Editing Al-Walid I (section)

===Territorial expansion===
[[File:The Early Muslim Conquests 630s to 820s.svg|thumb|upright=1.6|alt=A map showing different phases of the early Muslim conquests in Asia, Africa, and Europe|A map depicting the expansion of the [[caliphate]]. The [[Maghreb]], [[al-Andalus|Hispania]], [[Sind (caliphal province)|Sind]] and [[Transoxiana]], including [[Khwarazm]], [[Tukharistan]] and [[Ferghana]], (the areas shaded in green) were all conquered during al-Walid's reign]]

The renewal of the [[early Muslim conquests|Muslim conquests]] on the eastern and western frontiers had begun under Abd al-Malik, after he neutralized the Umayyads' domestic opponents.{{sfn|Della Vida|1993|p=1002}} Under al-Walid, the armies of the caliphate "received a fresh impulse" and a "period of great conquests" began, in the words of the historian [[Julius Wellhausen]].{{sfn|Wellhausen|1927|p=224}} During the second half of al-Walid's reign, the Umayyads reached their furthest territorial extent.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=104}}

====Eastern frontiers====
{{main|Muslim conquest of Transoxiana|Umayyad conquest of Sindh}}

Expansion from the eastern frontiers was overseen by al-Hajjaj from Iraq. His lieutenant governor of [[Greater Khorasan|Khurasan]], [[Qutayba ibn Muslim]], launched several campaigns in [[Transoxiana]] (Central Asia), which had been a largely impenetrable region for earlier Muslim armies, between 705 and 715. Qutayba gained the surrender of [[Bukhara]] in 706–709, [[Khwarazm]] and [[Samarkand]] in 711–712, and [[Farghana]] in 713.{{sfn|Kennedy|2002|p=127}} He mainly secured Umayyad suzerainty through tributary alliances with local rulers, whose power remained intact.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=104}} With Qutayba's death in 716, his army disbanded and the weak Arab position in Transoxiana allowed for the local princes and the [[Turgesh]] nomads to roll back most of Qutayba's gains by the early 720s.{{sfn|Gibb|1923|pp=54–56, 59}} From 708 or 709, al-Hajjaj's nephew, [[Muhammad ibn al-Qasim al-Thaqafi|Muhammad ibn al-Qasim]], conquered [[Sind (caliphal province)|Sind]], the northwestern part of South Asia.{{sfn|Dietrich|1971|p=41}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=104}}

====Western frontiers====
{{see also|Muslim conquest of Spain}}

In the west, al-Walid's governor in [[Ifriqiya]] (central [[North Africa]]), [[Musa ibn Nusayr]], another holdover from Abd al-Malik's reign, subjugated the [[Berbers]] of the [[Hawwara]], [[Zenata]] and [[Kutama]] confederations and advanced on the [[Maghreb]] (western North Africa).{{sfn|Lévi-Provençal|1993|p=643}} In 708 or 709, he conquered [[Tangier]] and [[Sous|Sus]], in the far north and south of modern-day Morocco.{{sfn|Lévi-Provençal|1993|p=643}}{{sfn|Kaegi|2010|p=15}} Musa's Berber {{Transliteration|ar|[[mawla]]}} (freedman or client; pl. {{Transliteration|ar|mawali}}), [[Tariq ibn Ziyad]], invaded the [[Visigothic Kingdom]] of [[Al-Andalus|Hispania]] (the Iberian Peninsula) in 711, and was reinforced by Musa in the following year.{{sfn|Lévi-Provençal|1993|p=643}} By 716, a year after al-Walid's death, Hispania [[Umayyad conquest of Hispania|had been largely conquered]].{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=104}} The massive war spoils netted by the conquests of Transoxiana, Sind and Hispania were comparable to the amounts accrued in the Muslim conquests during the reign of Caliph [[Umar]] ({{reign|634|644}}).{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|p=82}}

====Byzantine front====
Al-Walid appointed his half-brother [[Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik|Maslama]] as governor of the [[Al-Jazira (caliphal province)|Jazira]] (Upper Mesopotamia) and charged him with leading the war effort against Byzantium. Although Maslama established a strong power base in the frontier zone, the Umayyads made few territorial gains during al-Walid's reign.{{sfn|Kennedy|2002|p=127}} After a [[Siege of Tyana|lengthy siege]], the Byzantine fortress of [[Tyana]] was captured and sacked in {{circa|708}}.{{efn|The primary sources give different dates for the city's fall, ranging from 707 to 710. The event is generally placed in 708 or 709 by modern scholars.{{sfn|Lilie|1976|pp=116–118 (esp. note 40)}}}} Al-Walid did not lead any of the annual or bi-annual campaigns, but his eldest son [[al-Abbas ibn al-Walid|al-Abbas]] fought reputably alongside Maslama. His other sons [[Abd al-Aziz ibn al-Walid|Abd al-Aziz]], [[Umar ibn al-Walid|Umar]], [[Bishr ibn al-Walid|Bishr]] and Marwan also led raids.{{sfn|McMillan|2011}}

By 712, the [[Arabs]] solidified their control of [[Cilicia]] and the areas east of the [[Euphrates River]] and launched raids deep into [[Anatolia]]. After one such raid against [[Ancyra]] in 714, the Byzantine emperor [[Anastasios II]] ({{reign|713|715}}) sent a delegation to negotiate a truce with al-Walid or decipher his intentions. The delegates reported back that al-Walid was planning a land and naval assault to conquer the Byzantine capital [[Constantinople]]. Al-Walid died in 715 and the [[Siege of Constantinople (717–718)|siege]] was carried out under his successors, ending in 718 as a disaster for the Arabs.{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|pp=343–344, 349}}