Yohannan VIII Hormizd
Mar Yohannan VIII Hormizd (often referred to by European missionaries as "John Hormez" or "Hanna Hormizd") (1760–1838) was the last hereditary patriarch of the Eliya line of the Church of the East and the first patriarch of a united Chaldean Church. After succeeding his uncle Eliya XII Denha in 1780 as patriarch of Mosul, he made a Catholic profession of faith and was recognised in 1783 by the Vatican as patriarchal administrator and archbishop of Mosul. His career as patriarchal administrator was controversial, and was marked by a series of conflicts with his own bishops and also with the Vatican. Suspended from his functions in 1812 and again in 1818, he was reinstated by the Vatican in 1828. In 1830, following the death of the Amid patriarchal administrator Augustine Hindi, he was recognised by the Vatican as "patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans" and the Mosul and Amid patriarchates were united under his leadership. This event marked the birth of the since unbroken patriarchal line of the Chaldean Catholic Church. Yohannan Hormizd died in 1838 and his successor Nicholas I Zaya was chosen by the Vatican, ending the centuries-old practice of hereditary succession in the Eliya line of the Church of the East.
Al-Harith ibn Surayj
When Harith arrived at Marw in early July 745, however, the situation had changed: Yazid was dead, a full-blown civil war had erupted in Syria, and Nasr ibn Sayyar, although still occupying the position of governor, lacked authority. Although he recognized Marwan II (r. 744–750), most of his own followers did not accept Marwan as Caliph. Harith was quick to distance himself from Nasr: he refused the offer of a district governorship, and distributed the gifts he received among his supporters. Harith vocally denounced Marwan II, and was soon joined by 3,000 of his fellow Tamimis, while his secretary, Jahm ibn Safwan, drummed up further support. Within a short time, he had become a graver threat to Nasr than al-Kirmani. After attempts to negotiate an agreement proved fruitless, Nasr attacked Harith's forces in March 746, and scored a first victory over them, in which Jahm ibn Safwan fell. At this point, al-Kirmani joined forces with Harith, and together they forced Nasr to abandon Marw and withdraw to Naysabur. The two allies entered the capital of Khurasan, but within days fell out and began fighting each other. In these clashes, Harith was killed, leaving al-Kirmani the master of the city. The conflict between Nasr and al-Kirmani continued, but was soon overtaken by events: exploiting the conditions of civil war, the Abbasids under Abu Muslim launched their own anti-Umayyad revolt in Khurasan. Nasr ibn Sayyar tried to conclude an alliance with al-Kirmani, but failed when the latter was murdered by one of Harith's sons in revenge. Abu Muslim managed to exploit the situation to his advantage, and in early 748, his men entered Marw, the first step in a war that would lead to the fall of the Umayyad dynasty and its replacement with the Abbasids two years later.