Al-Walid I

Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik (Arabic: الوليد بن عبد الملك‎) or Al-Walid I (668 – 23 February 715) was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 705 until his death in 715. His reign saw the greatest expansion of the Caliphate, as successful campaigns were undertaken in Transoxiana, Sind, Hispania and against the Byzantines.

Biography

He was born to Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and his wife who was from the central Arabian region of Najd. Al-Walid was born in 668 and died in 715. Walid continued the expansion of the Islamic empire that was sparked by his father and was an effective ruler. His father Abd al-Malik had taken the oath of allegiance for Walid during his lifetime.. As such the succession of Walid was not contested. His reign was marked by a number of conquests in both the east and west with historians considering his reign as the apex of Islamic power.

Walid continued the effective rule that was characteristic of his father, he developed a welfare system, built hospitals and educational institutions.