Page:William Muir, Thomas Hunter Weir - The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline, and Fall (1915).djvu/309



gleam of fortune lighted up the remaining days of ʿAlī's reign. What with fanatics at home, and the rival Caliphate abroad, his life was one continual struggle. And, moreover, the daily exhibition of indifference and disloyalty in Al-Kūfa, the city of his choice, was a mortification hard to bear.

The loss of Egypt and cruel death of Moḥammad preyed upon his mind. He withdrew into strictest privacy. His cousin, Ibn al-ʿAbbās, governor of Al-Baṣra, fearful lest he should resign, or do something rash and unadvised, set out to visit and comfort him. Muʿāwiya seized the opportunity to stir up in his absence the disaffected elements at Al-Baṣra. Among the various clans, he was sure of finding many there who, equally with himself, sought to avenge the blood of ʿOthmān; few were zealously attached to the cause of ʿAlī; the remainder were mostly of the theocratic faction, now quite as hostile to ʿAlī as to Muʿāwiya. The Syrian emissary, carrying for this end a letter to the citizens of Al-Baṣra, was so well received that Ziyād, who held the city's temporary charge, was forced to retire with the treasure and pulpit of State into the stronghold of a loyal clan, from whence he wrote for help to Al-Kūfa. ʿAlī at once despatched a chief having influence with the local tribes, who were by his persuasion induced to rally round Ziyād. After severe fighting in the city, the rebels were at last defeated and driven for refuge to a neighbouring castle. There surrounded, the castle was set on fire, and the Syrian envoy, with seventy followers, perished in the flames. The victory was decisive for the time; but the insurrection had 280