The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 22

The Marwānid Restoration: The Caliphate of ʿAbd al-Malik A.D. 693-701/A.H. 74-81

Translated by Everett K. Rowson

Subjects: Islam
Series: SUNY series in Near Eastern Studies
Paperback : 9780887069765, 242 pages, August 1987
Hardcover : 9780887069758, 242 pages, July 1989

Alternative formats available from:

Table of contents

Preface

Abbreviations

Translator's Foreword

The Events of the Year 74 (693/694)

The Important Events of This Year

Al-Muhallab and the War against the Azraqites

The Reason for the Dismissal of Bukayr and Appointment of Umayyah

The Events of the Year 75 (694/695)

The Events of This Year

The Revolt of the Basran Troops against al-Hajjaj

Al-Muhallab and the War against the Azraqites

The Rebellious Activities of Salih during This Year

The Events of the Year 76 (695/696)

The Events of This Year

The Rebellion of Salih b. Musarrih and the Reason for It

Shabib's Entry into al-Kufah and His Dealings with al-Hajjaj There, and Why Shabib Did This

`Abd al-Malik Reforms the Coinage

The Events of the Year 77 (696/697)

Shabib Kills `Attab b. Warqa' and Zuhrah b.Hawiyyah

Shabib's Second Entry into al-Kufah and His Battle with al-Hajjaj

Account of Shabib's End

Account of Mutarrif's Rebelling and Throwing Off His Allegiance to `Abd al-Malik b. Marwan

Account of the Dissension among the Azraqites and the Reason for Its Breaking Out, until They Came to Ruin

Destruction of the Azraqites

Umayyah b. `Abdallah Kills Bukayr b. Wishah in Khurasan

The Events of the Year 78 (697/698)

The Important Events Occurring in This Year

The Officials Whom al-Hajjaj Appointed in Khurasan and Sijistan, and Why He Appointed Whom He Did, with Further Details

The Events of the Year 79 (698/699)

The Important Events of This Year

The Campaign by `Ubaydallah b. Abi Bakrah in Sijistan

The Events of the Year 80 (699/700)

The Important Events of This Year

Al-Muhallab Attacks Kish

`Abd al-Rahman b. al-Ash`ath Campaigns in Sijistan

The Events of the Year 81 (700/701)

The Events of This Year

Account of Bahir b. Warqa''s Death in Khurasan

Bibliography of Cited Works

Index

Description

This volume chronicles the history of the Islamic state in the years A. H. 74-81 (A. D. 693-701), after the final defeat of Ibn al-Zubayr in Mecca put an end to twelve years of civil war and reunited the empire under the rule of the Marwānid caliph 'Abd al-Malik. Syria and the Hijaz enjoyed a period of relative peace during this time, and stability and consolidation were furthered by such basic administrative reforms as the institution of an official Islamic coinage. Pacification of Iraq, where Khārijite rebel bands still roamed and mutiny was spreading among the government forces, was entrusted by 'Abd al-Malik to the victorious general al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf. Al-Ṭabarī i gives a detailed account of this iron-fisted governor's administration, concentrating on his war against the redoubtable Shabib b. Yazid, a Khārijite guerilla leader with a band of a few hundred men who held out against all odds and twice even entered the capital at al-Kufah and prayed in its mosque. Vivid eyewitness reports from participants on both sides of this conflict provide a valuable picture of Arab life in Iraq at this time, as well as evidence for the ideology of the Kharijites and the sources of discontent in the wider society.

Attention is also given to developments in the frontier provinces of the east, eventually also placed under the authority of al-Ḥajjāj. In Khurasan, the vicious tribal feuds that had interrupted the policy of continued conquest were gradually resolved and campaigning resumed. In Sijistan, a crushing defeat of Arab troops led al-Ḥajjāj to outfit the "Peacock Army," a force of unprecedented size and impressiveness, which, when it rebelled under its leader, Ibn al-Ash'ath, was to offer the governor the gravest challenge of his career.