Page:William Muir, Thomas Hunter Weir - The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline, and Fall (1915).djvu/323

294 just as that of ʿAbd al-Melik is by that of Al-Ḥajjāj. It is to be remarked that all three belonged to the tribe of Thaḳīf in Aṭ-Ṭāʾif; we shall meet other members of it who became eminent. The relations between this tribe and the house of Umeiya were of old standing.

A year or two afterwards a curious episode in his life disturbed the equanimity of the Muslim world. As Ziyād grew daily in royal favour, Muʿāwiya was seized with the desire to remove the stain upon his descent, and thus prove him not the supposititious, but the real and legitimate son of Abu Sufyān his own father. A commission appointed for the purpose held this established; upon which Muʿāwiya publicly acknowledged Ziyād to be his brother. The announcement raised a scandal throughout Islām, first as contravening the law of legitimacy, and still more as making Um Ḥabība—also the child of Abu Sufyān and one of the "Mothers of the Faithful"—to be the sister of what (the above decision notwithstanding) was held to be an adulterous issue. Not only so, but Muʿāwiya's own kinsfolk, the house of Umeiya, were displeased at the affront thus put upon the purity of their blood. The feeling, however, soon passed away, as it was seen that a pillar of strength had been gained for the Umeiyad dynasty. Shortly after, Ziyād was made governor of Al-Baṣra in addition to his Persian command. In Ai-Kūfa religious strife did not interfere with the public safety, but in Al-Baṣra, under the feeble administration of Ibn ʿĀmir, there was now no longer any security for life or property. Ziyād's strong hand fell heavily on the restless population of the