Marwan II
With Syria apparently back in his grip, Marwan II ordered the members of the Umayyad family to gather around him and named his two sons as his heirs. He then focused his attention on Iraq, where an army led by Yazid ibn Hubayra was trying to gain control of the province for him. Marwan II assembled a new army and sent it to aid Ibn Hubayra's. Meanwhile, another rebellion led by the previously defeated Sulayman had broken out in northern Syria. At Rusafa, Marwan II's army deserted to Sulayman's side. It then took Qinnasrin, and once again many Syrians dissatisfied with Marwan II joined them. Marwan II brought the bulk of his forces from Iraq and defeated Sulayman's rebels near Qinnasrin. Sulayman again escaped to Palmyra, and thence flee to Kufa. Most of his surviving troops withdrew to Hims under the command of his brother Sa'id, where they were soon besieged by Marwan II's forces. The siege lasted through the winter of 745–746, but in the end Hims surrendered. Enraged at the repeated Syrian revolts despite his earlier leniency, Marwan II now, in the summer of 746, moved to prevent any further resistance by tearing down the walls of most important Syrian towns, including Hims, Damascus and possibly also Jerusalem.