Abdallah is sent, along with his uncle,…

Abdallah is sent, along with his uncle, Muhammad ibn Marwan, to Iraq to aid al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in subduing the rebellion of Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath in 701.

The revolt gains widespread support among religious scholars known as kurra ("Quran readers"), and develops from a mutiny to a widespread anti-Umayyad rebellion.

Caliph Abd al-Malik tries to negotiate terms, including the dismissal of al-Hajjaj, but hardliners among the rebel leadership pressure Ibn al-Ash'ath into rejecting the Caliph's terms.

Al-Hajjaj and Ibn al-Ash'ath's troops skirmish with each other for several months.

In the subsequent Battle of Dayr al-Jamajim, the rebel army is decisively defeated by al-Hajjaj's Syrian troops in April 701.

Al-Hajjaj pursues the survivors, who under Ibn al-Ash'ath flee to the East.

Most of the rebels are captured by the governor of Khurasan, while Ibn al-Ash'ath himself flees to Zabulistan.

His fate is unclear, as some accounts hold that, after long pressure from al-Hajjaj to surrender him, the Zunbil executed him, while others claim that he committed suicide to avoid being handed over to his enemies.

The defeat marks the end of not only the rebellion but also of the power and influence of the Iraqi Arabs: Iraq is garrisoned by Syrian troops and comes under tight control by the Syrian-dominated Umayyad government.

It will not be until the Abbasid period and the foundation of Baghdad that Iraq will regain its prominence.