Marwan I
Mu'awiya I founded the Umayyad Caliphate in 661. Between then and the Umayyads' collapse in 750, the Qays formed one of the main political and military components of the Caliphate. Their main antagonist were the Yamani tribes, led by the Banu Kalb. Other than competition for political, military and economic power, there was an ethnic component that defined the Qays–Yaman rivalry; the Qays were "northern Arabs" while the Yaman were "southern Arabs". Mu'awiya and his son and successor Yazid I relied militarily and politically on the Kalb to the chagrin of the Qays. When Yazid and his successor Mu'awiya II died in relatively quick succession in 683 and 684, respectively, the Qays refused to recognize Umayyad authority. The Kalb and their Yamani allies essentially selected Marwan I to succeed Mu'awiya II, while the Qays largely joined the rebel cause of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr. Fighting in the latter's name, the Qaysi tribes of Amir, Sulaym and Ghatafan under al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri fought Marwan I and the Yamani faction at the Battle of Marj Rahit in 684. The Qays were severely routed, leading to years of revenge-driven tit-for-tat raids between the Qays and Yaman.