Editing Umayyad Caliphate (section)

====Third Fitna====
{{main|Third Fitna}}
Hisham was succeeded by [[Al-Walid II]] (743–744), the son of Yazid II. Al-Walid is reported to have been more interested in earthly pleasures than in religion, a reputation that may be confirmed by the decoration of the so-called "desert palaces" (including [[Qasr Amra|Qusayr Amra]] and [[Khirbat al-Mafjar]]) that have been attributed to him. He quickly attracted the enmity of many, both by executing a number of those who had opposed his accession and by persecuting the [[Al-Qadariyya|Qadariyya]].

In 744, [[Yazid III]], a son of al-Walid I, was proclaimed caliph in Damascus, and his army tracked down and killed al-Walid II. Yazid III has received a certain reputation for piety and may have been sympathetic to the Qadariyya. He died a mere six months into his reign.

Yazid had appointed his brother, [[Ibrahim of Umayyad|Ibrahim]], as his successor, but [[Marwan II]] (744–750), the grandson of Marwan I, led an army from the northern frontier and entered Damascus in December 744, where he was proclaimed caliph. Marwan immediately moved the capital north to [[Harran]], in present-day [[Turkey]]. A rebellion soon broke out in Syria, perhaps due to resentment over the relocation of the capital, and in 746 Marwan razed the walls of [[Homs]] and Damascus in retaliation.

Marwan also faced significant opposition from Kharijites in Iraq and Iran, who put forth first [[Al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Shaybani|Dahhak ibn Qays]] and then Abu Dulaf as rival caliphs. In 747, Marwan managed to reestablish control of Iraq, but by this time a more serious threat had arisen in [[greater Khorasan|Khorasan]].