The Origins of the Islamic State/Part 9/Chapter 11

by Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyá al-Balādhurī

CHAPTER XI

Madînat as-Salâm

Built by al-Manṣûr. Baghdâdh^[1] was an ancient city, but al-Manṣûr colonized it, and added a city to it^[2] which he began in the year 145. Hearing that Muḥammad and Ibrâhîm, the sons of ʿAbdallâh ibn-Ḥasan ibn-Ḥasan, had thrown off their allegiance to him, al-Manṣûr returned to al-Kûfah. In the year 146, he rransferred the public treasures [buyût al-mâl], repositories, and registers from al-Kûfah to Baghdâdh, and called it Madînat as-Salâm [the city of peace]. In the year 147, the wall of this city, with everything else connected with it, and the wall of ancient Baghdâdh were completed. Al-Manṣûr died in Makkah in the year 158 and was buried near the well of Maimûn ibn-al-Ḥadrami, an ally of the banu-Umaiyah.

Ar-Ruṣâfah. Ar-Ruṣâfah^[3] was built for al-Mahdi by al-Manṣûr on the east side of Baghdâdh. This side was called ʿAskar [camp] al-Mahdi^[4] because al-Mahdi camped in it on his way to ar-Rai. When he returned from ar-Rai, he settled in ar-Ruṣâfah, although it had occurred to al-Manṣûr to direct him to settle in Khurâsân. This took place in the year 151. Before al-Mahdi had occupied the east side, a palace was built for him by al-Manṣûr's order; the one variously known as Ḳaṣr al-Waḍḍâḥ, Ḳaṣr al-Mahdi and ash-Sharḳîyah.^[5] It lay on the other side of Bâb al-Karkh. Al-Waḍḍâḥ, after whom it is sometimes called, was a man from al-Anbâr who had charge of the expenses.

Al-Manṣûr as a builder. Al-Manṣûr built the two mosques of Madînat as-Salâm and the new bridge over aṣ-Ṣarât [canal]. The site of the city he bought from the owners of the villages of Bâdûraîya, Ḳaṭrabbul [or Ḳuṭrubbul], Nahr Bûḳ and Nahr Bin. He gave the city as fief to members of his household, his generals, soldiers, companions and secretaries. He made the meeting place of the streets at al-Karkh, and ordered the merchants to build their shops and held them responsible for the rent.^[6]

Places of interest in Baghdâd.^[7] The al-Mukharrim quarter^[8] in Baghdâdh takes its name from Mukharrim ibn-Shuraiḥ^[9] ibn-Ḥazn al-Ḥârithi.

The Ḳanṭarat al-Baradân quarter, from as-Sari ibn-al-Ḥuṭaim,^[10] the builder of al-Ḥuṭamîyah.

Aṣ-Ṣâliḥîyah, from Ṣâliḥ ibn-al-Manṣûr.

Al-Ḥarbîyah, from Ḥarb ibn-ʿAbdallâh al-Balkhi,^[11] the commander of the guard in al-Mauṣil under Jaʿfar ibn-abi-Jaʿfar.

Az-Zuhairîyah or Bâb at-Tibn, from Zuhair ibn-Muḥammad of the inhabitants of Abîward.

ʿÎsâbâdh, from ʿÎsa ibn-al-Mahdi.^[12]

Ḳaṣr ʿAbdawaih standing opposite Barâtha, from ʿAbdawaih, a notable of the Azd.

Al-Manṣûr assigned as fief to Sulaimân ibn-Mujâlid the site of his home; to Muhalhil ibn-Ṣafwân, after whom Darb Muhalhil is named, a special fief; to ʿUmârah ibn-Ḥamzah, the quarter that bears his name; to Maimûn abu-Bishr after whom Ṭâḳât Bishr are named, a special fief near Bustân al-Ḳass;^[13] to Shubail, his freedman, a fief near Dâr Yaḳṭîn; to umm-ʿUbaidah, a freedmaid of Muḥammad ibn-ʿAli, a fief; to Munîrah, a freedmaid of Muḥammad ibn-ʿAli and after whom Darb Munîrah and Khân [inn] Munîrah are named, a special fief; and to Raisânah^[14] a spot known by the name of Masjid bani-Raghbân.^[15]

Darb [path] Mihrawaih takes its name from Mihrawaih ar-Râzi who was one of the captives of Sinfâdh and was set free by al-Mahdi.

The city a residence for the caliphs. Al-Manṣûr lived in Madînat as-Salâm to the last days of his caliphate. He made a pilgrimage from it and died in Makkah. The city was then occupied by the caliph al-Mahdi. Later, al-Mahdi left for Mâsabadhân, where he died. Most of the time he spent in Madînat as-Salâm was passed in palaces he built at ʿÎsâbâdh.

Madînat as-Salâm was then occupied by al-Hâdi Mûsa ibn-al-Mahdi, who died in it. Ar-Rashîd Hârûn also resided in it, and later left it for ar-Râfiḳah where he stayed for a while and then departed for Khurâsân, and died at Ṭûs. The city became after that the residence of Muḥammad ibn-ar-Rashîd, who was slain in it.

Al-Maʾmûn ʿAbdallâh ibn-ar-Rashîd came to the city from Khurâsân and took up his abode in it. He then left on an expedition during which he died at al-Fadhandûn and was buried at Ṭarsûs.

Surra-man-raʾa, a residence for the caliphs. Caliph al-Muʿtaṣim-Billah made his residence in it and then left it for al-Ḳâṭûl^[16] where he occupied the Ḳaṣr ar-Rashîd which was built when ar-Rashîd dug out Ḳâṭûlah [canal] and called it abu-l-Jund [the father of the army] because the land watered by it produced enough provisions for the army. Al-Muʿtaṣim erected in al-Ḳâṭûl a building which he occupied, and offered the Ḳaṣr to Ashnâs at-Turki [the Turk], his freedman. He started to colonize that region and after beginning a new city, he gave it up and built the city of Surra-man-raʾa.^[17] He transplanted people to it and made it his residence. At the meeting point of the streets, he built a cathedral mosque, and called the city Surra-man-raʾa. Al-Muʿtaṣim made his freedman, Ashnâs, together with the other generals who had joined him [Ashnâs], settle at Karkh Fairûz. Other generals were given the houses called al-ʿArabâya.^[18] Al-Muʿtaṣim died in Surra-man-raʾa in the year 227.

Hârun al-Wâthiḳ-Billâh lived to the last day of his life in a house which he built at Surra-man-raʾa and called al-Hârûni.

When in dhu-l-Ḥijjah, year 232, the caliph Jaʿfar al-Mutawakkil-ʿAlallâh was installed, he made al-Hârûni his residence. He erected many buildings and assigned to different men fiefs in a place back of Surra-man-raʾa called al-Ḥâʾir^[19] in which al-Muʿtaṣim had put him in confinement, thus giving more space for the inhabitants. Al-Mutawakkil also built a great cathedral mosque and lavished enormous sums of money on it, making the minaret so high that the voices of the muezzins could be easily heard, and the minaret could be seen at a distance of many parasangs. The Moslems gave up the first mosque and held Friday prayers in it.

Al-Mutawakkilîyah. Al-Mutawakkil founded a city which he called al-Mutawakkilîyah. He built it between al-Karkh, known by the name of Fairûz, and al-Ḳâṭûl, known by the name of Kisra, chose it for his abode and gave fiefs in it. The houses and the villages known as al-Mâḥûzah^[20] were included in it. Al-Mutawakkil built in this city a cathedral mosque. From the time he started the city to the time he occupied it, only a few months elapsed, the occupation having taken place at the beginning of the year 246. Here he died in Shauwâl, [2] 47.

In the same night on which he died, al-Muntaṣir-Billâh was proclaimed caliph; and on Tuesday the 10th of Shauwâl, he left al-Mutawakkilîyah for Surra-man-raʾa, where he died.

ʿUyûn aṭ-Ṭaff. ʿUyûn [springs] aṭ-Ṭaff^[21] which include ʿAin aṣ-Ṣaid, al-Ḳuṭḳuṭânah, ar-Ruhaimah, ʿAin Jamal and the lands that belonged to them, were held by the garrisons that guarded the frontier forts beyond as-Sawâd. These springs lay near Khandaḳ [trench] Sâbûr, which Sâbûr had dug between him and the Arabs who guarded the frontier and the other Arabs who lived there. Sâbûr allowed them the use of the land as fief without collecting kharâj from them.

In the battle of dhu-Ḳâr in which Allah through his Prophet gave the Arabs the victory, the Arabs gained possession of some of these springs, the rest remaining in the hands of the Persians. When the Arabs advanced to al-Ḥîrah, the Persians took to flight after covering over with earth all the springs in their lands. The Arabs who held the remaining springs embraced Islâm; and the land which they cultivated became tithe-land.

After the battles of al-Ḳâdisîyah and al Madâʾin, the lands whose owners had evacuated them, were turned over to the Moslems and given out as fiefs, thus becoming tithe-lands. Such was the case with ʿUyûn aṭ-Ṭaff whose lands are treated like the villages in the valley of al-Madînah and the villages of Najd, all the ṣadaḳah thereof being given to the ʿâmils of al-Madînah.

When Isḥâḳ ibn-Ibrâhîm ibn-Muṣʿab ruled over as-Sawâd in the name of al-Mutawakkil, he added these ʿUyûn and their lands to what he already controlled; and he collected their tithe, treating them as any other land in as-Sawâd, which status they still retain. The Moslems later dug out many other springs which irrigate lands that are treated in a similar way.

ʿAin al-Jamal. I was told by a sheikh that ʿAin al-Jamal^[22] was so called because a camel [Ar. jamal] died near it. Others say that the one who dug it out was called Jamal.

ʿAin aṣ-Ṣaid. ʿAin aṣ-Ṣaid^[23] [fishing spring] was so called because fish gathered in it. I was told by certain Kuraizîyûn [?] that this spring was one of those covered with earth. As one of the Moslems was passing there, the legs of his horse sank in the mud. He dismounted and dug in the ground; and the water appeared. With the help of certain men he called, the earth and soil were removed, the course was opened and the water issued as before. The spring then passed to the hands of ʿÎsâ ibn-ʿAli, who bought it from a son of Ḥasan ibn-Ḥasan ibn-ʿAli ibn-abi-Ṭâlib. One of ʿÎsa's wives was umm-Kalthûm, daughter of Ḥasan ibn-Ḥasan. Muʿâwiyah in exchange for the caliphate, assigned, together with other things, ʿAin aṣ-Ṣaid as fief to al-Ḥasan ibn-ʿAli.

ʿAin ar-Raḥbah. ʿAin ar-Raḥbah was also one of the springs buried of old. A pilgrim from Karmân once saw it leaking; and when he returned from his pilgrimage, he advised ʿÎsa ibn-Mûsa regarding it and pointed it out to him. This Karmân man took it as fief with its land and dug it out. He cultivated the lands around it and planted the palm-trees which stand on al-ʿUdhaib road.

ʿUyûn al-ʿIrḳ. A few parasangs from Hît lie certain springs called al-ʿIrḳ which are similar to ʿUyûn aṭ-Ṭaff, and whose tithes are taken by the chief of Hît.

The meaning of Sawâd. Al-Athram from abu-ʿAmr ibn-al-ʿAlâʾ:—When the Arabs saw the great number of villages, palm and other trees, they exclaimed, "Never did we see a greater number of sawâd!" i. e., objects. Hence the name of the country as-Sawâd.

The market compared to the place of worship. Al-Ḳâsim ibn-Sallâm from Muḥammad ibn-abi-Mûsa:—One day ʿAli went out to the market and saw that his relatives had secured special places, upon which he remarked, "That can not be. For the Moslems, the market is similar to the place of worship: he who arrives first can hold his seat all day until he leaves it."

Abu-ʿUbaid from ʿAbd-ar-Raḥmân ibn-ʿUbaid's father:—The latter said, "In the time of al-Mughîrah ibn-Shuʿbah, we used to go early into the market; and when one sat in a place, he had claim on it until the nightfall. But when Ziyâd came, he ordered that he who sat in a place, could claim it so long as he occupied it."

According to Marwân, al-Mughîrah held the governorship of al-Kûfah twice: once for ʿUmar and another time for Muʿâwiyah.

Footnotes

1. A Persian word meaning the city "founded by God," see Le Strange, Baghdâd, pp. 10–11.
2. Ḥauḳal, p. 164.
3. i. e., causeway, the eastern suburb of Baghdâd. Iṣṭakhri, pp. 83, 84; Tanbîh, p. 360.
4. Yaʿḳûbi, Buldân, p. 251.
5. i. e., "the oriental palace ". Yaʿḳûbi, p. 245.
6. Ar. ghallah == rent paid for buildings standing on the property of the state.
7. The following list is an abridged form of the original.
8. Le Strange, pp. 217–230.
9. Duraid, p. 238, omits "ibn-Shuraiḥ".
10. Marâṣid, vol. ii, p. 453: "as-Surai ibn-al-Ḥuṭam".
11. Cf. Maḥâsin, vol. i, p. 307.
12. Tanbîh, pp. 343–344.
13. Yaʿḳûbi, p. 247.
14. Marâṣid, vol. ii, p. 433.
15. Dhahabi, p. 227; Yaʿḳûbi, pp. 244–245.
16. Tanbîh, pp. 356–357.
17. Yaʿḳûbi, pp. 256–257; Yâḳût, vol. iii, p. 14; Ṭabari, vol. iii, pp. 1179–1180.
18. Marâṣid, vol. v, p. 501, n.; Mushtarik, p. 183.
19. Ṭabari, vol. iii, p. 752, and Yaʿḳûbi, p. 258: "al-Ḥair". Cf. Yâḳût, vol. ii, p. 189.
20. Athîr, vol. vii, pp. 56, 68: "al-Mâkhûrah".
21. Yâḳût, vol. iii, p. 539; Hamadhâni, p. 187.
22. Rustah, p. 180: "ʿAin Jamal".
23. Ibid., p. 180: "ʿAin Ṣaid"; cf. Khurdâdhbih, p. 146.