Abu was born about 0632 in Egypt, the son of unknown parents.
He died about 0716 in Damascus (Damas, Dimashq ach-Cham), Syria .
His wife was Umm bint Marwan. They were married, but the date and place have not been found. Their two known children were Uthman (c0675-?) and Abdul Yazid al-Wallid (c0685-c0717).
| Event | Date | Details | Source | Multimedia | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | ABT 0632 |
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| Death | ABT 0716 |
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Note 1
Few years earlier in 698 he had been made the governor of Ifriqiya and was responsible for completing the Umayyad re-conquest of North Africa and reconquest of Cyprus, conquest of Sicily and the Majorca Islands and Sardinia. He was the first governor of Ifriqiya not to be subordinate to the governor of Egypt. He was the first Muslim general to take Tangiers and occupy it; his troops also conquered the Sous, effectively taking control of all of modern Morocco. He also had to deal with constant harassment from the Byzantine navy and he built a navy that would go on to conquer the islands of Ibiza, Majorca, and Minorca.
Note 2
Both North African leaders were therefore summoned by the caliph to Damascus. Tariq arrived first. But then the caliph was taken ill. So the caliph's brother, Sulayman ibn ‘Abd al-Malik became temporarily in charge, and asked Musa, who was arriving with a cavalcade of soldiers and spoils, to delay his grand entry into the city. He most certainly intended to claim the glories brought from the conquest for himself. But Musa dismissed this request, triumphantly entered Damascus anyway, and brought the booty before the ailing Al-Walid I, which brought Musa and Tariq unprecedented popularity amongst the people of Damascus. Al-Walid I then died a few days later and was succeeded by his brother Sulayman, who demanded that Musa deliver up all his spoils. When Musa complained, Suleiman stripped him of his rank and confiscated all the booty, including a table which had reputedly once belonged to Solomon. He ordered that Musa (a very old man by then) to be paraded in the city's streets with a rope around his neck and Musa said "Oh, Caliph, I deserve a better rewarding than this". Reports claim he was seen begging at a mosque door in the last days of his life.