{"id":17095,"date":"2017-05-27T20:47:35","date_gmt":"2017-05-27T19:47:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.roger-pearse.com\/weblog\/?p=17095"},"modified":"2017-05-27T20:47:35","modified_gmt":"2017-05-27T19:47:35","slug":"the-annals-of-eutychius-of-alexandria-10th-c-ad-chapter-19j-abbasids-part-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roger-pearse.com\/weblog\/2017\/05\/27\/the-annals-of-eutychius-of-alexandria-10th-c-ad-chapter-19j-abbasids-part-10\/","title":{"rendered":"The Annals of Eutychius of Alexandria (10th c. AD) \u2013 chapter 19j \u2013 Abbasids part 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

The decay of the Abbasid caliphate continues.\u00a0 Egypt is\u00a0almost an\u00a0independent country; and the caliphate is also troubled by the Qarmatian revolt – a group of Shia fanatics who end up stealing the Black stone from Mecca.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

CALIPHATE OF\u00a0AL-MUKTAF\u012a BI\u2019LL\u0100H (289-295\/902-908).<\/p>\n

1. The bay’ah<\/em>\u00a0was given to\u00a0al-Muktaf\u012b, i.e. Ab\u016b Muhammad [‘Ali] b. Ahmad al-Mu’tadid, in Baghdad, on the\u00a0same day\u00a0that al-Mu’tadid died.\u00a0 Al-Muktafi was in ar-Raqqah.\u00a0 Letters and\u00a0missives were sent to him to travel to Baghdad.\u00a0 He went, and settled there.\u00a0 His mother was Bakhtagiknah, and she was the daughter of al-Q\u0101sim b. ‘Ubayd Allah b. Sulaym\u0101n b. Dhahb.\u00a0 He named his secretary al-‘Abb\u0101s b. Al-Hasan al-M\u0101dar\u0101ni, and restored things to order.<\/p>\n

2. In the second year of the caliphate of al-Muktaf\u012b, in 290 [of the Hegira], the Nile of Egypt reached the height of thirteen cubits and two fingers.\u00a0 The Muslims, Christians and Jews went out in procession, praying to God for rain, but the level of water remained as we mentioned, and the water continued to flow.\u00a0 In the third year of al-Muktafi’s caliphate\u00a0there was made\u00a0patriarch of Antioch Elias.\u00a0 He\u00a0was a k\u0101tib<\/em>.\u00a0 He held office for\u00a0twenty-eight years and died.\u00a0 In the month of Rab\u012b ‘al-\u0101khar<\/em>, the town of Seleucia, in Byzantine territory, was conquered, and the\u00a0loot was brought to Egypt in the month of Ragab<\/em> of the year 290 [of the Hegira].\u00a0 In the second year of the caliphate of al-Muktafi\u00a0died Michael, patriarch of Alexandria, on Sunday, six days before the end of the month of Ramadan\u00a0of the year 290 [of the Hegira], after having been patriarch for thirty-four years.\u00a0 After him the see of Alexandria remained without a patriarch for four years.\u00a0 In the fifth year of the caliphate of al-Muktafi,\u00a0there was made\u00a0patriarch of Alexandria Cristodulos, originally from Aleppo.\u00a0 He\u00a0was consecrated in Jerusalem on Holy Saturday,\u00a0the 4th\u00a0of the month of N\u012bs\u0101n<\/em>, that is, the 7th of Barm\u016bdah<\/em>, 19th of the month of \u011fum\u0101d\u0101 al-\u0101khar<\/em>.\u00a0 Elias, the son of Mans\u016br, patriarch of Jerusalem, consecrated him and he went to Alexandria.\u00a0 But the inhabitants of Alexandria said, “We will not accept\u00a0him unless the prayer\u00a0making him\u00a0patriarch is repeated.”\u00a0 The prayer of patriarchs was prayed over him on the 4th of Ramadan of the year 294 [of the Hegira].\u00a0 He held office for twenty-six years and six months and died.\u00a0 He was buried in the church of [Saint] Michael at Fust\u0101t-Misr.\u00a0 In the sixth year of al-Muktafi’s caliphate\u00a0there was made\u00a0patriarch of Jerusalem George, son of Da’\u011f\u0101n.\u00a0 He held office for\u00a0four years and eight months and died.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0There arose\u00a0in Syria a rebel called Ism\u0101’il the Qarmatian[ref]From what follows, the name of this rebel was actually Ab\u016b\u2019l-Q\u0101sim, as is clear from the battle in which Tugh\u011f was defeated.\u00a0 Eutychius has confused him with Ism\u0101\u2019\u012bl, son of the 6th Imam Ga\u2019far as-S\u0101diq (d. 765), from whom the Ismailites take their name.\u00a0 The latter are easy to confuse with the Qarmatians. (Pirone).\u00a0 The “Qarmata” or “Qarmatians<\/a>” or “Qaramita”\u00a0were a Shia group best known for taking the black stone from Mecca.[\/ref].\u00a0 In Damascus the governor, in the name of Khum\u0101rawayh b. Ahmad b. T\u016bl\u016bn, was Tugh\u011f b. Khaff al-Far’\u0101ni.\u00a0 After several battles, Tugh\u011f was\u00a0put to flight\u00a0at the hand of Ism\u0101’\u012bl the Qarmatian, and many of his men fell on the field.\u00a0 Tugh\u011f then wrote to H\u0101r\u016bn ibn Khum\u0101rawayh, informing him of the fact.\u00a0 H\u0101r\u016bn sent a large army to him, all of which belonged to the men of the Tul\u016bnids.\u00a0 The battle between the army of H\u0101r\u016bn and the Qarmatian took place near a village called “Ken\u0101kir”, in the province of Damascus, in the area known as “al-Askafiyyah” in the month of Ragab<\/em> of the year 289 [of the Hegira].\u00a0 After a fierce battle, the Qarmatian was killed, and\u00a0on both sides\u00a0about twenty thousand men fell, while the others were fleeing.\u00a0 The survivors of the forces of H\u0101r\u016bn\u00a0went to\u00a0Damascus and Tiberias, while those of the Qarmatian army headed to Homs.\u00a0 Then H\u0101r\u016bn’s soldiers returned to Egypt, but part of them remained in Damascus with Badr, called al-\u011eam\u0101mi.\u00a0 The Qarmatian had a brother named an-N\u0101gim.\u00a0 He gathered the survivors of his brother’s forces, and formed an army by recruiting his own people, and began his rebellion in the area around Homs.\u00a0 When al-Muktafi\u00a0learned that the Egyptian hosts had been cut\u00a0to pieces\u00a0and decimated by the Qarmatian and that the Egyptian soldiers had been killed, he decided to occupy Egypt, and he sent Muhammad ibn Sulaym\u0101n\u00a0at the head of his most illustrious commanders and\u00a0with a\u00a0huge army.\u00a0 Al-Muktafi then went to ar-Raqqah and stopped there.\u00a0 When\u00a0he came to Homs, Muhammad ibn Sulayman\u00a0put to flight\u00a0the troops of the Qarmatian an-N\u0101gim and captured seven hundred of his men.\u00a0 The Qarmatian escaped but he was caught in a place called “ad-D\u0101liyyah”.\u00a0 Muhammad ibn Sulaym\u0101n brought him\u00a0to al-Muktaf\u012b, at ar-Raqqah, along with the seven hundred men.\u00a0 Al-Muktafi took him with him to Baghdad where, after torturing\u00a0him for a long time,\u00a0he had him decapitated on a scaffold, then hanged his body on a cross.\u00a0 He then ordered the killing of the seven hundred men: some were decapitated on the scaffold and then crucified, others had their hands and feet cut off.<\/p>\n

4. Al-Muktafi’s armies\u00a0progressed with Muhammad ibn Sulaym\u0101n\u00a0even to\u00a0Damascus.\u00a0 Badr al-Hamm\u0101mi, along with the soldiers who were with him,\u00a0asked for a promise of safety\u00a0from Muhammad ibn Sulaym\u0101n.\u00a0 Muhammad ibn Sulayman then left for Palestine with the intent of\u00a0invading Egypt.\u00a0 Knowing\u00a0that the soldiers and armies had him as their target, H\u0101r\u016bn ibn Khum\u0101rawayh went to a place called “al-‘Abb\u0101siyyah”, an Egyptian territory of the province of al-Hawf, and camped there with his commanders and many men, to\u00a0wait for\u00a0Muhammad ibn Sulayman and to fight against him.\u00a0 Al-Muktafi’s ships followed the route to Tinnis and entered the province of Egypt.\u00a0 The Greek Damian commanded the fleet.\u00a0 Then some of H\u0101r\u016bn’s\u00a0commanders[ref]Perhaps “officers” would be a better word?[\/ref] came to meet Damian in a village of al-Fust\u0101t called “Tan\u016bhah”.\u00a0 The battle between the two sides was violent, but H\u0101r\u016bn’s officers went over to the other side and fled.<\/p>\n

5. Shayb\u0101n ibn Muhammad b. T\u016bl\u016bn, the uncle of H\u0101r\u016bn, attacked H\u0101r\u016bn ibn Khum\u0101rawayh and killed him, on Sunday 18th of the month of Safar of the year 292.\u00a0 Shayb\u0101n b. Ahmad b. T\u016bl\u016bn was the\u00a0arbiter of the situation only for a few days.\u00a0 For\u00a0H\u0101r\u016bn’s\u00a0officers wrote a letter to Muhammad ibn Sulaym\u0101n asking him to grant them protection.\u00a0 Granting them what they asked, Muhammad ibn Sulaym\u0101n entered Misr without finding any opposition and no\u00a0objection on Thursday, two days before the end of the month of Safar of the year 292.\u00a0 Faced\u00a0with\u00a0this event, and seeing that Muhammad ibn Sulayman had already deployed his battle-ready soldiers in a place called “ar-Riyah” at the\u00a0gate of the\u00a0city of Misr, Shayb\u0101n and his brothers\u00a0sought\u00a0a guarantee\u00a0of their lives and property .\u00a0 This\u00a0was granted, and Shayb\u0101n’s\u00a0forces disbanded.\u00a0 Muhammad ibn Sulayman ordered all the\u00a0officers and secretaries of H\u0101r\u016bn who\u00a0were with him to go to Baghdad.\u00a0 They went to Baghdad, while Muhammad ibn Sulaym\u0101n stayed in Egypt for six months, and the scribes and the\u00a0officers\u00a0with them collected thousands of thousands of dinars.\u00a0 Then he\u00a0returned to Iraq, leaving Is’\u0101n an-N\u016bshari in Egypt, after having stayed for six months and having collected from the provinces\u00a0thousands of thousands of dinars destined for the sultan.\u00a0 Al-Muktafi took Muhammad ibn Sulaym\u0101n and threw him into prison, demanding the restitution of the goods that he had collected in Egypt.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0In Syria one\u00a0of H\u0101r\u016bn’s officers, known under the name of Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Khal\u012b\u011f, one of those who remained\u00a0with Muhammad ibn Sulaym\u0101n in Syria, rebelled, and, having gathered around him a multitude of men of every sort, had set up their seat in the city of ar-Ramlah.\u00a0 Learning of this, Isa an-N\u016bshari\u00a0joined with\u00a0al-Husayn ibn Ahmad al-M\u0101dar\u0101ni,\u00a0called Ab\u016b Zayn\u016bn, and the soldiers who were in Egypt and came out together to fight against Muhammad ibn Ali al-Khali\u011f.\u00a0 When they\u00a0learned that he\u00a0had a large number of men with him, they returned, together with the officers, to al-Fust\u0101t.\u00a0 From here they went down to\u00a0al-Gizah,\u00a0broke the two bridges then gave them to the flames, so that Muhammad ibn Ali al-Khal\u012b\u011f could not reach them, and continued marching about, now to Alexandria, now\u00a0to upper\u00a0Egypt.\u00a0 So the city of al-Fust\u0101t remained without authority and without anyone [as governor].\u00a0 The citizens protected themselves, and took care of each other for five days.<\/p>\n

7. Muhammad ibn [Ali] al-Khal\u012bg entered Misr on a Thursday, fourteen days before the end of the month of Dh\u016b’l-qa’da<\/em> of the year 292.\u00a0 He stayed there for eight months, accumulating riches and strengthening his position.\u00a0 Then the\u00a0armies of al-Muktaf\u012b arrived,\u00a0under the command of his\u00a0freedman F\u0101tik, and a group of officers.\u00a0 Muhammad ibn Ali al-Khal\u012bg came out against him,\u00a0retreated on al-Fust\u0101t with his men and engaged in a violent battle.\u00a0 Muhammad ibn Ali was beaten and succeeded in returning to al-Fust\u0101t, where he hid himself.\u00a0 F\u0101tik made his entry into al-Fust\u0101t together with his officers.\u00a0 The man\u00a0with whom Muhammad bin Ali al-Khal\u012bg was hiding went to Is\u0101 an-N\u016bshari and told him that he was with him.\u00a0 He was arrested\u00a0– it was the month of Ra\u011fab of the year 293\u00a0[of the Hegira]\u00a0– and\u00a0he carried him with him back to Ir\u0101q together with his men, his family, his officers and scribes, and those who had helped him.<\/p>\n

8. Al-Muktafi died on Sunday 13th of the month of Dh\u016b’l-qa’da<\/em> of the year 295 [of the Hegira].\u00a0 His caliphate lasted six years, nine months and two days.\u00a0 His influential advisers and administrators of his affairs were his minister al-‘Abb\u0101s ibn al-Husayn and\u00a0his freeman F\u0101tik.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The decay of the Abbasid caliphate continues.\u00a0 Egypt is\u00a0almost an\u00a0independent country; and the caliphate is also troubled by the Qarmatian revolt – a group of Shia fanatics who end up stealing the Black stone from Mecca.\u00a0 CALIPHATE OF\u00a0AL-MUKTAF\u012a BI\u2019LL\u0100H (289-295\/902-908). 1. The bay’ah\u00a0was given to\u00a0al-Muktaf\u012b, i.e. Ab\u016b Muhammad [‘Ali] b. Ahmad al-Mu’tadid, in Baghdad, on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19],"tags":[672,675],"class_list":["post-17095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-my-diary-announcements","tag-eutychius","tag-eutychius-chapter-19"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/roger-pearse.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/roger-pearse.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/roger-pearse.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roger-pearse.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roger-pearse.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/roger-pearse.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17095\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/roger-pearse.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roger-pearse.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roger-pearse.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}