A Short History of Saracens:Chapter VI

Overview of the Pious Caliphate — Government — Policy — Administration — The Army — Social Life. 

During the ten years of the Prophet's life at Medina,a congeries of warring tribes and clans were rapidly consolidated into a nation under the influence of one great Idea. The work done within that short period will always remain as one of the most wonderful achievements recorded in history. 

Under Abu Bakr the tribes thus brought into subjection made a wild but ineffectual attempt to revert to the old condition. After this we see what can only be likened to the overflow of the Nile. There is much misery and disruption at first, but wherever the flood has passed, it has fertilised the soil. The on-rush of the Saracens, chiefly induced by the hostility of the neighbouring nations, had this effect over people and countries. During the thirty years the Republic lasted, a wonderful change had come over the Arabs. Society was still archaic, but a taste for those accessories which first lead to its development and then to its deterioration was growing up. The chief cities were embellished with beautiful buildings, and life became luxurious. The system of clientage in vogue in the Peninsula was introduced in the conquered countries ; the Persians, Turks, and Greeks who adopted Islam becoming the clients or Mouwalis of some Arab family or clan, thus increasing the strength of the latter and gaining for themselves prestige. Though all the Saracens were dominated by the centralised religious Idea, their fusion was never complete. And hence at the close of the Republic, we see the dominion of Islam rent into two factions, just as Mecca was before Mohammed, one owning allegiance to his family (the Banii Hashim), the other to their bitter enemies — the family of Ommeya. Though the treachery of Amr, the son of al-Aas, caused an irreparable breach in Islam, and led eventually to bitter feuds between the Himyarites and the Modarites, as yet there were no religious sects. Even the Kharijis (the Covenanters of Islam) differed chiefly on the question of allegiance, refusing to recognise any Caliph after Omar. The Caliph, who was the supreme head of the Government, was assisted by a Council of Elders composed of the principal Companions of the Prophet, who held their sittings in the principal Mosque, often assisted by the city notables and Bedouin chiefs present in Medina. Several of the Companions were entrusted with special duties. For instance, during Abu Bakr's Caliphate, Omar had charge of the administration of justice and the distribution of the poor-tax. Ali, as a scholar, was entrusted with the work of correspondence, the supervision of the captives of war and their treatment and ransom. Another Companion presided over the equipment of the troops. Every detail of the administration was thus looked after, but nothing was decided without consultation. 

During the thirty years that the Republic lasted, the Policy, derived its character chiefly from Omar, both during his lifetime and after his death. His policy was to consolidate Arabia and to fuse the Arab tribes into a nation. Forced by circumstances to moderate foreign conquests, he was anxious that the Saracens should not, in their foreign settlements, lose their nationality or merge with the people of other lands. Had Omar lived longer, his force of character would have enabled him to make the Arabs more homogeneous, and thus prevented the disastrous civil wars that led to the ruin of Islam. 

Several features in his policy deserve special attention. The first was to exclude all hostile or alien element from Arabia, and to keep it exclusively for the Saracens; the second was to avoid an excessive extension of the Republic. 

With a far-sightedness often wanting in rulers of later times, he perceived that the stability of the empire and its material development depended upon the prosperity of the agricultural classes. To secure that object he forbade the sale of holdings and agricultural lands in the conquered countries. As a further protection against encroachment on the part of the Arabs, he ordained that no Saracen should acquire land from the natives of the soil. The peasantry and land-owners were thus doubly protected from eviction. In making these rules he was probably also actuated with a motive to keep the Arab race distinct from, and predominant among, the people and communities among whom they settled — a motive which is by no means infrequent in history, either ancient or modern. But the predominance which he gave to the Saracens, and the privileges he conferred, were not of an exclusive character ; nor was a difference of colour, race and nationality considered as a bar to equality. Under Omar, the adoption of Islam, or the introduction by clientage of a non-Arab into a Saracenic tribe, raised him to the status of a born Arab; and this policy at least was continued under all the succeeding rulers. Thus many Persian families, without changing their Faith, became Moulas of Arab families. Similarly were many Christian clans of Syria and Egypt, and the Berbers of Africa affiliated to Arabian tribes. Of course there were privileges attached to the dominant Faith, as has always been the practice in other countries and among other communities, which acted equally with conviction in inducing a rapid abandonment of the older cults. The tendency of the rules and principles of Islam is towards democracy with a strong tinge of socialism. 

All men, rich and poor, are equal in the sight of God, and the rulers are only His lieutenants to protect them from anarchy. The revenues of the State were not for the benefit or enrichment of the Caliph, but for the good of the people. The poor-tax was ordained from the rich for the relief of the poor, and charity was embodied into a law. Consequently in the early days of the Republic, the Treasury required neither guard nor account-books. The tithes were distributed among the poor directly they were received, or were applied in the equipment of the troops who defended the State. The spoils of war were similarly distributed, but in these all shared alike, young and old, male and female, bond and free. Afterwards these distributions, being found unwieldy in practice, were commuted into fixed allowances. The entire nation became entitled to stipends out of the public revenue which were according to a graduated scale. And the benefit was not confined to the Moslems ; the people of the Zwwiah (the non-Moslem subjects), if distinguished for loyalty or faithful service, received similar consideration. The Caliphs had no civil list or any extraordinary allowance. The subdivision of landed property was never within the contemplation of the Prophet or his great lieutenant Omar, for it involved the eventual pauperisation of families. As a safeguard against this eventuality, the lands of the Medinites were protected from subdivision and alienation by entailment; and with this same object, the public lands in the conquered countries, instead of being parcelled among the soldiers, were held by the State, and the income only, after defraying the charges, was distributed among the people entitled to it. 

Unfortunately, under Osman, there was a complete reversal of the main features of his great predecessor's policy. He not only removed the efficient and capable governors whom Omar had placed in charge of the Provinces, but, in order to gratify the grasping demands of his kinsmen, made a new distribution of the appointments. The State domains, which were public property, were granted by the Caliph to his relatives. In this way Muawiyah obtained all the public lands in Syria, and in part of Mesopotamia. The Sawad, which was sacredly reserved by Omar for the purposes of the State, was given to another kinsman. The State Treasury, which was a public Trust under Abu Bakr and Omar, was emptied time after time for these unworthy favourites and the wealth of the Provinces went to enrich the Ommeyades, and to help them in preparing for the struggle for power. Osman withdrew the privileges which had been granted to non-Moslems, and introduced various harsh rules in direct opposition to those of his predecessors. He allowed the sale of land, and was the first to create military fiefs. Ali's administration was too disturbed by civil war to remedy the evils of the previous administration ; but he removed most of the corrupt governors and restored the policy of Omar where he had the power ; established a State archive for the safe custody and preservation of the records of the Caliphate ; created the office of Hajib or Chamberlain, and of the Sahib ush-Shurta or Captain of the Guard ; and re-organised the police and regulated their duties. 

After the fall of Mecca and the subjugation of the Peninsula, the Prophet had appointed governors, under the designation of Ameers for all the chief cities and provinces. The title was continued by Omar, who may be regarded as the practical founder of the political administration of Islam. He divided the conquered lands into compact governorships, so as to enable his lieutenants to develop the resources of the countries in their charge. Ahwaz and Bahrain formed thus one Province ; Sijistan, Mekran and Kerman, another ; whilst Tabaristan and Khorasan remained separate. Southern Persia was placed under three governors, whilst Irak was under two, one stationed at Kufa, the other at Bussorah. Similarly with Syria. The governor of the northern Provinces had his head-quarters at Hems, whilst the wall of the southern part resided at Damascus. Palestine was under another governor. In Africa there were three governorships, one consisting of Upper Egypt, the other of Egypt Proper, and the third of the Provinces beyond the Libyan Desert. Arabia was divided into five Provinces. In most places the governor, by virtue of his office, led the public or cathedral service and prayers, and delivered the Friday oration (Khutba) which was often a political manifesto. For Palestine, Damascus, Hems and Kinnisrin, Omar appointed special judges to lead the prayers as well as to administer justice. To regulate the receipt and disbursement of the revenue, he established the department of finance under the name of the Diwan. The expense of the fiscal and civil administration of each Province constituted the first charge upon its revenues ; the next was for military requirements ; the surplus was applied to the support of the nation. In this all persons of the Arab race and their Mawallis (clients) were entitled according to well-defined and strictly regulated shares. A register was kept in the Diwan of all persons, Arab and non-Arab, men, women and children, entitled to a stipend. Whilst the governor was the military and civil head of the Province, the fiscal and administrative functions were actually discharged by subordinate officers, specially appointed for the particular duty. In the administration of the acquired countries, the improvement of the peasantry and the development of trade were particularly insisted upon. With that object, Egypt, Syria, Irak and Southern Persia were measured field by field, and the assessment was fixed on an uniform basis. The record of this magnificent cadastral survey forms a veritable " catalogue," which, besides giving the area of the lands, describes in detail the quality of the soil, the nature of the produce, the character of the holdings, and so forth. A network of canals was constructed in Babylonia, and the embankments of the Tigris and Euphrates, culpably neglected by the Chosroes, were placed under the supervision of special officers. Omar reduced the tax on cereals and fostered trade. In order to facilitate direct communication between Egypt and 

Arabia, he had the old disused canal between the Nile and the Red Sea re-excavated. The Arabs named it "the Canal of the Commander of the Faithful." It was completed in less than a year, and when the Nile boats sailed up to Yembo and Jedda with the produce of Egypt, the price of grain fell in the markets of Mecca and Medina, and hardly realised more than it did in its original home. 

Justice was administered by civil judges, who were appointed by the Caliph and were independent of the governors. Omar was the first ruler in Islam to fix salaries for his judges, and to make their offices distinct from those of executive officers.- The title of Hakim, i. e. ruler, was reserved for the Kazis (judges). " The judge was named and is still named," says Von Hammer, " the hakim ush-sharaa, i. e. ruler through the law, for law rules through the utterance of justice, and the power of the governor carries out the utterance of it. Thus the Islamite administration, even in its infancy, proclaims in word and in deed the necessary separation between judicial and executive power." The administration of justice was perfectly equal, and the Caliphs set the example of equality by holding themselves amenable to the orders of the legally-constituted judge. In the beginning, the police duties were performed by the public generally. Omar introduced night-watches and patrols ; but a regularly organised police was not established until the time of Ali, who formed a municipal guard called Shurta, whose chief was styled the Sakid usk-Shurta. Under the advice of Ali, Omar also established the era of the Hegira, and founded and endowed schools and mosques in every part of the empire. 

The revenue of the Commonwealth was derived from three sources:  

(1) From the tithes or poor-tax payable on a graduated scale by all Moslems possessed of means. This was devoted to the defence of the State, the payment of the salaries of the officials employed in its collection, and the support of indigent Moslems. (2) From the land-tax levied from the Zimmis (non-Moslem subjects) under the name of Kharaj; and (3) from the capitation-tax, Jazia. 

Both these imposts were in existence in the Roman Empire under the very same designations, and it is a well-established fact that the capitation-tax was universally in force under the Sassanides in the Persian Empire. So that in introducing these taxes in Egypt, Syria, Irak and Persia, the Moslems followed the old precedents. Both were fixed on a mild and equitable basis. But special cities, provinces and tribes were exempt from these burdens ; and even where payment was obligatory, it was laid down that the tax should be levied so as to cause the least possible hardship. Jews, Christians, Samaritans, and Magians, who were styled "people of the Book," were treated with justice and humanity.

The The army was comprised of tribal levies, and volunteers drawn chiefly from Medina, Tayef, and other cities. They were paid at first from the tithes; afterwards from the tithes and taxes. In the beginning the Caliph appointed the commander-in-chief only, upon whom devolved the choice of the officers. As the commander-in-chief represented the Caliph, he presided at the daily prayers. Where several army corps were united, it was always clearly stated which of the generals should preside at prayers, as that indicated his position as general-in-chief. Towards the end of his administration, Omar began to nominate subordinate officers also, such as the Adrift and others- Breach of discipline and cowardice in the field were punished by pillory and tearing off the turban from the culprit's head — punishments regarded so degrading in those days as to be completely efficacious. The army was composed of cavalry and infantry; the former were armed with shields, swords, and long lances ; the latter with shields, lances, and swords, or shields and bows and arrows. Among the infantry the archers formed the most important element. The formation of the infantry was in lines generally the deep, with the lancers in front to repel cavalry attacks, and the archers behind. The cavalry were usually posted on the flanks ; and the battles commenced with challenges and single combats. The great superiority of the Saracenic armies consisted in their extreme mobility, their perseverance, and their powers of endurance — qualities which, joined to enthusiasm, made them invincible. They were always well-provisioned, and long marches were made on camels. At first the troops erected for encampments, huts made of palm-leaves ; but afterwards Omar directed the construction of permanent stations or cantonments ; and this was the origin of the military stations of Bussorah and Kufa in Irak, Fostat in Egypt, Kairowan in Africa, Mansurah in Sind, etc. In other places, like Hems, Gaza, Edessa, Isphahan, and Alexandria, heavy garrisons were kept up to repel sudden attacks. The cavalry wore chain-armour, with steel helmets often adorned with eagles' feathers. The foot soldiers were clad in tight-fitting tunics descending below the knees, shalwars (trousers), and boots or shoes like those still in use among the Afghans and Punjabis. They marched to battle chanting verses from the Koran, and delivered their attacks with shouts of Allah o-Akbar,'" "God is great." Drums and kettle-drums were in use. The tribal levies were often accompanied by their families, and in the garrison towns and military stations, special quarters were allotted to them. 

Impropriety of conduct was strictly prohibited, and drunkenness was punished by eighty stripes. Soldiers on foreign service away from their families were not required to serve for more than four months at a time. The Caliph Omar also introduced the system of muster-rolls, established frontier fortresses, and appointed commanders of the marches. 

In the beginning, there was no system of architecture. Mecca possessed a few buildings like the Kaaba, with architectural pretensions ; and the houses of the rich citizens were built either of stone or brick. In Medina, the houses were chiefly made of the latter material, and even the principal Mosque was a humble structure made of sun-dried bricks covered with plastered earth. The houses were mostly one-storied, with court-yards and a well in the centre. But towards the end of the second Caliph's rule, the influx of foreign architects into the capital of Islam gave an impetus to architectural undertakings. All the chief men both at Mecca and Medina erected mansions of stone and marble. The palace built for Osman is said to have been immense, and of beautiful and imposing appearance. The principal Mosque was pulled down, and a fine structure of stone and marble erected on its site. Masudi states that during the Caliphate of Osman the Companions of the Prophet built for themselves magnificent mansions. The house built by Zubair, son of Awwam, was in existence in the year 352 of the Hegira when Masudi wrote, and was used by merchants and bankers for business purposes. Zubair also built several mansions at Kufa, Fostat and Alexandria; and these houses, with their gardens, existed in good order in Masudi's time. After mentioning these and many other signs of magnificence, the historian remarks with a sigh, "how different all this was from the simple and austere manners, and the life in the grand days of Omar." While Mecca was devoted to commerce, the citizens of Medina depended for their prosperity on their fields and lands. And this circumstance added bitterness to the long-standing rivalry between the two cities. The Meccans were addicted to gambling, wine and luxury. The Medinites, especially under the Islamic regime and with the example of their leaders, were austere in their manners and sincerely devout in their lives. After the fall of Mecca, the inhabitants of that gay and frivolous city were obliged to conform to the rules of morality inculcated by Islam, and this continued under the first two Caliphs. With the accession of Osman, the old gay and reckless life was resumed by many of the patrician youths, belonging chiefly to the Ommeyade family. The frivolity of Mecca was reproduced in a worse form at Damascus under the Ommeyades. In Medina, the people took their lives more seriously. The lecture-rooms were filled with enthusiastic students, and members of either sex attended the sermons of the Caliphs. Music had not been yet placed under the ban, and the chief recreation of the people, after their day's work, consisted in singing and playing on the flute and the guitar. 

In the houses of the well-to-do the floors were covered with carpets. There were no chairs or tables, but over the carpets and round the room were spread felt rugs, and on these sat the master and his guests. The ladies'apartments, were separate, and were similarly furnished. The meals were laid over a floor cloth, which was spread over a sheet of leather in front of the rugs. Hands were washed both before and after dinner, just as among the ancients and in the Middle Ages in Europe. As yet there were no knives and forks, and the people ate with their fingers as in. But it was the height of ill-breeding to put more than three fingers into the plate. 

The dress of the Bedouins under the rank of a Sheikh consisted then, as it does now, of a simple long shirt, its loose folds descending to the ankles, confined by a leathern girdle. This was and still is the common dress of both men and women. Over the shirt was thrown loosely a cloak, generally of camel's hair. When fighting and on horseback, trousers were worn with the shirt. Their head-dress was a long and broad kerchief, embroidered with tassels thrown over the head and neck, and tied round the head with a cord of camel's hair. 

Among the settled inhabitants, the dress of the men of the better class and of the tribal Sheikhs generally, consisted of a shirt which reached down to the knees and was worn under the Shalwar or trousers. The next garment was a loose fitting tunic reaching to the ankles, with a girdle of silk or shawl round the waist. Over this was worn a robe or Jubbah,- or a cloak called Aba. The well-fitting Kaba, borrowed from the Byzantines, or as some say from the Persians, did not come into vogue until towards the end of the Republic. The Kaba was of two kinds, one with wide sleeves; the other with tight closely-buttoned sleeves, often worn by Persian noblemen of the present day. On the head they wore turbans, which varied in size according to age, position, and learning. Over the turban, often was thrown the Tailasan a kerchief which hung over the shoulders and shielded the neck from the sun. The covering for the feet were either sandals or boots. 

The women's dress consisted of the loose Shalwar, the shirt open at the neck, over which was worn, especially in cool weather, a close-fitting jacket. But the main dress was a long robe. Over this, for out-door purposes, a loose robe which could be drawn round to hide the figure or to protect the clothes from dust or mud. The head was covered with a kerchief tied round the fore-head. In pre-Islamic times the women's shirt and jacket were worn open over the chest ; the Prophet recommended for out-door use the long robe. And hence arose under the later Abbassides the custom of that complete envelopment of the body which we see now-a-days in Egypt and some other Moslem countries. 

Among the Arabs, women were and still are perfectly free. The system of seclusion in vogue in many Moslem countries did not come into practice until long after. Among the Republican Moslems, the women moved freely in public, attended the sermons of the "Caliphs, and the lectures delivered by Ali, Ibn Abbas, and others. Nor among the men had the old Arab chivalry been killed by contact with the Byzantines and the Persians. The pre-Islamite Arabs were like the ancient Hebrews, accustomed to marry many wives. This was the natural consequence of the decimation of men in the tribal wars ; for the women would otherwise have starved. The Arabian Prophet, by imposing a limit to the custom, indirectly forbade polygamy, but made it conformable to all stages of society. Thus, under the Republic, the home-life was patriarchal. The buying and selling of slaves was strictly forbidden; in fact, human chattel-hood was denounced in the strongest terms. Only persons made captives in lawful warfare were permitted to be held in " bond " until ransomed ; and the bondsmen and bondswomen were regarded as members of the family.