A Short of Saracens:Chapter XIII

Merwan II.— His character — Insurrections — Rising in Khorasan — Abu Muslim — The Persian Revolt — Defeat and death of Nasr, governor of Khorasan — Death of Ibrahim, the Abbasside Imam —Defeat of the Ommeyades at Nehawand — Defeat of the Vriocye of Irak — Proclamation of Saffah as Caliph — Battle of the Zab —Defeat of Merwan — His flight — Capture of Damascus — Abbasside vindictiveness — Death of Merwan — Last of the Ommeyades — The causes of the Ommeyade downfall.

Merwan II. was a grandson of the founder of the Hakamite dynasty. He had governed his province of Armenia with vigour and abihty, and had time after time rolled back the nomadic hordes in their attempts to overwhelm him from the north. His remarkable powers of endurance obtained for him the surname of al-Himar, ‘the donkey'- in acknowledgment of his physical strength and force of will. Unlike most of his predecessors, he was ascetic in his life and habits. In camp or on the march, he lived like his soldiers, and shared their simple fare as well as their privations ; nor would he in his palace indulge in those luxuries which had become liabitual among the Umayyad caliphs.

He was devoted to the study of ancient history, on which he often discoursed to his secretary and companions. He was well advanced in years when he came to the throne but character, the celerity of his movements, and the promptitude with which he crushed the enemies that sprang up on all sides, showed that age had not dimmed his energies. However, something more than mere soldierly qualities in the sovereign was needed at this crisis to save the Ommeyade power from dissolution — the ability to rise above tribal bias; and this was the quality in which Merwan, like most of his family, was essentially wanting. Had he been gifted with the breadth of views and large outlook required of a statesman, and the spirit of conciliation which alone could bring the conflicting elements into harmony. An ungovernable temper, combined with the obstinacy and hardness which characterised most of the Ommeyades, accentuated the defect. Instead of endeavouring to pacify the feuds which rent the Arab nation, he flung himself into the tribal dissensions with the blind zeal of a partisan; and the harshness with which he treated the Yemenites gave rise to implacable hatred on their side.

Western Asia was at this period in a state of chaos; pious and the scholarly retired from the political strife which raged round them, leaving public affairs in the hands of the unscrupulous or the self-seeking. On all sides there was an expectant waiting for the convulsion that was in the air. Merwan had not been long on the throne before violent insurrections broke out against him at Hems and in Palestine. The Khariji Zealots emerged at the same time from their desert fastnesses, denouncing the impious rule of the Ommeyades and inviting the people to Truth, Whatever may be said of their tenets, it must be admitted that they were honest in their convictions and animated by a feeling of duty which took no note of obstacles. Though comparatively few in number, they overran and held for a while Yemen, Hijaz and the whole of Irak. In dealing with these insurrections, Merwan displayed admirable generalship and soldierly promptitude. He swooped down in succession upon Hems and Palestine, scattered the rebels and impaled their leaders. He then marched back upon Irak, and after some hard fights drove the Zealots across the Tigris. In Hijaz, Medina was captured by the Kharijis under Abu Hamza, after a fight in which the citizens were worsted.Yemen was in the hands of Daiul-Hakk "the Summoner to Truth," Merwan's lieutenant, a reckless and impious soldier of the type who openly acknowledged himself not bound by the rules of the Koran, defeated the Zealots in several hotly-contested actions, and cleared Hijaz and Yemen. The bulk of the the Kharijis, driven from Irak, took refuge in Persia, where they added to the elements of disorder and discord already existing, whilst those defeated in Hijaz and Yemen betook themselves to Hadhramaut. 

On the restoration of peace, Merwan installed Yezid bin Omar bin Hobaira, a devoted follower of his family, as the viceroy of the East, and then retired to his favourite residence in Harran, leaving the practical work of administration to his sons Abdul Malik and Abdullah. Here he abode until called to undertake the expedition which ended in disaster tc himself and his dynasty. 

Whilst Merwan was beating down the insurrections in Syria and contending with the Zealots in Irak and Arabia, the bitter feud between Modhar and Himyar was working out the destruction of the Ommeyade empire in Asia. Nasr, the governor of Khorasan, was a Modharite, and against him was arrayed the entire Himyarite faction. The deadly conflict in which the two branches of the Arab nation who held guard over the subject races were involved, was deemed by the leaders of the Abbasside Propaganda to give the long-wished-for opportunity for applying the torch to the mine that had been so carefully laid. Abu Muslim, the leader of the revolt,was peculiarly fitted for the task entrusted to him by the Abbasside Imam. 

The key to the phenomenal rise of the House of Abbas is supplied in the character of the rule initiated by Hajjaj, which, in spite of the endeavours of Omar II,continued to be the traditional policy under the later sovereigns of the Ommeyade dynasty. The rulers were entirely out of touch with the subject races, nor was there any bond of sympathy between them and the people. In their racial pride the Arabs held themselves aloof from the natives and, in spite of the teachings of Islam, looked down upon them as an inferior race, and were hated in consequence. The subordinate departments of the civil and fiscal administration were largely in the hands of the Persians; but they were excluded from military posts and the higher offices of state.

But the Syrian Arabs, Modhar as well as Himyar, engaged in their own pastimes or tribal quarrels, recked little of the pent-up storm. Political disabilities and invidious social distinctions gave rise among the Persians to a strong and natural sense of injustice. A watch-word alone was needed to fire national enthusiasm; and that was found in "the rights of the Ahl- ul-bait — People of the House," which became the rallying cry of the subject nationalities of the East. The Himyarite tribes, and the bulk of the Arabs of Hijaz and Irak settled in Khorasan, were equally discontented. The party in power, as is usually the case, strove to retain the monopoly of influence and emolument in its own hands, and to exclude any participation by the others, which bred bitter jealousy and disputes. In these elements of discontent and disaffection, Abil Muslim found his materials for the revolt. And Khorasan became the centre for the adherents of the Banii Abbas. 

Nasr, the governor of Khorasan, was an able and vigorous administrator, and in happier circumstances would probably have left his impress on the province. But whilst his master was struggling with the Zealots in the west, he was endeavouring to make head against the Yemen faction led by a man called, after his birth-place, Kermani. Finding the Arab garrisons thus off their guard, Abii Muslim issued the manifesto for the long-planned rising. The cause proclaimed was "the rights of Ahl ul-baif against the usurping Bani Ommeya; and the dubious words al-Hashmides, the children of Hashim," whose champion he announced himself to be, secured the support of the adherents of the Fatimides. The gathering was to take place on the 25th of Ramazan, 129 A.H., and the people were summoned by large bonfires lighted on the hill-tops. Vast multitudes, all clothed in black, in sign of mourning for the chiefs that had fallen or been murdered, flocked to the trysting-places ; and before a few weeks were over, the black standards of the Abbasside King maker, called "the Cloud" and "the Shadow," flew from city to city on their onward march towards the west. 

The Ommeyade garrisons were expelled from Herat and other places in the far East. Kermani's death in an ambush prepared by the Modhar, led to his sons joining Abu Muslim; and their combined forces drove Nasr out of Merv. The ominous standard of the al-Hashim brought the hitherto divided Syrians to their senses; they suddenly awakened to the gravity of the danger, and tried to patch up a semblance of union. But it was too late. The rising had now grown into a revolt, and was joined by many of the leading Arabs of Hijaz and Irak. The unfortunate Viceroy, unable alone to contend with the force under Abii Muslim, which was all the while increasing in number and strength, invoked the assistance of his sovereign, but received no reply, as Merwan was just then pressed by the Zealots in Mesopotamia. Before leaving Merv, Nasr addressed a last pathetic appeal to Merwan for help. He pointed out that the fire of insurrection was yet in embryo and could still be stamped out, and wound up with the despairing cry which has become historical, "Oh that I knew whether the sons of Ommeya be awake or sunk in sleep ! If they are sleeping in such times as these, say to them: Arise, the hour is come!" 

In response to this urgent appeal, Merwan directed the viceroy of Irak to despatch reinforcements for the assistance of Nasr; but before they could arrive on the scene of action, Ferghana and Khorasan had fallen entirely into the hands of Abii Muslim, and his resources had increased proportionately. Nothing shows the power of this remarkable man so well as his choice of men; the generals whom he employed were some of the ablest of the time. Kahtaba bin Shabib, an Arab of Hijaz, settled in Fars, pursued Nasr to Sarrakhs, and inflicted on him a defeat which completely demoralised the Syrian forces. Nasr, Governor then in his eighty-fifth year, fell back on Jurjan, where he suffered another defeat ; he then fled towards Fars, but died on the way. 

Whilst these events were passing in the east, Merwan endeavoured to discover the Hashimide in whose interest the standard of revolt had been raised. At this time the descendants of Abbas were living in a village called Humaima in Southern Palestine. Finding from his spies that Ibrahim, styled by his adherents the Imam (apostolical leader), was the originator of the risings, he immediately had him arrested and brought to Harran. Here Ibrahim was incarcerated, with several others, both Hashimides and Ommeyades. Among the latter were Abdullah, son of Omar II., and Abbas, son of Walid L, whom Merwan suspected of endeavouring to raise an insurrection. The arrest of Ibrahim had no effect, however, on the movement of Abu Muslim's forces. Kahtaba, after defeating Nasr in Jurjan, advanced rapidly westward. He was accompanied by Khalid bin Barmek, a Persian, whose descendants became afterwards so famous in Arabian history and literature. 

All round, the country was in a state of utter disorganisation. Entering Rai(ancient Rhages), Kahtaba restored order in the province, whilst his son Hassan, and his lieutenant, Abii Ayun, a Persian by birth, drove the Ommeyades and Khariji Zealots before them. Nehawand, where the famous battle which led to the conquest of Persia had been fought, was garrisoned by a strong Syrian force. Hassan bin Kahtaba laid siege to the city ; whilst the father intercepted a large army sent by Merwan for its relief, and completely routed it. Two armies, one from Upper Mesopotamia under the command of Merwan's son Abdullah, the other under Yezid, the viceroy, were converging upon Nehawand ; Kahtaba pressed on the siege with vigour, and the city capitulated before the arrival of succour from either side. Kahtaba now detached a force under Abii Ayun to oppose Abdullah, whilst with his main army he slipped past Yezid, who was encamped at Jalola, on the high-road and made straight for the capital of Irak. Yezid, informed of this design, hastened to throw himself between Kufa and the enemy. Kahtaba arrived at the Euphrates after Yezid, and crossed the river several miles higher up, beyond reach of the opposing force. The two armies met on the same spot where Imam Hussain(RA) had fallen ; after a sanguinary struggle the Ommeyades were worsted, but Kahtaba was either drowned in the river or fell on the field. His son Hassan then took the command, and following up his of father's success drove Yezid from his camp and forced him to retire on Wasit. Kufa, thus uncovered, fell without much opposition into the hands of Hassan. The news of the disaster made Merwan furious with rage, and impelled him to an act of barbarity which brought on the Ommeyades fearful reprisals. Finding that Ibrahim was in communication with Abu Muslim's forces, he ordered Ibrahim to be killed by his head being thrust into a leather sack filled with quick-lime. The other prisoners were executed at the same time. Before his death the unfortunate Ibrahim succeeded in passing a testament to his brother Abii Abbas which gave him the succession to the Abbasside Imamate. Abu' Abbas swore a terrible oath of revenge, and kept it so faithfully that he obtained the unenviable title of as-Saffah or “the shedder of blood”, by which name he is known in history. 

On Ibrahim's death, his brothers fled to Kufa, and there lay concealed until Hassan bin Kahtaba took possession of the city. Nothing as yet was divulged as to the ultimate purpose of the movement which had wrested Persia from the grasp of the Ommeyades. The Ahl-bait was the watchword which rallied round the black standard all classes of people, and enlisted the sympathy and support of the adherents {Shiahs) of the Banii Fatima. On his entry into Kufa, Hassan bin Kahtaba was joined by Abii Salma al-Khallal, who was designated "the Vizier of the descendants of Mohammed." Apparently this man acted as the agent of the Fatimides, but without the formal sanction of the head of the family. He was received with the greatest consideration by the Abbasside general, "who kissed his hand, and seated him in the place of honour," and told him that it was Abii Muslim's orders that he should be obeyed in all things. Abu Salma's vanity was flattered. A proclamation was issued in the joint names of Abii Salma and Hassan bin Kahtaba, inviting the inhabitants of Kufa to assemble on the following day, at the Masjid ul-Jumaa to elect a Caliph. On that day Kufa presented a strange aspect. Large crowds of people, clothed in the sable garments of the Banii Abbas, were hastening from every quarter to the Masjid ul-Jamaa, to hear the long-deferred announcement. 

In due time Abii Salma appeared on the scene, and, strangely, dressed in the same sombre black. Few excepting the partisans of Abu' Abbas knew how he had come to sell himself to the Abbasside cause. He preferred his head to the interests of his masters. After leading the prayers, he explained to the assemblage the object of the meeting. Abu Muslim, he said, the defender of the Faith and the upholder of the rights of the House, had hurled the Ommeyades from the heights of their iniquity ; it was now necessary to elect an Imam and Caliph ; there was none so eminent for piety, ability, and all the virtues requisite for the office as Abu'l Abbas Abdullah, and him he offered for the election of the people. Up to this time Abii Salma and the Abbassides were dubious of the possible effect on the assembly. They were afraid that even the Kufans might not view their treachery to the house of Ali with approbation. But the proverbial fickleness of the Irakians was now proved. Again and again they had risen in arms in support of the Fatimide cause, and as often betrayed those whom they had pledged themselves to help or whose help they had invoked. Swayed by the passing whim of the moment, they had shown themselves equally to be traitors as the defenders of truth. No sooner had the words passed from the lips of Abii Salma, proposing Abu'l Abbas as the Caliph, than they burst forth with loud acclamations of the takbir signifying their approval. 

A messenger was sent in haste to fetch Abu'l Abbas from his concealment, and when he arrived at the mosque, there was a frantic rush on the part of the multitude to take his hand and swear fealty. The election was complete. He ascended the pulpit, recited the Khutba and was henceforth the Imam (spiritual head) and the Caliph of the Moslems. Thus rose the Abbassides to power on the popularity of the children of Fatima, whom they repaid afterwards in such different coin. 

Meanwhile, events were progressing rapidly in the north, Abu Ayiin came upon Merwan's son at Shahrzur, east of the Little Zab, and defeated him with great slaughter. The defeat of his son roused Merwan into his old activity. With an army 120,000 strong, he crossed the Tigris and advanced upon the Greater Zab. Abu Ayiin had, in the meantime, been reinforced from Kufa, and the Abdullah bin Ali, one of Saffah's uncles, who brought the reinforcements, assumed the chief command of the Abbasside troops, with Abii Ayim as lieutenant-general. The battle took place on the left bank of the Zab at a village called Kushaf, Merwan, against advice, threw a bridge across the river, and advanced with his usual boldness to the fight. The legions of Saffah, clothed in black from head to foot, with standards, horses and camels all draped in black, marching up silently and in serried ranks like funeral mutes, must have, struck the Syrians with awe. And an unusual occurrence, just as the opposing forces were waiting for orders, was taken by the Ommeyades as a portent of evil omen. A flight of ravens passed over the Syrian troops and settled themselves on the sable standards of the black-clad legions. Merwan thought little of this incident, but plainly saw its effect upon his superstitious men. The first onset, led by Merwan himself, was successful, and the Abbassides gave way. But Abu Ayiin made his men dismount, and plant their lances on the ground ; while Abdullah bin Ali incited them, as the heroes of Khorasan, to revenge the death of his nephew Ibrahim. He shouted, Ya-Mohavimed ! Ya-Mansur I and the battle-cry was taken up by all the troops. Merwan, on his side, exhorted his people by their former achievements to maintain the prestige of his house. His appeal, however, was of no avail. The Syrians gave way before a fierce onslaught, and the sight of Merwan's riderless charger, which had broken loose from its groom, turned it into a rout. 

This memorable battle, which sealed the fate of the Ommeyade dynasty, took place on the nth of Jamadi II., 132 A.H. Merwan fled towards Mosul, but the city closed its gates upon him. He then hurried to Harran, where he tarried a while, vainly endeavouring to raise another army. But the ruthless Abbassides were on his track ; and he fled from Harran to Hems and thence to Damascus. Finding no safety there, he hastened towards Palestine. But the pursuit was hot and unslacking, and Abdullah bin Ali followed Merwan like a bloodhound. Mosul, Harran, and Hems submitted to Saffah without a blow. At Damascus, the Ommeyades offered some resistance; but the city was stormed, and the governor, Merwan's son-in-law, was slain, and the capital of Syria and practically of the whole empire, passed into the hands of the Abbassides. On the 5th of Ramazan, 132 A.H., five months from the entry into Kufa, and three from the battle of the Zab, the black standard floated in triumph over the palace of the Ommeya. 

With a barbarity which has few parallels in history, Abdullah bin Ali did not rest content with wreaking his vengeance upon the living. Under his orders the dead were taken up from their last resting-places, the crumbling bones were burnt and the ashes scattered to the winds. Abdullah then pressed on after Merwan, who on leaving Palestine had thought of making his way into the Byzantine dominions and invoking the assistance of the successor of Constantine. He had read how a Persian King had been restored to his patrimony by a Byzantine emperor, and doubted not that he would receive similar support. He was dissuaded from this step by the faithful few who still adhered to his fortunes. They advised his going to Egypt or Ifrikia, where he might raise another army to reconquer the eastern empire, or found a new and more vigorous kingdom in the West. Merwan then hurried on to Fayum, in Upper Egypt. Abdullah bin Ali despatched his brother Saleh and Abii Ayiin to follow up the fugitive. At Fostat, Abii Ayyin came upon Merwan's traces, and the pursuit now turned into a hunt. The pursuers found the fallen monarch in a small Christian chapel at a place called Busir, or Busiris, on the western bank of the Nile, where he had laid down to rest. Determined to sell his life dearly, the luckless sovereign rushed out, sword in hand, and fell transfixed by a lance. Thus perished one of the bravest and the best of his house, and with him fell the House of Ommayah. 

Under the orders of Saffah, who had assumed the title of "Avenger of the Hashimides," the members of the fallen house were pursued with fearful cruelty. In the gratification of a ferocious vindictiveness, all feelings of humanity were stifled. The men were hunted and killed wherever found; search was made in the remotest spots, in the recesses of ruins, in solitary caves in the hillsides, and every fugitive discovered was put to death. We have to descend to later times, to the scenes of horror enacted in the Wars of the Roses, when whole families were destroyed, to understand the bitter and savage hatred displayed by the Banii Abbas. On the banks of the Abu Futrus, in Palestine, Abdullah bin Ali inveigled into his tent eighty kinsmen and relatives of Merwan by a promise of amnesty, and then slaughtered them without mercy. Many, however, escaped the "Avenger's" sword, and in later times received protection and patronage from the humanity of Saffah's successors. Among those who evaded pursuit was Abdur Rahman, a grandson of Hisham, who escaped into Spain. The daughters of Merwan, who were with him at the time, were sent back to Harran with other members of his family. Here they lived in poor circumstances until the accession of Mahdi, who settled a munificent pension on them, and treated them with the consideration due to their position and their misfortunes. 

With Merwan ended the rule of the mighty House of Ommeya in the East. Some of the sovereigns of this dynasty were undoubtedly great, whilst others were no worse than their contemporaries in the western world. Omar II., who has been deservedly styled the Marcus Aurelius of the Arabs, was a ruler far in advance of the times ; and Walid I. and Hisham, though they cannot be placed on the same pedestal with him, were yet men of great capacity, honestly solicitous to promote the well-being of the people. Merwan himself, but for his unfortunate end, would have taken a front rank among the rulers of the world. He was brave and wise ; but, says Ibn ul-Athir, as destiny had put a term on his reign, both his valour and his wisdom came to naught. 

The fate of the fallen dynasty is not without its lesson. A member of Merwan's family, who had in his reign held a high office of state, thus described in later days, when the empire had passed into the hands of the Banii Abbas, the causes which led to the downfall of the Ommeyade power — "We gave to pleasure," he said, "the time which it was our duty to devote to public affairs; the heavy burdens we imposed on the people alienated them from our rule ; harassed by vexatious imposts and despairing of redress, they prayed for deliverance from us ; our domains became uncultivated and our treasuries empty : we trusted our ministers, they sacrificed our interests to their selfish aims and ambitions, and conducted the administration without our participation and our knowledge. The army, whose pay was always in arrear, sided with the enemy in the hour of danger ; and our allies failed us when we needed them most. But our ignorance of the public affairs and the events which were passing around us, was one of the principal causes of the fall of our empire." 

The ceremony was held at the public Mosque, where the Moslems assembled and took the oath of fealty. From Muawiyah's time the reigning sovereign nominated his successor, and the grandees and military chiefs took the covenant in the royal presence ; whilst in the provinces the oath was taken by the governor on behalf of the presumptive Caliph. This system combined the vices of democracy and despotism without the advantages of either. Once the oath was taken, the suffrage of the people, however obtained, whether by coercion, cajolery, or bribe, was supposed to give a sacramental character to the election.