46 which they were natives and exacted from them the poll-tax, such as they had to pay before their conversion. Yazîd resolved on doing like him, but the people "consulted together and decided on killing him, which they did. They then placed at the head of affairs Yazid's predecessor in the government and wrote to (the khalif) Yazîd Ibn Abd al-Malik a letter in which they said: We have not cast off ⚫ our allegiance, but Yazîd Ibn Abi Muslim treated us in a manner which neither 46 66 6 God nor the Musulmans could brook. We therefore slew him and reinstated in office your former governor.' To this, Yazîd Ibn Abd al-Malik replied by a letter in which he said: 1 disapprove of Yazîd Ibn Abi Muslim's conduct and confirm the appointment of Muhammad Ibn Yazid to the government of Ifrîkiya. "This was in the year 102." Al-Waddah Ibn Khaithama related as follows: "Omar Ibn Abd al-Azîz ordered me to set at liberty some people who were in prison, and Yazîd Ibn Abi Muslim was among them. Him I left where he was, but let "out all the others. This he could never forgive me. When we were in Ifrîkiya, we heard that Yazîd was coming to act as governor, and I therefore took to - flight. He, being informed of the place where I was, sent persons to arrest me "and bring me to him. When I was taken before him, he said: For a long time. "I have been asking Almighty God to place you in my power.' To this I replied: "For a long time I have been asking Almighty God to protect me from you!'"God has not protected you," said Yazîd, “and, by Allah! I shall kill you. Were "the angel of death to come for you, I should hasten to take your life before he did."" He then called for the sword and the natâ (4). They were brought in, and al-Waddâh was placed on the natâ by his order, with his hands tied behind his back. A man holding a sword stood behind him and (at that very moment) was heard the call to prayer. Yazîd went out to join the congregation and, as he was making the prostration, the swords (of the conspirators) took away his life. A man then came in to al-Waddah, cut his bonds and set him at liberty. Muhammad Ibn Yazîd, a mawla of the Ansârs, was re-established in the government. — So says at-Tabari; he names Muhammad Ibn Yazîd, but Ibn Asâkir gives that of Ismaîl Ibn Obaid Allah. God knows best! I may here observe that al-Waddâh was chamberlain to Omar Ibn Abd al-Azîz. Being ordered by that khalif, who had been taken ill, to set at liberty all the prisoners, he let every one of them out, with the exception of Yazîd. On the death of Omar, al-Waddâh fled to Ifrîkiya, through fear of Yazîd, and then took place what has been related.-Omar fell sick at Khunâsira. -The word (jâmeâ) employed above, where mention is made of Yazîd Ibn Abi Muslim's being brought before the khalif, means a collar by which the hands are fastened to the neck. The in the word damim which occurs in the expression (rendered by) low-set and ungainly, is written without a point and signifies ugly. Omar (the khalif) said: “ Give not your daughters in marriage to ugly () men, for that which, in men, pleases women is the same which, in women, pleases men (i. e. “beauty).” (zamim) with a point on the signifies blamable. Ibn ar-Rûmi (vol. II. p. 297) employed the word rightly when he said: Like the fellow-wives of a handsome woman; they say of her face, unjustly and through envy, that it is ugly (damim). I have indicated the right orthography of the word because it is often incorrectly written.—Khunásira is the name of an ancient village in al-Ahass, which is a district in the province of Aleppo. It lies to the south-east of that city, near Kinnisrîn. Omar Ibn Abd al-Azîz acted there as governor, in the name of (the khalif) Abd alMalik Ibn Marwân and in that of Sulaimân, the son of Abd al-Malik. It is this place which is meant in the following verse of al-Mutanabbi : I love the country between Emessa and Khunâsira; every man loves the spot where he passed his early life. The celebrated poet Adi Ibn ar-Rikâ al-Aâmili (5) mentions also this place in his well-known kasida which rhymes in d; he says: When the vernal flowers follow in succession, may the rains water abundantly the Khunâsira of al-Ahass. (1) This seems to mean that her hair had been cut off at one time to punish her for being a prostitute. (2) The Traditionist Juwairiya Ibn Asmâ, a member of the Dubaîâ () tribe, died A. H. 173 (A. D. 789-90). (3) A number of Traditionists bore the name of Yakûb, but we have not means of determining which of them it was whose authority is cited by Ibn Asâkir. (4) The nata was a circular carpet of leather, having round the border a running string by means of which it might be drawn up into the shape of a bag. The executioner made use of it to receive the blood of those whom he beheaded. (5) Adi Ibn Rikâ al-Aâmili, one of the numerous poets who flourished in the reign of al-Walid Ibn Abd alMalik, had frequently satirical encounters with the celebrated Jarfr (pol. I. p. 294). He usually resided in Damascus. YAZID IBN OMAR IBN HUBAIRA Abû Khâlid Yazîd Ibn Abî 'l-Muthanna Omar Ibn Hubaira Ibn Moaiya Ibn Sukain Ibn Khadij Ibn Baghîd Ibn Mâlik Ibn Saad drew his descent from Adî, the son of Fazara, whose genealogy is so well known (1) that we need not lengthen this article by its insertion. According to Ibn Duraid (vol. III. p. 37) Moaiya () is the diminutif of mian () which itself is the singular of the word amâa, which signifies the intestines. This opinion is, however, rejected by others who consider the word as the diminutive of (the proper name) Moawia.-The vowels of Sukain are an u and ai; in Khadij and Baghid the first vowel is an a. The other names are so generally known that it is not necessary for us to mark their pronounciation. According to the hâfiz Abû 'l-Kâsim Ibn Asâkir (vol. II. p. 252), he (Yazîd) was a native of Syria and governed Kinnisrîn in the name of (the khalif) al-Walid Ibn Yazîd Ibn Abd alMalik. He accompanied Marwân Ibn Muhammad, the last of the Omaiyides, when that prince took the city of Damascus (A. H. 127, A. D. 744-5), and then obtained from him the government of all Irâk. He was born in the year 87 (A. D. 705-6). Ibn Aiyâsh (vol. 1. p. 553) mentions him in the list of those governors who ruled in Irâk and held under their orders al-Misrain (the two cities) that is to say, al-Basra and al-Kûfa. — Ibn Kutaiba (vol. II. p. 22) says the same thing in his Kitâb alMadrif, where he names those emirs who governed simultaneously the two Iraks. The first name on the list is that of Zîâd Ibn Abîh (vol. I. p. 364) who acted there as the lieutenant of Moawîa Ibn Abi Sofyân, and the last is that of Yazîd Ibn Omar Ibn Hubaira, the subject of this article. The same writer adds: "No other, after these, ' ever held the united governments of the two Irâks." In the same work, he had already spoken of him, in the article on Omar Ibn Hubaira. There he says: “ Abù "Jaafar al-Mansûr besieged Yazîd in Wâsit during some months and obtained the "surrender of the city by granting him amnesty and protection. When Yazîd rode No empire could prosper with such a man in it;' and had him put to death."- Khalifa Ibn 44 66 6 forth, at the head of his household, to meet him, he said: Khaiyât (vol. I. p. 492) says: "In the year 128 (A. D. 745-6), Marwân Ibn Mu 66 hammad dispatched Yazîd to Irâk, as governor. This was subsequently to the "death of ad-Dahhâk." He means ad-Dahhâk as-Shaibâni Ibn Kais the khârijite (2).-"Yazid went as far as Hit, and there stopped. He was tall and corpu"lent, brave, liberal, a good orator and a great eater, but inclined to envy. Abû Jaafar at-Tabari mentions him in his History, under the year 128: "In this "year," says he, "Marwân Ibn Muhammad sent Yazîd Ibn Omar Ibn Hubaira "to Irâk, for the purpose of warring against the Khârijites who were in that "country." He then, under the year 132 (A. D. 749-50), speaks of the revolt got up by Kahtaba Ibn Shabîb, one of the Abbaside missionaries (or political agents), subsequently to the triumph of that party in Khorâsân and the adjoining countries. Abû Muslim al-Khorâsâni, the same of whom we have already spoken (vol. II. p. 100), was the principal abettor of that movement and continued to be its main-spring till the Abbasides had fully established their authority. The history of these events is well known, and, as we have given some account of them in our article on Abû Muslim, we need not enter into further particulars. Kahtaba revolted in Irâk and marched against Yazîd Ibn Omar Ibn Hubaira. Some encounters, too numerous to be related, took place between them, and we may state, in a summary manner, that Kahtaba forded the Euphrates (with his army), in the neighbourhood of al-Falùja, a well-known village in Irâk, and advanced to attack Ibn Hubaira, who was on the opposite bank of the river. Kahtaba was drowned. This occurred on Wednesday evening, the 8th of Muharram (27th Aug. A. D. 749), towards sunset, and his son, al-Hasan, replaced him as chief of the army. This is not a fit place for relating this celebrated battle, as a full account of it would be too long. Maan Ibn Zâida asShaibâni (vol. III. p. 398) was one of Yazîd Ibn Hubaira's partisans and his ablest assistant in all affairs, either of war or otherwise. It is said that in the night (of the battle), he struck Kahtaba Ibn Shabîb with his sabre on the head or, according to another statement, on the shoulder, so that he fell into the water. He was taken out alive and said (to his people): "If I die, let the water be my grave, so that no "one may know what has become of me." Other relations are given respecting the manner in which he was drowned, and God best knows the truth! Let us return to our account of Ibn Hubaira: Seeing his troops vanquished and put to flight by the army of which Kahtaba, and then al-Hasan, the son of Kahtaba, was the commander, he took refuge in Wâsit and fortified himself in that city. Abû 'l-Abbâs Abd Allah, the son of Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn Abd Allah Ibn al-Abbâs Ibn Abd al-Muttalib, and surnamed as-Saffah, then arrived from al-Humaima with his brother Abû Jaafar Abd Allah Ibn Muhammad (the same who was) surnamed al-Mansûr. The village of al-Humaima, situated on that part of the Syrian frontier which extends from the territory of al-Balkâ to Kûfa, was then the residence of the Abbasides, and there were assembled a number of their partisans, their agents and the persons who were assisting them in establishing the Abbaside dynasty and overthrowing that of the Omaiyides. The chief of the latter dynasty and the last of its sovereigns was, at that time, Marwân Ibn Muhammad Ibn Marwân Ibn al-Hakam. He bore the surname of al-Jaadi and was designated familiarly by the nickname of al-Himâr (3). When they arrived at Kûfa, Abû 'l-Abbâs as-Saffâh was solemnly acknowledged as sovereign. The inauguration took place on Friday, the 13th of the latter Rabî, 132 (29th November, A. D. 749). Another account places that event in the month of the first Rabî, but the preceding date is the true one. The cause of the Abbasides then began to triumph and their power augmented whilst that of the Omaiyides declined. (Abû Jaafar) al-Mansûr, being then dispatched by his brother, as-Saffâh, with the order to besiege Yazîd Ibn Omar Ibn Hubaira in Wâsit, joined the army which was then posted near the city, under the orders of al-Hasan Ibn Kahtaba. At-Tabari says, in his great historical work: "Frequent messages passed between Abû Jaa"far al-Mansûr and Ibn Hubaira. The latter then demanded by letter that an "amân (or full pardon) should be given to him. A paper to that effect was drawn 66 up and sent to him. He passed forty days in consulting doctors of the law (on "its validity), before he consented to accept it. Abù Jaafar, to whom it was then brought back, sent it to as-Saffah, who ordered him to ratify it in Yazîd's favour. "Abu Jaafar's intention was to fulfil all the conditions granted, but as-Saffah never 66 66 took a decision without the approbation of Abù Muslim al-Khorâsâni, who was the "chief director of the Abbaside party and had a spy who informed him by letter of "all as-Saffah's proceedings. Abû Muslim then wrote these words to as-Saffâh : "The best of roads is a bad one if there be stones on it, and, by Allah! no road is good in which one meets with Ibn Hubaira.' When the letter of amnesty was signed, Ibn Hubaira left the city at the head of thirteen hundred Najjârites (4) and was proceeding to enter on horseback into the enclosure (surrounding Abu Jaafar's tent), when the door-keeper stood up and said: Welcome, “Abû Khâlid! dismount quietly!' Ten thousand of the Khorasanide troops were " then drawn up about the enclosure. Yazîd dismounted, asked for a cushion so "that he might sit down and then, at his request, the chiefs of the troop who came " |