Sulayman was a grandson of Jibril ibn Yahya al-Bajali, a Khurasani who had likely participated in the Abbasid Revolution.[1] He was appointed to the head of the Egyptian shurta in 809 and 811 before being propelled to the governorship on the back of a troop mutiny which resulted in the deposition of al-Sari ibn al-Hakam in September 816. He did not remain in office for long before the troops turned on him as well, and he was forced aside in February 817 after a tenure of five months, while al-Sari was returned to power.[2][3][4][5]