The year 74 of the Hijri calendar (693–4) is sometimes referred to in the Islamic tradition by the name ‘the year of unity’ (‘ām al-jamā‘a). The years ah 40 or 41 (660–1 or 661–2) also sometimes have the same name. The label probably derives from Umayyad-era chronologies, celebrating the victories of Mu‘awiya and then ‘Abd al-Malik over their rivals in the first and second civil wars. Although ‘Abd al-Malik had been acclaimed by the Umayyad clan and some Syrian tribesmen in 685 and had consolidated that claim by suppressing his cousin al-Ashdaq's bid for power in 689, it was only the victories of 691 and 692 that had extended his rule beyond Syria and Egypt, enabling him to appoint his own allies in other provinces. With Iraq and the Hijaz in the hands of men loyal to him, ‘Abd al-Malik could now claim to rule the whole community of the Faithful.

However, the challenge from Ibn al-Zubayr had exposed the Umayyads’ vulnerability to opponents who could make effective claims to leadership and legitimacy beyond Syria and Egypt. It had also exposed the weaknesses of the vast and decentralised empire, where economic, military and political resources were concentrated in the hands of the provincial governors, and where the provincial armies remained volatile and difficult to control. In response, ‘Abd al-Malik and his allies developed a programme of reforms to the tax systems of the provinces, to the military forces of the empire and to the promotion of the legitimacy of the caliph. Some of these policies had begun during the war with Ibn al-Zubayr, and some had first been developed by Ibn al-Zubayr himself. Others had precedents from the time of Mu‘awiya. However, the scale and pace of change in the 690s was unprecedented. Meanwhile, as for all late antique monarchs, the most important pillar of ‘Abd al-Malik's claim on power was that he was made victorious by God and so the war against Rome was pursued with vigour, alongside the ongoing struggle against internal opponents.