Episode 46: Shifting east

The chaos of the Abbasid revolution gave foreign powers a rare opportunity to strike at the caliphate while it was paralyzed by internal strife. Things could have gone very badly for the Arabs but the unparalleled al Mansur proved as capable against these foes as he had those who had opposed him within the caliphate. His armies faced down assaults from all directions and successfully guarded his domain, though some fringes were secured better than others.

Glossary

• Ma’n ibn Za’ida al Shaybani: an Arab general and tribal leader, famous for his generosity and effectiveness on the battlefield. He supported the Umayyad governor of Iraq in his fight against the Abbasids and thus fell out of favor when the new dynasty rose to power. His defense of al Mansur during the affair with the Rawandia returned him to official grace, and he helped the caliph keep a lid on kharijite uprisings in Yemen, and later Sajestan, where he was killed by subterfuge.
• Omar ibn Hubayra: the last Umayyad governor of Iraq. He lost to Qahtaba’s Abbasid army and garrisoned along with tens of thousands of men in the fortified city of Wasit. He and his leaders were killed immediately after vacating the canton following a treaty with the Abbasids.
• Khazem ibn Khuzayma: the famous Arab general who defeated some of the caliph’s most dogged enemies in battle. First he took care of the invincible kharijite leader of Jazira, then conquered Tabaristan, and finally he took out Ustadhsis, whose dangerous movement almost supplanted the caliphate out of its vital province of Khurasan. He is not mentioned after this and so must have passed away soon after. His son Khuzayma carried on his legacy, serving as a distinguished general in the umma’s armies.
• Musa ibn Ka’b ibn ‘Ayyina al Tamimi: one of the da’wa’s original supporters, he was first made governor of Sindh, then honored further as governor of Egypt. His son ‘Ayyina could not handle the province as well and was forcibly removed by the caliph.
• Omar ibn Hafs al Muhallabi: another of al Mansur’s trusted generals, Omar was the man who led the assault on ‘Ayyina in Sindh, and was later put in charge of pacifying Africa after its previous governors were killed, either by kharijites, or in army coups.
• Leo the Khazar: the next emperor of the Byzantine empire, he was the son of Constantine the fifth, and Empress Tzitzak, the daughter of the Khazar chief. He does not feature much in this episode, but I point to him as proof that the Byzantines and Khazars were in league against the Abbasids. He eventually became emperor shortly before al Mansur passed away in 775.
• Mohammad ibn il Ash’ath al Khuza’i: another early supporter of the da’wa, ibn il Ash’ath was once appointed by Abu Muslim as governor of a few cities in modern day Iran. He proved his martial skills by participating in the fight against Sunpath, then by defeating the renegade ibn Marrar. Al Mansur made him governor of Egypt following the death of Musa al Tamimi, but was not as impressed by his administrative skills, and so he returned him to active duty as a general, and tasked him with retaking Africa. He did very well until an uprising against him made him an unsuitable choice, and he returned to Iraq where he was honored by the caliph for his many triumphs. He died of disease while on campaign against the Byzantines.
• Jumhoor ibn Marrar al ‘Ajli: this was the man al Mansur sent against Sunpath. Most accounts say that after his victory he betrayed the caliph by intending to keep the treasure he had won for himself. He was defeated by the umma’s armies at least twice, and he either died in the East, or fled to Azerbaijan and was killed by its people there.
• Aghlab bin Salim al Tamimi: Aghlab was ibn il Ash’ath’s deputy, and he served as his replacement for a couple of years until he was deposed by another army coup. He probably died trying to retake the vital city of Qairawan from the rebels, but it is difficult to say for sure as his son would found a dynasty, shrouding the family’s history in glory and legend. 
• Yazid al Muhallabi: the final governor al Mansur sent to Africa and a distant relative of Omar ibn Hafs al Muhallabi, he arrived in the province with a massive army of 60,000 men, and defeated the local kharijites decisively.
• Abdulrahman ibn Mu’awiya ibn Hisham al Amawi: the grandson of the last great Umayyad caliph, Hisham bin Abdulmalik incredibly escaped from Syria, across North Africa, and made it to Andalusia. There he won a legendary struggle against the two established Arab powers vying for power, and emerged as the newly minted Emir of Andalusia. Finally, he defeated a much larger Abbasid army sent to depose him, and founded a new Umayyad dynasty.
• Badr: Abdulrahman’s faithful Greek servant, he saw his master through the many dangers he had to endure, and helped him attain his unlikely position.
• Abdulrahman ibn Habib al Fihri: the governor of Africa/Tunis when the Abbasids first rose to power. The Fihri clan had held sway across the area since the early days of the Umayyad caliphate, and Abdulrahman tried to negotiate with al Saffah to keep his position in perpetuity. When he failed he tried improving his hand by inviting any Umayyads who could make it into his domain, but grew concerned for his own position after one too many showed up. He ordered the killing of all Umayyads, but Abdulrahman and Badr escaped the slaughter as they had already skipped town. It wasn’t long after that the Fihris were pushed out of office by local kharijites.
• Yusuf il Fihri: the governor of Andalusia at the time of Abdulrahman’s arrival was also of the illustrious Fihri clan. His supporters had first lost the upper hand after the great Berber revolt, and although they were saved by the arrival of the Syrians, they were soon locked into a struggle for power against those reinforcements.
• Sumayl al Kilabi: the leader of the Syrian faction, Sumayl had the most to lose from the appearance of Abdulrahman as the Syrians were natural allies to the Umayyads, but he convinced many of them to stay loyal and help him rebuff the young arrival. Like Yusuf, he ultimately lost and was vanquished.
• A’la ibn Mughith: the Abbasid commander sent by al Mansur to wrest Andalusia from Abdulrahman. He met some early success and managed to take the capital of Cordoba, but despite having more than ten times as many men at his disposal, he still lost to Abdulrahman at Carmona, ensuring the survival of the fledgling Umayyad Emirate in Spain.