' Adi ibn Artah al - Fazari ' Adi ibn Artah al - Fazari ( ) ( died 720 ) was a governor of al - Basrah for the Umayyad dynasty , serving during the caliphate of ' Umar ibn ' Abd al - ' Aziz . He was killed during the revolt of Yazid ibn al - Muhallab . Career under ' Umar ibn ' Abd al - ' Aziz . ' Adi was appointed to the governorship of al - Basrah by the caliph ' Umar ibn ' Abd al - ' Aziz , shortly after the latter ' s ascension in 717 . After receiving his appointment , he established himself in al - Basrah ; he also ordered the arrest of his predecessor Yazid ibn al - Muhallab , who ' Umar had dismissed from the governorship of Iraq . Once Yazid was captured , ' Adi shipped him to the caliph ' s residence in Syria , where he was cast into prison . ' Adi served as governor of al - Basrah for the duration of ' Umar ' s caliphate . Unlike Yazid , who had been governor of all of Iraq and the eastern provinces , ' Adi did not have authority over al - Kufah and Khurasan , which were placed under separate governors . His area of responsibility , however , was still considerable , and extended from al - Basrah and al - Bahrayn in the west to al - Sind in the east . Oman was also initially under ' Adi ' s authority , but ' Umar revoked his jurisdiction over it after receiving complaints about his lieutenant ' s administration there . During ' Adi ' s governorship , he authorized public works projects in al - Basrah ; a canal was dug to provide water to the city ' s residents and was named after him . A second canal which was completed was named after ' Adi ' s chief of police . He also wanted to enlarge the governor ' s residence in the city , but was reportedly dissuaded from doing so by ' Umar . During his administration , a plague struck in 718 - 719 and was named the " plague of ' Adi ibn Artah . " The Muhallabid revolt . Shortly after the death of ' Umar in February 720 , ' Adi received a message from the new caliph Yazid ibn ' Abd al - Malik informing him that Yazid ibn al - Muhallab had escaped from prison and that he was likely heading toward Iraq . On the caliph ' s orders , ' Adi arrested and imprisoned the Muhallabids who were in al - Basrah and prepared for an confrontation with Yazid ; the local army was organized and a trench was dug around the city . As Yazid advanced toward al - Basrah , however , ' Adi ' s defense began to fall apart . Many of his men refused to fight against Yazid , and contingents that were sent out to stop his march instead allowed him to pass by unmolested . Yazid also began offering higher stipends to the Basrans , which increased his popularity among them . Consequently when he arrived at al - Basrah he was able to enter the city without much difficulty . The Syrians and Basrans who remained loyal to ' Adi attempted to mount a defense outside the fortress of al - Basrah , but they were defeated and the fortress was stormed by Yazid ' s men . The remainder of ' Adi ' s forces fled to al - Kufah ; ' Adi himself was captured and brought before Yazid , who ordered his confinement . Following Yazid ' s conquest of al - Basrah , ' Adi was transferred to Wasit , which was put under the command of Yazid ' s son Mu ' awiyah . He remained incarcerated there until Yazid was killed in battle against Maslamah ibn ' Abd al - Malik in August 720 . When news of Yazid ' s fate reached Wasit , Mu ' awiyah took out a number of prisoners under his charge , including ' Adi and his son Muhammad , and executed them in retaliation for his father ' s death .