The son of Ali ibn Abdallah ibn al-Abbas, Sulayman was a paternal uncle of the first two Abbasid caliphs al-Saffah (r. 750–754) and al-Mansur (r. 754–775),[1] making him one of the "uncles" ('umumah) that held a high degree of influence during the early years following the Abbasid Revolution.[2] In 750–1 he was appointed by al-Saffah as governor of the important post of Basra in southern Iraq together with its dependencies, as well as a number of other provinces including the Tigris districts, Bahrayn, Oman and Mihrajanqadhaq.[3] In 753 the caliph also selected him to lead the pilgrimage for that year.[4]