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This verse is taken from a piece composed by Muti Ibn Iyâs Ibn Yahya Ibn Ziad, and which is given in the Hamasa (page 9.).—The numerous deeds of Kutaiba Ibn Muslim occupy a place in History (17).-In our notice on al-Asmai (vol. II. p. 123), we have spoken of the word Bâhili and given its derivation. The Arabs of the desert (who were members of the tribe of Bâhila) had an extreme repugnance to bearing this surname; this feeling was so general that a poet said:

It availeth a man nothing to be descended from Hashim if he bears within him a Bahilite soul.

And another poet has pronounced that:

If the words thou Bahilite! were addressed to a dog, the animal would howl from the ignominy of such an appellation.

It was observed to Abù Obaida that al-Asmài claimed to be descended from Bàhila, but he declared that could never have been the case. On being asked the reason, he replied: "Persons belonging to the tribe of Bahila disclaim all con"nexion with it; how then is it possible that a man who did not belong to it "should come forward and claim to belong to it?" I read in a collection of anecdotes that al-Ashàth Ibn Kais al-Kindi (18) said to the Prophet: "Are we all

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equally subjected to the law of talion?" and he made answer: "Yes; even if "you slayed a man of the tribe of Bâhila, I should slay you to avenge him." Kutaiba Ibn Muslim said to Hubaira Ibn Masrùh (19): “What a man thou wouldst "be did thy maternal ancestors not belong to the tribe of Salûl (20)! Sup66 pose that I change them for others?" To this Hubaira replied: "May God prosper the emir! change them for whom thou wilt of all the Arabic tribes, "but spare me from Bâhila." It is related also that an Arab of the desert met a person on the road and asked him who he was? The other replied that he belonged to the tribe of Bahila. The Arab having expressed his commiseration for such a misfortune, the man said: "I must inform thee, moreover, that I am "not sprung from that race, but am one of their slaves." The Arab immediately went over to him and kissed his hands and feet. "Why doest thou so?" exclaimed the man. The other answered: "Almighty God, blessed be his "name! would not inflict on thee such a misfortune in this life, unless he "intended to remunerate thee with Paradise in the next." An Arab was asked

if he would consent to be a Bahilite on the condition of entering into Paradise, and he replied: "Yes, provided that the inhabitants of Paradise are not in"formed of my being a Bahilite." They tell many anecdotes of this kind. Husain Ibn Bakr al-Kilàbi, the genealogist, being asked why the tribes of Bàhila and Ghani were held in such depreciation by the Arabs, he replied: "They were once possessed of riches and honour, but what abased their reputation was, that "being surpassed by their brethren of the tribes of Fazara and Dubyân in a rivalry of glorious deeds, their own merit appeared slight in comparison (24).” This circumstance is stated by the vizir Abù 'l-Kâsim al-Maghribi (vol. I. p. 450) in his Adab al-Khawass.-We have spoken of Kutaiba in the life of Abd Allah Ibn Muslim Ibn Kutaiba (vol. II. p. 22).

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(1) The Kâmûs, under the root, writes this name Omar; the Sahâh, under the same word, has Amr. (2) This proverb I have not been able to discover.—Al-Jauhari, the author of the Sahah, says that the horse Harun was celebrated for his speed, and gives his pedigree after al-Asmâi, who makes him descend from Auwaj (see vol. II. page 246.)

(3) This was in A.H. 93. At-Tabari calls the city of Khowarezm Medina tal-Fil (the city of the elephant.) (4) I read in place of j, although the manuscripts and the printed text give the latter reading. (3) See Price's Retrospect, vol. I. page 486.

(6) There were ten thousand men of the tribe of Tamim in Kutaiba's army. The Tamimites remained in these provinces till al-Mamûn was proclaimed khalif; they then accompanied him to Baghdad, whence they were sent into North Africa, where one of their chiefs founded, a few years afterwards, the hereditary, but not independent dynasty of the Aghlabites.

(7) See vol. I. page 655.

(8) The best historians place the death of Musab in the year 71.

(9) One of my manuscripts has al-Ghalali Shillo

(10) The Arabic has bland! As he sat down between the two lines (simâts).

(11) It is necessary to observe that the original Arabic of the very obscure address which follows, has been miserably altered by the copyists. I combined readings from different manuscripts in order to form a text offering some appearance of meaning, but not, I fear, with full success. The import of the discourse is rendered very difficult of comprehension by the speaker's not only affecting to employ the elliptic language and the idioms of the genuine Arabs of the desert, but giving to these terms a mystic signification. (12) For the meaning of the expression see Schulten's Haririi consessus, 2nd part, p 183. (13) Here the printed text, supported by the authority of all the manuscripts, has; but I cannot give any meaning whatever to the passage unless I replace it by j. The government and wealth which he here speaks of must mean spiritual gifts.

رقيق

(14) I can by no means give this as a correct translation of Abù Dahmân's speech; the Arabic text may not be exempt from faults, and, if it be exactly given as our author transcribed it, I must have misunderstood at least one passage of it.

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.مشهرج

مسروح

(17) Literally: The relations of his doings are numerous. See his history in Price's Retrospect, vol. I. (18) Al-Ashath Ibn Kais, a powerful chieftain of the tribe of Kinda and one of the Companions of the Prophet, was the ancestor of Yakûb al-Kindi, the celebrated philosopher.—(See vol. I. page 355, note (22) ). (19) Masrih is an error of Ibn Khallikân or of his copyists; the true reading is Mushamraj -Hubaira Ibn Mushamraj al-Kilâbi (member of the tribe of Kilab,) was one of Kutaiba Ibn Muslim's generals, and highly distinguished for eloquence. In Price's Retrospect, vol. I. p.483, we find his name transcribed Hobairah the Kûlaubite (read the Kilabite), and it occurs again repeatedly in the following pages. The volume of the Annals of at-Tabari, in the original Arabic, preserved in the Bib. du Roi (supplement, p. 248), writes his father's name Mushamraj, and this historian cites two pieces of verse, p. 239 and p. 260,

in one of which it rhymes with manhaj and makhraj ; from this we must conclude the final letter to be j (~);

and moreover, the measure of both verses requires us to read in each Mushamraj, as there written, for if Masruh be substituted, the verses cannot be scanned.

(20) This tribe was also greatly despised by the Arabs. (See Freytag's Meidanii Proverbia, t II.
(21) I read ; a manuscript which I have since consulted offering in place of S.

p. 172.)

KARAKUSH.

The emir Karakûsh Ibn Abd Allah al-Asadi (client of Asad ad-din), surnamed Bahà ad-din (splendor of religion), was a slave to the sultan Salâh ad-din, or, by another account, to that prince's uncle, Asad ad-dîn Shirkùh (vol. I. p. 626), from whom he received his liberty. We have already made mention of him in the life of the jurisconsult Isa al-Hakkàri (vol. II. page 430). When Salah addin established his dominion in Egypt, he confided to Karakûsh the government of the palace, and, at a later period, he nominated him his lieutenant in Egypt, and entrusted him with the entire direction of public affairs. Karâkûsh was a man of lofty spirit and singularly favoured by fortune in all his proceedings. It 601 was he who built the wall which encloses Old and New Cairo with the intervening grounds; he built also the Calà tal-Jabal (1) and the bridges at Jiza on the road leading to the Pyramids. All those monuments are proofs of an exalted mind. He erected a ribât, or convent, at al-Maks, and the Khân Sabîl (2) outside Old Cairo, at (the gate called) Bâb al-Futùh. He founded besides a great number of wakfs (vol. I. p. 49), producing revenues to an unknown amount.

In all his intentions and proceedings he was actuated by the purest motives. When the sultan Salah ad-din took Acre from the Franks (A. H. 583, A. D. 1187-8), he gave (the command of) the city to Karâkûsh, who, when the enemy returned and obtained possession of it a second time, remained a prisoner in their hands. It is stated that he paid ten thousand dinars for his ransom. Our shaikh, the kâdi Bahâ ad-dîn Ibn Shaddâd says, in his History of Salâh addìn (3), that Karâkûsh was delivered from captivity on Tuesday, the 11th of Shawwâl, A. H. 588 (October, A. D. 1192), and came to pay his respects to the sultan ; this prince manifested an extreme joy on again seeing a person to whom he, Islamism, and the Moslims were so deeply indebted. Karâkûsh then asked and obtained permission to go and procure money for his ransom, which was stated to be thirty thousand (4) pieces (of gold). A number of extraordinary decisions are attributed to Karâkûsh, as having been pronounced by him during his administration; nay, things have gone so far that al-Asaad Ibn Mammâti (vol. I. p. 192) composed a small volume under the title of Kitab al-Fâshûsh fi Ahkâm Karakush (stupidity, or the decisions of Karakash), and containing things which it is highly improbable that such a man as Karâkûsh could have said or done. They are manifestly mere inventions, for Salâh ad-din would not have confided to him the affairs of the empire unless he had an entire confidence in his knowledge and abilities (5). Karâkûsh died at Cairo, on the 1st of Rajab, A. H. 597 (April, A. D. 1201), and was interred at the foot of Mount Mukattam, in the funeral chapel which bears his name. This monument is situated near the well and pond which he had caused to be made at the border of the trench (which surrounds the city) - Karakush is the Turkish name of the bird called okab (eagle) in Arabic (6); it is employed also as a proper name of a man.

(1) The Cala tal-Jabal, or Castle of the Mountain, forms the citadel of Cairo. See the description of it in M. de Sacy's Abdallatif, page 208, note (4), and, in the first line of the same note, reads in place of

. قصر الشمع

(2) The Khân Sabil was a caravanserai built by Karåkûsh for the gratuitous reception of travellers, liabna is-Sabil wa 'l-musafirîn.—(Al-Makrizi's Khitat.)

(3) See Schulten's Saladinii vita et res gestæ, p. 267.

(4) Ibn Shaddad, loco laudato, has eighty thousand.

(5) See M. de Sacy's Abdallatif, page 206.

(6) Not precisely; karâ kûsh signifies literally, niger avis.

VOL. II.

66

KATARI IBN AL-FUJAA.

Abû Naâma Katari Ibn al-Fujâa Joûna Ibn Màzin Ibn Yazid Ibn Zaid Manât Ibn Hanthar Ibn Kinàna Ibn Hurfûs Ibn Mazin Ibn Mâlik Ibn Amr Ibn Tamim Ibn Murr al-Mazini al-Khâriji (the Kharijite) commenced his revolt when Musâb Ibn az-Zubair was governing Iråk as lieutenant of his brother Abd Allah Ibn azZubair. Musâb was appointed to this post, A. H. 66 (A. D. 685-6), and Katari continued, during twenty years, to wage war and to be saluted by the title of khalif. Al-Hajjaj Ibn Yûsuf ath-Thakafi sent army after army against him, but they were always defeated. It is related that, in one of his battles, he rode forth from the ranks on a lean horse, with a cudgel in his hand, and challenged the opposite party to send out a man to fight him. One of them sallied forth to encounter him, but immediately fled when Katari removed the covering off his face to let him see who he was. "Where art thou going?" exclaimed

Katari. "No man need be ashamed of flying from thee," answered his adversary. Abû 'l-Abbas al-Mubarrad has a long section in his Kamil on the history and wars of these Kharijites. Katari held his career without interruption till Sofyan Ibn al-Abrad al-Kalbi marched against him, defeated and slew him in the year 78 (A.D. 697-8). He fell by the hand of Sauda Ibn Abhar ad-Darimi. Some say that he lost his life in Tabarestân, A. H. 79, and others state that he died in consequence of his having broken his thigh by his horse falling with him. His head was cut off and sent to al-Hajjaj. I must here notice a statement of historians which I am unable to explain; according to them, Katari waged war and bore the title of khalif for the space of twenty years, yet this is contradicted by the dates of his first revolt and of his death. This is a point 602 to which I call the attention of the reader. Katari left no posterity. His father was called Fujaa because he had gone to Yemen and returned to his family quite unexpectedly (fujda). They then gave him this surname, and it stuck to him ever after. It is Katari to whom al-Hariri alludes in the following passage of his sixth Makama: "And they entrusted him with the management of this "business, as the Kharijites entrusted (theirs) to Abû Naâma (1)." He was a man of courage and daring, noted for his frequent wars and numerous battles,

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