subdued Armenia in a series of campaigns. The Armenians rebelled in 703 and received Byzantine aid, but Muhammad defeated them and sealed the failure of the revolt by executing the rebel princes in 705. As a result, Armenia was annexed into the Caliphate along with the principalities of [[Caucasian Albania]] and Iberia as the province of Arminiya.{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|p=107}}{{sfn|Ter-Ghewondyan|1976|pp=20–21}}{{sfn|Lilie|1976|pp=113–115}}

Meanwhile, in North Africa, a Byzantine–[[Berbers|Berber]] alliance had reconquered [[Ifriqiya]] and slain its governor, [[Uqba ibn Nafi]], in the [[Battle of Vescera]] in 682.{{sfn|Kaegi|2010|pp=13–14}} Abd al-Malik charged Uqba's deputy, [[Zuhayr ibn Qays]], to reassert the Arab position in 688, but after initial gains, including the slaying of the Berber ruler [[Kasila]] at the [[Battle of Mams]], Zuhayr was driven back to [[Barqa]] (Cyrenaica) by Kasila's partisans and slain by Byzantine naval raiders.{{sfn|Kaegi|2010|p=14}} In 695, Abd al-Malik dispatched [[Hassan ibn al-Nu'man]] with a 40,000-strong army to retake Ifriqiya.{{sfn|Kaegi|2010|p=14}}{{sfn|Talbi|1971|p=271}} Hassan captured Byzantine-held [[Kairouan]], [[Carthage]] and [[Bizerte]].{{sfn|Kaegi|2010|p=14}} With the aid of naval reinforcements sent by Emperor [[Leontios]] ({{reign|695|698}}), the Byzantines recaptured Carthage by 696/97.{{sfn|Kaegi|2010|p=14}} After the Byzantines were repelled, [[Battle of Carthage (698)|Carthage was captured]] and destroyed by Hassan in 698,{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=77}}{{sfn|Talbi|1971|p=271}} signaling "the final, irretrievable end of [[Exarchate of Africa|Roman power in Africa]]", according to Kennedy.{{sfn|Kennedy|2007|p=217}} Kairouan was firmly secured as a launchpad for later conquests, while the port town of [[medina of Tunis|Tunis]] was founded and equipped with an arsenal on the orders of Abd al-Malik, who was intent on establishing a strong Arab fleet.{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=77}}{{sfn|Talbi|1971|p=271}} Hassan continued his campaign against the Berbers, defeating them and killing their leader, the warrior queen [[al-Kahina]], between 698 and 703.{{sfn|Kaegi|2010|p=14}} Afterward, Hassan was dismissed by Abd al-Aziz, and replaced by [[Musa ibn Nusayr]],{{sfn|Talbi|1971|p=271}} who went on to lead the Umayyad conquests of western North Africa and the [[Iberian Peninsula]] during the reign of al-Walid.{{sfn|Lévi-Provençal|1993|p=643}}