754–775) in Syria in 754, the long-simmering tension between Abu Muslim—who had come to rule Khurasan as a near-sovereign prince, practically independent of the Abbasid family—and al-Mansur came to the fore. Malik counselled Abu Muslim to return straight to Khurasan for his own safety, but Abu Muslim was loath to effect a complete breach and accepted the summons of the Caliph. During the subsequent audience, the Caliph had Abu Muslim executed.[4] Following the murder of Abu Muslim, Malik was briefly arrested, but reconciled himself with the Abbasids and regained the Caliph's favour when he came to al-Mansur's aid during the Rawandiya uprising in 758/9.[5] He was then rewarded with the governorship of Mosul, which he held from 759/60 until 763.