Al-Ashdaq

'''Abu Umayya Amr ibn Sa'id ibn al-As al-Umawi (; died 689/90), commonly known as al-Ashdaq''' (), was a member of the Umayyad dynasty, general and a contender for the caliphal throne. He served as the governor of Medina in 680, during the reign of Caliph Yazid I () and fought off attempts by the Zubayrids to conquer Syria in 684 and 685 during the reign of Caliph Marwan I (). The latter removed Yazid I's son Khalid and al-Ashdaq from the line of succession in favor of his own sons Abd al-Malik () and Abd al-Aziz. Al-Ashdaq's attempted coup against Abd al-Malik in 689 ended with his surrender and his execution by Abd al-Malik.

==Life== Amr was the son of the Umayyad statesman Sa'id ibn al-As and Umm al-Banin bint al-Hakam, the sister of another Umayyad statesman, Marwan ibn al-Hakam. He was nicknamed ('the Widemouthed'). When Sa'id died in 679, al-Ashdaq became the leader of this branch of the Umayyad clan. At the end of the reign of Caliph Mu'awiya I (), he was governor of Mecca but was then appointed the governor of Medina at the accession of Caliph Yazid I (). When the Umayyads were driven out of Mecca during the revolt of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr in 682, al-Ashdaq was ordered by Yazid to send an army against the Zubayrids in the city. Al-Ashdaq appointed Ibn al-Zubayr's brother, Amr, to lead the expedition, but the force was defeated and Amr was executed by Ibn al-Zubayr. Toward the end of 683, al-Ashdaq was dismissed. Yazid died and was succeeded by his son Mu'awiya II. The latter was ill and died a few months later, causing a leadership crisis in the Umayyad Caliphate, during which most of its provinces recognized Ibn al-Zubayr as caliph.