Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik
As part of these Arab raids, an invasion under a certain Maimun al-Gurgunami ("Maimun the Mardaite") took place, which raided Cilicia and was defeated by a Byzantine army under a general named Marianus near Tyana. The dating of this expedition is unclear; although the primary account, by al-Baladhuri, places it under Abd al-Malik (who died in 705), it is commonly dated to 706 by modern scholars. According to Baladhuri, this Maimun had been a slave of Caliph Muawiyah's sister, who had fled to the Mardaites, a group of Christian rebels in northern Syria. After the Mardaites had been subdued, the general Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik, who had heard of his valour, liberated him and entrusted him with a military command, and later swore to avenge his death.