Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/606

Rh 578 MOHAMMEDANISM ABBASIDS. SECT. II. THE ABBASIDS. Abd 1. From the death of Merwdn may be reckoned the l- Abbas real accession of the Abbdsid dynasty to the Caliphate, al-Saffah. w hich thus returned to the hands of the grand-nephews of the Prophet. Abii l- Abbds, whose proper name was Abdalldh, and who afterwards received the surname of Saffdh, was, as has been said above, a man of energetic will, who hesitated at nothing to ensure the triumph of his dynasty. When he caused himself to be proclaimed Caliph at Cufa, one of his partisans, Abii Salama, who had till then believed that Abii l- Abbds was working to restore the posterity of All to the throne, and not to gain posses sion of the empire for himself, hesitated to take the oath of obedience to the new Caliph. Abu l- Abbds immedi ately resolved on his destruction, but fearing that Abu Salama might have a secret understanding with the con queror of Khordsdn, he began by sending his own brother Abii Ja far into that province to sound Abii Moslim. The latter loudly disclaimed any alliance with Abu Salama, and, that no suspicion might rest upon him, he sent a confidential agent to Cufa, and had Abii Salama assas sinated. Still further to prove his zeal for the house of Abbds, Abii Moslim also got rid of Solaimdn b. Kathlr, another Abbdsid emissary, whom he suspected of partiality towards the family of All. On his side, Abii l- Abbds caused Abdalldh b. Mo dwiya, an adherent of All s family, to be treacherously slain, though he had distinguished himself in the wars against Merwdn. As for the Omayyads, they were systematically followed up and put to death. The new Caliph desired to exterminate that family, not only for the sake of revenge, but also that he might deprive the Syrians of any pretext for fresh insurrections. In fact, hardly had Abii l- Abbds been proclaimed Caliph at Cufa, when the Omayyad governor of Kinnesrin, Abii 1-Ward b. Kauthar, notwithstanding that he had taken the oath to the new sovereign, gave the signal for revolt in the name of the Omayyads. Abii l- Abbds immediately ordered his uncle Abdalldh b. All, who had been made governor of Palestine, to act with the utmost rigour against all members of the Omayyad family on whom he could lay his hands. That he might let none of them escape, Abdalldh pretended to grant an amnesty to all Omayyads who should come in and acknowledge the new Caliph, and even promised them the restitution of all their property. Ninety members of that unfortunate family allowed themselves to be entrapped by these specious promises, and Abdalldh, on pretence of sealing the reconciliation of the two parties, invited them to a banquet. But when they were all collected, a body of executioners rushed into the hall, and slew the Omayyads with blows from whips and rods. A grandson of Hishdm, Abd al-Rahmdn b. Mo dwiya, who had taken refuge in Africa, alone escaped this massacre. It was he who, at a later date, founded in Spain the Omayyad dynasty of Cordova. The cruelty of the Abbdsids excited a feeling of horror in the whole of Syria, and the revolt soon became general. Abu 1-Ward b. Kauthar found himself at the head of forty thousand men, and pitched his camp at Marj al-Akhram, a plain near Kinnesrin. The revolt spread even to Mesopotamia and Irdk. One of Merwdn s former generals, Ishdk b. Moslim, laid siege to Harrdn, while Yazld b. Hobaira, formerly governor of Irdk, raised an insurrection at Wdsit. In Khordsdn also, as many as thirty thousand malcontents took up arms against Abii Moslim. Notwithstanding this formidable display of force, the Abbdsids remained conquerors. In Syria, Abdalldh b. All beat Abii 1-Ward at Marj al- Akhram. Abii Ja far, brother of the Caliph, compelled Ishdk b. Moslim and Yazld b. Hobaira in succession to submit. Lastly, Abii Moslim quieted the rising in Khordsdn. Mosul also attempted an insurrection, but Yahyd, a brother of the Caliph, quenched the revolt in streams of blood. All the provinces being thus reduced to peace, the new Caliph distributed them among the principal members of his family and his best generals. To his brother Abii Ja far he gave a part of Mesopotamia, Azerbaijdn, and Armenia ; to his uncle Abdalldh b. All, Syria ; to his uncle Ddwiid, Arabia, Hijdz, Yamdma, and Yemen ; to his cousin Isd b. Miisd, the province of Cufa. Abii Moslim continued in possession of the govern ment of Khordsdn, Transoxiana, and a part of Fdrsistdn. Egypt was entrusted to Abii Aun. Another uncle of the Caliph, Solaimdn b. All, received the government of Basra, with Bahrain and Omdn. Lastly, the province of Mosul was taken from the cruel Yahya, and granted to one of the uncles of Abii l- Abbds, Lsmd il b. All, who received besides the government of Ahwdz. In Sind, the Omayyad governor had succeeded in maintaining himself, but was defeated by an army sent against him under Miisd b. Ka b, and the black standard of the Abbdsids was raised over the city of Mansiira. If we omit Africa and Spain in describing this division of the provinces of the empire, it is because the Abbdsids never gained any real footing in Spain, while Africa remained in only nominal subjection to the new dynasty. Abii l- Abbds, after having definitively established his power, left the town of Hdshimlya and fixed his residence at Anbdr, where he died on the 13th of Dhii 1-Hijja, A.H. 136 (9th June 754). 2. Abii l- Abbds had designated as his successors, first Abii Ja far, and after him his cousin f sd b. Miisd. At the moment of the death of Abii l- Abbds, Abii Ja far, who then assumed the title of Al-Mansiir, &quot;the Victo rious,&quot; was not in Irak. He had undertaken the leader ship of the pilgrims who had started on the journey to Mecca, and among whom figured the celebrated Abii Moslim. Abdalldh b. All, uncle of Abii l- Abbds, dis satisfied at having been excluded from the succession, took advantage of this absence to revolt. Having raised an army and proclaimed himself Caliph, he marched against Harrdn and laid siege to it. On receiving this news, Abu Ja far hastened to return to Anbdr in company with Abii Moslim, whom he placed at the head of his troops, and sent against the rebel. At the approach of Abii Moslim, Abdallah, who had among his troops a body of seventeen thousand men of Khordsdn, fearing that they might declare for Abii Moslim, had them all slaughtered, as the historians assert, by his Syrians, and then hastened to meet his enemy. The two armies met at Nisibis, and, after a number of skirmishes, a decisive engagement took place on the 7th of Jomddl II., A.H. 137 (28th November 754). Abdalldh was defeated and com pelled to submit to Al-Mansiir, who spared his life. The new and brilliant service thus rendered by Abii Moslim to his sovereign ought to have placed him even higher in the favour of Mansiir than he already stood. On the contrary, it was the cause of his ruin. The Caliph wished to com mit the task of maintaining order in Syria to Abii Moslim ; but the latter refused to give up his government of Khordsdn, where he enjoyed an extraordinary reputation. and possessed numerous adherents, and, instead of obeying the order of the Caliph, directed his march towards the East. Thenceforth Mansiir looked on him only as a dangerous rebel, and sought for means of getting rid of him. On pretence of conferring with him on business of state, he induced him to come to Maddin (the ancient Ctesiphon), caused him to be put to death by his guards, and ordered his body to be thrown into the Tigris. Thus miserably perished the real founder of the Abbdsid Abi Ja- &amp;lt;far a -