A Baghdad Chronical (REUBEN LEVY 1929)

THE BOOK WAS
DRENCHED
A
BAGHDAD
CHRONICLE
Cambridge University Press

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A l l rights reserved
[Photo: Hasso Bros. Baghdad
RUINED MINARET, SUQ A L - G H A Z L , BAGHDAD
A
BAGHDAD
CHRONICLE
BY
REUBEN LEVY, M.A.

Lecturer in Persian
in the University of Cambridge
CAMBRIDGE
A T T H E U N I V E R S I T Y PRESS
I929
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN
CONTENTS
Preface
Introductory
page x i
CHAPTER I
The Building o f the City
il
26
" I n the Golden Prime of Good Haroun

Al-raschid"
.
.
.
.
.
.
42
CHAPTER I I
The Expansion o f the City

CHAPTER I I I
CHAPTER IV
City
Life
under
Harun
59
70
86
98
119
CHAPTER V
The First Siege o f Baghdad

CHAPTER VI
The Reign of Ma'miin .
CHAPTER V I I
Baghdad without a Caliph
CHAPTER V I I I
Baghdad Restored
.
vii
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I X
page 154
Baghdad under Persian Masters

CHAPTER X
184
The Greater Seljuqs and Baghdad .

CHAPTER X I
205
The Seljiiq Decline

CHAPTER X I I
T w o Sieges
219
.
CHAPTER
XIII
An Indian Summer
228
CHAPTER X I V
City Ideals and Accomplishments .
244
CHAPTER XV
The Downfall of the City

N
252
.
261
Bibliographical List of Authorities .

I
271
275
ILLUSTRATIONS
Ruined minaret, Suq al-Ghazl
Frontispiece
View from minaret, Suq al-Ghazl.

Shorja Bazaar running across
.
to face page 33
The Upper Bridge, Baghdad, looking east .
161
Kazimain Mosque
248
The accent (') over a vowel

denotes that it is long.
PREFACE
If one were to judge from the standard historiesboth
Oriental and Europeanof the Abbasid Caliphate, of
which Baghdad was the capital, the only sounds that
ever issued from the " City of Peace " were those of strife
and battle. The attention of the political historians
seems to have been captured almost exclusively by the
records of conflict, which are indeed very difficult to
disregard. Yet fighting can only have been an occasional accompaniment to the daily life of the mass of
the citizens, and there seemed to be room for some record
of what may be called the social history of Baghdad
under the Abbasid Caliphs. But the political side, which
gave rise to most of the fighting, could not be left out
of account, and if it takes what may appear to be a
disproportionate amount of space in the present work,
it is not only because the sources demanded it but also
because strife left obvious marks on the daily life of the
city. Yet one may hope that the effect of the present
work is not altogether that of a drum and trumpet
history, and that the sketches of Baghdad's manners
and customs and the descriptions of typical citizens are
not obscured by the martial record.
As will perhaps be seen from the noteswhich have
been relegated to the end of the book in order not to
interrupt the current of the narrativeit is not so much
the political annalists as the biographers who have
provided the materials most in accord with the scheme
of the work. Even they are stereotyped in their methods,
xi
PREFACE
so that, to believe them, every man they described was
a paragon of all the virtues rather than an ordinary
mortal. There had to be careful search for the " touches
of n a t u r e " w h i c h made characters recognizable, and all
whose business it is to deal w i t h Arabic and Persian
authors w i l l appreciate the relief w h i c h greeted any
mention of a weakness normal to human beings. It may
be not without significance that the most convincing
biographies are the work of Y a q i i t , who was of Greek
origin.
For the preparation of the M S . of this volume for
pressperhaps her least contribution to the w o r k
I am indebted to my wife. To my friend and colleague,
Professor R. A. Nicholson, my thanks are due for help
on numerous difficult points and for useful criticism?,
and t o the Master o f Christ's College ( M r N . M c L e a n )
I owe my gratitude for the material way in w h i c h he
lightened my task. T h e problem of illustrations for the
work was solved for me by my friend Dr R. Campbell
Thompson, whose company once made t w o Mesopotamian summers tolerable.
Finally I should like to express to the readers of the
Cambridge University Press my appreciation of a
remarkable vigilance and of a great helpfulness in
suggestion.
R. L.
CAMBRIDGE
INTRODUCTORY
There are few cities, even in the storied East, that h o l d
the imagination like Baghdad. As becomes the background of the Arabian Nights and the scene of H a r u n alRashid's nocturnal adventures it has a special character
combining w i t h its mundane reality a mystery and
fancifulness that put it outside the sober records of
history and make it a capital whose annals should be
sought not in the h u m d r u m narratives of the scribe b u t
in the unfettered imagery of poet or painter.
Events have made reality more prominent than the
romance, and tourists have brought reports eloquent
of disillusionment. T h e y went perhaps to behold marble
palaces and " shrines of fretted gold " and found a t o w n
of mud-brick houses and monotonous palms. Soldiers
returned associating the place w i t h prostrating heat
and devastating sickness. Yet even w i t h actual contact
it is not impossible to recapture the feelings engendered
by the tales of the Thousand and One Nights. Approach
the city neither by the railway from Basra, nor by motor
f r o m Beirutthe one lands y o u in a crude railway
station far from the t o w n , amid a clamorous mob of
ragamuffin porters, and the other leaves in one the
desire for a bath, to the exclusion of all elsebut by
river, either by kellek (the raft made of inflated sheep
skins) f r o m M o s u l or by steamer f r o m Basra. T h e time
to reach the t o w n is in the spring, in early m o r n i n g
before most of the citizens are awake; and the place for
LOB
INTRODUCTORY
the anchor to drop is between the two bridges. The

traveller's mind will have been attuned to the spectacle
he beholds either by sight of the mighty ruins of Persian
Ctesiphon or by the gilt domes of the mosque and
shrine at Kazimain. The growing light, like a seal upon
soft wax, impresses upon the dusky surface of the world
the outlines of flattened domes and tall minarets, of
waving palms and level-roofed houses, with mystery
lying in the sombre recesses between. Round coracles,
black and very solid, appear on the surface of the river
The pattern of them dates from most ancient Babylon,
and the solitary fisherman who occupies each vessel
quavers a tune probably as antique as he draws net
or paddles his rudderless craft forward by spiral turns
alternately to right and left. The river itself will be
flowing strong and yellow, washing high up the retaining walls of the houses that rise straight out of the
water, for there are no docks or quays.
As it grows lighter, the points where the city lanes
come down to the river edge will be marked by little
crowds, mostly of women, crouching down to wash
clothes or to fill jars with water, and always on their
guard to draw veil against too close scrutiny. There w i l l
be men too, either boatmen to ferry the early trader
across the river, or water carriers shovelling the muddy
liquid into the sheep skins in which it is transported.
Around the newly arrived paddle steamer black-headed
gulls will be wheeling and whistling, dropping with a
swoop to the water after any likely morsel.
W i t h the traveller's landing, romance may recede for
a time before the babel that greets the process every2
INTRODUCTORY
where from Calais eastwards* By the time he is on his
way to his quarters the city will be awake and he w i l l
find motor cars in plenty, mainly of American manufacture, roaring along the only two streets that are wide
enough for carriages. Yet they w i l l be sharing the roadway with donkeys, horses, mules, camels or ancient fourwheeled iarabdnas drawn by two horses. A l l will be
laden; the camels, mules and pack horses with boxes
and bales of merchandise from most of the countries of
the world; the donkeys with glistening black water
skins of the saqqd, though these may be replaced by
a grave and reverend senior seated far back on the
animal's rump, his legs, bare from the knee, swinging
out wide and at each beat landing heavily on the poor
creature's ribs. Sometimes a string of mules will be
carrying the huge fishes caught in the Diyala river
and locally known as biz, a name which seems to imply
a species of tunny. They are caught with drag nets, and
each fish makes a mule-load. Occasionally there will be
a couple of pack animals in the charge of a Persian
muleteer; to be recognized as such from his loose
baggy trousers unrestrained at the bottom, and from
his hat, a high cone of felt, truncated and inverted.
Swinging on either side of each animal will be a long,
tapering case covered with rough canvas. These will
contain the remains of pious relatives, anxious for their
bones to rest in the proximity of the saints, and they
w i l l have been brought, it may be, from the furthest
limits of Persia for burial in the sacred places of Kerbela
and Nejef.
In the 'arabdna a couple of female figures may be
3
1-2
INTRODUCTORY
seated, shrouded in black from head to foot if they are
Moslem ladies, for in Baghdad they have not yet by any
means found " e m a n c i p a t i o n " , and it is reported that
there was m u c h ado when even K i n g Faisul's o w n consort appeared unveiled at a public reception. B u t the
occupants of the carriage may be Jewish or Christian
girls cloaked in 'abas of a cheerful blue, pink or yellow,
or perhaps of black silk embroidered in gold thread,
and interest in a stranger w i l l not be entirely concealed
even by a veil or horsehair vizor.
On the pavements w i l l be the crowd going to its
business in the bazaars, either of selling or buying. T h e
effendis in European suit and fez; the less up-to-date
citizensthe bearded bourgeoisin tailor-made coat
and skirt under an i aba; sayyids; whose green turbans
proclaim them descendants of the Prophet, 'ulamd,
mullahs and shaikhsclerics a l l i n *white or blue
turbans of all sizes; in between, an occasional negro
probably not long emancipated from slaveryor a
fellah w i t h his bare legs showing through the piece of
rough sacking that, w i t h a long white shirt, forms his
wardrobe. Here and there an Arab g i r l w i l l be carrying
a copper water-jar on her head. In her nose is a r i n g
and on her forehead a greenish blue amulet, while the
lift of her arm raises the hem of her 'aba, disclosing a
row of little blue crosses tattooed round each bare ankle.
Except in detail the spectacle cannot have altered
m u c h for a thousand years or more. T h e conquering
Arab is no longer distinct from the descendant of ancient
Babylonians and Assyrians; M o n g o l types are rare
except in visitors, and for the time being there are
4
INTRODUCTORY
individuals from the West with an influence disproportionate to their numbers here.
For full appreciation of the picture it is necessary to
go back in time and examine some of the component
details. The native annalists begin the story of the city
with its foundation by Mansiir the Abbasid as the
capital of the Caliphate. Its origin however goes back
much further. How long there has been a human
settlement on the site is a matter of dispute. Lying at
a point where the Tigris and Euphrates approach one
another to a distance of less than thirty-five miles and
within the area bounded by the Persian plateau on the
east and the Syrian desert on the west, the place is well
suited for the location of the country's chief city. On or
near it the alluvial plains of the Two Rivers have for
thousands of years had their seat of government. In
historical times at any rate there have been Akkad,
the capital of the great Assyrian K i n g Sargon; ancient
Babylon the Mighty; Seleucia, from which the successors of Alexander the Great ruled Babylonia; Ctesiphon
of the Sassanians; and now Baghdad, which has lasted
longer than any of them. The proximity of the Two
Rivers and the consequent fertility of the district encouraged trading caravans from all directions to include
it in their itinerary, and Baghdad's importance as a trade
centre was the result.
Long before Baghdad was the capital of Iraq, however,
there were human habitations on the spot. A boundary
stone of the reign of Merodach-Baladan I (12011189 B.C.) has been found inscribed with cuneiform
characters that most scholars read Bag-da-du. In 1848,
5
INTRODUCTORY
Sir Henry Rawlinson in the course of some excavation

on the west bank of the Tigris near the mosque of
Khidhr Ilyas which lies opposite the Citadel of Baghdad,
found part of a quay wall built of Babylonian bricks.
They were inscribed with the name of Nebuchadnezzar II (604-561 B.C.) and were cemented together
with bitumen in the Babylonian fashion. The wall is
still visible, but that must perhaps be discounted as
evidence for the reason that Baghdad's builders were
in the habit of utilizing the ancient materials which
they found close at hand.
There is no definite proof that a settled community
inhabited the site until after the Christian era, but the
Babylonian Talmud, which was completed by the end
of the fifth century, mentions Baghdad as the birthplace of a certain Rabbi Hond and also speaks of a
Baghdad! mathematician and astronomer. According
to the historian Ya'qubi 1 a village called Baghdad
existed in Sassanian times in the district of Baduraya.
Later on, when the capital was built, the village formed
the quarter of Abu '1-'Abbas al-Fadhl 2 . On the whole,
tradition goes to show that the majority of the i n habitants were Christian. Al-Karkh, which is now the
official name of that portion of the city lying on the west
bank, is derived from the Aramaic Karkd (" The C i t y " ) ;
and the fact implies fairly definitely that the village
which originally bore the name and occupied that site
was either Christian or Jewish, and so existed before
Moslem times. It is said to have been founded by the
Sassanian king Shapur I I , " T h e Broad-Shouldered"
( A . D . 309-379)thus the Persian geographer Ham6
INTRODUCTORY
dullah Mustawfi in his Nuzhatu al-Qulub or Delight of

Hearts. But, as might be expected, Persian tradition
claims that the city of Baghdad is of Persian origin and
that it, as well as the city of Babylon, " was built by the
kings of Persia of the first dynasty.. .and that Zuhak,
who is the Nimrod of the Jews, was its first founder;
that Afrasiab, king of Turkistan and conqueror of
Persia, enlarged it and called it Baghdad, which is to
say, Garden of Dad, from the name of the idol which he
worshipped". 1
A piece of evidence that comes from rather nearer
home is a road chart compiled by the geographer
Ptolemy, who lived in Egypt in the second century.
The chart shows a village called Thelde on the location
that was later covered by Baghdad, and it is likely that
this was the Ptolemaic version of Suqu al-Thaldthd,
"the Tuesday Market", the Arabic name of a village
that was afterwards incorporated in the Abbasid capital.
Nearly all the Moslem geographers and historians
who deal with the foundation of the city speak of a
village or settlement on the site of Baghdad before the
coming of Mohammed. For example the Persian historian Tabari, writing between A . D . 875 and 915, says
that under the Sassanian rulers of Persia, who reigned
from A . D . 226 until the time when the Moslem invaders
subjugated the country, Baghdad was a village on the
right bank of the Tigris. It was occupied chiefly
by Nestorian Christians, amongst whom were a good
number of monks, and it had a flourishing market.
The name "Baghdad" is itself of pre-Islamic origin,
but what it means and how it came to be applied to the
7
INTRODUCTORY
city are questions that have never been determined.

The Babylonian Bag-da-du is of uncertain meaning.
The derivation of the name given by D'Herbelot comes
from Hamdullah Mustawfi who says: " O n the east
bank of the Tigris (opposite Karkh) was a village known
as Sabat, one of the dependencies of Nahrawan.
Khusraw Nushirwan made a garden, bagh, in the open
spaces surrounding the village and called i t i Bagh Dad \
i.e. the 'garden of D a d ' " . But there is no known
person or god of that name and he would seem to be
a myth specially invented to explain i t . If the name
Baghdad is Persian, as some Moslem writers have
asserted, it might mean'' Given by God''. Yet this also is
doubtful because there is the further complication that
the name is sometimes written Baghdddh or Maghddd*
Whatever its origin, the Caliph Mansiir decided to have
none of it when he built his city, and he thought to
remove the i l l omen of a pagan nomenclature by calling
his capital Madinat al-Salam, " T h e City of Peace''.
It was this title that the Greeks adopted when they
called the city " Eirenopolis "thus Gibbon. It is
said that the new name was taken from that of the
Tigris, which was locally known as the "River (or
Valley) of Peace". The name Baghdad however has
survived, though other titles were applied to various
parts of the city; such as Madinat Mansur, "the City
of Mansiir", to the portion actually constructed by that
Caliph, and al-Zawra, "the Crooked", to the eastern
half of the town lying on the left bank.
When it is considered how famous the name of
Baghdad now is and how widespread its repute during
8
INTRODUCTORY
the days of the Caliphate, it is an amazing fact that for

centuries during the middle ages the name was lost in
Europe or mangled or else confused with Babylon.
The rabbis of the Geonic period often speak of Baghdad
as "Babel", but they seemed to do so of set purpose,
well knowing the difference; and the European rabbi
Benjamin of Tudela identified the site of the more
ancient city when he visited it in 1173. But during the
centuries after the city fell to the Mongols the error is
due to pure confusion. Thus Sir Thomas Roe, who was
the British ambassador at Constantinople from 1621
to 1628, in his despatches reports the sieges which the
Persians in his day were laying against "Babilon", by
which of course he meant Baghdad and not the ancient
capital, that had long been in ruins. Even later, the
courageous French traveller Tavernier in describing
his journey down the Tigris in 1651 tells us that he
arrived at "Baghdad, qu'on appelle d'ordinaire Babylone". And twelve years after that, the encyclopaedic
geography book of Jean Blaeupublished in Amsterdam in 1663calls the capital of "Chaldaea and
Babylonia" the city of "Baghdad, which is also called
Baldach and Baudras by some". From the former of
these two variants came the name of the brocade known
as baldachin which used to be made in the city. By the
splendid adventurer Marco Polo Baghdad was called
" Baudas " and he describes the city though he probably
did not visit i t ; while Longfellow's Spanish Jew speaks
of "Baldacca's" Kalif. It was the Roman traveller
Pietro Delia Valle who first made it clear that Baghdad and Babylon were not identical. He visited
9
INTRODUCTORY
Mesopotamia in 1616 and his researches on the spot led

him to reaffirm what had so strangely been forgotten. Not
however until 1704 did the western world begin to take
any real interest in the city of Baghdad. In that year
the French orientalist Antoine Galland translated the
Arabian Nights into French, so for the first time making
the stories available for general consumption in a
European language. Their popularity was immediate
and the city of Harun al-Rashid sprang into fame;
and though it may be that the Thousand and One Nights
wereas one critic had itPersian tales told after the
manner of Buddha by Queen Esther to Harun alRashid in Cairo during the fourteenth century of the
Christian era, yet the ordinary reader will ever associate
them with Baghdad.
CHAPTER I
The Building of the
City
It was no accident that led to the foundation of Baghdad

as the capital of the Caliphate. Religious and dynastic
struggles were inevitable when the vast Mohammedan
empire became too unwieldy for one man to govern,
and the centre of government had changed more than
once in the century after M o h a m m e d . In the early days
of the empire the power had lain, naturally enough,
w i t h the Arabs, whose soldierly qualities and religious
enthusiasm together had succeeded in spreading the
faith of M o h a m m e d over a far larger field than he
himself could ever have imagined to be possible. W h e n ,
after an unpromising beginning at Mecca, the Prophet
in 622 took refuge from his enemies at M e d i n a , it was
f r o m this city that operations were directed and it
remained the capital of the growing domain of Islam
for about forty years. T h e first great wave of conquest
received its impetus from this small t o w n in western
Arabia. T h e Caliph Omar had his residence here w h e n ,
in 637, I r a q , the province w h i c h contained Ctesiphon,
the capital of the Persian empire, was subdued by
K h a l i d i b n W a l i d , " T h e Sword of A l l a h " . Almost as
soon as he arrived at the Euphrates after some hard
fighting on the way, he was t o l d that it w o u l d be
w o r t h his while to t u r n his attention to the r i c h village
of Siiq Baghdad, or "Baghdad M a r k e t " on the T i g r i s .
Accordingly a raiding party was despatched under
11
THE B U I L D I N G OF THE CITY
his lieutenant Muthanna. The historian Tabari describes

the raid as follows:
There said a man of Hi'ra to Muthannd, " W e w i l l guide you
to a village to which there come the merchants of the cities of
Khosroes (i.e. the t w i n capital Seleucia-Ctesiphon), and in
which they assemble w i t h their goods once a year, making it as
rich as a treasure house. Their market is being held during these
very days, and if you can fall upon them while they suspect
nothing you w i l l light upon wealth that w i l l be rich booty to the
Moslems". He asked: " H o w far is it from that place to the
cities of the Khosroes?" and he was told that it was part of a
day or perhaps a whole day.
Having obtained guides and put out advance guards to

arrest anyone who might give news of them, the company set out upon their march and
they came upon the village in the early morning, at a time when
the markets were at the height of their activity. A n d they slew
the merchants and seized everything they desired. But Muthanna
said to his men: " T a k e nothing but gold and silver, and let no
man of you take any merchandise except what he can carry upon
his own charger". The people who belonged to the markets fled
and the Moslems filled their hands w i t h the yellow (gold) and
the white (silver) and the best of everything. Then they departed
at full speed u n t i l they reached the canal of Saylahin at Anbar. 1
Medina remained the capital while the four so-called

"orthodox'' Caliphs ruled. The last of them was the
Prophet's son-in-law ' A l i , who was murdered by a
fanatic in A . D . 661 and was succeeded by Mu'awiya,
the Arab military governor of Syria. He had long been
awaiting his opportunity, and in spite of considerable
opposition he seized the Caliphate. The force which had
enabled him to realize his ambition came from his own
12
THE BUILDING OF THE CITY
Arab troops on whom the continuance of his power

depended. At Damascus, from which he ruled Syria,
he could be sure of their loyalty and at the same time be
at a safe distance from his enemies in Arabia. Damascus
moreover would provide him with a better capital than
Medina for his growing empire, and the transference
was accordingly made.
The Ummayad dynasty which Mu'awiya founded
lasted for a century, but long before the end of that
period the Arabs of Arabia were seeking a return of
power to themselves, while the Persians and other nonArab Moslems too were beginning to assert themselves
out of dissatisfaction with the conditions of inferiority
under which they remained members of the Caliphate.
The Persians in particular, with a traditional faith in
the hereditary principle, had an immense loyalty for
' A l i , Mohammed's son-in-law and cousin, whom they
regarded as the one rightful heir to the Caliphate. They
looked upon the Ummayads, who had succeeded to
office only by election, as usurpers, and sought some
other object for their religious and political affections.
In the family of the Prophet's uncle 'Abbas they found
what they wanted. These Abbasids were as eager for
power as any other oriental princes, and when, in
A . D . 747, during the reign of the weakling Caliph
Merwan I I , a certain Abu Muslim, who was a loyal
slave of theirs, raised the black standard of his master's
house in revolt in the Persian province of Khurasan,
the Persians flocked to it in thousands. Three years
later, the last of the Ummayads was defeated in battle.
He was caught and slain after many of his followers
13
had been butchered, and Abu '1-'Abbas, " T h e Bloodpourer", reigned as first Caliph of the Abbasid line.
If the Umayyads derived their power from the Arabs
of Syria, the Abbasids, as we have seen, owed theirs no
less to the loyalty of their Persian supporters. The first
Caliph of the new line recognized the fact, and determined to move the seat of authority from Damascus to
a point nearer Persia. His first step was to settle in the
town of Anbar near Kufa and on the Euphrates. There
he built an imposing palace which he called the Hashimiya after his ancestor Hashim, and thence he directed
the bloodthirsty operations which earned him his
sinister title of " The Shedder of Blood ". He seems not
to have succeeded altogether in his purpose of shaking
off his enemies, for Kufa was overrun by the 'Alids"
and by supporters of the house of ' A l i , who were rival
claimants with himself for the Caliphate. He died in
A.D. 754 before he had time to carry out his purpose,
and his brother and successor Mansur (Abu Ja'far)
made up his mind to escape from the neighbourhood of
Kufa, whose inhabitants he mistrusted, and to move
nearer still to Persia.
The historian Tabari relates that Mansur had no
intention of leaving the choice of a locality for his new
city to chance. He set out himself one morning with
a few followers to find a site that would be suitable not
only for his own palace but for a large camp, in which
he hoped to garrison his army. The first locality which
attracted his attention was the village of Jarjarayya on
the Tigris, fourteen leagues below the ancient twin
capital of Seleucia-Ctesiphon. From there he ascended
14
the river by the west bank, to the village of Baghdad,

situated at a point near where the old Sarat canal
joined the Tigris. His first view of the place did not
attract him and he continued his search along the river
as far north as Mosul, but without finding anything
more to his liking. Accordingly he returned to Baghdad,
which on consideration seemed to him the safest place
for his camp.
Legend relates that when report of the Caliph's
intention to build a city near the site of their monastery
came to the ears of the Christian monks who lived there,
one of them approached a member of the imperial
retinue and questioned him on the project. He asked
first who it was that had undertaken to build the city
and was told in reply that it was: " T h e Commander of
the Faithful, the Caliph of Mankind". "Has he any
other name?" asked the monk. The courtier knew
of none except the Caliph's patronymic " Abu Ja'far"
and his title of "al-Mansur" ("the Victorious").
" T h e n " , said the monk, "go to him and tell him not
to weary himself with the building of this city, for we
find it written in our books that one named ' Miqlas' is
to build a city here, and it w i l l be one of the most resplendent in the world. No one but he has the power
to build here." The courtier thereupon returned to the
camp, and, approaching Mansur, who happened to be
on horseback, related to him what had occurred. The
Commander of the Faithful at once dismounted and
remained for long prostrated in prayer. Then he rose
and said: " B y Allah, I used to be called Miqlas. When
I was a boy there was a famous robber called Miqlas
15
had been butchered, and A b u V Abbas, " T h e Bloodpourer", reigned as first Caliph of the Abbasid line.
If the Umayyads derived their power from the Arabs
of Syria, the Abbasids, as we have seen, owed theirs no
less to the loyalty of their Persian supporters. The first
Caliph of the new line recognized the fact, and determined to move the seat of authority from Damascus to
a point nearer Persia. His first step was to settle in the
town of Anbar near Kufa and on the Euphrates. There
he built an imposing palace which he called the Hashimiya after his ancestor Hashim, and thence he directed
the bloodthirsty operations which earned him his
sinister title of " The Shedder of Blood ". He seems not
to have succeeded altogether in his purpose of shaking
off his enemies, for Kufa was overrun by the 'Alids"
and by supporters of the house of ' A l i , who were rival
claimants with himself for the Caliphate. He died in
A.D. 754 before he had time to carry out his purpose,
and his brother and successor Mansiir (Abu Jaafar)
made up his mind to escape from the neighbourhood of
Kufa, whose inhabitants he mistrusted, and to move
nearer still to Persia.
The historian Tabari relates that Mansiir had no
intention of leaving the choice of a locality for his new
city to chance. He set out himself one morning with
a few followers to find a site that would be suitable not
only for his own palace but for a large camp, in which
he hoped to garrison his army. The first locality which
attracted his attention was the village of Jarjarayya on
the Tigris, fourteen leagues below the ancient twin
capital of Seleucia-Ctesiphon. From there he ascended
14
the river by the west bank, to the village of Baghdad,

situated at a point near where the old Sarat canal
joined the Tigris, His first view of the place did not
attract him and he continued his search along the river
as far north as Mosul, but without finding anything
more to his liking. Accordingly he returned to Baghdad,
which on consideration seemed to him the safest place
for his camp.
Legend relates that when report of the Caliph's
intention to build a city near the site of their monastery
came to the ears of the Christian monks who lived there,
one of them approached a member of the imperial
retinue and questioned him on the project. He asked
first who it was that had undertaken to build the city
and was told in reply that it was: " T h e Commander of
the Faithful, the Caliph of Mankind". "Has he any
other name?55 asked the monk. The courtier knew
of none except the Caliph 5s patronymic " Abu Ja'far"
and his title of "al-Mansiir" ("the Victorious").
" T h e n " , said the monk, "go to him and tell him not
to weary himself with the building of this city, for we
find it written in our books that one named i Miqlas 5 is
to build a city here, and it w i l l be one of the most resplendent in the world. No one but he has the power
to build here.55 The courtier thereupon returned to the
camp, and, approaching Mansiir, who happened to be
on horseback, related to him what had occurred. The
Commander of the Faithful at once dismounted and
remained for long prostrated in prayer. Then he rose
and said: " B y Allah, I used to be called Miqlas. When
I was a boy there was a famous robber called Miqlas
*5
who was notorious for his thieving prowess. Now we

had an old woman who brought me up, and it chanced
that one day the boys from school came to our house
and insisted that it was my turn to play the host. I had
nothing to spend on their entertainment; but the old
woman had some spun thread and I took this and sold
it so that I could provide hospitality for them. When
she discovered I had stolen her thread, she called me
*Miqlas\ I had forgotten this, but now I am assured
that it is I who am to build this c i t y " . 1
Another equally legendary argument that led Mansiir
to decide on the site is put into the mouth of a Christian
philosopher who met him on his first coming to the
place. The holy man expatiated on its excellences.
m
" Y o u w i l l be on the Sarat canal", said he, "between the

Tigris and the Euphrates. If anyone should attack you, the two
rivers w i l l be moats to your city. Moreover, stores can reach
you by the Tigris from Diyar Bekr, or from across the sea, from
India and China, or from Basra; and, by the Euphrates, from
Raqqa and Syria. By the river Tamarra [the modern Diyala]
also, supplies can come to you from Khurasan and the provinces
of Persia. You w i l l be in the centre of the country, between
Basra, Kufa and Wasit in the one direction and Mosul in the
other; right in the midst of the alluvial lands of Iraq. You w i l l
therefore be near to open plain, sea, and mountain."
Tabari 2 tells still another story in connection with

Mansur's search for the place in which to put his
capital. When he was in the neighbourhood of the
future city, he summoned the heads of all the Christian
villages and monasteries near by. He questioned each
closely with a view to discovering how each was situated
16
with regard to heat and cold, rain and mud, mosquitoes

and venomous reptiles. Not content with that, he gave
orders to the various members of his retinue that each
was to go to a village, spend the night there and bring
back a report on his experiences. When the reports had
all been presented, Mansur, after due consideration,
decided to erect his new city on the site of the village
of Baghdad. It is not unlikely that one of the reasons
which finally determined the Caliph's choice was Baghdad's comparative freedom from mosquitoes, which
are a plague in the rest of Iraq.
It must be remembered that in Mansur's day the
ancient system of canals, dating from far back in
Babylonian history, was still, in part at any rate, in
working order, and the desert which at the present time
surrounds the city was then a patchwork of fertile fields.
Tabari tells us that the ground on which the foundations of the city were actually laid covered the arable
lands of sixty villages, to which Mansur made suitable
compensation. The fields themselves were divided by a
network of canals, some of which were broad enough
to carry the vessels that came up the two rivers. Also,
as has been seen in the story of the early raid on Siiq
Baghdad, the trade of the district was already vigorous.
In devising the plan for the city the Caliph seems to
have been inspired by his constant fear of assassination
or of attack by his numerous enemies. His whole idea
apparently was to build himself a fortress that should
be as strong as he could make it, and with this object in
view he laid out the city in a circle, after a plan which
all the Moslem historians and geographers proclaim to
LOB
i7
be unique His own house was to be in the centre and

on all sides there was to be an open space which he
could easily command with his bodyguard. Once he
had chosen the site he began to work with a will. The
village and surrounding country were made to swarm
with workmen in readiness for the building. As a first
step he levelled the whole area, then cut out the groundplan of the city in the surface of the sand and filled in
the excavated lines with ashes. The ashes in their turn
were covered with bales of cotton soaked in naphtha.
When all was ready the bales were set alight, so that the
whole plan stood revealed in lines of fire.
The Caliph had been careful to take a horoscope in
order to find a favourable time for the building, but
he also attended to more practical matters. We are told
by the eleventh-century biographer who is known as
Al-Khatib, " The Preacher ", who was a native of Baghdad, that as soon as Mansiir had worked out his plans
he sent for engineers, architects, and men skilled in the knowledge of measurement, surveying, and apportionment. When
they were assembled he described to them the plan which he
had conceived and then brought from a distance artisans and
craftsmen, carpenters, smiths and diggers. For all he provided
daily rations. Further, he wrote to every town giving instructions that any inhabitant who knew aught of building was to be
sent to h i m . A n d he began nothing of the work of construction
u n t i l there were assembled before h i m many thousands of
craftsmen and artificers. 1
Tabari says that places as far afield as Damascus,

Mosul and Basra were laid under contribution. 2 Over
the workmen officers were appointed, of whom one was
z8
the famous theologian A b u Hanifa, founder of the

earliest of the schools of Sunni thought. Another
account says that Mansiir brought Abu Hanifa from
Kufa, which was his home, and wished to appoint him
cadi, but that the learned theologian refused the office.
After the completion of the city, when Mansur had
taken up his residence there, his son, the prince Mahdi,
went to live outside the city walls and on the opposite,
the east, bank of the river. He built a mosque there at
Rusafa and asked Abu Hanifa to act as cadi. But the
shaikh again refused the honour and Mahdi descended
to threats. " I f you do not accept", said he," I will have
you flogged until you do consent.'* Abu Hanifa was
thus forced to undertake the duties, but his unwilling
and grudging performance of them landed him in
prison, where he died in A . D . 767. " H e was buried in
the Khayzuran cemetery (on the east bank) and his tomb,
which is a well-known monument, is much frequented
by pious visitors. "1 The tomb of this saintfor as such
he came to be regardedstill exists, about two miles
north of Baghdad in the village of Mu'azzam. It is one
of the few remaining links with old Baghdad, and though
its two gilded domes and its minarets are of comparatively recent construction, there is no reason to doubt
that the saint lies buried under them.
But that is anticipating the completion of the city.
There was, and is, no stone to be found nearer to
Baghdad than the hills of the Jebel Hamrin, eighty
miles away. Accordingly the next stage in the building
operations was the making of bricks. They were of
enormous size and weight, some being cubes that
19
2-2

weighed nearly 200 pounds apiece and measured a
cubit (twenty inches) each way, while others were of
about half that thickness. W h e n the astrologers had
pronounced that the stars were favourable to the enterprise, the actual w o r k of b u i l d i n g was begun. It is
said that Mansiir himself laid the first brick at the end
of the year A . D . 762. T h e w o r k took three years, b u t
m i g h t have been completed earlier if the various rivals
of the Abbasid house had allowed the w o r k to proceed
without interruption.
It is more than probable that in deciding on the
architecture of the city the Caliph was inspired by the
grandeur of the ruins at Babylon and Ctesiphon, In
his day these must have retained enough of their old
splendour to encourage h i m to rivalry w i t h their b u i l d ers. He was not above t r y i n g to demolish part of the
palace of the Khosroes at Ctesiphon to obtain what he
thought w o u l d be cheap materials for his o w n capital.
Characteristically he first asked the advice of his vizier
and counsellor K h a l i d i b n Barmakfirst of the famous
clan of the Barmecides that rose to powerand w h e n
he advised against i t , Mansur taunted h i m w i t h having
retained a sympathy w i t h things Persian w h i c h could
only have come f r o m his fire-worshipping Persian
ancestors. B u t K h a l i d had a reply ready, and said that
to leave such a noble monument standing w o u l d enhance the glory of Islam by proving that people w i t h a
great past had become subject to i t . W h e n , after demolishing about a t h i r d of the great palace, the Caliph
found that it was cheaper to make bricks at Baghdad
than to transport the materials from Ctesiphon across
20
country, he ceased operations, again contrary to the

advice of his minister, who said that to desist now was
an admission of his defeat by the handiwork of a nonMoslem people. 1
T h e main wall of the city was made tremendously
strong and thick, and though the top measured less
than a t h i r d of the w i d t h of the base, it carried a roadway twenty-five cubits (about forty-two feet) wide, to
w h i c h there was approach by inclined pathways perm i t t i n g horsemen to ride up. F r o m the base to the t i p
of its pinnacles was a distance of sixty cubits. F o u r
gateways pierced i t : on the south-west the K u f a gate,
on the north-west the Syria gate, on the north-east the
Khurasan gateleading to the huge Persian province of
Khurasanand on the south-west the Basra gate. Each
was strongly defended against attack and was lofty
enough to allow the passage of mounted men without
any need to lower banners or spears. T h e i r o n gates
w i t h w h i c h the gateways were fitted were so heavy that
a company of men was required to open or close them.
Tabari has a curious legend about them. He says:
At the time when A b u Ja'far (Mansiir) came to need gates
for his city a certain A b u * A b d al-Rahman mentioned to h i m that
Solomon son of David had once built a city in the neighbourhood of Wasit. The Shaytdns (Demons) had built some magnificent gates of iron for h i m , the like of which no man could
fashion to-day. They remained in the position in which he had
placed them till Hajj&j [the conqueror of Iraq], coming to build
Wdsit, destroyed the old town and took possession of the gates.
Mansiir took them for his own town, using four of them for
the inner gateways and the fifth for the outer gate of his own
castle.2
21
Surrounding the main rampart, and at a distance of

about fifty yards from it, Mansiir put another wall, not
quite so thick, but protected by a moat. The gateways
of the new wall were topped by strongly defenced
structures which housed troops, and they corresponded
in position to those in the main wall. The distance
between gateways is given as 5000 cubits and the circumference of the outer wall may be taken therefore to
be rather more than six miles.
Between each gateway in the inner wall and the one
opposite to it in the outer wall, Mansur laid paved roads
beginning and ending in square open spaces in front of
the gateways. At first these roads were regarded as
paths leading to the Caliph's domain, which was the
whole space inside the main wall, and no one but the
Caliph himself was allowed to ride on them. But
arcades came to be built on each side of them, and when
the city's population began to flow in, the arcades were
found to be convenient depositories for the display
of merchandise, and before long were converted into
regular bazaars. Even in the early days of the city the
traders in the various classes of goods separated themselves into groups, so that all the slave dealers, for
example, were to be found occupying a place in the
arcades apart from that of the leather sellers; the silk
merchants were separated from the silversmiths, and
so forth. As a consequence, it must then, as now, have
been difficult to buy a completed garment in the bazaar,
for the cloth had to be bought in one place, trimmings
in another, needles and thread in another, and the whole
had to be transported to the tailors to be made up.
22
In the rest of the space between the two walls the

artisans of the citythe craftsmen, tradesmen, scribes
and mullahsthe beggars and all the various kinds of
minor officials that go to make up the "masses" in an
Eastern town, began to find a lodging and to build
their homes. The arcades and the strong walls of the city
divided the multitude of dwellings into four districts,
each rigorously shut off from the other except for gateways, which were strongly guarded and could be closed
to prevent any concerted action in case of a rising.
Moreover, in accordance with the Caliph's plan of
safeguarding himself, there was no free access to the
central portion of the city, so that he could live in
complete privacy if he so desired. Each quarter was
put under the authority of a special official or elder,
whose business it was to maintain order in his section.
Of planning within the various quarters we hear nothing.
Presumably the houses were huddled together and
built wherever their owners fancied, and lack of space,
together with the necessities of the climate and absence
of good building materials, made for narrow streets and
blank mud walls.
The main streets were fifty cubits in width and the
smaller ones sixteen cubits, but these were the streets
actually laid out in connection with the walls and gates.
In among the private houses, public buildings such as
mosques and baths began to be erected to fulfil the
needs of the inhabitants, and a sufficient water supply
was provided by means of canals taking off, for the
most part, not from the Tigris but from the Euphrates,
for ease in engineering. These canals were also used
23
THE B U I L D I N G OF THE C I T Y
for the supply of water to numerous gardens outside
the walls or laid out w i t h i n the courtyards of many of
the richer houses.
Inside the main wall the chief b u i l d i n g was of course
the Caliph's palace, w h i c h , from its gilded entrance way,
came to be k n o w n as the Golden Gate. To contain
all the separate apartments required by his many wives
and slave girls and the numerous households of his
children, it had to be a large b u i l d i n g , and in fact it
covered an area of over one-eighth of a square m i l e .
Amongst its public rooms were two m a i n audience
chambers. In one or other of these the Caliph sat to
receive in state the numerous people who had a claim
on his attention; visiting ambassadors, erring governors
of provinces, wandering dervishes in search of alms, or
poets, philosophers, historians and other men of letters
in search of a patron.
Each of the chambers had a dome, one rising behind
the other. T h e taller one was 130 feet h i g h , and its
green outlines could be seen from every part of the city,
dominating all the minarets and pinnacles. T r a d i t i o n
in later times had it that the dome was topped by the
figure of a mounted man holding a lance, and that in
time of trouble the figure pointed in the direction f r o m
which danger to the capital m i g h t be expected. T h e
historian al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, when discussing the
ultimate fate of the dome, says: " It has been related to
me that the dome fell in the year A . H . 329 ( = A . D . 941).
On the night of its collapse the rain descended in
torrents, and thunder and lightning filled men w i t h awe.
T h e dome was the crown of Baghdad, the standard of
24
THE B U I L D I N G OF THE C I T Y
the realm and the most considerable monument of the

Abbasid sovereignty". 1 Some pious Moslems disliked
the legend of the figure on the dome and strenuously
denied the truth of it, and the setting up of an image
was certainly against the Koranic law. The geographer
Yaqiit, who was a converted Greek, said that the story
was "a lie, an extravagant invention. Such things are
told only of the Egyptian magicians.. .Moslems are too
serious minded for such fables... .The figure had of
necessity to be turned in one direction, and, if the legend
is true, enemies would be constantly crowding in from
that direction. But Allah knows best". 2
The palace did not occupy the whole of the interior
circle, although no other building but the royal mosque
intruded on the open space provided by the Caliph for
his greater security. But within the wall there were
erected the palaces of the Caliph's children and the
various government buildings. One of the earliest of
these was the mint, and the British Museum possesses
coins minted in A . D . 763, just one year after the city's
foundations were laid. Other such buildings were the
treasury, the armoury, the secretariate, and even a
public bakery. A third wall separated these public
buildings from the extensive quarters of the royal
princes and their servants.
CHAPTER I I
The Expansion of the City
There seems to have been no difficulty in providing the
new capital with inhabitants. People flocked to it from
all parts of the Moslem empire, attracted not so much
by the reports of the beauty of its architecture or the
healthiness of its situationabout which the common
folk probably cared very littlebut by the prospect of
gain, and the fact that the city meant something new in
Islam. The original Mohammedans had been Arabs,
men of the desert or inhabitants of small villages or of
military camps. Here was a city which was not a fortified dpot for troops and which as yet had no traditions
and few vested family interests, so that for a time it
was without any internal conflict of policies. The consequence was the growth of a new citizen class, which
created a fresh standard and ideal of life not only for the
Arab but for the Moslem world generally.
Although Moslem Arabs and Persians formed the
bulk of the immigrants, men of other faiths came too.
Amongst the newcomers to the city was the Patriarch
of the Nestorian community. In Persian times he had
lived at Ctesiphon, but when that royal city was destroyed he moved to Baghdad and erected the patriarchal
headquarters on the west side of the river where the
church of St Mary was also founded. A Christian
community built itself up round the church, later to be
transferred to the east side, where it still exists, probably
26
THE EXPANSION OF THE CITY
in the very spot where it was originally established,1

At the same time Jewish traders and others, descendants of the Jews exiled by Nebuchadnezzar from
Palestine and long domiciled near the Euphrates, began
to make their homes in the city.
Together with the traders, craftsmen, teachers and
beggars, came those new citizens who earned a livelihood by amusing the rest of the population in their
leisure hours. Amongst the entertainers were the singers
and musicians who are to be regarded as the artists of
the new community. Some had already made a name
for themselves in Mecca or Medina, where their art
flourished, but they came to the capital in search of new
conquests and increased wealth. They had no difficulty
in finding patrons amongst the nobles and chief officers
of Mansur's court: the Caliph himself however had
little use for them, for in addition to being miserly he
was entirely insensible to the charms of music. One of
the best of the musicians was a certain Hakim al-Wadi,
who had begun his career as a barber, but afterwards
found he possessed a good voice and put himself under
a skilled singer for training. In Baghdad he discovered
the merits of the hazaj rhythm, a quick and lively
measure, well adapted to songs of frivolous galanterie
of a kind that appealed to the crowd. His success was
immediate. Mansur used to hear of the enormous
sums paid to the singer and was astonished at the prodigality of his patrons, several of them members of the
royal family. " What is Hakim?" he would ask. " O n l y
a man who recites pleasantly. That is all. How can he
be worth such presents ?" One evening while Mansur
27

was taking the air on a balcony he saw opposite his
palace, issuing f r o m a house that was occupied by one
of his generals, a personage clad in a superb robe,
seated on a fine mule and preceded by a slave carrying
a lighted torch. " T h a t m u l e " , said the Caliph to the
courtiers standing round h i m , " i s the general's. B u t
who is it riding the m u l e ? " He was t o l d that it was the
singer H a k i m . " Oh yes!" said the Caliph, wagging his
head, " n o w I see that he deserves the gifts that he
receives." " H o w does the Commander of the Faithful
see t h a t ? " one o f the courtiers inquired. " I k n o w the
general," said Mansur, " he is a t h r i f t y person and gives
money only for good value." 1
Towards the end of Mansur's reign the political i m portance of Persia began to have its effect on the life
and fashions of the capital. T h e Caliph himself was the
model upon w h o m the populace fixed its eyes, and by
natural inclination and for political reasons he was
greatly influenced by I r a n . H i s chief minister was
K h a l i d the Barmecide, a man of Zoroastrian o r i g i n , and
similarly in every one of the great households Persian
scholars were to be found teaching their o w n literature,
history, astronomy and medicine. Persian theologians
were in especial demand, for the conversion of large
numbers of Zoroastrians to Islam helped the spread of
Iranian culture in the new capital, to w h i c h Persians
streamed as soon as they realized that they were regarded
w i t h favour there. Indeed they held so great a place in
the Caliph's esteem that we hear of an A r a b of some
standing waiting in vain for admission at the door of
Mansur's palace, whereas men of the province of
28

Khurasan went freely in and out and jeered at the old
man who stood watching them. 1 W i t h the Persian
doctors came pilgrims and merchants who settled in
the old village of K a r k h outside the city walls, and made
it an abiding outpost of the land of their origin.
T h e constant influx of new inhabitants in time
caused the question of supplies to become a serious
one. L o n g before the end of Mansur's reign the bazaar
arcades had proved too small for the needs of the city.
T h e abundant wares of the merchants overflowed into
bazaars outside the city to the south, where they became
the chief market of the M i d d l e East. It attracted
such great numbers of foreign traders from all parts
of the Moslem empire and outside it that at last the
situation began to give Mansur cause for uneasiness.
He saw in these foreigners a possible menace to his
city, and asked advice on the point from a Greek ambassador, who t o l d h i m that by admitting anybody and
everybody into the city he must, at some time or other,
be letting a possible enemy enter w i t h i n his gates. At
the ambassador's suggestion he ordered the bazaars to
be entirely removed and placed outside to the south, in
the suburb of K a r k h . Here the market could expand as
m u c h as was necessary, and in fact it grew rapidly, more
bazaars and houses being erected round it u n t i l it
formed an integral part of Baghdad; and its importance
finally was such that it gave its name to the whole of
that part of the city w h i c h lies on the right banka
name w h i c h is still retained. Here, even at the present
day, are to be found the ahvds, or grain warehouses,
and the chief markets for the fresh fruits, dates and
29

vegetables that f o r m the m a i n food of the M o s l e m
inhabitants.
T h e palace of the Golden Gate, like the original
bazaar, soon outgrew its purpose. T h e Caliph's harem
and retinue, w h i c h had never been small, increased
steadily, while in addition the numerous members of
his family who were growing up began to have households of their o w n . A certain amount of unrest amongst
his troops, due to the stinginess for w h i c h he was
notorious, led Mansur to transfer a section of them to
the left bank. There he put them under the command
of his son M a h d i , who was to succeed h i m on the throne
and for w h o m he b u i l t a house on the site k n o w n as
Rusdfa, " T h e Causeway", that was later to grow into
the most important section of the city.
Of Mansur's parsimony, already mentioned, many
stories are told w h i c h incidentally depict the life of the
city. T a b a r i , for example, tells how the prince M a h d i
once rewarded a sycophantic poet w i t h the sum of
20,000 dirhemsover 400 poundsfor some flattering
verses. Mansur summoned the panegyrist and made
h i m read his composition. W h e n the poet had done he
was gruffly t o l d that he had been paid five times too
m u c h for his w o r k , and he was made to disgorge fourfifths of his honorarium on the spot. Yet we are t o l d
by the same historian that in spite of Mansur's meanness he spent on his city not less than 4,800,000 dirhems,
w h i c h w o u l d be roughly equivalent to a quarter of a
m i l l i o n pounds sterling at a direct calculation of exchange, though it w o u l d probably be w o r t h ten times
that amount in actual value.
30
THE EXPANSION OF THE C I T Y
On his o w n residences alone the Caliph must have

expended huge sums. W h e n the middle of the R o u n d
C i t y began to be crowded he looked about for a site for
a new palace. He chose one outside the walls, on the river
bank near the Khurasan gate, on a spot that had once
been occupied by a Christian monastery. T h e beauty
of the place and the freshness of the air w h i c h he
found there after the stuffy atmosphere of the crowded
t o w n delighted h i m and all who visited i t . Mansiir
himself expressed his approval by calling his new
palace Qasr al-Khuld or "Paradise Castle", though the
magnificence of the architecture and the gorgeousness
of the decoration no doubt had something to do w i t h
the name. Inevitably the castle became the nucleus of
a city quarter, for the houses of servants and courtiers
had to be b u i l t near i t , and a bazaar, mosques and public
buildings came into being w i t h the increase of population.
Naturally enough, Baghdad occupied an important
place in the m i n d of its founder, and indeed he gave it
his last thought on his death-bed. W h i l e on a pilgrimage
to Mecca he fell sick, and had his son M a h d i summoned.
To h i m he gave m u c h good counsel on various matters
and then came to the subject of Baghdad.
" B e h o l d this c i t y " , said he. "Beware of exchanging it for
another, for it is your home and your strength. In it I have
gathered for you treasures so abundant that even if the land
revenues were cut off for the space of fifteen years, you would
still have sufficient for the supply of your army and for expenditure of all kinds
A n d beware of building up the eastern part
of the city, for you w i l l never complete i t . "
3i
So far as the capital of the empire was concerned, the

new Caliph did not pay much attention to his father's
dying wishes. The palace on the left bank which had
primarily been intended for a secluded pleasure-resort
at a safe distance from the disapproving glances of
the rigid citizens of Baghdadwas turned into the
headquarters of a large body of troops. A high and
massive wall was built round the camp, and an independent water supply was provided by a channel
specially dug from a branch of the famous Nahrawan
canal, an ancient waterway that itself took off from the
Tigris about a hundred miles upstream from Baghdad
and watered an immense tract of territory lying between
the river and the Persian mountains.
Soon there began to cluster round the "Camp of
M a h d i " , as it came to be called, the superfluous population of the older part of the city, which, even though
capable of containing great masses of inhabitants, was
yet unable to house all that were attracted to it. Rusafa,
which was the other name of Mahdfs camp, soon expanded into three flourishing suburbs, and the city's
prosperity was now well on the way to being established.
An indication of Baghdad's wealth is given by the fact
that already one whole bazaar was devoted exclusively
to the sale of Chinese silks.
" We know ", says an authority, " that hither came all the products of the w o r l d in constant stream. Spices of all kinds, aloes
and sandal-wood for fumigation, teak for ship-building, ebony
for artistic work, jewels, metals, dyes and minerals of all kinds
from India and the Malay archipelago; porcelains andwhat is
indispensable to the orientalmusk from China; pearls and
32
VIEW FROM
MINARET,
SUQ. A L - G H A Z L .
SHORJA
BAZAAR
RUNNING
ACROSS

white-skinned slaves from the lands of the T u r k and the Russian;
ivory and negro slaves from East Africa;all were brought here
by traders and navigators after long and arduous journeys by
land and sea. At the same time the city merchants carried on a
profitable trade w i t h China in the products of the Caliphate;
dates, sugar, glassware, cotton and iron. Even more brisk was
the internal trade between the various provinces of the empire,
all of which trade flowed through Baghdad. Egypt's rice, grain,
linen and paper; Syria's glass and metal ware, Arabia's spices,
pearls and weapons; Persia's silks, perfumes and garden produce, all found their way here." l
Mahdi was not slow to take advantage of the wealth

that came pouring i n . First of all the Caliphs to do so,
upsetting all precedent, he levied a tax on the bazaars.
Medina and Damascus, the former capitals of the
Caliphate, though they did not equal Baghdad, were
yet flourishing centres of trade, and the native historians
remark on the fact that until Mahdi no one had thought
of making them productive of revenue. It scarcely
needs saying that his successors did not surrender this
profitable source of income. It was a sane and justifiable step, and Mahdi followed it by giving the inhabitants of his city a freedom rarely to be found either in
the East or West until quite modern times. It was such
that merchants who had come for purposes of business
remained to become citizens, and so further enhanced
the prosperity of the city. A n d it was not merely the
utilitarian arts that the Caliph encouraged. Poetry and
music, for which his father had had little use, began to
be heard in his palaces and in those of his nobles. Also,
since he set the fashion, the art of good living began to
flourish in the city; but there the Caliph may have had
LOB
33

an ulterior motiveone that w o u l d not have been
beneath the traditions of his familyfor he is said to
have collected a certain amount of revenue from taxes
on taverns, even though Islam forbade the drinking of
wine or other intoxicating liquors.
Of the artists who enlivened the capital in M a h d i ' s
time was the singer Siyat, who came from Mecca and
became popular in Baghdad. H i s accompanists were
two of his friends, " o n e of w h o m played the flute and
followed his singing, and the other played the lute and
marked the r h y t h m of his airs". T h e names of these
three artists formed a strange group. Siyat means
" w h i p s " in A r a b i c ; the flute player was called H i b a l ,
i.e. " r o p e s " , and the name of the player on the lute
was ' I q a b , i.e. " t o r t u r e " . T h e y were names that lent
themselves to jests, and the story is t o l d that one night,
before their fame had spread, M a h d i , while at drink
w i t h some of his friends, called Salam al-Abrash, his
chief eunuch, and gave h i m an order in low tones. A l l
that the company could hear was, " G o and b r i n g . . .
whips .. r o p e s . . . torture''.
K n o w i n g something of
their sovereign's character, they had some excuse for
feeling w i t h considerable uneasiness that he was going
to exact vengeance from one of them for some offence.
After a painful quarter of an hour's wait they saw
Siyat and his t w o assistants armed w i t h their musical
instruments. O n l y then were they reassured, while the
Caliph laughed loudly at the fright he had given
them. 1
B u t though M a h d i liked music for himself he refused
to allow either of his sons, Musa al-Hadi or H a r u n ,
34

to be seduced by i t , and gave express orders that no
musicians were to be permitted to enter into their presence. He discovered one day that two of Siyat's
pupils, I b r a h i m al-Mausili and I b n Jami', had visited
the young princes. He promptly had the artists brought
before h i m . I b r a h i m received 360 lashes, and I b n
Jami', though successful in entreating the Caliph to
forgo the corporal punishment, was banished f r o m the
city in disgrace.
Inseparably connected w i t h the freedom of life in
the capital was the safety of the roads throughout the
empire. T h i s security not only encouraged trade b u t
induced an ever-increasing number of pious Moslems
to undertake the pilgrimage to Mecca, a sacred expedition required to be made by every true believer at
least once in his lifetime. At that time, as at the present
day, the p i l g r i m trains from the n o r t h and east generally
passed through Baghdad. Those that started from the
capital itself were supplied w i t h an amazing number
of luxuries, and it is said that when the Caliph M a h d i
set out to make the journey in the late summer of
A . D . 776, he provided ice for nearly one-half of the very
large company that travelled w i t h h i m .
Another side of the picture is given in that charming
book on the history of the Caliphs and their viziers that
goes under the name of al-Fakhri. According to this
authority, M a h d i for some years left the management
of his affairs to a certain vizier called Y a ' q i i b i b n D a ' u d ,
w h o seems to have pleased the Caliph very w e l l u n t i l
there occurred an incident w h i c h gave Ya'qub's
numerous rivals cause for rejoicing. M a h d i one day
35
3-2

summoned the vizier and had h i m ushered into a
delightful garden where the audience was to take place.
T h e trees were i n full bloom, the blossoms were o f
many colours, and the part of the garden where the
Caliph sat was covered w i t h a rose-coloured carpet on
w h i c h a beautiful slave g i r l stood before h i m . As the
vizier entered, the Caliph asked h i m what he thought of
the al fresco sitting-room. He pronounced it pleasant
in the extreme and prayed A l l a h to grant his sovereign
full enjoyment o f i t . " I t i s all yours", said M a h d i ,
"together w i t h a hundred thousand dirhems; and, to
complete your happiness I add the slave g i r l . " Y a ' q u b
cried out in his amazement, but the Caliph silenced h i m ,
and said: " T h e r e is something I need f r o m y o u in
return. I require your assurance that you w i l l give i t " .
T h e vizier replied: " C o m m a n d e r of the Faithful, I am
your slave, obedient to all that you c o m m a n d " . T h e
sovereign then mentioned a particular individual, a
descendant of the Caliph ' A l i , and said he w o u l d be
glad to see the man p u t out of the way because he
showed symptoms of being a possible traitor. M a h d i
forced the minister to swear an oath that he w o u l d do
what was necessary, and gave orders that everything
in the place of audience, including the slave g i r l , was
to be transferred to the vizier's house.
T h e minister had the proposed v i c t i m brought before
h i m and found h i m a man of the highest character and
intelligence, who pleaded w i t h h i m and warned h i m
against shedding the innocent blood of a descendant of
' A l i , the Prophet's son-in-law, and of Fatima, the
Prophet's daughter. M o v e d by p i t y , the vizier gave the
36

man a sum of money and t o l d h i m to escape to some
place of safety. Unfortunately for Y a ' q i i b , the slave
g i r l had been spying on h i m , and sent a secret messenger
to the Caliph telling h i m of what had occurred. M a h d f
at once covered the roads w i t h his agents and had the
refugee stopped and brought back. He put h i m into
a room near the audience chamber and sent for his
vizier. " Y a ' q u b , " said he to the unsuspecting minister,
" w h a t d i d you do w i t h the ' A l i d ? " " G o d has given
the Commander of the Faithful relief from h i m " , was
the reply. " I s he dead?" then asked M a h d i . " Y e s " ,
said Y a ' q u b . T u r n i n g to his servants the Caliph
ordered them to b r i n g before h i m a man w h o m they
w o u l d find in the next room. As soon as the ' A l i d
appeared Y a ' q i i b knew that his o w n career was over,
and remained silent. He was sent to the dungeons,
where he was let d o w n by a rope into a deep p i t into
w h i c h no light penetrated. There he was left, just
enough food being given h i m f r o m day to day to keep
h i m alive. W h e n someone remembered h i m in the reign
of H a r u n al-Rashid, many years afterwards, his sight
had failed, and he was brought up out of his p i t only
to die. 1
L i k e all the members of his line, M a h d i seldom
bestowed his favours for very long in the same quarter.
He once punished the court poet, A b u 'l-'Atahiya, for
the crime of forsaking his art in favour of the less
dangerous occupation of selling water jars, w h i c h had
been his business before he took to w r i t i n g panegyrics.
Yet while he was at court he was enough of a favourite
w i t h M a h d i to venture a request for a certain slave g i r l
37

k n o w n as ' U t b a , w h o was in the royal harem. He had
been m u c h smitten w i t h her charms and wrote most of
his amatory verse to celebrate them. H i s method of
making his request was characteristic of the time. One
N e w Year's Day he obtained permission to give his
royal patron a present and brought a specimen of his
wares in the shape of a large porcelain vase. T h i s contained a perfumed robe, round the hem of w h i c h were
embroidered some verses h i n t i n g at his desire for the
g i r l . M a h d i seemed pleased at the device and was for
giving the g i r l to A b u V A t a h i y a , when she cried out:
"O Commander of the Faithful, treat me as a woman
and a member of your household! W o u l d you give me
up to a nasty man who sells pots and gains a l i v i n g by
his verses P" 1 T h e appeal was successful and the poet
transferred his affections elsewhere.
A b o u t the life of the ordinary citizen of the day not
a great deal is to be gathered. T h e great contrasts of
wealth and poverty w h i c h were to appear later had not
yet made their presence felt. T h e Caliph set all the
fashions, w h i c h those in the v i c i n i t y of the court
followed. B u t the lesser people lived their o w n lives,
probably very little different from those of their preIslamic ancestors, except that they had changed the
object of their worship and substituted Mohammedan
teachers and holy men for the priests of Zoroastrianism
or other religions. T h e merchants very early formed an
important part of the community and the professions
of ecclesiastical law and medicine were w e l l established
in Mahdi's reign, though it cannot be said that there was
a high standard of professional morality* A w e l l - k n o w n
38
story in illustration is told in connection with a negro

called Abu Dulama, who had a reputation as a wag in
Mahdi's time:
He once called in a physician to attend to his son who had
fallen i l l , and agreed to pay a certain sum in the event of the
patient's recovery. When his son was restored to health, A b u
Dul&ma said to the physician: " I call heaven to witness that we
have nothing in the world to pay you w i t h . However, cite the
rich Jew so-and-so before the judge, and I and my son w i l l go
before h i m and swear that the Jew owes you money". T h e
physician immediately brought the Jew before the cadi of K u f a ,
one I b n Abf Layla, claiming a certain sum of money. The Jew
naturally denied the debt, and the claimant, saying he had
witnesses to prove i t , went out to bring A b u Dulama and his son.
The elder of these two scoundrels had anticipated that the
judge would make some inquiry about the character of the
witnesses, and in the ante-chamber he recited in a loud voice for
the cadi and all to hear:
" S u c h men as screen me find in me a screen;
But if men pay I run their sins to ground.
Wouldst cleanse my well, thine own though far from clean?
T h e n all shall know what filth in thine I've found ".
He then entered the court and gave his evidence. The cadi
listened carefully, and having apparently given it due consideration, h e said: " I have accepted your declaration and admit
your evidence". Being convinced however that they were
false witnesses, he himself paid the sum in question out of his
own pocket and dismissed the Jew out of fear for A b u Dul&ma's
tongue. 1
Mahdi's building policy in the new part of the city

led, as has been seen, to the establishment of three
flourishing suburbs. Of these Rusafa lay in the angle
39

1
made by a bend in the river, between it and the desert

on the east was the suburb of Shammasiya, while along
the river bank to the south-west and facing the Round
City on the opposite side, lay the Mukharrim quarter.
Between the two latter suburbs the boundary was
marked by the great Khurasan highway, an ancient
trade route that carried most of the merchandise that
came from Persia and China.
Protecting the new suburbs on the land side, a wall
was built, but enough room was left for expansion. It
was here that the Barmecides or Barmakites, who were
to become famous in Baghdad's history, came to build
their homes, which rivalled the Caliph's palaces in
magnificence. Here also the Caliphs themselves later
built their chief residences. Between East and West
Baghdad communication was assured by three bridges
built on boats or pontoons, much as the Baghdad
bridges are to-day. It is probable that the lack of a
permanent bridge over the Tigris is due to the fact that
the cost would be prohibitive, for the reason that there
is no stone nearer than the Jebel Hamrin hills, over
eighty miles away. Then, as now, the absence of a
permanent structure was felt as more than an inconvenience, since in times of high flood the pontoon
bridges were liable to be swept away, often w i t h loss
of life.
The main bridge in Mahdi's day formed a continuation to the Khurasan highway which led through the
great bazaar in East Baghdad. On the west bank the
"Paradise'' palace faced the bridge-head and was
separated from it by a wide open space. Lower down
40
the river, but within the grounds of the palace, the

western end of another bridge was moored, while the
northern parts of the city were served by still a third
bridge about a mile north of the main one. Somewhere
near the site of the upper bridge the Turks in fairly
recent times had a bridge joining the modern suburbs of Mu'azzam and Kadhimain, but that is no longer
in existence.
CHAPTER I I I
'i In the Golden Prime of GoodHaroun Al-raschid"

Towards the end of Mahdi's life the matter of the
succession began to be prominent and there arose the
usual intrigues that such a situation breeds in the East,
w i t h the consequent hurt to the peace and quiet of the
capital. Mahdi's favourite slave g i r l , Khayzuran, had
borne h i m two sons, Musa a l - H a d i ( " Moses the G u i d e " )
and H a r u n al-Rashid ( " A a r o n the U p r i g h t " ) t h e
prince of the Thousand and One Nights. Musa, as the
elder of the t w o , was entitled to the throne, but in
the year 772 the younger prince greatly distinguished
himself during a struggle w i t h the Byzantine empire.
On an expedition in Asia M i n o r , w i t h K h a l i d the Barmecide as his counsellor, he had marched along the
coast as far as the Bosphorus and compelled Irene,
queen of Byzantium, to submit and pay h i m a large sum
of money as a tribute. W i t h this and a vast quantity
of booty which his troops had acquired in enemy t e r r i tory, the young warrior returned in t r i u m p h to the
capital, where his delighted father bestowed on h i m
the honorific title of " a l - R a s h i d " , and determined
that he, and not Musa, was to be the next occupant of
the throne.
However, on the death of his father, H a r u n loyally
permitted his brother Musa to ascend the throne as
Caliph. T h e troops in Baghdad disapproved and revolted in favour of H a r u n , rioting in front of the house
42
"GOOD
HAROUN
AL-RASCHID"
of the new Caliph's minister, and releasing the prisoners

he had in confinement". O n l y by a promise that they
w o u l d receive their pay, long deferred, were the
mutineers persuaded to disperse. After his accession
Musa was not restrained by any feelings of gratitude to
his brother from t r y i n g to retain the succession in his
o w n immediate family. As soon as he could do so he
appointed his son Jaafar to be his heir, in the hope that
Persian adherence to the hereditary principle w o u l d
assist h i m in his scheme. As a further measure he
summoned Yahya the Barmecide, Hariin's secretary,
and son of that Barmecide w h o had been H a n i n ' s adviser at Byzantium, and tried by the offer of a bribe to
w i n his support. Yahya however had that sense of
loyalty w h i c h made his family a power in the land and
w h i c h all the Abbasid monarchs lacked. He refused
Miisa's approaches, and the Caliph, in a fierce rage,
threw h i m into prison and w o u l d have had H a r u n h i m self assassinated if that cautious prince had not anticipated trouble and fled the city. In a mad search for
some v i c t i m to satisfy his w r a t h , the Caliph turned
on his o w n mother, Khayzuran, w h o m he accused of
favouring H a r u n . T h e story goes that w i t h a bloodthirstiness not u n k n o w n in his family, he plotted,
though w i t h o u t success, to have her poisoned, and that
she revenged herself by b r i b i n g some of his slave girls
to smother h i m w i t h pillows in his sleep. Whatever
the t r u t h of that may be, his reign was a short one and
ended suddenly. In the year A . D . 786 H a r u n al-Rashid,
at the age of t w e n t y - t w o , became the next Caliph or
" Successor'' of the Prophet on earth.
43
" I N THE GOLDEN PRIME O F

Legend and history have combined to put the most
brilliant period of Baghdad's career in the reign of
H a r u n whose attribute " T h e U p r i g h t " has already
been explained. Critical examination does not always
bear out the praises bestowed on that monarch by the
professional panegyrists w h o m he gathered around h i m .
Casual hints and odd stories incidental to the main
course of the narratives t o l d by the historians make it
evident that he could be cruel, treacherous and mean.
B u t there are good qualities that cannot be denied h i m .
T h e success of his campaigns against Byzantium prove
h i m to have been a good soldier, while a certain measure
of administrative ability, of a k i n d rare in his day,
brought security and wealth to the empire and its
capital. It was then that Baghdad became in very
special degree "a city of palaces and offices, hotels and
pavilions, mosques and colleges, kiosks and squares,
bazaars and markets, pleasure grounds and orchards,
adorned w i t h all the graceful charms w h i c h Saracenic
architecture had borrowed f r o m the Byzantines". 1
By that time also, w i t h the increase of population and
trade, the city had become a very important shipping
centre. A l o n g its miles of wharves lay vessels of every
description and tonnage, f r o m Chinese junks that had
been towed w i t h great labour up the T i g r i s f r o m Basra
to native kelleksprimitive rafts, b u i l t up on inflated
sheep skinsof the k i n d that could not be propelled
against the current, but had been floated d o w n f r o m
M o s u l . In addition there were ships of war, b i t u m e n covered quffas or coracles, and gaily coloured pleasure
craft. 2 Trade poured into the city f r o m the various p r o 44
GOOD H A R O U N A L - R A S C H I D "
vinces of the empire and the bazaars were more crowded

than ever w i t h merchandise from the four quarters of
the w o r l d , so that to men l i v i n g in the leaner days that
came afterwards Hariin's reign was looked back upon
as the Golden Age. Even then it cannot have been
anything of a paradise for the poor man. T h e rich
and powerful followed the example set by the Caliph,
and extravagant luxury and display w i t h immense
expenditure on amusement were the fashion amongst
those who had relationship w i t h the court. It was an
amazing establishment that H a r u n maintained in his
palace and its numerous annexes, w h i c h occupied
altogether about one-third of the Round C i t y . H i s
wives and odalisks each had to be provided w i t h
separate quarters, and his taste for singing-girls necessitated huge harems, generally ruled over by an old
slave woman. T h e Caliph's satellites were constantly
on the watch for new talent to please h i m , and the
" t r a d e " was so large that one of Harun's favourites,
I b r a h i m al-Mausili, himself a singer, generally had a
stock of eighty girls in training at a time.
There were others also who flocked round h i m in
the hope of reward. Panegyrists, wits, physicians, gardeners, trainers of fighting-cocks and dogs, in fact all
who could flatter, amuse or interest h i m were certain of
his favour and of largess. But his singers gave h i m
most pleasure. Of these, three, already mentioned, in
particular competed for his recognition, Siyat, I b r a h i m
al-Mausili and I b n Jami', of w h o m the two latter had
been Siyat's pupils. I b r a h i m was a Persian by b i r t h
and seems to have been intended originally for the
45
" I N THE GOLDEN PRIME OF
profession of cadi. At the age of twenty-three, however,

he fled from the seminary in w h i c h he was pursuing his
studies and went to M a u s i l (Mosul), from w h i c h place
he received his name of M a u s i l i . There, for lack of
better employment, or perhaps to indulge a natural
propensity, he became a highwayman, and, d u r i n g his
wanderings w i t h various gangs, learned the songs of
his comrades. In course of time he had surpassed all
his acquaintances in the number and variety of the tunes
at his command, and finally, hearing of the demand for
singers at Baghdad, he had made his way there and
succeeded in attracting the attention of Harun's father,
M a h d i , who was then Caliph.
Ibrahim's great rival, I b n Jami', was an Arab by origin
and a member of the aristocratic tribe of the Quraysh,
to w h i c h M o h a m m e d himself had belonged. L i k e
I b r a h i m , he had first come to the capital in the reign of
the Caliph a l - M a h d i , who, as has been noted, banished
h i m from the city for disobeying the command that no
singers were to be allowed in the company of the young
princes H a r u n and Musa. After his banishment he
returned to his home in Arabia, and at the time when
H a r u n came to the throne he was l i v i n g at Mecca in
great poverty, having squandered all his money on dogs
and gambling. Soon afterwards he left Mecca for
Medina in order to t r y and restore his fortunes. In the
famous collection k n o w n as the Kitab al-Aghdni or
Book of Songs, w h i c h contains m u c h valuable b i o graphical material about early Arab singers and poets,
he tells the story of his subsequent adventures. In
abbreviated f o r m it runs:
46
I arrived at Medina w i t h only four dirhems in my pocket.
On my way to the house of an acquaintance of mine, I overtook
a negress walking about two paces in front of me and singing
a plaintive ditty. The tune was delightful and very original.
I marvelled at i t , but as I had not been able to catch i t , I begged
the negress to repeat i t , which she d i d . But it again escaped me.
"Once more", I begged. " O h " , said she, "that is enough.
I must go and do my w o r k . " I offered her the four dirhems
which was my entire possession, and she accepted them, though
not without hesitation. She stopped, put down her pitcher on
the ground, and sang the tune once more. This time I caught the
air, having applied all my wits. " It has cost you four dirhems,"
said she, " b u t I predict it will bring you four thousand pieces
of gold." W i t h these words she picked up her pitcher and went
on. I continued my way, humming the tune u n t i l I had fixed
it in my memory.
One of the friends whom I visited assured me that the Caliph
was well disposed towards me and advised me to go to Baghdad.
When, at the end of a long journey, I arrived, the caravan set
me down in a suburb of the capital. The day declined and I
knew not where to go. I was following some people who were
walking across the bridge, when I found myself in one of the
main streets. There I saw a mosque, and entered. After the
sunset prayer I remained in my place for about an hour without
stirring. I was starving of hunger and utterly weary. T h e
mosque gradually emptied u n t i l there remained only one
person, well dressed, behind whom were several slaves and
eunuchs. He prayed for a little while longer and then turned
towards the door. As he passed he looked at me, and said: " Y o i j
are doubtless a stranger?" " Y e s , " I replied, " I arrived i n
Baghdad this evening and I have no lodging." " Y o u r profession?" " A singer." " I w i l l make myself responsible for
y o u " , he said, and entrusting me to one of his men he left the
mosque.
My guide led me to a great building, which he told me was the
47

part of the imperial palace inhabited by his master Saldm
al-Abrash, chief of the eunuchs. We traversed various rooms
and at last found ourselves in a long corridor at the end of which
we reached a small room. There I was given a meal which I
sorely needed. As I was nearing the end of my repast I heard
hurried footsteps and a voice that said: " Is he in here?" " Yes ",
replied another voice. " T h e n " , said the first, " l e t h i m be
suitably clad and perfumed and let h i m be brought i n . " These
orders were immediately executed. I was mounted on a mule of
which a eunuch took the bridle. We passed through several
courts, under lofty vaults, and finally reached a last court more
spacious than all the rest. By the lamps which shone everywhere, and by the guards that were stationed near the doors and
sent back and forth to each other the cry Alldhu Akbar, I knew
that we were near the dwelling of the Caliph, and I dismounted.
I was introduced into a vast and splendid hall, at the back of
which hung a curtain of silk. Seats arranged in rows in front
of the curtain occupied the middle of the chamber. U p o n four
of them were seated four persons, namely three women and a
man. T h e women began to play and the man to sing. They were
indifferent artists. When my turn arrived I begged the person
nearest me to be my accompanist, and asked her to tune her
instrument to a higher pitch. " N o w " , said a page to me, and
I sang an air of my own composition. Five or six pages came
running out from behind the curtain and asked me: "Whose
composition is that?" " M y o w n " , I replied. Promptly they
departed as quickly as they had come. T h e n Salam al-Abrash
himself, coming down from behind the curtain, approached me
and said: " Y o u lie. T h a t composition is I b n Jami''s". T remained silent and the chief of the eunuchs withdrew.
Soon the singing began again, in the same order, and my t u r n
arrived, after I had been given wine. This time I sang another
of my tunes and w i t h more spirit than the first time. The hall
resounded w i t h the strong echoes of my voice. As soon as I had
finished, the same pages leapt from behind the curtain and
48
hurried towards me, crying out: "Whose composition is that?"
" M i n e ! " I said. A n d they departed at the r u n . The chief page
again came from behind the curtain, and said: " Y o u lie. That
tune i s the composition o f I b n Jdmi*". " Y e s , " said I , " I a m
I b n J d m i ' . " Hardly had I spoken these words when the curtains
parted and the great chamberlain Fadhl i b n Rabi* appeared, and
announced: " T h e Commander of the F a i t h f u l " , and H a r u n
al-Rashid came forward leaning on the arm of J a'far the Barmecide. The Caliph asked me: " A r e you I b n Jdmi'?" "Yes,
Commander of the Faithful." " H o w long have you been in
Baghdad?" "A few hours." " I t gives me pleasure to see you.
Count on my generosity to fulfil any desire you may have."
" M a y Allah, who is almighty", I replied, "overwhelm the
Commander of the Faithful w i t h prosperity and may he make
the glory of his reign eternal."
T h e n Harun sat w i t h Ja'far upon a couch and asked me to
sing some new air. The song of the negress came to my m i n d ,
and when I had sung it Harun turned to Ja'far, and s a i d : " Have
you ever heard anything so o r i g i n a l ? " . . .1 then told h i m the
story of the song, and what the negress had said about the four
thousand pieces of gold.
T h e singer's tale t h e n goes o n t o say h o w t h e C a l i p h , i n
d e l i g h t , three separate t i m e s gave h i m a b a g c o n t a i n i n g
a t h o u s a n d g o l d pieces, a n d f i n a l l y m a d e t h e s u m f o u r
t h o u s a n d g o l d pieces, i n o r d e r t h a t t h e negress m i g h t
not lie. He continues :
T h e night was far advanced when H & n i n rose and went to his
own apartments in the interior of the palace. I too got ready to
go, heavily embarrassed w i t h my four thousand pieces of gold.
An officer of the palace bade me follow h i m and led me to a house
richly furnished, fitted indeed w i t h everything that could be
useful or pleasurable. I found there also several male servants
and two beautiful slave girls. " Everything here belongs to y o u , "
LOB
49

said the officer to me, " it is a gift from the Commander of the
Faithful.'' Thereupon he left me, and I gave thanks to Heaven
for having made me pass at a bound from poverty to wealth. 1
I b n Jami' and I b r a h i m al-Mausili appear to have
been generous rivals. I b r a h i m one m o r n i n g went to
visit Jaafar the Barmecide, w i t h w h o m he was very w e l l
acquainted, and asked h i m what he had done the night
before. " I spent the whole day w i t h friends," replied
Jaafar, " amusing ourselves, d r i n k i n g and listening to
I b n J a m i ' . " " W e n o t i c e d " , h e added w i t h meaning,
" t h a t he d i d not always keep the r h y t h m . " " Y o u
t h i n k to please me by saying that," remarked I b r a h i m ,
" b u t y o u do nothing of the k i n d . I b n J ami' not keep
the r h y t h m ! Impossible! For t h i r t y years he has not
walked, spoken or coughed except in r h y t h m . H o w
could he leave out the r h y t h m in singing?" 2
It was on occasions of ceremony that the wealth
and magnificence of the court found their fullest display.
Harun's o w n audience chamber seems at all times to
have been adorned w i t h the richest fabrics of the East,
b u t when he was receiving the representatives of foreign
potentates, the Caliph surpassed himself, so that the
historians vie w i t h each other in their descriptions of
the brilliant scenes. A m o n g the envoys thus received
legend puts an ambassador from Charlemagne and
another from the k i n g of China. According to the
chronicler Eginhard, the envoys of the great k i n g of the
West returned home w i t h r i c h presents that included
a number of elephants and also a cunningly contrived
water clock of bronze that marked the time by means
of numerous little knightly figures w h i c h opened and
50
GOOD HAROUN A L - R A S C H I D "

closed various little doors. Another occasion for display
was at the Persian N e w Year festival of Nawruz, when
the Caliph ceremonially received all his high officers
of state at a banquet that lasted six days. H a r u n was
seconded in his love of parade by his chief and favourite
wife, Zubaida, who w o u l d have at her table no vessels
that were not made of precious metals and w h o set the
fashion of ornamenting her shoes w i t h jewels.
N o t far behind their royal master in their riches and
l u x u r y came the Barmecide family. F r o m amongst the
legends that have gathered about them it may be
gathered that they were of Persian origin and that they
probably derived their name from the Iranian title
" B a r m a k " , w h i c h was bestowed on the head of the
Buddhist monastery of N a w Bahar in Bactria. Later
Persian tradition, by the same process of apologetics
w h i c h made Alexander the Great the son of a Persian
mother, came to regard this temple as belonging to the
Zoroastrian cult and claimed that the " B a r m a k s " were
descended from the viziers of the Sassanian kings. It
may w e l l be that they held some k i n d of official position
w h i c h facilitated their acquaintanceship w i t h the Abbasid
family. There is no record of the beginning of this
acquaintanceship nor of the date of the Barmecides'
conversion to Islam. K h a l i d the Barmecide, who was
adviser to al-Saffah, first of the Abbasid dynasty, bore
an Arabic and hence a M o s l e m name, and the p r o b ability is that the family were early converts. K h a l i d
continued in the office of chief minister to Mansur, the
founder of Baghdad, and Khalid's son Yahya became
the adviser of Mansiir's son M a h d i , and also, as we have
51
4-2

seen, of H a r u n al-Rashid, when, as a youth, he made
an expedition to Asia M i n o r .
T h e long connection between the royal family and
that of its now princely counsellors led to such close
intimacy that Yahya's son Fadhl, w h o was b o r n w i t h i n
a week of H a r u n , was said to have been nursed by the
queen Khayzuran, while H a r u n often fed at the breast
of Fadhl's mother. Ja'far, another son of Yahya,
became the Caliph's brother-in-lawa relationship
that was ultimately to have disastrous consequences
for the vizier's family. Further, the Barmecide houses
occupied one side of the may dan, the great parade
ground fronting the Abbasids' palace of K h u l d . T h e
family also had large estates near the Shammasiya
quarter on the east bank, near the palace of Rusafa, and
some time d u r i n g the early part of Harun's reign
Yahya b u i l t himself a mansion there, w h i c h however,
f r o m its name Qasr al-Tin, " Clay Castle", w o u l d seem
to have been only a temporary structure.
There is little need to dilate on the wealth and i n fluence of the family and, though it is certain that the
Caliph's subjects had extortionate sums w r u n g out of
them to provide the Barmecides w i t h their riches, they
seem to have used what they acquired in a more generous and often more public-spirited manner than the
Caliphs themselves. T h u s , on the death of the Caliph
M a h d i , w h e n the troops in the city m u t i n i e d for payment of the arrears of their hire, Yahya, w h o was vizier
at the time, distributed two years' pay to each man and
kept all quiet while he sent off his son Fadhl to hasten
the arrival of the new Caliph, Musa a l - H a d i .
52
L i k e his royal masters, Yahya had a passion for

b u i l d i n g . A famous house of his stood on the east bank
directly across the river from the K h u l d palace. According to the historian M a s ' i i d i , Yahya built it for his son
Ja'far, of whose convivial habits he d i d not approve,
and w h o m he therefore advised to have a house on the
east bank as he could not restrain his frivolous conduct.
There he could entertain his licentious friends to his
heart's content out of sight of people in the capital,
who disliked their irreligious ways. T h i s house was
so magnificent on its completion that prudent friends
t o l d Ja'far he w o u l d be wise to forestall the too-ready
jealousy of the Caliph by telling h i m that it was u l t i mately intended for M a ' m i i n , the young heir to the
throne. T h e stratagem succeeded, and Ja'far was able to
enjoy the luxuries of his new home at the expense of
occasional visits from the stripling prince.
Of the k i n d of life led in the house we gain an idea
from al-Fakhri, the entertaining history of the Caliphate
w h i c h has already been quoted. For example:
Ja'far, son of Yahya the Barmecide, was one day seated at wine
w i t h a group of boon companions, whose company he wished
to enjoy undisturbed. The assembled guests were all clad in
garments of bright hues, for it was their custom when they sat
at wine to don festive robes of red or yellow or green. Meantime Ja'far had warned his head chamberlain to admit no single
mortal except one friend who was still to come, and whose
name was ' A b d al-Malik i b n Salih. A n d the company sat down
to their feasting and the cups passed round while the lutes made
merry music. N o w there was a relative of the Caliph's known
as ' A b d al-Malik ibn Sdlih ibn ' A l i , a person very grave in
53

manner, exceedingly religious and of the highest dignity.
Harun al-Rashi'd had often invited h i m to feast w i t h h i m , but
he had always refused, even though the Caliph had offered h i m
considerable gifts in order to persuade h i m to be his drinking
companion. It chanced that this ' A b d al-Malik ibn Salih presented himself at Ja'far ibn Yahya's gate to consult w i t h h i m on
a matter in which he needed his assistance. The chamberlain,
thinking that this was the friend whom Ja'far had bidden h i m
admit, allowed h i m to enter, and he came towards Ja'far, who
on seeing h i m was almost distracted w i t h confusion and understood at once that the porter had been confused by the similarity
of the names. ' A b d al-Malik also saw from the shamed look on
Ja'far's face what had occurred, and cried out merrily: " G o o d
fortune to you. Let me also have one of those coloured cloaks ".
A brilliant-hued robe was brought to h i m , and he donned it and
sat down chatting and jesting gaily w i t h Ja'far. He then asked
for wine, and a goblet being filled for him he was invited to
remain as one of the company. He sat in merry conversation
till he saw that Ja'far's restraint and confusion were entirely
dissipated. Indeed his host's pleasure at his coming was now
unbounded, and he asked his guest what need had brought h i m .
"Heaven prosper y o u , " was his reply, "I have come on three
matters in which I desire you to approach the Caliph on my
behalf. The first of these is that I am in debt to the tune of a
million dirhems, which I am being compelled to pay; the second
is that I desire for my son a province which w i l l be suited to his
station; the t h i r d that I desire you to arrange for the marriage of
my son w i t h the Caliph's daughter." To this Ja'far replied:
" Allah has already satisfied these three needs of yours. The
money w i l l this very hour be taken to your house; for the province, I have appointed your son to Egypt, and as for his marriage, I have already betrothed h i m to so-and-so, the daughter
of our master, the Commander of the Faithful, and have allotted
for h i m out of the royal revenues the sum of such-and-such.
Go therefore now, w i t h Allah's protection".
54
GOOD HAROUN A L - R A S C H I D "

T h e story continues that when Ja'far presented himself
before the Caliph next day and informed h i m of what he
had done, H a r u n seems to have expressed astonishment,
b u t agreed both to the marriage and the appointment.
It was not in the nature of things that so treacherous*
and suspicious a monarch as H a r u n w o u l d permit the
power of the Barmecides to grow into what might
become a danger to his own prestige. In fact he had,
soon after his succession, begun to be jealous of the
authority wielded by his minister Yahya, even though
he had delegated it himself. T h e time came when
H a r u n was only waiting an excuse to be r i d of the
family that had helped his line to greatness. Al-Fakhri
graphically describes the monarch's change of attitude
in the course of the account of the Barmecide fall.
T h e narrative reads:
Bukht Yishii', the [Christian] physician, relates that he was
one day in attendance upon al-Rashid, who was then residing
at his palace of K h u l d in the City of Peace [Baghdad]. The
Barmecides were at the time living exactly opposite h i m on the
other side of the river, w i t h only the width of the river between
the two palaces. It chanced that al-Rashid on that occasion
glanced across the river and beheld the press of horses and the
crowd of men at Yahya's gates, and he said: " M a y Heaven
requite Yahya w i t h good. He has undertaken w i t h courage all
the business of the state and has freed me from exertion so that
I am able to devote liberal time to my own pleasures'5. U p o n
a later occasion when the physician was again in attendance on
Hdrun, he again chanced to see the crowd of horses and men,
but this time he burst out angrily: "Yahya transacts all the
business of state in entire independence and without consulting
me. In reality the Caliphate is his; it is mine only in n a m e ' . '

T h e numerous rivals and enemies of the Barmecides
were not slow to notice the Caliph's changing attitude,
and accusations of Barmecide high-handedness and
independence of action began to pour in to h i m . T h e
occasion for w h i c h he was looking came at last. T h e
story is t o l d w i t h considerable embroidery by various
historians, but it is given in its simplest f o r m by T a b a r i .
He tells us that the relationship between H a r u n and the
Barmecides had been so close that the Caliph had given
his favourite sister 'Abbasa in marriage to Ja'far, son
of Yahya. T h e primary object of the marriage had been
to enable H a r u n to have the pleasure of the company of
b o t h his sister and of Ja'far at one and the same time. He
was passionately fond of both of them, but unless the
t w o were connected by marriage, the harem system
made it impossible for Ja'far to enter the women's
quarters. T h e marriage, however, was to be one in
name alone, and H a r u n made it very clear that he d i d
not wish them ever to meet except in his company.
B u t he could not prevent 'Abbasa from falling in love
w i t h her husband, w h o m , in spite of the Caliph's commands, she contrived to meet, and to w h o m she bore
a son. T h e c h i l d was sent away to Mecca in charge of a
trusty servant, and for a time all appeared to be going
w e l l . Some months after the b i r t h of the child however,
'Abbasa, d u r i n g a squabble in the harem, gave a beating
to one of her slave girls. T h i s g i r l knew of the b i r t h of
the child and in revenge for her beating t o l d the story
to Harun's favourite wife Zubaida. She had always been
jealous of the influence borne by Ja'far over her husband,
to w h o m she p r o m p t l y went w i t h the tale. He soon
56
afterwards set out for Mecca, ostensibly on a p i l g r i m age, but in reality to have proof of what had been t o l d
h i m . T h e production of the c h i l d satisfied h i m that he
had been betrayed and he determined on vengeance.
He delayed action u n t i l he and his p i l g r i m train had
reached Anbar on the Euphrates, and there he sent his
black eunuch Masriir, w h o was his executioner and his
constant companion, to Ja'far's tent, w i t h orders to
cut off his head. T h e unfortunate man's pleadings were
in v a i n ; even if Masrur had been inclined to be m e r c i f u l , his master was inexorable. Ja'far's body was divided
into three parts and, w i t h the head, these were gibbeted
on the middle bridge connecting east and west Baghdad,
for the city to see that the Barmecide power was fallen.
T h e narrative may be continued from I b n K h a l l i k a n ,
w h o reports the story of what happened immediately
afterwards f r o m the lips of one of Harun's officers,
al-Sindi i b n Shakik:
" I was one night sleeping", says the officer, " i n the upper
room of the guard-house which is on the west side of Baghdad,
and I saw in a dream Ja'far, who stood before me in a robe dyed
w i t h saffron and inscribed w i t h verses. [Here a number of
verses of doleful import are quoted.] I awoke in terror and
related my vision to one of my friends, who answered: ' N o t all
that a man sees i n sleep w i l l bear interpretation'. I then returned to my couch but had scarcely closed my eyes when I
heard the challenge of the sentries, the ringing of the bridles of
post horses and a loud knocking at the door of my chamber.
I ordered it to be opened and the eunuch Salam al-Abrash
(whom Harun never sent out except on important business)
came upstairs. I shuddered at his sight and my joints trembled,
for I imagined he had some orders for me
T h e eunuch
57
"GOOD HAROUN A L - R A S C H I D "

handed me a letter telling me to seize and imprison Yahyd and
all his relatives."1
The prisoners were sent to Raqqa on the Euphrates
where they were kept in an appalling state of misery
until their deaths. The absence of the guiding hand of
the family of wise counsellors was to have bitter consequences for the capital of the empire, which was
thrown into a turmoil after Hanin's death over the
matter of the succession.
CHAPTER IV
City
Life
under
Harun
T h e stories of luxurious l i v i n g and of dissipation in the

reign of H a r u n derive generally from the pages of the
court historiographers. Yet life in the city was by no
means confined to the court, though the enormous mass
of the population found few to chronicle their doings
except incidentally. It w o u l d appear that such persons
as came into contact w i t h the courteven the lesser
fry, the singers and hangers-on of all kindstried to
imitate what the great were doing. T h e rest lived,
according to their means, by the rules laid down in the
K o r a n and the traditions of the Prophet as interpreted
by the learned jurists, for there were no priests. T h e
large majority must have been people of restricted
means, and for them life was as uncomfortable as in
any other great city where extremes of wealth and
poverty exist together. We have the lament of more
than one poet that while wealth was a key that opened
all doors in Baghdad, poverty admitted man to little
b u t discomfort or distress, and the c a d i i A b d al-Wahhab
likens a poor man wandering in the streets of the r i c h
city to a K o r a n lost in the house of an atheist. 1 Those
of the population w h o were not beggars were people
of simple and industrious habitsthough beggars
undoubtedly swarmed in a city whose inhabitants were
good Moslems that numbered the giving of aims among
the four cardinal virtues.
59
CITY LIFE UNDER H A R I J N

If A b i i Nu was, the libertine poet who was the companion of H a r u n al-Rashid on his nocturnal rambles,
showed in his w o r k the contemptuous attitude of the
court towards Islam and the morals w h i c h it inculcated,
there was another poet, A b u V A t a h i y a , who expressed
the feelings of the humbler citizens of Baghdad.
A b u Nuwas could say w i t h i m p u n i t y that the mosque
was " Satan's rat-trap "* A b u 'l-'Atahiya, on the other
hand, filled his poems w i t h praises of A l l a h , w i t h
thoughts on contentment and self-denial, and w i t h
bitter words on earthly vanities. These sentiments must
be taken to be characteristic of many of his fellowcitizens even though he himself cannot be called a
pattern M o s l e m . It is true that he practised asceticism,
w h i c h he praises in his odesa friend once found h i m
dressed in t w o basketsbut he counterbalanced it
w i t h outrageous meanness.
A b u 'l-'Atahiya had a neighbour who used to gather datestones, a sickly man in poor circumstances who was nevertheless
a man clad in the garments of piety. He used to pass A b u
'1-'Atahiya twice every day and the poet each time would pray:
"O God, free h i m from the need that is in his path; for he is
a weak and poor old man, and clad in the garments of piety.
O God, aid h i m , benefit h i m and bless h i m ". He continued this
practice u n t i l the old man died after about twenty years, without
A b u V Atahiya's ever having bestowed on h i m a dirhem or even
a daniq; nor d i d he ever add to his prayer. I said to h i m one day:
" O A b u Ishdq [another name of the poet], I see you multiplying
prayers over this old man, saying that he is poor and needy and
yet you never bestow any alms upon h i m ". He replied: " I fear
his becoming accustomed to alms, which are the last resort of a
slave. In prayer however there is great good ". 2
60
C I T Y L I F E UNDER H A R U N
I t will have been seen from the preceding chapter

that women played a large role in the household of
Harun; some as slave girls who could be bought, sold,
or given away at his pleasure; others, his own kinsfolk,
such as Zubaida who was his cousin and wife; and
'Abbasa his half-sister. Family prestige gave to these
two women, and probably to others like them in the
households of the more important inhabitants in the
city, a more or less independent status which was not
held by the vast majority of the female population.
Even the regular wives, whose children were freeborn
and entitled to inherit from their father, were in complete subjection to the head of the household. The fair
amount of freedom that women had in nomad days
never had a chance to exist in Baghdad, though amongst
the earlier inhabitants of the city the seclusion of women
was not so rigid as it later became. Two causes led to
the increase of restriction: firstly the change in marriage
custom brought about by the introduction of Islam,
whereby it was made lawful for wives to be chosen, or
taken, from anywhere that was found possible, and not
merely from amongst groups of tribes related by kinship ; secondly the practice fostered by the polygamous
habits of the Abbasid Caliphs of shutting off the
women of the household under the charge of eunuchs.
Incidentally the low opinion of women expressed by the
Moslem doctors could not fail to have its effect at a
time when religious authority counted for much. Very
occasionally the biographers mention a talented woman,
e.g. Shuhda, daughter of al-Ibari, who acquired an
extensive reputation for learning and wrote a beautiful
61
CITY LIFE UNDER HARUN

hand, 1 b u t normally the education of women was
almost u n k n o w n . Learning to read in order to know
the K o r a n was in general encouraged, but for the most
part women were concerned w i t h household duties,
particularly w i t h the care of the comforts of the master
of the house, and that even among the richer classes.
Amongst the poor monogamy was imposed by economic necessity, and since the wife shared w i t h the
husband the t o i l of earning a livelihood she was apt to
be freer than her richer sisters and was apparently
treated w i t h greater consideration. I b n Khallikan's
L i f e of I b r a h i m i b n Ishaq al-Harbi quotes a statement
w h i c h he made that when his daughter was i l l , his wife
remained w i t h her for a whole m o n t h , and d u r i n g that
time he denied himself to such an extent that his meals
for the whole m o n t h cost no more than a dirhem and
t w o daniqs and a half.
T h e training of boys was a little better than that of
girls, though there was no system of general education,
except for those who were to become cadis (ecclesiastical judges) or imams (leaders of prayer in the mosque)
or for such boys whose natural ability in letters showed
itself clearly. These m i g h t secure the favour of a patron
and acquire simultaneously a training and a r i c h competence. T h e elementary schools that were attached to
some of the mosques d i d about as m u c h in Harun's
day as similar institutions do now in M o s l e m countries.
They taught the K o r a n by rotewithout explanation
or commentand also the simple formulas of prayer.
Outside the schools there were popular tales and
legends that went the rounds in addition to those more
62

picturesque narratives t o l d in great detail by the rawis,
or professional storytellers. Poetry too was not u n k n o w n , and there were satirical rhymes on popular
characters or events of the day.
On a lower level, the compositions and songs of the
humbler citizens, the boatmen, water carriers, masons,
and others at their work, went to enliven the scene, and
there can have been no lack of spicy conversation.
Often it had a political interest and was reported to the
Caliph himself by courtiers, who sometimes seated
themselves on the bridges for the purpose of overhearing what passers-by were saying. It may not
always have been to provide the sovereign w i t h amusement that led to this f o r m of espionage. T h e government of the city lay ultimately w i t h h i m , and information gathered at first hand must have been of
considerable assistance in keeping a check on viziers
and the m i n o r officials w h o formed the executive.
For purposes of administration the city was divided
into a number of separate quarters, in each of w h i c h
was a head responsible for the maintenance of order.
For the whole city there was a police force that was
part of the system of espionage, and the function of the
officers, who were k n o w n as muhtasibs, was to see that
the laws were obeyed and that the public were p r o tected. T h e muhtasib was allowed wide discretion in
the performance of his duties. He could concern h i m self as m u c h w i t h seeing that a merchant had weights
and measures of an agreed standard as that a legal adviser or a public speaker was properly equipped for his
profession. M a w a r d i , the Arab authority on public law
63

and administration, lays it d o w n that if a professional
man is notoriously incompetent, the muhtasib may expose h i m , and he may examine any man w h o is not
k n o w n to h i m . He was empowered to make tardy
debtors pay their debts, to see to it that beasts of burden
were not overloaded, that widows d i d not remarry
before the proper time and that public decency was
observed. He had to stop the open selling of wine,
to apprehend drunkards and prevent the playing of
musical instruments except in certain specified localities. Also he could prevent and punish other illegal
acts, such as usury, sales of forbidden commodities,
extortion and so on. Moreover, he had to maintain the
established laws of privacy and to see that no one overlooked his neighbour and spied upon his womenfolk,
just as in Baghdad to-day the man who owns a house
higher than that of his neighbour is required to surr o u n d his roof w i t h some materialgenerally sheets of
tinthat w i l l prevent any overlooking. M a w a r d i also
mentions among the duties of the muhtasib the responsib i l i t y for punishing men who dyed their beards black for
the sole purpose of making a better impression on the
fair sex. O n l y the military mujdhids, or "fighters in a
holy w a r " , had that privilege, though others m i g h t
stain their beards red w i t h henna.
T h e muhtasib differed in his powers f r o m the cadi,
who was a superior official of the law, principally in
this respect, that he could t r y no cases in w h i c h the
charge was disputed. Where witnesses had to be sworn,
or where a complaint had to be investigated, the t r i a l
was before the cadi. T h e muhtasib could investigate on
64
CITY LIFE UNDER
HAR#N
the spot any irregularity which he came upon in the

course of his rounds and could deliver summary justice,
though he could not cross the threshold of a private
house to prosecute his investigations. T h e mysteries of
the harem were secure even from h i m . 1
Where the case was of political importance, it was
investigated by the Caliph himself, very rarely w i t h any
regard for equity. Sometimes, and particularly in the
days of later Caliphs who were incapable of transacting
public business, the viziers sat to receive reports of
criminal offences.
Where a charge was proven it may be presumed that
justice was done, though sentences were harsh. In
doubtful cases there seems to have been no thorough
investigation or consideration. T h e case is reported
from the reign of M u q t a d i r of a man who was brought
before the vizier ' A l i i b n 'Isa on the charge of claiming
to be a prophet. On being questioned, the man said he
was A h m a d the prophet, and that he proved it by having
the seal of prophecy on his back. T h i s was found to be
a small wound, and though the man was obviously a
lunatic in the vizier's opinion, he committed h i m to
prison. Neither here nor in other cases was the length
of the sentence ever specified. Release came when a
friend or a relative could find enough money to bribe
an official to carry a petition on his behalf to the Caliph,
though often enough a man was forgotten for years
together.
An important duty of the muhtasib was to enforce the
wearing of a special distinguishing mark by Christians
and Jews. H a r u n is the first Caliph recorded as having
LOB
65

instituted the discriminating ordinance. By his time
the "protected 5 ' peoples had become so assimilated to
their M o s l e m fellow-citizens, outwardly at any rate,
that the mark was found to be necessary to identify
them. Even more irksome in that city of luxury and
display was the ordinance that the value and style of
non-Moslem dress were to be restricted and that no
Jewish or Christian house was to be higher than neighbouring Moslem houses.
Jews and Christians had for centuries been settled in
the districts round Baghdad and moved into the capital
when it was b u i l t . T h e number of synagogues and
churches had been l i m i t e d from the beginning, b u t in
the year 807 H a r u n decided in a fit of zeal that there
should be none at all, and ordered every non-Moslem
place of worship to be razed to the ground. H i s edict,
however, d i d not long remain in force, for we know that
under his successors " p r o t e c t e d " Christians and Jews
gained almost complete liberty for themselves and that
even under H a r u n himself the Jewish exilarch m a i n tained some show of authority and had certain privileges.
Moreover, if there was discrimination against n o n Moslems on the social and religious side, they had
great freedom on the other hand so far as trading and
choice of professions was concerned. Indeed in matters
financial, in medicine and the arts, they seem to have
had the city to themselves. T h e principal traders in the
bazaar were Christians or Jews, and so high was the
reputation of " u n b e l i e v e r s " in the realm of medicine
that H a r u n had a Nestorian Christian as his personal
physician. T h i s was the famous B u k h t Y i s h u ' , who had
66

learnt his art at the great hospital of Gunday Shapur
in the Persian province of Khuzistan, and whose income,
incidentally, was said to be not less than 280,000
dirhems, or about 10,000 pounds sterling per annum.
Another product of the school of Gunday Shapur
who came to practise at Baghdad was the Christian
Masawaih A b u Yohanna. His early efforts at finding
patients were not very successful, and at the advice of
the bishop he rented an alcove in the Ddr al-Riim (the
" G r e e k House,") w h i c h was a large caravanserai frequented by Christian merchants and near which the
bishop himself had his house. Near by also was the
palace of the vizier. A b u Yohanna set out his stock of
medicaments in his alcove and waited for patients to
arrive. For a period custom lagged, then he had the
good fortune to be successful in the treatment of a slave
belonging to the vizier's household. T h a t brought h i m
more patients, and at last he was introduced by Bukht
Y i s h i i ' to H a r u n himself w h o m he cured of some malady
of the eyes, thereby establishing his own fortunes. 1
It has already been seen that in the bazaars the
members of each craft and trade had their shops together, distinct from those of other craftsmen and
tradesmen. Quite early there is mention of tailors,
shoemakers, tanners, butchers, dyers, glazierscraftsmen whose tasks were once carried out by slavesand
others who were more usually to be found in a great city
than in villages, for example, water-carriers, brokers,
masons, carpenters, gilders, goldsmiths and others.
These craftsmen formed themselves into guilds and
67
5-2

there is mention even of a thieves' g u i l d w i t h properly
accredited officers. 1
In addition to the organized and more reputable
professions we may be sure that nimble-fingered and
glib-tongued fraternities were not absent and that the
credulous and the simple were interested or amused at
the expense of their purses. T h e Fihrist or Indexan
encyclopaedic bibliography composed in A . D . 988 by
A b i i '1-Faraj the bookseller of Baghdadcontains a
catalogue of a bookseller's stock-in-trade, amongst the
items of w h i c h are numerous works dealing w i t h the
arts of hypnotism, sword-swallowing, glass-chewing,
and the like. 2
Such m i n o r diversions as were provided by the p r o fessors of these arts were needed in the life of the
majority of people in the capital, where existence seems
by modern standards to have been exceedingly d u l l
and h u m d r u m . There were, of course, celebrations
such as weddings and circumcisions, carried out w i t h
feasting and joyous ululations; such occasions being
doubtless frequent enough in a city of prolific populat i o n . There were also festive occasions of a public
character when the inhabitants of the city forsook their
houses in thousands to rejoice in the streets. These
were the times when the Caliph returned in t r i u m p h
from campaigns against infidel foes or rebellious
governors. T h e monarch w o u l d ride through streets
and bazaars gaily h u n g w i t h carpets and festooned w i t h
coloured robes, and following h i m w o u l d come a p r o cession of captives and a booty t r a i n , w i t h the rebel
chief or perhaps the enemy k i n g seated backwards on
68
CITY LIFE UNDER H A R ^ N

a double-humped Bactrian camel or on an ass. To add
to the pleasurable excitement there might be elephants
in the procession and the festivities w o u l d be crowned
w i t h the torture and execution of the captives, whose
bodies w o u l d remain gibbeted on the bridges for weeks
or years, to remind the citizens of their holiday.
Towards the close of the reign of H a r u n the huge
empire of the Caliphate began to show signs of breaking
up under its o w n mass, and risings in distant provinces
disturbed the peace of the capital. In the early part of
A . D . 809 the Caliph determined to go in person to
Khurasan in order to quell a serious rebellion of religious sectaries that had broken out there. He left in
charge of Baghdad his son A m i n , whose mother
ZubaidaHanin's favourite wifewas a person of
pronouncedly weak and pleasure-loving nature. Another
son, M a ' m i i n , accompanied the Caliph to Khurasan,
of w h i c h he was made governor. T h e campaign had not
lasted many months when H a r u n , falling sick, was
compelled to surrender the command to his son, w h o m
he sent forward w i t h a large force while he himself took
to his bed at T i i s .
It soon became obvious to the physicians and to the
Caliph himself that his condition was serious. He
repeated an old wishwhich had been embodied in a
formal agreement at Mecca some years before ( i n
A . D . 791)that M a ' m u n who was his favourite son^
though the son of a Persian slave g i r l , should succeed
A m i n on the throne, and, having had a grave dug to his
satisfaction and chosen his burial robes, he died before
his son could be called back.
69
CHAPTER V
The First Siege of Baghdad

T h e new Caliph, A m i n , was a man who cared for
little beyond his o w n pleasures. H i s m a i n object in life
lay in bringing together and housing musicians, dancers,
mountebanks, male and female, and others who could
entertain h i m ; and upon them he spent a colossal
fortune. T h e poet T h a ' a l i b i 1 gives the measure of
A m i n ' s extravagance when he says that this Caliph
" squandered all the wealth that al-Saffah, M a n s i i r ,
M a h d i and H a r u n had collected". Tabari pictures h i m
as " t a l l , bald at the temples and pale, w i t h small eyes
and a hooked nose. Also he was pleasant mannered,
m i g h t y of bone and broad shouldered".
Sometimes the citizens benefited by his extravagances,
being allowed occasionally to visit the gardens of the
K h u l d palace, and they flocked to the spectacle w h i c h
he provided for them on the T i g r i s in the shape of a
fleet of five boats b u i l t in the grotesque shapes of a l i o n ,
an elephant, an eagle, a horse and a serpent. A w i l d
celebration in one of the gardens is reported by T a b a r i
in the words of a court poet called M u k h a r i q w h o says:
One night as I was sitting at home, a messenger came and
fetched me at a run from the house to the palace. When I was
admitted I saw that Ibrahim al-Mahdi (a half-brother of the
Caliph, renowned as a singer) had also been brought, in the same
way as myself. We walked towards one another and the guide
led us to a gateway opening on to a large courtyard. The court70
T H E FIRST SIEGE OF B A G H D A D
yard was filled w i t h lighted candles... and it was as though there
were daylight in i t ; and there was the Caliph, mounted on a
wooden horse. T h e house itself was filled w i t h slave girls and
servants, and while the revellers were playing there was the
Caliph in the midst of them, prancing about on his hobby-horse.
Unexpectedly a messenger came to us telling us to remain
stationed at the gateway leading into the courtyard and to raise
our voices in tune w i t h the oboes, singing loudly or softly and
following what they were playing. Suddenly the oboe players
and the girls and the revellers w i t h one accord shouted out
following the music: "These gold coins will forget me, but I
shall remember t h e m " [which seems to have been the chorus of
the popular song of the day]. A n d , by heaven, I and Ibrahim
d i d not cease to stand there, bursting our throats over this u n t i l
the dawn came. Meanwhile the Caliph rode on his hobbyhorse, of which he never tired, t i l l morning; sometimes he
approached us and we could see h i m , at other times he was lost
to view in the crowd of girls and servants. 1
A taste for real wild animals as well as for toys is

numbered amongst the extravagances of the Caliph
and it formed an extra hazard in the lives of the unfortunate Baghdadis condemned to his service. Yet his
hobby sometimes gave him an opportunity of showing
that he was not entirely lacking in manly qualities.
Mas'udi tells the story of a lion which the Caliph's
bodyguard had brought one day and set down in a cage
outside his door. When he appeared he at once ordered
the attendants to open the cage and let the animal loose.
It was a particularly savage beast, and the Caliph had
been told so, but he persisted in his command and the
servants fled in terror as soon as they had opened the
cage door. A m i n , however, sat quietly finishing the
7i
T H E F I R S T SIEGE OF BAGHDAD
drink; w h i c h he had in his hand, u n t i l he saw the beast

ready to spring. He then seized a cushion w h i c h he held
in front of h i m as a shield, and as the lion leapt on h i m
he plunged his dagger into it and despatched i t .
A m i n was for a time allowed to indulge his fancies in
peace. But the inevitable intrigues about the succession
were soon afoot. Persuaded by his vizier Fadhl i b n
Rabf, who had reason to hate M a ' m i i n , then acting as
governor of Khurasan, the Caliph appointed his own
son to the succession. M a ' m i i n ' s friends at court were
not slow to carry h i m the news, and when A m i n wrote
asking h i m to cede part of Khurasan for the purpose of
increasing the royal revenues, M a ' m u n refused. As
a further step, when hostilities became more open, he
cut off all communication between Khurasan and
Baghdad.
Towards the end of the year A . D . 810, A m i n despatched an army of 40,000 against his brother in K h u r a san. It was routed by a body of 4000 men under the
redoubtable T a h i r " the Ambidextrous " w h o was later
to be the founder of an independent dynasty in Persia
and M a ' m u n was saluted as Caliph by his troops.
T h e messenger who hastened to Baghdad to report
the disaster found the Caliph on the T i g r i s bank, fishing.
H i s comment was: " 111 luck to y o u ! Leave me alone!
Kauthar has caught two fishes and I have caught
nothing y e t " .
A second army w h i c h A m i n sent out suffered the
same fate as the first, and T a h i r began to march on
Baghdad. On reaching H u l w a n , about a hundred miles
to the north-east of the city, M a ' m u n suddenly changed
72
his plans and put his general, Harthama, in charge of the

troops advancing on Baghdad, while T a h i r was ordered
to occupy Ahwaz in south-west Persia. Meanwhile
disputes had broken out in Baghdad between A m i n and
one of his generals over the question of supplies, t h r o w i n g the city into a state of confusion that gravely
weakened its defences. T h e advance was now being
made from two directions, Harthama marching d o w n
f r o m the Persian mountains on the north-west, while
Tahirhis objective gained at Ahwazwas making
his way northwards along the T i g r i s by way of Wasit.
Soon he had reached the part of M a d a ' i n (the o l d
Seleucid twin-capital) l y i n g on the right bank opposite
Ctesiphon, about eighteen miles downstream of Baghdad.
M a ' m u n had numerous friends in the city and sympathy
grew w i t h his success. T h e sacred cities of Mecca and
M e d i n a too declared in his favour and the governor of
Yemen yielded the province to h i m . There was a slight
check to his advance however when dissension broke
out in Tahir's army and 5000 of his men deserted to the
Caliph on the report, w h i c h A m i n was secretly spreadi n g , that large pay was being given to the Baghdad
forces. In general the report was false, but for the new
recruits that came to his army A m i n brought out such
remaining treasure as he had and gave each man an
advance of pay. W i t h incredible folly he allowed his
o w n veterans at the same time to remain on the verge
of starvation. T h i s conduct aroused fierce resentment
in the older troops and T a h i r w^s able to retaliate on
the Caliph by b r i b i n g some of the troops in the city to
revolt and to spread mutinous ideas amongst the rest.
73
H i s efforts succeeded so w e l l that the city troops were

divided into t w o camps, w h o differed fiercely in their
loyalties, so that at times brother fought against brother
and father against son.
Scanty supplies and unfair treatment were the ostensible reasons for the desertions from either side. In
reality the causes of dissatisfaction lay very m u c h
deeper, for A m i n , as an A r a b , commanded the loyalty
of his Arab troops while M a ' m u n had a Persian mother
and represented the Iranian ideal. F r o m the foundation
of the city the t w o nationalities had occupied different
quarters and shown tacit hostility to one another. T h e
Arabs, w h o had held the supremacy under the U m a y yads resented being put into the second place by the
Persians, for w h o m they had a wholesome contempt,
while the Persians lorded it w i t h o u t regard to Arab
feelings. Differences of nationality were further accentuated by differences in religious opinions, and the
conflict now raging was an opportunity for w h i c h both
sides were looking to p u t their strength to the test.
I n August, A . D . 812, T a h i r , joined b y Harthama and
Zuhair, another general of M a ' m u n , proceeded to lay
siege to the city. It was a r i c h prize. On the right bank
the old Round C i t y of Mansur was intact w i t h many
wealthy houses in i t ; to the east of i t , and nearer the
river was the K h u l d ("Paradise") Palace, and to the
south lay various flourishing suburbs. On the opposite
bank several r i c h city quarters surrounded the palace
and mosque of Rusafa, and downstream of t h e m were
the mansions and gardens that had not long before been
the property of the Barmecides. In the plan of cam74
paign undertaken by the besiegers T a h i r decided to

d i g trenches on the west bank outside of the Round C i t y ;
Harthama sat d o w n outside the Nahrawan gate on the
east bank, while Zuhair set up his mangonels and other
engines of war at K a l w a d h i in the bend of the river to
the south of the city. Here he was able to command the
approaches to Tahir's camp and prevent any advance
upon i t . He was further in a position where he could
stop all merchandise that was passing into the city and
take tithe of it before it went on, and he could also levy
tolls on all ships that came upstream w i t h supplies.
Feeling for his fellow-Moslems in the besieged city
and the probability that he had friends in i t , prevented
h i m f r o m the logical step of cutting off supplies altogether. Even as it was, complaints of Zuhair's ruthless
methods were carried to T a h i r , w i t h the result that he
stood at one period in danger of losing his command.
For a time life in the city continued in the old,
haphazard and ill-regulated manner. Those who had
the means used bribery to have their supplies brought
t h r o u g h the enemy lines, while those who had to depend
u p o n what they could buy in the city after a time began
to feel the p i n c h of hunger. It d i d not require a very
h i g h degree of intelligence to discover that the possession of money meant being w e l l fed in spite of the siege,
and soon gangs of ruffians, many of w h o m had broken
out of the prisons, were roaming the streets of the city
in search of plunder. In that respect they were in
competition w i t h the troops of A m i n , and they came
into conflict not only w i t h the soldiers but w i t h the
bodyguards that r i c h merchants h i r e d for their o w n
75
protection, w i t h the result that the streets of the city

became battlefields more bloody than those outside.
In spite of all his difficulties A m i n was able for a
period of several months to maintain supplies to his
forces, but the time came when he had to melt d o w n
some of his vessels of gold and silver for the pay that
w o u l d enable the men to buy food for themselves.
Before taking that extreme step he had tried to exact
levies from the more wealthy inhabitants, who in the
course of the siege had gathered themselves together on
the west bank for their common protection. T h e y
evaded his officers, however, by contriving at odd times
to leave the city, it being possible for them to pass
through the enemy lines if they gave the pretext that
they were going on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Meantime the besieging mangonels and other engines
of war were destroying many of the city's fine buildings,
and from the fact that the state archives were consumed
by fire it may be inferred that the royal quarters d i d not
escape undamaged. T h e troops w h o remained loyal to
A m i n were bearing hardships not only from enemy
aggression but from lack of supplies, and were reduced
to the last degree of destitution. Yet desperation made
their resistance all the fiercer, as the siege continued,
and their constant effective sorties forced T a h i r to d i g
deep trenches as additional protection for his troops.
M a s ' i i d i describes the strange " a r m y " w h i c h was
helping to defend Baghdad after the siege had lasted
about a year. Few of the men had any sound garment
to wear. T h e y went into battle naked to the waist b u t
wearing on their heads sham helmets of leaves and
76
T H E FIRST SIEGE OF BAGHDAD
carrying shields of the same material covered w i t h

bitumcp. In spite of their ragged equipment their
organisation was very carefully arranged. T e n men
were commanded by an 'arif, ten 'arifs by a naqib, and
ten naqibs by an amir. Supernumerary troops were
allotted to each officer for various duties, all strange;
but strangest of all perhaps was that of having to act as
' " m o u n t s " in place of the horses that had long disappeared from the besieged city. T h e " m o u n t s " of
the amirs had bits and bridles. They were provided
w i t h tails made out of brooms and fly whisks, and round
their necks were hung strings of bells and ropes of red
and yellow wool. In this travesty of equipment the
troops went into battle against the well-provided
cavalry of M a ' m u n , w i t h their coats of mail, good
shields and lances and fine horses. T h e ragged battalions nevertheless fought bravely. Mas'udi, w i t h what
seems to be considerable exaggeration, says that in one
battle a hundred thousand of them, armed only w i t h
sticks and similar weapons, issued from the city and
d i d not retire u n t i l ten thousand of them had been
slain and many thousands more had been driven into
the Tigris to drown.
T h e siege had dragged on for almost two years when
A m i n finally decided that surrender was his only means
of escaping w i t h his life. He chose to negotiate w i t h
Harthama rather than w i t h Tahir, whom he hated,
though his courtiers strenuously opposed his choice on
the ground that Harthama, who had once been one of
themselves, w o u l d treat them w i t h the contempt of
familiarity, while T a h i r w o u l d accord them the treat77
T H E F I R S T SIEGE OF B A G H D A D
j
i
ment fitting their rank. A m i n finally compromised by

agreeing to send the royal insignia to M a ' m i i n by the
hand of T a h i r , though he continued in his determ nation
to give himself up to no one but Harthama.
T a h i r , however, was cunning enough to know how
to lay his plans when the city fell, and long before the
end of the siege he had sent a message to M a ' m i i n for
permission to k i l l A m i n . He had received a favourable
reply in the f o r m of a shirt having no opening at the
neckimplying that it was " suitable only for a headless m a n " . 1 He was not disposed, when the time for
surrender came, to be robbed of the culminating
t r i u m p h of the siege, and decided on a stratagem. On
the night set for the surrender, the date of w h i c h had
been reported to h i m by his spies, he posted a body of
troops in ambush to await A m i n ' s exit from the city.
Meantime Harthama, who was on the left bank, had
sent a boat across the river at the appointed time to
receive the Caliph. It returned immediately to report that
Tahir's troops were in the way and Harthama thereupon
sent a messenger through to the Caliph deferring the
surrender to the next night. A m i n however had already
let most of his troops go, and, in great fear of capture
by T a h i r , insisted on having the original plan carried
out. Harthama at once decided to go himself w i t h one
or two picked men and endeavour to rescue A m i n
from Tahir's hands. B u t for the merest chance the
enterprise w o u l d have succeeded. T h e party w i t h the
Caliph in it had penetrated Tahir's lines and were in the
boat well away f r o m the bank, when some noise attracted
the attention of the men in the ambuscade, who pursued
78
and sank the boat by h u r l i n g large stones at i t . A m i n

managed to swim to the bank, where he concealed h i m self in a house. But a search was set on foot, and the
Caliph was soon discovered, betrayed by the odour of
the musk w i t h w h i c h he was in the habit of scenting
hinself. A gang of Persians dragged h i m from his
hidingplace, stabbed h i m to death and sent his severed
head to T a h i r , who next morning took possession of
Baghdad in the name of his master M a ' m u n . T h e head
of A m i n remained exhibited in the public places of the
city for several days and was then sent w i t h the crown
jewels to Khurasan.
A m i n , it may be said incidentally, was one of the few
Caliphs that died in Baghdad. According to al-Khatib,he
was killed in the street of the Anbar gate, and was the
first Caliph since the foundation of the city to die in i t . 1
T h o u g h the capital had fallen, M a ' m u n remained in
Khurasan and appointed one of his favourites, Hasan
i b n Sahl, to be viceroy of Arabia, I r a q and neighbouring provinces, instead of T a h i r , who had been in
charge of Baghdad. There were people who considered
that the Caliph had delegated too m u c h authority to
Hasan and risings broke out at K u f a and elsewhere.
Baghdad however was too exhausted immediately after
the. siege to take any active part in the revolt, but in the
next year the trouble came to a head when Hasan, w h o
had taken up his residence at M a d a ' i n (the ancient
Seleucia) ordered the governor of Baghdad to delay
payment of the troops, whose sympathies were against
h i m . In reply, the troops mutinied, demanding the
removal of Hasan f r o m the capital. N o t content w i t h
79
that, they themselves appointed Ishaq, a grandson of

the Caliph M a h d i , to be M a ' m u n ' s representative in
the city. T h e inhabitants on b o t h sides of the river,
forsaking their normal antagonism, were at one over
this step and accepted the new viceroy. B u t they were
reckoning w i t h o u t Hasan, who understood the nature of
the people w i t h w h o m he was dealing, and by intrigues
and promises soon had the two sides at one another's
throats again. Nevertheless, when his promises failed
to materialize, and the troops continued to be w i t h o u t
the pay that was due to them, the governor he had
nominated was sent in f u l l flight out of the city and
Hasan himself was compelled to follow as far as Wasit.
In the same year that the city fell (813), M a ' m i i n
appointed ' A l i i b n Musa, of the line of the Prophet's
son-in-law ' A l i a n d hence a member of the heretical
Shi'ato be his heir to the sovereignty of the M o s l e m
empire and to be Caliph after h i m . As the outward and
visible token of the change of dynasty f r o m the Abbasids
to the ' A l i d s , he bade all who were under his authority,
including the inhabitants of Baghdad, to discard the
wearing of black, w h i c h was the Abbasid colour, and
to wear greenthe ' A l i d colourinstead. To further
his cause he offered the soldiers the payment of a month's
supplies and gave the promise of a further ration at the
next harvest. T h e members of the Abbasid clan in
Baghdad, w h o were at the time a numerous body, met
together in great indignation to discuss the situation
and after some months' delay came to the decision that
M a ' m u n himself was no longer w o r t h y of the Caliphate
and should be deposed. In his stead they elected as
80
Caliph his father's half-brother I b r a h i m , a son of M a h d i

by a negro slave g i r l . T h e i r action was assured of considerable support in Baghdad, for, though the name of
' A l i bore great weight in the rest of I r a q , the capital owed
its origin to the Abbasids and the citizens themselves
d i d not forget the fact. Yet there were many men of
moderate opinion in the city who, though disliking the
' A l i d intrigues, were not desirous to go to the length of
deposing the legitimate Caliph M a ' m u n . Ibrahim's
proclamation as Caliph was to have taken place on
Friday, July 17th, A . D . 817, in the great mosque of
Baghdad, but before the announcer could utter the
name of I b r a h i m in displacement of M a ' m u n , the
opposition made itself felt, and in the subsequent disturbance in the mosque the khutba was omitted. T h i s
was an important point, for the khutba, being the prayer
for the sovereign in w h i c h the acknowledged Prince
of the Faithful is mentioned by name, indicates the
legitimate sovereign; and the people, ceasing to be a
congregation, individually uttered the prescribed prayers
and departed to their homes w i t h o u t hearing the official
prayer pronounced. On the following Friday, however,
after a week's wrangling, the khutba was pronounced
in the name of I b r a h i m , w h o m Baghdad now acknowledged as the Caliph.
Before two months had passed, the new monarch,
who was a trained professional singer knowing nothing
of government or finance, was in serious monetary d i f f i culties. H i s " a r m y " , a rabble of the lowest class of
Beduins and villagers w h o had hoped for an easy l i v e l i hood in the service of this easygoing prince, began
LOB
81
to clamour for their pay. He was able at first to satisfy

them from his own resources by giving each man
200 dirhems, but as further instalments fell due and
were not forthcoming, the " a r m y " at last refused to
believe Ibrahim's promises and forcibly demanded
their pay. On one particular day when their demonstrations began to look serious, an officer of the palace came
out and confessed that the treasury was empty. Promptly
an impudent member of the crowd called out: " T h e n
bring out our Caliph and let him sing to us; three
songs' for the men on this side of the city and three
for those on the other side. We will take them instead
of pay". 1
It was a bad beginning to the reign and before long

Ibrahim moved to Ctesiphon, leaving the management
of the city to two governors, of whom one was to be
in charge of each bank of the river.
The long siege and consequent disorder had left a
large part of the city in ruins, while the relaxation of
discipline after the death of A m i n had permitted the
formation of a powerful gang of ruffians, some of whom
belonged to the old army, which had not yet been disbanded. Women and children were openly attacked
in the streets; houses, bazaars and neighbouring
villages were robbed and the plunder openly exposed
for sale. The governor was powerless, and the
peaceable citizens of every quarter suffered until they
at last determined to take matters into their own hands.
The lead was taken by a certain Khalid the Dervish,
who lived on the Anbar road. Summoning his neighbours and others in the quarter who were of the same
82
m i n d as himself, he called on them to appoint h i m

" t o command the right and forbid the w r o n g " . 1 T h e y
agreed to this proposal and he proceeded to carry out
his commission by attacking the culprits wherever he
found them, beating some, imprisoning others and
carrying still others of them before the governor;
though that proceeding appears to have had little
effect. He was superseded in the leadership of the party
of law and order by one Sahl i b n Salama, who was by
origin a Persian from Khurasan. " He too called upon
men to command the right, and forbid the wrong, to
act according to the book of G o d and the practice of
H i s Prophet, and round his neck he hung a copy of
the K o r a n . " 2 H a v i n g secured a considerable following
from amongst the more respectable classes of the
population, he went about Baghdad from bazaar to
bazaar, from suburb to suburb and from road to road,
p u t t i n g an end to various wrongs. He singled out for
special treatment a peculiar f o r m of blackmail w h i c h
consisted in a man's going to the owner of a garden and
saying, " Y o u r garden is under my protection. I w i l l
guard it f r o m anyone who attempts any damage to it
in return for so many dirhems a m o n t h " . T h e owner,
very u n w i l l i n g l y , w o u l d pay the money to avoid further
trouble. 3
T h e preaching of Sahl i b n Salama continued under
the governorship of I b r a h i m . B u t his objurgations now
went beyond the vulgar lawbreakers and were aimed at
the city authorities themselves, who began to regard the
enthusiasm w h i c h his words aroused w i t h considerable
misgiving. One of Ibrahim's generals, 'Isa, was amongst
83
6-2
those attacked. He had been defeated in an insurrection

of ' A l i d s at Wasit, and returning to Baghdad in the
middle of Sahl's preaching campaign he cast about for
a means of revenge. D u r i n g a demonstration at w h i c h
Sahl was haranguing a crowd outside a mosque, 'Isa
contrived, by b r i b i n g some of the preacher's confederates, to isolate h i m from his followers and attempted
to cut off his escape by any of the numerous lanes that
led to the mosque. By some means Sahl discovered he
was in danger, and suspecting who his enemy was, he
threw away the weapons he was carrying and by m i x i n g
w i t h the crowd of onlookers he was able to escape
unharmed to his o w n house. B u t a watch was kept on
his movements and he was captured one night in one
of the streets near his house. He was taken before the
prince Ishaq (son of the Caliph Musa al-Hadi), who
had been appointed heir to the throne in succession to
his uncle I b r a h i m and who was then in the city. Ishaq
cross-examined the prisoner and accused h i m of
finding fault w i t h the Abbasid government and exciting the people against them. SahPs reply was that
his only offence was to summon people to live accordi n g to the K o r a n and the tradition of the Prophet,
and that he still d i d so. Ishaq refused to accept the
excuse. He ordered Sahl to be taken outside, w i t h
instructions that he was to tell the people that his
preaching had been false. W h e n Sahl however faced
the crowd, h e said: " I called upon you t o live b y the
Book and the T r a d i t i o n , and I do so again n o w " . T h e
words had no sooner been spoken than the guards fell
on h i m w i t h blows and struck h i m in the face. He was
84
taken in again before Ishaq, bound in chains and sent

t o I b r a h i m , w h o imprisoned h i m . I n order t o prevent
any popular ebullition the r u m o u r was spread abroad
that he had been executed. 1 It was not u n t i l some years
later that he was released, in the reign of M a ' m i i n .
W h i l e discord was thus raging in the capital, M a ' m u n ' s
ministers had kept h i m in Khurasan in ignorance that
he had been deposed in favour of his uncle, I b r a h i m ,
who was regarded as orthodox, while he himself w i t h
his Persian sympathies was looked upon as a heretic.
N o t u n t i l nearly five years had passed after A m i n ' s
death d i d news come to M a ' m i i n w h i c h made h i m
realize what was happening. T h e lethargy w h i c h seems
to have possessed h i m d u r i n g most of that time fell
away and he set out in haste for the capital. M e a n while the enthusiasm for I b r a h i m was expiring. He had
brought little peace to the city, and the disturbances
culminated in a rising w h i c h compelled h i m to flee
f r o m his house at night and to make his way in disguise
through the tortuous streets to a hidingplace in the city
where he could be certain of security. It is an astonishi n g commentary on conditions of life in Baghdad that
he was able to remain undiscovered and undenounced
for six years after M a ' m i i n ' s entry into the capital.
CHAPTER V I
The Reign of Ma'mun

T h e capital on Ma'mun's arrival in A . D . 819 was in need
of considerable restoration. Such portions of the city
as were not too hopelessly damaged were put into repair, but there were parts so badly dilapidated as to be
beyond further inhabitation. We hear little more of the
Round C i t y after this time, doubtless because its walls
had been so battered that their original outline was now
no longer recognizable, though a further reason may
be that the Caliph now had his residence on the east
bank. T h e K h u l d Palace on the right bank had been
given by the Caliph to his father-in-law Hasan i b n
Sahl, after w h o m it came to be k n o w n as the " H a s a n i "
Palace. T h e house on the left bank in w h i c h M a ' m u n
himself lived, was the o l d Ja'fari Palace, originally
b u i l t for the unfortunate J a'far the Barmecide. In its
gardens the new resident laid out a spacious may dan,
or parade ground, where he could r u n horseraces and
play polo away from the vulgar gaze. Near by he kept
a menagerie of w i l d beasts for the delectation of himself
and his friends, and for his greater freedom he had a
private gateway b u i l t on the east side of the palace by
w h i c h he could gain immediate access to the desert*
H i s friends and courtiers were now attracted to the east
side of the city so that another quarter, called after
h i m the " M a W i n i y a " , came to swell the growing
importance of the left bank.
86
THE REIGN OF M A ' M U N
W i t h a certain degree of peace and the restoration in

part of the old way of life, there began a period of
literary brilliance for w h i c h the Caliph must be given
m u c h of the credit. " Of the Caliphs of the Abbasids ",
says the poet T h a ' a l i b i , " t h e 'opener' was Mansiir
(who founded Baghdad), the ' m i d d l e ' was M a ' m u n ,
and the 'closer' was a l - M u ' t a d i d . " It is sufficiently
true that under M a ' m u n the city was at one of the
peaks of its prosperity and that after h i m there was a
rapid decline. He gathered together at Baghdad the
best k n o w n poets, scholars and historians of the day
and sent men to the old Byzantine provinces in search
of the works of the classical philosophers and physicians.
M a n y had already been rendered into Syriac,from w h i c h
tongue M a ' m u n had them translated into Arabic, thus
introducing to the scientific w o r l d the works of H i p p o crates, E u c l i d and Galen that had been all but forgotten
i n Europe.
M a ' m u n ' s efforts were seconded by private i n d i v i duals in the city and there is special mention of three
brothers, k n o w n as the Banu Musa, i.e. the Sons of
Moses. T h e i r father, who had been a friend of the
Caliph in Khurasan, was a geometrician, b u t he was
better k n o w n as a warrior and a brigand who w o u l d
attend the early evening service in the mosque and then
depart to h o l d up travellers on the roads. 1 H i s three
sons
were extreme in their search for ancient sciences, expended
fortunes on them and wearied themselves out for them. They
sent to the land of Greece people who would procure scientific
works for them and brought translators from various countries
87
THE REIGN OF
MA'MUN
at great expense, and so brought to light the marvels of wisdom.

The chief subjects with which they occupied themselves were
geometry, mechanics, the movements of the heavenly bodies,
music and astronomy, but these were the least of their activities.1
M e n of every faith were numbered amongst Ma'mun's
o w n favourites, and as a consequence savants like
a l - K i n d i the Jewish astrologer and philosopher were
assured of a large clientele even amongst the Hashimites, members of the Prophet's own family. 2
As a centre for his scholars the Caliph founded at
Baghdad a magnificent institute equipped not only w i t h
a fine library but w i t h an observatory that attracted the
learned from all over the Moslem empire. T h r o u g h
their labours the Arabs were enabled to become the
science teachers of Europe in the middle ages and to
be in some measure the forerunners of the Renaissance.
Amongst these savants, so long as they d i d not secede
from Islam, complete liberty of thought and speech
was allowed, Ma'mun's Persian antecedents being
doubtless responsible for the encouragement he gave
to doctrines and discussions that appeared heretical
and abominable to all who followed Arab thought and
tradition. In Khurasan he had been so tolerant of
heterodox opinions that he had been given the title of
Amir al-Kafirin^ or " Commander of the Unbelievers",
and though he promptly put the inventor of the title
to death, it nevertheless clung to h i m . T h r o u g h his
influence it became fashionable to confess in public to
m i l d l y heretical opinions. Generally it was a pose, and
the poet I b n M u n a d h i r satirizes his friend I b n Ziyad
as follows for indulging in the practice:
88

O I b n Ziydd, A b u Ja'far,
Y o u display a faith different from that which you have in
your heart,
Outwardly in your speech you play the heretic,
Being inwardly a youth of Moslem piety.
No heretic y o u ; all you desire is to be called a smart fellow. 1
Amongst the scientists l i v i n g in Baghdad d u r i n g

the period of M a ' m u n was the Christian doctor H u n a y n
i b n Ishaq. I b n Khallikan's biography o f h i m permits
us a glance at the daily life of some of the learned
fraternity of the day, and from the details given it may
be gathered that scholarship and scientific skill had
considerable market value at the time. We are shown
H u n a y n , after his ride every day, going to the baths.
There he w o u l d lie at his ease while the attendants
poured water over h i m . On emerging from the bath
he put on a bedgown, drank a cup of wine, ate a biscuit
and lay d o w n to restsometimes falling asleep. T h e
siesta over, he burned perfumes to fumigate his person
and ordered his dinner. T h i s generally consisted of a
large fat f o w l and a cake of bread. He w o u l d sup the
gravy and eat up the fowl and the bread. T h e n he resumed his sleep and on awaking drank four pints of o l d
wine to w h i c h he added Syrian apples or quinces, if he
felt the desire for fresh fruits. 2
A "character" of the reign was D i ' b i l i b n ' A l i .
T h o u g h he was a good poet he had the reputation of
being a scurrilous rogue, addicted to satire and ever
ready to utter slander w i t h o u t sparing any person, even
the Caliph. 3 One of his sayings shows h i m to be a
w o r t h y prototype of W. S. Gilbert's "Disagreeable
89
T H E R E I G N OF
MA'MUN
M a n " . " F o r f i f t y years past", h e said, " I have gone

about w i t h my cross on my shoulder but have found no
one to crucify me on i t , "
M u s i c was amongst the arts encouraged by M a ' m i i n ,
and he used to spend two hours every day cleaning his
teeth, while poetry was recited to h i m . 1 He kept on at
his court in great honour some of the singers who had
made their home there originally and maintained their
families. I b r a h i m al-Mausili, for example, had a son
Ishaq, who was not only an excellent singer but an
accomplished scholar w i t h a good private library.
M a ' m u n thought so highly of h i m that he permitted
h i m to appear at the royal receptions amongst the
savants and not amongst the mere singers, who occupied
a humbler position. T h i s honour was not sufficient for
Ishaq and later on he asked permission, w h i c h was
given h i m , to be introduced amongst the learned j u r i s t s ;
and the other musicians w i t h amazement saw h i m
walking alongside the noted judge Yahya i b n A k t a m ,
and familiarly holding the hand of the great man, who
was dressed in his costume of state w h i c h jurists wore"
a long black robe and a high black sugar-loaf hat of
marten-skin. N o t content even w i t h that, Ishaq some
time afterwards asked that he too m i g h t be allowed to
wear this costume on Fridays and take part in the
prayers from the royal p u l p i t . M a ' m u n smiled at this
a
Incidentally it may be mentioned that during the Abbasid period

the " Khatib ", or preacher, was always dressed in a long black robe;
his head was covered w i t h a black turban over which, during the
address, he drew the tall conical cap. A sword was slung around his
shoulders, and in the pulpit was erected the black standard, the
emblem of the reigning dynasty (von Kremer, Culturgeschichte des
Orients, n, 33).
90
THE REIGN OF
MA'MIJN
bold request. " Stop there, Ishaq," said he, " I w i l l buy
your abstinence f r o m this request for 100,000 d i r hems." 1
If the composition known as the 'Iqd of I b n ' A b d i
Rabbihi (f A . D . 940) is to be believed, the nocturnal
adventures of Harun's day, of the k i n d made familiar
by the Arabian Nights, were not u n k n o w n in M a ' m u n ' s
t i m e . Ishaq the singer tells the story of an adventure
of the sort in w h i c h he was the hero. He had spent the
whole of one day w i t h M a ' m u n drinking, playing and
singing, and when night fell M a ' m i i n left h i m , promising
to return in a short while. Ishaq waited w i t h growing
impatience, and at last, when most of the night was
gone, he realized that M a ' m u n had forgotten about the
appointment, and got up to leave for home. W h e n he
reached the door of the palace, the house-slaves and men
of the watch came up to tell h i m that his slaves had left
some little while before. T h e y had come w i t h a mount
to take h i m home, but when they heard that he was
spending the night in the palace they had gone home
again. " N o matter," said Ishaq, " I shall walk home
alone." " L e t us b r i n g y o u one of the mounts belonging t o the g u a r d " , said they. " I have n o need o f
t h a t " , he replied. " T h e n , " said they, " w e w i l l go in
front o f you w i t h a t o r c h . " " N o , " h e replied, " I d o
not want i t . " He set out in the dark, and as he was
going along a narrow street he caught sight of something
hanging d o w n f r o m the w a l l of a house and descending
almost to the level of the street. On approaching he
found that the suspended object was a large basket w i t h
four handles, containing an embroidered robe and four
91
silken cords. In his half-drunken state he stood and

contemplated it for a short while, reflecting that it must
have a reason and must mean something. At last he said
to himself: " By Allah, I will venture and seat myself in
i t , whatever may happen".
Continuing his tale, he says:
I wrapped myself in my cloak and seated myself in the middle
of the basket. When the people on the other side felt the weight
in the basket they pulled u n t i l I reached the top. There stood
four maidens who welcomed me politely and asked me to alight,
saying: " A r e you an acquaintance, or someone new?" I said
I was someone new, and they called for a candle which one of
them brought and, carrying it in a holder, she walked down in
front of me into a cleanly chamber in which there was a beauty
and grace that astonished me. She then led me to various
sitting-rooms covered w i t h rugs and having couches adorned
w i t h coverings of which I had not seen the like, even in the
Caliph's palace. I seated myself upon the nearest of them. After
that (for a time) I continued to hear shouts and mysterious noises
coming from somewhere in the house; and then suddenly there
appeared before me a number of maidservants, some carrying
candles and others braziers in which aloe wood and ambergris
was smoking. Amongst the slave girls was one who had the
appearance of a statue cut in ivory and who carried herself in
the midst of them like a full moon rising in full glory disdainfully above the branches. At seeing her I was deprived of power
to move.
The maiden then approaches and welcomes him as an

unaccustomed visitor and asks how he happened to be
there, to which he replies explaining his presence as
has been narrated, adding that the wine he had drunk
had emboldened him to his action. She replied that no
harm had been done and hoped he would have cause to
92
THE REIGN OF M A ' M I J N

be pleased w i t h the outcome of his adventures. T h e
narrative continues:
" W h a t is your profession?" she asked.
" A draper", I replied.
" A n d where were you born?" she continued.
" I n Baghdad", I replied.
" T h e n of what people are you ?" she asked.
" O f respectable middle-class people", I replied.
" D o you recite poetry?" she then asked.
" A l i t t l e " , I replied.
1i
Then mention something of what you have learned ", she said.
He replies that he is a little nervous about taking the

first step and persuades her to begin, so that in the
meantime he may recall something to recite. She
declaims one poem after another, going from old poets
to new and back again u n t i l he is amazed and does not
know w h i c h to admire more, her accuracy, her beauty of
diction or the fine quality of her learning. He himself
then recites, p u t t i n g forward all his powers to please.
W h e n he has finished, she says: " Y o u have indeed not
disappointed me. I d i d not suspect that amongst
ordinary merchants and traders in the bazaar there
was anyone w i t h your talents. H o w d i d you acquire
your knowledge of the traditions and the ' D a y s '
[famous battles] of the [Arab] people ?" He returns a
vague reply, and then she orders a table w i t h food and
wine to be brought i n .
Over the food and drink they converse and she again
calls out in wonder that a mere merchant should know
so m u c h of romance and life at kingly courts. T h e y
keep up their conversation and their competition in
93
THE REIGN OF
MA'MUN
capping each other's feats of memory u n t i l the dawn,

when an old woman appears and hints it is time for h i m
to depart. T h e next day the Caliph apologizes for his
neglect of the poet, who replies, after various c o m p l i mentary phrases: " I had bought a slave gir] i n the
bazaar and my heart was set upon taking my pleasure
w i t h her, and when I saw that the Commander of the
Faithful was occupied, I departed home and summoned
her and bringing wine I drank and made her d r i n k . . .
u n t i l sleep overcame me u n t i l the m o r n i n g " . 1
Intellectually, then, Baghdad d u r i n g M a ' m u n ' s reign
was at its most b r i l l i a n t . But signs were not wanting
that the best days of the Caliphate were over, w i t h a
consequent decline in the material prosperity of the
capital. T a h i r " A m b i d e x t e r " , once M a ' m u n ' s trusted
lieutenant, in A . D . 820 declared himself independent in
Khurasan, of w h i c h he had been appointed governor
by the Caliph. There were risings too in other parts of
Persia to point the demands for reduced taxation; and
in addition to campaigns against Byzantium there were
long-drawn-out effortswith inevitably heavy expenditure and insecurity of tradeto subdue the
Heresiarch Babak the K h u r r a m i , w h o for more than
twenty years kept the west and north-west of Persia
in terror and defeated all the efforts of Ma'mun's
armies to subdue h i m . He was finally captured in the
reign of the Caliph M u ' t a s i m in A . D . 838, five years after
M a ' m u n ' s death. D u r i n g that time rumours of his
successes kept Baghdad in a constant state of fear that
he w o u l d attack the city.
There were other causes for disturbance also, nearer
94
THE REIGN OF
MA'MUN
home. It has been recorded how the usurping Caliph

I b r a h i m , son of M a h d i , escaped M a ' m u n for six years.
Early in A . D . 825 reports reached Ma ' m u n that some of
the earlier supporters of I b r a h i m were now conspiring
to replace h i m on the throne. In fact preparations for
the rising were complete when one of the parties to the
secret disclosed it to M a ' m u n , telling h i m that the first
step was to be the cutting of one of the bridges for the
purpose of delaying the despatch of troops when the
insurrection was announced. T h e ringleaders, I b r a h i m
i b n ' Ayisha, M o h a m m e d i b n I b r a h i m , M a l i k i b n Shahi,
and one or two others, were immediately seized in their
homes. M a ' m u n gave orders that I b r a h i m i b n 'Ayisha
was to be bound and left standing in the sun at the gate
of the royal palace for three whole daysthe time being
the end of June. He was then scourged and flung into
prison. M a l i k i b n Shahi and his companions were
beaten w i t h whips and cast into the same gaol. There
they accused a number of notables in the city of being
concerned in the plot, but whether from diplomatic
motives or otherwise, M a ' m u n took no steps against
the men denounced. Those who were in the prison
meantime found an opportunity of meeting and concocted a plan to break out of the gaol. T h e y were
betrayed, however, by their action in barricading the
prison gates from w i t h i n , and at the time arranged for
the escape, M a ' m u n in person was on the spot w i t h a
body of troops ready to receive them. T h e i r fate led
them to be seized and crucified on the lower bridge
across the T i g r i s .
At the same time orders were issued that I b r a h i m
95
THE REIGN OF M A ' M t f N

was to be taken at all costs. T h e story of his capture
is a romantic one and the historians all give it w i t h a
varying amount of detail, Tabari's account being the
simplest. According to h i m , I b r a h i m , disguised as a
woman, was out walking d u r i n g the night, accompanied by two women, when he was challenged by a
negro sentry who asked w h o they were and where they
were going at that late hour. I b r a h i m in a panic offered
the man a valuable signet r i n g as a bribe to let them go
and ask no questions. T h e sentry seems to have been
intelligent as well as loyal. N o t i c i n g that the r i n g was
a man's his suspicions were aroused, and he took the
party of three to the chief of the watch, who t o l d them
to uncover their faces. On Ibrahim's refusing to obey,
his veil was pulled aside by the officer of the watch, thus
disclosing the disguised man's beard. There was nothing
for it now b u t to take h i m to the officer in command
of the bridge, who recognized h i m and marched h i m to
the gate of M a ' m u n ' s palace, where orders were given
that the prisoner was to be kept w i t h i n the gates. T h e
next m o r n i n g members of the Abbasid family, army
chieftains and others w h o had k n o w n I b r a h i m , were
admitted to behold the spectacle of the quondam Caliph
w i t h the woman's veil w h i c h had been part of his disguise
still round his neck, and the woman's cloak, w i t h w h i c h
he had been covered, round his body. 1 M a ' m u n seems
to have realized that the man's power for danger was
at an end. He was pardoned and spent the rest of his
days as a professional singer.
A different cause of unrest was M a ' m u n ' s persecut i o n of men who differed from h i m in their beliefs.
96
THE REIGN OF MA'MtfN

In spite of the general latitude of thought w h i c h he
permitted there were certain doctrines w h i c h he held
very strongly, in common w i t h the school of M u ' t a z i l a ,
or "Seceders". One of these was that the K o r a n was
created by A l l a h and was not, as the orthodox believed,
something co-eternal and co-existent w i t h A l l a h . I n
order to ascertain whether this and other favourite
doctrines of his were being professed by the cadis and
others responsible for the spiritual welfare of Baghdad,
he instituted an inquisition in w h i c h a number of the
religious leaders of the city were questioned on their
views. M o s t of them gave satisfactory replies, but one,
A h m a d i b n Hanbalthe most eminent of them all and
the founder of one of the four Sunni, or orthodox,
schools of theologyinsisted on the orthodox view that
the K o r a n was uncreate. He w o u l d undoubtedly have
been p u t to death if M a ' m i i n himself had not died
d u r i n g the course of the i n q u i r y .
LOB
CHAPTER V I I
Baghdad without
Caliph
T h e new Caliph, M u ' t a s i m , was left a legacy of war.

In north-western Persia, Babak, the K h u r r a m i t e , the
heretic who was claiming to be a god, brought terror
not only into the lands he infested, but into Baghdad
itself. F r o m the neighbourhood of Basra another
danger threatened. There the Z u t t , a a confederacy of
w i l d tribes who dwelt in the marshes, had assumed
authority and threatened to march on Baghdad. A campaign of nine months' duration was necessary before
they were subdued, and in token of victory five hundred
Z u t t heads were sent to Baghdad to adorn Mu'tasim's
gates and to restore equanimity in the capital. After
them came a great multitude of survivors carried in
t r i u m p h to the city by the victorious general 'Ujayf.
T h e long string of barges, w i t h 27,000 captives on
boardmen, women and children, all blowing horns
were passed in review by the Caliph himself from his
o w n vessel. After three days in Baghdad the prisoners
a
They appear to have been of Indian origin, probably the descendants of Jat warriors whom Yezdigird I I I , the last Sassanian king of
Persia, had induced to come to his aid against the Mohammedan
Arabs. Both the present-day gypsies and the Marsh Arabs, the
mctddn> seem to be their descendants. See de Goeje, " M e i n o i r e sur
les migrations des Tsiganes a travers PAsie", and my " N o t e on the
Marsh Arabs of Lower I r a q " , Journal of the American Oriental
Society, X L I V , 130 ff.
98
BAGHDAD WITHOUT A CALIPH
were sent on a weary march northwards through Persia,

and were lost to sight.
The expeditions sent against Babak remained unsuccessful for three years more, but meantime events of
importance were taking place in Baghdad. Mu'tasim,
who was the son of a Turkish mother, had conceived a
violent hatred of the Persians and the Arabs, and having,
like most of his line, an inordinate fear of violence to
his person, he had formed his bodyguard of mercenaries from Turkestan and North Africa. Gradually he
had been increasing their numbers until they exceeded
70,000 men, so that although the Persians continued
to be the viziers and administrators of the empire
the Turks now formed the greater part of the army
of which their generals took entire control. The
Arab amirs who had been in command were ousted,
and the Turks took possession of the city, whose
inhabitants were put to the unpleasant necessity of
finding accommodation for the foreign troops. Being
subject to no control but that of their own generals,
who cared little for what their men did out of their
sight, the mercenaries showed their contempt for the
Caliph and the citizens of Baghdad by their outrageous
conduct. They made a practice of galloping in companies through the narrow streets, trampling underfoot
women, children and anyone else not nimble enough
to leap out of their way. It was natural that reprisals
came to be common. Foreign troopers who had been
rash enough to venture out alone were found murdered
in the streets, and the discovery of their corpses was
an incentive to retaliation to such an extent that there
99
7-2
BAGHDAD W I T H O U T A CALIPH
appeared to be every likelihood of civil war between the

citizens and the Caliph's troops if adequate measures
were not soon taken to prevent the conflict.
Mu'tasim determined on the decisive step of moving
the seat of government from Baghdad to Samarra on
the Tigris, about eighty miles north of the capital. The
place was at that time a Christian village possessing a
large monastery, whose land he purchased. In the year
A . D . 836 the Caliph left Baghdad, and never again
returned to i t . Of Samarra he tried to make a city
that would rival Baghdad in splendour. He built fine
palaces and mosques, barracks for his Turkish and
Berber troops, and hundreds of houses for his courtiers
and servants, but it did not succeed in rivalling the
older city. It became rather a kind of early Versailles
situated somewhat distantly from its Paris. Its name
was flatteringly derived from the Arabic phrase surra
man ra'a which means " He that saw it was gladdened ";
though a Baghdad interpretation of the phrase ran:
" Whosoever saw it (with the Turks settled there)
rejoiced (at Baghdad's being rid of them)".
Numerous compositions are extant in prose and
verse intended to flatter the new capital and to express
sycophantic approval of the Caliph's choice of i t . Some
are cautious in their flattery, managing to praise Baghdad while by implication calling Samarra better. One
such effusion reads :
It [Baghdad] is the mother of the w o r l d and the mistress of
cities
M e n of understanding have said Baghdad is the
garden of the earth and the City of Peace, the Dome of Islam
and the Gathering-place of the Helpers (of the Prophet);
100
chief est of cities, meeting-place of all good qualities and source
of all things of beauty and grace. In it are the great masters of
every art and the unique ones of the age in every faculty.
There follows a euphuistic catalogue of the ways in

w h i c h Baghdad was defective:
Allah has roused them that inhabit it to rebellion and has
caused its walls to tumble down. Despair speaks w i t h i n it and
the cord of hope is there cut short. It is as though its prosperity
went anhungered and its ruins were scattered broadcast....
[But as for Samarra] its star is wakeful and its air is clear; its
day is always as the early morn and its night as the dawning.
Unlike your city [Baghdad] of the unclean skies and of suffocating climate, whose air is dust and whose terrain consists of
dunghills, whose water is dirt, its walls a sore trial, and its
October a July. H o w many a one is burnt up in its sunshine and
drowned in its shade! Its inhabitants are wolves and their
speech nought but defamation
T h e i r stream is barren, their
wealth sealed u p . . . their walls are built of reeds and their
houses are mere birdcages. 1
T h i s latter composition bears upon it all the marks

of the "boasting-matches" in w h i c h the Arabs delighted, and it was obviously designed to reconcile the
Caliph to his exile from Baghdad. B u t there seems to
be visible in it also an indication that d u r i n g A m i n ' s
reign the capital had lost some of the magnificence of
Hanin's day. Yet it was still firmly established as the
centre of a widespread commerce, and it retained that
position in spite of the removal of the Caliph's court.
If life was less splendid now for those whose interests
had lain about the royal personage, it was m u c h more
peaceful for the ordinary citizen and his family, w h o
could go about their business w i t h o u t danger f r o m a
IOI
"brutal and licentious soldiery". Nor did Baghdad by

the removal of the seat of government lose its place as
the greatest and richest city of the empire. As such it
had to be taken into account by anyone with the ambition to be master of the Caliphate, which indeed stood
in great dangerduring the twenty years or so that
followed the transfer to Samarraof being subordinated to the continually growing power of the
Turkish generals. W i t h each Caliph now they contrived to arrogate increasing authority to themselves,
and, since few of the successors of Mu'tasim were
capable enough to keep control of the reins of office,
the Turks gradually assumed virtual command of the
government.
The Caliph Wathiq, son and successor of Mu'tasim,
was a debauchee who died after a reign of less than
six years. His physical excesses had not prevented his
holding decided views on questions of faith and
inflicting them upon his subjects. Like Ma'mun, he
was a Mu'tazili or Freethinker. He too insisted on the
doctrine that the Koran was created and was ready to
punish anyone who held the contrary view. In spite
of the permanent inquisition that he instituted, there
were some inhabitants of Baghdad who were not afraid
to expound the orthodox doctrine which opposed his.
Amongst them was Ahmad ibn Nasr al-Khuza'i, whose
family was of some standing in the city and who had
himself been one of the " p u r i t a n " leaders during the
lawless period before the coming of Ma'mun established order. Wathiq's governor in the city was zealous
in carrying out his master's orders, until his measures
102
brought on revolt. T w o of Ahmad's most influential
supporters planned a rising. By intensive propaganda
and the liberal distribution of money they persuaded
a number of enthusiasts to be ready for action on a
particular night and to assemble at the beat of a d r u m ,
w h i c h was to be the signal. T h e rising was to take place
simultaneously on the east and west sides of the city.
Unfortunately for themselves, the leaders had left the
distribution of some of the money w h i c h was to be used
for bribes to agents not sufficiently discriminating in
their choice of likely revolutionaries. A number of the
recipients gathered together for a carousal on the night
before the one appointed for the rising, and, as the wine
began to take effect, they were seized w i t h the desire to
begin action immediately and proceeded to beat their
drums. T h e rest of the conspirators however were u n prepared for this precipitate action and none of them
stirred. B u t the noise of the carousal and the d r u m m i n g
led to inquiries, w h i c h disclosed the whole plot. T h e
ringleaders were arrested and sent before the Caliph,
w h o set up an inquisition into the views of all the
persons concerned in the conspiracy. A h m a d was
questioned by the sovereign himself on the point of the
creation of the K o r a n , and receiving unsatisfactory
replies W a t h i q called for the famous sword " Samsama ",
and himself struck off Ahmad's head. It was sent
afterwards to Baghdad and displayed for a time on b o t h
sides of the river. Of those associated w i t h A h m a d
about twenty were tracked d o w n and cast i n t o dark
dungeons where they were shut off from receiving the
alms w h i c h were commonly given to prisoners, heavy
103
weights were fastened upon them and they were forbidden to see any visitors. 1
It may incidentally be mentioned that Wathiq's zeal
for the doctrine of a created Koran was such that when
on one occasion there was an interchange of Moslem
and Roman prisoners, he made sure that the Moslems
who were coming over to him held the right views
before he would accept them in exchange.
Orthodoxy resumed its sway with the next Caliph,
Mutawakkil, whose reign meant for Baghdad a period
of turmoil and misery. He had a mania for building,
and practised extortion on his subjects to satisfy his
craving for architectural monstrosities. This passion he
combined with a cruelty and bigotry equal to the worst
in the history of Islam. It may be put down in part to the
influence of the Turkish commanders who had ousted
the Persian courtiers and scholars from their place of
importance at the court. Whatever the reason, Mutawakkil, in complete contrast with the comparatively
liberal policy of his immediate predecessors, insisted
on the strictest adherence to the letter of authority as
it was laid down by the Sunni, or traditionalist, doctors.
An early manifestation of his views was an edict against
Christians and other "protected" peoples, who were
all compelled
to wear honey-coloured robes and girdles. They were to ride on
saddles w i t h wooden stirrups; on the back of their saddles they
were to affix two globes. Those who wore tall conical hats were
to affix two buttons on them and the hats themselves were to be
of a different colour from those worn by Moslems. They were to
affix on a prominent part of the clothes of their slaves two patches,
104
which were to contrast in colour w i t h any clothes that were
showing; one of the patches to be in front and the other behind,
and each to be the size of four fingers and the colour of honey.
If any [of such non-believers] wore a turban it was to be of the
colour of honey; such of their women as went out of doors were
not to appear in public except dressed in a honey-coloured outer
wrapper. He also commanded that their slaves were compelled
to wear plain girdles [of the k i n d ordinarily worn by the " p r o tected" peoples] and were forbidden to wear the embroidered
belts donned by free Moslems. He also commanded that the
newer buildings amongst their places of worship were to be
demolished, that a tenth of their dwellings was to be seized;
where there was sufficient room in the churches or synagogues
they were to be turned into mosques, otherwise the space they
had occupied was to be left vacant. He further commanded that
wooden figures of devils were to be affixed w i t h nails to the doors
of their dwellings in order to distinguish them from the houses
of Moslems. Moreover he forbade the employment of nonbelievers in any ministry or in any office of the government in
which they would be in authority over Moslems; he also forbade
their children to be taught in Moslem schools, nor was any
Moslem to teach them, nor were they [the Christians] to display
a cross on Palm Sunday, nor were they [the Jews] to cry out their
Shemct ("Hear, O Israel/' etc. 1 ). Lastly he commanded that
their graves were to be level w i t h the ground in order not to
resemble the graves of the Moslems. 2
The edictwas promulgated inA.H.235 ( = A . D . 849-50).

In the next year Mutawakkil carried his zeal for
orthodoxy and his hatred for the 'Alids so far as to
destroy the tomb of the Prophet's martyred grandson
Husain son of ' A l i , at Kerbela, which had by that time
become a place of pilgrimage; the buildings around the
tomb were to be demolished and the site of the tomb
105
BAGHDAD W I T H O U T A C A L I P H
was to be ploughed over and sown w i t h seed and no

visits to it were to be permitted. Whether this order
was ever put into effect is a matter for doubt, since the
shrine at Kerbela to this day attracts hundreds of
thousands of pilgrims from all over the Shi'a w o r l d .
In Baghdad the Caliph's "post"-agent was busy. A
man reported by h i m , on dubious evidence, as having
reviled A b u Bakr and Omar the " o r t h o d o x " Caliphs
and also ' A ' i s h a and Hafsa, the wives of the Prophet,
was ordered by M u t a w a k k i l to be beaten to death w i t h
w h i p s ; his body to be t h r o w n into the T i g r i s w i t h o u t
any prayers said over i t , and not to be handed over to
his kinsfolk for burial. T h i s order was duly carried out
in the public gaze. 1 Another v i c t i m of the Caliph's
bigotry was the Christian doctor Bukht Yishu*, who had
once been H a r u n al-Rashid's physician and who was
now condemned for some offence to 120 lashes and
imprisonment.
M u t a w a k k i r s repressive measures gained h i m the
favour of the orthodox. In Baghdad the r i g i d and
literalist sect of the Hanbah's (followers of the j u r i s t
A h m a d i b n Hanbal) carried out a house-to-house
visitation in the city and dragged out for punishment
anyone w h o m they considered opposed to their views.
In reliance upon their support M u t a w a k k i l made an
attempt at asserting his authority over the T u r k i s h
bodyguard, and for a time he was successful in giving
the Caliphate a revival of prestige. Unfortunately for
himself he employed his renewed power in satisfying
his lust for cruelty, u n t i l at last his o w n son entered into
a conspiracy w i t h the T u r k i s h guards to assassinate h i m .
106

T h e matter of the succession at once became the
subject of fierce quarrels amongst the T u r k i s h generals,
who wrangled over possession of the new Caliph.
Even if he personally no longer meant very m u c h to the
outside w o r l d , in his official capacity he still commanded
the respect and prayers of all pious Moslems, and any
attempt to wield his authority against his consent w o u l d
have roused the whole of the empire that was still loyal
to the Caliphate. In the choice of a Caliph the claims
of heredity could not be entirely set aside, but each of
the rival T u r k i s h pretorians strove to have his o w n
nominee appointed. Matters came to a head in A . D . 862,
when, on the death of the Caliph Muntasir, a section
of the T u r k s decided to disregard Mu'tazz, the legitimate heir, and to appoint M u s t a ' i n , an Abbasid of their
o w n choosing, to be Caliph. T h e people of Samarra
however, in loyalty to the Prophet Mohammed's family,
gathered in force to oppose the candidate of the T u r k s
and to enforce the claims of M u ' t a z z . Fierce battles
broke out in the streets, report of them spreading to
Baghdad, where shortly afterwards matters of even
greater importance came to complicate the situation.
In the long-drawn-out war between the Caliphate
and Byzantium it happened at about this time ( A . D . 863)
that a M o s l e m army was defeated w i t h the loss of t w o
popular generals. News of the misfortune p u t the
finishing touches to the hatred and resentment w h i c h
the citizens of Baghdad already felt for the T u r k i s h
guard that misruled the affairs of the Caliphate, and
even dared to make and unmake Caliphs w i t h o u t reference to other Moslems. There was a w i l d outburst of
107
r i o t i n g in the city. Prisons were opened, one of the t w o

boat-bridges was cut and the other set on fire, the
office of the prison records was looted and the registers
cut up and t h r o w n into the water, and the houses of the
Christian officials were raided and robbed. By various
means also money was got together to aid in the
campaign against Byzantium and national feeling was
thoroughly aroused. However, the riots ended as
suddenly as they had begun, when the governor succeeded in persuading the citizens that the irregularly
appointed Caliph w o u l d make a more w o r t h y sovereign
than the legitimate claimant to the throne. 1
At Samarra a t w o years' struggle ended in the recogn i t i o n of the rightful prince Mu'tazz as Caliph. M u s ta'fn the usurper fled to Baghdad, where the governor
received h i m loyally and, w i t h the agreement of the
section of the T u r k i s h troops who were in the city, he
was declared Caliph in the o l d capital. T h e party of
M u ' t a z z had 50,000 troops at their disposal and were
ready to fight in support of his claims. At Musta'in's
suggestion, therefore, Baghdad was put i n t o a state of
readiness to withstand a siege. T h e export of food to
Samarra was prohibited, the double walls of the city
both on the east and west banks were heightened and
strengthened, extra shelters also being b u i l t along them
to protect the defending troops from the weather.
Outside the walls the moats were cleaned out and
deepened w h i l e the gateways were strongly garrisoned
and equipped w i t h heavy catapults. At the outer gate
of the Shammasiya gateway, at the northern point of
the east bank, five engines of war lay across the breadth
108

of the roadway, and at the inner gate a very heavy door,
covered w i t h sheets of i r o n , seems to have been suspended by ropes from the top of the w a l l , in such a
manner that it could be let down suddenly to crush
anyone who attempted to force the gateway. Outside
the city all canal bridges were destroyed and the dykes
cut so as to flood the country and hamper the enemy as
m u c h as possible.
Before the final measure was taken Musta*in wrote
to the revenue officials in each city that all income was
to be brought to Baghdad and not to Samarra, and he
further sent to the T u r k i s h troops and others in Samarra
ordering them to cast off allegiance to M u ' t a z z and to
return to their former allegiance to himself. M u ' t a z z ,
at Samarra, had in the meantime taken similar proceedings and b o t h Caliphs b i d for the support of the
troops w h o lay further afield, in Syria and elsewhere.
In the neighbourhood of Baghdad the inhabitants of
the villages, through fear of the T u r k s , fled into the city,
leaving behind them their crops and movable property
and thus increasing the difficulty of maintaining supplies. T h e enemy also were not w i t h o u t allies in the city.
Of one amongst their agents, w h o obtained admission
on a specious plea, it was reportedafter his departure
that he had plotted to set fire to the roofs of the bazaars
on b o t h sides of the city. As a measure of precaution
the bazaar roofs were then removed, for a fire in the
besieged city w o u l d have meant catastrophe.
Towards the end of M a r c h A . D . 865 the T u r k i s h
advance guards came w i t h i n sight of the Shammasiya
gate and halted there, b u t were driven off by a party
109
that sallied out. On the next day the commander of the

city sent out a strong body of troops with a number of
the religious leaders and cadis of the city for the double
purpose firstly, of overawing the enemy and of recalling
them to their loyalty to Musta'in, and, secondly, if
they failed to respond, to warn them to be prepared
for battle. The expedition failed to have effect, and in
the subsequent battle the first blow was struck by the
Turkish troops, who attacked the Shammasiya gate but
were driven off, though not without heavy losses in
killed and wounded to the defenders. Several days
later a force of Turkish and other troops, said to be
4000 strong, marched down with Mu'tazz from Samarra
and encamped on the west bank of the river, threatening
the older part of Baghdad. This time a sallying party
from the city inflicted heavy losses on them; hundreds
of heads were taken to adorn the two city bridges, and
much plunder was carried off. Those who had distinguished themselves in the fight were decorated with
bracelets, and everyone who brought a Turkish or
Maghribi head to the house of the city commander was
given a present of fifty dirhems.
The fierceness of the last battle had shown that the
besiegers were in earnest. Further steps were at once
taken to increase the defences of the city. In front of
the Shammasiya gate houses and gardens had hitherto
been left untouched. These were now levelled to give
the mangonels a clear field against future attack. The
preparations did not come too soon, for as soon as they
were completed an attack was launched by the Turks
and Maghribis. The Turks used burning oil in an
110
attempt to set alight the war engines at the gateway,

but they were unsuccessful in this and were driven off
by the fire of mangonels that were stationed on floats in
the river and could enfilade them. The simultaneous
attack by the Maghribis was directed against part of the
Shammasiya wall. One of the attackers, we are told,
managed to scale it by means of a grappling hook. He
was allowed to reach the top. There he was set upon
and decapitated, his head being afterwards thrown
with a catapult into the Maghribi camp.
Amongst the incidents of that day was one in which
an excited defender of the wall was moved by his
feelings to cry out aloud the name of the Caliph for
whom he was fighting. In the confusion of the moment
he cried out," O Mu'tazz, Victorious One", by error for
"O Musta'in", and was promptly beheaded by his
outraged comrades. Another event was the arrival of
ten sea-going ships of war from Basra. Each vessel had
on board a captain, three napthamen, a carpenter, a
baker and thirty-nine oarsmen and warriors. The fleet
advanced to a station on the river opposite the Shammasiya gate and attacked the Turks there with flames.
During the months that followed, the minor victories
gained by the defenders in the neighbourhood were
definitely wiped out further afield by a series of overwhelming disasters which disheartened a number of the
principal citizens and sent them over to the party of
Mu'tazz. A further display of dissatisfaction came
when in August A . D . 865 a group of the Hashimite
family of the Abbasids met in angry protest at the hardships they had been made to suffer with the rest of
111
the inhabitants. They threatened Musta'in and the

governor of the city that if proper supplies were not
forthcoming they would open the city gates and admit
the Turks. When an emissary of the governor was sent
to parley with them, they refused either to listen to him
or to accept the governor's offer of a month's supplies,
and departed raging to their homes without any agreement having been reached.
In view of the very serious dissatisfaction in the city,
it became imperative for the governor to take some
immediate step that would bring public opinion round
to him. He decided on a surprise attack. At a given
signal all the city gates on both sides of the river were
flung open, the mangonels from the gates and the barges
on the river opened fire on the besiegers, and the city
troops rushed out en masse. After some fighting, which
concentrated for the most part round the Shammasiya gate on the north of the city, the Turks were
routed, their red standards captured and their camps
looted. A body of the citizens pursued the flying
enemy, and might have followed them to Samarra had
they not been warned to turn back. Flushed w i t h victory
and roused by a promise of reward for the head of every
enemy T u r k they brought i n , they returned to cut off
Turkish heads on the battlefield. While they were so
employed a wind sprang up from the south, raising a
cloud of dust and carrying the smoke from the burning
Turkish tents across the troop of citizens engaged in
their gruesome task. Suddenly one of them, resting
from his labours, caught sight of a red Turkish banner
flying in the midst of the dust and smoke. Not knowing
112
that it was a captured trophy, he raised the alarm that

the Turks had returned, and fled in a panic into the city
followed by his fellow-citizens.
The Turks soon found that the pursuit had ceased,
and, cautiously returning to what was left of their
camp, they discovered the mistake that had been made.
The besieged were now in worse straits than ever.
Discouraged by real reverses and terribly disappointed
to find their potential victory turned into a defeat, the
citizens turned upon the governor, demanding food
and the raising of the siege. The only course open to
I b n Tahir, the governor, was to communicate w i t h
the enemy to arrange terms of peace, which included
secretly offering to depose Musta'in, who was living in
his house, and acknowledge Mu'tazz as the Caliph.
The mass of the people were given to understand that
the peace arranged included the continuance of
Musta'in in the Caliphate and the appointment of
Mu'tazz as the heir apparent. It was only when the
Turkish envoy came to the gates and called out that
4
'The Commander of the Faithful and Abu Ahmad''
(the leader of the Samarra party) were dictating the
terms of peace, that the citizens awoke to the fact that
I b n Tahir's plan was not what they had imagined.
Hundreds strong, they made their way to the governor's
house and demanded an explanation. They were kept
waiting for hours shouting out threats, and at last
Musta'in appeared at an upper floor with I b n Tahir at
his side and assured the mob that he was being well
treated by I b n Tahir and had received no harm from him.
After numerous conferences in the weeks that followed,
LOB
"3
I b n Tahir was empowered to sue for peace by

Musta'in, who agreed to abdicate. At the beginning of
the year A . D . 866 peace was proclaimed, and Mu'tazz
was acknowledged Caliph in the pulpits of the two
great mosques on the east and west sides of the city.
Musta'in at the same time left the city with a promise
of safe-conduct; in spite of which covenant he was
murdered by a Turkish soldier not long afterwards.
The second siege of Baghdad had lasted for over a
year. Hundreds of its citizens had been killed in battle
or by famine, and the eastern parts of the city, particularly in the northern quarters of Shammasiya,
Rusafa and Mukharrim, had suffered damage so great
that they were never afterwards put right. The new
Caliph did not remain in the city but moved to Samarra
amongst his old supporters. They repaid his confidence by murdering him in the most brutal fashion
( A . D . 869).
The historians who deal with the events of the twenty
years that follow do not often mention Baghdad, while
the references that do occur are no record of peace
and prosperity. Plague, flood and riot within, combined
with threatened danger from rebels abroad, make up
the sum of them. The external danger was the most
serious. Relying on the disturbed condition of affairs
at the capital of the empire, in September, A . D . 869,
there arose a certain pretender whose name was ' A l i
son of Mohammed. He gave himself out to be a descendant of the great Caliph ' A l i , the cousin of the
Prophet and the man to whom the Shi'a or schismatic
section of Islam owed a veneration exceeded only, if at
114

a l l , by that paid to the Prophet himself. In his search
for supporters the pretender found the material he
required amongst the Zanj, or negro, slaves labouring
in the saltpetre works that were situated in the great
Tigris-Euphrates marshes to the n o r t h of the Persian
G u l f . T o them " h e represented... how badly they
were being treated, and promised them, if they j o i n e d
h i m , freedom, wealth, andslaves". 1
T h e y gathered to h i m in vast numbers, gang after
gang, most of them ignorant of Arabic but all of them
loyal to the leader w h o not only promised rich material
prosperity but was able,from his religious pre-eminence,
to offer spiritual blessings in addition. T h e first attacks
were directed against the city of Basra, and the capital
felt the pinch when its supply of dates, the staple
article of diet, began to be restricted. T h e government
in successive years despatched more than one army
against the rebel negroes, who swept them aside and
advanced slowly b u t surely northwards. Muwaffaq,
the brother of the reigning Caliph M u ' t a m i d , in
A . D . 872 himself led an army into the marshes, w h i c h
took an even greater t o l l of casualties than the black
enemy himself. Three years later, when the war had
been dragging on for over five years w i t h o u t any
decisive result, the negro leader was unexpectedly
helped by a rising against the capital f r o m a different
quarter. T h i s was the rebellion in Persia under Y a ' q i i b
son of L a y t h the Coppersmith, w h o had already taken
possession of the eastern province of Khurasan and was
advancing through the provinces of Pars and Khuzistan
u p o n Baghdad. There was nothing to stay his advance,
115
8-2
and he succeeded in capturing Wasit on the lower

T i g r i s w i t h little loss.
By this time the Caliph's troops had been diverted
f r o m the Zanj rebels to face this newer and apparently
greater danger. M u ' t a m i d himself, w i t h all the men he
could muster, marched d o w n f r o m Samarra in " t h e
mantle of the Prophet, and w i t h the Prophet's staff in
his h a n d " , in a holy war against the godless rebel.
A b o u t fifty miles below Baghdad the armies faced one
another. A n d now Muwaffaq took command, w i t h
excellent results. Y a ' q i i b was defeated, his troops were
dispersed and his camp, w i t h rich booty, fell into the
hands of the government forces ( A . D . 876).
T h e Zanj took advantage of Ya'qiib's advance to
move upstream from their marsh territory. It took
t h e m two years more however to capture Wasit, w h i c h
the Persian rebel had held. F r o m there they advanced
to w i t h i n seventy miles of the capital, w h i c h w o u l d
inevitably have fallen if Y a ' q i i b had not opportunely
died, and so set free a number of defensive troops. W i t h
the danger f r o m Persia to some extent lessened, the
Caliph's regent, Muwaffaq, could devote himself to the
Zanj p e r i l , w h i c h was now very great o w i n g to the
opportunities the negro army had had for g r o w t h
d u r i n g the years when the Caliph's troops had been
engaged in another quarter.
W i t h ten years elapsed since the beginning of the war,
Muwaffaq had by bitter experience learned something
of the strategy to be employed against this particular
foe. Towards the end of A . D . 879 he despatched his son
A b u '1-'Abbas (afterwards the Caliph M u ' t a d i d ) w i t h
116

a fleet of vesselsall of w h i c h , small and great, had to
be propelled by manual labourto deal w i t h his amphibious enemy. H i s operations were in part successful
and the Zanj were compelled to retreat down the T i g r i s .
A b o u t a year later Muwaffaq himself appeared w i t h an
army to push forward the advance, but he now began
to combine diplomacy w i t h his m i l i t a r y methods, by
w h i c h he contrived to get numbers of the Zanj leaders
to desert to h i m . T h e y were followed by a great many
of the common troops, w h o were attracted by promises
of amnesty and reward. T h e final operations were p r o tracted over a space of three years, but on Saturday,
November 23rd, A . D . 883, A b u 'I-'Abbas was able to
appear in procession in Baghdad w i t h the head of the
Zanj k i n g displayed on a pole. In honour of the victory
" t h e streets were decorated and the shops s h u t " . 1
Less than a year after the declaration of peace an
unexpected calamity overwhelmed the west side of
the city. T h e 'Isa canal, w h i c h connected w i t h the
Euphrates, overflowed its banks and submerged several
of the city quarters. A b o u t 7000 houses collapsed, and,
seeing that most of the buildings in Baghdad were of
m u d or m u d bricks, there is every probability that their
destruction was complete.
To add to the general discomfort in the c i t y , there
were periodical outbreaks of the T u r k i s h and Berber
mercenaries, of w h o m rival sections either fought each
other in the streets for supremacy, w i t h frequent b l o o d shed, or else united in demonstrations of violence to
enforce payment of the arrears of their hire. At Samarra
matters were even worse, though the Caliph M u ' t a m i d
117
was able to escape the terrors of the foreign guard

through the efforts of Muwaffaq, who held the Turkish
and Berber troops in check until the sovereign found
an opportunity in A . D . 892 of escaping to Baghdad and
so restoring it to its old position of supremacy. Between
him and Mu'tasim, who had originally transferred the
royal residence from Baghdad, six Caliphs had reigned
in the short space of thirty-six years. On his arrival he
expressed a wish to live in the once famous Barmecide
Palace known as the Ma'muni or Hasani, in which the
widow of the Caliph Ma'mun was still living. Another
residence was promised to the old queen, who asked
for a little delay in which she might put her belongings
in order and prepare them for transportation. This was
granted, but instead of doing what she had said, she
used the time at her disposal in putting the palace into
a state of perfect repair. She ordered the walls to be
hung with carpets woven of gold thread, the floors
covered with reed mats, and the storerooms filled with
everything that even the most exacting prince might
require. Mu'tamid did not long enjoy the comforts
of his new residence, for he died in it six months after
his arrival.
CHAPTER
Baghdad
VIII
Restored
It was long since Baghdad had deserved its title of

the " C i t y of Peace". Almost from its foundation the
history of the city had been one of struggle and t u r m o i l ;
and therein perhaps lies part of its interest. Alarms f r o m
the outside of the city were not less in the reign of
M u ' t a d i d , the next Caliph. Actually they were more
serious than ever, but the new monarch was a person
of different calibre from his more immediate predecessors, desirous and capable of holding the power
of the realm in his o w n grasp and of keeping order.
In the capital almost immediately after his accession he
set about the work of restoration, at any rate so far as his
o w n residences were concerned, and he began the construction of a palace that w o u l d be more in accordance
w i t h his tastes than those already existing in Baghdad.
W i t h that end in view, he acquired a large tract of land
r o u n d the M a ' m u n i or Hasani Palace, and demolished
all the buildings that stood on i t . He then greatly enlarged the house and enclosed a piece of the desert for
the purposes of a parade ground. On the completion of
that w o r k M u ' t a d i d laid the foundations of a new
palace a little lower d o w n on the T i g r i s . T h e new
construction was interrupted for a time by a rebellion
in U p p e r Mesopotamia, to quell w h i c h the Caliph h i m self led an expedition f r o m Baghdad. On his return he
noticed that smoke f r o m the city was carried across the
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B A G H D A D RESTORED
site of his new building, which he accordingly abandoned,

choosing another site, this time at a distance of two
Arab miles from the river and on the Musa canal.
There he erected a magnificent house which became
known as the "Palace of the Pleiades", and he surrounded it with beautiful gardens that inspired more
than one poet to verse. Between it and the Ma'miini
Palace the Caliph constructed an underground passage
along which the women of his household could go
backward and forward without being subjected to
vulgar curiosity. It was in existence for nearly two
centuries, being finally destroyed by an inundation of
the Tigris.
This did not complete Mu'tadid's building activities,
for he built yet a third royal residence on the river
bank above the Ma'muni. Little is known of it beyond
its name which was Qasr al-Firdaws, or "Paradise
Castle". The three new palaces, with the gardens surrounding them, lay some distance downstream of the
"Round C i t y " and on the opposite side of the river.
The older part of the "Round C i t y " was by now
crumblingMu'tadid himself having demolished part
of the walls1and the great structures like the K h u l d
Palace were falling into ruins, the natural processes of
decay being aided by the brittle nature of the mud
bricks and other materials used in the construction.
New buildings however were now being erected, though
they do not seem to have reached the size or the magnificence of the older ones. The main bazaars of the
city had been transferred to the east bank, where
they stretched from the head of the main bridge for
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BAGHDAD RESTORED
some distance along the Khurasan highway. The

population was more than ever inclined to cluster
round the new palaces, and the mosques and houses
that they built for their needs formed the nucleus of
entirely new suburbs, which grew into modern Baghdad.
Indeed the wall which later surrounded the suburbs
covered substantially the same ground as the city wall
of to-day.
If the various assaults on the city had from time to
time brought about architectural changes in it, they had
not materially altered the habits and customs of its
inhabitants. Undisturbed by wars and rumours of wars
the various classes of Baghdad society had followed
their own ways of life modified by the slow development that inevitably came with the passage of time.
The class that has a special interest for us is that of the
numerous men of letters, even if it be only because,
being the most articulate, they have provided a more
easily accessible picture than the rest of the times in
which they lived. The historians of the period however
concern themselves almost exclusively with the Caliphate and the political happenings which they considered
important. But glimpses are occasionally to be obtained of the ordinary life of the peoplewhich the
historians took for grantedfrom biographers and from
authors either of text-books written for the use of the
public of their day or of story-books compiled for its
delectation. One such text-book, composed probably
about the end of the ninth century of our era, is the
Kitab al-Muwashshd1 of Abu '1-Taiyyih Muhammad
ibn Ishaq who lived somewhere between A . D . 860 and
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BAGHDAD RESTORED
A . D . 936. He was of Beduin extraction and by profession a grammarian. For a time he taught in an
elementary school intended for children of the lower
classes in Baghdad, but he appears also to have given
lectures in the palace of the Caliph M u ' t a m i d . In
w r i t i n g his book, w h i c h is the only one preserved out
of many that he compiled, the author proposed to give
an exposition of the qualities commendable in a man
of polite education. A considerable part of the book is
devoted to describing the moral characteristics of what
we should call a gentleman, the qualities of adab,
polite behaviour, and muruwwa, manly honour. T h e
larger part of the work, however, is nothing more than
a " b o o k of etiquette", w h i c h describes the laws of love
and love-making (according to the ideas of his day),
of dress, of the table, etc. T h e general principle of the
book is that adab must be accompanied by muruwwa,
b u t that the latter may be sufficient in itself. In the
ideal man both are present. Together w i t h honourable
conduct, the keeping of covenants, telling the t r u t h , the
guarding of secrets, and so on, polite breeding demands
silence as a desirable quality in a man. It is better than
speech, w h i c h , employed to excess, lowers a man's
dignity. Even worse than excessive speech are jesting
and f r i v o l i t y , w h i c h a man of learning must at all costs
avoid. However, pleasantness and affability are not
thereby excluded.
In his costume the man of polite education and the
man of letters should confine themselves to the best
qualities of linen, dyed in pure (? sober) colours.
Clothes of impure (? gaudy) colours such as yellow or
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BAGHDAD RESTORED
amber are only suited for women, singing-girls or

serving-maids; yet they may be w o r n when one is being
bled or is undergoing medical treatment. At d r i n k i n g parties and at times of relaxation, clothes of variegated
colours may be w o r n , musky cloaks, yellow shirts and
amber-coloured drawers. It w o u l d be w r o n g to appear
in the streets in such garb. Equally unfitting w o u l d
it be for a man of breeding to appear in clothes of
w h i c h some were soiled and others laundered, or some
laundered and others new, or some linen and others silk.
A l l should be of the same k i n d and should match. T h e
book lays d o w n the kinds and colours of the shoes that
may be wornstout or light, black w i t h red or yellow
w i t h blackwhat stones are suitable in a signet r i n g
and what perfumes are permissible.
W o m e n of polite education may suitably wear outer
robes of silk, etc., in various hues, black veils of certain
qualities of material, and white, skirted pantaloons.
T h e y may not wear girdles threaded through their
clothes and so concealed, nor cloaks of white l i n e n
except where the material contains contrasting patterns
in i t , for that material is confined to men. N o r are the
colours yellow, black, green, rose or red always suitable,
except in particular stuffs, for some of these colours are
characteristic of the clothes w o r n by Nabatean women
or serving-maids, while white is also the colour of
repudiated women, and blue is w o r n by widows.
At table it is recommended that all morsels taken
should be small; the tender part only of the meat should
be attempted, gristle, tendons and offal such as spleen
or l u n g are to be avoided; nor should a polite man
123
develop a l i k i n g for fat, or indulge in too many vegetables. If he desires to suck out a marrowbone he should
choose a small one and not a large, coarse one; but if by
chance he has taken one that is over-large he should
rest it on the back of his fingers when dealing w i t h it
and put it to one side of the common tray when he has
finished. He should not keep changing his seat, or
lick his fingers, or over-fill his m o u t h , or dip pieces
of bread into the dish; and he is particularly warned
against salted foods, beloved of women. One meal in
the daytime is considered sufficient and it should be
eaten in very leisurely fashion; though while the food is
s t i l l before them men of breeding w i l l not indulge in
overmuch laughter or conversation.
W h e n offering food to visitors, care and discretion
must be used not to offend, for there are certain things
w h i c h have a hidden and unfortunate significance; for
example the orange, of w h i c h the inside is different from
the outside. Its exterior is comely but it is sour w i t h i n ;
it is pleasant to the smell, but quite the contrary in
taste.
In company a polite man does not stretch out his legs,
or scratch himself, or touch his nose, or interlock his
fingers, or sit in a sprawling fashion. In the street he
does not walk too quickly, w i t h his eyes fixed on the
road to his goal, nor does he walk back the way he set
out. He does not d r i n k water from the hubb [the large,
porous, earthenware jar w h i c h acts as a k i n d of reservoir to a smaller j a r below used as a drinking-vessel],
nor in a wine shop, or in a mosque, or at the roadside.
He w i l l not enter a cookshop, or eat anything bought in
124
the bazaar; nor w i l l he eat i n the middle of the highway,

or in the mosque, or in the bazaar.
To the baths he should go alone, and when there
should not stare at anyone else, or hang his clothes on
the common peg, or put his foot into the well by which
the water runs away; that is what the vulgar do. He
should not rub his hands w i t h a rag, or r o l l in the hot
earth of the bathhouse. For h i m , it is necessary to enter
the bathhouse dressed in a short garment; to sit alone
and to one side, and not to squat upon his heel as
though ready in a moment to depart; to do that is an
insult to breeding. He should always be properly
dressed and never be seen in dirty or t o r n clothes; his
nails should not be long, nor his hair too abundant;
his nose should not r u n , nor his hands be black.
N o t all these admirable rules were always carried out
to the letter. There was a certain -Ibrahim i b n Ishaq
al-Harbi who d i d not bother overmuch w i t h externals
and took things as they came, summing up his philosophy of life in the following words:
A man who does not flow along w i t h destiny does not enjoy
life. My shirt was ever clean, but my loincloth could be exceedingly dirty. It did not occur to me that they ought to be
alike. One of my heels was worn down, but the other was good,
and though I walked all over Baghdad, this side and that, it did
not occur to me to mend them, and I complained neither to my
mother, nor my sister nor my wife nor my daughters. He only
is a man who keeps his woes to himself and does not trouble his
family w i t h them
For ten years I could see out of one eye
only and I told no one of i t . I spent thirty years of my life content with a single loaf of bread a day and only that when my
family brought it to me. If they omitted to bring i t , I went
125
hungry till the next night. Nowadays I eat half a loaf of bread
a day w i t h fourteen dates if they are of the barni or naif Variety,
and twenty if they are of the daqal [a very poor] variety. When my
daughter was i l l my wife remained w i t h her a whole month and
my meals during that time came to a dirhem and two and a half
d&niqs in all [about sevenpence altogether]; and I went to the
baths and bought soap costing two ddniqs.
Once when I was in great need my wife said to me: " You and
I can bear hunger, but what of our two daughters ? Give me some
of your books and let me sell or pledge t h e m " . But I clung to
my books and told her to borrow something for the girls and
wait another day. That night there was a knock at the door, and
when I called out to ask who was there a man replied: " One of
your neighbours". I bade h i m enter and he replied that he
would come in if I put out the lamp. So I threw something over
the lamp and again asked h i m to come i n . He entered, put something down at my side and departed. When I uncovered the lamp
and examined what he had brought, I saw a kerchief of some
value containing several kinds of eatables and also a paper containing 500 dirhems.
Ibrahim died in A . D . 898 and was buried in the Street

of the Anbar Gate, " and ", says the biographer, " there
was a great concourse at the funeral". 1
In his book called the Prairies of Gold Mas'udi, who
was a kind of Baghdad! Herodotus, tells us something
of the palace life of the period. He speaks of beautiful
gardens and pleasaunces and of luxurious quarters
inhabited by the Caliph's women; but he also describes
vaulted underground torture chambers in which the
Caliph took his horrible delight. The wealth of the
capital was still enormous in spite of defaulting provinces, and Persia still continued to send tribute.
Mu'tadid on his accession had wisely reappointed ' A m r
126
i b n L a y t h to the governorship of Khurasan and in

A . D . 896 there arrived from h i m a present of a hundred
blood camels, a great number of dromedaries, many
chests full o f precious stuffs and four m i l l i o n dirhems
of silver. Amongst the gifts there was also sent, as a
very valuable trophy, an I n d i a n idol of yellow copper
[? i.e. brass] in the form of a woman w i t h four arms,
having round its middle two girdles of silver encrusted
w i t h red and white precious stones. Borne on a carriage
in front of it were a number of smaller images having
hands and faces inlaid w i t h gold and set w i t h jewels.
These were set up for public exhibition in the police
headquarters of the city and for three days drew
marvelling crowds. 1
Mas'udf further shows how the Caliph maintained
law and order in the capital. In one case, w h i c h is given
at length, his methods may be said to anticipate those of
" t h e T h i r d Degree". T h e occasion was when ten bags
of coin, w h i c h the Caliph had sent to his army paymaster for the hire of troops, were stolen by someone
who in the night obtained access to the treasurer's
house by breaking through a w a l l . T h e robbery was
discovered the next morning, and after investigation
the chief of the guard was t o l d that he w o u l d be held
responsible for the recovery of the money. T h e Caliph
himself summoned his special agents, who were k n o w n
as "repentants", that is ex-thieves who could generally
be relied u p o n to know the authors of any particular
burglary, and often, says the author," shared the proceeds
of a robbery w i t h the culprits themselves". These
"repentants" were t o l d what had happened and were
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BAGHDAD RESTORED
sent out in search. " T h e y scattered amongst the streets,

bazaars, inns and taverns, searched upper chambers
and back chambers, the shops of offal sellers and houses
where gaming was carried o n . " Soon they brought back
a miserable looking wretch, t h i n , feeble and ill-clad,
w h o m they all denounced as the thief. T h e chief of
the guard began questioning h i m , asking particularly
who his confederates were, since he could not have
carried off all ten bags alone. T h e fellow denied all
knowledge of the theft, even though he was promised a
pension and an establishment if he confessed, and was
threatened w i t h the most terrible maltreatment if he
persisted in being stubborn.
T h e Caliph had at last to be informed that a suspect
had been taken but that no chastisement could make
h i m speak. M u ' t a d i d , in a rage at the clumsy methods
w h i c h might have killed the man before he had t o l d
where the money was, had the suspect brought before
h i m and promised h i m a f u l l pardon if he w o u l d disclose
where he had hidden the bags of gold. B u t the Caliph
was no more successful than his officers, and at last
he summoned his physicians and t o l d them to take
the man away and subject h i m to the most careful treatment, feeding h i m w e l l and nourishing h i m u n t i l he
had been restored to perfect soundness of body. He
was taken away and treated w i t h the utmost indulgence
u n t i l the doctors finally pronounced h i m w e l l . Again
he was brought before the Caliph, who inquired
after his health and received a blessing in reply. " A n d
n o w , " said the Caliph, "where is the m o n e y ? " But
threats and promises were of no more use now than on
128
the previous occasions; the man denied all knowledge

of the theft. It was then that the Caliph put into action
a new method which he had contrived for making the
man speak. He ordered thirty negro slaves to be brought
in and gave them strict orders that the suspect was to
be kept continuously in a sitting position on one spot.
He was not to be allowed to change his position in the
slightest; either to lean his elbow on the ground or to
lie down or even to let his head droop. If he tried to
sleep he was to be roused by a violent blow. After a
couple of days of this treatment the fellow dropped
to the ground incapable of movement, and in that condition was carried before the Caliph, who bade him
swear by all he held sacred that he had not taken the
money. The man did so, and Mu'tadid, turning to
those who stood by, said: " M y heart affirms that the
man is innocent and that we have behaved culpably
towards h i m , \ He then ordered a table to be laid with
food and refreshing drink and ordered the man to set to.
When he could eat and drink no more, perfumes were
brought in and lastly a feather-bed, on which he was
told to lie down. But he was no sooner asleep than he
was violently aroused and hurried, heavy with sleep, to
the Caliph. "Speak," said the prince, "how did you
contrive this theft? How did you make the hole? How
did you get out? Who was with you and where did you
go with the money?" He replied:" I was alone. I came
out by the hole by which I entered. Near it is a hammdtn
[bath house], which has a pile of brushwood in front of
it for heating the bath. The money is hidden under
that brushwood".
LOB
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BAGHDAD RESTORED
T h e thief was allowed to go back to his bed and the

bags of gold were discovered in the place he had
described. Needless to speak of the culprit's fate when
he woke from his slumbers! 1
There were times when the Caliph met his match.
T h u s the saintly A b u '1-Husain a l - N u r i happened to
see a vessel on the T i g r i s laden w i t h t h i r t y jars belongi n g to the Caliph. Suspecting they contained wine, he
asked the boatmen about them, and on finding his conjecture was right he took a boat pole and smashed all
the jars but one before he could be stopped. He was
brought before the Caliph to answer for his misdemeanour, and when asked, " W h o made thee the
muhtasib [inspector] ?" he boldly answered, " W h o made
thee C a l i p h ? " and was pardoned. 2
T h e skill w h i c h was effective in home affairs was
also applied to the government of the empire. In
Persia, M u ' t a d i d ' s policy was as strong and cunning
as his predecessor's had been weak and vacillating.
W h e n ( A m r i b n L a y t h , the Coppersmith, asked
permission to add Transoxiana to his possessions,
M u ' t a d i d determined to be r i d of h i m and induced
Isma'il the Samanid, the semi-independent governor
o f Transoxiana, t o attack h i m . I n A . D . 900 ( A . H . 287),
' A m r was routed in battle and taken prisoner, being
sent to Baghdad a year later.
The mighty ruler, whose presents and trophies four short
years before had been the finest spectacle that could be furnished
to the mob of Baghdad, was now paraded before that mob in
procession, as customary at the arrest of great State offenders or
heretical princes... .The one-eyed, sun-burnt captive sat upon
130
a great caparisoned two-bunched camelone of the animals that
he himself had sent as a present on the occasion just alluded to
clothed in a rich silken robe, and w i t h a tall cap upon his head.
The sight touched the very mob in the street, and they refrained
from the customary reproaches and curses. 1
In A . D . 912 ' A m r was murdered, and in the same year

the Caliph died in the M a ' m u n i Palace, by poison it was
said, and was buried on the west bank in the castle of
the old T a h i r i d governor of Baghdad. T h i s castle was
k n o w n as the " M a r b l e House ", and was at times used
as a royal residence, though it came to be used more
often as a place of sanctuary for the relatives of those
Caliphs who were suspected of being partial to assassination as a means of safeguarding their thrones.
U n d e r the regime of the Caliph ' A l i M u k t a f i , who
succeeded his father M u ' t a d i d , Baghdad saw the completion of the Taj or " C r o w n ' ' Palace, that was to
become a famous royal residence. Part of the materials
for it were taken from a castle k n o w n as a l - K a m i l , or
" T h e Perfect", of w h i c h no more than the name is
k n o w n , while a great part of the rest of the required
b u i l d i n g supplies were t o r n from the ruins of the great
palace of the Khosroes at Ctesiphon. T h e facade of the
new b u i l d i n g , w h i c h fronted on the T i g r i s , seems to
have been especially impressive, if one may judge f r o m
the accounts of i t . Its lowest storey in particular was
considered w o r t h y of frequent description. It consisted of a series of five arches, springing from piers
that were b u i l t up of four marble columns and each
having another supporting column in the centre. U p o n
the first storey rested another one of almost equal
131
9-2
grandeur and the whole formed a suitable frontage for

the magnificent b u i l d i n g that stretched far behind.
T h e special feature of this was the " H a l l of the S u l tanate", a great chamber having a particularly ornate
w i n d o w , at w h i c h each new Caliph sat at his accession
in order to receive the homage of his subjects assembled
in the vast court below. In front of the palace a long
buttress was pushed out from the foundations into the
T i g r i s . It was so constructed as to f o r m a mole or
pier through w h i c h the water was allowed to flow, and
w h i c h provided easy access to a large stretch of gardens
on the bank opposite the palace.
Amongst the buildings constructed hard by was the
" D o m e of the A s s " , so called because it could be
climbed on donkey-back by a ramp w h i c h ascended i t ,
w h i l e another, w i t h i n the grounds of the M a ' m u n i
Palace, was the Jami al-Qasr or "Palace M o s q u e " . Its
special claim to notice is that it has left one of the
few surviving monuments of the Abbasid period in
Baghdad, in the c r u m b l i n g minaret standing in the
quarter of the city k n o w n as Suq al-Ghazl ( " T h e
T h r e a d Bazaar"), w h i c h lies to the east of N e w Street,
or K h a l i l Pasha Street as it is sometimes called, and
not far f r o m the present L a t i n church. T h e mosque
itself has long disappeared, but it was originally b u i l t
on the site of the vaulted chambers in w h i c h the Caliph
M u ' t a d i d kept his prisoners and w h i c h his successor
destroyed before b u i l d i n g the mosque. At first the
new place of worship was intended for the residents of
the palace, b u t the general public were also admitted,
and it soon became one of the most frequented mosques
132
in Baghdad. It remained so u n t i l the M o n g o l conqueror H u l a g i i destroyed it in the sack of the city in

A . D . 1258.
There were times d u r i n g M u k t a f f s reign when the
process of rebeautifying Baghdad was threatened by
a foe vastly more formidable than either the Zanj or the
rebels of Persia had been. T h e new danger came f r o m
the Carmathians, a body of sectaries whose doctrines
connected them w i t h the Isma'ilis, of w h o m another
section acquired horrible fame as the Assassins.
Qarmat, their leader and the originator of the heresy
w h i c h made them detestable to other Moslems, had,
at the time of the Zanj advance on Baghdad, met the
negro general w i t h a proposal to j o i n forces. It was not
accepted and the Carmathians went their o w n way.
A series of victories that enabled them to subdue Syria
brought them w i t h i n measurable distance of Baghdad,
whose inhabitants were terrified by reports that the
Carmathians had slaughtered the greater part of the
inhabitants of Ba'albek and put to the sword every l i v i n g
thingman, woman, c h i l d and beastin the t o w n of
Salamya. Rumours of all kinds were afloat, and every
tale brought from the enemy camp was eagerly seized
u p o n and circulated. T h u s , a doctor w h o lived in the
Bab a l - M u h a w w a l quarter reported that one day a
w o m a n had come to h i m and asked for treatment for
a w o u n d in her shoulder. He t o l d her that as he was an
eye doctor he could do nothing, but that there was a
woman coming w h o attended to women and treated
wounds, and he asked the patient to wait. As she
seemed to be in great trouble and was weeping, he
i33
questioned her about herself and asked what had

caused the wound. In reply she told him that she had
a son who had run away from home, leaving her destitute. After a time she had followed him and found him
in the Carmathian camp, then at Raqqa, where she
discovered to her horror that he had cast off allegiance
to his old beliefs and become a Carmathian. While in
the camp she was persuaded to do a service to a woman
in childbirth, who said that she had been carried off by
five Carmathians and did not know which was the father
of the child. A l l five claimed the honour, and as a
reward for the Baghdad woman's services one of them
helped her to make her way back to her home. On
the way out of the camp she was overtaken by her son,
who accused her of wishing to degrade his sisters by
bringing them to the camp and struck her with his
sword, thus causing the wound. The woman ended
her story by saying that when the Commander of
the Faithful returned to Baghdad with Carmathian
prisoners she saw her son amongst them as they
walked in the triumphal procession, and she cursed him,
saying: " M a y Allah not lighten your woes nor redeem
you".1
The triumphal procession mentioned by the woman
came as the result of an isolated victory against the
Carmathians in Muktaffs reign. The terror which they
had excited in the citizens of Baghdad was avenged by
a horrible display of cruelty towards the captives. They
were brought into the city through the Anbar gate on
elephants and imprisoned until preparations could be
made for their execution. For this, a platform ten
134
cubits high was erected in the courtyard of the o l d

mosque on the east side of the city. There the prisoners
were taken up one after another, their arms and legs
were cut off and t h r o w n to the huge crowd of spectators
standing below, and only then were the victims decapitated. T h e leader himself was put to death w i t h
inhuman tortures. W h a t struck T a b a r i , w h o describes
the scene, most particularly, was that none of the
prisoners made any sound or denied that they were
Carmathians.
T h a t was by no means the end of these heretics, for it
was not u n t i l the middle of the tenth century that their
activities ceased. D u r i n g M u k t a f f s reign they made
several attacks upon p i l g r i m trains returning f r o m
Mecca, in one of w h i c h they are said to have left
20,000 dead on the field. In A . D . 929 they invaded
Mecca itself and carried off the sacred Black Stone
w h i c h they kept for twenty years, and ten years after
that they were reported to be s t i l l levying blackmail on
p i l g r i m caravans.
In the reign of the Caliph M u q t a d i r , who succeeded
M u k t a f i , Baghdad was brought into political contact
w i t h the western w o r l d in a way u n k n o w n since the
days of Charlemagne. T i r e d of the long struggle w i t h
the Caliphate, w h i c h had continued intermittently
since the early days of the Abbasids, the Empress Zoe,
acting as regent for the infant Emperor Constantine V I I
of Byzantium, sent an embassy to Baghdad to negotiate
peace. T h e Baghdad historian al-Khatib describes the
coming of the delegation and gives us a picture of the
magnificence of the Caliph's court and of the crowds of
135
the citizens of Baghdad, ever ready to flock to a spectacle.

He says:
In the days of Muktadir ambassadors from the Byzantine
emperor arrived, so the servants spread magnificent carpets in
the Palace, ornamenting it further w i t h sumptuous furniture;
and the Chamberlains w i t h their Deputies were stationed
according to their degrees, and the Courtiers stood at the gates
and the porticoes, and along the passages and corridors, also in
the courts and halls. The troops, in splendid apparel, mounted
on their chargers, w i t h saddles of gold and silver, formed a
double line, while in front of them were held their led horses
similarly caparisoned, whom all might see. The numbers present
under arms of various kinds were very great and they extended
from above the gate (at the northern end of East Baghdad)
which is called the Shammasiya, down to the palace of the
Caliph. After the troops, and leading to the very presence of
the Caliph, came the pages of the Privy Chamber, also the
eunuchs of the inner and outer palace in gorgeous raiment, w i t h
their swords and ornamented girdles.
N o w the markets of Eastern Baghdad, w i t h the roads, and the
house tops and the streets, were all filled w i t h people who had
come sight-seeing, and every shop and high balcony had been
let for many dirhems. On the Tigris there were skiffs and
wherries, barques, barges and other boats, all magnificently
ornamented, duly arranged and disposed... . x
Another account of the event reads:

T h e n it was commanded that the ambassadors should be
taken round the palace
T h e envoys, being brought in by
the H a l l of the Great [Public Gate] were taken first to the K M n
al-Khayl [the Cavalry House]. This was a palace that was for the
most part built w i t h porticoes of marble columns. On the right
side of the house stood five hundred mares caparisoned each
w i t h a saddle of gold or silver, while on the left side stood five
hundred mares w i t h brocade saddle cloths and long head covers;
136
also every mare was held in hand by a groom magnificently
dressed. From this palace the ambassadors passed through
corridors and halls opening one into the other until they entered
the Park of the W i l d Beasts. This was a palace w i t h various kinds
of w i l d animals therein, which entered the same from the Park,
herding together and coming up close to the visitors, sniffing
them, and eating from their hands. Next the envoys went out
to the palace where stood four elephants caparisoned in peacocksilk brocade, and on the back of each were eight men of Sind,
and javelin men w i t h fire, and the sight of these caused much
terror to the Greeks. Then they came to a palace where there
were one hundred lions, fifty to the right hand and fifty to the
left, every lion being held in by the hand of its keeper, and about
its head and neck were iron chains. 1
Near the main buildings of the palace stood the

" N e w Kiosk", whose courtyard contained an object
very greatly admired by the inhabitants of Baghdad.
This was a large rectangular tank of polished t i n fed by
a conduit of the same bright metal. Surrounding it
were set artificially dwarfed palms that by skilled cultivation were induced to bear eatable dates out of the
proper season. A further curiosity was contained in the
"Palace of the Tree", which took its name from an
artificial tree that stood in the courtyard of the building.
Its leaves were of gold and silver, and in its branches
were lodged birds of the same precious metals, so constructed that they piped when the wind blew.
Altogether the envoys from Byzantium were shown
twenty-three, or perhaps more, palaces, the majority
of which had been paid for at some time or another
with money extorted from the unfortunate inhabitants
of the " C i t y of Peace".
*37
If the Caliph impressed his visitors by his display

of wealth and power, his subjects were more capable of
j u d g i n g his real position. He had been put on the
throne as a lad of thirteen by his predecessor's vizier,
'Abbas i b n Hasan, who had consulted various officials
before making the appointment. One of these officials,
I b n al-Furat, who himself afterwards became vizier,
when asked for his advice had said:
For God's sake do not appoint to the post a man who knows
the house of one, the fortune of another, the gardens of a t h i r d ,
the slave girl of a fourth, the estate of a fifth, and the horse of a
sixth; but one who has mixed w i t h people, has had experience
of affairs, has gone through his apprenticeship and made calculations of people's fortunes. 1
T h e year after M u q t a d i r ' s succession a number of the

notables of the city formed a conspiracy to depose h i m ,
and to assassinate h i m if that became necessary. In
his place their choice fell upon ' A b d u l l a h i b n Mu'tazz,
w h o w o u l d consent to accept office only on the cond i t i o n that there w o u l d be no bloodshed. T h e plan
w h i c h the ringleader in the conspiracy had formed was
to isolate M u q t a d i r from his attendants as he went to
the mosque and to fall on h i m unawares. T h a t part of
the plot failed however and the Caliph was able to
reach his own palace unharmed. W h e n an attack was
led against the royal b u i l d i n g , his servants and eunuchs,
who numbered over 11,000 Greeks or negroes ( i f alFakhri is to be believed), proved unexpectedly loyal
and repelled the attackers. Discouraged by this check
the conspirators drew off, and were attacked in their
t u r n by a number of the servants led by M u n i s the
138
eunuch, who had embarked in boats on the T i g r i s and

made for the house w h i c h * A b d u l l a h i b n Mu'tazz and
the more influential of his supporters were occupying.
T h e counter-attack ended in the utter rout of the conspirators, some of w h o m were able to escape from the
city while others were caught and put to death, amongst
them being ' A b d u l l a h himself, whose Caliphate had
lasted only one day. I b n al-Furat supplied a further
example of his cynical wisdom after this affair when he
advised the Caliph to destroy the rolls containing the
names of the conspirators if he wished to procure peace.
T h e lists were accordingly sunk in the T i g r i s and the
conspiracy allowed to sink gradually into oblivion.
T h e peculiar character of I b n al-Furat displayed
itself in various ways d u r i n g his three terms of office as
vizier. M o n e y , of w h i c h he made and lost large sums,
was the mainspring of action to h i m , and for it he
debauched both his o w n office and other important
departments of the State. It was he w h o first sold the
office of cadi. On one occasion, when in flight between
t w o periods of office, he took refuge in the house of a
haberdasher named A b u Umayya al-Akhwas at Basra.
While enjoying this refuge, he said to his host: " I f I should
be made vizier, what would you like me to do for you?" The
man said he would like to have some government appointment.
Ibn al-Furat replied: "Unfortunately you cannot be made into
a minister, or a governor, or a chief of police, or a secretary
of state, or a general: so what post can I offer you?" " I leave
it to you ", said the host. Ibn al-Furdt then suggested a judgeship, and he consented.1
As Commander of the F a i t h f u l , M u q t a d i r was to
139
some extent the recipient of the loyalty of the citizens

of the capital. Occasionally he justified his position
as head of Islam by re-enacting old repressive laws
against non-Moslems. B u t in character he was a weakl i n g , and as he grew older he was m u c h influenced by
the women of his harem, who wielded great power.
In A . D . 918 the supreme authority fell into the hands
of the Caliph's mother, w h o reigned as queen regent,
holding audience to redress wrongs and looking into
the petitions of the people each Friday. It was she and
not the Caliph that held public audience, to w h i c h she
summoned cadis and nobles, and she herself signed
and issued State edicts. It cannot be said that her reign
was w i t h o u t benefit to the city. T h r o u g h her influence,
for example, hospitals were opened for the free use of
the citizens, for w h o m a good deal of public-spirited
w o r k seems to have been carried out during the reign.
Several of the hospitals were in the charge of Sinan i b n
T h a b i t i b n Qurra, a notable physician belonging to
a famous Sabian family w h i c h had long practised in
the city. M u q t a d i r was himself interested in the
physical welfare of the inhabitants. W h e n in A . D . 931
it was reported that a patient had died in consequence
of a physician's blunderwhich must have been a very
egregious one to attract attentionthe Caliph i m mediately issued an order to his muhtasib that no doctor
was to be permitted to practise unless he passed an
examination conducted by Sinan. After the test the
examiner was to specify to each candidate what branch
of the art of medicine he could practise. T h e number of
candidates w h o were successful, on b o t h sides of the
140
city, came to 860 odd, not counting those whose skill in

practice was too well known to require testing. But
the standard of the qualifications demanded does not
appear to have been high if we may judge from the
record of one of the men who presented himself for
examination. He was an old man of venerable appearance, whose test was to spend a day in Sinan's consulting room dealing with the patients who arrived. At the
end of the day, the examiner, with amazement at the
man's ignorance and yet with great politeness, asked him
who his teacher of medicine had been. In reply, the
old man produced from his sleeve a paper containing
some gold dinars. He laid it before Sinan, and said:
" I can neither read nor write. I have never read a word.
I have a family and my income covers a wide circle.
I beg of you not to deprive me of i t " . Sinan laughed,
and said: " O n condition that you never treat a patient
for anything you do not understand, nor advise any
bleeding or purgative except for the simplest ailments ".
The old man replied: " That has always been my practice, for I have never prescribed anything beyond oxymel
and julep", with which words he departed.1
Though treatment in the hospitals was not entirely
without discrimination against non-Moslems, yet the
medical policy of the time on the whole can bear comparison with what was current in the West at a much
later period. When ' A l i ibn 'Isa was vizier it happened
that epidemics broke out in the city and the country
round i t . The vizier wrote to Sinan asking him to appoint
doctors whose business it would be to make daily visits
to the prisons, where the inmates, because of their
141
numbers, could not fail to be smitten by any plague

that was rife, and were in addition prevented by their
incarceration from consulting doctors. In the Sawad
district, in the neighbourhood of Baghdad, Sinan was
to appoint physicians to travel about amongst the rural
population w i t h medicines and potions, staying for a
period in each district to treat cases. He d i d as he was
directed, and sent out a number of his colleagues w h o
travelled from place to place. In the course of their
tour, coming to Sura, a t o w n whose inhabitants were
mainly Jews, and the seat of one of the t w o great
Jewish academies of Babylonia, they wrote to Sinan
i n f o r m i n g h i m of the preponderance of Jews in the
place. He sent on the information to the vizier, adding
that the physicians wished to know whether they were
to remain and give the Surans treatment or to depart
elsewhere. To indicate his o w n feelings in the matter
he reminded the vizier that in the royal hospital treatment was given both to Moslems and " p r o t e c t e d "
non-Moslems. T h e vizier replied to the effect that he
agreed w i t h Sinan that treatment both of " p r o t e c t e d "
non-Moslems and of animals was lawful, but that in
the matter of medical treatment human beings must
take precedence of animals and Moslems of n o n Moslems, and that when the Moslems had been attended
to, the next class m i g h t receive treatment. 1
T h e l u x u r y of the palace in M u q t a d i r ' s day was in
greater contrast than normally w i t h the general poverty
of the city, for there were occasions when food was so
dear there as to cause widespread want, w i t h consequent r i o t i n g . T h e poorer members of the population,
142
BAGHDAD RESTORED
knowing nothing and certainly caring nothing about

the laws of supply and demand, were insistent only that
bread should be cheap. W h e n it was not, as happened
in A . D . 921, they looked about for a cause and a v i c t i m .
T h e y found one in a certain H a m i d i b n 'Abbas, w h o m
they accused of preventing supplies from entering the
city. A mob gathered round his house, and after looti n g it proceeded to open the prison gates and to rob
the house of the city's chief of police. Only when a
number of the looters had been killed in a charge by
armed troops was the crowd persuaded to disperse.
A subsequent attempt by the governor of the city to fix
prices succeeded only in increasing the hardships of the
poorer inhabitants, and matters were not adjusted u n t i l
a new harvest increased supplies.
In the dramatic monologue composed by ' A b d alMutahhar 1 there is a hint that, in spite of the occasional scarcity of food, the lighter side of life was not
neglected during the reign of M u q t a d i r . T h e speaker
of the monologue, a fictitious character called A b u
'1-Qasim of Baghdad, is pictured as a light-hearted
rogue boasting before an assembled company of the
various amenities of his city. In the course of his speech
he talks of popular songs and singers, of w h o m he says:
If I were to mention all the various tunes popular with
listeners and the songs current amongst men and boys, and girls
both slaves and freeborn, it would be a lengthy and tedious
process
In my own timewhile I am on this subjectin
the year 306 [A.D. 918-19], I and a company of my friends from
the Karkh counted four hundred and sixty slave-girl singers
performing in the two parts of the city, as well as ten freeborn
143
women singers and seventy-five boys, " f u l l moons", all of
whom combined in themselves beauty, technique and virtuosity
that surpass the limits of description. A n d that is not counting
those to whom we had no access because of their lofty station,
or because they were closely guarded, and it is in addition to
those who laid no claim to professional skill in singing or music
and only performed on occasions when they were in good spirits
or when they were intoxicated and threw off restraint.
This is evidence that the citizens could be amused by

unlawful means and were not averse to treating their
religion lightly when it suited their pleasure. On the
other hand, they had a stern way with anyone whom
they suspected of heretical views. Their fanaticism was
disagreeably shown at the death of the historian Tabari,
whose Chronicle has been so often quoted in these pages.
He died in A . D . 923, and, according to the historian
I b n al-Athir (11232-3),
he was buried by night in his house, because the mob assembled
and prevented h i m from being buried by day, declaring that he
was a Rafidi (Shfite) and even a heretic. A n d ' A l i ibn 'Isa used
to say,' By Allah, were these people to be questioned as to what
was meant by a Rafidi or a heretic, they would neither know nor
be capable of understanding!' Thus I b n Miskawayh, the
author of the Tajaribu 'l-umam, who defends this great leader
of thought {Imam) from these charges. Now as to what he says
concerning the fanaticism of the mob, the matter was not so; only
some of the Hanbalites, inspired w i t h a fanatical hatred of h i m ,
attacked h i m and they were followed by others. A n d for this
there was a reason, which was that Tabari compiled a book, the
like of which had never been composed, wherein he mentioned
the differences of opinion of the theologians, but omitted all
reference to Ahmad b. Hanbal. A n d when he was taken to task
about this, he said: ' He was not a theologian, but only a tradi144
tionist'; and this annoyed the IJanbalites, who were innumerable in Baghdad; so they stirred up mischief against him,and said
what they pleased. 1
T h e year before that event there had been a gross

example of official persecution when Husayn i b n
Mansiir al-Hallaj, the mystic, was arrested and put to
the torture. T h e charge against h i m was that in an
outburst of ecstasy he had cried o u t : " I am the T r u t h ' '
(i.e. God). T h e Sufis looked upon this as simply an
intensified statement of the central idea of mysticism,
whereas the orthodox regarded it as sheer blasphemy.
T h e historian ' A r i b , who continued Tabari's Chronicle^
makes h i m out a rank impostor, playing on the credul i t y of his fellow-men for his o w n advantage: " T o the
Sunni he showed himself a member of the Sunna sect,
a Shfite to those of the Shi'a belief, and a M u ' t a z i l i t e
to those of the M u ' t a z i l i f a i t h " . It was not difficult
to mislead a people w h i c h w i t h its fanaticism combined an amazing amount of superstition and simplemindedness of a k i n d that is often illustrated by the
historians. A n example given b y I b n Miskawayhi
displays it to perfection:
" In the summer season [of A . D . 9 1 6 ] " , he says, " the common
people were alarmed by a creature which they call zabzab, and
professed to see it at night on the roofs of their houses, and
which they said devoured their small children. Indeed it would
bite off the hand of a sleeping man or the breast of a sleeping
woman and devour i t . They would keep guard against it the
whole night and take care not to sleep; and they would beat
mugs, cups or mortars to frighten i t . Baghdad was in a state of
terror in consequence u n t i l the Sultan got hold of a strange
white beast like a sea-hound, which he declared was the zabzab
LOB
145
IO
and had been caught. This was suspended on an 'ostrich*
[a kind of wooden framework] upon the Upper Bridge, and left
there till i t died. This made little impression till the moon waxed
and the people could see that there was no reality about what
they had imagined. Then they were appeased; only meanwhile
the thieves had found their chance when the people were
occupied w i t h watching on their roofs, and there were many
burglaries." 1
It was easy therefore f o r a clever c h a r l a t a n to find a
f o l l o w i n g . Al-Fakhri says t h a t a l - H a l l a j
propounded a mixture of good and evil doctrines, passing from
one site to another and seeking to lead people astray by deliberate
resort to trickery. Thus he would dig a hole in the ground and
hide a skin of water there; in another place he would hide food
and so forth. Then he would pass by these places accompanied
by his disciples, one of whom would ask for water to drink or
perform his ablutions. Thereupon al-Hallaj would take a pointed
stick and dig in a place he knew of till he drew water. 2
In the end he aroused the suspicions of the vizier

Ibn al-Furat and the cadis. They put him to a test of
his religious beliefs, which were not found satisfactory,
and he was brutally done to death. After his execution
the booksellers of the city were summoned and made to
swear on oath that they would neither buy nor sell any
of the numerous works he had composed.3
In spite of the official view of him al-Hallaj continued to be regarded as a saint. His tomb in West
Baghdad became a sacred place of pilgrimage to Sufis,
attracting thousands of visitors each year. It was in
existence until a few years ago, when it was destroyed
in one of the periodic inundations that sweep the lower
parts of Baghdad.
146
T h e vizier, I b n al-Furat, if he showed himself a

fanatic on this occasion, seems normally to have
tempered his religious zeal w i t h a taste for letters and
luxurious hospitality. It was said of h i m that except in
winter no person left his house w i t h o u t a d r i n k of iced
sherbet. If it was dark, a servant bearing a torch of fine
wax was sent to light the guest on his way home. In
the vizier's house there was kept a room stocked w i t h
writing-materials to w h i c h his guests were at liberty to
help themselves. T h e fact that the price of candles, ice
and writing-paper was noticeably raised in the Baghdad
bazaar d u r i n g I b n al-Furat's periods of office, indicates
not only that his guests were numerous, b u t that
literary composition was a fashionable pursuit. It
seems to have remained so in spite of the unrest of the
period, w h i c h became feverish when report came, in
A . D . 924, that the dreaded Carmathians were on their
way to the city. T h e news was brought by pilgrims
f r o m Mecca and at once the city was in an uproar.
" O n b o t h sides of the river, Baghdad and its streets
were in a ferment. W o m e n came out barefoot, w i t h
dishevelled hair, beating their faces t i l l they were black,
and shrieking in the roads." 1 T h e m o b , who detested
I b n al-Furat, fixed upon h i m as the arch-Carmathian
and assaulted h i m w i t h brickbats as he sat in his boat on
the T i g r i s . As a direct result of these popular demonstrations the Caliph a l - M u q t a d i r was forced, against
his w i l l , to deprive I b n al-Furat of office, and it was
only by the efforts of M i i n i s the eunuch that the vizier
escaped death at the hands of the infuriated c r o w d .
I b n al-Furat's son, Muhassin, whose arrest had been
147
10-2
BAGHDAD RESTORED
ordered at the same time, contrived to escape to the

house of his mother-in-law. She hoodwinked the
search parties that were sent after h i m by dressing h i m
in women's clothes and spending the day w i t h h i m in
one of the city cemeteries, returning at night to the
house of one or other of his numerous friends. It
happened once that darkness fell when they were still
at a considerable distance from the house in West
Baghdad at w h i c h they had planned to spend the night.
Possible danger from guards or robbers put them in a
panic, u n t i l a woman who was w i t h them suggested
spending the night at a house close by that belonged to
an acquaintance of hers. A l l might have been well if
a slave g i r l had not happened to enter a room in w h i c h
Muhassin had been put to change his clothes. She
gave the alarm, and he was arrested and put to the
torture.
There seems to have been no period during the
dominance of Baghdad by the T u r k i s h and Berber
troops when their abominable conduct d i d not disturb
the peace of the city. T h e y had no scruples about resorting to and encouraging open vice in the streets,
and no womanand scarcely a manwas safe from
attack. Such violence and crude immorality were bound
sooner or later to have their effect on those of the comm u n i t y that prided themselves on their piety and adherence to the laws of the faith. U n d e r the surface of
orderly life carried on by the mass of the citizens also
there was dissatisfaction simmering w h i c h might at any
time break out in riot and murder. T h e revolt came f r o m
the puritan and ascetic party of the Hanbalis, followers
148
of the great Baghdad j u r i s t A h m a d i b n Hanbal. T h r o u g h out the period of t u r m o i l they had attempted to enforce
conformity w i t h their o w n rigorous standards and
beliefs, and were able, as has been seen, to prevent the
customary rites of burial when the great Persian theologian and historian Tabari, of whose views they disapproved, died in Baghdad in A . D . 923. As the disturbances continued the Hanbalis formed themselves into a
reforming committee. Numbers of the sect paraded
the streets, entering houses in w h i c h they suspected
violation of the principles of Islam, and inflicting
summary justice whenever they found an offender.
In Gibbon's version 1 after the original derived from
I b n a l - A t h i r 2 t h e y " i n v a d e d the pleasures of domestic life, burst into the houses of plebeians and princes,
spilt the wine, broke the instruments, beat the m u s i cians and dishonoured w i t h infamous suspicions the
associates of every handsome y o u t h " . N o t religious
offenders alone suffered at their hands, but even
members of rival M o s l e m sects differing f r o m their
o w n merely in m i n o r points of doctrine. T h u s Shafi'is
were beaten w i t h sticks almost to the point of death
whenever they were encountered, u n t i l the reform at
last became a greater evil than the original malpractices, leading the Caliph al-Radi to issue a manifesto
against the Hanbalis to the following effect:
You assert that your ugly faces are after the likeness of the
L o r d of the Universe and your vile exteriors are fashioned after
H i s , and you speak of His hands and fingers and legs... . T h e n
also there are your attacks upon the most excellent of the
Imdms and your imputations of unbelief and error against a
149
section of the people of Mohammed
N o w therefore the
Commander of the Faithful swears by A l l a h . . . that if you do not
put an end to your detestable beliefs and your perverse tenets...
he w i l l set sword to your necks and fire to your houses and
dwellings. 1
T h e threat seems to have had but little effect. T h e

years following have left such a record of confusion
that it is impossible w i t h the sources available to obtain
any clear picture of what was happening in the city.
Yet it can be said w i t h certainty that by comparison
w i t h what followed the reign of Radf was a peaceful
one. T h e murder of the Caliph himself by M u n i s , the
captain of his guard, is merely an incident in the
degradation of the Caliphate. Temporal power had for
long been dissociated from the office, and yet it continued to have a spiritual significance amongst Moslems
w h i c h could be made an immensely strong lever in the
hands of anyone desirous of power, provided he could
manipulate the authority w h i c h loyalty placed in the
Caliph's hands. For that reason there continued the
bitter competition between rival T u r k i s h officers for
possession of the person of the Commander of the
Faithful, a contest w h i c h ultimately defeated its o w n
ends.
At intervals Baghdad underwent siege from one or
other of the rival generals, and the confusion at the
capital gave the provinces the opportunity they were
always waiting for to cast off authority,- or at any rate
to cease the payment of taxes. W i t h the reduction of
trade and revenue the capital became so miserably poor
that even the mercenaries of various nationality found
150
BAGHDAD RESTORED
it difficult at times to squeeze any money out of the

miserable inhabitants. But they were not without resourcefulness, and one method of raising fundsone
not unknown in that neighbourhood in quite recent
timesconsisted in their granting permission to carry
on a system of brigandage in return for a fixed fee.
A certain Hamdi, who had become famous as a highwayman in this reign, was accorded a license to rob
on payment of a monthly toll of 25,000 dinars. His
method was to make attacks on houses in the night
by the light of torches, and carry off any property he
could lay his hands on. 1
During a large part of the period of unrest there was
no recognized and absolute governor of Baghdad. The
Turkish generals held authority in turn when one or
other of them was able to gain the upper hand for a brief
period, but as a rule they attempted to govern and
issued their licenses in rivalry at one and the same time.
As for the citizens, they had by now accustomed themselves to go their own way without reference to any
government, and their daily life was not unduly disturbed except on occasion. This happened when lack
of orderly conditions brought on a disorganization of
commerce or a dislocation of transport serious enough
to diminish the city's food supplies. The famine that
broke out in Baghdad in A . D . 944 was only the gravest
of a series. It came at a time when many of the private
houses, mosques, baths and palaces of the city had been
allowed to fall into ruins through lack of means to
repair them. Those of the original occupants who had
not abandoned them roamed the streets in search of
151
BAGHDAD RESTORED
scraps of food, while men who were able to depart to

cities where food was more plentiful d i d so, leaving
the weaker members of their families to their fate.
Generally it was a g r i m one, for very often bands of
young girlsmany of them of gentle upbringing, and
even members of the Caliph's haremwere to be seen
wandering about the streets c r y i n g , " Hunger, Hunger I " 1
T h e scarcity of food was the culmination of an i n tolerable state of affairs. B u t Baghdad's feebleness was
itself to be the cause of a release from misery for it
attracted the attention of Persia, where in A . D . 945
the general Buwayh, the newest of the long series of
Persian warrior families to assert their independence
in the Caliph's provinces, had carved out an empire
for themselves by the sword. A h m a d , the youngest of
them, extended his o w n realm into I r a q and his road led
inevitably to Baghdad.
If the Sunnite citizens of the metropolis had had any
power or inclination to affect the course of their o w n
government they might have opposed the advance of
the Buwayhids, who were fanatically Shi'ite in faith
and hence likely to prove troublesome rulers in a city
whose population was mainly Sunnite. To those in
authority however the fact that the Buwayhids were
likely to have spiritual as well as physical objections to
the T u r k i s h troops, was, if anything, an inducement to
encourage the Buwayhid advance. In January A . D . 946
the force under A h m a d , after meeting considerable
opposition on the way, encamped outside the Shammasiya gate of the city. He was received by the Caliph
Mustakfi, to w h o m he swore a solemn oath of allegiance,
152
being rewarded in return w i t h a robe of honour and

the office of Amir al- Umard or " Commander in Chief ".
In addition he received the personal title of Mu'izz
al-Dawla ("Strengthener of the State"), while his
brothers were honoured by titles respectively of 'Imdd
al-Dawla (" Support of the State") and Rukn al-Dawla
("Pillar of the State"). At Ahmad's advance the
Turkish garrison had fled, in justifiable apprehension
that he was not likely to tolerate any rivals, and dispersed to Mosul and elsewhere in Iraq. Meantime he
himself, having billeted his troops on the citizens, much
to their disgust, settled down in the palace of the famous
Munis the eunuch to survey his new province.
CHAPTER IX
Baghdad
under
Persian
Masters
T h e new commander of Baghdad was not left for long

in contemplation, nor could he immediately fulfil the
hopes of those citizens who were anxious for peace.
Soon after his entry into the city he had to stand a siege
from Nasir al-Dawla, father-in-law of the Caliph
M u t t a q i and the governor of M o s u l , who had himself,
not so long before, been the Amir al-Umard. T h e
aggressor, from his headquarters at M o s u l , could command the whole of northern Mesopotamia w i t h the
large force at his disposal. It was decidedly in his
favour also that in any attempt on Baghdad he could
rely on the active sympathy of those of the scattered
T u r k i s h soldiery who had remained in the city, ever
ready to take advantage of a chance of regaining the
perquisites w h i c h they had lost to the Buwayhids. H i s
campaign m i g h t very w e l l have succeeded. He d i d in
fact seize the eastern part of Baghdad and he was able
to deal a blow at the Buwayhid trade by a very shrewd
step. T h e Persians had set up as Caliph a prince whose
official title of a l - M u t i was inscribed on a new set of
coins. Nasir al-Dawla forbade his followers to use
this coinage as currency and substituted coins w h i c h he
minted bearing the name of his son-in-law the earlier
Caliph a l - M u t t a q i , who could be regarded as neutral.
A l l was going w e l l and the Buwayhid general had made
up his m i n d to retirewas in fact preparing to return to
154
BAGHDAD U N D E R P E R S I A N MASTERS
Ahwaz, whence he had come to Baghdadwhen it

occurred to him to attempt a surprise attack on the
enemy. His plan succeeded to perfection. The troops
that he sent across the river in a night attack caught
Nasir al-Dawla utterly unprepared, and being no match
for the Persian soldiery in strategy, the governor of
Mosul was driven out of his position and only with
difficulty escaped to a neighbouring village, from which
he sued for peace. The Persian soldiers followed up
their victory by looting any houses in the city that promised plunder, without stopping to ask whether the
owners were in political sympathy with them or not.
Only when the Sultan Mu'izz al-Dawla himself rode
through the streets at the head of a body of troops,
killing and dispersing looters, were the citizens given
any respite, though even then supplies of food continued
for some time to be scanty.
Under the strong rule of the Buwayhid governor, life
in the city gradually assumed an aspect less closely
resembling that of an armed camp, and some of the arts
and amenities of peace resumed their places. Apart
from a destructive fire which burnt down a large part
of the old Suq al-Thalaihd ("the Tuesday Market'') in
A . D . 951-2, the historians report no calamitous occurrences, until A . D . 955-6, when Mu'izz al-Dawla fell
seriously i l l . At once report was spread that he was
dying, and the turbulent part of the population, which
had been kept in order too long for its taste, proceeded
to make demonstrations in the streets in the hope of
upsetting the government, or at any rate of creating
circumstances favourable to looting and general law155
B A G H D A D U N D E R P E R S I A N MASTERS
lessness. T h e y were reckoning without the courage of

the governor. W h e n news of the rioting was brought
to h i m he raised himself from his sick-bed, mounted his
horse and rode through the streets to show he could
still be reckoned w i t h , T h e demonstrators took the hint
and the r i o t i n g ceased.
If M u ' i z z al-Dawla kept the peace of the city, he
d i d not lighten its financial burdens. In the matter of
taxation he was no more lenient than his predecessors
and he squeezed the population as m u c h as he was able.
Sometimes his methods were indirect, as when he sold
the office of the chief justiceship at Baghdad to ' A b dullah i b n Hasan i b n A b i Shawarib for an annual sum
of 200,000 dirhems, 1 leaving it to the judge to recoup
himself from litigants or culprits who were brought
before h i m . At other times it was direct pressure on
merchants and others who could stand it that brought
in the necessary revenues.
T h e outstanding figure in Baghdad in the reign of
this prince was his vizier al-Muhallabi, who set a fashion
in the patronage of letters by t h r o w i n g his house open
to scholars and scientists. Amongst his clients was
A b u '1-Faraj of Isfahan, who achieved fame by comp i l i n g the encyclopaedic Kitab al-Aghdni or Book of
Songs, a great thesaurus of poetry and a storehouse of
information about the lives, manners and habits of the
poets and singers who had flourished from pre-Islamic
times down to the compiler's o w n day. T h e w o r k
represents colossal labour and might w e l l f o r m the
basis of a study of Islamic humanism. Its value was
clear to the literary men w h o followed h i m , but it is an
156
interesting fact that not all his contemporaries were

favourably disposed towards i t . A younger contemporary of his, T a n u k h i , criticized his methods and
accused h i m of great dishonesty on the ground that he
copied directly from books when he should have used
oral traditions supported by the proper chains of
authorities. " He used to go into the bazaar of the booksellers, when it was flourishing and the shops were
filled w i t h books, and he w o u l d buy numbers of volumes
w h i c h he w o u l d carry home. A n d all his narratives
were derived from t h e m . " 1
Another client of the vizier, a celebrity in his o w n
day but not often mentioned by the biographers, was
A h m a d i b n I b r a h i m A b u Riyash, a man of vast learning
but of unpolished company manners. W h e n he was
invited out to dinner he w o u l d pick a large piece of meat
out of the tray provided for all and put the piece back
into the middle of the tray after he had taken a bite.
W h e n his habits came to be k n o w n , a separate tray was
generally provided for h i m . He was once d i n i n g w i t h
al-Muhallabi, and d u r i n g the meal he kept on b l o w i n g
his nose on the napkin that was passed round for the
guests to wipe their hands. Also his method of eating
olives was to squeeze them in his hands u n t i l the stone
shot out. On one occasion a stone h i t the vizier in the
face. " Y e t " , says the biographer Y a q u t , " h e was
tolerated for his great learning." 2
M u c h of what we know of the topography of Baghdad
in the early days of the Buwayhid domination is
derived from the w o r k of Istakhri, a Persian geographer
contemporary w i t h M u ' i z z al-Dawla. I n A . D . 951 h e
157
completed his Masdlik al-Mamdlik, " T h e Roads of the

K i n g d o m s " , a route book designed to be a guide for
wayfarers travelling on business of State. A part of the
plan of the work is to give succinct descriptions of
various parts of the Moslem empire. In his account of
Baghdad the author tells us that the eastern side was
occupied entirely by the royal Harim (the Caliph's
Apartments) w h i c h , together w i t h other palaces and a
chain of gardens, extended along the river bank as far
as the B i n canal, two parasangs below the city. U p stream of the royal palace a line of buildings rising
straight above the water gave Baghdad's water front
a total length of five Arab miles. T h e eastern part of the
city at that day was called the " Side of the A r c h ", from
a great arched gateway that stood at the entrance to the
m a i n bazaar. T h i s was in addition to the names " R u safa" and " M a h d i ' s C a m p " . T h e western side of the
city was k n o w n by the old name of the " K a r k h " , a
name w h i c h it still has.
Three " F r i d a y " mosques, those in w h i c h the special
weekly prayers, including that for the Caliph, were
offered u p , are mentioned by the geographer. One
stood in Mansiir's " Round City ", another in Rusafa and
the t h i r d in the Royal Precincts. There was s t i l l another
Friday mosque at Kalwadha, in a bend of the river on
the east bank, below the city. Istakhri is careful to
point out that the canals w h i c h watered the river were
fed from the Nahrawan canal and the Tamarra (Diyala)
river, only a very little water being raised directly f r o m
the T i g r i s by waterwheels or other mechanical means.
On the west side water was brought by the 'Isa canal
158
BAGHDAD UNDER PERSIAN MASTERS
from the Euphrates. T h i s canal was big enough to

allow quite large river boats to come directly to the city
from the Euphrates,
Of the inhabitants of the city we gain almost no
information and the description of the place itself is
very brief. T h e author gives the obvious reason for his
reticence in the concluding sentence of his account,
w h i c h says: " W e w i l l not enlarge our description of
Baghdad, for it is known to all and we need not prolong
our discourse." 1
In A . D . 962 the fanatical Shi*ism characteristic of the
Buwayhid princes displayed itself in a manner calculated
to rouse the most furious dissension. For some reason
w h i c h the historians do not explain, M u ' i z z al-Dawla
induced his followers to cover the doors and walls of
every mosque in the city w i t h insults and curses upon
M u ' a w i y a , A b u Bekr, Othman and Omar, all of w h o m ,
according to the Shi'a, had been usurpers of the Caliphate. T h e opprobrious legends were erased d u r i n g the
night, but M u ' i z z al-Dawla insisted on having them
restored. On the advice of his vizier al-Muhallabi,
however, only M u ' a w i y a was specifically mentioned,
the rest being reviled collectively as " the doers of w r o n g
against the family of the Prophet of A l l a h " . T h e next
year, on the 10th day of the m o n t h of M u h a r r a m , the
anniversary of the death on the field of Kerbela of
Husain, the Prophet's grandson, the amir issued an
edict that in m o u r n i n g for the tragic event the shops in
the bazaars were to be closed and all buying and selling
was to be suspended. Proprietors of cookshops were
forbidden to cook, the butchers to slaughter and water
i59
BAGHDAD UNDER P E R S I A N MASTERS
carriers to draw water. Further the population were

to array themselves in robes of mourning, while the
women were to appear with hair in disorder and
blackened faces and, in grief for the martyrdom of
Husain, were to rend their garments and parade the
streets beating their breasts.1 If the Shi*a had not had
the support of the authorities, it is hinted in the histories
that Sunnite opposition to this enactment might have
been considerable. As it was, the orthodox inhabitants
apparently permitted it to be carried out without any
visible protest that year. Two years later, however, when
the same behests were made, there was fighting between
Shi'a and Sunnis near the graves of the Quraysh,
though it cannot have been very serious, no deaths
being reported in the annals and only a little wounding
and looting. The celebration of the anniversary is reported regularly thereafter during the domination of
Mu'izz al-Dawla and of his son 'Izz al-Dawla, who
succeeded him in A . D . 966 and who had few concerns
beyond women, music and juggling. 2
Under the regime of that degenerate amir, Byzantine
armies were able to penetrate far into the Moslem
empire, and the Hamdanid prince Abu Taghlib of
Mosul, who ought to have been the bulwark of the
State, bought off the invaders with gold. News of the
destruction wrought by the enemy under John Zimisces
in A . D . 972 threw Baghdad into such a panic that in
that year the 'Ashurd (the 10th of Muharram) mourning
celebrations were omitted. Instead, the mob expressed
its anger at the damage done by the Byzantines in outbursts of rioting, in fighting between Shi'a and Sunnis,
160
UPPER B R I D G E AT B A G H D A D ,
L O O K I N G EAST
in looting and burning. The conflagration destroyed

most of the quarter of the Karkh which was inhabited
exclusively by Shi'ites and contained many warehouses
full of merchandise. Thirty mosques were burnt down
and many people lost their lives in the fire, which was
said to have been started by an order from the vizier
A b u '1-Fadl after a police magistrate had been killed in
a brawl. The vizier had ordered "inflammable water"
from the coppersmiths' quarter to be thrown on to that
of the fishmongers, who seem to have borne a character
for quarrelsomeness not unknown further afield, and
the fire, once started, could not be confined to its
allotted area.
It was after these outbursts that 'Izz al-Dawla demanded from the Caliph al-Mutf the wherewithal to
defend the city against the invaders. He was told by the
Caliph in reply that "his revenues and his provinces
had been torn from his hands and that he was ready to
abdicate a dignity which he could no longer support".
The ultimate retreat of the Greeks calmed the fears
of Baghdad, but the damage caused by the internal disturbances took considerable time to repair. One of its
consequences was the enmity that arose between the
vizier and the naqib or "overseer", an official who
now came into prominence for the first time. 1 His
office was created by the Buwayhids in order to avoid
a difficulty in which they found themselves in relationship to the Caliph who, though he no longer possessed
any temporal power and was a Sunni, was yet acknowledged as chief by all Moslems. This acknowledgment
was irksome to the Buwayhids' Shi* a fanaticism, and the
LOB
161
IX
the old palace of the " T a j " in the grounds of w h i c h

they were constructed, they were said to have taken up
about a t h i r d of the total area of East Baghdad.
No further change of note took place in the general
appearance of Baghdad u n t i l the new Buwayhid prince
' A d u d al-Dawla succeeded to the office of Amir
al-Umard in I r a q . U n d e r this distinguished monarch
the Buwayhid power reached its zenith, extending over
an empire that approached in size that of H a r u n
al-Rashid. He kept court as Shdhinshdh or " K i n g of
K i n g s " at Shiraz, but he was fully aware of the great
value of Baghdad and made particular efforts to replace
some of the prosperity w h i c h the city had lost. As the
Persian historian M i r k h w a n d puts i t :
I n the year A . H . 368 [==A.D. 978] 'Adudu '1-Dawla, having
turned the ray of his attention towards the ruined palaces of
Baghdad, put the mosque into a state of repair, allotted offices
to imams [leaders of prayer in the mosques] and mu'ezzins
[officers of the mosque who call the Faithful to prayer], sought
out the orphaned, the poor and the feeble, and provided for
them. He brought prosperity to the bazaars, compelled the
owners of dilapidated property to put it into repair, and, whereever there was a dried-up canal he caused water to flow again in
i t . . .and from Baghdad to Mecca wherever a well had fallen in
he restored it
To learned doctors, preachers, travellers,
grammarians, poets, physicians, mathematicians and engineers
he allotted regular provision. To his vizier Nasr ibn H d r i i n , the
Christian, he gave permission to rebuild the Christian churches. x
U n d e r ' A d u d al-Dawla the inhabitants of the city

celebrated traditional occasions w i t h o u t m u c h hindrance.
We hear of a celebration at the M u ' t a d i d i N e w Year's
D a y (June n t h ) when people put decorated dolls " t h e
I63
11-2
naqib was appointed to administer their special religious

forms and to provide a way of escape from Sunni
authority in matters of faith.
T h o u g h the general effect conveyed by the reign of
M u ' i z z al-Dawla is one of t u r m o i l and unrest, it was
not devoid of constructive effort. It has been seen
that scholarship received some encouragement. A r c h i tecture too was practised. T h e amir for his o w n occupation b u i l t a palace in the neighbourhood of the
Christian community house and church, the D a r
a l - R i i m , on the east bank of the T i g r i s . For the gates
of his residence M u ' i z z purloined those that belonged
to the municipal gateways of Rusafa and the " Round
C i t y " , and others also that the Caliphs had b u i l t into
their palaces at Samarra. T h e foundations of the palace
were sunk thirty-six cubits deep and were strengthened
w i t h lime and baked bricks. T h e whole cost amounted
to 13,000,000 dirhemsnearly half a m i l l i o n sterling
but it was all extracted from the pocket of the amir's
friends. " T h i s palace", says the historian I b n alJawzi, w r i t i n g about A . D . 1250, "has now been effaced
and there remains no trace of i t . T h e T i g r i s washes the
site of it and the w i l d beasts have their lairs in i t ; b u t
the church still stands as it w a s . " 1
A l - M u t i ' also, the incompetent r u l i n g Caliph, devoted
such energies as he possessed to erecting palaces. Of
these he put up three, k n o w n respectively as the
Palace of the Peacocks, the Octagonal Palace and the
Square Palace. Details about them have not been preserved but they must have been of considerable size.
In the century following, together w i t h the remains of
162
the old palace of the " T a j " in the grounds of w h i c h

they were constructed, they were said to have taken up
about a t h i r d of the total area of East Baghdad.
No further change of note took place in the general
appearance of Baghdad u n t i l the new Buwayhid prince
' A d u d al-Dawla succeeded to the office of Amir
al-Umard in I r a q . U n d e r this distinguished monarch
the Buwayhid power reached its zenith, extending over
an empire that approached in size that of H a r u n
al-Rashid. He kept court as Shdhinshdh or " K i n g of
K i n g s " at Shiraz, b u t he was fully aware of the great
value of Baghdad and made particular efforts to replace
some of the prosperity w h i c h the city had lost. As the
Persian historian M i r k h w a n d puts i t :
I n the year A . H . 368 [ = A . D . 978] 'Adudu '1-Dawla, having
turned the ray of his attention towards the ruined palaces of
Baghdad, put the mosque into a state of repair, allotted offices
to imams [leaders of prayer in the mosques] and mu'ezzins
[officers of the mosque who call the Faithful to prayer], sought
out the orphaned, the poor and the feeble, and provided for
them. He brought prosperity to the bazaars, compelled the
owners of dilapidated property to put it into repair, and, whereever there was a dried-up canal he caused water to flow again in
i t . . .and from Baghdad to Mecca wherever a well had fallen in
he restored i t . . . . T o learned doctors, preachers, travellers,
grammarians, poets, physicians, mathematicians and engineers
he allotted regular provision. To his vizier Nasr ibn H a r u n , the
Christian, he gave permission to rebuild the Christian churches. x
U n d e r ' A d u d al-Dawla the inhabitants of the city

celebrated traditional occasions w i t h o u t m u c h hindrance.
We hear of a celebration at the M u ' t a d i d i N e w Year's
D a y (June n t h ) when people put decorated dolls " t h e
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11-2
B A G H D A D UNDER P E R S I A N MASTERS
size of a boy " on the roofs of their houses and brought

them out "splendidly arrayed w i t h ornaments like
those of a bride and before w h i c h they flourish(ed)
drums and plates and light(ed) fires". 1 Other ways of
celebrating the Caliph's N e w Year were the bringing
of gifts, splashing in the water and strewing dust about. 2
T h e amir made room for his new buildings by demolishing the spacious mansions put up by his predecessors. He left standing the "Palace of the S i x t y " ,
the special feature of w h i c h was a cloistered court joined
by a cloistered passage to a chamber of curious construction and roofed w i t h numerous domes. Near this
b u i l d i n g he planned to lay out a magnificent garden
that was to connect w i t h the others lying along the river
bank below the main bridge. There were buildings on
the proposed site already. These were acquired at
great expense and demolished, elephants being then
usedto the continuous wonderment and delight of
the Baghdadisfor trampling down and levelling the
ground. Nearly 5,000,000 dirhems were spent on the
scheme but it was never fully carried out.
' A d u d al-Dawla's greatest claim to notice in connection w i t h Baghdad, is his b u i l d i n g of the famous
hospital that came to be called after h i m the Bimdristdni 'Adudi ( " T h e ' A d u d f I n f i r m a r y " ) or the
Mdristdn, for short. He erected it near the site of the
old K h u l d Palaceperhaps partly on the ground once
occupied by the palace 3 and endowed it w i t h the sum
of 100,000 dinars (nearly 50,000 pounds) per annum.
For the staff of the hospital he sought out twenty-four
physicians k n o w n for their skill without distinction of
164
faith or country, and put in charge A b u '1-Hasan T h a b i t

i b n Sinan, a member of a famous Sabian family of
physicians and scholars. T h e staff, in course of t i m e ,
formed a medical school, to w h i c h students came to
learn their art and at w h i c h the chief physicians in the
city held teaching posts.
For centuries the hospital remained a place of refuge
for the sick of Baghdad, who were there cared for and
fed according to the most enlightened ideas of the day.
A b o u t two hundred years after its foundation, the
M o o r i s h traveller I b n Jubayr visited it when he came
to the city after a pilgrimage from Granada to Mecca.
T h e Mdristdn was then situated in the Bazaar of the
Hospital, one of the lesser quarters of the city close to
the river. T h e buildings consisted of a large m a i n
portion " like a palace ", w i t h numbers of separate wards
and smaller houses b u i l t along the river bank. Regular
days, Mondays and Thursdays being favourite ones,
were allotted by the physicians for their visits to attend
to the sick. A special staff was maintained to supply
prescribed diets and medicines, 1 of w h i c h a list is preserved in a manuscript now in the B r i t i s h M u s e u m . 2
An early senior physician at the hospital was H i b a tullah i b n Sa'id, who was chief of the Christian doctors
and head of the Christian community at Baghdad.
He was a man of parts, k n o w i n g Persian, Greek and
Syriac as well as Arabic. Also he was fond of music and
was a patron of musicians. For a long time he was
physician to the Abbasid Caliphs, and as an old m a n
attended on the Caliph M u q t a f i . Yaqut, in his Dictionary of Learned Men* says that Hibatullah owned the
165
bottle factory in Baghdad and that when Yahya i b n

Hubayra became vizier he appropriated the factory,
w h i c h apparently was a profitable concern. At the conclusion of his next visit to the Caliph, the doctor found
difficulty in rising to depart. " Y o u are getting o l d " ,
remarked the Caliph. " Y e s , " replied Hibatullah, " a n d
my bottles are broken." T h e cryptic remark led to
inquiries and the factory was restored to h i m . T h i s
factory, it may incidentally be said, was the nucleus of
a large and flourishing industry, so that in the twelfth
century the fame of Baghdad glass was spread far and
wide. T h e poet Khaqani, in order to praise Isfahan,
depreciates Baghdad w h i c h to h i m " i s the place merely
of the makers of bottles to hold the rose-water that is
the j o y of Isfahan's households". 1
T h e Buwayhid amir himself found time from occupations of State to indulge in serious study, and used even
to read Aristotle in his spare t i m e . 2 It was a strange f o r m
of relaxation for a man whose system of government
was to inspire dread in the hearts of his subjects, and
w h o commanded a proper reverence and awe in those
who attended his ceremonial audiences by such barbaric
methods as having w i l d beasts chained to either side of
the platform on w h i c h his throne stood. In his processions through the streets, lions, tigers and elephants
figured w i t h the same purpose of inculcating a due
reverence for the A m i r al-Umara.
' A d u d al-Dawla died at Baghdad in A . D . 983, about
a year after the completion of his hospital, and p r o m p t l y
the succession became a matter of dispute. T h e notables
at Baghdad elected his son Samsam al-Dawla, who
166
remained in office for about a year but was then ousted

by his brother Sharaf al-Dawla, who d i d not enjoy the
sovereignty for long. Yet d u r i n g his short reign the arts
of peace made some progress. In the year A . D . 988 he
ordered the construction of an observatory in i m i t a t i o n
of the one b u i l t by M a ' m u n , in order that the " seven
stars'' might be watched in their course through the
stations of the Zodiac. 1
T h e wranglings of the Buwayhid amirs were complicated by the rivalries of the T u r k i s h and Dailemite
soldiers and, not for the first time, the streets of Baghdad assumed the character of a battlefield on w h i c h
foreigners fought for possession of the city, while its
r i g h t f u l owners and inhabitants seemed content to look
on almost as disinterested spectators. W h e n not so
engaged they took advantage of the absence of the
governor of the city, not for the obvious purpose of
j o i n i n g forces against the common enemies, b u t to
fight out their own religious animosities, so that Shi'ites
struggled for mastery w i t h fellow-citizens who were
Sunnites, while brigands and professional soldiers took
advantage of their preoccupation to rob b o t h parties,
to ravish and b u r n . So strong were sectarian hatreds
that i n the year A . D . I O O I , d u r i n g a fight between
T u r k i s h soldiers and the S h f a inhabitants of the K a r k h
quarter, the Sunnite citizens went to the help, not of
their fellow-citizens, but of their T u r k i s h fellowSunnites.
It may be that the Sunnites had reason to grasp at any
opportunity for asserting themselves, for the government had remained consistently sympathetic w i t h the
167

Shf'ites. In the year A . H . 402 ( A . D . 1011-12) the
reigning Buwayhid prince Baha al-Dawla 1 permitted
the residents of K a r k h to celebrate the 10th day of
M u h a r r a m as a day of m o u r n i n g . T h e bazaars were
closed, men and women wore m o u r n i n g garments and
marched through the streets in procession. B u t it
must be admitted that the prince himself, at the orthodox Festival of Sacrifice, 2 distributed clothes, wheat,
dates and money amongst the poor. He rode to prayers
at the various Friday mosques, where he delivered the
statutory addresses. Afterwards he set free prisoners
and pardoned debtors who owed less than ten dinars.
Where it was more he accepted assurances that the
money w o u l d be paid. 3
In the next year there was an anti-Christian outbreak
w h i c h arose in a peculiar fashion when the wife of the
Christian A b u Nasr i b n Isra'il, who was a court official,
died. H e r funeral took place in the daytime, and
accompanying the body were mourning-women, d r u m mers, singers, bearers of crucifixes and candles, and
a number of monks. T h e elaborateness of the procession
roused the anger of a certain Hashimite, a member of
the Caliph's family, who expressed his displeasure by
t h r o w i n g stones at the corpse and cursing i t . It happened
that one of the slaves of A b i i '1-Munasib, A b u Nasr's
employer, was in the procession. He p r o m p t l y turned
on the Hashimite and thrashed h i m , drawing blood,
and when a crowd gathered at his cries the Christians
were forced to take refuge w i t h the corpse in the
church in the D a r a l - R i i m . There they were followed
by the M o s l e m c r o w d , who pillaged the church and
168
many of the Christian houses in the neighbourhood,

and set afoot a bout of general rioting during w h i c h the
bazaars and mosques had to be closed. Soon copies of
the K o r a n were being raised aloft on polesa favourite
trickand the mob was marching to the house of the
Caliph (al-Qadir) to make complaint. A b u '1-Munasib,
the employer of the Christian secretary, was summoned
for explanations, his house having meanwhile been
plundered, and the Christian I b n Isra'il himself was
arrested, while various unfortunate Christians were
crucified by the m o b . So great were the disturbances
that the Friday services in the mosques were suspended
that week. Inevitably therefore the repressive measures
against the Dhimmis (the Christians and Jews) were p u t
into force again w i t h increased harshness. 1
It cannot be said that the Buwayhid rule of Baghdad
was at any time p r i m a r i l y for the benefit of its citizens.
To very few oriental monarchs, it may be presumed,
d i d it ever occur that government meant something
more than the opportunity for filling their treasuries.
A n d yet under one or other of the amirs there had been
periods d u r i n g w h i c h the whole of the city gave the
appearance of peace and men were able to carry on
their ordinary avocations w i t h o u t disturbance. Some
of the Buwayhids and their officers, as has been seen,
had even been beneficent, according to their lights.
T h e Hospital of ' A d u d al-Dawla has been noticed as
one famous establishment erected for the public benefit.
Another was the Academy b u i l t by Shapur i b n Ardashir,
the vizier of Baha al-Dawla. It was founded in the
K a r k h i n the quarter "Between the T w o W a l l s " i n the
169

year A.D. 991 and had a library containing over 10,000
volumes, many o f them autographs. I n A . H . 451
( A . D . 1059) a great fire in the quarter destroyed the
library w i t h m u c h other property. In his account of
that year, I b n a l - A t h i r the historian says that amongst
the books were 100 copies of the K o r a n in the w r i t i n g
of the famous scribes the Banii M u q l a , and that the
crowd looted a great many volumes. 1 Shapiir generously endowed the Academy, w h i c h was much frequented by literary men. " Its members seem to have
enjoyed pretty m u c h the same privileges as belong to
the Fellows of an Oxford or Cambridge college/' 2 T h e
b l i n d poet A b u ' l - ' A l a al-Ma'arri was included in the
membership for a while and found it a congenial resort
and Baghdad the true centre of learning. 3
Such buildings and institutions were tributes to
Baghdad's position of importance in the Moslem w o r l d .
Yet its pre-eminence was gone. It now shared honours
w i t h Cairo and Cordova, w i t h Ghazna and Shiraz, to
w h i c h men of ambition gravitated in search of fortune
and, incidentally, of fame. Since the coming of the
Buwayhids I r a q had been governed as a mere province
of Fars, and on one occasion in A . D . 1058 a B u w a y h i d
underling went so far as to gather a crowd in Baghdad
and declare publicly in the mosque of the C a l i p h
Mansur that he and they owed allegiance to the schismatic al-Mustansir, the F a t i m i d ruler of Egypt. T h a t
was when the B u w a y h i d power was at its ebb, but even
before that time arrived the Persian overlords had
reason to wonder whether the Abbasid capital was
w o r t h the anxiety it caused them. T h e constant unrest
170
w i t h which they had to deal, the rioting of troops

clamorous for arrears of pay, the struggles of rival
bodies of mercenaries and the internecine religious
bickerings of the citizens themselves sorely tried the
patience of the rulers. In the year A . D . 1018 Sultan
al-Dawla declared t h a t " the government of I r a q needs
a man who is a tyrant and a b r u t e ' ' . 1 He appointed to
the task one I b n Sahlan, who must have been a man
of the right calibre, for promptly on his arrival men
who had been gaining a r i c h livelihood by robbery and
brigandage betook themselves elsewhere.
T h e reputation to w h i c h their going paid tribute
was enhanced by I b n Sahlan's efforts to get at the root
of the city's troubles. As a first step he banished
numerous members of the Hashimite clan, a discontented body of Sunnites who claimed kinship w i t h
M o h a m m e d . To balance their expulsion he sent out of
the city the fanatical A b u ' A b d u l l a h , one of the religious heads of the Shi'a, and then as a final measure,
w i t h great impartiality, he surrounded w i t h his D a i l e m ite mercenaries both the K a r k h quarter, the stronghold
of Shi'ism, and the Bab al-Basra quarter, the centre
of Sunnite fanaticism.
W i t h power in their hands and the certainty that
their officers w o u l d never call them to account for
anything they d i d , the Dailemites proceeded to amuse
themselves in their o w n way at the expense of the
citizens. T h u s in Ramadan drunken soldiers w o u l d
meet citizens anxious to celebrate the fast, and compel
them to d r i n k w i n e . 2 A n d they d i d not stop at grosser
jests. I b n Sahlan himself harried the T u r k s and the
171
population generally, and when the inevitable complaints began to pour in to the amir, the " t y r a n t and
b r u t e ' ' was compelled to flee for his life. Several years
later brigands and robbers are reported to have been
carrying on their trade more briskly than ever, slaying,
looting and b u r n i n g 1 ; while the miserable T u r k i s h
troops, now leaderless and utterly w i t h o u t provision,
were almost of necessity driven to brigandage and
practised extortion on the various quarters of the city,
particularly on the K a r k h , in w h i c h many merchants
had their stores.
T h e proceeds of these depredations cannot have
been very greatdoubtless experience had taught the
wealthier citizens the art of concealmentfor in
A . D . 1027 we find the T u r k s petitioning that some commander be appointed over them to take charge of their
affairs. T h e man they themselves chose was apparently
not agreeable to those in authority, but we find the T u r k s
acquiescing in the election by the Caliph of the Buwayh i d viceroy Jalal al-Dawla, to w h o m they promised
their loyalty. On June 22nd, A . D . 1027, proclamation
was made of his investiture and on meeting the Caliph
he behaved w i t h great deference towards h i m . D r u m s
were beaten and trumpets b l o w n at the gates of the
" G o v e r n m e n t H o u s e " , and the ceremony was completed by the mention of Jalal al-Dawla as Sultan in
the statutory Friday oration in the Great Mosque. 2
T h e appointment seems to have given both T u r k s
and citizens some measure of confidence, w h i c h
induced some slackness in the vigilance that each
normally exercised. In the records of the year after the
172
appointment we read of an epidemic of horse-stealing

for w h i c h the K u r d s are blamed. T h e only resource
w h i c h the T u r k i s h ex-soldiers could t h i n k of was to
keep their horses in their o w n houses, and even Jalal
al-Dawla, if the records are to be believed, thought it
expedient to keep his horses in a b u i l d i n g inside the
" G o v e r n m e n t H o u s e " . W i t h this lack of courage and
resourcefulness it is not surprising that the hopes in
the new leader d i d not find fulfilment, but dissatisfaction was temporarily stilled by the distribution of
largess and by some looting, that was made possible
in a serious riot between the Shfites and Sunnites.
On this occasion Jews also were involved, because they
were accused of having helped the Shi'ites. It was an
affray serious enough to make the authorities cut the
m a i n bridge in order to separate the combatants.
T h e authority gained for himself by Jalal al-Dawla
was of short duration. In A . D . 1032 the T u r k s , disappointed in their hopes of regular pay, attacked his
house, looted i t , and even stripped the clothes o i f the
backs of his clerks and servants. T h e Sultan fled, b u t he
was brought back and reinstated in office by the T u r k s
when they found it impossible to get a new chief. H i s
incapacity showed itself again in the next year w i t h the
appearance of a picturesque brigand w h o went by the
name of a l - B u r j u m i and who terrified the citizens of
Baghdad, entirely outdoing the efforts of the T u r k s .
As a base of operations he took up a position on the
east bank of the river, where, in the middle of a marshy
region w i t h patches of deep water, he had discovered
a m o u n d that he turned into a stronghold. F r o m it he
i73
raided the city, keeping the richer members of the

community in such a state of terror for their persons
and property that they transferred their treasures, as a
desperate measure, to the safe-keeping of the " House
of the Caliphate". M e n t i o n of " t h e b r i g a n d ' ' was
avoided as m u c h as possible, and when there was
occasion to talk of h i m at all he was called " T h e Chief,
A b i i ' A l i " . H i s fame increased to such an extent that
a section of the inhabitants were for mentioning h i m in
the khutba. It was in his favour that he never attacked
or robbed a woman, and that he used his powers quite
impartially against T u r k and citizen alike. W h e n one
of the T u r k i s h chiefs wished to celebrate the c i r c u m cision of his son he d i d not venture to begin the festivities before he had sent a present of camels, fruits and
wine to al-Burjumi, who tapped all possible sources of
revenue systematically. Caravanserais where travellers
congregated were regularly visited for tribute, singinggirls were made to pay a part of their earnings, and even
the Sultan had to surrender some of his revenues. In
the streets, the robber band flaunted gilded banners as
a mark of their prestige and insisted on being addressed
as "generals".
Success in the end made al-Burjumi careless, though
not before the business of the city on both sides had
been thoroughly disorganized; and it was then that the
Sultan laid an ambush for h i m and, having succeeded
i n capturing h i m , p r o m p t l y drowned h i m , although
the rogue had offered a huge sum of money to be
released. 1
T h a t an i n d i v i d u a l w i t h o u t any considerable backing
i74
of troops could for so long have terrorized the metropolis must be taken as evidencesupported also by
other indicationsthat the Buwayhid power was
definitely reaching its end. It was made more obvious
than ever in the next few years when Beduin raiders
from w i t h o u t joined their attacks to those of the
brigands and T u r k s inside the city. T h e y blockaded
the roads and waylaid travellers; and even inside the
city walls they laid whole streets near the mosque of
Mansur under regular tribute and were able w i t h
i m p u n i t y to rob the women visiting the graves in the
burial grounds. At times they kidnapped people coming
out of the city gates and sold them "as though they
were Greek prisoners". 1
T h e Caliph made a feeble attempt on one occasion
to assert his vanished authority when a slave broke into
the palace gardens and, after eating some of the royal
f r u i t , disappeared. In a pious fury the monarch wrote
to the Buwayhid viceroy, bidding h i m find the wretch
who had inflicted this indignity upon a royal dwelling.
B u t though a search was made the culprit could not be
discovered, "because", says the historian I b n al-Jawzi,
" of the absence of any respect for law and o r d e r " . On
this subject and that of the general disregard of rel i g i o n the Caliph now approached the cadis and the
ecclesiastical lawyers. He ordered that no marriages
were to be performed, the doors of all mosques were
to be locked and preparations were made for h i m to
leave the godless city. Whether through these measures
or not, the slave was caught, but was released again
after an hour's detention.
175
A m o n g the special burdens laid on the citizens by

the brigands at this time are mentioned the tribute
extracted from certain quarters for permission to draw
water f r o m the river, a tax on the incomes of the rawis
or public storytellers, and fines levied on any citizens
who broke the fast of Ramadan, drank wine, or in other
ways transgressed the laws of religion. 1
Even in these circumstances the pleasures of life
were not forgotten and the chronicles continue to
recount those events w h i c h then, as now, had a "news
value". T h u s we are t o l d that i n A . H . 4 3 1 ( A . D . 1039-40),
when conditions in the city were disagreeable in the
extreme, a son was b o r n to the Caliph al-Qa'im, and
people celebrated the event by public rejoicings and by
decorating the city on both banks. 2
In A . H . 445 ( A . D . 1043) Jalal al-Dawla, one of the last
reigning Buwayhids, and one who had ruled independently of Fars, died in Baghdad, and was succeeded in
office by a prince as helpless for good or i l l as the Caliph
himself, so that the chief authority was again transferred entirely to the Persian province. Of the events
accounted remarkable thereafter was the u n i o n in
A . H . 442 ( A . D . 1050-1) of Shi'ites and Sunnites against
a common foe, A b u M u h a m m a d al-Nasawi, who had
been appointed head of the security force in the city
and had by his conduct aroused the fury of the populat i o n . So great was the sudden friendliness of the
ancient enemies that the mu'ezzins in the K a r k h t h e
dominant S h f a quarterused a Sunnite formula 3
when calling the faithful to prayer, and the mu'ezzins
in the Bab al-Basrathe fanatically Sunnite quarter
176
returned the compliment w i t h the Shf'ite formula,

" C o m e to the best of deeds". Moreover Shi'ite and
Sunnite, Dailem and T u r k joined in the pilgrimage to
the Shi*a shrines, the tombs of the imams, at Ka?imayn
and elsewhere, visits never made by Sunnites in
ordinary circumstances. 1
T h e concord disappeared in the next year when
offensively Shi'ite "slogans" were w r i t t e n up on prominent buildings in the city in letters of gold. Efforts
were made to have the offending words removed, b u t
the Shi'ites insisted on their retention, w i t h the result
that the ancient hatred broke out w i t h redoubled
violence. In the riots that followed, a member of the
Sunnite clan of the Hashimites was killed and his body
carried round the various Sunnite quarters w i t h the
purpose of inflaming public opinion. After the funeral
the next day, crowds of Sunnites gathered w i t h hostile
intent round the great shrine of the imams at Ka?imayn,
w h i c h they had visited w i t h at least outward reverence
the year before. F i n d i n g the gates locked they broke
i n , pillaged the sacred b u i l d i n g and desecrated tombs
and vaults by b u r n i n g them. T h e tombs of the imams
themselves d i d not escape the general destruction,
whilst amongst others destroyed were those of the
Buwayhids M u ' i z z al-Dawla and Jalal al-Dawla. On
the next day the Sunnites came again and dug up
the graves of the two imams, Musa al~Kazim and
M u h a m m a d i b n ' A l i , w i t h the intention o f transferring
the bodies to the tomb of the great Sunnite doctor
A h m a d i b n Hanbal. T h i s step however was not approved
by the important Sunnite families, the Hashimites and
LOB
177
12
Abbasids, who claimed relationship w i t h the imams,

and the project was abandoned. D u r i n g this time the
inhabitants of the K a r k h had not been idle, and on their
o w n , the west, side of the river, had plundered and
burned the college of the Hanifite doctors and killed
one of them. T h e y then turned their attentions to the
east bank the inhabitants of w h i c h seem to have
satisfied their pugnacious desires.
T h i s depressing record of strife is to some extent
lightened by certain indicationsnot offered by the
regular historiansthat beneath the stormy surface
life in the city continued to possess qualities less rough
and brutal. To the l u r i d picture of t u r m o i l there can
be added the details of everyday doings and ordinary
thought w h i c h are necessary to the t r u t h of the composit i o n and tone d o w n its crudenesses. Account must be
taken, for example, of such details as are to be obtained
from the dramatic monologue, already quoted, composed by A b u '1-Mutahhar, 1 who seems to have w r i t t e n
just before the close of the period. T h e name of the
hero of the monologue is A b u '1-Qasim of Baghdad, a
genial " rogue and vagabond ", who tells the adventures
that he experienced d u r i n g a day in the metropolis.
He is described by the author as " a n elderly man
whose white beard gleamed from a face so ruddy
that red wine came near to d r i p p i n g from i t , and
whose eyes seemed to peer out of green glass and to
be revolving in quick-silver". In pursuit of his disreputable avocation
it was his practice to enter some rich man's house, pretending
to be half dead and ready for any asceticism. He would be
178
dressed in a Persian cloak, of which one corner would be
thrown over his forehead, concealing half his face.
He w o u l d seat himself in any company that was present,

and after reciting passages from the K o r a n w o u l d greet
the room, reserving special blessings for the master of
the house. There he w o u l d sit for a long time reading
the K o r a n in a low voice, and, after i n d u l g i n g in
various expressions of h u m i l i t y and self-abasement,
he w o u l d catch the eye of one of the company, w h o
w o u l d recognize his k i n d and smile. Promptly he w o u l d
tune his lyre to a coarser note and, addressing each
member of the company in Rabelaisian verse, w o u l d
describe the characteristics of each c i t y " type ". H i s least
obscene remarks are reserved for the cadger, who goes
about f r o m door to door w i t h a nose as keen as a fly's
for savoury odours from the kitchens, and w h o , finding a
wedding or a circumcision being celebrated, is by no
fear of a thrashing from a porter kept long hesitating
on the threshold, though sometimes he is turned back
w i t h a curt request to loosen his purse-strings if he is
hungry. 1
On one occasion w h e n he is invited to a house, he
addresses one of the assembly who has not spoken to h i m
in a flow of coarse h u m o u r : " O you shaped mandrake
root, w h y don't y o u speak? y o u face on a w a l l ! A r e y o u
a clod or an animal? Y o u , w h o being present are yet
absent". W h e n this amusement begins to be tedious, one
of the company suggests that the fine weather be celebrated in a bumper, and drinks to the health of Isfahan.
T h i s leads to a boasting match on the relative merits
of that city and Baghdad. T h r o u g h the exasperating
179
12- 2
bombast and distortion it is possible to catch a glimpse

of the real Baghdad. A b u '1-Qasim is made to sing the
praises of the city and, challenging the champion of
Isfahan, he says:
In your town do I see a river like the Tigris, covered w i t h
ships and boats, flanked by palaces and kiosks, amongst which
there resound the strains of song, the throbbing melodies of
reed pipes and water wheels, the cries of sailors and the calls of
the mu'ezzins... ? Here you shall see beauty from whichever
side you approach, and everywhere you shall be astonished.
Do I see in your city the masters of all crafts and skilled trades
such as may be seen in Baghdad? Here are paper-makers, calligraphers, tailors, wood-turners, makers of coats of mail, gilders,
cooks, musicians and other craftsmen of marvellous skill and
without number. 1
He speaks appreciatively of the fine, r i c h , outdoor

clothes w o r n by the Baghdadis. " Silken robes embroidered w i t h spun gold and mingled amber, or w i t h
beautiful patterns woven as though of the flowers of
spring, or cloaks of Chinese gauze, fine as air or as a
mirage." 2 He has something also to say of the expensive
decorative details of Baghdad architecture: "Roofs
covered w i t h teak wood, staircases inlaid w i t h ebony and
ivory, fine porticoes and verandas ". 3 A n d he is not to be
kept on the outside of these splendid mansions. In a
manner perfectly possible in Islamic lands, where religion
and the laws of hospitality diminish social differences,
he is able to penetrate into the houses of the r i c h , in
w h i c h he sees a taste for " imported " luxuries w h i c h can
be compared w i t h that of the most recent c i v i l i z a t i o n :
" Audience chambers, in w h i c h the floors are spread
180
w i t h M a g h r i b i carpets and Kharshani mats, w i t h long

Andalusian and Cordovan rugs, Armenian ' t h r o w downs', Greek coverlets of velvet, divans from Tustar
and gilt leather dining-carpets from M a g h r i b " . 1 W h e n
food is brought it is on a table standing on "legs made
of Khurasan khalanja wood, without j o i n t or flaw in i t ,
red w i t h white, like a tray of gillyflowers, and having
a crystal inlay and covered w i t h an embroidered cloth
that distracts a man's attention from the food laid out
on i t " . 2
T h e rogue's palate is sufficiently educated to understand what food to recommend, and he knows what the
standard of table service should be in a good house.
On the table w h i c h he describes there are spread out
amongst less recognizable dishes, wheaten bread
like morsels of guinea g o l d , . . .sharp Dinawari cheese, which
breaks up the appetite and sets the stomach in m o t i o n , . . .Greek
cheese, toasted, as though all the fatness of kine were allotted
to i t , and of a sharpness which makes the eye of the consumer
to water as though he were parting from his loved ones,... and
peeled fresh white walnuts, which when eaten w i t h the Dinawari
or Greek cheese is sweeter than health to the body; turnips,
white and r e d . . .cucumber in vinegar, asafoetida root, egg-plant
pickled and dressed w i t h the juice of pomegranate seeds.
There is also an " infusion of daqal dates w i t h o u t any

contaminating harakan dates whose sourness makes
the birds drop from the vaults of heaven". For condiment there is salt, " w h i t e and pure as molten s i l v e r " .
T h e more solid dishes are roasts of duck, veal, fat
turkey, suckling lamb, " round, one in length and
A sweet-smelling wood which shows two colours when polished.
181
b r e a d t h / ' and fatted pullets. T h e y should rest on a bed

of mince or rice mingled w i t h soured m i l k and saffron
and powdered w i t h sugar. Further, there are young
pigeons and various kinds of partridge and goose and
other waterfowl as well as common yellow sparrows
stuffed w i t h peeled almonds, Khurasan raisins, Jurjan
grapes, and H u l w a n figs, and decorated w i t h citron
leaf.1
W h e n the time comes for the food to be removed

" there enters a butler of j o v i a l countenance and
cleanly garbed, of excellent training and unobtrusive
breath. He carries sultdni toothpicks properly straightened,. . . o r mdmiinitoothpicks perfumed... . A f t e r t h e m
he brings mahlab plums, scented and perfumed from
the shop of the spicers' company ". 2
He knows of many more vintages than one, "clearer
than water from h e a v e n . . . more delicate than a
zephyr''. 3 He likes a man of presentable appearance
to recite about "a g i r l , a cup, a hunt or a f r o l i c " , 4 and
for a singer he prefers
a minstrel of clear speech poetically endowed and clothed in
true music.. .for whose song the veil of the ear is raised; such
song as captures the heart in all assemblies, mingling w i t h every
particle of the soul; song which stirs'every spirit, makes heads
dance, brings a thirst for the cup, fills all ears w i t h joy and lights
a fire in every heart; so that he brings health w i t h his song and
exaltation w i t h his melody. 5
H e has a great contempt for singers who " k i l l " melodies

by singing out of time or tune, whose teeth are over
large, or who bellow and bray like asses.6 One of his
counts against Isfahan is that he sees there no good
182
girl singers, or negress tambourine-players, or (white)

dancers or players on the lute, who walk upon delicate
feet, with plump thighs like two papyrus stalks which
they move quickly like a partridge or a rdibi pigeon. 1
A n d these public performers of the Baghdad commonalty
are but the " threshold'' compared with the girl singers
in the possession of Baghdad's princes.
Then comes the story of one I b n Ghaylan, a draper,
who heard one of these girls sing and was so overcome
by the beauty of what he had heard that he fainted and
had to be restored with camphor and rose-water, and
the recitation into his ear of verses from the Koran. 2
CHAPTER X
The Greater Seljuqs and Baghdad

Towards the middle of the eleventh century events
were happening in Persia that were for the second time
in history to change the politics of Baghdad for w e l l
over a century. T h e r u i n of the empire of the Caliphs
and the dissensions amongst the Buwayhids, w h i c h
had split up Persia into a number of small principalities, presented opportunities to the vigorous T u r k o m a n
tribes of the Ghuzz, who were then advancing to power
over the ruins of the Ghaznawid and Buwayhid empires.
Above the d i n of strife at Baghdad distant rumours
of the victorious advance of T u g h r i l Beg, chief of the
Seljiiq tribe of the Ghuzz, had been heard by the
Caliph, who sent h i m friendly greetings and received
in return r i c h presents and messages of loyalty and
regard. In A . H . 444 ( A . D . 1052) some warriors of the
Ghuzz raided Fars, and though they w7ere driven off
from Shiraz, the capital, the enfeebled Buwayhids must
have seen in the attack the end of their o w n rule. T h a t
same year a section of the Ghuzz reached H u l w a n on
the borders of I r a q , but T u g h r i l Beg, who was in command, forbade any advance to the capital. 1 T h e reason
given for the failure to advance is a dubious one, b u t
there is no doubt that the Seljiiq chieftain was steadily,
though slowly, conquering the provinces surrounding
I r a q . After he had subdued Rayy (Rhages) in A . H . 447
( A . D . 1055), he determined upon a pilgrimage to Mecca,
184
THE GREATER SELJUQS AND BAGHDAD

w h i c h was to be combined w i t h an expedition to Egypt,
by way of Hamadan, Kirmanshahan, H u l w a n and
Baghdad. On his arrival at H u l w a n substance was given
to the reports of his progress by the appearance of his
advance guards marching along the Khurasan highway
towards the capital. People on the east bank were
t h r o w n into a panic and moved across the river, while
the T u r k s transferred their tents outside the city walls
in preparation for flight.
In advance of himself, T u g h r i l Beg, who was a
Sunnite, sent messages to the Caliph, who had for long
had to deal w i t h heretic Shi'ites, assuring h i m of his
loyalty and obedience and asking for permission to
enter the city. T h e reply was flattering in the extreme.
T h e Ghuzz prince was proclaimed Sultan, superseding
the Buwayhid in the khutba in every mosque of the city,
and the chief officers of the state came out a day's march
as far as Nahrawan to give h i m the welcome demanded
by ceremony. On Monday, December 18th, A . D . 1055,
the new sovereign entered the city of the Caliphs.
An unfortunate incident marked the very beginning
of the Seljiiq regime. A troop of T u g h r i l ' s horse who
wished to buy fodder, stopped a man in the Bab
al-Azaj quarter and asked h i m where they could find
what they needed. Misunderstanding both their language and their gestures he became alarmed and cried
out that he was being attacked. T h e crowd that gathered
began t h r o w i n g stones, and the rumour went abroad
that a l - M a l i k al-Rahim, the last Buwayhid amir, w i t h
such troops as he had, was t r y i n g to oppose T u g h r i l ' s
entry. For some reason, perhaps only because he was a
185
T H E GREATER SELJTJQS A N D B A G H D A D
familiar evil or because there was a large Shi* a element

in the city, popular support rallied to the Buwayhid,
and there was an attack on the Seljuq troops which
m i g h t have had very serious consequences if the i n habitants of the K a r k h , who were Persians and therefore
understood the language of the foreign soldiers, had
not come to their help and so saved the situation and
earned T u g h r i l ' s thanks. Nevertheless many of the
citizens were not content u n t i l they had seen the troop
of Seljuq horse ride outside the walls, back to the m a i n
body.
If the Buwayhid had made use of his opportunity it
is possible that he m i g h t have continued in power for
some time to come. As it was, he and his retinue went
quietly to the government house and awaited their fate,
t h i n k i n g that it w o u l d be a fortunate one. However
T u g h r i l wasted no compassion on a l - M a l i k al-Rahim,
w h o m he seized in spite of the Caliph's protests, and
sent to Rayy to be put to death. T h e Seljuq army also,
in rage at the inhospitable treatment of the Baghdadis,
attacked any citizens that ventured outside the walls
and looted several of the quarters on the right bank, so
that citizens in possession of valuables fled w i t h t h e m
to the mosques and the guardposts. At the same time
T u g h r i l gave orders that any property belonging to the
D a i l e m troops w h o had fought for the Buwayhids or to
the T u r k i s h soldiery was to be seized. 1 These mercenaries were now left in Baghdad w i t h o u t any resources,
and those that d i d not find employment elsewhere
turned into beggars or thieves.
T h e Ghuzz troops d i d not confine their plunderings
186

to Baghdad. A l l the villages in the r i c h agricultural
district w h i c h supplied the city were looted and the
crops and cattle seized, w i t h the consequence of an
enormous rise of food prices in the Baghdad markets.
W h e n finally the Ghuzz army continued their march
to Basra they left the countryside waste. B u t in the
capital T u g h r i l had the government buildings repaired
and enlarged, though he i l l repaid the services of the
S h f i t e inhabitants of the K a r k h quarter by insisting that
their mu'ezzins were to dilute their o w n call to prayer
w i t h Sunnite phrases. 1
D u r i n g T u g h r i l ' s absence from the city for about a
year the unfortunate events of his first visit seem to
have been forgotten. He was received on his return
w i t h most elaborate ceremony. At the Raqqa gate,
to w h i c h he had come by the river, a cavalcade of
notables was waiting to accompany h i m " into the courtyard of al-Salam and the fortress of I s l a m " . 2 T h e
procession, w i t h the amirs r i d i n g in front and conspicuously bearing no weapons, advanced through a
great concourse of people towards the place where the
Caliph sat on a raised platform behind a curtain. It was
lifted at T u g h r i l ' s approach and the Caliph was disclosed wearing his insigniathe Prophet's robe and
r i n g . At a sign from h i m the T u r k i s h prince was
seated upon another platform alongside his. A r a b
Caliph and T u r k i s h prince, communicating t h r o u g h
an interpreterfor the one knew no T u r k i s h , the other
no Arabicthen assured each other of mutual loyalty
and friendship, and the Captain of the Guard explained
to T u g h r i l that he was appointed regent of the realm.
187
T H E GREATER SELJUQS A N D B A G H D A D
"The Commander of the Faithful", Ibn al-Athir makes the

officer say, "thanks you for your efforts, lauds what you have
done, and has pleasure to have you by him. He has given you
charge of all the territories which Allah has bestowed on him and
has transferred to you the care of his servants. Therefore be
God-fearing in what he has entrusted to you; acknowledge the
favours of Allah, strive to spread justice abroad, to prevent
wrong-doing and to prosper the subjects of the Caliph." 1
T u g h r i l was then invested w i t h a robe of honour,
a collar and bracelets, and also w i t h a scented goldembroidered turban, symbolizing the combination of
the Arab and non-Arab crowns. T h e Caliph also gave
h i m two swords and addressed h i m as " K i n g of East
and W e s t " . T u g h r i l , in token of servitude, kissed the
sovereign's hand and laid it upon his eyes. 2
T h e new Sultan was not content to remain idle in
Baghdad. U s i n g it as a centre for his campaign, he
subdued southern I r a q and returned again to Persia,
where he became involved in difficulties owing to the
rivalry of his brother I b r a h i m Yannal. N o w T u g h r i l
had not long been gone out of the city when the exgeneral of the Buwayhids, Basasiri, who had laid siege
to M o s u l and captured it before T u g h r i l Beg could
march against h i m , contrived by evading the Seljuq's
pursuit to descend on Baghdad. At the rumours w h i c h
preceded the pretender, as he came marching d o w n the
Euphrates, the Caliph decided on flight and moved f r o m
the west bank to the east, where the way lay open
towards Persia. W h e n the enemy actually arrived he
was accompanied by a force of only four hundred men,
and they were in a state of collapse f r o m hunger and
188
T H E GREATER SELJUQS A N D BAGHDAD
fatigue. But he was offered very little opposition, even

though, almost on his arrival, he boldly marched into the
great mosque of Mansur and publicly declared his allegiance to the Shi'ite prince of Egypt, Mustansir the
F a t i m i d , and on the first following Friday d i d the same
in the mosque at Rusafa on the east side of the city. As
a token of the change of allegiance, moreover, he ordered
that the colour of clothes was to be changed from the
Abbasid black to the white of the Fatimids. 1
In this peculiar situation the officers left in charge
of the city, together w i t h the notables who wished in
every circumstance to stand well w i t h those in power,
were in a dilemma. T h e greater portion of the populat i o n favoured the rebel: the Shi* a because he was of their
way of belief, the Sunnites because they were furious
at the Seljiiq outrages. For the authorities the way out
lay in a policy of waiting and non-intervention, and
they left it to the Seljiiq Sultan to settle the difficulty
as best he could. There was indeed an independent
attempt by a warlike cadi, followed by members of the
Hashimite clan (who as members of the Prophet's
family considered themselves the champions of Sunnism), to attack Basasiri, but their attempt proved abortive
and they were driven off w i t h considerable loss in dead
and wounded. T h e rebel followed up his victory by looti n g the royal quarters, though the Caliph had first been
rescued by friends and carried off to the Euphrates.
Basasiri could now play the prince. On the Festival
of Sacrifice he crossed to the great mosque on the
east bank, w i t h the Egyptian standard over his head,
distributed largess and generally tried to convey
189
T H E GREATER S E L J U Q S A N D B A G H D A D
the impression that here at last was a tolerant and liberal

ruler. He belied the promise in one respect. He had
taken prisoner the Caliph's officer k n o w n as the ra'is
al-ruyasd, the "head chieftain", and to provide a spectacle for the mob he had the prisoner brought out in
chains, dressed in a woollen cloak w i t h a red turtur,
or criminal's cap of red felt, on his head, and round his
neck a collar of camel skin. He seated the wretched
man on a camel and drove h i m thus attired through the
streets, making h i m recite the verse of the K o r a n :
" Say, O God, L o r d of kingly power, thou dost grant
kingship to w h o m thou desirest and removest it from
w h o m thou desirest". 1 As the prisoner went by, the
Shi'ite crowd from the K a r k h spat in his face in expression of their disapproval of his past fanatical conduct
towards them. W h e n he had gone the f u l l length of the
road he/vvas brought back to Basasiri's camp. There he
was dressed in an ox-hide w i t h the horns fixed above
his head, and was put to death by crucifixion. 2
F r o m Baghdad Basasiri marched to Wasit and Basra,
and continuing his march after taking these cities he
came to Ahwaz. But T u g h r i l Beg had by this time
regained his f u l l power and influence by k i l l i n g his
brother I b r a h i m in battle in Persia, and since he was
now able to assist his supportersone of w h o m was
the ruler of Ahwaz Basasiri was compelled to retrace
his steps along the T i g r i s without having achieved all
he wanted. Moreover the Seljiiq monarch was now
free to march d o w n to I r a q again. H i s ostensible
purpose was no more than to see that the Caliph, to
w h o m he owed allegiance, was installed once more in
190
his palace at Baghdad. Accordingly he sent messengers

to i n f o r m Basasiri that he w o u l d be content not to
march on I r a q on the conditions that the Caliph was
allowed to return home, that he, T u g h r i l , was acknowledged as suzerain in the khutba, and that his name
appeared on the coinage. W h e n Basasiri by his silence
indicated defiance, T u g h r i l set his army in motion.
By the time he reached Qasri Shirin on the Persian
frontier, the Shi'ites of the K a r k h quarter were in a
panic and moved their families out of the city d o w n stream. There many of them fell into the clutches of the
tribesmen, then, as now, ever on the watch for loot.
T h e departure of the inhabitants of the K a r k h was a
signal to their bitter Sunni rivals of the Bab al-Basra
quarter to spoil such parts of the deserted streets as
remained unprotected. T h e y were not content to rob
but burnt Saffron Street, w h i c h , according to I b n
a l - A t h i r , was the finest and best b u i l t thoroughfare in
the city. 1
At Nahrawan, between Qasri Shirin and Baghdad, the
Caliph joined the Sultan, and the two came into the
capital together, the Sultan humbly leading the Caliph's
horse. There was no ceremony at this entry. Basasiri
was still popular and most of the important supporters
of the Seljuq prince and of the Caliph had fled the city,
leaving only one to receive the Commander of the
Faithful.
In the neighbourhood of K u f a meanwhile, the Sultan's
troops and those of his allies were fighting Basasiri,
whose end came in battle when, an arrow having brought
d o w n his horse, he fell on his face to the ground, unable
191
to escape. One of the wounded men of his o w n side

pointed h i m out to the enemy, who cut off his head
and sent it to Baghdad, to be exposed in t r i u m p h there
at one of the city gates.
W h e n T u g h r i l Beg died in A . D . 1063 he was succeeded, after some delay, by his nephew Sultan A l p
Arslan, who in a short reign of nine years was able by
hard fighting and tremendous effort to expand the
empire to w h i c h he succeeded u n t i l it included all the
land from the Mediterranean Sea to the confines of
eastern Persia. To h i m directly Baghdad does not owe
very much, but his m i g h t y vizier, who is generally
k n o w n by his honorific title of the Nizam al-Mulk>
" T h e Ordering of the K i n g d o m " , for a time renewed
some of the departed glories of the city. T h i s famous
minister, who is associated in legend w i t h Omar
Khayyam and the " O l d M a n o f the M o u n t a i n s " , chief
of the Isma'ili Assassins, served A l p Arslan and his
successor Malikshah for a period of t h i r t y years. Being
primarily soldiers they left the administration of their
empire during that time to the skill of the N i z a m
a l - M u l k , whose powers were practically absolute and
who worked w i t h an honesty of purpose that is rare in
oriental history.
T h e result of his efforts was an era of prosperity of
a k i n d w h i c h Baghdad had not known for a long t i m e .
In A . H . 457 ( A . D . 1065) the b u i l d i n g was begun of the
famous college, k n o w n after the vizier as the Madrasat al-Nizamiya, or N i z a m i College. It was one of
three great schools w h i c h he founded and endowed,
and it became the most famous of them all. T h e
192
Persian geographer Qazwini, in his dictionary of geography which he called Athdr al-Bildd or " Monuments
of the Countries (of the World) ",* relates how the schools
came to be built:
There is a story that the Sultan A l p Arsl&n, going into the
town of Naisabiir one day, happened to pass by the gate of a
mosque and saw a number of scholars gathered there. Their
clothes were in tatters, they made no obeisance to h i m as he
passed, and called down no blessing on h i m . . . .The Sultan in
surprise asked the Niz&m al-Mulk (who accompanied him)
who they were. He replied that they were seekers after knowledge, in spirit the noblest of men; that they took no pleasure in
things of the world, and that they testified to their poverty by
their garb. Perceiving that the Sultan's heart was softened t o wards them, he continued:" If the Sultan would grant me leave,
I would build them an abode and provide them w i t h an endowment, so that they could occupy themselves in the search for
knowledge and pray for blessings on the Sultan's majesty ". The
Sultan gave permission and the Nizam a l - M u l k gave orders for
colleges to be built in various parts of the Sultan's empire. He
further ordained that one-tenth of the royal revenue allotted to
h i m as vizier should be set aside for expenditure on the building.
These madrasas were not the first to be built, but it

is probable that the Nizam al-Mulk was the first to
make provision for the physical needs of the students.2
The building of the madrasa, which lay on the east
bank, was completed in September, A.D. 1067, and
lectures seem to have begun at once. The influence of
the school stretched beyond the limits of Baghdad.
Indeed some of the details of its organization appear
to have been copied by the early universities in Europe.
It was founded officially as a theological school, being
I*OB
*93
13
recognized both by the religious leaders of Islam and

by the State, i.e. the Caliph, who provided its revenues,
though by indirect means. T h e University of Paris in
the same way derived its standing by the authority b o t h
of C h u r c h and State. 1
T h e Caliph's intimate connection w i t h the madrasa
made his permission necessary before any teacher
could take up duties there. For not having obtained
this permission the mudarris (or professor) Y u s u f alD i m i s h q i was excluded from the Friday assembly in
the Caliph's mosque and even the substitute sent by
Sultan M a s ' u d was refused permission to teach u n t i l the
prince himself had interceded w i t h the Caliph. 2
At the outset the school by no means obtained everyone's approval. T h e land upon w h i c h it was b u i l t had
been seized w i t h o u t compensation to the expropriated
owners and a number of houses were removed to make
room for i t . 3 T h i s led to a difficulty at the opening
ceremony. T h e first principal or professor while on his
way to the madrasa was stopped in the street by a y o u t h
who asked h i m how he, a man of piety, could teach in
a school standing on ground unlawfully seized. T h e
professor promptly returned home, in spite of the fact
that a large number of people were w a i t i n g to hear his
lecture and indeed waited for h i m for nearly the whole
day. He was finally persuaded to take up his duties
after twenty days' debate, during w h i c h time a substitute teacher acted for h i m . 4
T h e N i z a m a l - M u l k had intended that the m a i n
function of the school was to teach the r i g i d l y orthodox
system of theology propounded by al-Ash'ari, 5 w h o
194
fixed the tenets of the Sunni faith for all time. T h e

system was by no means universally accepted. T w e n t y
years before the school's foundation the adherents of
al-Ash'ari had been officially cursed from the p u l p i t ,
w i t h all other "heretics'', by the ' A m i d a l - M u l k , the
Sultan T u g h r i l Beg's vizier, and the cursing was continued u n t i l the Nizam a l - M u l k himself abolished the
practice. 1 T h e most famous adherent of the Ash'ari
system was the theologian and mystic al-Ghazali,
renowned in the annals of Islam not only as the greatest
of its dogmatic theologians but as the most saintly of
its mystics. In A.D. 1091 he was given a professorship
at the Nizamiya college, and remained there for four
years, during w h i c h hundreds attended his lectures
although even he was not free from attack. Thus amongst
his pupils was a fanatic named M o h a m m e d i b n T u m a r t ,
who spent the major part of his life in N o r t h Africa.
He violently criticized the professor for wearing good
clothes and particularly for donning an especially
handsome academic robe for his lectures in the madrasa.2
A sudden impulse towards the unworldly life of a Sufi
made h i m cast off his professorial robes and don the
patched cloak of a wandering dervish.
Each new appointment to the post of mudarris or
professor is noted by the historians for many years after
the foundation of the college, and it may be assumed
therefore that the position was one of considerable i m portance. Also it w o u l d seem that only one mudarris
was elected at a time, and great difficulty was caused
when, in A . H . 483 ( A . D . 1090), two eminent scholars
arrived in Baghdad, both armed w i t h diplomas of
195
13-2
THE GREATER SELJ UQS AND BAGHDAD

appointment from the N i z a m a l - M u l k . An arrangement by w h i c h the two professors lectured on alternate
days seems to have been the only way out of an embarrassing situation. 1 There was no restriction on
the number of faqihs1 (lecturers), or muHds ( " r e p 6 t i teurs"). 3 Easily the most famous in after life of those
who taught in a subordinate capacity at the madrasa was
the poet Sa'di of Shiraz. Of his life at the school he
tells us that he thoroughly earned his salary, for he was
engaged day and nightalmost like Charles Lamb's
schoolmaster"in a perpetual cycle of teaching and
repetition." 4 Another teacher was Baha a l - D i n (Bohadin) the biographer of Saladin, 5 He kept the manners
and customs of the Baghdad court all his days both in
his l i v i n g and his way of dress. H i s was a r i g i d system
of etiquette, and officials who came to visit h i m at
M o s u l in his audience chamber always took the place
regularly assigned to them, w i t h o u t venturing in his
presence to move.to a higher one. 6 Some of his reminiscences are reported in I b n Khallikan's b i o graphy of h i m . One of them is that some of the students 7
of the Nizamiya once ate the kernels of the balddur8 to
sharpen their wits and memory. T h e effect was to
drive them mad, and one appeared in the college and
listened gravely to discussions, though he was entirely
nude except for a cap. 9
T h e faqihs in course of time acquired a strong
corporate feeling w h i c h showed itself as occasion
demanded, as for example in A . H . 547 ( A . D . 1152) when
Y a ' q i i b the Scribe died in the madrasa w i t h o u t leaving
an heir. T h e Caliph's officer, whose business it was to
196

take charge of the property of persons dying without
heir, came into the madrasa to place his seal on the door
of the small upper story chamber in w h i c h Y a ' q i i b had
lived. T h e faqihs resented the presence of the officer
and assaulted h i m , and the porter on w h o m he called for
assistance thrashed two of the presumptuous faqihs.
Thereupon the other students locked the college gates,
threw the " Preacher's C h a i r " (pulpit) into the roadway
and that night demonstrated on the flat roof of the
college in a disorderly manner, asking others to j o i n
them in defiance of the authorities. T h e mudarris was
able to still the demonstration, but had to make his
apologies for the disorder to the Caliph himself w h o m
he visited in the Taj Palace. 1
T h e M o o r i s h traveller I b n Jubayr visited the madrasa
in A . D . 1184 and attended a lecture given by the faqih
Radiy a l - D i n al-Qazwmi. T h e lecture took place f o l lowing the afternoon prayers on the Fridaythe day
after the traveller's arrival in Baghdad. W h e n the
class was assembled, the lecturer mounted a platform
or p u l p i t , and the students, sitting on stools in front of
h i m , read out, or rather intoned, the K o r a n . T h e shaikh
then delivered an address, interpreting a section of the
K o r a n w i t h a wealth of learning and the application
of pertinent traditions of the Prophet. T h e teacher
was then assailed by showers of oral questions from all
parts of the room, and, when he had answered t h e m
w i t h great elaboration and facility, he received a number
of w r i t t e n questions w i t h w h i c h he dealt. By the t i m e
he had answered all these, evening prayers were due
and the class dispersed.
197

T h e Nizamiya madrasa was not the only public
institution founded in the early Seljuq period; and at
the same time older establishments were not forgotten.
In A . D . 1068 there died a certain ' A b d a l - M a l i k w h o
had repaired and endowed the ' A d u d i hospital afresh,
also increasing its staff by twenty-eight physicians. 1
In the same year that the b u i l d i n g of the Nizamiya
was begun, Sharaf a l - M u l k al M u s t a w f i ( " T h e Treasurer") came to Baghdad and took advantage of his
important office to emulate the vizier. He accordingly
b u i l t a shrine over the tomb of A b u Hanifa at the
" G a t e of the A r c h " to the north of the eastern part of
the city, and in addition b u i l t a madrasa there for his
friends. It was said of Sharaf a l - M u l k that he had a
complete suit of clothes for every day of the year, and
always wore what was seasonable.2
Later on, one Khamartagin, a servant of the prince
Taj al-Dawla T u t u s h , son of A l p Arslan, b u i l t a
bazaar near the Nizamiya college, a madrasa in the same
neighbourhood for the Hanafite sect and a hospital
in the Bab al-Azaj quarter. T h e y were all called
" T u t u s h i " after the prince. 3
T h e new structures were erected after the great flood
of A . H . 466 ( A . D . 1073), the year following the succession of Malikshah to the Seljuq Sultanate after his
father A l p Arslan. I n that year the T i g r i s , i n h i g h
flood, submerged most of the t o w n l y i n g on the east
bank and a good deal of that on the west bank. O n l y
the Caliph's palace and the buildings protected by its
dykes escaped catastrophe. T h e water also rose in the
subterranean conduits and wells on the east bank and
198

drowned a number of people. In the night a h i g h w i n d
drove a huge volume of the flood water right up to the
upper stories of the buildings; and it is especially noted
by the chroniclers that water poured in at the windows
of the ' A d u d f hospital. No vessel of any k i n d w o u l d
venture out, and the majority lay tied up under the lee
of the Taj Palace on the left bank. T h e dislocation of
traffic w h i c h this caused was so great that the vizier
summoned the ferrymen and ordered them, on pain of
death, to resume their work, and in spite of the perilous
crossing they were forbidden to charge passengers more
than the regular fare.
D u r i n g the space of over twenty years following the
disaster there came steady recuperation and a prosperity w h i c h showed itself in an exceptional plenitude
and cheapness of food. W h e n the Sultan Malikshah
paid the city one of his rare visits, in A . D . 1087, his
m a i n object was to find relaxation after strenuous
campaigning. A p a r t from a state visit to the Caliph, his
most serious business was polo and after that gazellehunting. T h e N i z a m a l - M u l k , w h o came w i t h h i m ,
inspected the great madrasa and gave his attention to
matters that needed i t . 1 Great headway was made
d u r i n g the period w i t h the rebuilding of the parts of
the city w h i c h the floods had destroyed. In addition
there were considerable extensions of the eastern half
of Baghdad, now the more important side of the city. 2
In A . D . 1095, in the reign of the Caliph Mustazhir, a
w a l l was b u i l t round the Harim, or Royal Precincts,
w h i c h took in a large part of East Baghdad. 3 F r o m its
northern gate, to-day k n o w n as the Mu'azzam Gate,
199
a road led to the Sultan's palace, to w h i c h was added,

several years later, the t h i r d of the city's great Friday
mosques. T h e wall was extended in A . H . 517 ( A . D . 1123)
by the Caliph al-Mustarshid, who proposed to pay for
it by a tax on all exports from the city passing through
its gates. T h e measure proved very unpopular, and had
to be discontinued after a large sum of money had been
collected by its means. I b n a l - A t h i r reports that the
money was returned to the citizens, though he does
not explain how the delicate process of redistribution
was carried out. However that may be, the citizens
"increased their prayers" for their sovereign and
volunteered their labour, each city quarter in t u r n
contributing its share, and w o r k i n g to the music of
drums and flutes. T h e cost of the w a l l was in the end
made up by a gift from the vizier A h m a d , son of the
N i z a m a l - M u l k , added to the proceeds of a forced
levy on the city notables. 1
T h e comparative peace and relaxation of pressure
f r o m the outside that had given the people an opport u n i t y of restoring their city, also provided them w i t h
leisure to consider and renew their ancient internal
animosities and to inquire into each other's religious
and moral peculiarities. Doctrinal dissensions became
violent and were not confined to those between Shi'a
and Sunnites. It can hardly ever be said that the conflict
was due to incitement by the Seljuq Sultans or their
officers. T h e i r conduct in this respect differed notably
from that of the Shf'ite Buwayhids, w h o , more than
once, as has been seen, outraged Sunni opinion by
forcing their o w n sectarian practices upon a community
200
THE GREATER SELjtfQS AND BAGHDAD

of w h o m more than half found them detestable. Indeed
it occurred more than once that Sultan combined w i t h
Caliph to quell disorder w i t h its consequent harm to the
city. Occasionally, as in A . H . 502 ( A . D . 1108-9), their
efforts were successful and both sects were able to visit
their o w n particular shrines w i t h o u t molestation, even
when the pilgrimage involved passing through a hostile
quarter. 1
Nevertheless there was a chronic condition of r e l i gious unrest, especially marked at this time in the
internecine quarrels of Sunnite sects w h i c h blazed out
afresh almost annually. In A . H . 469 ( A . D . 1076-7) there
were violent scenes at the Nizamiya madrasa when the
Hanbalites in their hundreds w i t h noisy interruptions
t r i e d to d r o w n the lectures of the learned al-Qushayri
who held Ash'arite views. Again in the next year the
inhabitants of the Siiq al-Madrasa quarter and those
of the Siiq al-Thalatha fought on matters of doctrine.
On b o t h occasions numbers of the participants were
killed in the dispute. T h e disturbances had a political
sequel in the dismissal of the Caliph's vizier Fakhr
al-Dawla, who had failed to prevent the attacks on the
madrasa although the N i z a m a l - M u l k ' s o w n son had
been there on the first occasion. Further, a new governor was appointed over I r a q by the Nizam a l - M u l k ,
who had been informed of the conflict in a poem w h i c h
was sent to h i m , beginning:
O Order of the Kingdom (Nizdm al-Mulk),
Order is dissolved in Baghdad,
And he that dwells in it remains despised and outraged.2
A b i i Shuja*, the Caliph's new vizier, was a pious man
201

over-inclined to charitableness. He shut his eyes to
the r i o t i n g between Sunnis and Shi'a u n t i l the Caliph
M u q t a d f warned h i m that his duties could not be
carried out w i t h such leniency and that his indulgence
merely encouraged greater outrage. O n l y the destruct i o n of the biggest and most important houses in each
of the riotous quarters of the K a r k h and Bab al-Basra
w o u l d b r i n g their quarrelsome inhabitants to their
senses. In order to placate his sovereign, the vizier
despatched the muhtasib to carry out the disciplinary
measures, but at the same time he gave the officer
instructions to purchase the condemned properties at
his expense in order to prevent hardship to any owner
w h o m i g h t be innocent of offence. 1
I n A . D . 484 ( A . D . I091) the vizier's forbearance led
to his dismissal on the count that he encouraged disrespect of the Sultan's officers. T h e incident w h i c h led
to the charge was that a huckster had approached the
Sultan's agent, the Jew A b u Sa'd i b n Simha, and on
the pretence of offering h i m goods for sale had delivered
h i m a blow w h i c h knocked his turban off. W h i l e the
Sultan's governor and the Jewish agent were away at
the Sultan's camp making their complaint, the Caliph
issued an edict that all " p r o t e c t e d " people, Christians
and Jews, were f o r t h w i t h to mark themselves w i t h the
special token and to garb themselves in the garments
prescribed for them by the Caliph Omar. M a n y fled
the city, while others found it advisable to become
converts to Islam. 2 T h e reverberations of the affair
continued for a number of years, and when, in A . H . 501
( A . D . 1107-8), the vizier M a j d a l - D i n was readmitted
202
to office after a period during w h i c h he had been out

of the Sultan's favour, one of the conditions of his
reinstatement was that he was not to employ any " protected " Christians or Jews. 1
Efforts were made during this period at the moral and
physical cleansing of the city. For the first, in the year
before the inundation of A . H . 466 ( A . D . 1073), petitions
had been sent by prominent citizens to the Caliph
al-Qa'im complaining of the excess of wine-drinking
and vice in the city and asking that places of ill-resort
should be destroyed. 2 T h e Caliph's successor M u q t a d f
enacted several laws intended to safeguard the morals
of the community. He banished singing-women and
prostitutes from the city, ordering their houses to be
sold; forbade anyone to enter the public baths without
wearing a shirt, and he tore down various structures of
reed and high towers used ostensibly for b i r d houses,
but in reality for the unlawful purpose of spying on
the private quarters of housesan offence forbidden
to this day under heavy penalties. 3 Lastly he forbade
the ferrymen to carry men and women across together
in their boats. M u q t a d f s efforts were supported by
some of his more ascetic cadis. In a particular case the
chief cadi refused to accept the testimony of a witness
on the ground that he was dressed in silk. W h e n the
complainant protested that on similar grounds the
evidence of the Sultan and of the Nizam a l - M u l k w o u l d
be discredited, the judge agreed w i t h h i m and said he
w o u l d not accept their testimony either. 4
For the physical cleansing of Baghdad certain sanitary measures were introduced, the most important
203
being to preserve the p u r i t y of the water supply. T h u s ,

waste water f r o m the public baths was no longer to be
emptied directly into the T i g r i s but had to be received
in pits d u g for i t . Further, the cleansing and curing of
fish was forbidden in any place but the one specially
allotted for the purpose. 1
Towards the end of A . H . 484 ( A . D . 1091) the Sultan
Malikshah paid the second visit of his reign to Baghdad.
D u r i n g his stay his birthday was celebrated w i t h great
magnificence and he marked his visit by b u i l d i n g a new
mosque, k n o w n as the "Sultan's M o s q u e " , outside
the palace of the Sultan. 2 At the same time also the
N i z a m a l - M u l k and other of the great officers of state
b u i l t houses in the city in anticipation of frequent and
lengthy visits to i t . Fate, however, decided that b o t h
the Sultan and his vizier were to die w i t h i n the year.
" T h e i r continuance after this was not l o n g " , says I b n
a l - A t h i r in a moralizing tone that is rare w i t h h i m .
" T h e y were after this all scattered by death and
slaughter in battle and in other ways. T h e i r armies d i d
not avail them, nor d i d they accumulate anything.
Praise be to the Ever-Continuous whose command
never ceaseth." 3 At the end of the year the N i z a m
a l - M u l k fell sick " and treated himself, by giving a l m s " .
Some months later, after a quarrel w i t h his master, he
was dismissed from office, and shortly afterwards he
was murderedby I s m a ' i l i Assassins it is said. He was
followed to the grave a few weeks later by the Sultan
himself, who died at Baghdad.
CHAPTER X I
The Seljuq Decline
The death of Malikshah was followed by a long struggle
for the succession, in which Baghdad changed hands
several times. Turkan Khatiin, the Sultan's widow,
made great efforts to secure the empire for her own
son, who was an infant. The child died young, however,
and Malikshah's eldest son, Barkyaruq, was acknowledged Sultan at Baghdad in A . D . 1094,1 only to be
ousted in the same year by his uncle Tutush, who
overcame a composite army of his rivals, including a
detachment from Barkyaruq under the generalship of
a Turkish adventurer named Karbuqa, who afterwards
became lord of Mosul. 2 Barkyaruq contrived to regain
mastery of Baghdad in the next year, but was again
involved in an intermittent struggle to hold his sultanate, this time against his brother Mohammed. Each
was successful in turn and at each change a new proclamation of allegiance was made in Baghdad, until for
a short period in A . D . 1103, the responsible officers
omitted the name of the Sultan entirely from the khutba?
being either too puzzled to know what Seljuq Sultan
they were to acknowledge or perhaps feeling that in the
circumstances it was safe to acknowledge no one, w i t h out fear of consequences. The struggle between the two
brothers only ended in A . D . 1104 when Barkyaruq died.
Baghdad was now the capital only of Iraq, other
members of the Seljuq family having possessed them205
THE SELJUQ DECLINE

selves of the other parts of the empire in Persia, U p p e r
Mesopotamia and Syria. D u r i n g the conflict the city
had been to a large extent out of touch w i t h the affairs
of the rest of the w o r l d , and devoted itself to its o w n
concerns. Reference has already been made to the
Caliph's building of a wall round the Harim, or Royal
Precincts. It seems to have been of absorbing interest
to the whole population, who entered w i t h great j o y
into the task of b u i l d i n g and treated it as if it were
the most important t h i n g in the w o r l d . T h e y seem to
have been almost entirely untouched even by reports of
the advance of the Crusaders on Jerusalem, though, if
the evidence is to be believed, in A . D . 1098 a number of
captured deserters from the Christian army, besieged
in A n t i o c h by Karbuqa the T u r k , were actually sent
to Baghdad. 1 Even when a delegation came to seek
help from the Caliph after the fall of Jerusalem, though
sympathetic tears were shed, the interest of the city
took no practical t u r n .
In the audience chamber they [the delegates] let fall words
which brought tears to every eye and grief to every heart. They
stood in the mosque during the Friday assembly and demanded
aid, weeping and causing all to weep at the mention of the
calamities which Moslems had suffered in the noble and mighty
city by the slaughter of men, the carrying off of women and the
loss of possessions.2
It may have been that the piteous appeal touched the

hearts of the great mass of the people; but Palestine
had now for long been out of the hands of the Abbasid
Caliphs, and formed part of the possessions of the
F a t i m i d anti-Caliphs of Egypt, between w h o m and
206
THE SELjtiQ DECLINE

the Baghdad Caliphate there was bitter rivalry. It is
possible further some private donations may have been
sent to relieve the sufferings of Moslems ruined by the
Crusade, but no help was given by the Caliph alMustazhir, who referred the delegation to the Seljiiq
Sultan Barkyaruq. At that time the Sultan was engaged
in a struggle for life w i t h his brother Mohammed, and
there too the appeal came to nothing.
In A . H . 501 ( A . D . 1108) a second appeal came, this
time from T r i p o l i , w h i c h was beset by Raymund of
Toulouse. T h e r u l i n g chief of the besieged city, w h o
in person headed the delegation, was received w i t h
great honour and consideration by both the Caliph and
the Sultan M o h a m m e d , who was now the reigning
Seljiiq. Troops were promised h i m and were detailed
for service in Syria, but not a man from I r a q actually
went to give battle to the enemy who had roused all
other Moslem lands around the Mediterranean.
In spite of the city's detachment, there was one t h i n g
it shared w i t h the whole of the M i d d l e East. Ever
since the murder of the N i z a m a l - M u l k there had
been universal terror of the I s m a ' i l i Assassins, whose
mysterious methods of slaughter, together w i t h the
N e w Propaganda introduced by the Grand Master
Hasan al-Sabbah, had driven into every i n d i v i d u a l
a fear for his o w n safety and a mistrust of every other
man however closely related or of whatever exalted
rank. To the unscrupulous this widespread fear and
hatred of the Isma'ilis gave a weapon w h i c h they soon
discovered to be of advantage in blackmailing operations or against enemies; for a man had only to be
207
THE SELJUQ DECLINE

denounced as an I s m a ' i l i heretic to be seized and put
to a terrible death.
In this way, in Sultan Mohammed's reign, the
governor of Isfahan, one ' A b d u l l a h a l - K h a t i b i , had
acquired power by insinuating himself into the Sultan's
favour and pretending to a knowledge of all that was
going on in the realm. It was the easier for h i m because
the old Abbasid barid, a system of combined espionage
and express posts, had been abolished by A l p Arslan
in spite of the protests of the N i z a m a l - M u l k .
A l - K h a t i b i was a man without any culture, yet
extremely cunning, w h o had brought himself into
notice by a piety and asceticism that were entirely
false, all that he really had being " t h e outward show
of a great coarse body and a thick, bushy b e a r d " . 1 H i s
connection w i t h the Sultan after a time brought h i m to
Baghdad where he became " t h e touchstone of I s l a m "
and the source of secret reports w h i c h sent many a man
to his death. 2 H i s influence grew t i l l he was able by
devious ways to introduce a woman agent into the very
household of the Caliph himself, where she found
means of i n f o r m i n g the Commander of the Faithful
that his o w n brother H a r u n was suspect. A huge bribe
was sent to close the villain's m o u t h , and his power,
instead of being brought to the sudden end w h i c h it
deserved, was thereby actually increased. In the reign
of terror that followed, no one was safe from his blackmailing operations, u n t i l the Sultan was induced to
ask h i m one day how he explained the great increase
of religious and moral laxity w h i c h he reported as
existing amongst officials though it was apparently u n 208
THE SELJUQ DECLINE

heard of in the time of the Sultan's father and grandfather, A l - K h a t i b f s cunning reply was that the officials
of the earlier period were Persians of Khurasan and
men of true faith, whereas the newer ones were Iraqis
and hence heretics. T h e deluded Sultan was led by this
l y i n g insinuation to dismiss many Baghdadis and other
men of I r a q from his employ, and to permit the men of
Khurasan who were then in Iraqan utterly contemptible body, riddled w i t h Isma'ilismto c r o w d into
favour and office. It is not to be wondered at that alKhatibi's end came from an assassin's knife. 1
" A l l things need intelligence except government", 2
quotes the vizier A n i i s h i r w a n a propos of this period
of decadence and corruption. Amongst the K h u r a sanis who thus secured appointments on the score
merely of their o r i g i n , was M o h a m m e d al-Juzaqani,
w h o became the 'amid (? deputy governor) of Baghdad.
A fanatical adherence to the Hanafi school of Sunnism
brought h i m to the notice of the Sultan. It went to
such lengths that when a man in the street greeted h i m
w i t h Saldm he w o u l d ask h i m to what sect of Islam he
belonged before replying to his greeting. " H e was a
man of hideous looks, coarse intellect and bold face:
like a finch for his diversity of colours, like a crow for
his inconstancy and like a w o l f for his depredations", 3
and he was able for a considerable t i m e to tyrannize
over the cowed city.
Another Seljuq official of this period was A b u M a n s i i r
a l - M a y b u d i , "a mine of deceit and treachery", w h o
owed his office to a woman. T h e fact was not u n k n o w n
and b l u n t comment in prose and verse was not lacking, 4
LOB
209
14
THE SELJUQ DECLINE

both on it and on the contrast between his ponderous
" c o f f i n - f u l l " of body and his "gossamer" intellect.
W h e n he leaned on his couch of state supported by a
cushion " y o u w o u l d have thought there were t w o
stuffed p i l l o w s " . 1
T h e shadow of the uneasiness cast by the Isma'ilis
and of the uncertainty brought on by the Seljuq misgovernment in Baghdad was darkened by various reminders f r o m Syria that the infidel Crusaders were
pressing the believers hard. T h e city was at last definitely roused when i n A . H . 504 ( A . D . I I I I ) the Franks,
after b r i n g i n g numerous cities to terms, set upon and
captured a large trading caravan from Egypt. T h e
citizens of Aleppo, to w h o m apparently the goods were
consigned, sent a body of delegates to Baghdad i m ploring assistance. T h e y were joined by a good many
of the learned scholars of the capital, anxious to uphold
the prestige of Islam, and a great audience assembled
in the Sultan's mosque. T h e n , as on previous occasions,
the appeals seemed likely to be futile, but the zealous
ones called attention to the urgency of their cause by
the grave step of interrupting the Friday service and
breaking the p u l p i t . T h e demonstration was effective
in b r i n g i n g a promise from the Sultan that he w o u l d
send an army to fight the H o l y War.
Remembering the former promise and sceptical of
its fulfilment, the men of Aleppo and their supporters,
on the Friday after their demonstration, went to the
mosque in the Caliph's palace w i t h a view to enforcing
their appeal. T h e y were followed by the citizens in a
great c r o w d . T h e guardian of the gate who attempted
210
THE SELJUQ DECLINE

to prevent their entry was swept aside, and the mob
w h i c h poured into the sacred b u i l d i n g tore down the
grille surrounding the part of the mosque allotted to
the Caliph's private use, broke the pulpit there too and
caused the abandonment of the service. T h i s time the
Caliph (al-Mustazhir) added his appeals to those of the
Syrians, and the Sultan sent to M o s u l and to other
cities w i t h i n his sphere of influence commanding that
the amirs were to prepare themselves to march in a H o l y
W a r against the Franks. 1 In the following year troops
were actually despatched to help the harassed Moslems,
though the effect was not as great as had been hoped.
Almost as soon as the disturbing elements had left,
Baghdad settled down to its ordinary way of life again.
For the marriage of the Caliph to the daughter of the
Sultan Malikshah the city was decorated and there was
great rejoicing, 2 and when a son was born to the Caliph,
drums were beaten and trumpets b l o w n , and the vizier
sat at the gate of the Firdiis Palace in congratulation to
his sovereign. 3 It happened about the same time that
the Caliph's brother died. T h e beating of drums was
discontinued for several days and the vizier sat at the
Firdiis gate in condolence.
T h e passion for b u i l d i n g was scarcely interrupted.
In A . H . 507 ( A . D . 1113-4) a certain Kumashtigin
founded a hospital in the city, and about eight years
later the Mustawfi 'Aziz a l - D i n built in the ' A t t a b i y y i n quarter of Baghdad "a school for orphans,
w h i c h he provided w i t h a perpetual endowment by
w h i c h the orphans, u n t i l they reached maturity, were
assured of their expenditure, their clothing and their
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14-2
THE SELjtfQ DECLINE

food. There they were taught their letters, learned the
K o r a n by heart and acquired knowledge of what is
lawful and unlawful".*
To the M u s t a w f i , incidentally, is ascribed what must
be amongst the earliest of army field hospitals. It had
instruments, medicaments and tents, and was staffed by
a number of doctors and orderlies. T w o hundred Bactrian camels were provided for the transport of the
hospital. 2
T h e reigning Sultan, when these public works were
instituted, was M a h m u d , nephew of Barkyaruq. H i s
authority at Baghdad was intermittent, being challenged
first by his uncle Sinjar, the ruler of Persia who was
acknowledged as suzerain in Baghdad in A . D . 1119,
and then by his own brother Mas'ud, who ruled at
M o s u l . T h i s fraternal conflict was due to the intrigues
of Dubays, son of the famous Sadaqa, who had founded
a dynasty and built his capital at H i l l a w h i c h lies near
the Euphrates and about sixty miles south-west of
Baghdad. Dubays turned the Sultan's pre-occupation
to his own advantage by raiding Baghdad and harrying
the surrounding districts. In spite of several expeditions against h i m and his allies he continued his hostile
activities u n t i l , in A . D . 1123, the Caliph Mustarshid was
roused to appeal for help to Bursuqf, the Seljuq
governor of M o s u l and Wasit. T h e monarch himself
prepared for war and went out to battle clothed in the
black turban and cloak of the Abbasids and wearing
the Prophet's mantle. Before he left the safety of the
city walls he issued a proclamation that no soldier was
on any pretext to remain behind, and that anyone of
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THE SELJUQ DECLINE

the citizens who desired to serve was to present himself
to the authorities. A large number of men came forward
for enlistment and were given money and arms, 1 while
amongst the people in the city the excitement was intense.
T h e y gathered in huge crowds to watch the Caliph and
his suite cross the T i g r i s to the west bank for the march
towards the enemy's territory.
Dubays heightened his own men's eagerness for the
battle by promising them the plunder of Baghdad and
the choice of its women as the reward of victory. It is
consistent w i t h this incentive to valour that when the
t w o armies faced one another, his troops leapt to the
attack preceded by girls beating drums and by clowns
of low character playing musical instruments. T h e
Caliph's army, on the other hand, led by Bursuqi,
waited soberly, reciting verses from the K o r a n and
offering up prayers. 2 T h e first attack was launched at
Bursuqfs right w i n g , w h i c h retired before it but recovered again. A second attack was no more successful,
and this time the attacking troops were taken in the
rear as they ran back to their own position. T h e i r
leaders were captured and many of the men were either
taken prisoner or left dead on the field. Both sides now
engaged and when the fighting was general, Bursuqi,
who was watching from some rising ground, sent into
the battle a party of 500 men that he had kept in concealment. T h e i r arrival decided the day and Dubays'
army retired in full flight, many of his men throwing
themselves into the T i g r i s to evade capture.
Dubays himself escaped into the desert and after
t r y i n g vainly to make terms w i t h a nomad N e j d i tribe,
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THE SELJUQ DECLINE

he joined the M u n t a f i q confederation in the neighbourhood of the great marsh. W i t h them he planned an
attack on Basra, w h i c h was captured and plundered.
W h e n news of this exploit reached Baghdad the Caliph
complained to Bursuqf for having permitted Dubays
to continue his activities, and an expedition was fitted
out to go downstream to put an end to them. But he
escaped from Basra before the expedition had left
Baghdad, having received information of what was afoot
through his agents there, one of w h o m was the naqib of
the ' A l i d community. T h i s fact was discovered; the
incumbent of the office of naqib was removed and the
office itself transferred to the naqib of the Abbasids,
thus bringing about its temporary extinction. 1
T h e later history of Dubays is interesting. After
leaving Basra he went to Syria, where he joined the
Franks in the siege of Aleppo. 2 Later, in A . H . 519
( A . D . I 125), he returned to Iraq w i t h a view to attacking
Baghdad. T h e Caliph w i t h an army marched to Daskara along the Khurasan highway, from the direction
of w h i c h the attack was expected, but he allowed Dubays
w i t h a very small and desperate body of men to interrupt his communications and to intercept supplies sent
out to the royal army from the city. T h i s piece of i n competence gave rise to a report that Baghdad was in
the enemy's hands, and on hearing it the Caliph's force,
w h i c h according to I b n al-AthiVs figures was 12,000
strong, fled north-west to Nahrawan, leaving their
heavy baggage behind on the road. " I f A l l a h had not
favoured them by the fever and consequent delay of
T u g h r i l (Sultan of Damascus and ally of Dubays) he
214
THE SELJUQ DECLINE

w o u l d have annihilated the army and the Caliph t o o " ,
for the roads were heavy w i t h recent rains and a hundred
men could have destroyed the whole of the Caliph's
army. However, when Dubays came w i t h i n sight of
the royal standard he humbly kissed the ground, and
declaring himself the servant of the Caliph he was
forgiven, and peace was made. 1
T h e relationships of Sultan and Caliph at this period
had an important bearing on the fortunes of Baghdad.
It has been indicated that the Caliph, Mustarshid,
generally commanded the respect of the Sultan and
others. T h i s could scarcely be said of any other Caliph
since the Buwayhids entered Baghdad and subdued the
Caliphate to their own purposes almost two centuries
before. Relying on the ancient powers of his office,
Mustarshid now asserted himself in a fashion long in
abeyance, while Sultan M a h m u d opposed to h i m all the
temporal forces left to his shrunken empire. T h e
struggle that had long been brewing broke out openly
in A.H. 520 ( A . D . 1126) when the Caliph found himself
involved in a quarrel between his deputy and the Seljiiq
governor of Baghdad. T h e latter, at a threat from the
Caliph, left the city to make complaint to the Sultan, and
to warn h i m that the Caliph's power was on the increase
and that unless he (the Sultan) returned to Baghdad
immediately the city w o u l d be lost to the Seljuqs.
A c t i n g on this information, the Sultan began his
journey to I r a q . He was met on the way by a messenger
from the Caliph i n f o r m i n g h i m that the country and its
inhabitants were in an impoverished condition owing
to the ravages of Dubays and that they could not
215
THE SELJljQ DECLINE

possibly supply the needs of the company w h i c h the
Sultan was bringing w i t h h i m : he begged h i m therefore
to postpone his journey to Baghdad u n t i l the land had
been restored to some at least of its former prosperity,
and promised h i m that no one should prevent his
coming. T h e advice might have been honourably i n tended, but the Sultan w o u l d have none of it and only
pressed on the harder.
At a report of the Sultan's rejection of his message,
Mustarshid took steps to remove himself out of range
of contact w i t h the Seljiiq, who still regarded himself
as a vassal to the Caliph. W i t h his womenfolk and
children he left his palace on the east bank and, to the
accompaniment of a great weeping from the citizens,
crossed the river w i t h a view to leaving the t o w n
altogether if the Sultan should persist in his purpose.
To a message from the Sultan urging h i m to return he
replied that he could not bear to be present and behold
the sufferings that must come if the Seljiiq army was
imposed on Baghdad. In spite of further appeals for
peace he remained on the west bank, giving orders that
all the gates into the palace were to be closed w i t h the
exception of that of the Sentry Gate 1 . As a further
precaution he gathered all the vessels on the river to his
o w n side.
F o r a time the Sultan kept his army outside the city
walls and except for the gibes and insults that flew
backwards and forwards across the river no active steps
were taken by either side. B u t either the Sultan's
patience or his discipline suddenly failed and a number
of his men, breaking into the royal palace, set about
216
THE SELJUQ DECLINE

plundering i t , though the main part of his army remained outside the walls. T h e looting of the royal
house roused the citizens to a frenzy of anger and they
gathered from all sides, some to repel the raiders and
others w i t h the less honourable motives of finding
plunder for themselves. At sight of the gathering
crowds the Caliph crossed the river and dug trenches
d u r i n g the night, presumably on a line between the city
w a l l and the Sultan's army. But when the Caliph took
the offensive and launched an attack w h i c h he hoped
might be decisive, it failed through the desertion to the
Sultan of a K u r d i s h chief and his men. At the same
time large reinforcements reached the Sultan from
Wasit, and the Caliph, seeing it was time to make peace,
sent overtures w h i c h were graciously accepted although
there were not lacking counsellors of the Sultan who
urged h i m to b u r n the city out of revenge. But he was
content w i t h an indemnity and, after a bout of illness,
departed i n A . D . 1127. 1
A number of troubled years followed in w h i c h the
Caliph Mustarshid's pugnacious spirit led h i m into a
trial of strength w i t h the Sultan Mas'ud and w i t h the
Atabeg Zangi of M o s u l , famous for his efforts against
the Crusaders. Zangi, having as his ally Dubays i b n
Sadaqa of H i l l a , in A . D . 1132, d u r i n g an interval between two sieges in Syria, found time to remember that
he was governor of I r a q and hence of Baghdad also, to
w h i c h he came to assert his rights. T h e Caliph however
w o u l d have none of it and routed Zangi and Dubays in
battle. 2 He was not so successful w i t h M a s ' i i d w h o , in
a bloodless victory near Hamadan, captured the Caliph
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THE SELJUQ DECLINE
and ordered his army to return to Baghdad, forbidding

them, on pain of death, to take refuge in Hamadan.
Many of them lost the road home and died of their
hardships. The Caliph himself was murdered in his
tent in the Sultan's camp ( A . H . 5 2 9 = A . D . I 134-5), l t 1S
said by the hand of Isma'ili Assassins.1 But though
most of the horrible crimes of the period were for convenience ascribed to these "Heretics", the people of
Baghdad accused both Sultan Mas'iid and his uncle
Sanjar as being guilty of the murder. 2
CHAPTER X I I
Two Sieges
T h e reek of t u r m o i l arising from the death-throes of
the Seljiiqs was bound, while it lasted, to obscure everyt h i n g else in Baghdad, and the annalists of the time are
almost exclusively occupied w i t h i t . Yet it was but a
stage in a long process. Since the days of the Caliph
M a ' m i i n , Baghdad had been slowly but steadily losing
the glories w h i c h had made it famous. At times it had
recovered, but on the whole its story is one of decline.
There now came a check to the process of decay, and
one w h i c h may be explained by a temporary revival of
the Caliphate at a time when the rapidly weakening
Seljuq Sultans had to reckon w i t h the usurpations of
the Atabegs, once their servants. T h e Sultans d i d not
even now yield their supremacy to the Caliphs without
a struggle, w h i c h continued in desultory fashion u n t i l
the T u r k o m a n dynasty was finally extinguished in I r a q .
W h e n the conflict blazed out fiercely, as happened more
than once, Baghdad prepared for, and suffered, the
hardships of siege; in quiescent periods we find evidences that the ways of peace were still being trodden
in the city.
One of the more l u r i d incidents in the long campaign came in A . H . 530 ( A . D . 1136) when Sultan M a s ' i i d
tried conclusions w i t h the Caliph al-Rashid B ' i l l a h , the
successor of Mustarshid. T h e Caliph had given refuge
to a number of chieftains dissatisfied w i t h the Sultan's
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T W O SIEGES
overlordship, and in consequence Baghdad had, for the

third time in its history, to stand a heavy siege. It was
blockaded by Mas'ud for nearly two months without
being stormed, although during that time the city was
suffering as much from the depredations of brigands
and other scoundrels within its gates as from the besiegers outside. At the end of the period the disheartened Sultan was actually on his way back to Persia,
when, at Nahrawan, which lay on the great canal of the
same name, he met reinforcements of troops and a
number of ships from Wasit which could sail up the
Tigris and blockade the city from the river. He was
induced at sight of them to turn back for another
attempt, but the Caliph had abdicated and fled to
Mosul, to 'Imad al-Din Zangi, by the time Mas'ud
reached Baghdad. On his arrival the city capitulated,
but through the Sultan's vigorous efforts it did not
suffer the looting and damage normally inseparable
from the end of a siege.1
Mas'lid himself, after taking counsel with the late
Caliph's vizier, agreed to the election of al-Muqtafi as
the new Commander of the Faithful, a man who was to
deal a hard blow to Seljuq power. Legend says that
when the Sultan sent a messenger to the new Caliph
confirming the income of his privy purse, he received a
reply saying: " I n this house there are eighty mules
that bring water from the Tigris. Let the Sultan see to
it that he who drinks this water has his needs supplied "
It was a reply which led the Seljuq prince to express
aloud the disturbing thought that he had placed too
strong a man in the Caliphate. 2
220
T W O SIEGES
The Caliph's strength did not manifest itself for some

little while and he seems to have devoted the interval
to maturing plans for imperial aggrandizement, leaving
his capital to take care of itself or be looked after by the
Seljuq governor. When that official was absent from
the city, and at times even when he was present,
brigands roamed the streets and bazaars accosting
prosperous citizens and openly transporting the collected loot on the heads of the porters who plied for
public hire. 1 One such brigand, I b n Bakran, did not
confine his operations to the city, and having amassed
great wealth and influence, he proposed with a confederate to issue coins bearing their names from Anbar
on the Euphrates; whereupon the governor of that
district was addressed by the governor of Baghdad in a
message offering him the alternatives of killing I b n
Bakran or being himself killed. He made the obvious
choice and Baghdad for a time found peace.
Yet there were times when nothing could be done by
the governor or the citizens because persons of high
rank would have been involved in ignominy. Thus the
Greek governor Bihruz (who at one time was a friend
of Shadhi, Saladin's grandfather), was foiled in his
efforts against the robbers because the son of the Sultan's
vizier and the Sultan's own brother-in-law shared in
the loot. 2
At intervals, when the noise of the war drums became
less obvious, the ordinary sounds of city life asserted
themselves. Thus we hear in A.H. 541 ( A . D . 1146) of a
mission to the Caliph from Sultan Sanjar which i n cluded a preacher famous in his own day, al-'Abadi
221
T W O SIEGES
al-Muzaffar i b n Ardashir. H i s efforts were not confined

to persuasion of the Caliph, but a p u l p i t was set up for
h i m on the bank of the T i g r i s in a place where the
Sultan M a s ' u d could hear h i m from a balcony in the
palace, while the amir 'Abbas, master of Rayy, who
was then in the city, moored his boat inshore to listen
to the orator. He was surrounded by an enormous
crowd from all ranks of society, many of them workmen
who had dropped what they were doing and fought for
places nearer h i m . T h e Caliph himself paid h i m the
honour of i n v i t i n g h i m to preach in the royal mosque. 1
W i t h the death o f Sultan M a s ' i i d i n A . H . 547 ( A . D .
1152), the Caliph's latent determination to be sovereign in reality and not in name only, began to assert
itself. T h e governor of Baghdad, the libertine M a s ' i i d
al-Bilali, fled, on news of his master's death, and the
Caliph proceeded to ransack the houses of the Seljiiq
officials who had been stationed in the city. 2 He had, on
his appointment, sworn an oath not to buy any T u r k i s h
slaves for the palace, and he now proceeded to banish
from the city the "foreigners", meaning by that T u r k s
and Persians who had had any connection w i t h the
Seljiiq regime. Instead of them he appointed his Greek
and Armenian mamelukes to be amirs in the various
districts of I r a q , 3 and to his own vizier he gave the
estates and office formerly held by the Sultan's minister.
In anticipation of the challenge to his presumption he
strengthened the walls of Baghdad, deepened its moats
and dug out springs afresh. Also he kept his artificers
busily engaged in manufacturing weapons of war, and,
not content w i t h defensive measures at home, he sent
222
T W O SIEGES
spies abroad w i t h orders to report secretly any significant movements of the enemy.
T h e expected attack was delayed for nearly five
years, during w h i c h time the rival Seljuq princes were
far too occupied w i t h their efforts against each other
or holding back the Ghuzz invaders from the East to
spare any attention elsewhere. At some time w i t h i n
the period of suspense, probably in A . H . 551 ( A . D . 1157),
the poet Khaqani, while on his way to Mecca on
pilgrimage, visited Baghdad. To judge from his long
poem Tuhfat al-Irdqayn, " T h e G i f t of the T w o
I r a q s " , he found it no mean city, for he begins by
calling it "a city wide as sage's thought, clear above all
existing t h i n g s " , and was greatly impressed by such of
the citizens as he met. Yet a suspicion that it is only
the professional panegyrist speaking is borne out by the
fact that in another poem he finds it necessary to depreciate Baghdad in order to heighten his praises of
Isfahan, w h i c h he had more recently adopted as his
home. His disparagement is of greater historical
value than his praise; for when he calls Baghdad the
bottle factory for Isfahan's rose water he indicates that
the city's glass was still being manufactured and as
famous as ever. If confirmation of this is needed it is
to be found in the narrative of the Chinese traveller
Chou K ' i i - f e l , who visited I r a q probably in 1178, x about
twenty years after the poet.
T h e long-deferred attack came in A . H . 551 ( A . D . 1157),
when Sultan M o h a m m e d , son of M a h m u d , commenced
siege operations against the city on the pretext that the
Caliph had refused to acknowledge h i m in the public
223
T W O SIEGES
prayers as l o r d of I r a q and of Baghdad. But Baghdad

was f u l l of men and supplies and the Caliph himself
prepared to withstand blockade and attack. In order
to lessen the area that it w o u l d be necessary for h i m
to defend on the east bank, he had demolished a number
of royal dwellingsprobably by that time disused
such as the 'Isa Palace, the Square Palace erected by his
ancestor M u t f about two centuries before, and several
others. On the city walls mangonels were stationed to
cover any approaches, and in order to make surprise
attacks from the west more difficult the T i g r i s bridge
was cut and all vessels in the river were ordered to moor
under the walls of the Taj Palace. For the western side
of the city little more could be done than to order the
inhabitants to destroy any property that could not be
moved and to transfer the rest, w i t h themselves, to the
defenced area. M o s t of the inhabitants obeyed, but
the occupants of the K a r k h and Bab al-Basra quarters,
who were business men as well as fanatics, for once sank
their differences and agreed that they could better safeguard their interests by deserting to the Seljuqs than
by trusting to the efforts of the Caliph.
T h e attacking force divided itself into t w o , the Sultan
himself being on the west bank, where he stationed
mangonels to cover the important posts at the m o u t h of
the M u ' a l l a canal on the opposite side. T h e rest of the
besiegers encamped on the east bank, outside the
Shammasiya Gate. For some reason or other, even
when continual reinforcements of ships and men had
supplied the Sultan w i t h a formidable attacking force
prepared for active service, he refrained for a long time
224
T W O SIEGES
f r o m any movement beyond sending messages to the

Caliph assuring h i m of his loyalty if only his o w n claims
were acknowledged.
Some of the besiegers apparently had scruples about
w a r r i n g against the Caliph and the " H e a r t of I s l a m " ,
and even when hostilities began, though there were
daily battles between champions from both sides and
ships fitted w i t h mangonels exchanged shots, yet there
was no general engagement for two months. There
were a good many casualties from arrows, " b u r n i n g
bottles" and flaming naphtha t h r o w n from mangonels,
but the number of slain was very few. W i t h i n the city,
compensation was paid for all wounds, u n t i l the vizier,
whose business it was to inspect and assess the h u r t
done in each case, found himself perpetually in the
m i d d l e of a crowd of warriors demanding attention,
when he decided that the system must be discontinued if his patience and the royal treasury were not
b o t h to be exhausted. There appeared to be no lack of
confidence however in the capacity of the exchequer,
and the loyalty of the citizens was even further assured
by the Caliph's ability, in spite of a comparatively
strict blockade, to distribute f u l l rations of grain and
dates instead of having to resort to money payments in
lieu of them.
Meantime the Caliph's vizier was using all the c u n n i n g he possessed to stave off attack as long as possible.
At intervals he sent to the Sultan messages so worded
as to make h i m believe that the gates w o u l d soon be
opened to h i m , and the Sultan's officers kept receiving
secret gifts of money accompanied by warnings that it
LO B
225
15
T W O SIEGES
was contrary to the teachings of Islam to rebel against

the Caliph, or to attack Baghdad, w h i c h was his abode.
To some extent the vizier's propaganda had its effect,
b u t it d i d not prevent desultory assaults on the c i t y ; the
most serious being from mangonels that launched
missiles against the unwalled side along the river bank.
B u t the advantage gained by this bombardment could
never be followed up, the fierce resistance of the besieged making the landing of assault troops impossible.
W h e n this irregular and indecisive warfare had
dragged along for about two months, the attackers determined on stronger measures. A bridge was t h r o w n
across the river from the west bank to a point above the
Seljiiq palace, w h i c h lay on the east bank n o r t h of the
defences. Bodies of troops w i t h scaling ladders were
sent across the bridge, but w i t h such little effect that
after several attempts on the walls the citizens opened
their gates in mockery of the Sultan's efforts. He was
never able to avail himself seriously of the ironical
invitation. By the time he was ready to attack in earnest
the diplomatic efforts of the Caliph and his vizier had
persuaded Malikshah and other claimants of the Seljiiq
throne to move hostile troops against the Sultan's base
at Hamadan. On the day when news came to h i m of
the danger nearer home he announced to his troops
outside Baghdad that the siege w o u l d be raised and
departure for Hamadan begun on the m o r r o w . B u t
his men had had enough of warfare and the blazing heat
of the Babylonian summer. T h e y broke as soon as the
announcement was made, leaving tents, engines of war,
food supplies and all else on the ground w h i l e they
226
T W O SIEGES
themselves crowded in hundreds on to the bridge that

led homewards across the river. There was a high wind
blowing at the time. The waves which it raised easily
entered the now heavily overladen boats on which the
bridge was laid and swamped a number of them,
creating a confusion "like the Day of Resurrection". 1
Those in front, seeing what had happened, tried
desperately to get back to their base from which they
were now cut off, while those behind, eager to get away
and unconscious of the disaster, pressed on with
gathering impatience at the delay.
It was an opportunity which the men watching from
the city walls could not resist. Seeing their late enemies
entirely occupied with their own troubles, the Baghdadis rushed out in hundreds to the Seljuq palace, where
they fell on the piled-up baggage already waiting for
the march and carried off every article. Some of the
besiegers had managed to cross the river and they, the
Sultan amongst them, hastened along the Khurasan
road towards Hamadan; the rest that escaped marched
north along the river to Mosul under the city's governor,
who had been an ally of the Sultan.2 It was the end, the
last effort which the Seljuq Sultans made to claim
Baghdad as their own. 3
15-2
CHAPTER X I I I
An Indian Summer
T h e actual casualties of the siege had not been serious,
but it was the cause, direct or indirect, of a plague that
broke out almost w i t h the departure of the enemy
troops and carried off a fair proportion of the remaining
inhabitants. It was followed three years later by high
floods which washed away buildings, uncovered graveyards, and caused the collapse of innumerable walls by
penetrating the cellars of houses. Perhaps the most
serious result of the inundation for the peace of the city
was that in every quarter boundaries were obliterated, 1
and, having to be restored by guesswork, were a cause of
lasting friction between neighbours, and doubtless also
of considerable litigation.
It was found impossible to rebuild everywhere. In
some cases, probably, half-abandoned quarters were
entirely deserted, while their inhabitants crowded into
the more popular districts, thus leaving considerable
parts of the city in ruins, to become the haunts of
robbers and jackals. But in those quarters that were
habitable there must have been a great deal of activity
in repair and construction during the following years,
for less than ten years afterwards the Jewish traveller
Benjamin, of Tudela in Spain, passed through the city
and found numerous splendid buildings w i t h i n the
Harim, or Royal Precincts, 2 and twenty-eight synagogues " s i t u a t e d " , as he says, "either in the city itself'
228
AN I N D I A N SUMMER
or in a l - K a r k h on the other side of the T i g r i s " . H i s
latter remark is significant as showing that the K a r k h
quarter had by that time become important enough
to give its name to the whole of the western part of
Baghdad.
Of the city as a whole Benjamin says that it was
twenty miles in circumference and situated in the
midst of palm groves and gardens. Amongst its i n habitants were philosophers skilled in every science,
and wizards expert in magic of all kinds. Merchants
f r o m every land visited it w i t h their goods 1 and pilgrims
f r o m distant countries halted there on their way to
Mecca, in order to see the face of the Caliph. Amongst
the public buildings on the west bank Benjamin
mentions a hospital for the sick poor and another b u i l d ingor perhaps a part of the same i n s t i t u t i o n i n
w h i c h demented people were kept chained u n t i l their
reason was restored. T h e traveller's m a i n concern,
however, was w i t h his own people, 2 who had ten
academies in the city and whose head, " T h e Chief of
the C a p t i v i t y " , was recognized as prince by all the
Jews o w i n g allegiance to the Baghdad Caliphate.
Benjamin's narrative contains a report of the events
connected w i t h the false prophet D a v i d A l r o y , who at
one period of his extraordinary career had been a student
at one of the Baghdad academies. A b o u t A . D . 1160
he appeared at Amadia in Mesopotamia claiming
miraculous powers as the destined deliverer of the Jews
f r o m the Gentile yoke. H i s activities attracted immense
crowds of followers all over the country, but also drew
the unfavourable attention of the authorities, M o s l e m
229
as well as Jewish. B u t in spite of threats of physical
punishment from the one and of excommunication f r o m
the other, his activities continued u n t i l his father-in-law
murdered h i m in terror, or, as some say, for a bribe
offered by Zayn a l - D i n , 1 probably the Begtiginid
Atabeg of Arbela who bore that name. 2
Alroy's followers were not confined to the people of
Amadia. According to the account of a contemporary,
Samuel i b n 'Abbas, 3 who was a Moslem convert from
Judaism, a large section of the Baghdad community
was misled by A l r o y . T h e i r credulity was turned to
account by t w o impostors who appeared in the city w i t h
letters purporting to be from the " p r o p h e t " and containing a declaration of the forthcoming deliverance of
the people. It was proclaimed further, that on a certain
night w h i c h was appointed they were all to fly to Jerusalem and that all were to be ready. In anticipation of
this exodus a great many women were persuaded to
b r i n g money and valuables to the house of the two men
for distribution as charity, and at the given time the
flat roofs of the Jewish houses in the city were crowded
w i t h men, women and children in readiness for flight,
m u c h to the astonishment of the M o s l e m population
who heard their excited cries. M o r n i n g brought disillusionment, but the year was for long afterwards k n o w n
as " T h e Year of the F l y i n g " . 4
Benjamin depicts the high status of the Jewish
" C h i e f of the C a p t i v i t y " in glowing colours, making
a point of the fact that the whole population, of whatever
faith, was bidden to pay h i m honour as he rode through
the streets. T h e effect of the traveller's remarks is some-230
what modified by his statement that every new " C h i e f
of the Captivity " on his appointment was made to pay
large sums to the Caliph and his ministers; a fact that
w o u l d appear to be in keeping w i t h what is k n o w n of
the normal situation of the Dhimmis, or " protected
peoples ", at the time. T y p i c a l evidence for the generally
inferior status of non-Moslems of the period is to be
found in the biography of H i b a t u l l a h A b u '1-Barakat,
a Jewish physician of Baghdad. He had gained such a
high reputation for his skill that when one of the Seljiiq
princes fell i l l in Persia, H i b a t u l l a h was summoned
from Baghdad to attend to h i m and after a time returned laden w i t h honours and wealth. A certain
haughtiness in his bearing after his return seems to have
aroused the resentment of people w i t h w h o m he had
dealings, a feeling that expressed itself in scurrilous
lampoons of w h i c h one was to the effect that his wanderings abroad were, after all, no more distinguished than
the wanderings of his ancestors in the wilderness, and
that he was a fool to hold himself so proudly when a dog
was more esteemed. T h e effect of the satire was to make
h i m resolve that he must become a M o s l e m in order to
preserve his professional reputation. H i s daughters,
however, being then grown up, refused to follow h i m
in his change of faith and w o u l d as a consequence u n doubtedly have forfeited their right to inherit f r o m h i m
i f , before openly declaring his conversion, he had not
obtained from the C a l i p h an edict assuring them of the
succession to their father's property. 1
A few years after Benjamin of Tudela, two other
travellers followed in his footsteps, the Chinese Ch6u
231
K ' u - f e i and the Spanish Moslem I b n Jubayr, b o t h of
w h o m wrote accounts of their wanderings, in w h i c h
Baghdad and its inhabitants find an important place.
T h e Chinese voyager found the city a place of wards
and streets and " t h e general mart of the natives of the
Western Heaven, the place where the foreign merchants
of the Ta-shi assemble". Its inhabitants, he says, are
tall and of a fine white complexion " somewhat like the
Chinese", they t r i m their hair and wear embroidered
gowns, and their food consists principally of cooked
dishes, bread and meat. T h e y do not drink wine. After
their meals they wash their hands i n bowls full of water.
Chou K ' i i - f e i ' s observations w o u l d seem to be accurate
so far, but it is hard to believe that he is referring to the
men of Baghdad when he says that they make use of
vessels of gold and silver, helping themselves to the
contents w i t h ladles. Such references as we have point
to a certain disapproval of gold and silver vessels, and
food was as a general use eaten w i t h the fingers.
There is a reference in the narrative to a " k i n g " ,
whose title in Chinese transliteration is given as Ma-lofu. T h i s has been identified w i t h the Aramaic Mar-Aba,
a title of the Nestorian patriarch. Of h i m the narrative
says that he went to divine service every seventh day,
going to the place of worship from the palace in w h i c h
he dwelt by an underground tunnel; and that if he went
out he rode on horseback and had his face shaded by an
umbrella. A b o u t the time of Chou K ' i i - f e i ' s visit, or
a little while before it ( A . D . I 176), the patriarch Elias I I I
was elected and ordained at the ancient seat at Ctesiphon
and after his ordination went to take up his residence
232
at Baghdad, about a day's journey to the n o r t h . T h e
Dar al-Rum, or " C h r i s t i a n A b o d e " , in w h i c h his
official residence lay, was amongst the parts of the city
that had suffered from the siege and flood, and he set
about rebuilding as m u c h of it as possible, including
the church and the residence or palace, to w h i c h the
reference appears to be in the narrative. 1
As an Arab and a Moslem I b n Jubayr was naturally
far more interested than the Chinese traveller in the city
of the Caliphs though he also appears to have been
very critical of i t . He had been on a pilgrimage to Mecca
and came to Baghdad via H i l l a on the Euphrates.
Between the two cities the road ran amongst prosperous
villages w i t h wide-stretching tracts of cultivated land,
and the m o n t h being M a y A . H . 580 ( A . D . 1184), the
fields were covered w i t h green, over w h i c h the eye
ranged w i t h delight. At one point of the journey he
came in sight of the towering ruins of Ctesiphon w h i c h
turned his thoughts in anticipation towards Baghdad,
a day's journey away. " W e had heard", he says,
" t h a t the air of Baghdad creates gladness in the heart,
and gives ease and j o y to the soul, and that y o u could
scarcely find anyone there w h o was not gay and l i v e l y ;
even a stranger far from h o m e " . 2 He found reason for
disappointment on his arrival the next day. T r u e it was
still the seat of the Caliph, but most of its impressiveness, he thought, had departed, and nothing remained
but the glory of its name. For h i m it had no beauty to
tempt his eye to linger except the T i g r i s , w h i c h ran
" l i k e a polished m i r r o r " a fanciful picture, if it be
remembered that the T i g r i s in M a y is generally a
233
A N I N D I A N SUMMER
turbid, muddy stream, considerably swollen by the

melting snows of the Armenian mountains. For the
ordinary inhabitants of the city he has nothing but
contempt:
You will find scarcely one of them who does not hypocritically
fain humility, though internally he is full of pride and arrogance.
They despise foreigners and display haughtiness and scorn towards those lower in station than themselves
Everyone of
them in his own m i n d and imagination pictures entire creation
as but a small thing compared w i t h his own city. They hold in
esteem no abode in the whole of the inhabited world but their
own, as though they refused to believe that Allah had any countries or worshippers besides themselves. They trail their skirts
frivolously and carelessly... thinking it the most sublime form
of pride to trail their robes... .Amongst themselves they sell
loans for gold, and not one of them gives a good loan unto
Allah. There is no obtaining of necessities in Baghdad except
for money, even though you are compelled to borrow i t ; and
you w i l l spend it i n the shop of a man who gives you short
w e i g h t . . . . The foreigner amongst them is given no hospitality;
his expenditure doubled, he has to bargain for his keep
The
i l l nature of its inhabitants has spread to its climate and i n validates anything good that may be heard of it by tradition and
report. 1
T h e t o w n ' s character f o r meanness i s s a t i r i z e d b v a
y o u n g e r c o n t e m p o r a r y o f I b n J u b a y r , t h e poet I b n
a l - T a ' a w i d h i , w h o h a d l o n g been d o m i c i l e d i n B a g h d a d
a n d spoke w i t h m o r e e x t e n d e d experience b e h i n d h i m .
I n one o f h i s satires h e says:
O thou whose goal is Baghdad, t u r n aside from a city in
which wrong is at f u l l tide and overflowing.
If thou comest to satisfy a need, return; for its doors are closed
against all that have hopes.
234
The days are no morehow far off that time!when seekers
(of knowledge) filled its dwellings, and the chiefs of its nobility
dwelt in it. 1
T h e traveller's contempt seems to have been reserved especially for the general mass of the citizens.
As a man of learning, however, he was very appreciative of the scholarly qualities of the professors at the
Nizamiya madrasa> w h i c h , as we have seen, he visited
on more than one occasion. He also attended other
lectures and describes one of a series of sermons given
every Thursday m o r n i n g near the Badr Gate, w h i c h
opened on to the great square in front of the royal
palaces. F r o m a raised belvedere that formed part of
the women's quarters in one of the palaces, the Caliph
w i t h his mother and other women sat to listen to the
lecture, w h i c h was open to all comers. W h e n the gates
were opened the great square rapidly filled w i t h
people who squatted waiting for the discourse to begin.
T h e lecturer mounted the rostrum, and when he had
removed his hooded gown from his head as a sign of respect for the place in w h i c h he stood, the K o r a n readers,
seated on stools in rows in front of h i m , read a number
of verses, after w h i c h he pronounced a eulogy on the
Caliph and his mother, entitling her " T h e M o s t N o b l e
V e i l " and " T h e M o s t Compassionate Presence". T h e
m a i n part of the proceedings was a sermon, w h i c h drew
tears from the audience and d i d not leave the preacher
himself unaffected. 2
In describing the city, I b n Jubayr remarks on the
r u i n that had overtaken a great part of West Baghdad,
w h i c h nevertheless s t i l l had seventeen populated quar235
ters, each one a t o w n in itself, possessing t w o or three
public baths and as many as eight having Friday mosques.
There were t w o bridges j o i n i n g the t w o sides of the
city, b u t the traffic between the t w o banks necessitated in addition the employment of innumerable boats
that passed constantly back and f o r t h , day and night.
Pleasure boats added to the number, amongst them
that of the Caliph, w h o was occasionally to be seen in
a boat on the river. 1
M o s t of the bazaars, crowded and busy, were on the
east bank, where also lay three of the most important
city mosques; the Caliph's adjacent to his palace, the
Sultan's situated outside the walls and attached to the
"Sultan's Palace", and the Rusafa mosque, about a
m i l e n o r t h of the Sultan's mosque. Numerous public
baths were to be found in the city, most of them w i t h
walls covered w i t h shining bitumen that looked to the
beholder like black marble. Nearly t h i r t y schools also
graced the city, all of them, says I b n Jubayr, on the
east bank, 2 and all richly endowed w i t h funds for payment of teachers' salaries and for maintenance grants
for students. Amongst these institutions the Nizamiya
madrasa was supreme, being specially favoured by the
Caliph Nasir, w h o i n A . H . 589 ( A . D . 1193) b u i l t for i t
a library that he filled w i t h thousands of valuable
books. 3
Such were some of the external indications of a
renaissance at Baghdad. T h e y were emphasized by a
temporary increase in the regard shown to the Caliphate.
In A.H. 567 ( A . D . 1171) for example, the victorious
Saladin, whilst in Cairo, deleted the name of the last
236
F a t i m i d Caliph, a l - ' A d i d , from the khutba and substituted that of the Abbasid Caliph al-Mustadi. To
celebrate this honour paid to their ruler, the inhabitants of Baghdad crowded into their decorated and
illuminated streets and proclaimed their happiness w i t h
loud rejoicings. 1
Eight years later, in the year of the accession of the
Caliph Nasir, the city was again decorated, and drums
were beaten in j o y at Saladin's overthrow and capture
of the infidel lords of Ramleh and Tiberias. 2 In the
same year also, an envoy from Saladin, accompanied
by twelve Frankish prisoners in helmets and f u l l
armour and bearing lances and shields were seen in the
city. Of these latter, one belonged to the king of the
Franks and some of the lances had been captured f r o m
the Frankish ' ' b i s h o p " . Amongst other gifts brought
was " a n image in stone, t w o cubits high and of exquisite workmanship, the sculptor having so contrived
the lips that they smiled marvellously ". 3
Mustadi's son Nasir, whose Shi'ite feelings 4 and
jealousy for his o w n prestige w o u l d not let h i m be entirely friendly w i t h the overthrower of the F a t i m i d
Caliphate, almost forfeited the conqueror's loyalty when
in A . H . 579 ( A . D . 1183) he accused h i m of wrongly
appropriating revenues that belonged to the Abbasid
Caliphate, and of p u t t i n g a slight on it in sending by
the hand of a base-born Baghdadi the announcement
of the fall of Edessa.5 Somehow or other the danger
of a break was averted, for four years later Saladin sent
part of the booty of the battle of H a t t i n to Baghdad as
t r i b u t e . It consisted of a great cross of bronze overlaid
237
w i t h gold and was said by tradition to have been the
true cross. 1 T h i s the Caliph Nasir buried at the thresh o l d of the Bab al-Naubi, " t h e Sentry's Gate", one of
the gates of the Royal Precincts, leaving just enough
exposed so that everyone that passed could trample
and spit upon i t . 2 It is very curious that only a few
years later the practice arose of kissing this threshold
w h i c h was now being defiled. W h e n the N i z a m
a l - D i n i b n Sam'ani was sent by the Khwarizmshdh
' A l a a l - D i n M u h a m m a d as an envoy to Baghdad he
was made to alight at the Sentry's Gate and, in spite
of his protests, was compelled to kiss the threshold.
Similarly A b u '1 H i j a al-Samin and numbers of other
men of all ranks of life were compelled to honour the
threshold. 3
T h e death of Saladin in A . H . 589 ( A . D . 1193) was
announced publicly in Baghdad 4 and the messenger
w h o brought the news marched through the streets of
the city w i t h the coat of m a i l and the charger w h i c h ,
w i t h a sum of money amounting in value to less than
fifteen shillings, was all the property that the champion
of Islam left for his heirs. 5
In Persia as in the West, Nasir's ambitions were
f l a t t e r e d . I n A . H . 590 ( A . D . 1194) T u g h r i l Shah, the
last of the Seljiiqs, made a show of marching on Baghdad, and actually, to the consternation of the inhabitants, defeated an army sent out under the command of
the vizier to meet h i m . However, the Khwarizmshdh
' A l a a l - D i n M u h a m m a d , then in the f u l l career of
conquest, defeated the Seljiiq in battle at Rayy, and
having cut off his head, sent it stuck on a spear to
238
Baghdad, where it was exposed in front of the main gate
of the royal palace. 1 At the same time the K h w a r i z m shah sent to Nasir demanding recognition as Sultan
and ordering the repair of the old Baghdad Palace of
the Sultanate in w h i c h he proposed to live. In a fury at
this piece of presumption and in spite of the K h w a r i z m shah's threat that he w o u l d march on Baghdad if his
wishes were disregarded, Nasir ordered the b u i l d i n g to
be demolished and every trace of it to be removed. 2
T h e Caliph's courage was justified, for the Mongols,
the common destroyers b o t h of K h w a r i z m and of
Baghdad, descended on the K h w a r i z m i a n kings before
ever they reached the city on the T i g r i s .
It was to be expected that the religious views of his
subjects w o u l d not escape Nasir's attentions. D u r i n g
his reign, probably in A . H . 588 ( A . D . 1192), 3 the learned
physician ' A b d al-Salam of Baghdad was accused by
jealous rivals of being addicted to philosophy and of
being so interested in the stars as to make it certain he
was a star-worshipper and hence atheistical. Both he
and his works were by Nasir's orders examined, and
being found unsatisfactory, the books were condemned
to be burnt and carried out to one of the open spaces
of the city. T h e sentence was carried out w i t h great
ceremony. A pulpit had been erected for the preacher,
al-Maristani, who ascended it to deliver an oration, in
the course of w h i c h he cursed all who had any dealings
w i t h philosophy, making particular reference to ' A b d
al-Salam. He discoursed on each book separately, and,
having denounced i t , tore it across and threw it into
the flames. 4 T h e Jewish savant and merchant Y u s u f
239
A N I N D I A N SUMMER
al-Sabti, w h o was a friend of the philosopher M a i m o nides, happened to be in Baghdad at the time on a
business venture and afterwards t o l d the biographer
a l - Q i f t i what he had seen:
" I went t o the assembly", said he, " a n d heard the speech o f
I b n al-M&ristanf. In his hand I saw I b n al-Haitham's 1 book
on astronomy in which he was pointing to a circle representing
the heavens, and I heard h i m talk of it as a mighty calamity and
an unspeakable disaster; a blank misfortune. He then tore it
across and threw it into the fire. It was proof to me of his
ignorance and fanaticism, for there is no irreligion in astronomy,
on the contrary it is a pathway to faith and to knowledge of the
omnipotence of Godin what he has ordained and estab-
lished. ,,
A l - Q i f t i adds that ' A b d al-Salam was put into prison
and remained there u n t i l A . H . 589 ( A . D . 1193). 2
D u r i n g his reign of forty-five years ( A . D . 1180-1225),
a longer period of rule than that of any other Caliph,
Nasir had ample opportunity for imposing his w i l l on
the capital. A d d e d to his Shi'ism as a potential danger
to the peace of the c o m m u n i t y was his mania for
spying, w h i c h made h i m , like another H a r u n al-Rashid,
wander about the streets of the city at night and place
his agents and informers in private houses and public
meeting-places where they were least to be expected.
Where his o w n pleasures were concerned he interfered
w i t h o u t scruple in the affairs of his subjects, so that,
for example, none b u t members of his o w n family were
permitted to follow his special hobbies of pigeon-flying
and shooting bullets w i t h the crossbow. One independently-minded citizen, w h o refused to give up his
240
shooting, was at last compelled to flee to Damascus to
escape the sovereign's vengeance.
Consistently w i t h this side of his character, Nasir
insisted that his sorrows must be shared by the citizens
of his capital. W h e n his mother, Z u m u r u d K h a t i i n ,
died in A . H . 599 ( A . D . 1203), he ordered that the coffin
a very heavy oneshould be carried all the way from
the Qurayya quarter on the river bank to the burial
ground at the tomb of M a ' n i f K a r k h i , and that the
mourners were to accompany i t . T h e distance on foot
was considerable and the day was hot, w i t h the result
that a number of the older persons in the procession
collapsed on the roadside. 1 Again, fourteen years later,
when his younger and favourite son died, the C a l i p h
imposed his grief on the whole community. T h e
bazaars were locked and trade was brought to a stands t i l l , while the streets were covered w i t h reed mats and
ashes in token of m o u r n i n g . In every quarter of the
city the women were ordered to dress in the garments
of sorrow and w i t h loosened hair to appear in the
streets beating their faces and breasts. 2
Nasir took particular interest in a certain society
of notables of w h i c h there is mention in the annals of
the day. It apparently had existed in Baghdad and the
country generally for a considerable period, and seems
to have been a sworn brotherhood of men of b i r t h
and distinction equivalent to an order of knighthood
or perhaps a political association. Membership was
coveted and was betokened by the wearing of special
breeches and other garments of a distinctive pattern.
Consequent on the indiscriminate awarding of such
LOB
241
16
tokens of membership and the wholesale appointment

of members, a jealous quarrel broke out at Baghdad.
Swords were drawn and used, and the affair attracted
the attention of Nasir, who, in A . H . 604 ( A . D . 1207-8),
abolished the order as it stood and formulated an edict
reconstructing i t . Henceforward the Caliph was to be
the source, origin and final arbiter of the order of
futuwwa ("chivalry"), as it was called, of which every
member had to obtain Nasir's approval before being
admitted. Amongst those excluded from membership
were all criminals and in particular those who had
committed murder or harboured a murderer. Those
who were elected were enjoined to uphold the right
and eschew the wrong. Finally the Caliph alone was
to be empowered to present the garments of honour. 1
References to the order are scanty, but it may be presumed that it was destroyed with the Caliphate itself
at the sack of Baghdad.
The Caliph resembled more than one of his ancestors
in combining a grasping miserliness of character, which
led him to fleece his subjects, with a mania for lavish
building that displayed itself in bursts of constructive
activity. In addition to the library of the Nizamiya
madrasa, in A . H . 589 ( A . D . 1193) there was built the
Tahirid Palace of the Royal Precincts, and work was
begun on a number of institutions in which the poor
of each quarter might find food provided during the
Fast of Ramadan, and in which pilgrims going to Mecca
could be entertained. These institutions however were
very short-lived and were pulled down or allowed to
fall into ruin with the same absence of reason that led
242
to their construction. Apart from such temporary

structures, a number of city buildings suffered, not only
from the perishable nature of the materials employed,
but also from fire and flood. The library of the N i zamiya madrasa was threatened more than once and its
books only saved by the efforts of the students and staff.
In A . H . 590 ( A . D . 1194) a great flood washed away the walls
of the old city of Mansiir that were still standing, and
in A . H . 601 ( A . D . 1205) fire broke out in the Caliph's
armoury, in which great numbers of weapons of war,
as well as the bulk of his treasure, were stored. Every
saqqd (water carrier), servant and workman in the
neighbourhood was summoned to attack the flames,
but even then enormous damage was done. 1 The city's
recuperative powers were unable to keep pace with these
destructive forces, and several more quarters relapsed
into their original desert condition and became the
haunts of wild animals. Both in A . H . 601 ( A . D . 1205)
and in A . H . 614 ( A . D . 1217) there are reports that lions
were killed in the Bab al-Azaj quarter and that fierce
quarrels broke out when the inhabitants of the neighbouring Ma'muniya quarter refused to allow the subsequent triumphal processions to pass through their
streets.2
16-2
CHAPTER X I V
City Ideals and Accomplishments

It may not be out of place here, before dealing w i t h the
catastrophe that removed Baghdad for centuries f r o m
amongst the cultural centres of Islam, to consider what
view of life was held by those citizens who gave any
thought to the matter at all, and to examine what ideal
was set up by those interested in the less material requirements of existence. W i t h regard to the outward
conduct of life we have to some extent seen already
what was regarded as normal and respectable, but this
may be further illustrated by an examination of the lives
of some citizens w h o were looked upon as queer and
out of the ordinary. T h e descriptions of some Baghdad
"characters" produced by Nasir's long reign provide
this further illustration. Even though the descriptions
themselves may be apocryphalbut there is no real
reason for doubting their authenticitythey may show
by contrast what was regarded as everyday and usual,
and incidentally prove that the Baghdad! leavened his
normal seriousness w i t h a considerable fund of humour.
An instance of the general r u n of humour is provided
by the incident of a visit to Baghdad from an envoy
f r o m Persia. T h i s ambassador, A b u '1-Hija al-Samin
(" the F a t " ) , w h o has already been mentioned in another
connection, 1 was met as he approached the city by a
great crowd of notables and ordinary sightseers w h o
surrounded his cavalcade and escorted it towards the
244
CITY IDEALS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

city gates. In the mob was a potter, whose attention
was caught by the visitor's comical figure. It was not
merely that he was fatobesity was common in a city
where haste was regarded as of the devil 1 but this
visitor had a small head set on his broad shoulders and
a huge paunch that covered the withers of the mule he
was r i d i n g . T h e craftsman at once raced back to his
alcove in the bazaar, and by the time the distinguished
ambassador was passing, a large pot caricaturing h i m
was hanging up f u l l in his view. T h e joke pleased h i m
and caught the fancy of the city, and for a time " A b u
'1-Hija a l - S a m i n " jars were to be found in every
house. 2
T h e fanaticism w h i c h characterized religion in the
city in its less prosperous days led, as we have seen, to
endless troubles. It made for hypocrisy and was not
conducive to conversion, even though it m i g h t be only
from one Sunni sect to another; and converts were
inevitably regarded w i t h suspicion. I n A . H . 599 ( A . D .
1203) there died al-Wajih, w h o at the time of his death
was a professor at the Nizamiya madrasa. T h e fact
indicates that he belonged to the Shafi'f sect, but he had
begun life as a Hanbali and then, after an injuryreal
or imaginedfrom the members of his o w n sect, had
joined the Hanafis. T h e y too failed to please h i m , so
that lastly he acquired membership of the community
in w h i c h he died. An epigram w r i t t e n at his death
throws very considerable suspicion on the honesty of
al-Wajih's motives for his various changes of belief,
and impliesthough without the delicate irony of the
ode on the Vicar of Braythat only death prevented
245
his seeing what could be gained from all four Sunni

sects.1
A far more interesting and important personage,
who died in A . H . 602 ( A . D . 1206), was Tashtigin ibn
* Abdullah, a venerable traveller who had twenty-six
times been the leader of the pilgrim train to Mecca and
had been accustomed on these journeys to exercise the
prerogatives of kings. On one occasion he suffered
imprisonment, on a charge by the vizier I b n Yiinus
that he had been in friendly correspondence with
Saladin, at a period when that warrior was out of favour
with the Caliph. However, the charge was proved false
and he was released. In the city he bore a character for
great courage and haughtiness which was combined
with a taciturnity that for a week together would prevent
his uttering a word. It once drew the rebuke from a
visitor that even Allah spoke to Moses. When he was
past ninety years of age Tashtigin took a three hundred
years' leasethe fact that this was possible may be
noted in passingof a piece of land on the Tigris bank
for the purpose of building a house, and a professional
storyteller went about the city carrying the good tidings
that the Angel of Death was dead.2
So far as the religious beliefs of the city were concerned, the numerous occasions on which the annalists
report fanatical outbreaks on the part of the citizens
make the conclusion inevitable that the mass of the
population was thoroughly unenlightened. That its
bigotry was due to ignorance may be assumed for the
plebs, but those higher in the social scale were often in
no better case. I b n al-Jawzi, during one Sunni-Shi'a
246

r i o t , was asked to decide w h i c h of the two parties was
in the right. T h e question was put to h i m in the common
f o r m of " W h o is the best of men after Mohammed ?"
W h e n he oracularly replied: " H e whose daughter
married the other", neither side was capable of probing
the answer and discovering its ambiguity. Possibly
neither side wished to inquire too closely into the
meaning of the reply, in the desire that the great mufti's
authority should be favourable to themselves. H o w ever that may be, the Sunnis interpreted his answer as
meaning the Caliph A b i i Bekr, their own hero, whose
daughter 'A'isha married the Prophet M o h a m m e d ,
while the Shi'a insisted he meant their own idol ' A l i ,
who married the Prophet's daughter Fatima. 1
T h a t there was, of course, a more enlightened cond i t i o n amongst some of the citizens is clear from the
literature of the period and from the existence of the
numerous schools in the city. It may be assumed also
that the higher standard of religious instruction was not
entirely confined to the men whose profession was
learning, and the fact that some citizens had ideals of
their o w n concerning the things of the m i n d may
perhaps be shown from the Arabian Nights9 story of the
debate between the slave g i r l Tawaddud and the savants.
It w o u l d be difficult to date the story exactly, and
though it is almost certainly later than the reign of
H a r u n al-Rashid it may w e l l be of Baghdad composition,
f r o m the stress laid in it upon the Shafi'i doctrines. 2
In an introductory part of the story the g i r l is asked
in what branches of knowledge she excels; she replies:
" I have knowledge of grammar, poetry, ecclesiastical
247
law, interpretation of the Koran, and the meanings of

words. Also I am acquainted with music, with the
science of the laws of inheritance [a very complicated
system of calculations] with reckoning and division
and measuring, and with the legends of the ancients".
Further she claims a very complete knowledge of the
Koran with all its divisions and liturgical uses, and
also knows which chapters were revealed at Medina
and which at Mecca, and also which chapters abrogate
others. Also she knows the hadith> the vast body of
traditions of the Prophet together with the indispensable
chains of supporting authorities. The learned maiden
then proceeds to number amongst her accomplishments an acquaintance with mathematics, geometry,
philosophy, logic and the various branches of rhetoric. Moreover, not content with the theory of music,
she asserts she is able to play the lute and to sing.
The Caliph is astounded that one so young should be
so skilled in the arts and sciences, and demands she
shall prove her claims before a committee of savants,
consisting of readers of the Koran, men learned in the
law, physicians, astronomers, philosophers and mathematicians. When all are assembled before the Caliph
the girl is seated in a golden chair and the examination
begins.
In reply to various questions concerning religious
beliefs and duties she says that Allah is her lord and
Mohammed her prophet; the Koran is her guide and
the kdba at Mecca the object towards which she turns
in prayer; all believers are her brethren; the good is her
path; and the Prophet's practice her way of life. Her
248
[Photo: Hasso Bros. Baghdad

K A Z I M A I N MOSQUE
knowledge of Allah comes to her through the intellect,

which is of two kinds: the one innate and the other
acquired by training; its seat is in the first place the
heart, where Allah deposits i t ; thence it ascends to the
brain. The prime duties of her faith are to affirm that
there is no god but Allah, to testify that Mohammed is
his apostle, to pray, to give alms, to fast, to make the
Mecca pilgrimage, to fight in the holy war and to
avoid the unlawful. "Prayerful intent adds strength
to Allah's worship"; so that preparation for worship
demands the acts of purification, veiling the secret
parts, rejection of defiled garments, standing in a pure
place, facing the qibla (i.e. in the direction of Mecca),
turning the heart to God, devotion, and glorification
of the holy. Prayer itself is communion between the
servant and his Master, and it has twelve (sic) qualities:
it illumines the heart, gives light to the countenance,
placates the Compassionate, enrages Satan, wards off
calamity, prevents harm from foes, increases mercy,
brings the servant nigh to his master and forbids what
is wicked and unlawful.
The answers given to questions on general knowledge
may also be regarded as representing the stage of
science that had been reached in the centres of Arab
learning in the twelfth century. Man is the microcosm,
in whose various parts is to be found earth from the
kdbdy the east and the west, and who is compounded
of the four elements of water, earth, fire and air. These
elements correspond further to the four humours in
him, phlegm, black bile, yellow bile and blood. Anatomically and physiologically man is made up of 360 veins,
249

240 bones and the three spirits, the v i t a l , the animal
and the natural, in addition to all the other organs, duly
enumerated, in the right proportions. Also there are
the five senses and the corresponding organs. T h e
heart is in the left part of the chest, w i t h the stomach in
front of i t , while the lungs are ventilators to the heart.
In the head are five faculties called the " h i d d e n senseorgans", w h i c h are the faculty of imagination, the
fancy, the w i l l , the faculty of conception and the faculty
of retention.
W i t h regard to disease, w h i c h is recognized by six
rules derived from observation of various symptoms,
the aphorism of the Prophet is held to be valid that
"abstention from harmful food is the principle of all
healing". Food is best prepared by w o m e n ; if a
tradition of the Prophet is followed, the food should
consist of bread soaked in b r o t h , though m u t t o n is also
regarded w i t h favour. Salt meat should be avoided
as having no virtue in i t .
T h e best wine is that w h i c h has stood for eighty days
or more and been pressed out of white grapes; " b u t " ,
the g i r l adds as an afterthought, " i t does not equal
water, like w h i c h there is nothing on e a r t h " . T h e
pomegranate and the citron are the best fruits, the
endive the best vegetable, while the best scents are
those of roses and violets.
In the realm of astronomy the g i r l shows acquaintance w i t h twenty-eight stations of the moon, w h i c h are
equivalent to the twelve divisions of the zodiac; she
knows w h i c h the seven planets are:namely Sun, M o o n ,
M e r c u r y , Venus, M a r s , Jupiter and Saturnand what
250
their astrological qualities are, as well as the length of

their occupation of each division of the zodiac.
For the rest, the knowledge shown on many points
is bounded by the reported sayings of the prophet on
them; but on the whole the standard is a high one.
Even so it may fairly be applied to the attainments of a
citizen of Baghdad in the twelfth century.
CHAPTER XV
The Downfall of the City

W i t h the death of Nasir the office of the Caliphate
declined rapidly, t i l l its end came at the fall of Baghdad
to the M o n g o l hordes under H i i l a g u in A . D . 1258.
T h o u g h the utter feebleness of Nasir's successors was
probably not worse than the condition of the Caliphs
under the Buwayhids and the Seljuqs, yet the temporary
access of strength under Nasir made that weakness seem
all the more pronounced. Al-Fakhri emphasizes the
point when speaking of a revolt against the Caliph
Mustansir at I r b i l (the ancient Arbela), an unimportant t o w n l y i n g between the Greater and Lesser Zab
rivers. An army was sent against the place and succeeded in reducing i t , though only after a siege. News
of this victory was sent by pigeon-post to Baghdad,
where the information was received w i t h great j o y .
" N o w mark (the condition of) an e m p i r e " , says the
author, " i n w h i c h such a trifle is posted on the emperor's gates as good news and the capital is decorated
because of the fall of the citadel of I r b i l w h i c h is to-day
one of the meanest and smallest of townships." 1
Some faint flickers of the old life and spirit were
visible on rare occasions, as when the Caliph M u s tansir showed himself a true member of his line by
b u i l d i n g schools and hospitals for the citizens of
Baghdad as w e l l as places of shelter for travellers
arriving in the city, w h o were there housed and fed at
252
THE DOWNFALL OF THE CITY

the public expense. He excelled himself in A . H . 631
( A . D . 1234) when he b u i l t a great new madrasa (the
Mustansiriya) to eclipse the Nizamiya w h i c h , after
two centuries, was still in full activity. Special interest
attaches to the new institution because its remains are
still extant after a long and chequered career; in the
sixteenth century as a retreat for brigands 1 and in more
modern times partly as a busy cafe2 and partly as a
customs house. As for the position of the b u i l d i n g
in relationship to other well-known structures, it is
probable that it stood just downstream of the Nizamiya
madrasa, and almost certainly it was included w i t h i n
the area of the palace enclosure, being " near the House
of the Caliphate' 5 . 3
U n l i k e the Nizamiya, the Mustansiriya madrasa provided instruction in the doctrines and legal codes of all
four Sunni sects. T w o only of the chairs, those of the
Shafi'i and Hanafi codes are said to have been allotted
to professors, while those of the Hanbalis and the
Malikis were represented by assistant professors. 4
In addition it had a professor for the faculty of hadith
or traditions of the Prophet, and also a physician,
whose duties were not only to attend to the health of
the students, but to teach medicine; the porch in w h i c h
the sick congregated also acting as a medical school.
Generally, the number of students at the madrasa is
reckoned as three hundred, divided equally amongst
the four schools; but the figures are variously given.
A minaret in the modern mahalla of Siiq al-Ghazl,
the old " T h r e a d Bazaar", marks the remains of the
mosque once k n o w n as the Jami' al-Qasr, " T h e P a l a c e
253
Mosque". This building, which was probably put up

by the Caliph al-Muttaqi, was restored by Mustansir,
who gave it an official connection with his madrasa by
placing in it four benches, on which the students could
sit and hold discussions after the prayers were over.1
The person who is said to have had charge of the
building of the madrasa, Mu'ayyad al-Din I b n al'Alqami, 2 played a large part in the subsequent history
of his city. Although he was a Shf'ite he became the
vizier of the last Abbasid Caliph al-Musta'sim, a
monarch whose taste for books and learning went with
an utter incapacity for statesmanship. It so happened
that at the end of the summer of the year A . H . 654
( A . D . 1256) a tremendous inundation swept over Baghdad and submerged even the upper stories of houses.
During the confusion that was caused, gangs composed
of the scum of the city went about plundering and
robbing. At their head, rumour went, was the Dawatdar
or Chancellor, Mujahidu '1-Din Aybak, who saw in the
sudden access of power which this brought him a
chance of deposing the weakling Caliph and putting
another Abbasid in his place. The rumour reached
I b n al-'Alqami who warned al-Musta'sim. The Caliph
summoned the Dawatdar, but that official, after denying
the whole affair, in his turn accused I b n al-'Alqami of
intriguing with the Mongols. In spite of the fact that,
as subsequent disorders indicated, there was some
foundation for I b n al-'Alqami's story, the Caliph
decided to believe the Dawatdar. 3 Facts not in our
possession may have led the sovereign to decide as he
did, but more probably it was his dislike for his vizier's
254

religious beliefs, for at that time the ancient antagonism
between Sunni and Shi'a in the city was in a state of
lively activity, and the Sunnites were accused by the
vizier and others of having gone to the length of
carrying off Shi'a women and children. T h e feud continued to rage even when H i i l a g i i K h a n , the M o n g o l
conqueror, after putting an end to the power of the
Isma'ili Assassins in Persia marched down the great
Khurasan highway towards Baghdad.
On the way, in September A . D . 1257, H i i l a g i i sent
an u l t i m a t u m to the Caliph bidding h i m surrender
himself and demolish the outer wall of his capital.
H i s evasive reply d i d not satisfy the conqueror, who
ordered a M o n g o l army, then operating in Asia M i n o r
under the general Bayjii, to march down on Baghdad.
Bayjii advanced so as to attack the city on the west
bank, while H u l a g i i himself was to come upon it
from the east. T h e Caliph, as was intended, saw only
the more immediate danger threatening from Hulagii,
then on the H u l w a n river. Against h i m , on his leisurely
march down the Khurasan highway, was despatched
a body of troops under the once suspect Dawatdar
Aybak, but they had not advanced far beyond Bajisra
scarcely a quarter of the waywhen urgent messages
came recalling them to oppose Bayjii's army, w h i c h had
arrived unexpectedly at the 'Isa canal, w i t h i n striking
distance of Baghdad. By a detour that involved a forced
march, the M o n g o l army on the west bank had been
able to cut off the royal force from its base, and by
destroying dykes behind them, the invaders flooded the
country and so hampered both pursuit and retreat.
255

V e r y great losses were inflicted on the army floundering
helplessly in the mire and only the Dawatdar, w i t h comparatively few men, was able to reach Baghdad in safety.
On January 23rd, A . D . 1258, Bayjii occupied some of
the quarters along the river on the west side of the city,
including that in w h i c h the great ' A d u d i hospital stood.
It was not u n t i l some days afterwards that Hulagu
arrived outside the walls on the east bank, where he
b u i l t a fortified camp. T h e n the attack began, on all
sides at once; the M o n g o l troops swarming like ants or
locusts about the walls. In the sector commanded by
Hulagu the mangonels made a break in the " B u r j i
' A j a m f " or Persian T o w e r , and the Caliph, in a futile
effort to save further destruction, sent out his vizier
I b n a l - ' A l q a m i in the company of the Nestorian Catholicos M a k i k h a to ask for terms. T h e M o n g o l commander
however refused to receive them, and as they returned
they were followed into the city by a flight of arrows
bearing messages that cadis, merchants, ' A l i d s and
others who m i g h t be disafFected towards the Caliph or
who had not borne arms against the besiegers w o u l d be
assured of their lives. T h e attack meanwhile continued
w i t h o u t intermission for six days. Stones for the mangonels had to be brought f r o m the Jebel H a m r i n nearly
eighty miles away, and, when they ran short, palm trees
were cut d o w n and the trunks hurled into the city.
On February 2nd the B u r j i ' A j a m i collapsed, but for
three days the breach was defended so well that no
entry was made. As soon as the defence weakened, however, the Mongols swarmed i n , occupied the o u t l y i n g
quarters of the city and cleared the walls of the Caliph's
256
troops. To make escape impossible by water, barriers

were thrown across the river, and those who made
efforts to flee by that wayamongst them the Dawatdar
were forced to return to the horrors of the siege.
Some of the inner quarters still held out, and from them
the Caliph again attempted to open negotiations, but
both his gifts and his appeals for clemency were rejected with contempt. Such of the defending troops
as deserted to obtain better terms for themselves were
slaughtered without mercy; others who remained in
the city hid themselves in holes in the ground and in
the furnaces of the public baths, hoping to escape the
inevitable massacre.
During a lull in the attack a number of the principal
citizens came out to ask for an amnesty, telling the
besieger that most of the inhabitants were eager to
surrender, and asking for a truce while the Caliph and
his son came out to the Mongol camp. The Mongol
historian, Rashi'd al-Din, says that the conference might
possibly have succeeded if, during its progress, an arrow
from the city had not hit the Sultan's secretary in the
eye. This incident seems merely to have been made
an excuse for the savagery that followed, for it can
scarcely be believed that Hulagii had not long before
made up his mind to punish the city for its resistance.
When the fresh assault that followed on the west side
reduced the Bab al-Basra quarter, where the Hashimites, the Caliph's kinsfolk, lived, the Caliph himself
surrendered with three thousand cadis, shaikhs and
principal officers of the city and State. Hiilagu received
them without any show of anger, and asked the Caliph
LOB
257
17

to order his followers to lay down their arms. T h i s they
d i d and they were killed to a man, without mercy. T h e i r
slaying was followed in the city by a massacre of a most
inhuman description. Even allowing for the exaggerat i o n of annalists whose purpose was to create hatred of
the infidel Mongols, it is clear that in the sheer lust of
k i l l i n g , the besiegers wiped out the majority of the i n habitants. T h e pestilential odours from the corpses
l y i n g unburied in the streets compelled Hulagu after a
few days to leave a city that he would have been glad to
ransack more thoroughly than he d i d . 1
T h o u g h the M o n g o l conqueror professed no religious
beliefs, his wife was a Christian. 2 It was probably for
this reason that the Caliph had sent the Catholicos
to be one of his emissaries to Hulagu, and that the
Christians who had gathered in the Nestorian church
presumably the one in the Dar al-Rumat the i n vitation of the patriarch, found i m m u n i t y from the
general slaughter and plundering. 3 Hulagu further
showed his favour to this patriarch (Makikha I I ) by
giving h i m the royal house known as the " D a w i d a r ' s
(or Dawatdar's) Palace " to be turned into a church and
a residence for himself, so that he was able later to live
in great splendour. 4 According to the statement of
one Christian authority, M a r A m r , the b u i l d i n g lay on
the T i g r i s bank, and this seems probable for the site of
a royal palace. Another authority, M a r Jabalaha, says
it was near the mosque b u i l t by the Caliph M u k t a f i
" i n his palace" 5 ; w h i c h may or may not confirm the
other statement. At any rate, all trace of a Christian
church on the river bank has been lost.
258

In spite of his favourable treatment of the Christians
and his unutterable cruelty towards the Moslems,
H i i l a g i i appears to have been not entirely indifferent
to M o s l e m opinion. If al-Fakhri is to be believed, he
assembled in the Mustansiriya madrasa all the 'ulamd
w h o survived in the city after its fall and asked for
their considered opinion on the question whether an
unbelieving b u t just Sultan was inferior to a Moslem
prince who was tyrannous and extortionate. T h e answer
was given in favour of the former, though the doctors
hesitated long about c o m m i t t i n g it to w r i t i n g . 1
T h o u g h he knew nothing about them, the conqueror
had a great regard for the sciences2 and for that reason
spared the madrasas in the city. Even so their endowments were confiscated 3 and their libraries plundered. 4
Three-quarters of a century after the sack of the city
the travellers H a m d u l l a h M u s t a w f i and I b n Batuta
found the t w o most important of such institutions in
an excellent state of repair and apparently in normal
w o r k i n g order. Y e t it is significant that where the
pages of the older biographers are filled w i t h references
to the men w h o had studied at Baghdad, those of the
newer ones very seldom mention a man who visited its
schools after the invasion. For those who grew up after
the fall of Baghdad the centres of learning were Damascus, Aleppo or Cairo, and only very rarely are persons
of any distinction mentioned as having been students
in the o l d Abbasid capital.
On the whole, and apart f r o m the dilapidations due
to the siege engines, the damage deliberately wrought
was not as great as is generally implied by the Moslem
259
17-2
THE DOWNFALL OF THE C I T Y
writers. The Caliph's own palace was not destroyed,

and an inventory was made of all its contents which
were carried off. Such buildings, however, as the
Caliph's mosque and the shrine of Musa 1-Jawad at
Kazimain, which the Moslem population treated with
especial reverence, were purposely dismantled out of
revenge for the city's resistance. Yet this damage too
was very shortly afterwards put right by a company
of 3000 men under the command of two Mongol officers
who were bidden to repair the main buildings and
restore order in the city. Many of the city's artisans
and tradesmen had escaped slaughter, and having nowhere else to go they had remained in their own houses
or in such others as they could find habitable and unoccupied. Under the orders of Ibn al-'Alqami, who
had been sent to take over the administration of the city,
as fast as they could they removed the corpses from the
streets, rebuilt the bazaars and resumed normal life. 1
Less than forty years after the catastrophe the author
of the Ta'rikhi Wassdf visited the city, and though it had
been reduced to a tenth of what it had once been, yet,
in comparison with other well-known cities which had
suffered in the same way under the Mongols, it was a
paradise of ease and security, and its inhabitants were
care-free and prosperous.2 This condition of affairs
lasted into the middle of the fourteenth century, when
bitter struggles between rival Mongol chieftainsand
afterwards between Persia and Turkeyfor possession
of the once-famous city extinguished almost all the life
in it and left it moribund, until the events of recent
years once again made it the capital of a kingdom.
260
NOTES
Page 6, note i. Kitab al-Buldan, ed. de Goeje, p. 235.
p. 6, n. 2. Ydqiit, Mu'jam al-Bulddn, ed. Wuestenfeld, 1, 680.
p. 7, n. - i . D'Herbelot, Bibliotheque orientale, s.v. " Bagdad".
p. 8, n. 1. See al-Sharishi's commentary on the thirteenth maqdma
of H a r i r i .
p. 12, n. 1. Tabari, 1, 2203 ff.
p. 16, n. 1. Al-Fakhri, ed. Ahlwardt, pp. 190 f.
p. 16, n . 2. Op. cit. i n , 274.
p. 18, n. 1. History of Baghdad, ed. G. Salmon, p. 1.
p . 18, n . 2. Op. cit. i n , 276.
p. 19, n. 1. De Slane's translation of I b n Khallikan (f A . D . 1282),
i n , 555 ff.
p. 2 1 , n. 1. Tabari, i n , 320.
p. 2 1 , n . 2. Op. cit. i n , 321.
p. 25, n. 1. E d . G. Salmon, p. 11.
p. 25, n. 2. Mu'jam al-Buldan, ed. Wuestenfeld, 1, 683.
p. 27, n. 1. See further von Kremer, Culturgeschichte des Orients,
I I , 172 ff.
p. 28, n. 1. Caussin de Perceval, "Notices anecdotiques sur les
principaux musiciens arabes", Journal Asiatique, 1873, PP- 5*4 ffp. 29, n. 1. Kitab al-Aghani, x v m , 148.
p. 33, n. 1. A. M u l l e r , Der Islam, 1, 472 f.
p. 34, n. 1. Caussin de Perceval, op. cit. pp. 524 f.
p. 37, n. 1. Al-Fakhri, ed. Ahlwardt, pp. 220 ff.
p. 38, n. 1. I b n Khallikdn, tr. de Slane, 1, 202 f.
p. 39, n. 1. Ibid. 1, 538, s.v. " A b u Dulama".
p. 44, n. 1. Burton, Introduction to the Arabian Nights.
p. 44, n. 2. V o n Kremer, Culturgeschichte, 11, 59.
p. 50, n. 1. Aghdni, V I , 77-81 [abridged], tr. by Caussin de Perceval,
op. cit. pp. 529 ff.
p. 50, n. 2. C. de Perceval, op. cit. p. 543.
p . 58, n . 1. Op. cit. 1, 310.
p. 59, n. 1. I b n Khallikdn, tr. de Slane, n, 107.
p. 60, n, 1. V o n Kremer, Streifzuge, p. 43.
p. 60, n. 2. A b i i 'l-'Atahiya, Diwan (Beynit, 1886), Introduction,
p . 12.
p. 62, n. 1. I b n Khallikdn, tr. de Slane, 1, 625.
p. 65, n. 1. Cf. von Kremer, Culturgeschichte, 1, pp. 423 ff.
p. 67, n. 1. Ibid. 11, 179 ff.
p. 68, n. 1. Ibid. 11, 186 f.; Mas'udi, Muruj al-Dhahab, viii, 152,
p. 68, n. 2. V o n Kremer, op. cit. 11, 188.
p. 70, n. 1. Lata'if, ed. de Jong, p. 7 1 .
261
NOTES
p. 137, n. 1. Ibid, p. 4 1 .
p. 138, n. 1. Miskawaihi, The Eclipse of the Abbasid Caliphate, t r i
D. S. Margoliouth, iv, 2.
p. 139, n. 1. D. S. Margoliouth, Table-Talk, tr., pp. 124 f.
p. 141, n. 1. Ibn al-Qiftl, p. 191.
p. 142, n. 1. Ibid. pp. 193 f.
p. 143, n. 1. Abulkasim: ein bagdader Sittenbild, ed. A. Mez, 1902,
p. 87.
p. 145, n. 1. Ibn al-Athir, anno 3P0, tr. E. G. Browne, Literary
History of Persia, 1, 360 f.
p. 146, n. 1. The Eclipse of the Abbasid Caliphate, tr. D. S. Margoliouth, iv, 44.
p. 146, n. 2. Ed. Ahlwardt, p. 306.
p. 146, n. 3. 'Arib, ed. de Goeje, p. 96 n.
p. 147, n. 1. The Eclipse of the Abbasid Caliphate, tr. D. S. Margoliouth, iv, 135.
p. 149, n. 1. Decline and Fall, chap. L I I .
p. 149, n. 2. A . H . 323, v i n , 229 f.
p. 150, n. 1. Ibn al-Athir, Le.
p. 151, n. 1. Abd 1-Mahdsin, ed. Juynboll, 11, 305; Suyiid, tr.
Jarrett, anno 333, p. 416.
p. 152, n. 1. Hamza of Isfahan, Berlin edn, A.H, 1340, p. 125.
p. 156, n. 1. Cf. Zayddn, Islamic Civilization (Arabic), 1, 187.
p. 157, n. 1. F. Krenkow, "Al-Khatibu 'l-Baghdddi", J.RJL.S.
Jan. 1912, p. 71.
p. 157, n. 2. Yaqut, Mu'jam al-Udaba, ed. Margoliouth (Gibb
Series), vi, 1, 73.
p. 159, n. 1. Masalik al-Mamalik, ed. de Goeje, Leyden, 1870,
pp. 83 ff.
p. 160, n. 1. Ibn al-Athir, v i n , 407; Mir'dt al-Zamdn, fol. 155 a.
p. 160, n. 2. Mirkhwand, Buyids, ed. andtr.F.Wilken, 1835,pp.73f.
p. 161, n. 1. A . H . 361.
p. 162, n. 1. Mir'at al-Zaman, A . H . 350.
p. 163, n. 1. Rawdat al-Safd, pt. iv [vol. 1 of Tihrdn edn of A.H.
1270, no pagination].
p. 164, n. 1. D. S. Margoliouth, Table-Talk, tr., p. 228.
p. 164, n. 2. Al-Bininf, Chronology of Ancient Nations, tr. Sachau,
p. 258.
p. 164, n. 3. The location of the exact site has not been settled.
I b n Bartija, who visited Baghdad about the middle of the fourteenth
century, in his Book of Travels (pt. 11, p. 108 of Defremery and Sanguinetti's edn) talks of the ruins of the hospital and the mosque of the
Khuld Palace as being in the quarter of B i b al-Basra, where also
stood and stands the tomb of the saint M a ' n i f Karkhl. This tomb is
263
NOTES
p. 71, n. 1. Tabarf, i n , 971 f.
p. 78, n. 1. Ibn Khallikin, tr. de Slane, 1, 649.
p. 79> n. 1. Op. cit. p. 4.
p. 82, n. 1. Aghdni, x v m , 43.
p. 83, n. 1. See Tabarf, i n , 1008 ff.
p. 83, n. 2. Tabarf, i n , 1009.
P 83, n. 3. Ibid, i n , 1010.
p. 85, n. 1. Ibid, i n , 1023 ff.
p. 87, n. 1. Ibn al-Qiftf(ed.Lippert),s.v." Band Miisd,"p.44i. See
Fihrist, n (notes) pp. 126 f.
p. 88, n. 1. Fihrist, p. 271; cf. Nicholson, Lit. Hist, of the Arabs,
P- 359.
p. 88, n. 2. Chahdr Maqdla (Gibb Series), p. 55. The al-Kindf
mentioned is not "the Arabian Philosopher" of that name, who was
a Moslem.
p. 89, n. 1. Aghdni, xvn, 15; quoted by von Kremet,Streifztige,p.4Z.
p. 89, n. 2. Ibn Khallikdn, tr. de Slane, 1, 478.
p. 89, n. 3. Ibid. 1,507p. go, n. 1. Mu'jam al-Udabd, ed. Margoliouth (Gibb Series), VI,
5> 458.
p. 9 1 , n. 1. See Journal Asiatique, 1873, pt. n, 583.
p. 94, n. 1. 'Iqd, Cairo, 1316, i n , 337 f.
p. 96, n. 1. See Tabarf, i n , 1074 f.
p. 101, n. 1. Yiqiit, Mu'jam al-Bidadn, I, 684 ff.
p. 104, n. 1. Tabarf, i n , 1343 ff.
p. 105, n. 1. See Deuteronomy vi, 4.
p. 105, n. 2. Tabarf, i n , 1389 f.
p. 106, n. 1. Ibid, i n , 1424.
p. 108, n. 1. Ibid, i n , 1510 f.
p. 115, n. 1. Ndldeke, Sketches from Eastern History, tr. J. S.
Black, p. 150.
p. 117, n. 1. Mas'udi, Kitab al-Tanbih, pp. 368 f.
p. 120, n. 1. D. S. Margoliouth, The Table-Talk of a Mesopotamian
Judge, tr., p. 80.
p. 121, n. 1. See the edition by R. E. Brunnow (1886).
p. 126, n. 1. Yaqut, Mu'jam al-Udabd, ed. Margoliouth, vi, 1,37 ff.
p. 127, n. 1. Mas'udi, Murilj al-Dhahab, v m , 125 f.
p. 130, n. 1. Ibid, viii, 151 ff.
p. 130, n. 2. Mirat al-Zaman, B . M . M S . Or. 4619, anno 295.
p. 131, n. 1. Noldeke, Sketches from Eastern History, tr. J. S. Black,
p. 203.
p. 134, n. 1. Tabarf, i n , 2226 ff.
p. 136, n. 1. From "A Greek Embassy to Baghdad", by G. Le
Strange, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1897, pp. 37 f.
26a
NOTES
p. 137, n. 1. Ibid. p. 41.
p. 138, n. 1. Miskawaihi, The Eclipse of the Abbasid Caliphate, t r ;
D. S, Margoliouth, i v , 2.
p. 139, n. 1. D. S. Margoliouth, Table-Talk, tr., pp. 124 f.
p. 141, n. 1. I b n al-Qiftf, p. 191.
p. 142, n. 1. Ibid. pp. 193 f.
p. 143, n. 1. Abulkdsim: ein bagddder Sittenbild, ed. A. Mez, 1902,
p. 87.
p. 145, n. 1. I b n al-Athir, anno 310, t r . E. G. Browne, Literary
History of Persia, 1, 360 f.
p. 146, n. 1. The Eclipse of the Abbasid Caliphate, t r . D. S. Margoliouth, i v , 44.
p. 146, n. 2. Ed. Ahlwardt, p. 306.
p. 146, n. 3. ' A r i b , ed. de Goeje, p. 96 n.
p. 147, n. 1. The Eclipse of the Abbasid Caliphate, t r . D. S. Margoliouth, i v , 135.
p. 149, n. 1. Decline and Fall, chap. LII.
p.
149, n.
2.
A.H.
323, V I I I ,
229 f.
p. 150, n. 1. I b n al-Athir, Le.

p. is 1, n. 1. A b t i '1-Mahdsin, ed. Juynboll, 11, 305; Suyiiti, t r ,
Jarrett, anno 333, p. 416.
p. 152, n. 1. Hamza of Isfahan, Berlin edn, A.H. 1340, p. 125.
p. 156, n. 1. Cf. Zayddn, Islamic Civilization (Arabic), 1, 187.
p . 157, n . i . F . Krenkow, " A l - K h a t f b u '1-Baghdddf", J.R.A.S.
Jan. 1912, p . 7 1 .
p. 157, n. 2. Yaqut, Mu'jam al-Udabd, ed. Margoliouth ( G i b b
Series), v i , 1,73.
p. 159, n. 1. Masalik al-Mamalik, ed. de Goeje, Leyden, 1870,
pp.83 ff.
p . 160, n . 1. I b n al-Athir, V I I I , 407; Mir'at al-Zaman, f o l . 155 a.
p. 160, n. 2. M i r k h w d n d , Buyids, ed. a n d t r . F . W i l k e n , 1835,pp.73f.
p . 161, n . 1. A.H. 361.
p. 162, n. 1. Mir'at al-Zaman, A . H . 350.
p. 163, n. 1. Rawdat al-Safd, pt. iv [vol. 1 of T i h r d n edn of A.H.
1270, no pagination].
p. 164, n. 1. D. S. Margoliouth, Table-Talk, tr., p. 228.
p. 164, n. 2. A l - B i n i n l , Chronology of Ancient Nations, t r . Sachau,
p . 258.
p. 164, n. 3. T h e location of the exact site has not been settled.
I b n Batiita, who visited Baghdad about the middle of the fourteenth
century, in his Book of Travels (pt. 11, p. 108 of Defremery and Sang u i n e u s edn) talks of the ruins of the hospital and the mosque of the
K h u l d Palace as being in the quarter of Bdb al-Basra, where also
stood and stands the tomb of the saint M a ' n i f K a r k h i . T h i s tomb ia
263
NOTES
now in the neighbourhood of the quarter known as Bdb al-S(f
between the two bridges on the west bank. On the other hand, the
old wall of Babylonian bricks, above the upper bridge and known as
al-Sinn, has been identified as part of the ruins of the Mdristdn.
p. 165, n, 1. T h e Travels of I b n Jubayr (Gibb Series, vol. v), pp.
325 ff.
p. 165, n. 2. Or. 8293.
p. 165, n. 3. Ed. Margoliouth (Gibb Series, vol. VI, 7), 243.
p. 166, n. 1. Khanikof, Mernoire sur Khacani, p. 95.
p. 166, n. 2. Al-Qiftf, ed. Lippert, p. 283.
p. 167, n. 1. Mir'dt al-Zaman, A.H. 378.
p. 168, n. 1. The M S . of Mir'dt al-Zamdn has Fakhr al-D. (by
error). Possibly Fakhr al-Mulk, the Buwayhid viceroy, is intended.
See Ibn al-Athir, ix, 157 f.
p, 168, n. 2. Id al-Qurban (10th of the month of Dhii '1-Hijja).
p* 168, n. 3. Mir'dt al-Zaman, anno 402.
p. 169, n. 1. Ibid, anno 403 (fol. 199 b).
p. 170, n. 1. x, 5.
p. 170, n. 2. Nicholson, Literary History of the Arabs, p. 267.
p. 170, n. 3. Letters, ed. Margoliouth, p. 66.
p. 171, n. 1. I b n al-Athir, A . H . 409, ix, 216.
p. 171, n. 2. Ibid, ix, 216 f.
p. 172, n. 1. Ibid, ix, 246.
p. 172, n. 2. Ibid, ix, 254 f.; Mir'at al-Zaman, anno 418 (fol. 214 a).
p. 174, n. 1. Mir'dt al-Zaman, anno 424 (fol. 224 a),
p. 175, n. 1. Ibid, anno 426.
p. 176, n. 1. Ibid, anno 426.
p. 176, n. 2. Ibid, anno 431.
p. 176, n. 3. "of the companions (of the Prophet)ask therefore
for God's compassion upon them."
p. 177, n. 1. This account is given by I b n al-Jawzf, anno 442. It
is omitted from the editions of Ibn al-Athfr, though it must have been
included in his original text, for in his summary of the events of the
year 443 he speaks of the break-up of the strange "alliance of which
we gave an account during the record of the past year".
p. 178, n. 1. Ed. A . Mez.
p. 179, n. 1. Ibid. pp. 13 f.
p. 180, n. 1. Ibid. p. 24.
p. 180, n. 2. Ibid. p. 35.
p. 180, n. 3. Ibid. loc. cit.
p. 181, n. 1. Ibid. p. 36.
p. 181, n. 2. Ibid. p. 38.
p. 182, n. 1. Ibid. pp. 38 ff.
p. 182, n. 2. Ibid. p. 4 1 .
264
NOTES
p. 182, n. 3. Ibid. p. 46,
p. 182, n. 4. Ibid. p. 49.
p. 182, n. 6. Ibid. p. 50,
p. 183, n 1. Ibid. p. 51.
p. 183, n. 2. Ibid. p. 81.
p. 184, n. 1. Mir'dt al-Zamdn, anno 444 (fol. 273 6).
p. 186, n. 1. Ibn al-Athfr, ix, 420 f.
p. 187, n. 2. Al-Bunddrf (ed. Houtsma), p; 13.
p. 188, n. 1. Ibn al-Athfr, ix, 436.
p. 188, n. 2. Al-Bunddrf, pp. 13 f.
p. 189, n. 1. Zubdat al-Tawarikh, B . M . M S . Stowe Or. 7, fol. 12 b.
p. 190, n. 1. Koran, i n , 25.
p. 190, n. 2. Ibn al-Athir, A.H. 450, ix, 443.
p. 191, n. 1. Ibid, ix, 445.
p. 193, n. 1. Ed. F. Wuestenfeld, Gottingen, 1848, vol. i l , p. 276,
s.v. "Tris".
p. 193, n. 2. Ibn Khallikan, tr. de Slane, I, pp. xxviii f.
p. 194, n. 1. Cf. L. Massignon, "Les medresehs de Bagdad",
Bull, de VInstitut francais d'Arch. orient. V I I , 77 ff.
p. 194, n. 2. Ibn al-Athfr, xi, 100.
p. 194, n* 3. Mir'at al-Zaman, anno 457.
p. 194, n. 4. I b n al-Athfr, x, 38; I b n Khallikdn, ed. Wuestenfeld,
IV, No. 410, p. 113.
p. 194, n. 5. The Mir'dt al-Zaman, anno 457, says the school was
intended from the beginning for the Shdfi'f sect.
p. 195, n. 1. Ibn al-Athir, x, 141.
p. 195, n. 2. 'Uytin al-Ta'rikh, Cambridge M S . Add 2922, fol.
36 a.
p. 196, n. 1. Ibn al-Athfr, x. 123.
p. 196, n. 2. For the meaning cf. I b n Jubayr (Gibb Series), pp. 219,
229.
p. 196, n. 3. I b n Khallikan, tr. de Slane, iv, 434, note (6).
p. 196, n. 4. Bastan, v n , 1. 147 (ed. Graf, p. 341).
p. 196, n. 5. I b n Khallikan, tr. de Slane, iv, 417 f.
p. 196, n. 6. Ibid, iv, 432.
p. 196, n. 7. Here called faqihs.
p. 196, n. 8. 1 Semecarpus anacardium.
p. 196, n. 9. I b n Khallikan, tr. de Slane, iv, 427.
p. 197, n. 1. Ibn al-Athir, xi, 115.
p. 198, n. 1. Al-Bundarf, p. 33.
p. 198, n. 2. Ibid. p. 32.
p. 198, n. 3. Yaqut, Mu'jam al-Buldan, 1, 826.
265
NOTES
p. 199, n i- Al-BundAri, p. 80; Ibn al-Atbir, x, 103f.
p. 199, n. 2. For details see Le Strange, Baghdad, pp. 283 f. and
Ibn al-Athir, x, 156.
p. 199, n. 3. Ibn al-Athir, x, 172.
p. 200, n. 1. Ibid, x, 435.
p. 201, n. 1. Ibid, x, 329.
p. 201, n. 2. Ibid, x, 63, 71-74; al-Bundari, p. 52.
p. 202, n. 1. Al-Fakhri) pp. 344 f.
p. 202, n. 2. Ibn al-Athir, x, 123.
p. 203, n. 1. Ibid, x, 317 f.
p. 203, n. 2. Ibid, x, 63.
p. 203, n. 3. Cf. the Mejellethe codification of Hanafi law, Eng.
trans, by C. R. Tyser and D. G. Demetriades, Nicosia, 1901.
p. 203, n. 4. Ibn al-Athir, x, 173.
p. 204, n. 1. Ibid, x, 156.
p. 204, n. 2. Ibid, x, 134f.; cf. Le Strange, Baghdad, pp. 240,339, etc.
p. 204, n. 3. Op. du x, 135.
p. 205, n. 1. Cf. Abii '1-Fidd, Annales, ed. Reiske, i n , 284 ff.
p. 205, n. 2. Ibn al-Athir, x, 157.
p. 205, n. 3. Ibid. X, 245.
p. 206, n. 1. Michaud, Hist, des Croisades, 1, 261.
p. 206, n. 2. Ibn al-Athfr, x, 192.
p. 208, n. 1. Al-Bundari, p. 91.
p. 208, n. 2. Ibid. p. 95.
p. 209, n. 1. Ibid. p. 99
p. 209, n. 2. Ibid. p. 103.
p. 209, n. 3. Ibid. p. 101.
p. 209, n. 4. Ibid. p. 103.
p. aio, n. 1. Ibid. loc. dt.
p. 211, n. 1. Ibn al-Athir, x, 338 f.
p. 211, n. 2. Ibid. loc. dt.
p. 211, n. 3. 'Uyun al-Ta'rtkh, Cambridge M S . Add. 2922, fol. 1 b.
p. 212, n. 1. Al-Bundari, p. 137.
p. 212, n. 2. Ibid. loc. dt.
p. 213, n. 1. Ibn al-Athfr, x, 428.
p. 213, n. 2. Ibid, x, 429.
p. 214, n. 1. Ibid, x, 435.
p. 214, n. 2. Ibid. X, 430.
p. 215, n. 1. Ibid, x, 441 f.
p. 216, n. 1. Called the "Nubian Gate" in G. Le Strange's Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate. The name occurs in the Arabic texts
either as Bab al-Nauba or as Bab al-Naubi, which Mr Le Strange
reads as Bab al-Niibi.
p. 217, n. 1. Ibn al-Athir, x, 447 ff. Bundari, p. 152.
266
NOTES
p. 217, n. 2. Ibn al-Athir, x, 476 f. Bunddrf, pp. 158 f.
p. 218, n. 1. Ibn al-Athir, xt, 16 f.
p. 218, n. 2. Bundari, p. 178, and for other views on the murder,
J.R.A.S. 1902, pp. 788 ff.
p. 220, n. x. Ibn al-Athir, xi, 26.
p. 220, n. 2. Ibid. p. 28.
p. 221, n. 1. Ibid. p. 40.
p. 221, n. 2. Ibid. p. 59; cf. ibid. p. 63.
p. 222, n. 1. Bunddrf, p. 216; Ibn al-Athir, x i , 78.
p. 222, n. 2 Ibn al-Athir, xi, 106; Zubdat al-Tawarikh, B . M . M S .
Stowe Or. 7, fol. 71 b.
p. 222, n. 3. Zubdat al-Tawdrtkh, fol. 72 a; Bunddrf, pp. 234 ff.
p. 223, n. 1. Chau Ju-Ktia, translated by F. Hirth and W. W.
Rockhill, St Petersburg, 19x1.
p. 227, n. 1. Rdhat al-Sudtir (Gibb Series), p. 268.
p. 227, n. 2. Ibn al-Athir, xi, 140 ff.; Bunddrf, pp. 246 ff. Rdhat
al-Sudtir, pp. 267 f.; Zubdat al-Tawarikh, fois. 74 a-78 a.
p. 227, n. 3. Zubdat al-Tawdrtkh, fol. 74 b.
p. 228, n. 1. Ibn al-Athir, xi, 164.
p. 228, n. 2. Cf. The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, ed. M. N.
Adler (1907), p. 36.
p. 229, n. 1. Ibid. p. 42.
p. 229, n. 2. Their number is put in different M S S . either as 1000
or 40,000; the former too low, the latter probably too high. Cf. Mez,
Die Renaissance des Islams, 1922, p. 33, note 9.
p. 230, n. 1. Mez, op. cit. pp. 54 ff.
p. 230, n. 2, Cf. Lane-Poole, Mohammedan Dynasties, p. 165.
p. 230, n. 3. Cf. Steinschneider, Arabische Lit. derjuden, 149.
p. 230, n. 4. Emek habacha, tr. M. Wiener, who gives the original
Judaeo-Arabic, pp. xxv-xxvii; De Sacy, Ckrestomathie arabe, 1, 363.
p. 23 x, n. 1. Ibn al-Qiftf, ed. Lippert, pp. 343 f.; Bar-Hebraeus,
ed. Salhdnf, pp. 364 f.
' P 233, n. 1, Cf. Chau Ju-Kua, his work on the Chinese and Arab
Trade in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries; translated by F. H i r t h
and W. W. Rockhill, St Petersburg, 1911, pp. 102-104 and notes,
pp. 104-110, with literature there cited,
p. 233, n. 2. (Gibb Series, vol. v), p. 216.
p. 234, n. 1. Ibid. p. 218.
p. 235, n. x. Diwdn, ed. D, S. Margoliouth, No. 24, p. 47.
P 235> n. 2. Ibn Jubayr, pp. 222 f.
p. 236, n. 1. Ibid. p. 227.
p. 236, n. 2. Ibn al-Athir (xi, 211) mentions a Hanabalite madrasa
in the B&b al-Basra quarter, on the west bank, built by the vizier
Yahyd b. Mohammed, who died in A . H . 560 ( A . D . 1165)*
267
NOTES
p, 236, n. 3. I b n al-Athir, xn f 67,
p. 237, n. 1. Ibid, x i , 241 fF.
p. 237, n. 2. Al-Subkf, Tabaqdt al-Shdfi'iya, B . M . M S . 6523,
fol, 193 a.
p. 237, n. 3. Ibid. fol. 193 b.
p. 237, n. 4. Abd '1-Fidd, Annates, ed. Reiske, iv, 328; Suytitf,
tr. Jarrett, p. 475.
p. 237, n. 5. Bar-Hebraeus, Chron. Syr. tr. Bruns and Kirsch,
pp. 414 f.; Mir'at al-Zaman, ed. Jewett, p. 241.
p. 238, n. 1. Ibn al-Athir, xi, 353.
p. 238, n. 2. Abd Shama (Shihdb al-Dfn al-Muqaddasf), Kitdb
al-Razvdatayn, n, 139; cf. Le Strange, Baghdad, pp. 274 f.
p. 238, n. 3. Cf. (i) the article in al-Muqtabas, vol. in (Cairo,
1326), p. 96, on a fragment of Ibn al-Sai's history Al-Jdmi* alMukhtasar, containing the years 595-606; and (ii) Mukhtasar Mir*dt
al-Zaman, B . M . M S . Add. 23,279, fol. 846, anno 593.
p. 238, n. 4. Abii Shdma, n, 214 ad fin.
p. 238, n. 5. Suyiitf, tr. Jarrett, p. 479.
p. 239, n. 1. Al-Dhahabf, B . M . M S . Or. 52, fol. 65 a.; I b n alAtiir, x n , 70.
p. 239, n. 2. I b n Khaldun, History, i n , 529; Suyutf, op. at.
pp. 479 f.
p. 239, n. 3. Ci. Journal Asiatique, 1842, xiv, 20.
p. 239, n. 4. Bar-Hebraeus, ed. Salhinf, pp. 414 f.
p. 240, n. 1. A famous mathematicianofBasra,d.A.H.43o(A.D. 1038).
p. 240, n. 2. Ed. Lippert, pp. 228 f.
p. 241, n. 1. Mukhtasar Mir'at al-Zaman, fol. 113 a.
p. 241, n. 2. I b n al-Athir, x n , 210; Mir'at al-Zaman, ed. Jewett,
P- 375p. 242, n. 1. I b n al-Athir, x n , 286; Al-Muqtabas, m, 96; cf. Dozy,
Supplement, n, 211.
p. 243, n. x. Mukhtasar Mir'at al-Zaman, fol. 119 a b.
p. 243, n. 2. Ibn al-Athir, x n , 133, 216.
p. 244> n. 1. P. 238.
p. 245, n. 1. Hamdullah Mustawff (in Nuzhat al-Quliib, tr. Le
Strange, p. 42) says that obesity was characteristic of the Baghdad!.
p. 245, n. 2. Mukhtasar Mir'at al-Zaman, fol. 84 b.
p. 246, n. 1. Ibid. fol. 115 a.
p. 246, n. 2. Ibid. fois. 120 f.
p. 247, n. 1. I b n Khallikan, ed. Cairo, 1310, 1, 279, tr. de Slane,
i l , 97 ; Suytiff, tr. Jarrett, p. 475.
p. 247, n. 2. T h e story covers Nights 438-460; Alif Layla, ed.
Macnaghten, n, 493 fF. I am indebted for the reference to Mr J.
Leveen of the British Museum.
268
NOTES
p. 252, n. x. Op. cit. ed. Ahlwardt, p. 37,
p. 253, n. 1. Cf. C. Huart, Hist, de Bagdad, p. 37.
p. 253, n. 2. Qahwat Ras al-Jisr.
p. 253, n. 3. Abti '1-Fida, Ta'rikh, Stambtil edn, 1286, i l l , 179.
p. 253, n. 4. Al-Machriq, vol. v, 1902, p. 164.
p. 254, **. * Ibid, x, 80 ff., 391 ff.
p. 254, n. 2. Ibid, v, 164.
p. 254, n. 3. Quatremere, Histotre des Mongols, pp. 224 f.
p. 258, n. 1. Ibid. pp. 278 ff.
p. 258, n. 2. Al-Safadl, B . M . M S . Add. 23,359, fol. 235 6.
p. 258, n. 3. Cf. D'Ohsson, Hist, des Mongols, i n , 241.
p. 258, n. 4. Maris Amri et Slibae de Patriarchis Nestorianorum
Commentaria, ed. H. Gismondi, 1897,11, 120 f.
p. 258, n. 5. J. B. Chabot, Histotre du Patriarche Mar Jabalaha I I I ,
116f.
p. 259, n. 1.
p. 259, n. 2.
p. 259, n. 3.
p. 259, n. 4.
p. 260, n. 1.
p. 260, n. 2.
Op. cit. ed. Ahlwardt, pp. 19 f.

Al-Safadf, loc. cit.
Cf. L. Massignoii, "Les medresehs de Bagdad/ 9
Cf. E. G. Browne, Lit. Hist, of Persia, 11, 484.
Quatremere, loc. cit.
Op. cit. ed. von Hammer, pp. 52, 117.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST OF
AUTHORITIES
Abii VAtdhiya. Diwdn Beynit, 1886.
Abii '1-Faraj (Bar-Hebraeus). Ta'rikh al-Duwal. Beynit, 1890.
Chronicon Syriacum. Ed. and tr. Brims and Kirsch. 2 vols.
Leipzig, 1789.
Chronicon Ecclesiasticum. Ed. and tr. Abbeloos and Lamy.
3 vols. Louvain, 1872-7.
Abii '1-Fidd. Annates. Ed. J. Reiske. 5 vols. Copenhagen, 1786.
TaWikh al-Bashar, 4 vols. Stambiil A . H . 1286.
Geography. Ed. Reinaud and de Slane. Paris, 1840.
Abii '1-Mahdsin ibn Taghribardi. Al-Nujtim al-Zdhira. Ed. T. G.
Juynboll. 2 vols. Leyden, 1852-61.
Abii Shdma. Kitdb al-Rawdatayn. Cairo, A . H . 1287.
Abd 1-Tayyib Muhammad ibn Ishdq. Kitdb al-Muwashshd. Ed.
R. E. Briinnow. Leipzig, 1886.
Al-Binini. Chronology of Ancient Nations. T r . E. Sachau. London,
1879.
Alif Layla wa-Layla. Ed. W. H. Macnaghten. 4 vols. Calcutta,
1831-42.
H. F. Amedroz and D. S. Margoliouth. The Eclipse of the Abbasid

Caliphate. Oxford, 1920-1.
'Arfb. Tabari Continuatus. Ed. M. J. de Goeje. Leyden, 1897.
Benjamin of Tudela. Itinerary. Ed. and tr. A. Asher. London, 1840.
Ibid. Ed. and tr. M. N. Adler. London, 1907.
Die Reisebeschreibungen
Ed. and tr. L. Griinhut and
M. N. Adler. Frankfurt, 1903-4.
C. Brockelmann. Geschichte der Arabischen Literatur. 2 vols.
Weimar, 1898-1902.
E. G. Browne. A Literary History of the Arabs. 2 vols. London, 1909.
R. F. Burton. The Thousand and One Nights. 6 vols. London, 1887.
J. B. Chabot. Histoire de Marjabalaha HI. Paris, 1895.
Chau Ju-Kua. T r . F. Hirth and W. W. Rockhill. St Petersburg, 1911.
Al-Dhahabf. Ta'rikh al-Islam. British Museum M S . Or. 52.
R. Dozy. Essai sur l'histoire de l'Islamisme. Paris, 1879.
Supplement aux Dictionnaires arabes. 2 vols. Leyden, 1881.
I. Goldziher. Muhammedanische Studien. 2 vols. Halle, 1889-90.
I. Guidi. Tables alphabitiques du Kitdb al-Aghani. Leyden, 18951900.
271
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL L I S T OF AUTHORITIES
Hamdulldh Mustawfi . Nuzhat al-Qulub. Ed. and tr, G. Le Strange,
Gibb Memorial Series, 1915, 1918,
Hamza of Isfahan. Ta'rikh Sini Muluk al-Ard. Berlin, A . H . 1340.
D'Herbelot. Biblioihique orientale. 2 vols. Paris, 1776-80.
Ibn'Abdi Rabbihi. Al-Iqdal-Farid. Cairo, A . H . 1316.
Ibn Abi Usaybi'a. 'Uyunal-Anbd. Ed. A. Mliller. Konigsberg, 1884.
Ibnal-Athir. Kitdb aUKdmil. Ed. C. J.Tomberg. 14 vols. Leyden,
1851-76.
Ibn Batuta. Travels. Ed. and tr. Defremery and Sanguinetti.
6 vols. Paris, 1877.
Ibn Jubayr. Travels. Ed. M. J. deGoeje. Gibb Memorial Series, 1907.
Ibn Khaldiin. Kitdb al-Ibar. 7 vols. Bulaq, A . H . 1284.
Ibn Khallikdn. Wafaydt al-A'ydn (Biographical Dictionary). T r .
M. de Slane. 4 vols. Paris and London, 1842-71.
Ibn al-Qifti. Ta'rikh al-Hukama. Ed. J. Lippert. Leipzig, 1903.
Ibn al-Tiqtaqi. Al-Fakhri. Ed. Ahlwardt. Gotha,i860.
Imad al-Dln. In Recueildes Textes relatifs a l'Histoire des Seldjoucides.
Vol. n. Ed. M. T. Houtsma. Leyden, 1889.
Istakhri. Masalik al-Mamatik. Ed. M. J. de Goeje. Leyden, 1870.
Joseph ben Joshua Hakkohen. Emek Habacha. T r . M. Wiener.
Leipzig, 1858.
Journal of the American Oriental Society. Vol. 44.
Journal Asiatique. 1873.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.
Khanikof. Mhnoire sur Khacani. Paris, 1865.
KhiqdnL Tuhfat al-Irdqayn. Lucknow, A.H. 1294.
Al-Khatfb al-Baghdddf. L'introduction topographique d l'histoire de
Baghdadh par G. Salmon (Biblioth&que de l'licole des Hautes
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Kitdb al-Aghdni. Bulaq ed. 20 vols. A . H . 1284-5.
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Islams. Leipzig, 1873.
Culturgeschichte des Orients unter den Chalifen. 2 vols. Vienna,
I875-7Al-Kutubi. 'Uyiin dl-Tawdrikh. Cambridge M S . Add. 2922.
Fawdt al-Wafaydt. Bulaq, A . H . 1283.
S. Lane-Poole. The Mohammadan Dynasties. London, 1894.
G. Le Strange. Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate. Oxford, 190c
The Lands of the Abbasid Caliphate. Cambridge, 1905.
Al Machriq. Vols, v and x. Baghdad, 1902 and 1907.
D. S. Margoliouth. Letters of Abu'l'- Ala al-Ma'arrl. Oxford, 1898.
The Table-Talk of a Mesopotantian Judge. London, 1921.
272
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST OF AUTHORITIES

Maris Atnri et Slibae Commentaria. Ed, H. Gismondi. 2 vols,
Rome, 1897-9.
L. Massignon. "Les medresehs de Bagdad." Bulletin de VInstiiut
franfais d'Archiologie orientale. Vol. vn.
Mas'iidl. Muruj al-Dhahab. (Magoudi. Les Prairies d'Or.) Arabic
text and French translation by B. de Meynard and P. de Courteille. 9 vols. Paris, 1861-77.
Kitdb al-Tanbih. Ed. M. J. de Goeje. Leyden, 1893.
Miwardf. Kitdb al-Ahkam al-Sultaniya. Ed. R. Enger. Bonn, 1853.
The Mejelle. The codification of Hanafi law. English translation by
C. R. Tyser and others. Nicosia, 1901.
A. Mez. Abulkdsim, ein bagdader Sittenbild. Heidelberg, 1902.
Die Renaissance des I slams. 1922.
Michaud. Bibliothique des Croisades. Vol. 1. Paris, 1829.
Mirkhwind. Mirchond's Geschkhte der Sultane aus dem Geschlechte
Bujeh. Ed. F. Wilken. Berlin, 1835.
Mukhtasar Mir'at al-Zaman. British Museum M S . Add 23,279
A. Miiller. Der Islam itn Morgen- und Abendland. 2 vols. Berlin,
1885-7.
Al-Muqtabas. Vol. in. Cairo, A . H . 1326.
Al-Nadim al-Baghdddi. Al-Fihrist. Ed. G. Fluegel. Leipzig, 1871.
R. A. Nicholson. A Literary History of the Arabs. London, 1907.
Ni?imf 'Anidi. Chahar Maqala. Ed. Mirza Muhammad Qazvini.
Gibb Memorial Series, 1910.
T. Nfildeke. Sketches from Eastern History. T r . J. S. Black. London,
1894.
M. d'Ohsson. Histoire des Mongols. 3 vols. Amsterdam, 1834-5.
Qazwini. Athdr al-Bildd. Ed. F. Wuestenfeld. Gdttingen, 1848.
E. Quatremfere. Histoire des Mongols. Paris, 1836.
Al-Rawandi. Rahat al-Sudur. Ed. M d . Iqbal. Gibb Memorial
Series, 1921.
S. de Sacy. Chrestomathie arabe. 2nd ed. 2 vols. Paris, 1826-7.
Sa'df. Bustan. Ed. Graf. Vienna, 1857.
Al-Safadi. Al-Wafib bi'l-Wafayat. British Museum M S . Add. 23,259.
Sibt ibn al-Jauz(. Mir'at al-Zaman. British Museum M S . Or. 4619.
(Published in facsimile by J. Jewett. Chicago, 1907.)
M. Steinschneider. Die Arabische Literatur der Juden. Frankfurt,
1902.
Al-Subki. Tabaqdt al-Shdftiya. British Museum M S . Add. 6523.

Suyuti. History of the Caliphs. T r . from the Arabic by H. S. Jarrett,
Calcutta, 1881.
Al-Ta'dwidhi. Diwan. Ed. D. S. Margoliouth. Cairo, 1903.
273
18
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST OF AUTHORITIES

Tabarf. Ed. M. J. de Goeje and others. Leyden, 1879-1901*
Ta'rikh-i Wassdf. Ed. and tr. Hammer Purgstall. Vienna, 1856.
Tha'fflibi. Lat^ifaUMaidrif. Ed. P. de Jong. Leyden,1867.
G.Weil. Geschichte der Chalifen. 3 vols. Mannheim, 1846-51.
F. Wuegtenfeld. Die Geschkhtschreiber der Araber und ihre Werke.
Gdttingen, 1882.
Die Academien der Araber. Gfittingen, 1837.
Ya'qiibf. Kitdb al-Bulddn. Ed. M. J. de Goeje. Leyden, 189a.
YAqtit. Mu'jam al-Bulddn. Ed. F. Wuestenfeld. 5 vols. Leipzig,
1866.
Dictionary of Learned Men. Ed. D. S, Margoliouth. Gibb
.Memorial Series, 1908-26.
G. Zaydin. History of Islamic Civilization (Arabic text). 5 vols.
Cairo, 1902-6.
Zubdat al-Tawdrikh. British Museum M S . Stowe Or. 7.
INDEX
[A hyphen before a word denotes the omission of al.]
The references are to pages.
BAb al-Azaj quarter, 185, 243
-'Abadi, 321 f.
BAb al-Basra quarter, 171, 176,
Abbasids, 13 f. and passim
'Abd al-SalAm, 239 f.
191, 202, 224, 257
Abd VA1A al-Ma'arrf, 170
Bab al-Nawbi, see Sentry Gate
Baghdad, building of, 19 f,
Abd VAtAhiya, 37 f., 60
gates, 21 f.
Abii DuiAma, 39
the name, 7-9
Abii '1-Faraj, 156 f.
planning of city, 18
Abd Hanifa, 19
quarters, 23
Abd 1-HijA al-Samin, 238,244 f.
site, 6, 7, 15, 16,17
Abd Mansdr al-Maybudf, 209
streets, 23
Abd Muslim, 13
walls, 21 f., 222, 224
Abd '1-MuJahhar, 143 f., 178 ff.
Baghdadis, character of, 234
Abd NuwAs, 60
Abd '1-QAsim of Baghdad, see BahA 1-Din (Bohaddin), 196
Balddur, 196
Abd '1 Mufahhar
Band MdsA, 87
Abd RiyAsh, 157
Barid ("post" system), 106, 208
Abd ShujA', 201
BarkyAruq, 205, 207
Abd '1-Taiyyih, 121 f.
Barmecides, 20, 40,43, 51-8
*Adud al-Dawla, 163, 164, 166
Ahmad ibn IJanbal, 144,149,177 BasAsiri, 188-92
Ahmad ibn Nasr, 102 f.
Baths, public, 125,203,204,236,
c
Ali, the Caliph, 12, 13, 114
'All ibn'isa, 141, 144
Bazaars, 22, 29,32 f., 44 f., 67 f.,
Alp Arslan, 192, 193
157, 168, 180, 236, 260
Amin, 70-9
Benjamin, Rabbi, of Tudela, 9,
228-31
Amir al-Umard, 153,154
Bimdristdn-i 'Adudi, 164 f., 198,
AnbAr, 14, 57, 221
Anushfrwdn, 209
199
Blaeu, Jean, 9
Architecture, 180
Booksellers, 157
*Arib, 145
Bottle factory, 166, 223
-Ash'ari, 294 f.
Assassins (Isma'ili), 133, 192, Bridges, 40 f., 69, 226 f, 236
Brigands, 82 f., 151,167, i73~$
204, 207, 209, 210,* 218
176,221,253
Atabegs, 219
Bukht Yishd1, 55, 66 f, 106
'Attabiyin quarter, 211
275
INDEX
-Burjumi, 173 t.
Bursuqf, 212 f., 214
Buwayhids, 152 f., 159, 178,
184 f., 186, 200, 215
Canals, in and near Baghdad, 16,
17, 23 f., 224
Carmatbians, 1335, 147
Charlemagne, 50
"Chief of the Captivity", 229,
230 f.
Ch6u K'ii-fei, 223, 231 f.
Christians, 6,7,15,16,26,65-7,
104 f., 108, 162, 163, 165,
168 f., 258, 259
Church (Latin), 132
(Nestorian), 258
of St Mary, 26
Crossbow, 240
Crucifixion, 190
Crusaders, 206, 207, 210, 211
Ctesiphon, 2, 5, 11, 12, 20, 26,
Damascus, 13,14
Ddr al-Rum, 67, 162, 233, 258
David Alroy, 229 f.
Dawatdir Aybak, 254, 258
Di'bil ibn 'Ali, 89
Dress, 2, 3, 4, 53, 80, 90,104 f.,

122 f., 189, 195, 203, 232,
235, 241
Dubays, 212-14, 215, 217
Education, 62, 122, 165, 169 f.,
192-7, 211 f., 229, 236,
247 f., 252
Etiquette, 122 f.
Fadhl ibn Yahyd, 52
Fakhri, 35, 53, 138, 146, 252,
2'
Famine, 151 f.
Fanaticism, 245
Fifimids, 189, 206, 237
Ferrymen, 199, 203
Festivities, 68 f., 70 f., 174, 176,
237
Floods, 198 f., 228, 243, 254
Food, 123 f., 181 f., 232, 250
Furniture, 180 f.
Futuwwa, 241 f.
Galland, Antoine, 10
-Ghazdlf, 195
Ghuzz, 184
Guilds, 67 f.
IJAkim al-Wddl, 27 f.
-IJalhij, 145, 146
Hamdulldh Mustawfi, 259
tlanafites, 209, 245
IJanbalites, 144 f., 148 f., 201
Harim (Royal Precincts), 158,
199, 206, 228
Hdnin al-Rashid, Caliph, 34,
42-58
Hasan al-Sabbah, 207
Hashimites, 88, 111, 168, 171,
177, 189, 257
Hibatulldh Abii 1 Barakat, 231
Hibatulldh ibn SA'id, 165 f.
Hospitals, 140, 141, 164 f., 198,
211,212,229, 252,253
Hiildgii, 133, 255-9
Humour, 244-6
Humours (the four), 249
Hunayn ibn Ishaq, 89
Ibn al-AIqami, 254, 260
Ibn al-Athir, 144, 149, 188, 191,
204, 214
Ibn Batuta, 259
Ibn al-Furdt, 138 f, 146,147
INDEX
Ibn Jami', 35,45-50
Ibn al-Jawzf, 162,175,246 f.
Ibn Jubayr, 165,197, 233-6
Ibn Khallikan, 196
Ibn al-Maristanl, 239 f.
Ibn Miskawayhi, 144, 145
Ibn Sahldn, 171
Ibrahim al-Ilarbi, 125 f.
Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi, 70, 81-5
Ibrahim al-Mausili, 35, 45, 50
Insignia, of the Caliph, 187, 212
of the Seljiiq Sultan, 188
'fsd canal, 117
Ishaq ibn Ibrahim, 90-4
Istakhri, 157 f.
Kitdb al-Muwashshdy 121

Knighthood, see Fututvwa
Koran, 102 f., 103,169,197,213,
235, 248
Law and order (see also Muhta$ib)>
127-30, 175
Learning, 87 f., 162,235
Libraries, 170, 236, 259
Lions (and other wild animals),
71, 234
Madinat al-Salam, 8
Mahdi, Caliph, 19,30,31-40, 42
Mahmud (Seljiiq Sultan), 212,
215-17
Ja'far ibn Yahyd, Barmecide, Maimonides, 240
Makikha II (patriarch), 258
52-5
Jami* al-Qasr, 253 f,
-Malik al-Rahim, 185 f.
Jews, 6,27,65 f., 104 f., 142,169, Malikshdh, 199, 204, 205
173, 202 f., 229 f., 231, 239, Ma'miin, Caliph, 69, 72 f., 74*
79 f., 81,85,86-97,167,219
240
Ma'miinI palace, 118, 119, 120,
131 f.
Karbiiqd, 205, 206
Karkh, 6, 29,158,161,167,168, Ma'miiniya quarter, 243
170, 171, 178, 186, 187, Mansiir (Abii Ja'far), Caliph, 5,
190 f., 202, 224, 229
8, 14-17, 18, 19, 21, 27 f-,
Kazimain, 2,41, 177, 260
29, 30, 31, 51
Mar-Abd Elias I I I , 232
Kelleks (skin rafts), 44
Mar Amr, 258
Kerbeli, 105 f., 159
Khalid ibn Barmak, 20,28,42,51 Mar Jabalaha, 258
Marco Polo, 91
Khaqani, 166, 223
Ma'ruf Karkhi,24i
-Khatib, al-BaghdAdi, 18,135
Mas'iid (Seljiiq Sultan), 217 f.,
-Khatibi, 208 f.
218, 219 f., 222
Khuld Palace, see Qar al-Khuld
Mas'iidi, 76, 126
Khurdsdn gate, 21, 31
Medina, n, 12,13,27
highway, 40
Khutba, 81, 170, 172, 174, 185, Mercenaries, Turk, Berber, etc*,
99 f., 106, 107, 109, n o ,
189, 191,205
111-13, 117, 118, 148, 150,
Khwarizmshahs, 238 f.
151,152,154,167, 171,173,
Kindi, 88
185,186
Kitab al-Aghani, 156
277
INDEX
Mint, the, 25
Mohammed al-Jiizaqdni, 209
Mongols, 239, 252 ff.
Mosques, 19,132,161,189,200,
210, 222, 236, 260
Mu'dwiya, 12,13
Mu'az?arn, 19,41
Mu'az?am Gate, 200
-Muhaliabi, 156, 157, 159
Muharram ceremonies, 159 f., 168
Muhtasib, 63-5, 140
Mu'izz al-Dawla, 153, 155 f.,
159,162
Mukharrim quarter, 40, 114
Muntafiq, 214
Muqtadi, 203
Muqtadir, 135, 138-40, 147
-Muqtafi, 220
Muruwwa (honourable conduct),
122
Musd (al-Hddi), Caliph, 34,42

Music, 33, 34, 143, 182
Musta'in, 107-14
-Mustansir, Abbasid Caliph,
252 f.
Fifimid, 170
Mustansiriya madrasa, 253 f., 259
Mustarshid, 215, 216, 217
Musta'sim, 254
Mustawff Aziz al-Din, 211, 212
Mustazhir, 199
-Mu'tasim, 98-100, 118
Mutawakkil, 104, 105
Mu'tazz, 107, 108
- M u t i \ 161, 162
-Muttaqi, 154
Nahrawdn canal, 32
Naqib, 161 f., 214
Nifir (Caliph), 237 f.f 239, 240,
241, 252
Ndfir al-Dawla, 154,155
Nestoriaitt/26, *$2,256
Nizamiya madrasa, 192-7, 199,
201, 235 f., 242, 245, 253
Nizdm al-Mulk, 192-5,199,201,
203 f., 207, 208
Observatory, 88,167
Omar Khayyam, 192
PalaceoftheGolden Gate, 24f,30
Palace of the Sixty, 164
"Paradise0, Castle or Palace,
see Qa$r al-Khuld
Persians, 13,14, 26,28,152,155,
209, 222
Pietro Delia Valle, 9

Pigeon-flying, 240
Pigeon-post, 252
Planets, the seven, 250
Plague, 228
Police, see Muhtasib
Poverty and poor, 45, 59, 62
Processions, 68 f., 127, 130 f.f
143, 136f., 187,190,239,244
Professions, 38, 62 f., 66
Prostitutes, 203
-Qd'im, 203
Qasr al-Khuld, 31, 40, 52, 53-5,
120, 164
Qazwini, 193
-QiftI, 240
Quffast coracles, 2, 44
Qurayya quarter, 241
-Qushayri, 20X
-Mil, 149, 150
Radiy al-Din, 197
Ramaddn, 171, 176, 242
Raqqa Gate, 186,187
Rashid al-Din, 257
Raymund of Toulouse, 207
INDEX
Religious ideas, 247-9
Roe, Sir Thoitias* 9
Round City, the, 31,45,120,162
Rttyifc*, 30,32,39,114,158,162,
189
Siiq al-Thaldthd, 7, 155, 201

SiirA, 142
Synagogues, 228 f
Sadaqa, 212, 2x7

Sa'df, 196
Saffron Street, 191
Saladin, 196,221,236 f., 238,246
Samarra, 100 f*, 102, 107, 108,
109,117
Samuel ibn 'Abbds, 230
Sanjar, 212, 221
Schools, see Education
Science, 249-50
Seljuqs, 184-227, 238
Sentry Gate (Bab al-Nawbi),
216, 238, 266
Shdfi*ites, 149, 247
Shammdsiya gateway, 108, n o ,
i n , 112, 136,224
quarter, 40, 52, 114
Sharaf al-Mulk, 198
Shi'ism and Shi'ites (see also
Sunnites), 152, 159 f., 161,
167, 171, 173, 176 f., 185,
186,189,191, 202,237,240,
246 f.
Shipping, 44
Sieges of Baghdad, 7 4 ^ , 108-14,
150, 219 f., 223-7, 255-60
Sindn ibn Thdbit, 140-42
Singers, 27, 34, 45, 59, 143 f.,
182 f., 203
Table-manners, 123
Taj Palace, 131 f., 163,197
Tavernier, 9
Taverns, 34
Tawaddud, 247 ff.
Taxation, 33, 34, 176, 20c
Thdbit ibn Sindn, 165
Trade and traders, see Baghdad
bazaars
Tughril Beg, 184-92
Turks, see Mercenaries
Tushtigin ibn 'Abdulldh, 246
Tutush, Tdj al-Dawla, 198
Tabari, 7, 12,14, 16, 18, 21, 70,
Siyat, 34 f., 45
Storytellers (rdztrfs), 176

Sunnites, 152, 167, 176-8, 189,
201, 202, 246 f., 253, 255
Siiq al-Ghazl, 132, 253
Siiq Baghdad, 11
S\iq al-Madrasa, 201
-Wajih, 245
Wassaf, 260
Wathiq, 102, 103, 104
Wine, 176, 182, 203, 250
Women, position of, etc., 61 f.,
123, 125, 140, 235
Yahya ibn Khalid, the Barmecide, 43, 51
Ya'qiib ibn DdMd, 35-7
Ya'qiib ibn Layth (Coppersmith), 115 f.
Ya'qiibi, 6
Ydqiit, 25, 157,165
Yiisuf al-Dimishqi, 194
Yiisuf al-Sabtf, 240
Zangi (Atabeg), 217, 220
Zanj (negro slaves), 115, 116,
Zubaida, wife of Hdnin, 51, 69
Zutt (? gypsies), 98
279
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THE BOOK WAS

Cambridge University Press

[Photo: Hasso Bros. Baghdad

RUINED MINARET, SUQ A L - G H A Z L , BAGHDAD

REUBEN LEVY, M.A.

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN

The Building o f the City

" I n the Golden Prime of Good Haroun

The Expansion o f the City

The First Siege o f Baghdad

The Reign of Ma'miin .

Baghdad without a Caliph

Baghdad under Persian Masters

The Greater Seljuqs and Baghdad .

The Seljiiq Decline

City Ideals and Accomplishments .

The Downfall of the City

Bibliographical List of Authorities .

View from minaret, Suq al-Ghazl.

The Upper Bridge, Baghdad, looking east .

The accent (') over a vowel

the anchor to drop is between the two bridges. The

Sir Henry Rawlinson in the course of some excavation

dullah Mustawfi in his Nuzhatu al-Qulub or Delight of

city are questions that have never been determined.

the days of the Caliphate, it is an amazing fact that for

Mesopotamia in 1616 and his researches on the spot led

It was no accident that led to the foundation of Baghdad

THE B U I L D I N G OF THE CITY

his lieutenant Muthanna. The historian Tabari describes

Having obtained guides and put out advance guards to

Medina remained the capital while the four so-called

THE BUILDING OF THE CITY

Arab troops on whom the continuance of his power

THE BUILDING OF THE CITY

THE BUILDING OF THE CITY

the river by the west bank, to the village of Baghdad,

THE B U I L D I N G OF THE CITY

THE BUILDING OF THE CITY

the river by the west bank, to the village of Baghdad,

THE B U I L D I N G OF THE CITY

who was notorious for his thieving prowess. Now we

" Y o u w i l l be on the Sarat canal", said he, "between the

Tabari 2 tells still another story in connection with

THE BUILDING OF THE CITY

with regard to heat and cold, rain and mud, mosquitoes

THE B U I L D I N G OF THE CITY

be unique His own house was to be in the centre and

Tabari says that places as far afield as Damascus,

THE BUILDING OF THE CITY

the famous theologian A b u Hanifa, founder of the

THE BUILDING OF THE CITY

THE B U I L D I N G OF THE CITY

country, he ceased operations, again contrary to the

THE BUILDING OF THE CITY

Surrounding the main rampart, and at a distance of

THE BUILDING OF THE CITY

In the rest of the space between the two walls the

the realm and the most considerable monument of the