Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - Mutuwar Yazid da ɗansa kuma magajinsa Mu'awiya II cikin saurin maye gurbin juna a cikin 683 <unk> 684 ya haifar da rashin shugabanci a Damascus da kuma rugujewar ikon Umayyad a fadin Khalifanci. Yawancin larduna sun bayyana amincinsu ga abokin hamayyarsu na Makka mai suna Khalifa Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr. A wasu sassan Siriya, tsoffin kabilun Larabawa waɗanda suka sami matsayi mai daraja a fadar Umayyad da sojoji, musamman Banu Kalb, sun yi ƙoƙari don kiyaye mulkin Umayyad. Tun daga wannan lokacin Marwan da danginsa, gami da Abd al-Malik, sun koma Syria, inda Marwan ya sadu da Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad mai goyon bayan Umayyad, wanda aka kori shi daga gwamnansa a Iraki. Ibn Ziyad ya shawo kan Marwan ya gabatar da takararsa don Khalifanci yayin taron kolin kabilun Umayyad a Jabiya wanda shugaban Kalbi Ibn Bahdal ya shirya. Mutanen kabilar sun zabi Marwan a matsayin halifa kuma na biyun ya dogara da Kalb da abokan kawancen sa, wadanda aka san su da suna "Yaman" dangane da asalin su na Kudancin Arabiya (Yamani). Ikon su ya zo ne a kan kabilun Qaysi, sababbin sababbin waɗanda suka zo su mallaki arewacin Siriya da Jazira a karkashin Mu'awiya I kuma sun yi watsi da Ibn al-Zubayr. Marwan da magoya bayansa na Yamani sun kori Qays a yakin Marj Rahit
a cikin 684, wanda ya haifar da rikice-rikice na dogon lokaci da kishi tsakanin ƙungiyoyin kabilun biyu. Abd al-Malik bai halarci yaƙin ba saboda dalilai na addini, a cewar waƙoƙin zamani da aka tattara a cikin tarihin Abu Tammam (d. 845).