Tabari Volume 26
Tabari Volume 26
History of al-1abari
78088
26
VOLUME XXVI
40
Bibliotheca Persica
Edited by Ehsan Yar-Shater
Carole Hillenbrand
University of Edinburgh
Includes index.
ISBN o-88706-810-3 . ISBN o-887o6 -812-X (pbk.)
x. Islamic Empire-History - 661-75o. I.Hillenbrand , Carole.
II.Title. III.Series. IV.Series : Tabari. 838?-923 . Ta'rikh al-rusul
wa-al-mulilk. English;v.9. V.Series : Bibliotheca Persica (Albany,
N.Y.)
DS38 .2.T313 1985 vol. 9 1987
IDS38.51
909'.o97671 s-dcx9
(909'.097671 )
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
87-33505
CIP
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Preface
10
THE HISTORY OF PROPHETS AND KINGS (Tarikh al-rusul wa'Imuluk) by Abu Jacfar Muhammad b. Jadr al-Tabari (839-923),
here rendered as the History of al-Tabarf, is by common consent
the most important universal history produced in the world of
Islam. It has been translated here in its entirety for the first time
for the benefit of non-Arabists, with historical and philological
notes for those interested in the particulars of the text.
Tabari's monumental work explores the history of the ancient
nations, with special emphasis on biblical peoples and prophets,
the legendary and factual history of ancient Iran, and, in great
detail, the rise of Islam, the life of the Prophet Mul ammad, and
the history of the Islamic world down to the year 915. The first
volume of this translation will contain a biography of al-Tabari
and a discussion of the method , scope, and value of his work. It
will also provide information on some of the technical considerations that have guided the work of the translators.
vi
Preface
Ehsan Yar-Shater
e
Contents
00
Preface / v
Abbreviations / xi
Translator's Foreword / xiii
Table I. Genealogy of the Later Umayyads / xix
Table H. Genealogy of the Prophet's Family (The Shi'ah and the
'Abbasids) / xx
Map I. Khurasan / xxi
Map II. Transoxiana / xxii
Map III. Syria in the Umayyad Period / xxiii
Map IV. Al-Kufah and Its Environs / xxiv
viii Contents
Contents ix
The Dismissal of Yusuf b. 'Umar and the Appointment of
Manger b. Jumhur (as Governor of Iraq) / 196
The Text of Marwan 's Letter to al-Ghamr / 214
The Dismissal of Manger b. Jumhur from the Post of
Governor of Iraq / 219
Appendix II. Al-Walid's Letter Appointing His Two Sons, alHakam and 'Uthman, as His Successors / 271
Bibliography of Cited Works / 275
Index / 283
do
Abbreviations
0
Translator's Foreword
Translator's Foreword xv
construed as slightly derogatory to him . Nor, moreover, does alTabari opt to omit this episode, as does al-Balidhuri.
Al-Taban uses reports of Hishim b . Muhammad al-Kalbi, quoting either Abu Mikhnaf or other unspecified sources . Hisham alKalbi was also a Kufan and had access to material both from Abu
Mikhnaf and from his ovum father, Muhammad al-Kalbi . Hishim's
son, al-'Abbis, who is known to have been an informant for alBalidhuri, may well have been the missing transmitter through
whom al-Tabari derived the information , if it was passed on
orally.
For his material on Khurisin and Transoxiana , all of al-Tabari's
attributed reports come from al-Madi'ini, a historian who was
highly praised by 'Abbisid and later Muslim scholars as an authority on events in the eastern Islamic world. Much of the information provided by al-Madi'ini in al-Tabari's coverage of these
years is not extant in any other sources . The material is therefore
difficult to assess : sometimes it is very lacunary and on other
occasions the anecdotes are full and have the flavor of composite
accounts or folk tales.
This section of al-Tabari 's history contains a number of interesting chancery or insha ' documents which, if authentic (and
they probably are), have considerable value . These include the
correspondence between the caliph Hishim and his heir -apparent, al-Walid, which records the deterioration in their relationship (PP. 1746- 49). For this correspondence there are parallel
versions in the Ansab and the Aghani. By far the most challenging of these documents (and of daunting difficulty to the translator) is the elaborate and lengthy epistle of al-Walid, designating
his two young sons as his successors (pp. 1756-64). It is clear that
the text is corrupt in a number of places and there is no other
extant version with which to compare it. Nevertheless , in spite of
its verbal conceits, contorted style, and tedious length, it is at
times a tour de force, an arousing and persuasive piece of early
Arabic rhetorical prose.
The basis of the translation provided here has been the Leiden
text. Although there are a number of unsolved textual difficulties,
de Goeje 's editing achievement with its full critical apparatus
still excites admiration even after the lapse of a century. The
Cairo edition of al-Tabari has also been consulted throughout. At
s.
r1
I
3
Table II. Genealogy of the Prophet 's Family )The ShFah and the
'Abbisids)
'Abd al-Mullalib
al-'Abbas
Fitimah = 'Ali
al-Hasan
al-Hasan
'Abdallih
al-Husayn 'Ali
al-B! gir I I
Muhammad la far Yahys Muhammad
al-Sidiq
The names shown here are only those of importance to this volume of
al-Tabari's history.
U.
z0
^jver
M^^ghib
P;
z
'Q
H
N
N
W
...
(y
ZU
^^'' ^ W Q
..... ......
W
I W N
I-- W
C7 G
0
W
Q.
DAMASCU S
- AL-KUNASAH
MuWill Khiad
1. Mlkhnsf
AL-BASRAH
- Canal or river
Y Mosque
0 Swamp J Jebbinah
0 metres 500
.
16
e
The
Events of the Year [:6671
121
(DECEMBER 18, 738 -DECEMBER 6 ,
739)
40
Among the events taking place during this year were the raid into
Byzantium of Maslamah b. 'Abd al-Malik, ' during which he conquered Matamir,z and the raid into the country of the Lord of the
Golden Throne3 by Marwan b. Muhammad 4 Marwan captured
i. There is some confusion in the sources as to which Maslamah conducted this
raid. It is more likely that the Umayyad commander concerned here was the
experienced Maslamah b. 'Abd al-Malik who had conducted a number of campaigns into Asia Minor and Armenia and had been governor of the jazirah, Armenia, and Azarbi ypi n. This is the view of Ibn Khayyit (II, 367) and al-Ya'giibi
(Historlae, II, 3951. For the career of Maslamah b. 'Abd al-Malik, cf. Shaban, Islamic History. I, 136ff; Wellhausen, 316-19, Crone, 125.
s. The word mapamfr means underground caves or cellars, often used for storing
corn (cf. Freytag, 3811. Here, however, Matamir appears to be a specific place,
probably identifiable with the famous caves in Cappadocia. This is the name given
to them by E. Honigmann (Die Ostgrenze des Byzantinischen Reiches, 45-46).
Brooks definitely thinks Matimir is a place name ("The Arabs in Asia Minor
(641-750 ) from Arabic sources," JHS XVIII ( 1898): sox).
3. $allib sarfr al-dhahab. The area of the Sarir whom Wiet identifies as the
Avars was visited by Ibn Rustah some time before ago (9o 2 ) and is to be identified
as Daghestan. According to Ibn Rustah, "the king possesses a golden throne (sarfr)
and a silver throne ." The people were thus named because of the throne story. Cf.
Ibn Rustah, Les Atours, trans. by G. Wiet, 165; yud>id, 447 - 501 V . Minorsky, A
History of Sharvan and Darband, 167-68.
RebellionI I
[16681
12. The famous historian and genealogist , d. 206 (821) or 207 ( 822). Cf. Ibn alNadim, 1, 216-19, Duri, 53-54; Sezgin , I, 272.
13. 'Abdallah b. 'Ayyish b . al-Rabi'ah, a mubaddith. Cf. Ibn al-Nadim, I, 68.
14. Cf. the genealogical table of the 'Alids.
15. Cf. the genealogical table of the 'Abbasids.
16. Khalid b. 'Abdallah al-Qasri had been appointed governor of Iraq in io5
(723-24 ) or 106 ( 724-25). Cf. al-Tabari, II, 147t . He fell from power in 120 (738), so
this incident must have occurred before that date.
19. Umayyad caliph, ruled 105-25 (726-43). Cf. E12, s.v. IF. Gabrieli(.
20. Ibrahim b. Hishim al -Makhzumi, the maternal uncle of the caliph Hisham.
2r. The famous genealogist and historian (d. 157/774). Cf. U. Sezgin, Abu Mihnaf; Duri, 43-44.
22. There is confusion in the sources as to whether it was Khilid, his son Yazid,
or both who made the allegations. Whichever of the two made the claims about
the money did so under torture. Cf. Ibn A'tham, VIII, 108, al-Isfahini, Maqatil,
133i Fragmenta, 93.
23. Hishim's preferred place of residence . Cf. the fuller discussion in n. 426.
24. Fi sadagat rasa] Allah. This phrase is used in other sources . Cf. Shaykh alMufld, 402; Fragmenta, 92. Zayd was appointed by his brother Muhammad to
represent the I;Iusaynids in litigation against the Hasanids . Later on, al-Tabari
uses the term wuquf 'Ali when probably referring to the same litigation. Cf. n. 3S.
Cf. E12, "Fadak" (L. Veccia Vaglieri); Hrbek, " Mubammads Nachlass and die
Aliden," 145, 148 ; El', "$adaka" IT. H. Weir).
(1669]
( 1670)
When they came to Yusuf , they were ushered into his presence.
Yusuf sat Zayd b. 'Ali near him and questioned him in a kindly
manner. Then he asked the men about the money and they all
denied it, saying: "Yazid did not leave any money with us nor is
he owed anything from us ." Then Yusuf brought Yazid b. Khilid
out (of prison) to them and he put him and them together. Yusuf
said to Yazid : "This is Zayd b. 'Ali and this is Muhammad b.
'Umar b. 'Ali and this is so- and-so and this is so-and-so against
2s. Cf. al-Isfahan, Magatil, 135; lbn A'tham, VIII, ro9.
26. Qar/. The variant reading from MSS. BM and 0 , qadhf ("calumny"), also
makes good sense.
36. Yatabnlaghani ... ild kulli ghayah. An alternative translation might be:
"They were extremely skillful in argument."
neither Abu Bakr nor 'Umar would have brought us together. I (16731
37. The editor notes (1672, n. g) that Ibrahim b. Hishim was dismissed in 114
(732) and replaced by Khilid b . 'Abd al-Malik, who governed until 118 (736).
38. Attma'u an tandlaha . This is either a reference to the wilayat wuquf 'Ali
(the guardianship of'Ali's endowments ), which has already been mentioned, or to
the caliphate. One of the accounts from al -Balidhuri refers specifically to the
caliphate: attma'u ft al-khilafah (Ansab, 2301.
39. "'The Helpers." The term was originally used to designate the men of Medina who supported the Prophet . In Umayyad times, the Angir formed a "pious
opposition" to the regime. Cf. Ell, s.v. (W. Montgomery Watt).
40. Qabtin was the legendary forefather of the "Southern" tribes just as
Qudi'ah was the ancestor of the "Northerners." Cf. E12, s.v. (A. Fischer-A. K.
Irvine).
43. Al-Balidhuri quotes in the mouth of Zayd a scabrous story about 'Abdallih's
mother. Cf. Ansab, 230.
44. Al-Madi'ini, the famous historian , d. 225 (839). Cf. Duri, 481 Ell, s.v. (C.
Brockelmann); Ell, s.v. (U. Sezgin).
45. According to Ibn al-Athir, Zayd is referring here to his aunt who married
again after the death of her husband (V, 172).
46. Fitimah bint al-Husayn b. 'Ali.
47. For an almost identical account, cf. Fragmenta, 92-93.
one thing and others another. Some said Zayd had said such-andsuch and others said 'Abdallah had said such-and-such. The next [ 16741
morning Khilid held an audience in the mosque and the people
assembled, some gloating, some grieving, and Khilid called the
two of them, wanting them to insult one another. 'Abdallih made
as if to speak, so Zayd said : "Don't hurry, Abu Muhammad! Zayd
will free all his slaves before he ever litigates with you in front of
Khilid." Then Zayd went up to Khilid and said to him: "Khilid,
you have assembled the descendants of the Prophet of God in a
way in which Abu Bakr and 'Umar would never have done."
Khilid said: "Is there no one here to answer this fool?" Then one
of the Angir from the family of 'Amr b. ]Uazm spoke and said:
"You descendant of the 'dustman' ('Ali[48 and of that fool Husayn ! Can't you see that you have a duty to the governor and that
you owe him obedience ?" Zayd retorted: "Shut up, Qahtani, we
don't reply to the likes of you." The man said : "Why are you
shunning me? By God, I am better than you and my father is
better than your father and my mother is better than your mother." Zayd laughed it off and said : "0 tribe of Quraysh! This religion has gone, but has honorable lineage gone too? By God, the
religion of the people may disappear, but their honorable lineage
does not ." Then 'Abdallih b. Wigid b. 'Abdallih b. ' Umar b. alKhattib said : "You are a liar, you Qahtani! By God, he is better
than you as a person and in respect of his father and mother and in
every way." He spoke about Zayd for a long time and the Qahtini
said: "Leave us alone, Ibn Wigid." Then Ibn Wigid took a hand - [16751
ful of stones and threw them on the ground and said : "By God, I
have no patience with this," and he stood up [and left).
Then Zayd went to Hishim b. 'Abd al-Malik. Hishim began by
not allowing Zayd into his presence, so Zayd complained in writing to Hishim, and whenever he did so Hishim wrote at the
bottom of it: "Go back to your amir." Zayd said: "By God, I won't
go back to Khilid ever again. I am not asking for money. I am only
a litigant." Then one day, after a long delay, Hishim allowed
Zayd in to see him.
48. Literally, "0 descendant of Abu Turib" ( "father of dust," "dustman"!. This
was a name given contemptuously to 'Ali by his enemies, but it was later interpreted as an honorific and legends developed on this theme. Cf. E12, "'Ali b. Abi
Tilib" (L. Veccis Vaglieri).
49. Abu Zayd 'Umar b. Shabbah al-Numayri (d. 264 / 877), historian and mubaddith. Cf. Sezgin, 1, 345, Rosenthal, 386.
50. 'Umar in the text. The editor later corrects it in Introductio, p. Dccx.
5r. On the office of hajib, cf. E12, s.v. (D. Sourdel).
52. An important garrison town (misr) in early Islamic times. For a further
discussion of al-Kufah, cf. n. 221 and n. 233.
53. Al-Abrash Said b. al-Walid al-Kalbi . For stories about his dealings with
Hishim, cf. Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, I, 74,148 ; II, 124; al -I$fahani, Aghuni, II, 121; X, 62;
&I-Jahshiyiri, 37.
54. Zayd is presumably implying that just because Hishim is caliph , God is not
necessarily pleased with him. Cf. Shaykh al-Mufid, 404; Ya 'qubi, Historiae, 11, 67.
Al-Mas'udi has "No one is too high or too humble to dispense with fearing God"
(Munij, V, 4681.
Some sources say that Yusuf sent a messenger with Zayd who
took him as far as 'Uthayb.59 The Shi 'is joined him there and said
55. This is probably a reference to Silim b. 'Abd al-Rabmin, Hishim's kadb,
who was in charge of the diwan al-rasd'il. The Leiden index differentiates between
Silim the kddb and another Salim, the mawli of the 'Anbasah. For a clear discussion of the names and identity of Salim, cf. Grignasci, 12-13.
56. Cf. a similar account in Ibn A'tham, VIII, rro-rr.
57. "The one to whom victory is given." Cf. n. 2o6.
58. Two towns bear this name. This is a reference to the large hamlet five
leagues west of al-Kufah, the first stage on the road to Mecca . Cf. Le Strange,
Lands, 76, 83.
59. 'Uthayb was 6 mils ( r3 km( from al-Qidisiyyah and was a fortified place in
the desert. Cf. Ibn Rustah, 202.
Quraysh, the Jumabi and the Makhzumi, went to Medina and the
two Hishimis, Dawud b. 'Ali and Zayd b. `Ali, stayed behind in alKufah.
It was reported that Zayd stayed in al-Kufah for a period of four
or five months. Yusuf then ordered him to leave and wrote to his
agent ('omil)62 in al-Kiifah-Yusuf being at that time in alHirah63-ordering him to harass Zayd. Zayd said that he was in
litigation with some of the family of Talbah b. 'Ubaydallah64
about money in Medina . Yusuf's agent wrote to him about this
and Yusuf let Zayd stay on a few days. Then the news reached
Yusuf that the Shi'is were rallying to Zayd. So Yusuf wrote to his
agent saying: "Send Zayd away and don 't allow him to stay any
longer. If he asserts that he is in litigation, then let him appoint
an agent and choose a trustee to take his place in the legal pro- [1679)
ceedings." A group of people, amongst whom were Salamah b.
Kuhayl, Nagr b. Khuzaymah al-'Absi, Mu'awiyah b. Isbiq b. Zayd
b. Hirithah al-Angiri, Hujayyah b. al-Akhlaj al-Kindi,65 and other
Kufan leaders, had given Zayd the oath of allegiance.
When Dawud b. 'Ali discovered this, he said to Zayd: "Cousin,
don't let these men make you delude yourself, for you should
learn a lesson from the members of your family and the way in
which these people (the Kufans) let them down." Zayd said:
"Diwud, the Umayyads have been inordinately proud and
pitiless." Dawud continued speaking (to Zayd) in this way until
Zayd decided to leave (al-Kufah ) and they both went as far as alQadisiyyah.
According to Abu 'Ubaydah: The Kufans followed Zayd to alTha'labiyyah66 and they said to him : "We are forty thousand. If
61. For this term, which was used for a variety of government officials , including the governor of a province and the director of finances in a provincial centre,
cf. E12, s.v. (A. A. Duri(.
63. A1-I;lirah, situated close to the Euphrates and to the southeast of present-day
Najaf, was the center , of Lakhmid power in the late Sasanian period. Cf. Le
Strange, Lands, 75, Ell, s.v. (1. Shahid).
64. One of the Companions of the Prophet . Cf. Ell, s.v. (G. Levi della Vida.
65. The text has al-Akhlaj. This is emended by the editor to al-Ajlab (Introductio, p. nccx).
66. A town on the road from Iraq to Mecca, between Bitiniyyah and
Khuzaymiyyah. In 'Abbisid times it was one-third of the route from Baghdad to
Mecca. Cf. Ibn Rustah, 204.
Zayd b. 'Ali said to Dawud : "'Ali had Mu'awiyah, 68 with his sagacity and cunning,69 and the Syrians fighting against him and alHusayn had Yazid b . Mu'awiyah70 fighting against him, and the
situation went in their favor ." Dawud said: "I am afraid that if
you go back with them nobody will be more violent toward you
than they will be, but you know best ." Then Dawud went to
Medina and Zayd returned to al-Kufah.
According to'Ubayd b. lannad-'Ala' b. Muslim al-Khaffaf: Hisham wrote to Yusuf telling him to send Zayd to his own town,
since whenever he lived in any other town and summoned his
followers they responded to his call . So Yusuf sent him away and
when he had got as far as al-Tha 'labiyyah or al-Qadisiyyah, the
wretches, that is, the Kufans, caught up with him, brought him
back (to al-Kufah ), and gave the oath of allegiance to him. Salamah b . Kuhayl71 came to him and asked permission to see him.
67. The Prophet's grandson. Cf. the genealogical table of the 'Alids.
68. The first Umayyad caliph, who ruled from 41 to 6o (661-So).
69. Bi-dahd'ihi wa-nakhrd'ihi. The two words are synonyms . Cf. Ibn Man;ur,
Lisan, III, 715.
70. The second Umayyad caliph, who ruled from 6o to 64 ( 680-83). During his
reign (in 61 / 68o) the Prophet 's grandson, al-Husayn, was martyred at Karbala'.
71. For the conversation between Salamah and Zayd, cf. also Fragmento, 95-96.
74. Cf. al-Balidhuri, Ansab, 241. Parts of this are susceptible to more than one
interpretation. The meaning of fa'antum is especially difficult. However, in view
of the fact that the other parts of 'All's statements are in the form of sharp
contrasts, ta'ana has been translated as "to join in" (Cf. Lane, 1, 1855 ). Other
possible translations would include "you defame (him)" or even "you go away."
(Cf. Lane, loc. cit.).
75. Al-Balidhurl has a shorter version of this letter from Hisham to Y3suf. AlBalidhuri attributes the letter to Silim (Ansab, 238).
121
21
83. Al-Balidhuri's account is clearer : " He stayed in al-Kafah about ten months
and went to al-Bagrah and stayed there for two months " (Ansab, 237). Cf. also alIgfahini, Magdtil, 135.
84. The alluvial plain of southern Iraq. Cf. Le Strange, Lands, 24.
8 5. This anecdote is also given by lbn A'tham, VIII, 112.
[16861
go. Versions of this oath are given by Ibn A'tham ( VM, 113 ) and &I-Balidluld
(Ansab, 137-38).
9r. Mubammad's sunnah comprises his deeds , sayings, and unspoken approval.
Cf. Ell, s.v. (A. T. Wensinck).
92. Cf. Qur'in 28, vv. 4-5.
93. The family of the Prophet.
94. Literally, "on his hand."
95. Again the plural has been used here for consistency.
96. The last Umayyad governor of Khurisin , appointed by Hishim in rso (738).
97. It is likely that these three campaigns were spread out over a number of
years ( r2r-13 /739-46 cf. Cabrieli, Califfato, 66.
98. For the career of KUraUl, a Targesh leader, cf. Gibb, 85, gr . Gibb believes
that al-TabarI's narrative here, which attributes the capture of Kuraul to Naar b.
Sayyir, is later Muslim glorification of Arab achievements. He adds that if Kunnl
is to be identified with Bagha Tarkhin , he was executed by the Chinese in 116
( 744). Gabrieli accepts al-Tabari 's account ( Califato. 66 ff.).
99. For the activities of Na$r b. Sayyir in Central Asia, cf. Gibb, 88-991 van
Vloten, 71-721 Wellhausen, 473-86; Gabrieli, Califfato, 27-70.
zoo. A city now in Afghanistan. According to al-Ya 'qubi, Balkh was the greatest
city of Khurisin (Buldan. trans. by G. Wiet , zoo(. Cf. Le Strange, Lands, 420-22.
101. Bab al-lladid, the famous "Iron Gate," two marches to the north of
Hishimjird. This defile in the mountains was the thoroughfare between Samarqand and India. Cf. Le Strange, Lands, 441-42.
102. Marw al-Shihijin, the important city of medieval Khurisin. The epithet
al-Shihijin was used to distinguish it from Marw al-Rud . Cf. Le Strange, Lands,
397-4031 E12, s.v. (A. Yakubovski-C. E. Bosworth(.
103. Bahrimsis had been appointed Marzubin of Marw by Muslim b. Said alKilibi in 105 ( 723-24). It was Muslim 's policy to appoint officials acceptable to
the Persians . Cf. al-Tabari, II, 1462.
104. I.e . taxation.
105. It is difficult to define exactly the use of such terms as kharaj and jizyah in
this period and area . Cf. Van Vloten, 72; Ere, "Kharidj " ( Cl. Cahen).
polytheists1O6 who had been exempted from the jizyah. He imposed the jizyah on the polytheists and removed it from the Muslims. Then he readjusted the khardj, allocating it properly, and
reassessed the amount (of tribute) payable in accordance with the
peace treaty ($ulh). In the time of the Umayyads, the revenues of
Marw amounted to one hundred thousand dirhams , not including
the kharaj.1O7
Nagr b. Sayyir made a second raid to Waraghsarto8 and
Samargandl09 and returned to Marw . He then went out on a raid
from Marw a third time, to al-Shish, 110 but Kurgul , accompanied
by fifteen thousand men, prevented him from fording the river,
which was the river at al-Shish . Kurgul was paying each of his
men per month one piece of silk, which at that time was worth
twenty-five dirhams. The two armies remained a bowshot apart
and Kurgul prevented Nagr from crossing to al-Shish. Al-Hirith b.
Surayj was at that time in Turkish territory and he had come with
the TurksI t 1 and was positioned opposite Nagr . He shot a short
arrow at Nagr who was sitting on his litter (sarir) 112 on the river
bank. The arrow hit a servant of Na$r's in the side of the mouth
while he was performing Nagr's ablutions . Nagr got down from
his litter and shot an arrow at a horse belonging to one of the
Syrians and it fell dead.
rob. Literally, "Thirty thousand Muslims who had been paying the jizyah and
eighty thousand polytheists who had been exempted from the jizyah came to
him."
to7. For a clear summary of the preceding fiscal situation in Khurgsin and of
this celebrated tax reform introduced by Nagr b . Sayyir, cf. Hawting, rob. Cf. also
Wellhausen, 477-82; Gabrieli, Califfato, 68. Here Nagr established that all
cultivators of taxable land, whatever their religious affiliation, would be liable to
pay land tax (kharaj) and that non-Muslims only would pay poll tax (jizyah).
rob. A large village between Banjikath and Samarqand . Cf. Le Strange, Lands,
465, 467.
rog. For this important Central Asian city , cf. Ell, s.v. (H. H. Schaeder).
iio. Nowadays Tashkent . The medieval city of al -Shish lay to the west of
Farghi nah, on the right bank of the Jaxartes . It was the greatest of the Arab towns
beyond the Jaxartes . Cf. Le Strange, Lands, 480-82.
x 1 t. In 116 (734) al- Hirith b. Surayj from the Banu Tamim had led a revolt of
Arabs and Soghdian mawlis against the Umayyads and in support of the rights of
the mawlis (non-Arab Muslims ). Al-Hirith was willing to collaborate with the
Turgesh with whom he eventually took refuge . Cf. Gibb, 76-85i Hawting, 86-88,
107-09; Shaban, 'Abbasid revolution. x 18-22, E12, s.v. (M. J. Kister).
112. For the meanings of saris, cf. Sadan, 32-41.
114. The province of Ushrusanah lay to the east of Samarqand . There was a city
of the same name . Cf. Le Strange, Lands. 474-76.
115. Akhmas, plural of khums ("fifths" (. From 50 (670(, Arab tribal settlements
were divided into quarters or fifths. Cf. Crone, ;1.
116. A regular regiment of soldiers under a ga 'id. Cf. Crone, 38.
117. The sequence of events in this passage is rather obscure.
118. Literally, "who had trailed his coat of mail for a (life-) span."
119. lbn al-Athir (V, 177) has four thousand camels.
124. The word denotes either "having one thousand men under him" or "as
strong as one thousand men." A number of other warriors were given this epithet.
Cf. F. Justi, Iranisches Namenbuch, 128.
125. Nihiwand was a city some forty miles south of Hamadin. Cf. Le Strange,
Lands, 196-97.
126. Qabtabah b. Shabib al-Ti'i was appointed by the imim Ibrahim as military
commander of the Hishimiyyah. Qabtabah and his son defeated the Umayyad
forces at Nihiwand in Dhil al-Qa'dah 131 (June 22-JUIy 22, 7491. Cf . Wellhausen,
540; al -Tabari, III, 7-8.
129. The city of Farghinah, otherwise known as Akhsikath, lay on the north
bank of the Jaxartes. There was a province of the same name . Cf. Le Strange,
Lands, 477, and map opposite p. 433.
130. Sir iln hadhd al-ghariz dhanabahu bi-al Shash (lit., "go to that one who
sticks his tail in al-Shish"). Cf. the example agama bi-ardina wa-gharaza
dhanabahu ("he stayed in our land and remained fixed"). Cf. Lane, 1, 980.
131. Wartat al-Muslimin. War(ah means literally slime or thin mud into which
sheep or goats fall and from which they cannot extricate themselves . Cf. Lane, I,
2938.
132. In 106 (724) Ya)ayi b. Hudayn al-Bakri had advised 'Agim to stand firm
against al-Hirith b. Surayj . Wellhausen describes him as "the most esteemed
leader of the Bakr." Cf. Wellhausen, 467, 487.
133. Again the word used is wartah. Na$r is being sarcastic about the warning
Yusuf b. 'Umar has given him in his letter.
134. For a definition of 'arradah and manianiq, both medieval artillery machines, cf. Bl2, "'Arridah" (C. Cahen).
135. I.e., al-Hirith 's own people.
137. Awda bi-akhira minhu 'aridun baridun. Noldeke prefers the reading biAkhrama; cf. Add., p. DCCX. The Cairo edition of al-Tabari (VII, 176) follows
Noldeke.
138. This episode, with similar details, is given by Narshakhi, 6o-62. The
Bukhir Khudih was the local ruler of Bukhiri (ibid.).
139. Wa-kanat al-maslabah 'alayhim wa-ma'ahum dihqdnan. The translation
is only tentative . The meaning of maslabah is obscure in this context. Cf. Gloss.,
p. ccxcv. As well as an arms depot, the word can denote the task of protecting the
roads. Another possibility is the translation "they were armed." If the word is
translated as "garrison," it is still not clear whether the use of the third person
masculine plural suffix refers to the Muslims or to the Bukhir Khudih and his
followers.
14o. Dingan: a local Persian landlord. Cf. Morony, 529.
141. Wa-kana aslamd'ala yaday Nasr, rendered by Frye in his translation of the
similar passage in Narshakhi as "Both had accepted Islam from Ns$r." Cf.
Narshakhi, 61.
142. Cf. al-'Tabarl, II, 1528.
143. The text has Ttiq Siyadah. This is corrected by the editor on the basis of his
reading of Narshakhi to Tuq Shidah. Cf. Add., nccx. A more likely reading is
Tughshadah, as given by Gibb, 91.
[16931
1149. Narshakhi adds, "He did not pray, for he was still an unbeliever in secret."
Cf. Narshakhi, 61. For kursi, cf. Sadan, 123-37. Probably it was a stool, being
more portable.
150. A dingdn who is mentioned in 116 ( 734) in the company of al-Hirith b.
Surayj . Cf. al-Tabari, 11, 1569.
151. The vocalization of this name is uncertain . This same doctor in 1118 (736)
cut out the tongue of Khidish and put out his eye . Cf. al-Tabari, 11, 1589.
they removed the flesh from him and took his bones to
Bukhara.152
Nasr made for al-Shish and when he came to Ushrusanah, its
dingan, Abirikharrah,' " gave him money. Then Nasr went on
to al-Shish. He made Muhammad b. Khilid al-Azdi agent'54
(' amil) of Farghinah and despatched him there with ten people.
MuIammad sent back from Farghinah Jaysh's155 brother and
those dingans who were with him, both from al-Khuttal136 and
from other areas. He took away many idols from there and put
them in Ushriisanah.
Some sources said that when Nasr came to al-Shish, the ruler,
Qadir, 157 received him, offering peace terms , a gift, and a pledge.
Nasr imposed on him the condition that he should expel alHarith b. Surayj from his town . He the fore sent him away to
Firib. 158 Then Nasr appointed as the ent ('amil) of al-Shish [x695)
Nizak b. $ali1, the mawla of 'Amr b. al- As. Nasr moved on and
came down to Quba, 159 which is in the gion of Farghanah. The
people there had heard that Nasr was co so they burned the
grass and stored away the provisions.
In the remaining part of the year 121, Nasr sent people to the
waif 'ahd of the ruler of Farghinah160 d they besieged him in
one of its citadels. The Muslims were ught unprepared by the
people in the citadel, who seized and dry a away their horses and
isa. For a bibliography on Zoroastrian burial customs, cf. Frye's n. 223 in his
translation of Narshakhl, 141.
15 6. The mountainous tract on the upper course of the Oxus, between the rivers
Pan) and Wakhshib. The term was also vaguely applied to all lands of the infidel
to the east and north of Khurisin. Cf. Ell, s.v. (C. E. Bosworth)j Marquart, Iraniahr, 299-3031 Le Strange, Lands, 437-39.
157. Q.d.r.: the form of this name is unclear. In the apparatus it is suggested that
the person may be B.d.r'jurkhin (cf. al-Tabarl, II, 1629). The editor later suggests
another form, Tudun. Cf. Add., p. Dccx.
158. Firib: the city on the east bank of the jaxartes, later known as Utrir. This
city should not be confused with Firyib in Khurisin. Cf. Le Strange, Lands, 484851 S9. A city in the province of Farghinah. Cf. Yiqut, IV, 24-25; Ibn liawgal, 490.
160. Walt 'ahd: the appointed heir and successor. lbn al-Ateir has wall fabib
Fargh3nah (V, 179).
Send a wise man and you will not need to give him any
orders."
I told Nagr what had happened and he said : "You did well."
Then he gave permission for the mother of the ruler of Farghanah
to come in. She came in to him and he began talking to her, with
the interpreter explaining what she was saying. Then Tamim b.
168. The well-known province to the south of the Caspian Sea. Cf . Le Strange,
Lands, 368-76.
16g. Ibn al-Athir has al-Mabsur "the one under siege " (V, 179(.
17o. lthisul: literally, "good or bad qualities." Cf. Lane, I, 751.
171. The variant qul in the apparatus has been preferred here since it makes
better sense than quill in the text.
172. This seems a rather obscure narrative . Presumably, if the text is not faulty,
which it may well be, Sulaymin's elaborate dimarche was aimed at giving an
impression of surprise if the amir of Farghinah should decide after all to sign the
treaty.
The
Events of the Year
122
(DECEMBER
7,
739-NOVEMBER 25,
740)
( 16991
the nephew of Bariq, 187 and that Zayd was living with them.
Yusuf sent people to their house in search of Zayd b. 'Ali, but he
was not to be found there . Then the two men were seized and
brought to Yusuf. When he had spoken to the two of them, the
situation with Zayd and his followers became clear to him.
185. This man is also mentioned in a similar context by Ibn A'tham (VIII, 114)
and al-Igfahini (Magotil, 13S).
186. Literally, "gave him news about him and informed him that...
187. Literally, "the son of a sister of Biriq."
our opinion, that did not amount to unbelief Jkufr) on their part,
i88. Literally , "Zayd b. 'Ali."
189. Al-Hakam b. al-Salt al-Thagafi. He was related to Yusuf b. 'Umar. Cf. Ibn
Khayyit, 5 36.
19o. A tribal group that included some branches of al-Hawn b. Khuzaymah. Cf.
Ibn al-Kalbi , II, 465.
191. For a discussion of this man 's career, cf. Crone, 152-53. He later became
governor of al-Kufah . Cf. al-Tabari, II, 1855 .
191. This incident is also recorded in Fragnenta, 96-97, and al-Balidhuri, Ansub, 240.
193. Ibn A'tham !VIII, 116) writes, "those two tyrannical men, Abu Bakr and
'Umar."
194. This acceptance by Zayd of Abu Bakr and 'Umar is an instance of the
imamat al-mafddl, the "imamate of the inferior." If this passage is an accurate
reflection of Zayd's view, he was trying here to mobilize a wide spectrum of
support to overthrow the Umayyads. For a general discussion of the imnmat alfadil and the imnmat al-mafddl, cf. Watt, Formative Period, 116-17.
( 1701 )
But they came back and kept secret what it was that Ja'far had
instructed them to do.198
Arrangements were made for the revolt of Zayd b . 'Ali, and he
fixed the time with his followers as the night of Wednesday, the
first night of $afar, 122 (Wednesday, January 6, 740). When Yusuf
b. 'Umar heard that Zayd had resolved on rebellion, he sent word
195. Muhammad b. 'Ali b. al-Husayn. Cf. the 'Alids' genealogical table.
196. For this group, cf. Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, who writes: "They are called alRafidah only because they deserted ( the claims of) Abu Bakr and 'Umar." ('Iqd. 1,
217).
197. Al-Mughirah b. Said al-111i. Cf. Watt, Formative Period, 51.
198. Cf. al-Balidhuri, Ansnb. 240.
to al-Hakam b. al-Salt, ordering him to assemble the people of alKufah in the Great Mosque199 and to detain them there. AlHakam sent for the'urafa ;200 the police, the manakib,201 and the
soldiers, and stationed them in the mosque. Then he issued the
following proclamations "Verily, the amir says: 'We will not be
responsible for the consequences for those whom we find in their
houses, so go to the Great Mosque.' 11 So the people went to the
mosque on the Tuesday, one day before Zayd's rebellion.202
They searched for Zayd b. 'All in the house of Mu awiyah b.
Isliaq b. Zayd b. Harithah al-Angari203 but he left there during the
night before the Wednesday.204 It was a night of extreme cold * 205
Then the rebels raised burning torches and shouted: "0 Mansur,
kill! Kill, 0 Manger!"206 Whenever fire had consumed one torch
they raised up another, and they continued like this until sunrise.
In the morning, Zayd b. 'Ali sent al-Qasim al-Tin'i,207 who was
later called al-Haclrami, and another of his followers to proclaim
their war-cry (shi'ur). When they were in the Jabbanah of 'Abd alQays, Ja'far b. al-'Abbas al-Kindi208 met them. They attacked him
and his companions 2O9 The man who was with al-Qasim al-Tin'!
19g. For the background history of the Great Mosque of al-Kufah, cf. Massignon, 353.
Zoo. 'Arif. plural 'urafa': an official in charge of a military division in the garrison towns. Cf. Eta, "'Arif" IS. el-Ali and C. Cahen).
tor. Mankib, plural manakib: an official below the'arif Cf. Lane, 1, 2846.
2o2. Cf. al-Balidhuri, Ansab, 243; al-l$fshini, Magdtil, 136.
203. Cf. P. 22.
204. One report from al-ISfahini adds that this was seven nights before the end
of al-Mubarram. Cf. Maqatil, 136.
205. The translation has simplified the repetitiveness of the original . A literal
translation would read : "They searched for Zayd in the house of Mu 'iwiyah b.
Isbiq b. Zayd b. Hirithah al-Anpiri. He (Zayd) left the house of Mu'iwiyah b. Isbiq
in the night, which was the night of Wednesday, on an extremely cold night."
2o6. Yd Mansur, omit, omit ye Mansur ("Kill, kill, you who are given victory").
This was the Prophet's war-cry on the Day of the Bann al-Musgliq. Cf. lbn
Hishim, 2, 218.
207. Other sources give al-T. b. '1. Cf. In al-Athir, V, 182; al-I5fahini, Magatil,
136; Fragmenta, 97.
2o8. Later he was to become governor of Armenia. In 127 1745) he fell in battle
against the Khirijite al-Qabbik b. Qays b. al-Husayn. Cf. lbn al-Kalbi, II, 253.
2o9. Al-Tabari's account is ambiguous : shaddu 'alayhi we asbabihi. Fragments, 97 has shadda 'alayhima ("he attacked the two of them "). This latter version
seems to suggest that it was Ja'far who began the fight against the two supporters
of Zayd. Al-Igfahini's account is clear : "Ja'far met them; they attacked him and
his companions " (Magdtil, 136).
222. The text has al-Muzani, as elsewhere in al-Tabari 's history. Cf. II, 1707,
1711 . The name should be read as al-Murri . Cf. Fragmenta, 99, Ibn Khayyi;, 5561
Ibn al-Kalbi, II, 03.
223. This person is called al-Arrant by Ibn al-Athir, V, 182.
224. These are specified as cavalry in Fragmenta. 98.
1 17041
243. Khilid b. Urfutah fought at the battle of al-Qidisiyyah against the Persians
and at al-Nukhaylah near al-Knfah against the Khirijites . He was put in charge of
the Bann Tamim and the Bann Hamdin in 51 (671!. Cf. al-Tabad, II, 1311 Shaykh
al-Mufid, 249; Ibn al-Kalbi , II, 343. His house was a well-known landmark in alKnfah for a long time . Cf. al-Tabari, It 615.
244. He led the Umayyad army against al-Husayn in 61 (680) . Cf. Shaykh alMufid , 341-45.
245. Sahib liwa'i 'Ubaydallah. The Iiwa' was the banner of a particular commander. Cf. Lane, I, 3015.
117061
35o. Thumma 4arabalu fa-lam yasna' shay'an. This translation is only tentative. Cf. al-Baladhuri, Ansab, 247.
251. The text has'Amrmin Hurayth. Citing this reference, the index gives'Amr
b. Hurayth al-Makhzumi , 415- t6. 'Amr b. Hurayth (d. 98/7 16-17) was a leader of
the Kufans and an opponent of the Shi'is. Cf. Shaykh al- Mufid, 244; Ibn al -Kalbi, II,
176.
252. The Bib al - Hil was situated near the Friday mosque and the citadel. Cf.
Massignon's map.
253. On din, cf. E12, s.v. (L. Gardet). On dunya, cf. E12, s.v. (A. S. Tritton).
One of the Syrians from the Banu 'Abs258 who was called
Na'i1259 b. Farwah had said to Yusuf b. 'Umar : "By God, if I set
eyes on Na$r b. Khuzaymah I will surely kill him or he will surely
kill me." Yusuf said to him: "Take this sword," and he gave him
a sword that would cut through anything it touched . When the
soldiers of al-'Abbas b. Sa'id and those of Zayd met and fought
each other, Ni'il b. Farwah caught sight of Na$r b. Khuzaymah.
254. The army storehouse which was near the bridge over the Euphrates. Cf.
Massignon, 349.
255. The sequence of events is clearer in Fragmenta, 99.
256. Al- lofahani gives a similar conversation between Yusuf and al -Rayyan. Cf.
Magatil, 139.
257. Cf. n. 222 above.
258. For the Bann 'Abs, cf. Ibn al-Kalbi, II, 135-36.
259. Ibn al-Athir calls him Nabil (V, 184).
He went toward him, struck him, and cut his thigh. Then Na$r
dealt him a blow which killed him. Na$r also died soon afterward.
The battle raged on fiercely and Zayd b. 'Ali put the Syrians to
flight, killing about seventy of them. The Syrians departed in a
sorry state after al-'Abbas b. Sa'id had called out to them: "Get
back on your horses . In a narrow place cavalry can't do anything
against foot soldiers ." So they got back on their horses.
In the evening Yusuf b. 'Umar prepared them for battle again
[170$1
and sent them off. They came and met up with Zayd's men. Zayd
launched an attack on them and routed them. Then he pursued
them, driving them into the swamp (sabkhah). 260 He attacked
them in the swamp, pushing them toward the Banu Sulaym.26I
Then he followed them with his horsemen and foot soldiers until
he and his men had taken possession of the dam.
Zayd then sallied forth262 against the Syrians in the area between the Birig263 and the Ru'as,264 and there he engaged in a
fierce battle with them. His standard -bearer that day was a man
called 'Abd al-$amad b. Abi Malik b. Masruh from the Banu Sa'd b.
Zayd, the ally (Iia1if)265 of al-'Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muflalib.2" Masrub al -Sa'di had married $afiyyah, the daughter of al- Abbas b.
'Abd al-Mullalib. The Syrian cavalry began by breaking in the face
of Zayd's cavalry and his foot soldiers . Then al-'Abbas b. Said alMurri267 sent to Yusuf b. 'Umar informing him of this and asking
him to send him archers . So Yusuf sent them Sulayman (b. Sulaym) b. Kaysan al-Kalbi2611 with the Qiginiyyah and the
Bukhiriyyah269 who were archers. They began shooting at Zayd
260. The word is vocalized in the text as sabkhah but is later corrected to
sabakhah; the lexica give both forms as correct . Cf. Add., p. nccx . For the location of the swamp, cf. Massignon's map.
268. Properly Sulaymin b. Sulaym b. Kaysan al-Kalbi . Cf. Index, 249; Crone,
139.
269. This group had been formed by 'Ubaydall ah b. Ziyid when he had taken
four thousand Bukhirans prisoner in 53-54 (673-74(. Cf. Narshakhi, 37, Crone,
230, n. 271.
and his men. (In fact ), Zayd had wanted to send his men away
when they reached the swamp but they had refused. Mu'awiyah b.
Isliaq al-Angari fought fiercely in front of Zayd b. 'Ali and was
killed.27O Zayd b . 'Ali and his men held firm until, when night
was at hand, someone shot an arrow which struck him on the left
side of his forehead and lodged in his head . Zayd then withdrew
with his men. The Syrians, however, thought they had with - [ 117091
drawn only because not was falling.27'
Salamah b. Thibit al-Laythi, who was with Zayd b. 'Ali and
who, together with a slave belonging to Mu'awiyah b. Ishaq, was
the last person to leave that day, said : I went with my companion,
following in close behind Zayd b . 'Ali, and we found that he had
been lifted down from his horse and taken into the apartment
(bayt) of Harrin b. Karimah,272 a mawli of one of the Arabs in the
sikkah al-barid, 273 into the living area (dur) of Arbab274 and
Shakir.275 [Salamah b. Thabit went on:] I came into the presence
of Zayd and I said to him: "May God make me your ransom, Abu
al-Husayn!" His companions went off and fetched a physician
called Shugayr, 276 a mawla of the Banu Ru 'as. This man took the
arrow out of his forehead while I was watching him and, by God,
hardly had he taken it out before Zayd began screaming and it was
not long before he died. The people around said : "Where shall we
bury him and where can we conceal him?" One of his companions said : " Let's dress him in his coat of mail and throw him in
the water." Another of them said : "No, let's cut off his head and
put it amongst those slain in battle ." Zayd's son, Yabya, said:
"No, by God, the dogs shall not eat the flesh of my father."
Another of them said : "Let's take him to al -'Abbasiyyah and bury
him."277
270. Literally, "He was killed in front of him."
271. Cf. al-Balidhuri, Ansdb, 250; al-Iafahini, Maqdtil, 1141.
272. Al-lsfahini has Harrin b. Abi Karimah. Cf. ibid.
273. "The street of the post."
274. The Bann Arlaab were the clan of Yazid b. Qays, the police chief of 'All. Cf.
Djalt, 159.
275. The Banu Shikir were a big clan from whom In Kimil, one of Mukhtir's
associates , recruited men. Cf. Djait, loc. cit.
276. The doctor's name in some sources was Sufyin. Cf. al-Balidhuri, Ansdb,
251, al-l fahini, Magdtil, 142.
277. Ibn A'tham, VIII, 121, relates that Zayd was buried in the swamp.
[17ro1
1 1 7 111
Other reports say that it was only when Yusuf b. 'Umar was so
informed by Hisham b. 'Abd al-Malik that he heard about Zayd's
activities and how, having left al-Kufah and gone some distance,
Zayd had gone back there .285 That came about because a man
from the Banu Umayyah wrote-according to the reports-to
Hisham, mentioning Zayd 's activities to him. Then Hisham
wrote to Yusuf, reproaching him, calling him ignorant and saying: "You are being negligent while Zayd has fixed himself at alKufah and the oath of allegiance is being given to him . Keep on286
searching for him . Give him a guarantee of safe conduct and, if he
does not accept, fight him." Yusuf wrote to al-Hakam b. al-$alt,
who was of the family of Abu 'Agil and was Yusuf 's deputy in alKufah, asking him to look for Zayd. Al-Hakam looked for Zayd
but he could not find where he was hiding . Then Yusuf secretly
summoned a Khurasini mamluk of his who was a stutterer. He
gave him five thousand dirhams and ordered him to ingratiate
himself with some of the Shi 'ah. Yusuf told him to tell them that
he had come from Khurisin out of love for the family of the
Prophet ( ahl al-bayt) and that he had money that he wished to use
to support their cause . After the mamluk had met the Shi'ah on a
number of occasions and told them about the money that he had
with him, they took him in to see Zayd. Then the mamluk went
away and told Yusuf where Zayd was to be found . Yusuf sent out
cavalry to Zayd. Zayd 's men raised their war cry but only three
hundred or less of them gathered to him . Zayd said: "Diwud b.
'Ali knew you (Kufans ) better. He warned me that you would
desert me but I took no heed.1"287
Other reports say that the person who revealed the place where
Zayd was buried-and he was buried, according to these reports,
in the river of Ya'qub, where his followers had blocked the river,
285. The text is very obscure here. The translation has attempted to clarify it.
The literal translation would be : "Yusuf b. 'Umar knew about the affair of Zayd
and his going back from the road to al-Kufah after he had set out only by being
informed about it by Hishim b. 'Abd al-Malik."
286. The text has fa-iljaj fi lalabihi . This is emended later to fa-alhib: cf. Add..
p. Dccx . There is no great difference in meaning between the two.
287. Cf. also al-Balidhuri, Ansab, 244.
1171131
293. The text has $uliba. The apparatus suggests an alternative, nu$iba, which
makes better sense.
294. The meter is hazai.
303. An alternative translation could be : "I will never mount my minbar again
until I have made you understand what repressive measures will be taken against
you."
304. Ma tukrahuna 'alayhi (lit., "what you will be forced to do"). Cf. Ullmann,
152.
305. Other versions of this khulbah can be found in Fragmenta, too, and alBaliidhuri, Ansab, 258-59.
306. According to Ibn Khayyas , Kulthum was sent as governor of Ifrigiyah at the
beginning of Sha'bin 123 (June 21 -July 19, 741) and he died in 124 (741-421
(Ta'rikh, 369-70). For an analysis of Kulthum 's career, cf. Crone, 128) Gabrieli,
Califfato, 98-tot. It was in 124 1741-42 ) that the great Berber revolt occurred in
Spain.
307. For definitions of the boundaries of the province of Ifrigiyah , cf. E12, s.v.
(M. Talbi).
122
55
117171
dh
The
Events of the Year
123
( NOVEMBER 26, 740-NOVEMBER 14, 741)
Amongst the events taking place during this year was the drawing
up of a peace treaty between Na$r b. Sayyar and the Soghdians.
314. Juday' al-Kirmini had routed most of the Khigin's forces; just one band of
Soghdians managed to retreat . Cf. Hawting, 88.
1 1 7 1 91
319. The text has dabiratun dabiratun. This is emended to dabaratu dabiratin
("the sore of an ulcerated camel "). Cf. Add., p. Dccxt. The Cairo edition ( 193) has
dabaratun dabiratun and its editor explains in a footnote that the phrase means a
disturbed area.
32o. Al-Junayd b. 'Abdallah al-Mum was governor of Khurisin from 1 t 11730)
to 115 ( 733) He died in t x6 (734). Cf. E12, "Al-Djunayd b. 'Abdallih" (Veccia
Vaglieri ); Gibb, 72-76, Wellhausen, 459-62, Ibn Khayyat, 375.
321. The text has al-Sa'di, as does Ibn al-Athir, V, 189 . The name is later emended to al-Sughdi. Cf. Add., P. DCCXI.
322. This is a comment by the narrator.
323. For al-Firyab, cf. E12, Faryib (R. Frye). Of the various possible locations, the
most likely is that it is a village in Sughd.
324. Khardi: usually, land tax. For more precise definitions of the term, cf. E12,
s.v. (Cahen); Morony, 99-106.
prisoner." Hisham said: "Oh dear! How did he escape from alHarith?" Mugatil said : "Al-Harith twisted his ear, slapped him
on the back of his head, and let him go."325
Later on, al-Hakam brought the kharaj revenues of Iraq to Hisham. Hishim found that al-Hakam was handsome and eloquent,
so he wrote to Yusuf saying: "Al-Hakam has arrived . He is as you
described. In the area you govern there is ample scope for him.
Dismiss al-Kinani326 ( i.e., Nagr) and make al-Hakam agent ('anvil)
(in his place)."
In this year Nagr made a second raid on Farghanah and he sent
Maghra' b. Abmar to Iraq. The latter, however, denounced him to
Hisham.
Nagr) getting a hold over you, you men of Qays? "328 Ibn Alamar
replied: "That has been so, may God make the amir prosper!"
Then Yusuf said: "When you go to see the Commander of the
Faithful, destroy Nagr." So the delegation went to Hisham, who
questioned them about the situation in Khurasan. Maghra' began
to speak, giving praise and thanks to God and then referring to
Yusuf b. 'Umar in the most fulsome terms . Hisham said : "Enough
of that ! Tell me about Khurasan ". Then Maghra' said: "O Commander of the Faithful , there is no army (fund) of yours that can
march faster329 than they can and there are no falcons in the sky
325. In al-Athir (loc. cit.) adds that al-Hirith told al -Hakam that he was too
contemptible for him to kill him.
326. The nisbah of Nagr b. Sayyir. For the Band Kininah, cf. In al-Kalbi, II,
371. They were a "small and almost neutral tribe " (Gibb, 89).
327. This term of abuse, probably meaning "son of a man with an amputated
hand," would suggest thieving, for which the fixed penalty is well known.
328. Ibn al-Athir (V, 189) has Quraysh.
329. Aghaththu ("more speedy"). There is some doubt about this reading. The
apparatus cites two variants , a'addu and aghazzu.
33 r. Firusiyyah. It is suggested tentatively in the glossary that this is a collective term for men skilled in horsemanship . This meaning is followed here.
332. Presumably this man was a visitor from Khurasan.
333. For the route taken by the postal service, cf. Sprenger, Die Post - and Reiserouten des Orients.
334. The district of Bayhaq lay four days' march west from Nishapiir. The town
of Sabzavir was also known in medieval times as Bayhaq. Cf. Le Strange , Lands,
391.
335. Qassama lahu Ibrahim Khurdsdna kullahu. This seems to mean that
Ibrihim made suggestions as to who should assume rule over the individual parts
of Khurisin now that he believed Nasr was dead. Cf. Gloss., p. cnxxln.
336. Md huwa kamd gdla huwa wa huwa. The Cairo edition ( 194) punctuates
this phrase to make better sense and omits the wa: and huwa kamd gala, huwa
huwa. This reading has been followed in the translation.
337. Salm b. Qutaybah was not the only member of his family who was a
contender for the governorship of Khurisin. His brother Qatan and his cousin
Muslim b. 'Abd al-Rabmin were also in the running . For Salm's career, cf. Crone,
137.
340. Some of the Bann Numayr had settled in Northern Syria in the early
Islamic period. Cf. Ibn al-Kalbi, II, 450.
341. A town in northern Syria . The medieval geographers speak of its former
greatness and comment on its insignificance in their own time . Cf. Yignt, IV,
184-87, Ibn Hawgal, 118, E12, " ( .innasrin" I N. Elissieff(; Le Strange, Palestine,
486.
342. Sanna manzilatahu. Cf. Gloss., p. ccxctx.
343. Wa-shaffa'ahu fi laawa'ijihi.
344. A district in Afghan Turkestan between the Murghib and the Oxus. Cf.
E12, "Djuzdjan" (R. Hartmann ); Le Strange, Lands, 423; Hudud, 328-32.
345. The ahl al-'aliyah were a group consisting predominantly of Qays who are
mentioned as one of the divisions (akhmas, "fifths"( in al-Bagrah . Cf. Djait, 163.
347. The area to the east of Balkh which stretched along the south side of the
Oxus as far as the frontiers of Badakhshan. Cf. Le Strange , Lands, 426-27.
348. The text has a$1ami. The Cairo edition ( 196 has izlami, which seems
better.
The gaming arrow of al-Kalbi has won the day, but as for
Maghra', his efforts were impeded by his ignoble descent.
0 sons of Numayr, make it clear and then make it clear again,
was Maghra' born a slave or was he of pure parentage?
If he is to you as treason
and faithlessness are to the character of an honorable man,
117251 And if he is a descendant of slaves,
then no blame will attach to you because of his treason.
The sons of Layth gave him their patronage-and what great
patronage it was!granting him unsolicited favors and an important position.
They fattened him up and when he had attained an enviable
state of well-being
through the kindness349 they had accorded him,
He betrayed his patrons as easily as
353. There may well be an astronomical allusion here . Cf. Sirius, Procyon, and
the kilab al-shits' (stars that set amorally in winter).
354. The text wrongly has lan yanqusu. This is corrected to lan yanqusa in
Add., p. Dccxi.
35 5. Wa-yudnd ilayhi kulla dhi walithin ghumri. This seems to be analogous to
the phrase dh1 'ahdin walithin ("he who has a weak covenant" J. Cf. Gloss., p.
DLXV.
356. Cf. al-Ya'qubi, Historiae, II, 394 . Yazid b. Hishim was given the nickname
of al-Afqam . Cf. Ibn Khayyi5, 370.
16
117261
The
Events of the Year
124
(NOVEMBER 1 5, 741-NOVEMBER 3, 742)
Amongst the events taking place during this year was the arrival
in al-Kufah of a group of 'Abbasid supporters who were making for
Mecca 357 According to some historians, Bukayr b. Mahan bought
Abu Muslim, the leader of the 'Abbasid da'wah, from 'Isa b.
Ma'gil al-'Ijli.
Athir, V, 191- 92. Al-Sarrijin (the saddle makers ' (quarter)) was apparently in
Marw.
366. Literally, "this viewpoint."
367. For other reports on Abu Muslim in Ynsuf 's prison, cf. al-Dinawari, 339411 al-Ya'gnbi, Historiae, II, 392-93.
368. This son of the caliph Hishim was later to play an important role at the
time of the coup of Marwin b. Muhammad in 127 )744). Cf. Hawting, 96-99. He
had considerable military experience on the Byzantine frontier and was at the
head of an armed force known as the Dhakwiniyyah, which numbered several
thousand men. Cf. Crone, 53
369. There is a similar report in al-Ya'qubi, Historiae. II, 395. According to
Christian sources, however, it was Leo's son whom Sulaymin met in battle, since
Leo III had died on June 18, 741 (i.e., in the preceding Muslim year, 123 A.H.J. Cf.
Brooks, "Arabs in Asia Minor," 202.
370. Cf. Ibn Khayyit, 3721 In al-Athir, V, 19S . Muhammad b. 'Ali b. 'Abdallih
b. 'Abbis had come to prominence on the death of Abu Hishim in 98 (716), when
one group known as the Hishimiyyah held him to be their imam . Muhammad
sent out missionaries to Khurisin from around 100 (718 ). Cf. E12, "'Abbisids" B.
Lewis); and n. 395.
them and she refused. Finally, when he had given up hope of her
accepting his presents, she gave orders that they should be taken
in.374
The agents ('ummal) of the garrison cities in this year were the
same as in the years 122 (December 7, 739-November 25, 7401
and 123 [November 26, 74o-November 14, 741], and they have
already been mentioned.
374. Literally, "When he had given up hope of her accepting his present, she
gave orders that it should be taken in."
e
The
Events of the Year
125
(NOVEMBER 4, 742-OCTOBER 24 ,
743)
qI
Amongst the events taking place during this year was a summer
raid made by al-Nu'man b. Yazid b. 'Abd al-Malik.-375
Also in this year occurred the death of Hisham b . 'Abd al-Malik
b. Marw3n. According to Abu Ma'shar: Hisham died after six
nights had elapsed of the month of Rabi' II [February 6, 7431. The
same report was given by Abmad b. Thibit-his informantsIsbaq b. 'Isa. Al-Wagidi, al-Madi'ini, and others gave the same
report, but they said that Hishim 's death occurred on a Wednesday, after six nights had elapsed of the month of Rabi ' II (Wednesday, February 6, 7431.
376. For the length of Hishim's rule, the date of his death and his age, cf. also
Ibn Khayyit, 372; Ibn Qutaybah, 185; al-Ya'qubi, Historiae, II, 394; Fragmenta,
1071 al-Masudll, Murdi. 456-57; al-Mas'udi, Tanbih, 295; Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, II,
286; Hamzah, rag.
377. Abmad b. Zuhayr, also known as Abmad b. Abl Haythamah, d. 279 (89293), was a Iianball Jurist. He was one of al-Tabari's authorities for the Baran and
Medinan historical traditions, which he reported from his father . Cf. Pedersen,
'Ali and Mu'dwiya, r 10; In llajar, Mizdn, I, 174; Ibn al-Nadim, I, 174.
378. The reading Kali' is uncertain. Other variants, Waki' and Dulay', are cited
in the apparatus.
379. According to the Leiden index, this Silim is not Hishim 's famous katib,
who was in charge of the diwdn al-raso'il. The index is probably wrong. Grignasci,
who presents a clear discussion of the identity of Silim, the kutib, calls him Silim
Abu al-'Ali; cf. Rasu'il, 12-13.
384. Hisham 's avarice was legendary . Cf. Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, 1, 23;; al-11biz,
Bukhaln', 28, 214. Alternatively, this may be a sententious comment to the effect
that death is no respecter of persons.
385. The reading Wasnan is uncertain . The apparatus has two variants, Rasnan
and Rasyan. This appears to be the only place where this person is mentioned by
al-'Tabari.
(1731)
ing along with him. Yet it seems that it was Salim who dominated Hisham 390
None of the Marwanids391 used to draw an army stipend392
11732] unless they had to go on raids . Some of them raided in person and
some of them sent out a substitute . Hisham b. 'Abd al-Malik had
a mawla called Ya 'qub, who used to take Hisham 's stipend, i.e.
two hundred and one dinars, for he was treated to an extra dinar.
Ya'qub would take the money and go out on raids . The Marwanids used to make themselves diwan guards393 and gave themselves other posts which allowed them to stay put and which
exempted them from the obligation of going out on raids . Dawud
and 'Isa,394 the two sons of 'Ali b. 'Abdallah b. `Abbas39s by the
same mother, served as guards to Khalid b. 'Abdallah396 in the
east, in Iraq 397 They stayed with Khalid and he gave them money. If that had not been the case, he would not have been able to
detain them.398 Khalid made them guards and they spent their
nights talking to Khalid and engaging him in their conversations.
Hisham entrusted an estate of his to one of his mawlis. The
mawla made it flourish and the estate yielded a large income. He
continued to make the estate prosper and its income was doubled.
The mawla sent his son to take the income ; the latter presented it
to Hisham and told him how the estate was faring . Hisham re390. Wa-kdna Shcimun ka-annahu huwa ammara Hishdman. Literally: "it was
as if Silim had made Hisham amir." This translation is only tentative.
391. The Banu Marwin , the descendants of Marwin I (cf. n. 389 above(, from
whose number the Umayyad caliphs were drawn from 65 (685 ( until the fall of the
dynasty in 132 (750(.
394. Prominent members of the 'Abbisid family who were subsequently involved in the overthrow of the Umayyads. Cf. Wellhausen, 543-44.
395. The grandson of al-'Abbas , the Prophet 's uncle. 'Ali was the father of the
imim Muhammad . Cf. n. 370.
396. Khalid al-Qasri.
397. Fi a 'wdni al-shargi bi-al-'lragi. This translation is only tentative. The apparatus has a variant reading, fi al-sdgi ("in the market"), which is preferred in the
Cairo edition, 202. Neither version is very satisfactory when followed by "in
Iraq."
398. Fa -agdma 'indahu fa -wasalahumd wa-lawid dhdlika lam yastali' an
yalabisahuma . This is rather obscure . Wasalahumd has been translated as "he
gave them money," and the verb babasa as "to detain," rather than "to imprison." Presumably, Khalid made guards of the two 'Abbisids as a device to keep
them close to him.
75
warded him well and the boy saw that Hisham was pleased, so he
said: "0 Commander of the Faithful , I have a request ." Hishim
said: "What is it ?" The boy said: "Ten more dinars in my stipend." Hisham said: "You all seem sure that ten dinars in the
stipend are a mere trifle.399 No, by my life, I will not do it!"
According to Al mad (b. Zuhayr )-'Ali (al-Mada'ini )-Ja'far b.
Sulayman400-'Abdallah b. 'Ali:401 I scrutinized the registers
(dawuwin ) of the Marwinids and I have never seen a more sound
register than that of Hisham nor one which was more beneficial
both to the common people and to the government . According to
Abmad (b. Zuhayr)-'Ali (al-Mada'ini)-Ghassin b. 'Abd alHamid:402 Nobody amongst the Marwanids was more avaricious
in dealing with his associates and registers than Hisham nor did
any of the Marwinids investigate (the activities of) his officials
with such extreme thoroughness as did Hishim.403
According to Abmad (b. Zuhayr)-'Ali (al-Madi'ini )-Hammad
al-Abal : Hisham said to Ghaylan :404 "Fie on you, Ghaylin!
People have been spreading gossip about you, so let's hear your
side of the argument. If it is the truth, we shall support you; and if
it is false you will be made to stop thinking that way." Ghaylan
agreed, so Hisham called Maymun b . Mihran405 to question
399. Literally, "the value of an almond."
400. Ja'far b. Sulaymin b. 'Ali al-Hishimi was governor of Medina under a!Man*ur (r. 136 - 58/745-75!. Cf. Ibn al -Nadiim, I, io6, 277, 4941 al-Tabari, 111, 247,
249401. This may well be a reference to 'Abdallih b. 'Ali b . 'Abdallih, the uncle of
the'Abbisid caliph, al-Mangur. Cf. Ibn al-Nadim, 1, 259, 330; al-Mas'ndi, Murdj,
VI, 73-77, 176-77, 214-18.
402. Perhaps this is the son of Silim's successor, the kdtib 'Abd al-Hamid. Cf.
E12, "'Abd al-I;Iamid b . Yalayi " (H. A. R. Gibb), and Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, III, 8g.
Ghassin b. 'Abd &I-Hamid was the secretary of Ja'far b. Sulaymin. Cf. Ibn alNadim, 1, 274, 277.
(1 733)
(1 734)
(1 735)
413. The text has ali. This is corrected later to ali. Cf. Add., p. nccxl. The Cairo
edition (VII, 2051 has the corrected form.
414. According to al-Mas'udi, it was Maslamah , the brother of Hishim, who
teased Hishim in this way. Cf. Muni j, V, 479.
415. And balimun 'afi fun. Al-Mas'iidi has and bakimun wa-'alimun ("I am wise
and knowledgeable"). Cf. Murnj, loc. cit.
largesse.
We are indeed a people whose court is dead;420
416. Lam abuss al-balaba. Cf. Lisan, 1, az2. Hishim is clearly proud of his
prowess in milking.
417. Amara bi-mallatin fa-'ujinat. The mallah can mean the hollow made in
the fire for baking bread, or the hot dust and ashes in which the bread is cooked.
Khubzu mallatin is bread baked in hot ashes. Cf. Lane, I, Supplement, 3023. In
view of the following verb, 'ujinat ("it was kneaded"), the word mallah has been
translated as "bread dough." Cf. E12 , "Khubz" (C. Pellat).
418. Yagi lu jabinaka, jabinaka wa-al Abrash yagWu labbayka, labbayka.
This translation is only tentative . Jabinaka may be analogous to the phrase min
jabini, "I alone."
419. The text has muwaqqari. Noldeke prefers the reading mtigari. Cf. Add., p.
nccxt. This emendation is followed by the Cairo edition, VII, 206.
420. Mayyitun diwanund. An alternative translation is provided in the Gloss.,
p. ccxt.vll: "We accept no stipends."
[17381
423. The term mukhannath is difficult to define precisely. It denotes an effeminate man or someone who is neither entirely male or female . Cf. Lisa, 1, 908.
424. For a discussion of al-Rugafah , cf. n. 426.
425. Yantabidhdna: "They would retire apart ." The apparatus has a variant
reading, yatabaddiina, "they would go into the desert," which is adopted by the
Cairo edition (VII, 207).
11 7391
custom of piling cushions one upon another beside the monarch as he reclined
(Grabar, Sasanian Silver. plates 13 - 14) and Hishim's readiness to favor Persian
culture and customs, it seems probable that he had adopted this aspect of Sasanian
court ceremonial . Even if fursh were to be translated as "carpets," the context
(and the Sasanian silver dishes published by Grabar) establishes that such carpets
were being used as cushions in this instance.
434. Ibrihim b. al-Mundhir al-Hizimi (d. 236 /850-51), was a traditionist. Cf.
al-Tabari, I, 967; Ibn al-Nadim, 1, 244, 246; Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, III, 190, 210.
People say that Solomon asked his Lord to bestow on him sovereignty such as should not belong to any after him. They do
claim that that period was twenty years. 114m Muhammad b. `Ali
said: "I don't know what tales are current with the people, but
my father told me on the authority of his father on the authority
of `Ali on the authority of the Prophet , who said: "God will not
prolong the life of a king in a community ( ummah)-in the event
that he has been preceded by a prophet-for a period longer than
the life of that prophet."
In this year al-Walid b. Yazid b. 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan437
became caliph after the death of Hisham b. 'Abd al-Malik. According to Hisham b. Muhammad al-Kalbi : Al-Walid became caliph
on a Saturday in Rabi' II, 125438 [February i-March 2 , 743j. According to Muliammad b. 'Umar (al-Wagidij: Al-Walid b. Yazid b.
'Abd al-Malik acceded to the caliphate on Wednesday , the sixth of
Rabi' II, 125 [Wednesday, February 6, 7431. `Ali b. MuIammad (alMada'ini) concurred with Moammad b. 'Umar in this dating.
435. Cf. n. 370.
436. An allusion to Qur'in 38, v. S.
(17401
Id
do
The
Events of the Year
1 2 5 (cont'd)
(NOVEMBER 4, 742-OCTOBER 24 ,
743)
439. For the early life of al-Walid II , cf. Gabrieli, "Al-Walid"j Derenk, Leben,
27-38 . Al-Walid's father, Yazid, had been persuaded in rot (719) by Maslamah b.
'Abd al- Malik to nominate Hishim as caliph and that Yazid 's own son, al-Walid,
should be second successor . Yazid may well have regretted this decision, but, as
his exclamation here suggests, he regarded the arrangement as a solemn obligation
before God which he could not change . Therefore Hishim had duly succeeded to
the caliphate in 105 ( 724) and al-Walid had to wait another nineteen years for his
turn.
117411
440. For al-Walid's relationship with Hisham , cf. al-11fahini, Aghani, VI, to203, 107-08; Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, 11, 117,282, 285; al-Baladhuri, Ansab ( Derenk), 6-9.
441. 'Amir b . Haf$, also known as Subaym b. Hafg (d. 190/806), was a prolific
writer. Many fragments of his work are preserved in Ibn Qutaybah , Ma'arif. According to Ibn Durayd, he was the mawli of the Band al-'Ujayf . Cf. !shtigaq, 235.
Cf. also Sezgin, II, 266-67, Rosenthal, 381.
442. Scabrous stories were rife about this man. Cf. al-Isfahini, Aghani, II, 78; VI,
102, 104-o5. His nisbah, which appears in the text as al-Shaybini, is corrected by
the editor to al-Shabbini (Add., p. nccxi ). The Cairo edition ( 209) has al-Shabbani.
bani. Al-Balidhuri calls him 'Abd al-Samad b. 'Abd al-'Ali, al-Sha'ir ("the poet").
Cf. Ansab (Derenk). 6.
443. 'Abdallih b. 'Abd al -'Ali al-Shabbani, the poet. Cf. al-Tabari, 1, 2064; alIpfahani, Aghani, XII, i i r ; XVI, 157.
444. The pilgrimage proper begins on the eighth of Dhd al-Hijjah and ends on
the thirteenth of Dhd al-Hijjah . In 116 A.R. these days correspond to January 8-13,
735. For corroboration of the year 116 (73s1 , cf. Ibn Khayyat , 377, &I-Igfahani,
Aghani, II, 78; Fragmenta, 'ii; Ibn al -Athir, V, 198 , al-BaIidhuri, Ansab (Derenk),
7.
445 . Presumably for the hunt . The dog was ritually unclean . Cf. Smith, Dogs, p.
xxix-xxx.
446. Qubbah. Cf. Ibn A'tham, VIII, 137; al-Ya'gdbi , Historiae, II, 400.
447. Ibn &I-Athir (loc. cit.) and Fragmenta (loc. cit .) have "to drink wine in it."
ions frightened him off the idea and said : "We don't feel safe,
either on your behalf or our own,448 from what the people might
do." So al-Walid did not move the canopy [on to the Ka'bahl. Even
so, the people saw him behaving in a contemptuous and flippant
way toward religion, and Hisham came to hear about it. Hisham
wanted to depose him (as his heir) and to have the oath of allegiance given to his son Maslamah b. Hisham. Hisham tried to 117421
persuade al-Walid to annul the oath of allegiance sworn to him
and to give it instead to Maslamah, but al-Walid refused. Hisham
then said to al-Walid: "Give Maslamah the oath of allegiance (to
succeed) after yourself," but this too al-Walid refused to do.
Thereafter Hisham changed his attitude toward al -Walid and did
him mischief. He took steps in secret to have the oath of allegiance given to his son, and a number of people complied with
Hisham 's request. Amongst those who did so were his maternal
uncles, Muhammad and Ibrahim , the sons of Hisham b. Ismail alMakhzumi, and the sons of al-Qa'ga' b. Khulayd al-'Absi 449 as
well as others among Hisham 's close followers.
Al-Walid persisted in his wine-drinking and his pursuit of pleasure and he exceeded all due bounds . Hisham said to him: "Fie on
you, Walid! By God, I do not know whether you are for Islam or
not. You commit every reprehensible action without feeling any
shame or bothering to conceal it." So al-Walid wrote Hisham the
following poem:
[1 743)
452. For Maslamah's leading the pilgrimage , cf. Ibn Khayyit, 377.
453 Al-jurda ("horses endowed with fine hairs "). Cf. Freytag, Lexicon, 77. /urd
is the reading followed by Fragments. 114; al-Balidhuri, Ansab (Derenk), 7; and
In al-Athir, V, 198. Al-I$fahini has al-buzla (camels that have attained their full
strength(. Cf. Aghani VI, 102; Lane, f, 200.
454. Zindiq is a difficult term to translate accurately since it is often used as a
general term of abuse, as well as to denote Manichaeans and those of other "heretical" beliefs.
455 Umm Hakim was famous for her beauty as her mother Zaynab bint 'Abd
al-Rabmin had been before her. Umm Hakim was very fond of wine, a characteristic of here that is recorded in verse by al-I$fahini, Aghani XV, 48.
456. The uncle of the Umayyad caliph 'Abd al-Malik and governor of Palestine.
Cf. Crone, 12;.
457. AI-Kumayt b. Zayd al -Asadi (d. 126 /743 or 127/7441. Other verses of his
ar-- quoted in al-Tabari, II, 1574-75. Cf. E12, "Kumayt b. Zayd" (1. Horovitz/ C.
Pellat(; Sezgin, II, 347-49: al-I$fahini, Aghani, XVII, 40; XV, 113. The meter is
kamil.
459. The text has Nawfal . This is later emended to Yabyi b. Nawfal, cf. Add., p.
Dccx1. The poet's nisbah was al-I3imyari. Cf. al-ISfahini, Aghani, 11, 149, Ili, 138,
XIV, S7.
460. The repetition of the phrase "when he (Arad) died" has been omitted in the
translation.
461. Li-a'budin qufudi. Qufud is used here instead of quid, the plural of aqfad.
Cf. Gloss., P. CDXXX. 'Abdun aqfadu: "a slave having rigid and contracted arms
and legs, with short fingers and toes." Cf. Lisan,lll, 135 . The meter of these lines
is munsarill.
462. Fora discussion of this incident, cf. Gabrieli, Califfato, 22-23, n. 3. These
verses in a longer form are given in Ibn al -Atha, V, 162 . Cf. also al-Balidhuri,
Ansab (Derenk), 8.
463. Balqayn is a contraction of the name Band al-Qayn. The Balgayn were a
subgroup of the Qudi'ah. Cf. al-Ya'qubi, Les Pays, 175, Ibn al-Kalbi, II, 455j BR,
" Al-Kayn " ( W. M. Watt).
464. The Fazirah were a subgroup of the Dhubyin . Cf. Ibn al-Kalbi, II, 246.
465. On the topographical problems presented by this passage, cf. Gabrieli, "alWalid," 6, n. 4. Gabrieli translates the Arabic fa-nazala bi-al-Azraq bayna ar4i
Balgayn wa-Fazarah'ala main yugalu lahu al-Aghdaf as "e ando a stabihrsi ...
ad al-Azraq, tra Is terra dei Balqayn e dei Fazarah , sul fiumicello al-Aghdaf." The
problem which Gabrieli sets out clearly is that elsewhere al-Azraq and al -Aghdaf
[1 7441
The poem was recited ( in other places) and Hisham came to hear
are shown to be in two distinctly separate localities . Al-Azraq is a citadel in the
With Sirltin, 27 km from Qusayr 'Amrah . Cf. Dussaud, sr, 8r, 136,175 1 Creswell,
1, 405-06. A1-Aghdaf has been identified as Qasr al-Tubah, 61 km south of alAzraq. Cf. Derenk, r 21; Gabrieli , loc. cit. The account of al-Balidhuri is clear: "He
(al-Walid) settled in al-Azraq ." Ansab (Derenk), 10.
466. This episode and the verses that follow are recounted by al-ISfahini,
Aghani, VI, 104-05. Cf. also Fragmenta, 116; al -Balidhuri, Ansab (Derenk), 11.
467. Shuyyi'a. Al-ISfahini, Aghani, VI, toy has sab'a.
468. A1-Ghawr. This term also denotes the low- lying area of Jordan where alWalid liked to spend his time.
469. Mubkamati al-umuri. The variant reading in the apparatus and in Fragments, 116 also makes good sense : muIkamati aI-'uhudi, "the firmest oaths."
470. The meter is mutagarib. The tenor of these lines indicates that they probably date from the time when al-Walid still enjoyed Hishim 's favor to the full, a
theory corroborated by their immediate sequel . This was probably the time, too,
that al-Farazdaq wrote his panegyric to al-Walid as crown prince . Cf. Hell, 37-65.
11 7451
111 7461
11 7481
( 1 7491
You have spurned the hand of one who offers kindness. If you 117501
had taken it,
the Compassionate One, the possessor of grace and
beneficence, would have rewarded you for it.501
Al-Walid continued to live in that desert until Hisham died. On
the morning of the day that al-Walid became caliph502 he sent for
Abu al-Zubayr al-Mundhir b. Abi 'Amr. The latter came to alWalid, who said to him: "Abu Zubayr! As far back as I can remember I have never spent a longer night than last night. During
the night I was assailed with anxieties and I kept thinking about
things connected with the rule of that man (meaning Hisham). He
has evil designs on me .503 Come riding with us and let's get some
air." So they went riding. After going two mils,504 al-Walid
stopped at a sandy hill and began complaining about Hishim.
Then suddenly he saw a cloud of dust and he exclaimed : "These
are messengers from Hisham . Let us pray to God that they bring
good news." Then two men on post-horses hove into sight; one of
them was a mawli of Abu Muhammad al-Sufyin , and the other
was Jardabah. When they came nearer they went toward al -Walid,
dismounted, ran up to him, and greeted him as caliph . Al-Walid
was struck dumb with amazement . Jardabah began to repeat his
salutation to him as caliph, so al-Walid said : "Steady on! Are you
telling me that Hisham is dead?" Jardabah said: "Yes." So alWalid asked : "Who sent your letter ?" jardabah replied: "Your
mawli, Salim b. 'Abd al-Rahman, the master of the chancellery."
Al-Walid read the letter and the two men turned to leave. Then
Soo. Fa-law kunta Ad irbin. Al-I0fahini (loc. cit.) has fa-law kunta Ad hazmin
("if you had any determination /judgment"). Fragmenta. 117, has ... dhd 'aqlin
("if you had any intelligence").
Sox. For these verses, cf. al-lifahini, Aghdni, VI, 104; Fragmenta, 117-18, a1Balidhuri, Ansdb ( Derenk), 15 (only part of the verses); Ibn al-Athir , V, 199,
Gabrieli, "al-Walid," 60-61 . The meter is tawil. In the Aghdni the verses occur in
a different context, namely, when Hishim is attempting to depose al-Walid and
make his own son his heir.
Soa. For similar accounts of the way in which al-Walid heard of Hishim 's death,
cf. al-Balidhuri, Ansab, (Derenk), 20-2x; al-IBfahini, Aghdni, VI, xo8; Ibn A'tham,
VIII, 139.
503. Qad awla'a bi: i.e., Hisham wishes al-Walid dead.
504. Two mils : approximately 4 km. Cf. Hinz, 6;.
117511
5 zo. Al-furgdn: "the Criterion of right and wrong ." Cf. Qur'in 2, V. 5 3. AlBalidhuri, Ansdb (Derenk), 22, and Fragmenta, i2t, live "al-Qur'an."
5 z z. Marwi n b. Mubammad was the cousin of al-Walid 's father and later was to
become the last Umayyad caliph. He had served on the frontier in Armenia. For a
good summary of his career, cf. Schonig, 7. Cf. also n. 4.
512. For other versions of this letter, cf. al-Balidhurl, Ansdb (Derenkj, 35-361
Fragmenta, 124-25.
513. Cf. Qur'in 23, v. 56: fa-dharhum fighamratihim ("therefore leave them in
(the submerging flood of ( their ignorance"). Cf. also Qur'in 23 , v. 651 51, v. It.
514. Fa-wajadn ("they found"j. The apparatus has a variant , fa-wajada ("he
found"), which is adopted also by the Cairo edition (VII, 216) . This makes better
sense.
117511
11 7531
523. Z-=I' was a large village, one of the stages on the bail route. It was in the
Balgi' province. Cf. Le Strange, Palestine, 554.
11 7541
11 7551
526. The word order in the Arabic is very unwieldy and has been changed
around in the translation.
11 757)
530. Faawsi al-gariba 'anha ("bequeath it to the near relative ( ?)"). The Cairo
edition (VII, 219 ) has fa-ardi al-gariba'anho. With awsa, the normal preposition
would be bi. The version in the Cairo edition based on one manuscript reading is
better grammatically and has been preferred here.
5 31. For a full discussion of the background and significance of this letter, cf.
Crone and Hinds, God's Caliph, 116-18 . They provide an annotated translation of
the letter, 118-26 . A longer discussion of this letter is to be found in Appendix 2.
532. Wa -ja'alahu khayra khiyaratihi. The apparatus (BM and 0) has din for
khayr, as does the Cairo edition, 219. Crone and Hinds , 118, prefer this reading:
"he has made it the religion of the chosen ones of His creation."
533 Cf . Qur'in 35, v. I.
534. The syntax of this passage is faulty and it is clear that some words have
been omitted. The missing words must refer to the succession of prophets whose
message was ignored by their own people and on whom God inflicted His punishments. The words in brackets in the translation are purely hypothetical.
or giving him the lie, denying what God had revealed through 117581
him, did not consider it to be licit to shed his blood and to
535. Literally, "had become effaced."
536. Tashtitin min al-haws: Literally, "a state of disunion from (following)
divergent inclinations."
537. Literally, "blindness."
538. Wa-abhaja bihi al-diva. Crone and Hinds read anhaja ("He elucidated the
religion through him"). Cf. God's Caliph, ir9. Their reading follows $afwat,
Rasa'il, II, 448.
539. Rabmatan li'l-'alamin . Cf. Qur'an sr , v. 107 . Cf. also Qur'an 3, v. 8; is, v.
29; 44, v. S.
540. Literally, "in that in which their people used to call them liars."
(1759(
545. lama'ah.
546. Cf. Qur'in 41, V. I I.
11760)
553. Wa-al-tabaddulu bi-ha ("giving it away in exchange for it (i.e., disobedience("(. Variants mentioned in the apparatus add li-al-ma'siyati or bi-al-ma'siyati. Crone and Hinds ( loc. cit.( read tabadhdhul (" carelessness").
554. Wa-fl dhalika li-man kana ra'yun wa-maw`i;stun 'ibratun. Crone and
Hinds translate this as "In that there is a warning and a lesson for the perceptive
person " (op. cit., 122). The problem here is the wa between ra'yun and maw'i;atun
(or aw in the variant reading ). The text as it stands should take ra'yun wamaw'i;stun together.
Moreover, God-to whom belongs praise and who dispenses favor and beneficence -has rightly guided the community to the best of outcomes,557 making its condition
healthy, by preventing the shedding of its blood, by consolidating the bonds of its fellowship , by making all its tongues
agree, by establishing its pillars in good order, and by promoting the weal of its common people. The special repository of
blessing bestowed on the community in this world, next to
His caliphate which He established for them as a foundation
and as a support for ruling them, is the covenant which God
directed His caliphs to confirm and oversee for the Muslims
in matters of moment; so that, whenever something befalls
their caliphs, it might be an assurance of refuge, a shelter in (1761)
times of calamity, a means of repairing disorder and of reconciling mutually hostile men , a way of consolidating the
boundaries of Islam and of frustrating that which the Devil's
followers desire from his enticements and to which he incites them, which is the destruction of this religion , the division of the unity of its people , and the sowing of dissension
where He has united them through His religion. God's sole
judgement for the evildoers in this matter is to afflict
them558 and to frustrate their desires . They will find that
God's ordinance for His followers is to safeguard the conduct
of their affairs559 and that He has driven away from them
anyone who wishes to make mischief or practice dishonesty
in those affairs, or who wishes to weaken what God has made
fast or who wishes to rely on what God has shunned.
562. Fa-amru hadha al-'ahdi. Amr can also mean "matter." Cf. Crone and
Hinds, op. cit., 123.
563. The words it is a fraction have been added for stylistic reasons.
564. Literally, "and is part of that which God has made therein (in the covenant? Islam?( for the one by whose hands He has accomplished it and on whose
tongue He has decreed it."
565 Mu awwalan : literally, "a place in which one may place confidence."
S7 i. This name is odd and the person has not been identified.
573. The last day of Rajab in that year (i.e., Wednesday, the thirtieth of Rajab
1251 corresponds to May 39, 7431 eight days before corresponds to the twentysecond of Rajab (Tuesday, May 21, 743).
S 73. This is a rather obscure passage and the sequence of events is not clear. The
following anecdotes have to do with Nagr being first confirmed in his office by a4
Walid and then, after Yusuf 's machinations, dismissed. Cf. Wellhausen, 482-83.
581. Literally, "he sent him to al-Walid and Nagr wrote to him."
582. Literally, "or he would proclaim publicly."
583. Literally, "satisfied him."
1 17681 enemies are!" Then Nagr called for the leader (of the messengers)
and made him swear that the news he had brought was the truth.
The man swore that it was so . Then Salm591 b. Ahwaz said: "May
God keep the amir on the right path! If I had taken an oath I
would have told the truth. This is a trick of the Quraysh who
584. Majan was a village in the Marw area . Cf. Yaqut, IV, 378. Majan became a
flourishing suburb of Marw under Abu Muslim . Cf. Ibn Hawgal, 420-21; Le
Strange, lands, 398-99.
595. They had now to pay the penalty for having sided with the caliph Hishim
when he tried to have allegiance sworn to Maslamah instead of al-Walid. Cf. alTabari, II, 1742 ; al-Ya'qubi, Historiae, 11, 397.
596. Al-Mulaidhi in Ibn al-Athir, V, 206.
[ 17701
6o2. The death of Muhammad b. 'Ali is reported in the sources as having occurred in either 124 or 125 A.H. lbn al-Athir says that Muhammad was seventythree when he died (V, 206).
603. Cf. al-Tabari, II, 1714.
604. For other accounts of the death of Yabyi b . Zsyd, cf. Ibn A'tham, VII, 12636; al-Ya'qubi, Historiae, II, 397 -98; al-Balidhurl, Ansab (ed. Mabmudl), 26o-65;
al-Mas'udi, Muruj, VI, 2-4.
6os. This name is uncertain . The apparatus also has al-Jarish, while In al-Athir
gives al-Huraysh (V, 3031. According to al-Balidhuri, al-Harish was from the
Rabi'ah (Ansab, 261).
606. Yazid b. 'Umar had looked after Yabyi for six months in Sarakhs . Cf. alBalidhuri, Ansab, 360.
613. The text has fa-athna 'alayhi. This phrase is ambiguous since athna can
mean both to speak well or ill of someone, although the former is more common.
619. The sequence of events is very confused here and the text corrupt: We
advanced (agbala) from Bayhaq, which is the furthest point of the territory of
Khurlsin and the nearest of Qitmis, and he advanced (aqbala) with seventy men
toward 'Ater b. Zurirah." The account of al-Balidhuri is much clearer: "When he
left Bayhaq he was afraid that he would fall into the hands of Yusuf and that he
would cause him mischief, and Bayhaq is the border of the province of
Khurisin ... so he (Yahya( returned to 'Amr b. Zurarah." Cf. Ansab , 261-62. It
would appear that Yabyl felt panic and returned to Abrashahr (Nishipur) where
'Amr was and asked permission to stay there a little while before going to Balkh.
Cf. Ansab, 262. This is also the version given by Ibn al-Atha, V, 203.
620. Qala 'alaynd athmanuha. This action in acquiring more riding animals
was clearly viewed as irregular by 'Ater and was used as the pretext to attack
Yahyil.
(11774)
625. 'Iii. Cf. Qur'an 20, v. 88, 7 , v. 148 . These details about burning the "calf of
In this year the agents of the garrison cities were the same as in
the preceding year and we have already mentioned them.
Iraq" are also mentioned in some sources in connection with Zayd. Cf. al-Balidhuri, Ansub, 257; al-Igfahini, Maqatil, 143-44.
626. Fi al-yammi. Cf. Qur'in 2o, v. 39.
627. Literally, "from his tree."
fb
1 17751
The
Events of the Year
12 6
(OCTOBER 25 , 743-OCTOBER 12, 744)
One of the important events taking place during this year was the
killing of al-Walid b. Yazid by Yazid b. al-Walid,628 who was
known as the Inadequate (al-Nagis).629
all the more in his pursuit of idle sport and pleasures, hunting,
drinking wine, and keeping company with libertines . I have left
to one side the accounts which deal with all this as I would hate
to make my book any longer by mentioning them . These aspects
of al-Walid's behavior troubled his subjects and his soldiery deeply and they hated what he was doing. One of the worst offences he
committed against himself, and which finally led to his death,
was the way in which he aroused disaffection against himself
amongst the sons of his two uncles, Hishim and al -Walid, who
were the sons of 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan,"O as well as amongst
the Yaminiyyah who formed the major part of the Syrian fund.
(1 777)
said : "In that case, there will be much neighing of horses around
your troops."633
He (al-Walid) imprisoned Yazid b. Hisham al-Afgam634 and
wanted the oath of allegiance to be given to his two sons, alHakam and 'Uthmin.635 Al-Walid consulted Said b. Bayhas b.
Suliayb on this, who said: "Don't do it, for they are young boys
who have not yet reached puberty. Have the oath of allegiance
given to 'Atiq b. 'Abd al-'Aziz b. al-Walid b. 'Abd al-Malik." AlWalid was furious and put Said in prison, where he died. Al-Walid
wanted Khilid b. 'Abdallih636 to give the oath of allegiance to his
two sons but Khilid refused . Some of Khilid 's family said to him:
"The Commander of the Faithful wanted you to give the oath of
allegiance to his two sons yet you refused to do so! " Khilid retorted : "Fie on you! How can I give the oath of allegiance to those
behind whom I cannot say my prayers or whose testimony
(shahddah) I cannot accept?"637 They replied: "What about alWalid? You know all about his wantonness and depravity , yet you
still accept his testimony !" Khilid replied : "Al-Walid's activities
are hearsay. I cannot be sure about them. It is only vulgar tittletattle." But al-Walid was furious with Khilid.
'Amr b. Said al-Thaqafi said : "Yusuf b. 'Umar sent me to alWalid. When I went in to see him, al-Walid greeted me: 'Well,
how do you find the libertine?' meaning by that himself. Then he
went on: 'Beware lest anyone should hear you saying such a
thing.' I rejoined: 'I would divorce Habibah, the daughter of 'Abd
al-Ralimin b . Jubayr, rather than allow my ear to hear such things
as long as you live."' Then al-Walid laughed.
Al-Walid deeply distressed the people (by his behavior), and the
sons of Hisham and of al-Walid (b. 'Abd al-Malik) charged him
with being an unbeliever and with having debauched the mothers
of his father's sons. They also alleged that al-Walid had taken one
hundred collars(?) and had written on each of them the name of
one of the Umayyads whom he intended to kill thereby.638 His
633. Cf. Fragmenta, 131.
634. Al-Afqam was the laqab of Yazid b. Hisham . Cf. al-I$fahini, Aghdni, VI,
140; Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, II, 29! ; al-Baladhuri, Ansdb (Derenk), 46.
635. Cf. the genealogical table of the Umayyads.
636. Al-Qasri.
637. They were minors. For a similar account, cf. Fragmenta , 13 r; al-Baladhuri,
Ansdb (Derenk), 46.
638. Cf. al-Baladhuri, Ansdb ( Derenk ), 45; Fragmenta, 13o. The text has wa-
1 1 7781
(1 779)
You have written to the Commander of the Faithful explaining how Ibn al-Na$raniyyah (i.e., Khalid b. `Abdallah al-Qasri)
has allowed the country to go to rack and ruin, and you go on
to say that it was for that reason that you delivered such
small revenues to Hisham.645 It was only to be expected that
you would have made the land prosper to such an extent that
you restored it to its former state . So come to the Commander of the Faithful and confirm his high expectations of
you by what you bring him to show how you have made the
land prosper . (Do this so that) the Commander of the Faithful
may be assured of your superiority over other men, because
of the close kinship that God has made between you and the
Commander of the Faithful-for you are his maternal uncle
and the person most entitled to give generously to him-and
because you know that the Commander of the Faithful has
given instructions that the stipends of the Syrians and of
others should be increased. (You know, too,) what he has
given the members of his family-to the detriment of the
treasuries -because of the churlish treatment which they
endured for so long at the hands of Hisham.646
644. Al- Baladhuri adds after the same account : "He (al-Walid) gave him (Khalid)
to Yusuf b. 'Umar, who tortured him to death." Cf. Ansub ( Derenk ), 47. Cf. Also
Fragmenta, 132.
655. Ka-md'i al-muzni yansajilu insijdld. A1-Dinawari, 347, has ka -md'i algharbi yanhamilu inhimdld.
656. For the Banu Su 'd's, cf. Ibn al-Kalbi, II, 515.
657. This hemistich seems to be in the wrong place.
662. The Sakim were a branch of the Kindah. Cf. Ibn al-Kalbi, II, 503.
663. The text has Ia -md istigdla. Ibn al-Athir, V, 212, has fa-ma istagdmn,
which makes better sense . Al-Dinawari, 348, has qad ista'ddhti.
664. The second hemistich is almost a repetition of 1781 , line 6.
665. This reply is not in the other sources.
117821
669. For the Band 'Abs, cf. lbn al-Kalbi, II, 135) cf. E12, "Ghatafin" (j. Fdck).
67o. For the Band Himyar, cf. Ibn al-Kalbi, 11, 324.
671. Al-nihala: literally, "(blood) drinking."
672. The text has wukulla. This is emended to wakullu. Cf. Emend., P. Dccxl.
673. The text has al-llibala. The Cairo edition (236) has al-jibala, which has
been preferred in the translation.
674. Qad madhila al-su'ala. This is instead of min al-su'ali (lit., "who has
become weary of asking"). Cf. Gloss.. P. DcLxxx111.
yad period, they were close supporters of the Band Marwin. The text has Judhamun. This is corrected to Judhamu . Cf. Emend., P. DCCXII.
678. For the Band Lakhm, cf. EP, s.v. (H. Lammens-I. Shahid). They were
closely linked in Umayyad times with the Judhim.
679. The Leiden text has satabld The Cairo edition (VII, 236 ) has sanabki ("we
will mourn "), as does the emended version. Cf. Emend., p. Dccxu.
680. Literally, "while you were leanness for them."
681. The text has la yuzayalna. This is later emended to la yuzayilna. Cf.
Emend., p. DCCXtI.
687. The Banu al-Qa'qi' had supported Hishim in his unsuccessful attempts to
have al-Walid ousted as his heir apparent . Cf. al-Tabari, II, 1742.
688. The Umayyad caliph , Yazid II, who ruled 101 -05 (720-24). Cf. the Umayyad genealogical table . Fragmenta, 122 has the Banu al-Qa'ga' fleeing to the
grave of Marwin.
689. Yazid b. 'Umar b. Hubayrah later joined up with Marwin II . Cf. Ibn
Khayyil, 564. He was killed by the 'Abbisids in 132 (749-50). Cf. al-Tabari, II,
1913 ; III, 61; Crone, 107.
117851
him and said: "If you resort to this kind of behavior again, I will
certainly tie you up tightly and take you to the Commander of the
Faithful," so Yazid and Qatan went away. Then al-'Abbas sent
word to Qatan, saying: "Look here, Qatan! Do you think that
Yazid is in earnest ?" Qatan said : "To tell the truth, I don't think
he is. But he can no longer endure696 what he has heard of alWalid's treatment of the sons of Hisham and the sons of al-Walid
(b. 'Abd al-Malik) and of the caliph's flippant and contemptuous
attitude toward religion." Al-'Abbas replied: "By God, I myself
think that he is the ill-starred one697 of the Banu Marwan. Were it
not for the fact that I am afraid that al-Walid would act hastily
and unfairly toward us, I would truss up Yazid hand and foot698
and take him to al-Walid. So dissuade him from what he plans to
do. He listens to you." Then Yazid said to Qatan: "What did
al-'Abbas say to you when he saw you?" So Qatan told Yazid what
al-'Abbas had said and Yazid said: "No, by God, I won't hold
back!"699 When Mu'awiyah b. 'Amr b. 'Utbah heard about the
people's activities, he went to al-Walid and said: "0 Commander
of the Faithful, you coax forth my tongue when we have a friendly
conversation, but I hold it back out of reverence for you. I hear
what you do not hear and I fear things which do not worryyou.70
Shall I speak honestly or remain silent out of obedience?" AlWalid said : "Everything is acceptable from you. God has hidden
knowledge about us, it is our destiny to reach him. If the Banu
Marwan knew that they are kindling a fire on red-hot stones
which they are casting into their own bellies, they would not act
in this way. Let us go back701(to what we were talking about) and
we will hear what you have to say." Marwan b. Muhammad heard
700. Literally, "I fear that against which I see ycu feeling secure."
701. The text has na'udhu as does Fragmenta, 134. The apparatus has one
suitable variant, na'udu, which is adopted by the Cairo edition (238(, and which
makes better sense . AI-Balsdhuri also has na'udu. Cf. Ansab (Derenk), So.
Verily God has created for the benefit of all the members of a [1786]
family pillars on which they may lean and by which they
may guard themselves against dangers. By the grace of your
Lord, you are one of the pillars of [the members of] your
family. I have heard that a group of fools in your household
have set in motion a certain matter . 705 If they achieve their
aim in this matter, having agreed to abrogate their oath of
allegiance, they will open a door which God will not shut for
them until much blood of theirs has been shed. I myself am
fully occupied on the most perilous of the Muslim frontiers.
If I could get hold of these people, I would put their wrongdoing to rights with my own hand and with my own words. I
would, moreover, fear God7O6 if I did not act in this way707
because I know what mischief is caused to religion and to
this earthly life as a consequence of schism. [I know too) that
the strength of a group will only ever be destroyed if they fall
into disagreement amongst themselves and that if their
words become confused their enemy will seek to overcome
them. You are closer to these people than I am . Use deceit to
find out what they are plotting and pretend to be on their
side. When you find out anything about their conspiracy,
702. Cf. Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, II, 192, 292, 298; al-Balldhuri, Futula, 332. He was
made governor of Palestine. Cf. al-Tabari, IT, 1831.
703. The text has wa-kdna Sa'idu yatdllahu. The editor says that he has put this
only as a tentative reading but that it was known that Said had a pious reputation.
Cf. al-Tabari, II, 1174. The editor' s reading is supported by al-Baliidhuri, who has
wa-kdna Sa'idu muta'allihan. Cf. Ansdb (Derenk), So. The Leiden text does not
have the hamzah: it should read yata'allahu, as the Cairo edition (238) has it.
704. For another version of Marwln's letter, cf. al-Baladhuri, Ansdb (Derenk),
so.
705. Qad istannn amran. Cf. Gloss., p. ccxcvln. Al-Balidhuri has qad assasu
amran. Cf. Ansdb (Derenk), So.
706. I.e., God's wrath.
707. Literally, "in neglecting that."
these are (only) vicissitudes which come and go in the fluctuation between waxing and waning . 710 We, the people of this
family, have received a prolonged series of blessings and this
has caused distress711 to all nations , to those who are hostile
to such blessings and who envy those that possess them. It
was because of the envy of Iblis that Adam was driven out of
Paradise. This group (of conspirators ) have pinned their hopes
on strife, but perhaps it is their souls which will perish without their achieving what they anticipated. Every family has
ill-fated individuals because of whom God removes His
favor. May God protect you from being one such person. Keep
me informed of what they are up to. May God preserve your
religion for you, may He deliver you from what He has made
you enter into, and may He cause your reason to overcome
your natural inclinations!
Said took this matter seriously and he sent Marwan 's letter to
al-'Abbas. Al-'Abbas summoned Yazid and he reproached and
threatened him. Yazid warned al-'Abbas, saying: "I am afraid,
brother, that one of those enemies of ours who envy us this prosperity wants to stir up trouble between us ." Then Yazid swore an
708. Literally, "there is a changing of favors (from God)." Cf. Qur'an 8, v. S 5.
709. Here al-Balidhuri 's version of the letter ends.
710. Wa-duwalu al-layali mukhali/stun 'aid ahli al-dunyd wa-al-taqallubu
ma'a al-ziyadati wa-al-nugsdni: literally, "The turnings of the nights are varied
on the people of this world and (there is) fluctuation between increasing and
decreasing." Cf. Qur'an 3, v. 140.
711. The text has qad yu'na bihd. The Cairo edition ( 238) has qad ya'ibuhd
("have castigated them").
7441.723 They hid themselves at the Farad-is Gate724 until the [179oJ
muezzins had made the dusk call to prayer . Then the rebels went
into the mosque and performed the prayer. Now there were at the
mosque guards who had the task of dispersing the people from the
mosque at night. So after the people had prayed, the guards
shouted to them to leave . Yazid's followers lingered behind and
began leaving by the magqurah door725 and going back in again by
another door. This continued until there was no one left in the
mosque but the guards and Yazid 's followers, who then seized the
guards. Yazid b. 'Anbasah went to Yazid b. al-Walid, told him
what had happened, took his hand, and said : "Rise, 0 Commander of the Faithful and rejoice in God's help and succour!"
Yazid arose and said : "O God, if it is pleasing to you, then- assist
me to perform this task and reveal to me the right way in it . If it is
not pleasing to you, then relieve me of the task by my death."726
Yazid went forth with twelve men. On reaching the donkey
market, they met forty of their companions. When they came to
the grain market, they were joined by some two hundred of their
supporters.727 Then they proceeded to the mosque . They went
inside, made for the maq$arah door and knocked on it, saying:
"We are messengers from al -Walid." A servant opened the door to
them. They seized him, went inside, and captured Abu al-'Aj, who
723. This rather unsatisfactory date is repeated in the other sources . Only alIsfahini is more precise. He gives a Friday in the following year, Ju midi II, 127
[March ro-April 7, 745j. Cf. Aghant VI, 138.
724. There was a quarter of the city of Damascus called Fari dis, after which the
city gate was named. Cf. Le Strange, Palestine, 439, Yignt, III, 862.
725. For the probable location of the mags rah door of the mosque, cf.
Creswell, 1, 172, fig. 89.
726. Cf. Fragmenta, 135-36, al-Balidhuri, Ansab (Derenk), 51-521 &I-Iafahini,
Aghani, VI, 137-38, Ibn al-Athir, V, 214.
727. Al-Balidhuri writes that they were about two hundred and sixty men. Cf.
Ansab (Derenk (, 52. Cf. also Fragmenta, 136.
1 17911
was drunk. They also seized the treasurers of the bayt al-md1728
and the postmaster. Then Yazid sent men to all the people whom
he feared and they were arrested. Yazid immediately sent people
to Muhammad b. 'Ubaydah, the mawla of Sa'id b. al-'Ag, who was
in charge of Ba'labakk,729 and he was arrested . Yazid also dispatched men at once to 'Abd al-Malik b. Muhammad b. al-I;lajjaj,
and he too was seized. Then Yazid sent to al-Thaniyyah730 to his
followers requesting them to join him. Yazid ordered the
gatekeepers731 (of the city): "In the morning, open the gate only
to those who give you our password," and they left the gates
chained up . There were many weapons inside the mosque which
Sulayman b. Hisham had brought from the Jazirah. The treasurers
had not managed to appropriate them, so Yazid's followers took
them, and acquired a large number of them. In the morning Ibn
'Igam and the people of al-Mizzah came, and by the middle of the
day the people had given the oath of allegiance to Yazid, who
recited the following lines:732
When they are made to dismount from their horses to stab
each other, they stride
toward death in the manner of refractory camels.
Yazid's followers were amazed and said: "Look at this man! Before dawn he was glorifying God and now he is reciting poetry!"
According to Ahmad b. Zuhayr-'Ali (al-Mada'ini)-'Amr b.
Marwan al-Kalbi-Razin b. Majid: In the morning we went with
'Abd al-Rahman b. Magid-we numbered around fifteen hundred
728. The bayt al-mal was situated inside the Great Mosque of Damascus, on
the northwest side of the courtyard . Cf. the description given by al-Muqaddasi and
quoted by Le Strange, Palestine, 227.
729. Ba'labakk (Heliopolis ) was part of the jund of Damascus in Umayyad
times. Cf. Ya'qubi, Les Pays, 172-73; Yiqut, 1, 672, 675; Le Strange, Palestine,
295-98 ; ER, s.v. J. Sourdel-Thomine).
730. This is a reference to Thaniyyat al-'Uqab ( the Eagle 's Gorge), which was a
pass situated to the north of Damascus . Cf. Yiqut, I, 936; III, 691; Le Strange,
Palestine, 383, 545.
73 r. It is not quite clear whether this is a reference to the doors of the mosque or
the gates of the city. Fragmenta, 137, specifies that it was the gates of the city; this
seems more probable.
732. The meter is tawil. For these verses, cf. al-Baladhuri, Ansab (Derenk), 53;
al-Isfahan, Aghani, VI, 128 ; Framenta, 137. The Cairo edition of al-Tabari, 241,
notes that this is from the diwan of al-Nibighah.
735. The Daraj door is not identifiable but in this some context al-Balidhurl
calls it Bib Jayrun . Cf. Ansdb ( Derenk), 53. This was the eastern door of the
mosque. Cf. Le Strange, Palestine, 260.
736. There is some doubt about this man's nisbah . In the text it is al-'Absi but
in the apparatus the variant al-'Ansi is given. Ya'qub's father, 'Umayr, was used by
al-Hajjij to control the Kurds and was later made deputy governor of al-Kufah. Cf.
Ibn Khayyit, 385; Crone, 140. Al-Balidhuri gives him no nisbah (loc. cit.). Ibn alAthir, V, 215, has al-'Absi.
737. Dirayyi was a village in the Damascus area . Cf. Yiqut, II, S 36; Le Strange,
Palestine, 436.
738. The Bib al-$aghir was situated at the southwestern angle of the Damascus
city wall. Cf. Le Strange, Palestine, 231.
739. Cf. Crone, 16o-6r.
740. Harasti was a farmstead in the Damascus area. Cf. Le Strange, Palestine,
237; Yiqut, II, 245.
741. The Bib Tumi was a city gate of Damascus facing northeast. Cf. Le
Strange, Palestine, 254.
742. Dayr al-Muffin was a monastery near Damascus . Cf. Yignt, I, 696; N, 480.
743. Sacra was a village of the Damascus area . Cf. Le Strange, Palestine, 532;
Yignt, III, go.
[17931
747. For the Bann 'Uthrah, cf. Ibn al-Kalbi , II, 565-66. The tribe were within the
sphere of the Ghassinids, and well before the coming of Islam had gone to Syria
and become Christians.
748. The Banu Salimin were a subgroup of the Bann 'Uthrah who settled in
Syria . Cf. lbn al-Kalbi, II, 414.
749. For the Banu Juhaynah, cf. n. 227.
750. This may be the same person who had earlier been deputy governor of alBasrah. Cf. Ibn Khayyi5, 414, and the discussion in Crone, 139.
751. The meter is lawil. For these verses, cf. also al-Balidhuri, Ansob (Derenk),
54. The textual differences are only minor.
752. Literally, "brought them horses and supplies."
753. Literally, "honor them as the firm supporters of a tradition."
754. For the Banu Sha'bi n, a branch of the Himyar, cf. Ibn al-Kalbi, II, 521.
755. For the Banu Ghassin, cf. E/x, s.v. (I. Shahid).
756. For the Banu Taghlib, an important tribe of the Rabi 'ah, cf. Ibn al -Kalbi, If,
541-42 . The Taghlib were allowed to remain Christians during the Umayyad
period without having the status of the ahl al-dhimmah.
[1 794[
(1795(
763. For al-Aghdaf, cf. n. 465 . Al-Balidhuri has al-Azraq; cf. Ansab (Derenk), 55.
764. It would be more appropriate in this context to translate 'askar as "camp"
rather than "troops." Al-Baladhuri has "his camp, his treasures, and his women."
Cf. Ansdb (Derenk(, 56. Cf. also a similar version in Fragmenta, 139.
768. Al-Qaryah. This is vocalized by Guidi in the indices to the Aghani, 761, as
al-Qurayyah. Probably this is a place-name too. Perhaps it is a reference to the
village at Palmyra or to the well -known place al-Qaryatayn.
769. Hazim was due south of Palmyra. Cf. Dussaud, 79. Hazim can mean "a
voice like thunder ." Cf. Lisun, III, 8o5.
770. Al-Bakhrs' : the feminine of abkhar ("to have a stinking mouth"). AlBakhri' has been sited variously in eastern Syria (Huart,1, 2760 near al-Qaryatayn
between Damascus and Palmyra (von Kremer, 1, 152), and 25 km south of Palmyra
(Derenk, 46). Derenk 's location is probably the correct one. Al-Nu'min b. Bashir
was a Companion of the Prophet, after whom the town of Ma'arrat al-Nu'min was
named. Cf. Le Strange, Palestine, 495-97.
771. Al-Samiwah was the name of the desert between al-Kafah and Syria. Cf.
Yiqut, III, 131, Le Strange, Palestine, 530.
772. These verses are also to be found in al-Balidhuri , Ansab, loc. cit., alIafahini, Aghani, VI, I t 1. The meter is tawil.
783. This is the form of the name given by al-Tabari. Al-Balidhuri and Fragmenta have 'Umirah b. Kultham al-Azdl iloc. cit.). He was a close associate of
Khilid al-Qasri and was executed by Marwin II. Cf. Crone, 163.
784. Al-Balidhuri also has Qatari (loc. cit.). A variant in the apparatus (from
MS. B) has Qatan . Qatan was certainly a mawli, too, but he was the mawli of
Yazid and his brother, al-'Abbis. Cf. al-Tabari, II, 145.
785. Before the battle of Marl Ribit in 64 (684), the aged Marwin b. al-Ilaksm
(Marwin II) had pitched camp at al-Jibiyah . Cf. El', s.v. (H. Lammens). AI-Balidhuri and Fragmenta have : "which he had raised at al-Jibiyah to fight alQahI$k b. Qays." (loc. cit.).
11 7991
Then Ya'qub said: "0 son of Quslanin, 790 if you refuse, I shall
strike you on the head ."791 Al-'Abbas looked at Harim b. 'Abdallah b. Dihyah and said: "Who is this ?" Harim replied: "It is
Ya'qub b. 'Abd al-Rahman b. Sulaym ." Then al-'Abbas said: "Indeed, by God, how horrified his father would be to see his son in
this position ." Then Ya'qub brought al-'Abbas to the camp of 'Abd
al-'Aziz .792 Al-'Abbas did not have his followers with him, as he
had gone ahead of them with his sons, so he said : "We belong to
God!" Al-'Abbas was brought before 'Abd al-'Aziz, who adjured
him: "Give the oath of allegiance to your brother Yazid b. alWalid." This al-'Abbas did. Then he stood up and the rebels raised
a flag, saying: "This is the flag of al -'Abbas b. al-Walid, who has
given the oath of allegiance to the Commander of the Faithful,
Yazid b. al-Walid." Thereupon al-'Abbas said: "We belong to God!
This is one the wiles of the Devil . The house of Marwan is
destroyed!"
791. Literally, "I will strike that in which your (two) eyes are."
792. Al-Baladhuri adds : "He (al-'Abbas) was like a prisoner amongst them." Cf.
Ansdb (Derenk), 5 8. Cf. also Fragmenta, 141.
793. Literally, "defected from al -Walid."
794. For these two horses, cf. Mas'udi, VI, 13, t6. The horse called al-Za'id had
belonged to Hishim . Fragmenta has al-Sandari for al-Sindi (loc. cit.).
sacred ordinances of God, because you have drunk wine, because [i8oo1
you have debauched the mothers of your father 's sons, and because you have held God's command in contempt ."796 Al-Walid
replied : "That's enough from you, brother of the Sakasik! By my
life, you have said too much and gone too far. God 's dispensation
to me leaves scope for what you have mentioned ."797 With that
he went into the room, sat down, took a copy of the Qur'an, and
said: "This is a day like the day 'Uthman was killed,"798 and he
began to recite . Then the rebels began to scale the wall. The first
person over the top was Yazid b . 'Anbasah al-Saksaki . He climbed
down and went up to al-Walid, whose sword was at his side. Then
Yazid said to him : "Take off your sword ." Al-Walid replied: "If I
had wanted my sword, the situation between you and me would
have been different from this ." Then Yazid took al-Walid's hand,
wanting to take him into custody and to have consultations about
795. Literally, "then he fought them a fierce fight."
796. Al-Balidhurl adds to this catalog of sins the allegation that al-Walid was a
homosexual (loc. cit.).
797. Wa -inna fund ul.iilla 11 la-sa'atan 'ammo dhakarta ("In what has been
allowed tome there is scope for what you have mentioned "). Cf. the same wording
in al-Isfahini, Aghdni. VI, 139 . Al-Balaadhuri (loc. cit.) has wa-inna fund alialla
Al/dhu la-mandubatun 'ammd dhakarta ("verily in what God has decreed as
permissible there is ample scope for what you have mentioned").
798. The third caliph of Islam, 'Uthmin, had been killed while reading the
Qur'in.
799. Al-Balidhuri has: "to have consultations with Yazid b. al-Walid about
him" (loc. cit.).
goo. The account in the Aghnni is clearer and has been followed here : fa-nazala
min a1-I n'iji 'asharatun fihim (loc. cit.). The text in al-Tabari states that there
were ten men and then enumerates only six of them.
Bor. Ibn A'tham has : "he (Yazid) and those with him prostrated themselves out
of joy before Almighty God, just as Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah prostrated himself
when Marwin b. Muhammad died " (VIII, 14o-41).
802. In view of the fact that the narrative involves two people called Yazid, the
aim here has been to clarify which Yazid is performing which action.
803. Cf. al-Balidhuri, loc. cit. This might be an optative, which may use the
present tense: "may the disunity amongst you never be healed ..."
810. Al-WalId was well known to have been a lover of fine clothes. He preferred
colored garments, especially of yellow. Cf. al-lefahini, Aghdni, II, 65. For a detailed discussion of this topic , cf. R. Hillenbrand, "La Doles Vita in early Islamic
Syria," ra, 27 . The Umayyad caliphs and their courtiers used clothing of luxury
fabrics . Sulaymin and his retinue wore exclusively garments of wash! (variegated
silk). Cf. E12, "Libis" (Y. K. Stillman).
from the Bann Harithah b. Janab ,814 who said to al-Walid: "I was
in Damascus with'Abd al-'Aziz and I have come to tell you what I
know. Here are fifteen hundred dirhams which I have brought
with me." At this point he untied a purse from his waist and
showed it (to al -Walid) (He went on:) "'Abd al-'Aziz has encamped at al-Lu'lu'ah and he will be coming to you from there
tomorrow morning." Al-Walid vouchsafed him no reply. Instead,
he turned to a man who was beside him and began a conversation
with him which I could not hear. I asked one of the people who
were standing between al -Walid and me what al-Walid was saying. That person informed me: "Al-Walid was asking the man
about the canal which he had dug in Jordan and inquired how
much more there was to do ."815 Then 'Abd al-'Aziz approached
from al-Lu'lu'ah. Having arrived in al-Mulaykah he took possession of it. He dispatched Manger b. Jumhur, who took Sharqi alQura, a high hill in a desert areas 16 on the road from Nihya817 to
al-Bakhra'.
Al-'Abbas b. al-Walid was making preparations with about one
hundred and fifty of his mawlas and sons. He then sent a man
from the Banu Najiyah, 818 who was called Hubaysh,819 to al- (18o4)
Walid to ask him to decide whether al-'Abbas should come and
join him or march against Yazid b. al-Walid. Al-Walid had his
suspicions about al -'Abbas, so he sent word ordering him to come
and join him. Manger b . Jumhur intercepted al-Walid 's messenger
and asked him what his mission was, and the messenger told
him. Then Manger said to the messenger: "Tell al-'Abbas: By
God, if you leave your present position82O before sunrise, I will
certainly kill you and your men! In the morning let him go wher814. The Bann Harithah b . Janib were a branch of the Banu 'Abdall3h b. Kininah
from the Band Kalb. Cf. ibn al-Kalbi, II, W.
815. Cf. Braslavski, "Hat Welid a den Jordan ablenken wollen? ", 97-1oo.
816. Fi ardin malsd'a. Malsd'u: a desert in which there are no herbage , trees, or
wild animals. Cf. Lane, 1, 2736.
817. For a tentative siting of Nihy3 (southwest of Palmyra ) cf. Dussaud's map
(op. Cit., 79).
818. For the Bann Nijiyah, cf. lbn al-Kalbl, II, 442.
819. The vocalization comes from the Cairo edition, 248.
82o. The text has zabalta ("if you withdraw"), which is a conjecture on the part
of the editor. The Cairo edition (249) has rabalta ("if you march"), which also
makes good sense.
118071 Walid's head. Then Abu al-Asad, the mawli of Khilid b. 'Abdallih
al-Qasri, came up and ripped off a handful of al-Walid 's skin and
he took it to Yazid b. Khalid b. 'Abdallih, who was being held
prisoner in al-Walid 's camp. The people plundered al-Walid's
camp and stores. Then Yazid al-'Ulaymi Abu al-Balriq b. Yazid,
whose daughter was married to al-Hakam b. al-Walid , came to me
and said: "Protect my daughter's belongings for me," for every835. As well as the basic meaning of "reeds," ga$ab is "anything made of silver
and of other material, resembling )in form ) the kind of round and hollow bone thus
called" and "fine, thin, delicate or soft garments." Cf. Lane, 1, 2529-30.
836. Washi. For al-Walid 's taste for fine clothes, cf. n. 8io.
837. Fa-ma wa$a1a ahadun ila shay'in za'ama annahu lahu . This sentence
seems a little odd. It has been translated tentatively as if it read fa-ma wa$ala ...
ilia za'ama ("nobody came to anything except that he claimed that it was his").
838. Cf. al-Baladhuri, Ansab (Derenk), 6o-6i Fragmenta, 143-44.
(r8o8)
846. Even al-Walid's choice of name for his she-mule, Maryam, is shown to be
irreverent. Al-Balidhuri omits this name. Cf. Ansab (Derenk), 63.
847. Literally, "I found the news had reached him before I reached him."
848. For these lines, cf. al-Tabari, II, 1783. The meter is wafir.
(1811 )
Historians also disagree about al-Walid 's age on the day he was
killed. Hisham b. Muhammad al-Kalbi said that al-Walid was
killed when he was thirty-eight years old. Muhammad b. 'Umar
(al-Wagidi ) said he was killed when he was thirty-six. Some other
historians said he was killed when he was forty -two; others said it
was when he was forty-one , others said forty-five, and yet others
forty-six.858
Al-Walid's patronymic was Abu al-'Abbas. His mother was
Umm al-Hajjaj,859 the daughter of Muhammad b. Yusuf al-Thaqafi . Al-Walid was a man of great strength and he had prehensile
toes .860 He used to take an iron ploughshare with a rope in it,
have the rope tied to his foot, and then jump on his horse and pull
the ploughshare along. He could ride without holding onto his
horse, and he was a poet, much addicted to wine-drinking.
861. Literally, "Ibn Abi al-Zinid, who said, 'My father said."' For Abu al-Zinid,
863. For Abu Bakr Muluammad b. Muslim al-Zuhri (d. 124/743) the famous
traditionist and historian, cf. Sezgin , 1, 28; Duri, 95-121 . He was on very good
terms with Hishim, who made him his son's tutor. Cf. Duri, 118.
863. AI-fdsiq.
sion to be allowed a free hand with Khilid and to torture him, but
(at first) Hisham would not allow Yusuf to do that. Then, after
Yusuf had asked repeatedly and had made excuses to him for a
shortfall in the khardj and for loss of revenue, Hisham did on one
occasion give Yusuf permission .870 But he sent a guard to witness
the torture and he swore that if Khilid met his end while he was
in Yusuf's hands, then he (Hisham) would certainly kill Yusuf. So
Yusuf summoned Khilid and he sat on a bench (dukkan ) in al- 118131
Hirah,871 with the people all assembled . Yusuf was free with his
tongues72 against Khilid, but Khilid did not utter a single word
until Yusuf abused him by calling him Ibn Kahin, meaning Shiqq
b. Sa'b al-Kihin.873 Thereupon Khalid retorted : "You fool! You
revile me by questioning my noble birth, but your father, 0 Ibn
al-Sabbi', was only a wine -merchant," meaning that he sold wine.
At this, Yusuf sent Khalid back to his prison . Then in Shawwil
121 [September 10, 739-October 8, 7391 Hisham wrote to Yusuf
ordering him to release Khalid, and Khalid settled in the citadel of
Ismail b. 'Abdallih in Duran behind the Kufah bridge . Yazid b.
Khalid set out by himself, going through the territory of the Banu
Tayy874 as far as Damascus. Then Khalid set out, accompanied by
Ismail and al-Walid, after 'Abd al-Rahmin b. 'Anbasah b. Said b.
al-'Ag had equipped them (for the journey). Khilid sent the heavy
baggage to the citadel of the Banu Mugatil ,875 but Yusuf had sent
870. Cf. al-jabshiylri, 41.
871. Fa-jalasa 'ald dukkdnin ft-al-HIrah. Dukkan: "a kind of wide bench, of
stone or brick, etc., generally built against a wall, upon which one sits ." Cf. Lane,
I, goo. A shop (also dukkdn ) in the market was a booth with a raised platform
(mastabah ). Cf.1. M. Rogers, The Spread of Islam, 66. For a detailed discussion of
maglabah and dukkdn , cf. Sadan, 123-24.
872. Wa-basaca 'alayhi. As well as verbal attacks, this phrase could also mean
that Yusuf stretched out his hand against Khilid.
873. For an account of the attempts made by Abu 'Ubaydah and others to denigrate the genealogy of Khilid b . 'Abdallih, cf. Goldziher, 1, 188-89. Khilid traced
his origins back to the South Arabian tribe of the Bajilah and he counted amongst
his ancestors the famous soothsayer Shiqq . Cf. al-Ipfahini, Aghani, XIX, 57-58.
Shigq was allegedly only half a man (one arm and one leg, hence shiqq). Cf. the
biography of Khilid given by Ibn Khallikin, II, 313: al-Dinawarl, 344. According to
al-Dinawari, Khalid's response to Yusuf was: "Your father and grandfather were
only shopkeepers in al-Ti 'if" (ibid.j.
874. For this important North Arabian tribe , cf. Ibn al-Kalbi, II, 555 .
875. This citadel was at 'Ayn al-Tamr on the route from al-Hirah to Syria and
was named after Mugitil b . Hassan. Cf. Yiqut, IV, 121, 137s lbn a1-Kalbi,11, 431.
878. The phrasing of the Arabic here seems to indicate that al-Qaryah is a place
name rather than "the village": thumma tal)ammald ila al -qaryati wa-hiya. Ibn
al-Athir has al-qaryati allati ("the village which . . . " (V, 207).
879. Literally, "he gave orders concerning him and his throat was cut."
885. Lidjadathin kdna min al-Rumi ("because of bad news which was from
Byzantium( ?)"). If, as al-D-inawari says, Khilid was at Tarsus, he was at the most
important of the frontier fortresses, since it guarded the Cilician Gates. Cf. Le
Strange, Lands, 132. Tarsus is on the coast, as al-Tabari says. Alternatively,
ljadath might be a reference to the Darb al -Hadath, the northeastern pass through
the Taurus guarded by the fortress of Hadath. Cf. Le Strange, Lands, 121-22. This
is improbable, given the statement that Khilid was on the coast. According to alBalidhuri, as cited by Le Strange, the Darb al-lladath ("the road of bad news") was
given the name Darb al-Salamah ("the road of safety ") after the fortress was
captured by the Muslims (loc. cit.).
11816J sham drives them to prison day after day?" Then the people came
in and Ismail and Khalid 's two sons stood in front of his two
daughters concealing them.
Khalid said : "I went out raiding in God's cause, hearing and
obeying. Then people machinated behind my back and my women and the women of my family were seized and put in prison
with criminals as is the practice with unbelievers. What was to
stop a group of you standing up and saying : 'Why have the women
of this man who hears and obeys been imprisoned ?' Were you
afraid that you would all be killed? May God inspire fear in you!"
Then Khalid added: "As for the position between me and Hisham, ( it is this): If he does not lay off me , I will certainly summon (people to follow) the one who is 'Iraqi in passion, Syrian in
family, and Hijazi in origin ( meaning Muhammad b. 'Ali b.
887. Literally, "when the people came and they went away from the frontier."
888. Fa-gamat ibnatahu li-yatanahhayn. Ibn al-Ateir (V, 208) has fa-gama banatuhu yabtajibna ("his daughters stood up to veil themselves").
x817)
898. La-yallub jaddahu mini: there are a number of problems with the word
jaddahu (thus vocalized by the editor). Firstly, it is not clear whether Khalid is
speaking about Yusuf, Hishim, or Kulthum . Secondly, jadd may mean "fortune"
or "grandfather." Thirdly, there is a variant reading , hadd ("prescribed punishment, extremity"). A possible solution is as follows. Although most evidence
points to Kulthum's not being a relation of Khilid's (he would appear to have been
a Qaysi, cf. Crone, 128, and E12, s.v. (R. Basset((, there was obviously at least one
strand of tradition that said he was (cf. al-Dinawari , 345, who claims that
Kulthum was a paternal cousin of Khilid 's). Thus, it may be that here too Khalid
is making a furiously ironic allusion to the fact that his relative is the one who is
arresting him.
899. Abu al-Zubayr Naslis . Cf. al-Tabari, 11, 1749.
goo. Cf. n. 306.
901. Al -Dinawari ( 346( has al-Kalbi. For this rather complicated genealogy, cf.
Ibn al -Kalbi, II, 242.
more paltry matter both to the common people and to the court 118191
that if the Commander of the Faithful (himself) goes astray.' 11 AlAbrash read out Khalid's letter to Hisham, who said: "Abu alHaytham has become senile."907
Khilid remained in Damascus during the (remainder of the
time) that Hishim was caliph, until Hishim died . After Hishim's
903. Al-Dinawari lists all ten qualities (loc. cit.).
903. Fa -amma (" he turned"). The Cairo edition (257) has fa-gdma, which is the
emended version of the Leiden edition . Cf. Emend.. P. DCCXII.
904. According to al-Dinawari, Hishim was angry because 'Abd al-Rabmin had
attributed to Khilid merits that no single caliph had possessed (loc. cit.).
905. Cf. Ibn al-Athir, V, 309 . Al-Dinawad calls him'Abdallih b. $ayfl (loc. cit.).
906. Khilid's own tribe. He means himself here.
907. Al -Dinawari's account is less elliptical. In it Khilid upbraids Hishim for
his harsh treatment of 'Abd al-Rabmin, whilst in the face of the blasphemous
remarks of 'Abdallih b. $ayfi (called Ibn Shagqi by al-'['abaci ), Hishim did nothing
at all to refute them (loc. cit.).
(1820)
him and Khalid remained in his own house with his mawlas and
his servants until the time that the head of Yaliya b . Zayd was
go8. Wa -ishtaka. Later on in this narrative Kh-slid says that he is unable to walk
and that he has to be carried . It may be that this was the result of the earlier
torture he had undergone at the hands of Yesuf b . 'Umar.
909. A -lam ta'lam' Ibn al-Athir has allati ta'lamu ("which you know about")
(V, 209).
923. Khalaf b. Khalifah, the mawli of Qays b . Tha'labah. Cf. Ibn'Abd Rabbihi, II,
301.
934. The text has qinnawr. This is later changed tentatively to ginner. Cf.
Emend., p. DCCXII. The original version seems to accord better with the form in
Lisdn, III, 179, where the vocalization is qinnawr and the word is defined as
al-'abd ( "slave" J. This is also the view expressed by the editor. Cf. Gloss., p. cDxcDxx111. The Cairo edition (261( has gannur.
935. The double force of al-'abdl ginnowrin has not been rendered in English.
16
The
Events of the Year
I26 (cont'd)
(OCTOBER 25, 743- OCTOBER 12, 744)
In this year the unity of the Banu Marwin was disturbed and
discord prevailed.
shurn. 'Amr b. Qays al-Sakuni94 replied: "We are content with 118271
our heir-apparent" (wall 'ahd), meaning the son of al-Walid b.
Yazid. At that Ya'qub b. 'Umayr945 took hold of 'Amy's beard and
berated him: "You decrepit old man ! Your judgment is unsound
and you have lost your ,reason. Even if the person you mean946
were an orphan in your care, it would not be lawful for you to give
him his money, so how could it be otherwise in the case (not just
of money, but) of the ummah itself?"947 Then the people of Himg
attacked the envoys of Yazid b. al-Walid and drove them out. In
charge of Himg was Mu'awiyah b. Yazid b. Hugayn . Marwin b.
'Abdallih had no authority over them. Al-Simi b. Thabit948 was
with the people of Himg, too, but relations between him and
Mu awiyah b. Yazid were strained . Abu Mulammad al-Sufyani,949 who was also with the rebels, declared to them: "If I
went to Damascus and showed only myself to the people there,
they would not oppose me."
Then Yazid b. al-Walid dispatched Masrur b. al-Walid and alWalid b. Rawls with a large number of troops, most of whom were
from the Banu 'Amir of Kalb, and they camped at Huwwirayn.950
Thereafter, Sulaymin b. Hisham came to Yazid . Sulaymin was
well received by Yazid, and Yazid married Sulayman's sister,
Umm Hishim, the daughter of Hisham b. 'Abd al-Malik. Yazid
also returned to Sulayman those of his family 's possessions that
al-Walid had seized . Then Yazid sent Sulayman b. Hisham to
Masrur b. al-Walid and al-Walid b. Rawlt, ordering them to heed
and obey him. Then the people of Himg arrived and camped at a
village belonging to Khalid b . Yazid b. Mu'iwiyah.
According to Alamad (b. Zuhayr)-'Ali (al-Madi'ini )-'Amr b.
944. For his biography, cf. Crone, 99.
945. The name is written thus in the text . On the preceding page, however,
Ya'qub b. Hans ' was mentioned in the delegation sent to Him$ by Yazid . There is
probably a scribal error here and the name should be Ya 'qub b. Hans'.
946. One of the two sons of al-Walid, who were still minors.
947. Literally, "how is the case of the ummah!"
948. A1-Siml b. Thabit b. Yazid b. Shurabbil b. al-Simi . For his later career, cf.
al-Ya'qubi, Historiae, 11, 404, 495. For the history of his family, cf. Crone, tot-o2.
949. Abu Mubammad Mubammad b. 'Abdallah b. Yazid b. Mu'awiyah al-Sufyini, an Umayyad . For a discussion of this name, cf. Fragmenta, 138, and the
editor's note C. Cf. also Wellhausen, 362, 365-66.
950. Of the places that bear this name in Syria , the most likely here is a fortress
near Himg. Cf. Yiqut, II, 355; Le Strange, Palestine , 465; Dussaud, 79.
955. The text has al-Salamah. Ibn al -Atha has al-Salimiyyah (V, 221). Certainly
al-Salimiyyah (unlike al-Salamah) can be located in the area between Hamih and
Him$. Cf. Le Strange, Palestine, 528, Dussaud, 79.
956. Literally, "until God has decreed what He decrees between me and them."
957. For these two men called Tufayl, cf. Crone, 162.
(18301
attacked Abu al-Halba' and killed him. Next, Thubayt b. Yazid alBahrani sallied forth and issued a challenge to single combat,
whereupon Irak al -Sughdi, who was a descendant of the kings of
Sughd and was attached to Sulayman b. Hisham, came out
against him. Now Thubayt was short and Irak was massive.
When Thubayt saw Irak advancing toward him he retreated, so
Irak stood and shot an arrow at him which pinned his leg muscle
to his saddle cloth. While they were thus engaged, 'Abd al-'Aziz
approached from the 'Ugab pass and he attacked the men of Him$
with such vigor that he broke through their lines killing (some of
them) and then reached us.
According to'Ali (al-Mada'ini )-'Amr b. Marwan-Sulayman b.
Ziyad al-Ghassani:958 I was with 'Abd al-'Aziz b. al-Hajjaj. When
he caught sight of the troops of Himg , he said to his followers:
"Your destination is that hill which is in the center of their troops.
By God, any of you who falls behind will be beheaded by me
personally." Then, ordering his personal standard -bearer to advance, he launched into the fray and we went with him. We killed
everyone in our way until we reached the hill . 'Abd al-'Aziz had
split up the troops of Himg who were in disarray . Then Yazid b.
Khalid b. 'Abdallah al-Qasri shouted: "Fear God, fear God when
dealing with your own people ! "959 and thus he restrained them, for
his heart misgave him at what Sulayman and 'Abd al -'Aziz had
done. Hostilities almost broke out between Sulayman, supported
by the Dhakwaniyyah ,960 and the Band 'Amir from Kalb. The
Dhakwaniyyah were stopped from attacking the Band 'Amir on
being assured that the latter would give the oath of allegiance to
Yazid b. al-Walid. Then Sulayman b. Hisham sent men to Abu
Muhammad al-Sufyani and Yazid b. Khalid b. Yazid b. Mu'awiyah,
and they were seized . As they were being taken past al-Tufayl b.
Harithah, they shouted out to him: "We beseech you, uncle,961 by
God and kinship, (help us)." So al-Tufayl went with them to
958. The Cairo edition ( 265) puts in Abmad (b. Zuhayr) at the beginning of this
chain of transmitters.
960. The Dhakwiniyyah were the armed retinue of Sulayman b. Hisham, numbering several thousand men. Cf. Crone, 5;, 241, n. 393.
118311
(18 33)
978. The text has wajjaha Sulaymanu ila ... fa -ja'ala yusayiruhum. There
would appear to be an implied object ( "them," "the people") with wa; jaha. Otherwise, tawajjaha would be more usual.
0 people! By God, I did not rise up in rebellion out of overweening insolence and pride9SO nor out of a craving (to possess the things of) this world nor out of a desire for kingship.
Nor do I have an inflated opinion of myself. Indeed, without
the mercy of my Lord, I would be lost. On the contrary, I have
rebelled out of righteous anger for God's cause, His prophet,
and His religion, and I came to summon people to God, His
book, and the sunnah of His prophet . (And this was at a time)
when the signposts indicating the right path had been destroyed, 981 the light of pious folk had been extinguished, and
there had appeared that stiff-necked tyrant who declared licit
every forbidden thing and who was responsible for one innovation (bid'ah ) after another. Nor, moreover, by God, did he
confirm the truth of the Book or believe in the Day of Reckoning, although in the matter of noble descent he was my
(paternal) cousin and was my equal as regards lineage. When I
saw (all) this, I sought God's favor in my dealings with him
979. For other versions of this famous khutbah. cf. Fragmenta, 15o-; l; Ibn a1Tigtaqah, 13o-31; Ibn Khayyit, 382-83; Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, II, 144; al-1 , alBaydn, II1141 -42. Only significant differences are noted below. For a recent
discussion of this khutbah, cf. Hawting, 95.
980. Bataran. Cf. Qur'in 38, v. 58.
981. Hudimat. Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi (loc. cit.) and Ibn Khay$t (loc. cit.) have duzisat ("had been effaced").
( 1834)
(1835)
1 18371
995. The name appears in the text as Jarir b . Yazid b. Yazid b. Jarir. This must be
a mistake. One Yazid has therefore been omitted.
When Yusuf b. 'Umar received the news that al-Walid had been
killed, he began to seek out those of the Yamaniyyah who were in
his entourage and to throw them into prison . Then he began to
996. Literally, "because of what he manifested in the way of tyranny."
997. Wa-al-wugiifi 'inda al-shubhati. This translation is only tentative.
118381
999. The leader of the Syrian troops at al-Hirah . Cf. Wellhausen, 368.
rooo. For Qayr al-Abyad, cf. Dussaud, 79.
root . 'Ayn al-Tamr is a small town between Anbir and al-Kafah eighty miles
west of Karbali'. Cf. ER, s.v. IS. A. El-Ali(.
(1 839)
118401
(1$41)
( r84ZJ
Yazid b. Huraym-Abu Hashim Mukhallad b. Muhammad b. $alih, the mawla of 'Uthman b. 'Affan-Muhammad b. Sa'id alKalbi, who was one of the commanders of Yazid b . al-Walid:
When Yazid received word that Yusuf was with his family at alBalga', he sent Muhammad b. Sa'id to search for Yusuf b. 'Umar.
[Muhammad 's narrative continues:] So I set off with fifty or more
horsemen and surrounded Yusuf 's house at al-Balga '. We carried
out a thorough search (of the house ) but we could not find anything, (for) Yusuf had put on women 's clothes and was sitting
with his wives and daughters . Then Muhammad searched among
the women and found him in their midst. He brought Yusuf out
in fetters and threw him into prison with the two young sons of
al-Walid. Yusuf remained in prison for the whole period of Yazid's
caliphate and for two months and ten days of Ibrahim's rule.
Then, when Marwan came to Syria and approached Damascus, he
gave Yazid '011 b. Khalid the task of killing them . So Yazid dispatched a mawla of Khalid 's, whose patronymic was Abu al-Asad,
with a number of other henchmen of his . 1012 Abu al-Asad went
into the prison and battered in the heads of the two young boys
with clubs and then he brought out Y(tsuf b. 'Umar and executed
him.
Other reports said that when Yazid b. al-Walid heard that Yusuf
had reached al-Balga', he sent out fifty horsemen . Thereupon a
man from the Banu Numayr1013 came to Yusuf and said: "By
God, cousin, you are a dead man. So do as I say and put up a fight.
Leave it to me and I will snatch you out of the clutches of these
men." Yusuf said : "No." So the Numayri said : "Let me kill you
then, and don't let these Yamaniyyah kill you and thus arouse our
intense wrath at your murder ." Yusuf replied : "I don't have the
option of either of the suggestions you have made to me." The
man said : "You know best." Then they brought Yusuf to Yazid,
who said: "What has brought you here? " Yusuf said: "Mangur b.
Jumhur came to take over as governor , so I left him and the job."
Yazid replied: "No! It was you that hated (the idea of) governing
rorr . Yazid was the most suitable person to avenge the death of his father by
killing Yusuf.
rota. Ibn al-Athir suppresses the details of the way in which the two sons of alWalid and Yiisuf met their end IV, 224 ).
1013. Cf. Ibn al-Kalbi, II, 450.
( 1 843(
(1$44)
God, but he found God a mighty judge and His grip agonizingly painful. God killed al -Walid because of his evildoing and He killed a group of his followers-they did not
number as many as ten- who were companions of his and
boas . Shdmilan. Crone and Hinds have "generally " (loc. cit.).
1023. The text has fa-ibta'atha Allahu minhum ba'than yukhbiruhum
man/min awls al-dini wa -al-rids. This is very unsatisfactory. It is possible to
render it as "God sent a group of them to inform them (the others ), those (man)
possessed of religion and what is pleasing to God ," with man awls al-dini wa-alri4a in apposition to ba 'than. This is certainly the inference of the punctuation of
the Cairo edition (VII, 276). Alternatively, if min is read instead of man, a possible
translation would be: "God sent a group of them to inform them (the others), Is
group) consisting of those possessed of religion and what is pleasing." Crone and
Hinds emend yukhbiruhum to bi -khayrihim, which makes good sense (loc. cit.).
Their translation thus reads : "God sent a deputation made up of the best of those
possessed of religion and what is pleasing."
(18 461
1028. For a discussion of Nagr's relationship with Yunus b. 'Abd Rabbihi, another of his mawlis, cf. Crone, 53
1029 . This is rather an obscure narrative, which seems to be in no other source.
A literal translation would be : "he made him stay (aqarrahu ) when the news
reached him, then he sent (people) to me, and when I told them, they called me a
liar, so I said : 'Seek confirmation (istawthiq) from these people ."' A possible
sequence of events here is that Nagr kept Yusuf 's son with him. Al -Walid b. Yusuf
sent some of his associates to Bishr . They tried to refute the news that Bishr told
them-namely that al-Walid was dead and Yusuf b. 'Umar had fled. Bishr then
told Nagr to make the others confirm the truth of what they had said . The emended version of this passage in the Cairo edition (VII, 277) is of no use.
by spreading false rumors ' 33 that ManZur b. jumhur was coming (118471
there. Then Nagr preached a sermon in which he said : "If a sus-
pect amir comes to us, we will cut off his hands and his feet."
After that, Na4r revealed the man's name, calling him 'Abdallah,
the deserted one, the mutilated one.1034
Nagr appointed (governors) over the Banu Rabi'ah and the
Yamaniyyah. Nagr made Ya'qub b. Yahya b. Hudayn governor of
upper Tukharistan and appointed Mas'adah b . 'Abdallah alYashkiri to rule over Khwirazm . 1035 Khalaf recited the following
verses about Mas'adah:1036
When I am close to Kardar I say to my companions,
10;0. Nawruz is the first day of the Persian solar year , which now occurs at the
vernal equinox. It was also in earlier times deemed to be at the midsummer
solstice. For a discussion of the history of the dating of Nawruz, cf. Ell, s.v. (R.
Levyl.
1031 . AI-hadaya. Cf. n. 574.
1032. Ibid.
1033 . Wa-arjafat al-Azdu . Arjafa, "to cause agitation in others by spreading
false rumors." Cf. Lane, I, 1041.
1034. Thumma balsa bihi ba'du fa-kdna yaqulu 'Abda ARAM a]-makhdhdia al
mabtura ("then he revealed it after that and he would say 'Abdallih, the deserted
one, the mutilated one"). These imprecations were no doubt intended as a warning to anyone who wanted to take Khurisin from Nagr . The Cairo edition (VII,
178) has al-mathbnr ("overcome") for al-mabtdr.
1035 . Khwirazm was the province lying along the lower course of the Oxus. Cf.
E11, s.v. (C. E. Bosworth).
1036 . The meter is Gawil.
1043. This line also does not fit here. The meaning seems to be "we will remain
loyal to you."
1044. The text has IN-ghazwf. This is emended by the editor to laIurwu. Cf.
Emend., P. DCCXIII . The Cairo edition (VII, 279) follows this correction.
1045. Literally, "the Quraysh of the valleys."
1046. Literally, "their low-ranking men after their high-born ones."
1047. The text has a lacuna here: tuqartisu ... fi ahdafiha. The Cairo edition
(VII, 279) has tugartisu fi ba'di ahdafiha.
118481
1048 . The translation is only tentative . The Cairo edition (loc. cit.) has wa-bial-usdi mina ("and with lions of ours") .
ro49. Literally, "by you our feet have remained firm."
toso. Literally, "when their banks collapse."
105 t . For the Banu Fazarah, a North Arabian tribe, cf. Els, s.v. (W. M. Watt).
1052. For the pre-Islamic Aramaic -speaking Arab people, the Nabataeans (alAnboR), cf. Ell , s.v. (E. Honigmann). During the Islamic period the term
Nabataean in the mouth of Arabs was one of abuse . Cf. the long discussion in
Goldziher, 1, 145.
1053 . Al-gariba "water birds." Cf. Gloss., p. cnxlx.
) 1$53)
(Muslim's narrative continues:) Then I took my leave of Marwan and departed. When I got as far as Amid, 1080 I met a succession of postal couriers (who reported) al-Walid 's murder and that
'Abd al-Malik b. Marwin had attacked al-Walid's agent in the
Jazirah and driven him out of the area, and that he had placed
scouts on the road. Then I left the postal couriers, hired a ridinganimal and a guide, and came back to Yazid b. al-Walid.
In this year Yazid b . al-Walid dismissed Mangur b. Jumhur from
(his post as governor of) Iraq, appointing in his place 'Abdallih b.
`Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz b. Marwin.
The Dismissal of Man.Tarr b. jumhur from the Post of
Governor of Iraq
It is reported that Yazid b. al-Walid said to 'Abdallih b. 'Umar b.
'Abd al-'Aziz: 1081 "The people of Iraq have shown themselves to
be well disposed to your father. So go there. I have appointed you
governor of Iraq."
1080. The well-known city of the province of Diyir Bakr, now known in modem Turkey as Diyarbakir. It stands on the left bank of the Tigris. Cf. Els, "Diyir
Bakr" (M. Canard and C. Cahen).
rob r . The son of the Umayyad caliph 'Omar H. For the dismissal of Mansur b.
lumbar and the appointment of 'Abdallih b. 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz, cf. In alAthir, V, 228 -29i Fragmenta, 152-53.
robs. Muta'allimun. Ta'allama: "to be in pain."
(18541
( 18 55)
who were in Iraq, for he was afraid that Mangur b . Jumhur would
not surrender the post to him . All the commanders submitted to
his authority and Mangur b. Jumhur handed over (the post) to him
and left for Syria . Then 'Abdallah b . 'Umar appointed his own
agents to office and issued the people with their rations and their
stipends . Then the Syrian commanders began to dispute with him
and said : "You are distributing our fay' to these people, yet they
are our enemy." 'Abdallah said to the people of Iraq : "I wanted to
return your fay' to you, for I knew that you were more entitled to
it. (Now) these men have disputed with me and found fault with
me." Then the people of al-KUfah went out to the jabbanah and
mobilized (there). The Syrian commanders sent messengers to
them, making excuses and denying ( their own words) outright
and swearing that they had not said any of the things that the
KUfans had heard. Then a mixed rabble of men rose up from both
sides and began stabbing each other with spears, and a small
group of them were killed . These were not identified . 'Abdallah b.
'Umar was in al -l liirah and 'Ubaydallah b. al= Abbas al-Kindi was
in al-KUfah . Mansur b. Jumhur had appointed him as his deputy
in the city and the people of al-KUfah wanted to drive him out of
the citadel. So 'Ubaydallah sent word to 'Umar b. al-Ghadban b.
al-Qaba'thari, 1083 who came to him, kept the people away from
him, calmed them down, and rebuked them until they had dispersed peaceably with one another. '84 When 'Abdallah b. 'Umar
heard about this he sent for Ibn al-Ghadban , gave him a set of
clothes and a beast to ride, 1085 rewarded him generously, and put
him in charge of his shurtah and the kharaj of the Sawad . He also
entrusted him with the auditing'086 and ordered him to assign a
portion (in the diwan ) to his family, so he assigned (them ) sixty or
seventy (dirhams).
In this year discord broke out in Khurasan between the
Yamaniyyah and the Nizariyyah , and al-Kirmani1O87 rose up in
opposition to Nagr b. Sayyar . A group of supporters rallied to each
of them.
1083 . 'Umar b. al-Ghadban al-Shaybini. For a discussion of the activities of his
father, al-Ghadbi n, and himself, cf. Crone, 162.
1084. Literally, "some of them felt safe from others."
io85. Wa-bamalahu. Cf. Lane, 1, 647. Cf. also Qur'in 9, V. 92.
io86 . AI-mubdsabdt.
1087 . luday' al-Kirmini of the Band Azd had been the general of Asad al-Qasri,
governor of Khurisin, who, after al -Hirith b. Surayj had been driven back across
1088. This is looking forward to events discussed later in detail by al-Tabarl (II,
1861-62).
1089. Literally, "gold from the vases." This is ambiguous. It is not clear
whether the gold came from the melting down of the vases or whether the vases
had been used to store gold coins. The former possibility is more likely.
1090. Cf. n. 574.
1091 . As it appears to have been a Friday, the discussion must have taken place
in the mosque.
1092. Iyydya wa-al-ma'$iyata: "preserve me from disobedience (on your part)."
Cf. the examples quoted in Wright, II, 8i.
[1857 1
1094. The text has ka-annani bihim . In al-Athir changes bihim to bikum IV,
22q). This makes better sense in the context and has been followed in the
translation.
to95 . Similarly here, lbn al-Athir !loc. cit.) has tabta arjulikum for al-Tabari's
arjulihim.
1096. Wa-ka -annani bikum mularraljina fi al-aswagi. Probably some prophetic
allusion to the forthcoming revolution is being attributed here to Nasr.
1097 . Mukaffir. Cf. Ullman, 263.
to98. Literally, " you are striving to attain a matter in which you want discord."
1099 . Literally, " I have stretched you out and rolled you up and rolled you up
and stretched you out."
1 too. The meter is rajaz. Cf. Ibn al-Athir, V, 229.
1101 . Literally, "our comrade."
1102. The text has nabdu. This is later emended to nabdu. Cf. Emend., p.
nccx11,. Hada : "to urge on camels by singing to them ", cf. Lane, 1, 532-33.
I I t I . The text has fa-jd'in. This is later emended to fa-jd'a. Cf. Emend., p.
DCCXIII.
1114. An tugallidani al-suyufu. The Cairo edition (loc. cit.) has an yuqallada
wuldi al-suydfa ("that my sons would be invested with swords (i.e., given
command)").
ills. Cf. n. 676.
1116 . Probably a reference to Asad's having ordered that Nasr should be lashed.
Cf. Wellhausen, 45 5
1117 . The form of this name is uncertain. The editor earlier had al-Furi fisah (II,
1604) but has al-Farafisah here.
1118 . This part of the text is clearly faulty and neither the Leiden nor Cairo
editions have satisfactory versions. Ibn al-Atha omits it altogether and alDinawari's account sheds no light on the matter (op. cit., 350-51). The Leiden text
has fa-innahu lam yazil muta'assaban'ala Allahi bi-tafaddulihi'ald Mudari [wabi-tafaddulihi'aid Rabfata kana bi-Khurasan.] By the editor's own admission he
guessed at what is between the brackets. The Cairo edition (VII, 287) has fa-Innahu
lam yazil mutaghaddaban'old Allahi bi-tafdilihi Mudara'ald Rabi'ah (and then,
in a new paragraph :) wa kana bi-Khurasan. It is possible that words may have been
omitted here, e.g., pan of a name before Allah (e.g., Asad b. 'Abdallih, the preceding
governor of Khurasan, who supported a pro-Yemeni and anti-Rabi'ah and Mudar
policy). A possible reconstruction of the sentence might therefore lead to the
following translation : "for he continues to be angry (mutaghaddaban ) against Asad
b. 'Abdallih (?) because of his thinking himself superior (bi-tafaddulihi) to Mudar
and to Rabi 'ah when (?) he was in Khurasan ." Various textual problems remain
unsolved, however.
(18 591
It was said that Nag became angry with al-Kirmani only because the latter wrote to Bakr b . Firis al-Bahrini, the governor of
Jurjan, telling him about Mangur b. Jumhur, and because he
(Bakr ?) sent a letter with Abu al-Za'farin, the mawli of Asad b.
'Abdallah, appointing al-Kirmani . So Na$r instituted a search for
al-Kirmani but he could not find him. The man who wrote to alKirmani informing him of the killing of al-Walid and the coming
of Man$ur b. Jumhur to Iraq was $alih al-Athram al-Hirar.
It is said that a group of people came to Na$r and reported: "AlKirmani is encouraging faction ." Aram b. Qabi$ah said to Nagr:
"If Juday' could achieve power and authority only by means of
Christianity or Judaism, he would become a Christian or a
Jew."1119 Nagr and al-Kirmani had been on friendly terms and alKirmani had behaved well toward Nag during the governorship
of Asad b. 'Abdallih. Then when Nagr became governor of
Khurisin he dismissed al-Kirmani from (his) command' 120 and
appointed to it Harb b. 'Amir b. Aytham al-Washiji . His leadership was not successful' 121 and Nagr reinstated al-Kirmani in
office, but only a short time later he dismissed al-Kirmani, appointing in his stead Jamil b. al -Nu'man. Relations between Nagr
and al- Kirmani became strained and then Nagr imprisoned alKirmani in the citadel . The man in charge of the citadel was
Mugitil b. 'Ali al-Mara' i-or according to some sources, alMurri.1122
1122 . This last being the form preferred by Noldeke. Cf. Emend.. P. DCCXIII.
Nagr went on: "And yet you repaid that (kindness) by arousing [r86oJ
discord." Then al-Kirmini said: "There was more to it than what
the amir has said. 1124 Aid I give thanks for that . just as the amir
prevented the shedding of my blood, so too I behaved during the
time of Asad b. 'Abdallih in the way that he knows . So let the
amir act without haste and make sure (of the truth), for I am no
friend to faction ." Then Igmah b. 'Abdallih al-Asadi said: "You
are lying. Your aim is sedition and that you will not achieve."
Salm b. AJwaz urged: "Behead him, 0 amir." Al-Migdim and
Qudimah, the two sons of 'Abd al-Ralimin b. Nu'aym alGhimidi, said: "Truly the companions of Pharaoh were better
than you when they said 'Put him off (for a while), both him and
his brother. '1125 By God, do not let al-Kirmani be killed, as Ibn
Abwaz recommends ." So Nagr gave orders to Salm, who put alKirmini in prison, three days before the end of Ramajin, 126
(July 14, 744J. Then the Banu Azd spoke up (about al -Kirmini) and
Nagr said : "I have sworn that I would imprison him and that no
evil will befall him at my hands. If you fear for his safety, then
choose a man to keep him company." So the Banu Azd chose
Yazid al-Naltawi and he remained with al-Kirmini in the citadel.' 126 Nagr appointed the Band Nijiyah, who were the associates of 'Uthmin and Jahm, the two sons of Masud, to guard alKirmini. The Banu Azd sent al-Mughirah b. Shu 'bah al-Jahdami
and Khilid b. Shu'ayb b. Abi $iliJ al-Iluddani to Nagr and they
spoke to Nagr about al-Kirmini . Al-Kirmini remained in prison
for twenty-nine days.
According to 'All b. Wi'il, one of the Banu Rabl'ah b. I3anWah:
I went in to see Nagr and al-Kirmini was sitting apart and complaining: "What have I done wrong ? If Abu al-Za'farin had come,
1123 . The text has a-lam artash. This is later emended to a-lam ura"is. Cf.
Emend., P. DCCXIII.
1124. Literally, "the amir did not say anything except there was more than it."
In other words, in everything Nagr said there was more to be added.
II25. Cf. Qur'in 7, v. III.
1126. Cf. Ibn al-Athir, V, 231.
82 3 -24.
1128. For the Banu al-Yabmad , a subgroup of the Azd, cf. Ibn al-ICalbi, 11, 589.
1129. The text has Hama.
1130. For the city of Nasaf in Sughd, cf. Le Strange, Lands, 469-71.
1131. Ibn al-Athir has : Khi4r b . Hukaym . (V, 231).
1135 . Ushturj is a town in the district of Andkhoy in Khurisin. Cf. lludnd, 336,
n. 61j al-ISRakhri, I, 270-71. The text has Ushturj Ma'nan. The Cairo edition (VII,
ago) has ma'an ("together"). Ma'an is the name of a tribe, but it makes little sense
here.
[1863 1
It is said that the Banu Azd gave the oath of allegiance to 'Abd
al-Malik b . Harmalah on the basis of God's Book on the night that
al-Kirmani escaped. Once they had assembled in the meadow at
Nawsh, prayer began' 1-38 and 'Abd al-Malik and al-Kirmani were
in dispute for a while . Then 'Abd al-Malik conceded al-Kirmani
precedence, handing the command over to him, and al-Kirmini
led the prayer.
When al-Kirmini had escaped, Nagr went and camped hard by
the gate of Marw al-Rudh1139 on the Ibrdinah(?) 1140 side where he
remained for a day or two. It is said that when al-Kirmini escaped,
Nayr appointed as his own deputy ' Igmah b. 'Abdallih al-Asadi,
while he himself made for the five bridges at the gate of Marw alRudh, where he addressed the people and carped at al-Kirmani,
saying: "He was born in Kirmin and was a Kirmini . Then he
came to Harih (Herat) and was a Harawi . He who falls between
two Stools 1141 has no firm base nor does he flourish ."' 142 Then
Nagr said, referring to the Banu Azd : "If they gather together,
1136. The meter is ramal.
1137. Surely a reference to the escape of al-Kirmini from the conduit (a/-sarab)
and to al-Kirmini's meeting at the marl. In a more general way, the lines could be
interpreted as praise of desert instead of city life.
1138. Ugimat al-.alot.
1139 . Marw al-Rudh or Little Marw was thus named to differentiate it from
Marw al-Shihijin. Marw al -Rudh was situated about 16o miles further up the
Murghib river than Marw al -Shihijin. Cf. Le Strange, Lands. 404-05; Yiqut, IV,
So6; E12, s.v. (C. E. Bosworth).
1140. This
vocalization.
place has not been identified and the editor is not sure of the
1143. The famous Christian Arab poet (d. probably before 92/710). Cf. E12, s.v.
(R. Blachtre).
1144. Literally, "the mentioning of God is a cure, the mentioning of God is a
blessing in which there is no evil."
1145 . Qdla al-nasu akhrajahu annahu habahu. Ibn al-Ateir (V, 232) has 1iannahu, which has been followed here. The Cairo edition (VII, 291 ) also has liannahu.
(r864)
118651 not like (to hear)." So Nagr dispatched ' Igmah b. 'Abdallah alAsadi, who said (to al-Kirmani ): "Abu 'Ali, I fear for your fate in
this world and the next as a result of what you have begun. We are
going to make certain proposals to you. So go to your amir, who
will give you the details.' 149 Our aim in this is only to warn you."
1146 . The text has no obvious break between the events occurring with Na$r
and al-Kirmani and then the reference to al-Hirith b. Suray). This is probably an
early allusion to the men who rallied to al-Hirith )under the year 127 ) amongst
whom 'Abd aI -'Aziz b. 'Abd Rabbihi was one . Cf. al-Tabari, II, 18go; Weilhausen,
485-86.
Al-Kirmini replied: "I know that Nagr did not charge you with
this message, but that you wanted (what you said) to reach his
ears and thereby to gain favor (with him). By God, I will not say
another word (to you) after I have finished what I am saying now
until you have gone back to your house. So let him send anyone
he likes so long as it is not you." Then 'Igmah went back and said
(to Nagr): "I have not seen a more undisciplined lout than alKirmani. I do not wonder at him, but I do wonder at Yalyi b.
Hudayn (and his people)-may God curse them! 1150-indeed,
they respect him more than his (own) associates do."
Salm b. AIiwaz said: "I am afraid that this frontier and the
people will become corrupted . So send Qudayd to al-Kirmani."
Then Nagr told Qudayd b. Mani ' to go to him. Qudayd did so and
said to al-Kirmani : "Abu 'Ali, you have been stubbornly persistent (in this matter) and I am afraid that the situation will
become too difficult, that we will all perish, and that these foreigners1151 will gloat over us." Al-Kirmani replied : "Qudayd, I
am not suspicious of you; but what has happened has made me
mistrustful of Nagr. The Prophet of God said : 'The Bakri is your
brother, but do not trust him."' Qudayd said : "If that is what you
think, give him some surety." Al-Kirmini asked: "Who?"
Qudayd answered : "Give me 'Ali and 'Uthmin." Al-Kirmani rejoined : "Who is he giving me? He has nothing good to offer."
Qudayd replied : "Abu 'Ali, I swear to you, by God, do not let the
ruin of this city be on your hands ." Then Qudayd went back to
Nagr and he said to 'Aqil b . Ma'gil al-Laythi : "What I most fear is
that disaster will befall this frontier . So speak to your (paternal)
cousin." So 'Aqil said to Nagr, ' 0 amir, I beseech you, by God,
not to cause evil fortune to befall your tribe . Rebels (khawdrij) are
fighting Marwin in Syria . Both the people and the Bann Azd are in
a state of dissension. ' 152 They are light-headed and foolish; but
i i so. The text is perhaps faulty here. The editor notes that after Hudayn there
may have been the words wa-gawmihi, i.e., Bakr b. Wi'il. Cf. al-Tabari , U, 1571.
This makes good sense with the plural suffix of la'anahum.
it 5 r . Al- a'cjim: the non-Arab population of Khurasin.
it 5 a. There are various ways in which this passage could be punctuated. It
could be translated as: "Indeed, Marwan is in Syria (and) the rebels are fighting
him, and the people and the Azd are in discord ..." Alternatively, it could read:
"Indeed, Marwin is in Syria (and) the rebels and the people are fighting him, and
the Azd are in discord ..." The punctuation of the Cairo edition (VII, 292 ) places a
comma after "rebels."
(18671
In this year Yazid b. al-Walid granted al-Harith b . Surayj safeconduct and he wrote to al-Harith accordingly . He also wrote to
'Abdallih b. ' Umar ordering him to return to al-Harith such of his
money and sons as had been seized from him.
1160. Mansur b. 'Umar al-Sulaml. Cf. al-Tabari, II, 1677, x 679i Wellhausen, 477.
i16i . A-li-husni balc'ihil Presumably a sarcastic comment.
trios. It is not clear from the text whether this is Mansnr's letter to Nasr or
Na$r's reply to Mansur. The former possibility has been adopted in the
translation.
t 163. Literally, "to your disadvantage."
In this year Marwan b. Muhammad rebelled against Yazid b. alWalid. He left Armenia for the Jazirah , on the pretext that he was
1168. For Yazid 's nomination of his brother Ibrihim as his heir, cf. Fragmenta.
153; In Khayyit, 387.
1171 . I.e., Bib al-Abwib, Darband on the Caspian . This was a pass and a frontier
town at the eastern end of the Caucasus. Yiqut describes the great wall which by
to the west of it and which had been built in the sixth century A.D. to keep out the
barbarians. After the Muslim conquest the Bib became the base for future Arab
operations against the Khazars . In Hishim's reign, Maslamah is said to have
established twenty-four thousand Syrians there . Cf. al-Balidhuri, Futdb, 2o7; Le
Strange, Lands, 180; Minorsky, Sharvcn and Darband. 18-19; Ell, s.v. (D. M.
Dunlop(.
1172. Cf. al-Tabari, II, 1635 ; al-Balidhuri, Futdb, ao6; al-Ya'qubi, Historiae, II,
403; Crone, Io6.
Armenia and Marwin placed him in authority and behaved generously to him . When Marwin sent Thabit with Isliaq to the people 118721
of al-Bab, he wrote a letter to them which the two men were to
(18731
ri8o. For this episode, cf. Ibn al-Athir, V, 234- 351 al-Ya'qubi, Historiae, II, 403.
According to some sources : Yazid ruled for six months and two
nights.
He died in Damascus but there is disagreement as to how old he
was when he died. According to Hishim (b. Muhammad al-Kalbi):
Yazid died when he was thirty-seven. According to some sources:
He died when he was thirty-seven. Yazid's patronymic was Abu
Khalid. 1184 His mother was a concubine . Her name was Shih-i
Afrid. 1185 She was the daughter of Firuz1186 b. Yazdigird b.
Shahriyir b. Kisri. Yazid used to say:' 187
I am the son of Kisri; my father is Marwin.
One grandfather is a gay$ar; the other a khaqun.1188
It is said that he was a Qadari.
it8r. There is an apparent contradiction here with the preceding sentence.
it 82. "'Ali b. Muhammad said" is repeated here.
1183. The exact date is somewhat uncertain since it Is not clear whether this
statement includes or excludes the last day of Dhu-al I:Iijjah itself. Al-Mas'i dl
gives the date of Yazid's death as hi131 (new moon) in Dhti al-Iiijjah, 126. Cf.
Muruj, VI, 18. In A'tham (VIII, 141) has a date in Mubarram, 127. Ibn Khayyi;
(387) has ten days remaining of Dhu al-Hijjah ra6.
( 18741
11$ 751
According to Ahmad (b. Zuhayr)-'Ali b. Muhammad (al-Mada'ini): In appearance he was brown-skinned, tall, with a small
head, and a mole on his face . He was a handsome man. He had
quite a wide mouth but not excessively so. According to al-Wagidi: He was nicknamed Yazid the Inadequate because he cut
back the people's stipends which al-Walid had increased. According to 'Ali b. Muhammad (al-Mad a'ini): Marwin b. Muhammad
railed against Yazid and called him: "The Inadequate (al-Nagif)
Son of al-Walid," so the people called him the "Inadequate."
According to al-Wagidi: In this year 'Abd al-'Aziz b. 'Umar b.
'Abd al-'Aziz b. Marwin led the pilgrimage. "89 According to
some sources: In this year 'Umar b. 'Abdallih b. 'Abd al-Malik led
the pilgrimage. He was appointed by Yazid b. al-Walid. 'Abd
al= Aziz, who was in charge of Medina, Mecca, and al-Ti'if, went
with him.
Yazid's governor of Iraq in this year was 'Abdallih b. 'Umar b.
'Abd al-'Aziz. The judge of al-Kufah was Ibn Abi Layli. In charge
of the aljdi th 1190 of al-Ba$rah was al -Miswar b. 'Umar b. 'Abbid.1191 The judge of al-Ba$rah was 'Amir b. 'Abidah. The governor of Khurisin was Na$r b . Sayyar al-Kinani.
it89 . Cf. al-Ya'qubi, Historiae, II, 402.
tt9o. From the fourth/tenth century to the sixth /twelfth century the term
abdath referred to a kind of urban militia, often representing a "municipal opposition" to political authority. It is, however, more difficult to define the term in
earlier periods of Islamic history. Cf. E12, s.v. IC. Cahen). Probably the term referred either to some kind of auxiliary police force or auxiliary troops.
Itg1 . Cf. Crone, tog.
lb
e
The
Events of the Year
12,6 (cont'd)
(OCTOBER 25, 743-OCTOBER 12, 744)
ri93. Lam yatimm amrun. Literally, "a command/an affair was not accomplished." Ibn al-Athir, loc. cit., has al-amru; Pragmenta, 154, has amruhu.
1193 . Cf. the verse of a poet quoted by al-Mas 'iidi: "We give the oath of allegiance to Ibrahim every Friday " (Munij, VI, 19(.
1194. The dating is somewhat uncertain here . According to al-Ya'gtibi (loc. cit.(,
Ibrahim was deposed by Marwin , who then had the oath of allegiance given to
himself on a Monday halfway through $afar raj . For the reign of lbrihim, cf. also
Ibn A'tham, VIII, 141-421 Fragmenta, 154.
According to Ahmad b. Zuhayr-'Abd al-Wahhab b. IbrahimAbu Hashim Mukhallad b . Muhammad: The rule of Ibrahim b. alWalid lasted seventy nights.
e
The
Events of the Year 1 1 8761
127
( OCTOBER 13 ,
744
- OCTOBER 2,
745 )
Among the events taking place during this year were the journey
of Marwan b. Mul}ammad to Syria and the battle that took place
between him and Sulayman b. Hisham at 'Ayn al-)arr. I 19s
118771
1200. The text has itnaha. It is later corrected to intahd (cf. Add., II, p.
Dccxtvl. The Cairo edition has the correct form (VII, 300).
1201 . Fa-kharaja ilayhi fa-;dffahu fa-nddd al-nds wa-da'dhum Marwan ild
mubdya'atihi. This is rather ambiguous, but presumably Bishr is performing all
the actions here until Marwin is specifically mentioned . Certainly this is the
interpretation to be inferred from the punctuation of the Cairo edition (loc. cit.).
1202. Ibn al-Athir has "departed from it" (i.e., the city; V, 2441.
t2o4. Isbiq b. Muslim al-'Ugayli had served in Armenia and Azarbiyjin. For his
biography, cf. Crone, to6. Little is known of his brother 'lsi.
Taos. lan:ar. Cf. Gloss., p. ctxt. Ridi suggests that the term means "slowly
moving on account of its abundance " (I, 5o7).
r2o6. /usi r. that on which one crosses over a river or the like (Lane, I, 424).
tao7. Huwa mashghulun is corrected by the editor to hum mashghu/un. Cf.
Add., II, p. DCCXIV.
1312 . Lit. "they were imprisoned , and they perished in his prison."
1313 . Ru'us min ma'ahum. Fragmenta, 156, is less ambiguous: ru'ds al-nds.
1214. The text has Abu 'llagah . Crone vocalizes this name as 'Ulagah (op. cit.,
96 and 294). This person is Sari b. Ziyad , one of the conspirators against al-Walid II
(cf. al-Tabari , II, 1778, 1800.
253
arrives and gets them out of prison and authority devolves onto
them, they will not spare any of their father's murderers. The best
thing for us is to kill them both." So they appointed Yazid b.
Khalid to do that. In prison with the two of them were Abu
Muhammad al-Sufyini and Yusuf b . 'Umar. Yazid sent a mawli
affiliated to Khilid (al-Qasri) called Abu al-Asad with a number of
his associates . Abu al-Asad went into the prison and broke the
skulls of the two young boys with Clubs. 1216 He brought out
Yusuf b. 'Umar in order that they should kill him , and he was
(accordingly) beheaded. They (also) wanted to kill Abu Muhammad al-Sufyini. 1217 He went into one of the rooms of the prison,
locked the door, 1218 threw carpets and cushions behind it,1219
and leant against it, so that nobody could open it.1220 They called
for fire to bum him out,1221 but it was not brought before news
came that Marwan's cavalry had entered the City . 1222 Ibrahim b.
al-Walid fled and hid himself . Sulaymin plundered1223 what was
in the treasury, distributed it amongst those contingents he had
with him, and left the city.
In this year1224 'Abdallih b . Mu'iwiyah b. 'Abdallih b . Ja'far b.
Abi Talib1225 summoned people in al-Kufah to his cause and
fought 'Abdallih b. 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz b. Marwin1226 there.
Abdallih b. 'Umar defeated 'Abdallih b. Mu'iwiyah, who made
for al-Jibi11227 and took possession of it.
1216 . For a previous account of this murder, cf. al-Tabari, II, 1841-42.
1217. For this person, cf. al-Tabari, II, 1828, 1830-31.
1218. Fa-aghlagahu.
1219. Khalfahu. Presumably the door is meant here , although it could be translated as "behind him."
1220. Fa-lam yaqdir 'ala fatbihi. Both the Cairo edition (VII, 302 ) and Ibn alAthir (V, 245) have yagdiru.
1221 . Li-yutariquhu. It is possible that the prison is meant here, rather than alSufyani.
1222. Here Ibn al-Athir adds: "and they (Yazid's associates) fled" (loc. cit.).
1223. Wa-anhaba. lbn al-Athir has the more appropriate usage of intahaba (loc.
cit.). Fragmenta (156) has nahaba.
1224. The apparatus has the variant "Abu ja'far said" before the account begins.
1225 . This man was a Shiite, the great-grandson of 'Ali's brother ja'far. Cf.
Shahan, Islamic History, 161 ; Wellhausen, 384.
1226 . Cf. al-Tabari, II, 1854-5 5, x858, z864, 1867-68, and subsequent accounts.
1227. For the province of jibal, cf. Le Strange, Lands, 185-231, E12, s.v. (L.
Lockhart).
( 18791
According to Abmad-'Ali b. Muhammad-'A$im b. Haf$ alTamimi and other knowledgeable people : The reason for the uprising of 'Abdallah b. Mu'awiyah b. 'Abdallah b. Ja' far against
'Abdallah b. 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz was that the former came to alKufah on a visit to the latter seeking remuneration from him1229
[x88oJ and not intending to rebel, and he married the daughter of Hatim
b. al-Shargi b. 'Abd al-Mu'min b. Shabath b. Rib'i.1330 When tribal
discord surfaced, the Kufans said to him : "Call on people to join
you, for the Banu Hashim are more entitled to rule than the Banu
Marwan ." Then 'Abdallah b. Mu'awiyah summoned people secretly in al- Kufah whilst Ibn 'Umar was in al-Hirah , and Ibn
Vamrah al -Khuza'i gave him the oath of allegiance . Then Ibn
'Umar got in touch with Ibn Damrah secretly and gave him a
bribe . 1,331 Then Ibn Qamrah1232 sent a message to Ibn 'Umar saying, "When we meet the people I will retreat with them." This
message reached Ibn Mu 'awiyah and when the people assembled
he said : " Ibn laamrah has acted treacherously, and he has promised Ibn 'Umar that he will retreat with the people. So do not be
alarmed when he retreats, 1233 for he will be doing so out of
treachery." When they assembled, Ibn Qamrah retreated, and the
people retreated (too), and nobody remained with Ibn Mu 'awiyah.
He recited:
1228. For other accounts of the revolt of 'Abdallah b. Mu'awiyah, cf. al-Igfahini,
Aghani, XII, 228- 32, Ibn al-Athir, V, 246- 48; Ibn Khayyis , II, 394-95.
1229 . Yaltamisu siiatahu . The Aghani (XII, 228 1 has mustamihan "asking for a
stipend."
1230. For the family of this man , cf. Crone, it 8. He must have been a local
notable.
1231 . Fa-arddhu: lit: "gave him what satisfied him."
1232 . The Aghani calls him Ibn IHamzah (XII, 229).
1233 . Lit: "do not let his running away alarm you." And yet, as the sequel
shows, the people did do exactly as Ibn I )amrah wanted, leaving Ibn Mu'awiyah in
the lurch.
1235 . For the city of Hulwin in the province of Jibil, cf. Le Strange, Lands, 191;
Eli, s.v. (L. Lockhart).
1236. For this man's family, cf. Crone, III-I2.
1237. For the city of Mihin in the province of Kirmin, cf. Le Strange, Lands,
307.
1238. Ibn al-Athir has a slightly different list of places in his account-Hulwin,
al-Jibil, Hamadhin, Isfahin, and al-Rayy (V, 248).
1239. Those lines are found, along with others not included here, in the Aghanf
(XII, 232).
1242. The Band Nakh' were brought from Yemen to &I-Kufah at the time of the
wars of conquest (cf. lbn al-Kalbi , II, 4441
1243 . Ibn al-Athir has "on him and his brothers" (V, 246.
1244. Wa-kharaja ilayhi Ibrahim fa-gatalahu fa-hazamahu Marwan wa-;afara
bihi wa-kharaja hariban. The Cairo edition has a version of the text that is
different in some places, although its apparatus makes no reference to this: wakharaja ilayhi Ibrahim fo-gatalahu Marwan fa-hazamahu wa-;afara bi-'askarihi
wa-kharaja hariban (VII, 3041.
them they were in Dayr Hind,1249 where they had gathered together. 125o He precipitated himself among them and said, "This
is my hand (as a pledge) for you, so make your decision ." They felt
(18831 ashamed and honored and thanked 'Agim. 'Agim went up to their
two leaders, but they remained silent and held back. In the evening, under cover of night, Ibn'Umar sent to'Umar b. al-Ghaciban
with one hundred thousand (dirhams), and he distributed them
amongst his tribe, the Banu Hammim b. Murrah b. Dhuhl b.
Shayban . 1251 He sent to Thumamah b. Hawshab b. Ruwaym with
one hundred thousand (dirhams ), and the latter distributed them
amongst his tribe . He sent to Ja'far b. Nafi' b. al-Qa'qi' with ten
thousand (dirhams ) 1252 and to 'Uthmin b. al-Khaybari with ten
thousand.
According to Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari): When the Shi'ites saw
his1253 weakness, they censured him, became enboldened against
him, sought to overcome him, and called for 'Abdallih b.
Mu'awiyah b. Ja'far-the person who was in charge of that was
Hilil b. Abi al-Ward, the mawla of the Banu 'Ijl. The Shi 'ites rose
up with the rabble from the people and reached the mosque where
they assembled. Hilil was the one in charge of matters. The
Shi'ites joined him in giving the oath of allegiance to'Abdallih b.
Mu'iwiyah . Then they went immediately to 'Abdallih (b.
Mu'iwiyah), removed him from the house of al-Walid b . Sa'id,
brought him into the citadel , and prevented 'Agim b. 'Umar from
entering the citadel . So 'Agim joined his brother 'Abdallih in alHirah. The Kufans came to Ibn Mu'awiyah and gave the oath of
allegiance to him; amongst them were 'Umar b. al-Ghadbin b. alQaba'thari, Mangur b. Jumhur, Ismi'il b . 'Abdallih al-Qasri, and
those Syrians who had family connections1254 in al-KUfah. He
remained in al-KUfah for a few days , and the people gave the oath
of allegiance to him. The oath of allegiance was (also ) given to
him in Ctesiphon (al-Mada'in) and Fam al-Nil,1255 and the people
1249. There were two sites known as Dayr Hind in al -Hirsh (Yiqut, II, 707 and
709).
1253 . Presumably lbrihim is meant here, although it could equally apply to Ibn
'Umar.
1254 . Lit: "who had family and stock."
1255 . Cf. Wellhausen, 5 41.
P. CCCLXXIII.
J1889J
"We in Iraq have heard a lot about the size and weight of your
mace, and I would like to see it." Al-Harith replied: "It is like one
of those (maces ) that you see wielded by those (men)" and pointed
to his followers. "But whenever I strike with it, my blow becomes
well known."1279 His mace weighed eighteen Syrian ral1s.
Al-Harith b. Surayj came in to see Nagr wearing the coat of mail
1276. Cf. Ibn al-Athir, V, 249.
1277. For Kushmayhan, one march from Marw on the road to Bukhir a, cf. Le
Strange, Lands, 400. According to al-Ya'qubi, it was called Kushmyhan Jibid.).
1278. The text has al-Fuayl. This is later corrected to al-Fa41 . Cf. Add., 11, p.
DCCXIV.
1279. The text seems unsatisfactory here : walakinnani idha 4arabtu bihi darbati. The Cairo edition has : walakinnani idha darabtu bihi shuhirat tiarabatni
IV, 3og). The translation given is very tentative and is based on the reading idha
darabtu bihi shuhirat darbati.
Appendix I
Problems of Translation
i. Al-Walid's letter to Hisham (al-Tabari, II, 1746-47)
(a) 1746, 1.6: min ... malawi ma malia min a$14iabi wa-1 urami
wa-ahli. Al-Igfahani (Aghani, VI, 107) has min . .. malawi ma
mabd min a$habi wa-annahu $arramani wa ahli ("how he
has ruined my friends and has ostracized me and my
dependents").
268 Appendix I
tion given is based on the variant . Cf. al-Igfahini's version:
isti$llabi li-Ibni Suhayl. Cf. Aghani, loc. cit.
(d) 1746,1.16-x747,1.1: fa-al-nasu bayna dhalika yagtarifuna alathama 'ala nufusihim min Allahi aw yastawjibuna al-ujur
'alayhi ("in such a situation men commit sin against themselves before God or deserve punishments on that basis").
The Cairo edition IVII, 213) has a very significant change in
the text, a change for which no textual justification is given:
wa-la yastawjibuna al-'uqubata 'alayhi ("they do not deserve punishment on that basis").
A more satisfactory reading is that in the Aghani, 107: wayagtarifuna al-athama 'ala anfusihim min Allahi bi-ma
yastawjibuna al-'uqubata 'alayhi ("They commit sins
against themselves before God for which they deserve
punishment"). This version has been used in the translation.
For al-Walid's views on the Qadariyyah, cf. n. 641.
ii. Hisham 's letter to al-Walid (al-Tabari, 11, 1747-49)
(a) 1747, 11.11-13
The text is rather problematical . It reads : wa-amir almu'minin akhwafu 'ala nafsihi min igtirafi al-ma'thami
'alayha ft alladhi kana yujri 'alayka minhu ft alladhi
alldatha min qat'i ma gata'a wa-mallwi ma ma11a min sallabatika li-amrayni.
Al-Igfahini's version of the same part of the letter is as
follows : wa-la yatakhawwafu 'ala nafsihi igtirafa alma'thami fi alladhi alldatha min qat'i ma gata'a wa-mallwi
ma11a min Sahabatika li-amrayni ("but he ( the caliph) does
not fear that he has committed wrong in the matter of the
cuts he has made and the way in which he has ruined those of
your friends whom he has ruined . (This absence of fear is) for
two reasons"). Cf. Aghani, VI, 107.
The version in the Aghani is adopted without comment by
the Cairo al-1'abari edition (VII, 213).
The version given by al-Balidhuri is of some help in clarifying the Leiden al-Tabari text : wa-amiru al-mu'minin
yastaghfiru Allaha min ijra 'ihi ma kana yujri 'alayka fa-inna
al-ma 'thama fi dhalika akhwafu minhu 'ala nafsihi fi gat'ihi
ma gata'a li-amrayni. Cf. Ansab (Derenk), 14. A possible
Appendix I 269
16
Appendix II
AI-Walid's Letter Appointing His Two Sons, alHakam and 'Uthmun, as His Successors: al-Tabari,
11, 1756-64
The notes in the commentary itself deal with small points of
clarification raised by the text of al-Walid 's letter. The purpose of
this appendix is to consider at greater length the manifold problems of translating the letter. Its style is tortuous and full of
rhetorical devices . On a number of occasions the text is clearly
corrupt. Throughout, it presents the translator with the problem
of striking the right balance between a literal English version
which adheres as closely as possible to the Arabic (however convoluted that may be) and a more elegant rendering which might
invite the charge of straying too far from the original and thus
becoming more of a paraphrase than a proper translation.
272 Appendix II
most generously allowing me access to their work just before I
completed this volume.
(a) 1757, 1.14-1758, 1.2.
The decision to omit the extremely problematic phrase falam yabqa kafirun, supported by the apparatus (BM and 0),
was made after reading the version of Crone and Hinds (cf.
God's Caliph , r 19), which makes much better sense. The
Leiden text as it stands would require the translation: "there
remained no infidel whose blood was not licit thereby and
the cutting of ties which were between them (lit., him (the
member of the ummah) and him (the infidel)) even if he [lit.,
they] were his father, son, or tribesman flit., their fathers,
sons, or kinsmen ]". For this change from singular to plural,
cf. Crone and Hinds, op. cit ., r 19, n. 16.
(b) 1759, 1.17-1760, 1.1.
Appendix II 273
e
Bibliography of Cited Works
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Khayyal. 3 vols. Beirut, n.d.
In al-Marzubin, Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Khalaf . Kitab Fall al-kilab
'ala kathir mimman labisa al-thiyab. Translated and edited by G. R.
Smith and M. A. S. Abdel Haleem . Warminster, 1978.
Ibn al -Nadim, Abu al-Faraj Muhammad b. Ishiq al-Warriq . Kitab alFihrist. Translated by B. Dodge under the title The Fihrist of alNadim, a Tenth Century Survey of Muslim Culture. 2 vols. New
York and London, 1970.
Ibn Qutaybah, Abu Muhammad 'Abdallih b. Muslim al-Dinawari. Kitab
al-Ma'arif. Edited by F. Wiistenfeld. Gottingen, 1850.
Ibn Rustah, Abu 'Ali Abmad b. 'Umar. Kitab al-A'laq al-nafisah. Translated by G. Wiet under the title Les Atours pracieux. Cairo, 1955.
Ibn Sa'd, Abu 'Abdallih Muhammad b. Sa'd b . Mani al-Ba$ri al-Hishimi.
Kitab al-Tabagat al-Kabir. Edited by E. Sachau, et al. 9 vols. Leiden,
1904-40.
Ibn al-Tiglagah, $afi al-Din Muhammad b. 'Ali. al-Fakhri. Translated by
C. E. J. Whitting . London, 1947.
al-I$fahani, Abu al-Faraj 'Ali b. Husayn. Kitab al-Aghani. 20 vols. Bulaq,
1285 -86 (1868-70).
Kitab Magatil al-Talibiyyin . Najaf, 1353 ( 1934).
al-I$fahini, Hamzah b. al-Hasan (b.) al-Mu'addib. Ta'rikh Sini mulak alar4 wa-al-anbiya'. Beirut, 1961.
al-Jahiz, Abu 'Uthmin 'Amr b . Bahr al-Fuqaymi al-Ba$ri . Kitab al-Bayan
wa-al-tabyin. 4 vols. Cairo, 1948-50.
al-Jahshiyari, Abu'Abdallih Muhammad b. Abdus. Kitab al - Wuzara' waal-kuttab. Edited by 'Abdallih Ismi'il al-Sawi . Baghdad, 1357 ( 1938).
Khalifah, Abu 'Amr b. Khayyat. Ta'rikh. 2 vols. Najaf, 1967.
Kitab al' Uydn wa -al-hada'iq fi akhbar al-haga'iq. Edited by M. J. de
De Goeje, M. J. Annales ... al-Tabari. Introductio, glossarium, addenda et emendanda. Leiden, 1901.
Dennett, D. Marwdn b. Muhammad . The Passing of the Umayyad Caliphate. Ph.D. thesis . Harvard, 5939.
Conversion and the Poll- tax in Early Islam. Cambridge, Mass.,
1950.
Derenk, D. Leben and Dichtung des Omaiyadenkalifen al-Walid ibn
Yazid. Freiburg im Breisgau, 1974
Dixon, A. A. The Umayyad Caliphate 65-86 /684-705. London, 1971.
Djait, H. "Les Yamanites A Kufa au to sitcle de l'h6gire," JESHO ( 1976):
148-81.
Duri, A. A. The Rise of Historical Writing among the Arabs: Edited and
translated by L. I. Conrad . Princeton, 1983.
Dussaud, R. Topographie historique de la Syrie antique et mddidvale.
Paris, 1927.
Encyclopaedia of Islam. First edition . 4 vols. and Supplement. Leiden,
1913-42.
e
Index
The index contains all proper names of places, persons, and tribal and other
groups that occur in the introduction, the text, and the footnotes, as well as some
technical terms, except that only names belonging to the medieval or earlier
periods have been included from the footnotes.
The definite article and the abbreviation b. (for ibn, son) have been disregarded
for the purposes of alphabetization. When there may be ambiguity over names
(as with some of the Umayyads), a longer genealogical chain has been provided.
A
Abin b. 'Abd el-Rabmin al-Numayri
131, 176
al-'Abbisiyyah 47
'Abd al-'Aziz b. 'Abbid b. Jibir alYabmadi 228
'Abd al-'Aziz b. 'Abd Rabbihi al-Laythl
232, 265
Index
284
'Abd al-Malik b. Marwin b. Muhammad b. Marwin, Umayyad xix,
219, 239
'Abd al-Malik b. Muhammad b. alHajjij 130-31,142,144,147
'Abd al-Malik b. Nu'aym al-Qayni
104, rob
253-62, 264
'Abdallih b. Wigid b. 'Abdallih 9, 11
al-Abrash Sa'id b. al-Walid al -Kalbi 12,
57, 71, 78-80, 149, 159, 168,
172-73
'Abdallih b. 'Awf 43
'Abdallih b.'Ayyish, muhaddith 4
'Abdallih al-Battsl b. al-Husayn 5 5
Abdallih b. al-Hasan b. al-Hasan b.
'Ali 8-t 1, 17
'Abdallih b. Kininah, tribal group
157
'Abdallih b. Mu'iwiyah b. 'Abdallih
253-56,258-63
'Abdallih b. al-Mubirak 222
'Abdallih b. Mujji'ah 265
Abu Khilid 78
Abu al-Khattib 171, 213
Abu Khaythamah Zuhayr b.
Mulwiyah 51
Abu Ma'shar Nijib b . 'Abd al-Rabmin
al-Sindi al -Madani, muI addith
35, 55, 65, 68, 70, 120, 164, 243
Abu Mihjan, mawli of Khilid al-Qasri
179
Abu Mikhnaf, historian , xiv, xv, 5,
13-14, 21, 36, 54, 121 , 196-97,
254
Index
Abu Mubammad b. 'Abdallih b. Yazid
b. Mu'awiyah 148
Abu Mubammad al-Sufyini 99, Ioo,
162, 185 - 86,188,190,253
Abu Muslim, 66-68 , 118, 120
Abu al-Najm al-Fall b. Qudimah
al-'Ijli, poet 81
ahl al-'aliyah 62
ahl al-bayt 23, 50, 58
ahl al-dhimmah 146
Abmad b. Mu'iwiyah 171, 213
Abmad b. Thibit b. 'Attib al-Rini,
mubaddith 35, 55, 65, 68, 70,
I2o, 164, 243
Abmad b. Zuhayr, jurist 71 -73, 7578, 80-82, 88, 106, 127, 129, 132,
13 5, 137, 141, 144, 147-48, 15 5,
161-62, 180, 183 -85, 188-89,
191-92, 201, 204, 214, 216, 23839, 244, 247-48, 250, 254
285
Al-Ajlab 235
al-Akhram 2g
Akhsikath ( see Farghanah)
al-Akhtal, poet 231
'Ali b. 'Abdallih b. al-'Abbas 74, 83,
120
286
Index
B
al-Bib (Darband) 239, 241
Bib (al-) Faridis (in Damascus) 143,
145
Bib al-Fil (in al -KUfah) xxiv, 44
Bib al-Hadid 24
Bib al-$aghir (in Damascus) 145
Badakhshin 6;, 221
Bidghis 32
Ba'labakk 144
Balkh xxi, xxii, 24, 63, 117, 120, 123
al-Balqi ' 103, 137, 200-3
Balqayn, tribal group 91, 190, 213
Bimiyin 32
Banjikath 25
Biriq, tribal group 46
Index
287
Biriq al-Tamimi 36
al-Basrah xxiv, 21, 35 , 6a, 71, 143,
146, 166, 196, 244
dais 238
C
Cappadocia 3
Caspian Sea 33, 239
Caucasus 4, 239
China 23, 78
Christian(s) 24, 68, 73, 146, 226, 231
Cilician Gates 169
Damghin 123
dar al-imdrah (in Marw) 117
dar al-rizq (in al-Kafah) xxiv, 45
Dirayyi 145
Dhubyin 91
Dhuwayd, katib 77-78
Dib'in b. Rawb 190-91, 193
Dibyah b. Khaliifah 148
Dinnah of Sad, tribal group 172
dfwan al-rasa'] 13, 71
Diyir Bakr 2tg
Diyir Mudar 250
Dukayn b. al-Shammakh al-Kalbi
al-'Amiri 147, 162
D6ma 146
Min 167
E
D
Eritrea 129
Daghestan 3
al-Dahak b. Ayman r56
Index
288
F
al-Fayyilm 48
Fazirah, tribal group 91, 212
Firuz b. Yazdigird b. Shahriyar 243
G
Ghalatin 229
Ghilib, mawli of Hishim too
Ghamr b. Yazid b. 'Abd al-Malik,
Umayyad xix, 119, 214, 239
Ghani, tribal group 76
Gharshistin xxi, 32
Ghassin, tribal group 146
Ghassin b. 'Abd al-Ilamid 7S
Ghassin b. Qi'is al-'Udhri 201
al-Ghawr 92
Hadath 169
al-Hadithah 146
al-Hajjij b. 'Abdallih al- Ba$ri 1g8
al-Hajjij b. Artih al -Nakha'i 214
al-Hajjij b . Bishr b. Fayruz al-Daylami
129
Hanbali 71
Hini ' b. Bishr 203
Hanifah, tribal group 124
Han;alah b. Safwin 240
Harasti 145
Index
al-Hirith b. 'Abdallih b . al-Hashraj
223
al-Hirith b. Aflal. b. Malik 62
al-Hirith b. Surayj 25 , 28-31 , 58-59,
158, 220-21, 232, 234-37, 26365
al-Hirith b. Yazid 77
Hirithah b. Janib, tribal group 157
Harrin 239, 242, 250
Harrin b. Karimah 47
Hirdn b. al-Siyiwush 30, 62
al-Hasan b. 'Ali b . Abi Tilib 5, 16
al-Hasan b. al-Hasan b. al-Hasan, 'Alid
8
289
I
Ibn Abi Layli Muhammad b. 'Abd alRabmin, gddl 5 5, 244
Ibn Abi Nuhaylah 72
Ibn Abi al-Zinid 164
Index
290
lbrihim b. Bassim 6o
Ibrihim b. Hishim b. Ismail alMakhzilmi, Umayyad governor of
Medina 5, 8, 9, 89, 119, 177
Ibrihim b. Muhammad, 'Abbasid
imim 27, 67, 120, 237-38
Ibrahim b. al-Mundhir al-Hizimi,
mu1 addith 82
Ibrihim b. Sa'd b. 'Abd al-Rahmin b.
'Awf al-Zuhri 5
Ibrihim b. al-Walid b. 'Abd al-Malik,
Umayyad Ax, 193, 202, 238, 244,
247-48, 250-51, 253, 256-57
Ibrihim b. Ziyid 6o
Idris b. Ma'qil 67-68
Ifrigiyah 54, 169, 240
129-31, ,66, 168 - 69, 176, 19598, 204, 207-8, 210-11 , 213-14,
219-21 , 223, 226, 232, 244, 257,
26o, 264
I
Jabal 'Ailun 146
Jabal al-Sharih z98
jobbanah 22, 40-42, 220, 25 S
Jabbinat Kindah (in al-Kufah ) xxiv, 42
Jabbinat Mikhnsf b. Sulaym fin al-
Knfah) xxiv, 42
India 24
Ink &I-Sughdi 188
Iraq xiii-iv, 7-8, 15, 21, 35, 48, 5859, 61, 74, 104, 118-19, 121, 125,
Index
291
K
Ka'b b. Himid al= Ansi, sJLib al-shurtab of Hishim 240
Ka'bah 88, 89
Kabul 32
Kalb, tribal group 129 , 134, 146, 157,
178, 203, 213
Khirijite 39, 43
Kharistin, battle 56
Khashabiyyah 151
Khazars 239
Khidish 30, 67, 255
Khilit 216
Khirish b. Hawshab b. Yazid aiShaybini 53, 115
Khirish b. al-Mughirah b. 'Atiyah,
mawli of Bann Layth 261
Khurisin xiii-xvi, xxi, 24-26, 31, 3435, 50- 52, 55-62, 66-68, 73,
115-18, 120,122- 23, 136, 166,
175, 207- 10, 213, 220-13, 225-
292
Index
Magian 24
227
Kish xxii, 26
al-Kufah xiii-xiv, xvii, xxiv, 7-8, 1217, 21 -22, 35 , 37, 39-40, 42-43,
46, 48, 50-52, 54-55 , 63, 66-67,
121, 132, 145, 149, 151, 166, 198,
201, 213 - 14, 220, 235-36, 244,
253-58 , 260-63
Kufans 15 - 19, 22, 40, 43-45, 49-50,
52, 54, 220, 254 - 55, 260, 262
Kurds 145
Kursul 23, 25-28
Kurz, tribal group 179
Kushmihan 264
L
Lahiz b. Quray; 67 , 1 20
Lakhm, tribal group 135, 146
al-Mahan 255
Mahan 118, 208
Marwan b. al-Hakam, known as Marwan I, Umayyad caliph xxi, 7374, 134, 151-52, 216
M arw an b . M u h amma d , k nown as
Marwan II, Umayyad caliph, xiii,
3-4, 35 , 68, 101 - 3, 138-40, 154,
180, 1 95 , 202 , 21 4, 21 7 -1 9, 2 33,
Index
293
Muhammad b. 'Abbid 49
Muhammad b. 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Zuhrl
12
Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Malik,
Umayyad xix, 1go-92
Muhammad b. 'Abdallih b. 'Ulathah
250
Muhammad b. 'All b. 'Abdallih b.
al-'Abbas, 'Abbasid imam 68, 74,
82-83, 120,170-71,238
294
Index
al-Nahrayn 48
Ni'il b. Farwah 45-46
Najaf 15
Index
p
Palestine 9o, 189 -93, 240-41
Palmyra (see Tadmur)
Panj, river 31
Persians 43, 150
Petra 198
295
Qigiiniyyah 41, 46
Qubi 31
gabdlah 57
Qadariyyah (Qadarij 75 , 129, 142, 186,
191,216, 238,243
Qadlr 31
al-Qidisiyyah 13, iS-r6, 43
Qabdam, kdtib 82
Qakktabah b. Shabib al-Tai 27, 67, 120
Quin 9, 11
Qatan b. Qutaybah 61
Qatina 142, 147
Qigiin 41
al-Rabi' 71
Rabi'ah, tribal group 40, 111 , 134, 146,
209, 213, 225, 257, 159-60, 26263
Rabi'ah b. Hanzalah 227
Rabi'ah al-Qurashi 235
Rifid'is 38
al-Rihib 147
al-RA'igah, slave girl of Khilid al-Qasri
82, 169
Index
296
S
al-Saba' 190
Sabiq, mawla of Bishr b. 'Abd al-Malik
b. Bishr 48
Sabsavar 60
Sa'd b. Ibrahim, qadi 119
Sa'd b . Zayd, tribal group 46
$adagah b . Waththab, astrologer 117
. adagat rasal Allah 5
al-$afah 65
al-Saffah, 'Abbasid caliph 154
$afiyyah bint al= Abbas b . 'Abd alMuttalib 46
al-Sagadim 230
al-$aqr b . $afwin 18g
Sat-i Asya 118
Sarakhs xxi, 121-22
Sardarkhudah 237
Index
Sufyan b. Salimah b. Sulaym b. Kaysin 201
Sughd 58, 188, 243
$ul, Turkish leader 32
Sulaym, tribal group 30, 46
Sulaym b. Kaysin 156
Sulaymin b. 'Abd al-Malik, caliph xix,
34, 186, 240
297
Talbah al-Sulaml 66
Talbah b. 'Ubaydallih, Companion of
the Prophet 15
Tamim, tribal group 14, 25, 28, 32,
36, 40, 122, 213 , 237, 265
Tamim b. Na$r 33-34
Tarsus 169
Tashkent 25
Taym al-Lit, tribal group 257
Tayy, tribal group 167
157
Taghlib, tribal group 22, 146
al-Ti'if 35, 119, 167, 244
Talbah b. Said 146
'Ubaydallih b. Ziyid 46
al-'Ujayf, tribal group 88
298
Index
'Ukabah b. Numaylah 63
'Umin 132
W
al-Waddib b. Habib b . Budayl 264
Widi Sirbin 92
Wajh al-Fals, 'Abd al-Rahmin 163
Wakhshib, river 31, 118
al-Walid b. 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwin,
known as al-Walid I , caliph xix,
127-28, 136, 138, 147, 243, 249
al-Walid b. Khulayd 78
al-Walid b. Magid al-Kalb-1 252
al-Walid b. &I-Qa'gi' 1;6
al-Walid b. Rawl b. al-Walid 142, 147,
185
al-Walid b. Said, mawli of Banu
Nakh' 256, 258
Index
al-Walid b. Yazid b. 'Abd al-Malik,
known as al-Walid 11, Umayyad
caliph xiii-xvi, xix, 51, 83, 87119, 121 -22,124, 126-32,13539, 143, 145, 147- 66, 174-80,
183-85 , 189-90, 193-94, 1 96-99,
201-2, 204-9, 214-15 , 218-19,
221, 226, 238-40, 242, 244, 251,
267-68,271
Y
al-Yahrnad, tribal group 228
Yahyi b. 'Abd al-Rabmin al-Bahrini
x86
Yabyi b. al-Hakam b. Abi al-'Ag 9o
Yabyi b. Hudayn al-Bakri 28, 233
Yabyi b. Said al-Ansiri 119
299
al-Yamirnah 17
Yaminiyyah 127, 129, 132, 137, 19798, 202, 209, 213 , 220, 235, 240,
255-57, 260
Ya'gdb 50
Ya'qub, mawli of Hishim 74
300
Index
Zaranj 5 5
Zayd b. 'All xiv, xvi, xx , 4-23, 36-54,
168
Zayd b. Tamim al-Qaynl 177
Zaydiyyah 255, 260, 263
Ziyad al-Nahdi 49
Zizi' xxiii, 130
Z
Zamil, river 117
Zamzam b. Sulaym al-Tha'labi 42