he fell martyr in the battle of Marj. Muʿâwiyah kept it, but its possession was later disputed by Saʿîd ibn-al-ʿÂṣi ibn-Saʿîd ibn-al-ʿÂṣi ibn-Umaiyah. ʿUthmân decided the case in favor of the latter, who kept it until the battle of ad-Dâr in which Marwân was struck on the nape of the neck and Saʿîd fell unconscious by a blow. A Juhainah man took the Ṣamṣâmah. The Juhainah man kept it, and one day he gave it to a polisher to polish it. The polisher could not believe that one of the Juhainah could possess such a sword, so he took it to Marwân ibn-al-Ḥakam, the governor of al-Madînah, who asked the Juhainah man for an explanation, and he told its story. "By Allah," exclaimed Marwân, "in the battle of ad-Dâr, my sword was stolen from me, and so was that of Saʿîd ibn-al-ʿÂṣi." Then came Saʿîd and recognizing his sword took it, carved his name on it, and sent it to ʿAmr ibn-Saʿîd al-Ashdaḳ, the governor of Makkah. Saʿîd perished, and the sword was left with ʿAmr ibn-Saʿîd. When ʿAmr ibn-Saʿîd was killed at Damascus and his belongings were stolen, his brother on the father's side, Muḥammad ibn-Saʿîd, took the sword, which later passed to Yaḥya ibn-Saʿîd. At the death of Yaḥya, it passed to ʿAnbasah ibn-Saʿîd ibn-al-ʿÂṣi and then to Saʿîd ibn-ʿAmr ibn-Saʿîd. When the last perished, the sword went to Muḥammad ibn-ʿAbdallâh ibn-Saʿîd whose descendants live now in Bâriḳ. Then it went to Abân ibn-Yaḥya ibn-Saʿîd who decked it with an ornament of gold and kept it with the mother of a child [concubine] of his. At last Aiyûb ibn-abi-Aiyûb ibn-Saʿîd sold it to al-Mahdi the "Commander of the Believers" for over 80,000 [dirhams]. Al-Mahdi put the ornament of gold back on it. When it came finally into the possession of Mûsa-l-Hâdi, the "Commander of the Believers," he admired it and ordered the poet abu-l-Haul to describe it, upon which the latter said:
