in 714/15, his father attempted to reverse the succession arrangement, by which the throne would pass to his brother sulayman, in favour of abd al-aziz. in addition to various officials and poets in al-walid's court, abd al-aziz gained the support of the powerful viceroy of the eastern half of the caliphate, al-hajjaj ibn yusuf, who died in 714, the governor of khurasan, qutayba ibn muslim, and a prominent alid of medina, zayd, the son of hasan ibn ali. nonetheless, he was unable to impose his will. when sulayman in turn died in northern syria in 717, abd al-aziz intended to claim the throne in damascus, but upon learning that his maternal uncle umar ii had been chosen as caliph, he presented himself before him and acknowledged his rule. according to the account of al-waqidi, during their encounter, umar informed abd al-aziz that he would not have disputed his accession, to which abd al-aziz replied: "i would not like anyone else but you to have taken over the office". abd al-aziz died in anno hegirae 110 (728/729 ce).