Page:William Muir, Thomas Hunter Weir - The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline, and Fall (1915).djvu/112

 634–5] he is the first to rally round the Prophet? But now ye are backward; ye come not to the help of the Lord. Such as be forward to bear the burden, whether light or whether heavy, have the better claim. Verily I will give the command to none other but to him that first came forth." Then turning to Abu ʿObeid: "I appoint thee over this force, because thou wast the first to offer; and in eagerness for battle is the Arab's glory." With this emphatic declaration, he presented to him the standard; but, at the same time, earnestly enjoined upon him ever to take counsel with the other Companions and associate them with himself in the conduct of affairs. So the force started for Al-ʿIrāḳ. Now also ʿOmar removed the ban against the employment of the once Apostate tribes, and bade Abu ʿObeid to summon to his standard all, without distinction, who since their apostasy had made a good profession. Al-Muthanna, with lightened heart, hastened back in advance of Abu ʿObeid, and re-entered Al-Ḥīra after the absence of a month.

During this period further changes were transpiring at the unhappy Court of Persia. Prince and Princess succeeded one another amidst bloodshed and rebellion, till at last a royal lady, Būrān, summoned the famous Rustem from Khorāsān, and by his aid established herself upon the throne. Proclaimed supreme, the energy of Rustem was soon felt. The nobles rallied round him; great landholders rose against the invaders, and the whole country speedily cast off the Arabian yoke. Two columns were despatched from Al-Medāin, one under Jābān to cross the Euphrates and advance on Al-Ḥīra; the other under Narsa to occupy Kaskar on the nearer side. The people flocked to their standard, and the position of the Muslims grew precarious.

Al-Muthanna called in his forces, still all too few, abandoned Al-Ḥira to the enemy, and falling back on the desert road to Medīna, there awaited Abu ʿObeid. But he had some time to wait. Swelled by Bedawi tribes on the way, and burdened by their families, it was a month before he came up. After a few days' repose, Abu ʿObeid took command of the combined force, and attacking Jābān, put him to flight. Then crossing the Euphrates, he surprised Narsa, strongly posted by a royal date-grove near Kaskar, routed his army and took his camp, in which, with much