cover next page > title: Storm and Stress Along the Northern Frontiers of the à €bbasid Caliphate SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies author: Tabari.; Bosworth, Clifford Edmund. publisher: State University of New York Press isbn10 | asin: 0791404935 print isbn13: 9780791404935 ebook isbn13: 9780585147994 language: English subject Islamic Empire--History--750-1258. publication date: 1991 lcc: DS38.2.T313 1991eb ddc: 909/.1 s subject: Islamic Empire--History--750-1258. cover next page > < previous page page_i next page > Page i The History of Al-Tabari An Annotated Translation Volume XXXIII Storm and Stress along the Northern Frontiers of the `Abbasid Caliphate The Caliphate of Al-Mu'tasim A. D. 833-842/A. H. 218-227 < previous page page_i next page > < previous page page_ii next page > Page ii The History of al-Tabari Editorial Board Ihsan Abbas, University of Jordan, Amman C. E. Bosworth, The University of Manchester Everett K. Rowson, The University of Pennsylvania Franz Rosenthal, Yale University Ehsan Yar-Shater, Columbia University (General Editor) Estelle Whelan, Editorial Coordinator SUNY SERIES IN NEAR EASTERN STUDIES Said Amir Arjomand, Editor The preparation of this volume was made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency. < previous page page_ii next page > < previous page page_iii next page > Page iii Bibliotheca Persica Edited by Ehsan Yar-Shater The History of al-Tabari (Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'l muluk) Volume XXXIII Storm and Stress along the Northern Frontiers of the 'Abbasid Caliphate translated and annotated by C. E. Bosworth University of Manchester State University of New York Press < previous page page_iii next page > < previous page page_iv next page > Page iv Disclaimer: This book contains characters with diacritics. When the characters can be represented using the ISO 8859-1 character set (http://www.w3.org/TR/images/latin1.gif), netLibrary will represent them as they appear in the original text, and most computers will be able to show the full characters correctly. In order to keep the text searchable and readable on most computers, characters with diacritics that are not part of the ISO 8859-1 list will be represented without their diacritical marks. Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 1991 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, N.Y. 12246 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Tabari, 838?-923. [Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk. English. Selections] Storm and stress along the northern frontiers of the `Abbasid caliphate/translated and annotated by C. E. Bosworth. p. cm.(SUNY series in Near Eastern studies) (Bibliotheca Persica) (The history of al-Tabari-Ta'rikh al-rusul wa '1 muluk; v 33) Translation of extracts from: Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-7914-0493-5 (alk. paper).ISBN 0-7914-0494-3 (pbk.: alk. paper) I. Islamic EmpireHistory750- 1258. I. Bosworth, Clifford Edmund. II. Title. III. Series. IV. Series: Bibliotheca Persica (Albany, N.Y.) V. Series: Tabari, 838? -923. Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk. English; v. 33. DS38.2.T313 vol. 33 [DS38.6] 909'.I sdc20 [909'.097671] 90-33516 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CIP < previous page page_iv next page > < previous page page_v next page > Page v Preface The History of Prophets and Kings (Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'l-muluk) by Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari (839-923), here rendered as the History of al-Tabari, is by common consent the most important universal history produced in the world of Islam. It has been translated here in its entirety for the first time for the benefit of non- Arabists, with historical and philological notes for those interested in the particulars of the text. A1-Tabari's monumental work explores the history of the ancient nations, with special emphasis on biblical peoples and prophets, the legendary and factual history of ancient Iran, and, in great detail, the rise of Islam, the life of the Prophet Muhammad, and the history of the Islamic world down to the year 915. The first volume of this translation contains a biography of al-Tabari and a discussion of the method, scope, and value of his work. It also provides information on some of the technical considerations that have guided the work of the translators. The History has been divided here into 39 volumes, each of which covers about two hundred pages of the original Arabic text in the Leiden edition. An attempt has been made to draw the dividing lines between the individual volumes in such a way that each is to some degree independent and can be read as such. The page numbers of the Leiden edition appear on the margins of the translated volumes. A1-Tabari very often quotes his sources verbatim and traces the chain of transmission (isnad) to an original source. The chains of < previous page page_v next page > < previous page page_vi next page > Page vi transmitters are, for the sake of brevity, rendered by only a dash () between the individual links in the chain. Thus, "According to Ibn HumaydSalamahIbn Ishaq" means that al-Tabari received the report from Ibn Humayd, who said that he was told by Salamah, who said that he was told by Ibn Ishaq, and so on. The numerous subtle and important differences in the original Arabic wording have been disregarded. The table of contents at the beginning of each volume gives a brief survey of the topics dealt with in that particular volume. It also includes the headings and subheadings as they appear in al-Tabari's text, as well as those occasionally introduced by the translator. Well-known place names, such as, for instance, Mecca, Baghdad, Jerusalem, Damascus, and the Yemen, are given in their English spellings. Less common place names, which are the vast majority, are transliterated. Biblical figures appear in the accepted English spelling. Iranian names are usually transcribed according to their Arabic forms, and the presumed Iranian forms are often discussed in the footnotes. Technical terms have been translated wherever possible, but some, such as dirham and imam, have been retained in Arabic forms. Others that cannot be translated with sufficient precision have been retained and italicized, as well as footnoted. The annotation aims chiefly at clarifying difficult passages, identifying individuals and place names, and discussing textual difficulties. Much leeway has been left to the translators to include in the footnotes whatever they consider necessary and helpful. The bibliographies list all the sources mentioned in the annotation. The index in each volume contains all the names of persons and places referred to in the text, as well as those mentioned in the notes as far as they refer to the medieval period. It does not include the names of modern scholars. A general index, it is hoped, will appear after all the volumes have been published. For further details concerning the series and acknowledgments, see Preface to Volume I. EHSAN YAR-SHATER < previous page page_vi next page > < previous page page_vii next page > Page vii Contents Preface v Abbreviations xi Translator's Foreword xiii Table I. Genealogy of the `Abbasids xx Map I. The Central Lands of the Caliphate during the Reign of al-Mu`tasim xxi The Events of the Year 218 (cont'd) (833/834) I 1 The Succession of Abu Ishaq al-Mu`tasim on His Brother al-Ma'mun's Death 2 An Expedition Sent against the Khurramiyyah The Events of the Year 219 (834/835) 5 5 The Rebellion of the `Alid Muhammad b. al-Qasim at al-Talaqan 7 The Campaign against the Zutt The Events of the Year 220 (835) 10 10 The Deportation of the Captured Zutt < previous page page_vii next page > < previous page page_viii next page > Page viii 14 The Affair of Babak and His Outbreak 19 The Reason for This Battle between al-Afshin and Babak 25 The Reason for al-Mu`tasim's Departure for al-Qatul 28 The Reason behind al-Mu`tasim's Anger against al-Fadl b. Marwan and His Imprisoning of the Latter, and the Reason for al-Fadl's Connection with al- Mu`tasim The Events of the Year 221 (835/836) 36 36 The Clashes of Bugha al-Kabir and al-Afshin with Babak, and the Reasons behind them 43 The Killing of Babak's Commander Tarkhan The Events of the Year 222 (836/837) 46 46 The Engagement between al-Afshin's Forces and Babak's Commander Adhin and Its Causes 50 The Capture of al-Badhdh, How It Was Achieved, and the Reasons for This The Events of the Year 223 (837/838) 84 84 A1-Afshin's Bringing of Babak and His Brother to al-Mu`tasim at Samarra and Their Execution 93 The Byzantine Emperor's Attacks on the Muslims at Zibatrah and Malatyah 94 The Reason for the Byzantine Ruler's Behaving Thus with the Muslims 97 A1-Mu`tasim's Campaign against `Ammuriyyah 121 The Reason for al-Mu`tasim's Imprisoning al-`Abbas b. al-Ma'mun The Events of the Year 224 (838/839) 135 136 The Reason for Mazyar's Open Rebellion against al-Mu`tasim and His Severe Measures with the People of the Plain 155 The Story of the Poet Abu Shas 156 The Continuation of the Operations against Mazyar and His Capture and Execution 175 The Reason behind Minkajur's Rebellion in Adharbayjan < previous page page_viii next page > < previous page page_ix next page > Page ix The Events of the Year 225 (839/840) 178 180 The Reason for al-Mu`tasim's Anger against al-Afshin and His Imprisoning Him The Events of the Year 226 (840/841) 194 194 The Rebellion of `Ali b.