Part 3

After the conquests made by Salm, which probably occupied the years 682 and 683, it seemed as though the Arabs were on the verge of imposing their rule on Transoxania when civil war broke out in the heart of the Empire. Even allowing for the fact that these expeditions were little more than raids, the comparative ease with which the Arabs held to ransom the richest cities in the country is astonishing. The explanation can lie only in their mutual exclusiveness. There is not a hint of united action in the field in _T_abarī’s accounts[32]. A factor which may have exercised some influence was that Sogdiana was completely isolated during these years and unable to look for support from without. The power of the Western Turks was broken by the Chinese armies between 645 and 658; Chinese forces are said to have reached as far west as Kish, and the Emperor Kao-Tsung had officially annexed all the territories formerly included in the Turkish dominions. In the latter year the provinces of Sogdiana and the Jaxartes were organized in sixteen districts, including a “Government of Persia” under the Pērōz already mentioned, situated apparently in Sijistān, possibly even in Eastern Khurāsān[33]. The immediate practical effect of this change of status was of little moment, but her nominal annexation gave China a prestige which was destined to exercise immense influence in determining the attitude of the peoples of Sogdiana to the Arabs. From 670 to 692, however, the new power of Tibet held the Chinese armies in check in the Tarim basin and cut off all possibility of Chinese intervention in the West. The Sogdian princes were thus thrown on their own resources, and, ignorant as yet of the danger behind the Arab raids, they seem to have bowed to the storm. It must not be forgotten that the cities had never before met such an enemy as the Arabs. They had been accustomed to plundering raids by Turks, who disappeared as quickly as they came, and who, disliking to undertake a lengthy siege, were easily appeased by a ransom. Familiar with such nominal annexations, they would naturally adopt the same tactics against the new invaders. Had the Arabs maintained their pressure, there was thus every prospect that Transoxania would have been colonised with a tithe of the expense and loss incurred in its reconquest and would have become as integral a part of the Muslim dominions as Khurāsān. But the opportunity was lost in the fratricidal struggles of the factions, and when the Arabs recommenced their encroachments, the determined resistance offered to their advance showed that the lessons of the first invasion had not been lost on the native princes.

_The Withdrawal of the Arabs._

The tribal feuds which occupied the Arabs of Khurāsān left the princes of Transoxania free to regain their independence. It would seem even that Lower _T_ukhāristān was not only in part lost to the Arabs but that local forces took the offensive and raided Khurāsān. On the gradual restoration of order under Umayya, however, Lower _T_ukhāristān again recognised, at least in name, the Arab suzerainty[34]. Meanwhile, a strange episode had occurred in Chaghāniān. Mūsā, the son of ʿAbdullah ibn Khāzim, sent by his father to secure a safe place of retreat, had captured the strong fortress of Tirmidh, from which he continually raided the neighbouring districts. His exploits were worked up in popular story into an epic of adventure, in which legend has almost overlaid historical fact. The most fantastic exaggerations were devised in order to provide a suitable background for the incredible deeds of valour indulged in by the hero. But in truth his actual exploits were sufficiently amazing, and all the efforts of the forces of the local rulers (magnified in the legend to huge armies of “Turks and Hay_t_al and Tibetans”), although aided on one occasion by a force of Khuzāʿites, were unable to dislodge him. For fifteen years he remained in secure possession of his stronghold, a refuge for the disaffected from all sides, and a standing example of the helplessness of the rulers across the river.

In 77/696 Umayya re-opened the campaigns into Transoxania. An expedition to Khwārizm was successful[35], another across the Oxus narrowly escaped destruction. Balādhurī mentions, with doubtful accuracy, a successful raid on Khuttal, which may, however, only be a variant on this. An expedition directed against Bukhārā, which is said to have had Tirmidh as a second objective, was hurriedly abandoned on the fresh outbreak of revolt under Bukayr b. Wishā_h_ in Khurāsān. Though the revolt failed in its immediate object, a most serious situation had been created. Bukayr had endeavoured to rally the Persians to his side by promising all converts remission of Kharāj. The opportunity was undoubtedly seized by large numbers, and the pacification occasioned some negotiations between Umayya and Thābit b. Qu_t_ba, an influential noble who acted as spokesman for the mawālī of Eastern Khurāsān. Umayya’s reimposition of Kharāj, however, caused widespread unrest[36] and made prompt action necessary. ʿAbdul-Malik at once recalled his hapless kinsman (in 78) and made Khurāsān a dependency of ʿIrāq under the government of _H_ajjāj. This far-sighted governor had already dealt with a desperate situation of the same sort in ʿIrāq and reduced it to outward tranquillity. The same extreme measures that had been adopted there were not necessary in Khurāsān; its troubles were due less to insurgent mawālī than to the factions of Qays. _H_ajjāj was himself a strong Qaysite, but he was not the man to put party before the interests of the State. The first necessity was to appoint a governor who could be trusted to repress both forms of anarchy and in Muhallab such a man was available. His tribe of Azd was not yet strong enough in Khurāsān to cause the risk of opening a new channel for factional strife, and his military reputation fitted him for carrying out _H_ajjāj’s policy of active campaigning as an antidote to internal dissension. It is possible that _H_ajjāj had in mind from the first a definite conquest of Transoxania, but for a few years nothing more than sporadic raids took place.

Muhallab’s first care, however, was to encourage the settlement of Azd in Khurāsān, until he was supported by a division equal in size to any other. After securing the crossing at Zamm in 80/699 he marched into the district of Kish and there established his headquarters for two years, besieging the city and sending out minor expeditions under his sons in various directions[37]. Yazīd was sent with a force into Khuttal, nominally to co-operate with a pretender to the throne, but met with little success; _H_abīb, sent against Rabinjān, found himself countered by the forces of Bukhārā. Balādhurī’s account of Muhallab’s campaigns is ludicrously exaggerated; _T_abarī quotes Muhallab himself as discouraging any attempts at effecting a conquest. On the death of his son al-Mughīra in Rajab 82, he came to terms with Kish and abandoned his expeditions, but died in the following Dhuʾl-_H_ijja (Jan. 702) near Merv Rūdh, and was succeeded by his son Yazīd.

The Muhallabite tradition which represents the appointment as distasteful to _H_ajjāj but popular in Khurāsān is almost certainly influenced by the later hostility between Yazīd and _H_ajjāj. It is probable, however, that _H_ajjāj, whose policy was to keep his governors dependent on himself, viewed with suspicion the concentration of authority in the hands of the leader of a powerful hostile clan, but he was content to wait for the meantime and give Yazīd sufficient rope to hang himself. Except for an attempted raid on Khwārizm Yazīd carried out no expeditions, while under his government the precarious internal balance of Khurāsān was soon upset. The quarrels of Qays had been composed by Muhallab, but they were in no mood to bear with the leadership of the parvenu Azd; already before the death of Muhallab, in spite of the Tamīmite eulogy quoted by _T_abarī, there was a moment when the feud threatened to break out. The pronounced factional leanings of Yazīd strained the situation still further. Even more serious was the attitude of the mawālī. _H_urayth, the brother of Thābit ibn Qu_t_ba, had been left behind at Kish by Muhallab to collect the tribute, but on his return was scourged for disobedience. The disgrace cut _H_urayth deeply; too late Muhallab realised the gravity of his act, but _H_urayth spurned his overtures and with Thābit fled to Mūsā at Tirmidh. Yazīd retaliated with foolish severity by maltreating their families, which only inflamed the general resentment. _H_urayth and Thābit used their influence to stir up an insurrection to act in concert with Mūsā; the king of Chaghāniān and his Ephthalite confederates headed by Nēzak, prince of Bādghīs, readily responded, while Persian interest was excited by the return to _T_ukhāristān of the son of Pērōz, the heir of the Sāsānids. It seems probable that even some of Qays were a party to the scheme[38]. Seizing an opportunity when Yazīd was occupied with the rebel forces of Ibn al-Ashath on the borders of Khurāsān the revolt broke out. Yazīd was powerless to prevent the expulsion of his residents from Chaghāniān and Lower _T_ukhāristān, and Mūsā is said to have refrained from invading Khurāsān only from fear that it would fall into the hands of Thābit and _H_urayth. Even the success claimed for Yazīd in Bādghīs can have been of little effect[39]. Fortunately for the Arabs, Mūsā’s jealousy of Thābit and _H_urayth caused a division in the ranks of their enemies, but though the brothers both fell in battle, the danger remained acute. The son of Pērōz still lingered in _T_ukhāristān, and even at Damascus there was some uneasiness about the situation in Khurāsān[40].

To _H_ajjāj it was obvious that the first essential was to reunite the Arabs and that so long as Yazīd was in power that was impossible. The only difficulty was to find a governor acceptable to Qays and to substitute him without risking a revolt of Azd. It was solved with admirable ingenuity. By ordering Yazīd to transfer his authority to his weaker brother Mufa_dd_al, _H_ajjāj at one stroke removed the man from whom he had most to fear and prevented him from uniting Azd in opposition, although Yazīd realised that the fall of his house was imminent. At the same time the Caliph’s permission was sought for the nomination of Qutayba ibn Muslim as governor of Khurāsān. Belonging to the neutral tribe of Bāhila, Qutayba was reckoned as allied to Qays, but might be trusted to hold the scales evenly between the factions; he had already distinguished himself in ʿIrāq and in his governorship of Rayy, and was the more devoted to _H_ajjāj in that he was protected by no strong party of his own. The accepted belief that _H_ajjāj took no steps to remove the family of Muhallab until Mūsā was put out of the way is based on a remark attributed to Muhallab in the Mūsā-legend, which is frequently contradicted elsewhere both expressly and by implication.

Mufa_dd_al, during his nine months of office in 85/704, seems to have endeavoured to impress _H_ajjāj by a show of military activity against the rebels in Bādghīs. At the same time, acting in concert with the local princes (magnified in the legend to “_T_arkhūn and as-Sabal”), he sent an expedition to Tirmidh under ʿOthmān b. Ma_s_ʿūd. Mūsā was cut off and killed in a sortie and his nephew Sulaymān surrendered at discretion, _H_ajjāj’s first exclamation on hearing the news is said to have been one of anger at the insult to Qays, but the last hindrance to the appointment of the new governor was now removed and towards the close of the year Qutayba b. Muslim arrived in Merv.

NOTES

[21] Bal. 408. 5: Chav., Doc. 172, n. 1. There were two localities called Māyamurgh in _S_ughd: one near Samarqand (I_st_akhrī 321. 6), and the other one day’s march from Nasaf on the Bukhārā road (ibid. 337. 7). According to the Chinese records the former is the one in question here.

[22] Yāqūt, ed. Wüstenfeld, II. 411. 21: _cf._ Caetani, “Annali” VIII. 4 ff. On Qārin, Nöldeke, Sasaniden 127, 437: Marquart, Ērānshahr 134.

[23] Chav., Doc. 172.

[24] _Cf._ Lammens, “Ziād b. Abīhi” (R.S.O. 1912) p. 664.

[25] _Cf._ with _T_ughshāda the name of the reigning prince in 658, Chav., Doc. 137.

[26] Chav., Doc. 136.

[27] Narshakhī 8 and 30.

[28] Chronologie 57: Ērānshahr 303 f. This view is supported also by the letter from the king of Samarqand to the Emperor of China in 718 (see p. 60), which puts the first Arab conquest some 35 years before, _i.e._ in 682 or 683.

[29] Accounts also in Kitāb al-Aghānī I. 18: Ibn Qutayba 101.

[30] _H_amāsa, ed. Freytag, I. 363-4.

[31] _Cf._ Barthold, “Turkestan” 103 n. 1.

[32] The account given in _T_ab. II. 394 of the annual meeting of the “Kings of Khurāsān” near Khwārizm for mutual counsel not only possesses little intrinsic probability, but is obviously intended to magnify the exploits of Muhallab. In this case, fortunately, the authorities quoted by _T_ab. leave no doubt as to the Azdite origin of the narrative. Madāʾinī’s version is given _ib._ ll. 19 sq.

[33] Wieger, Textes Historiques, 1608 f: Chav., Doc. 273 ff: Marquart, Ēran. 68.

[34] _T_ab. II. 490, 860 ff.: Bal. 414 f.: I. Athīr, IV. 66: Anon. (ed. Ahlwardt), 195.

[35] Abū ʿUbayda ap. Bal. 426. 10: _cf._ Lestrange, “Lands of the Eastern Caliphate” p. 448, note.

[36] _T_ab. 1031: _cf._ Anon. 310 f.

[37] _T_ab. 1040 f., 1078. 5: Yaʿqūbī, Hist. II. 330.

[38] _Cf._ _T_ab. 1152 with 1185. 5. For the son of Pērōz, Chav., Doc. 172.

[39] _Cf._ _T_ab. 1129 with 1144 and 1184.

[40] Anon. 337.

III. THE CONQUESTS OF QUTAYBA

The achievements of the Muslim armies in Central Asia during the reign of Walīd I were due in the first place to the complete co-operation between the directive genius of _H_ajjāj and the military capacity of Qutayba. Qutayba’s strategic abilities have been somewhat overrated, though the Arabic texts are at no pains to conceal the fact that his gifts fell something short of genius. On more than one occasion we are shown in what constant touch the viceroy was kept with the progress of his armies, and how large a part he took in drawing up the plan of campaign, though the credit of carrying it through to a successful issue rightly belongs to Qutayba. _H_ajjāj seems to have had the fullest confidence in his lieutenant, and if he did not hesitate to utter reproof and warning when occasion required, he was equally quick to express appreciation of Qutayba’s success. The Arabs of all parties soon realised that behind their general lay the authority of _H_ajjāj, the wholesome respect inspired by whom prevented any open breach during his lifetime. The second factor which materially assisted the conquests was that in their prosecution Qutayba united all parties in Khurāsān, Persians and Arabs, Qays and Yemen. It was no small matter to keep their enthusiasm unabated in the face of campaigns so protracted and severe, nor can the enthusiasm be explained only by the attraction of a rich booty. It is by no means improbable that Qutayba’s success was really due more to his talent for administration than to his generalship. He seems to have realised, as no other Arab governor in the east had yet done, that in such a province as Khurāsān the safety and security of the Arab government must depend in the long run on the co-operation of the Persian populace, who formed so great a majority in the country. The bitterness of factional strife had shown how unsafe it was to rely on the support of the Arabs alone, especially in the face of such a movement as Yazīd had provoked. By his conciliatory attitude, therefore, Qutayba earned the confidence of the Persians and repaid it with confidence; from his constant employment of Persian agents and his growing preference for Persian governors, it would seem even that he came to regard them as forming the “ʿAshīra” he lacked among the Arabs. Although it earned him the ill-will of the Arabs and played a great part in his fall, it may be that in this he was instrumental in giving the first impulse to the recovery of a national sentiment amongst the Persians of Khurāsān.

The situation in Central Asia was also favourable for a renewal of the attempt to annex to the Arab dominions the rich lands of Transoxania, though it is doubtful how much information the Arabs possessed on this point. In 682, while China, weakened internally by the intrigues of the Empress Wu, had her hands tied by the wars with Tibet, the Eastern or Northern Turks had re-asserted their independence. The new Empire never regained its authority over all the western territories of the former Khans, but by constant campaigns had extended its rule over the Ten Tribes of the Ili and Chu, who, we are told, were “almost annihilated.” In 701 the Eastern Turks invaded Sogdiana, but there is no reason to assume, though it has frequently been suggested, that Muhallab’s forces at Kish were affected by this raid. As the necessity of securing hostages for the safety even of the lines of communication shows, the hostility of the local forces is sufficient to explain all the encounters narrated. The devastation and loss that invariably accompanied these raids must have still further weakened the resources of the subject princes, to whom there was small consolation in the appointment of a son of the Khan to command the Ten Tribes. In any case the unceasing warfare which the Eastern Turks had to wage against the Türgesh from 699 to 711 effectually prevented them from sending assistance in response to any appeals for support which may have reached them from Sogdiana[41]. Equally if not more impossible was it for the Türgesh to intervene in Sogdiana during the same period[42]. By the “Turks,” as we have seen, the Arab historians mean as a general rule the local inhabitants, amongst whom there may quite possibly have been included at that time Turkish elements. Occasional references to the Khāqān (unless they may be taken to refer to local chiefs, which is improbable) are obvious _fakhr_-developments. The narrative of 98 A.H. on which the theory of Türgesh intervention is mainly based, is a pure Bāhilite invention. Finally, the experience of the Arabs in later years shows us that, if the resistance of Sogdiana had been backed by large forces of Turks, it would have been impossible for Qutayba to achieve so large a measure of success.

The conquests of Qutayba fall naturally into four periods:

1. 86/705: The recovery of Lower _T_ukhāristān;

2. From 87/706 to 90/709: The conquest of Bukhārā;

3. From 91/710 to 93/712: Consolidation of the Arab authority in the Oxus valley and its extension into _S_ughd;

4. From 94/713 to 96/715: Expeditions into the Jaxartes provinces.

_The recovery of Lower _T_ukhāristān._

The first task before Qutayba was to crush the revolt of Lower _T_ukhāristān. In the spring of 86/705 the army was assembled and marched through Merv Rūdh and _T_ālaqān on Balkh. According to one of _T_abarī’s narratives the city was surrendered without a blow. A second account, which, though not explicitly given as Bāhilite, may be regarded as such, since it centres on Qutayba’s brother and is intended to establish a Bāhilite claim on the Barmakids, speaks of a revolt amongst some of the inhabitants. This may perhaps be the more correct version, since we hear of Balkh being in a ruinous condition four years later (_T_ab. 1206. 1). The submission of Balkh was followed by that of Tīsh, king of Chaghāniān, who had probably cooperated with Mufa_dd_al in the attack on Tirmidh the year before. His action was, it seems, inspired by a feud with the king of Shūmān and Ākharūn, in the upper valleys of the Surkhan and Penjab rivers, against whom he hoped to use the Arab troops in return for his assistance to them. Mufa_dd_al had actually projected an expedition against Shūmān before his recall, and it was now carried out by Qutayba, who was perhaps the more ready to undertake it since it assured the safety of the southern approach to the Iron Gate. After the submission of the King Ghīslashtān, who was of Turkish blood, according to Yuan Chwang, Qutayba returned to Merv alone, leaving the army to follow under his brother Sāli_h_, who carried out a number of minor raids on the way. It is obvious that, in spite of Balādhurī’s imaginative account, these raids must be located in the districts neighbouring on the Oxus. The readings in _T_abarī’s narrative are, however, defective[43]. Having thus isolated Nēzak in Bādghīs, the heart of the revolt, Qutayba spent the winter months in negotiating with him through Sulaym “the Counsellor,” an influential Persian whose skill in conducting the most difficult negotiations proved more than once of the utmost value to Qutayba. Nēzak was persuaded to surrender and was conducted to Merv, where peace was concluded on condition that Qutayba would not enter Bādghīs in person. As a precautionary measure however the governor arranged that Nēzak should accompany him in all his expeditions. Thus for the moment at least, the danger of an outbreak in Khurāsān was averted, in a manner honourable to both parties, and the son of Pērōz took his way back to China to await a more favourable opportunity[44].

_The Conquest of Bukhārā._