page_title: Al-Walid I
hierarchical_section_title: Al-Walid I
caption_attribution_description: English: The obverse and reverse of a gold dinar minted in Damascus in the name of the Umayyad Caliph al-Walid I, 707/08 CE
context_page_description: Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, commonly known as al-Walid I, was the sixth Umayyad caliph, ruling from October 705 until his death. He was the eldest son of his predecessor Caliph Abd al-Malik. As a prince, he led annual raids against the Byzantines from 695 to 698 and built or restored fortifications along the Syrian Desert route to Mecca. He became the heir apparent after the death of Abd al-Malik's brother and designated successor, Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan, in 704.
  Al-Walid largely continued his father's policies of centralization and expansion, and heavily depended on al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, his father's powerful viceroy over the eastern half of the Caliphate. During his reign, Umayyad armies conquered the Maghreb, Hispania, Sind and Transoxiana, expanding the Caliphate to its greatest territorial extent. War spoils from the conquests allowed al-Walid to finance public works of great magnitude, including the Great Mosque of Damascus, the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. He was the first caliph to institute programs for social welfare, aiding the poor and handicapped in Syria.
context_section_description: Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (Arabic: الوليد بن عبد الملك ابن مروان‎, romanized: al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān; c. 674 – 23 February 715), commonly known as al-Walid I (Arabic: الوليد الأول‎), was the sixth Umayyad caliph, ruling from October 705 until his death. He was the eldest son of his predecessor Caliph Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705). As a prince, he led annual raids against the Byzantines from 695 to 698 and built or restored fortifications along the Syrian Desert route to Mecca. He became the heir apparent after the death of Abd al-Malik's brother and designated successor, Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan, in 704.
  Al-Walid largely continued his father's policies of centralization and expansion, and heavily depended on al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, his father's powerful viceroy over the eastern half of the Caliphate. During his reign, Umayyad armies conquered the Maghreb, Hispania, Sind and Transoxiana, expanding the Caliphate to its greatest territorial extent. War spoils from the conquests allowed al-Walid to finance public works of great magnitude, including the Great Mosque of Damascus, the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. He was the first caliph to institute programs for social welfare, aiding the poor and handicapped in Syria. Although it is difficult to ascertain al-Walid's direct role in the affairs of his caliphate, his reign was marked by domestic peace and prosperity and likely represented the peak of Umayyad power.
caption: Gold dinar of al-Walid, minted in Damascus, 707/08 CE
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