Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khālid ibn Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān, better known as Abū al-ʿUmayṭir al-Sufyānī, was an Umayyad rebel against Abbasid rule in Syria during the Fourth Muslim Civil War and a self-proclaimed messiah who, in 811, attempted to restore the Umayyad Caliphate, which had been toppled by the Abbasids in 750. He expelled the Abbasid governor of Syria, Sulayman ibn Abi Ja'far, from Damascus and set up a quasi-administration in the city. His claim to the caliphate soon after gained recognition in different parts of the Damascus, Homs and Qinnasrin districts, including the port of Sidon and city of Homs.
Abu al-Umaytir's support base consisted of the Banu Kalb, historically associated with his Sufyanid branch of the Umayyad family, and the wider Yaman tribal group, which put him at odds with the Yaman's rivals, the Qays. Persecution of the Qays in Damascus led to a campaign by the Qaysi chief and Abbasid loyalist, Ibn Bayhas al-Kilabi, to unseat Abu al-Umaytir. Using another Umayyad, Maslama ibn Ya'qub, as his proxy, his Qaysi fighters defeated and arrested Abu al-Umaytir in late 812 or early 813. Maslama claimed the caliphate for himself, leading Ibn Bayhas to depose him in late 813. Abu al-Umaytir and Maslama escaped Damascus and, with the Kalb's protection, held out in the Ghouta gardens around the city against attempts by Ibn Bayhas to capture them. Abu al-Umaytir died a natural death and his supporters flocked to another Umayyad claimant to the caliphate, Sa'id ibn Khalid al-Faddayni, whose suppression by Ibn Bayhas marked the last major attempt to reinstate Umayyad rule in Syria.
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