Abd al-Aziz ibn al-Walid (Arabic: عبد العزيز بن الوليد, romanized: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn al-Walīd; died 728/729) was an Umayyad prince, commander in the wars against the Byzantine Empire, and governor of Damascus during the reign of his father, Caliph al-Walid I (r. 705–715). The most prominent of al-Walid's sons, his father attempted to install him as his successor, but was unsuccessful. After the death of al-Walid's brother, Caliph Sulayman (r. 715–717), Abd al-Aziz made a failed bid for the caliphate, his maternal uncle, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (r. 717–720), having succeeded to the office beforehand.
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Birth and background
Abd al-Aziz's father was the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I (r. 705–715) and his mother was Umm al-Banin, a daughter of al-Walid's paternal uncle, Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan. His wife was Maymuna bint Abd al-Rahman ibn Abdallah, the great-granddaughter of Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr, a prominent early Muslim figure, and great-great-granddaughter of the first Rashidun caliph, Abu Bakr (r. 632–634). He had two sons, Atiq and Abd al-Malik.
Abd al-Aziz was regarded by his father as "the sayyid, the most forceful personality, amongst his sons", according to the historian C. E. Bosworth. Al-Walid appointed him governor of Jund Dimashq (military district of Damascus). In 713, he is reported to have led the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, though early sources more commonly credit his uncle Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik with the role that year.