vol 5.16

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33i

Mention of the Account Concerning the Events That

Happened When God Wished to Take Away from the

People of Persia Rule over Persia, and the Arabs’

Overrunning it by Means of God’s Favoring Them

with His Prophet Muhammad, Involving the

Prophethood, the Caliphate, the Royal Power, and the

Dominion, in the Days of Kisra Abarwiz 779

This includes what has been related from Wahb b. Munabbih,

which is what was related to us by Ibn Humayd — Salamah —

Muhammad b. Ishaq, who said: This account of Kisra is what one

of my colleagues related to me from Wahb b. Munabbih: That

Kisra constructed a dam on the "Blind Tigris" [Dijlah

al-'Awra ') 780 and expended on it sums of such magnitude that no

one knew their extent. Also, the throne room of his palace (faq

majhsihi) was built [with such splendor] as had never been seen

before. He used to suspend his crown and sit on his throne when

he was in public audience. He had 3 60 men who were prognosticators

 ( huzdt ), 781 these being learned scholars ['ulama’), including

soothsayers, magicians, and astrologers. He related: Among these

was a man from the Arabs called al-Sa’ib who used to draw omens

from the flight of birds in the manner of the Arabs and who was

seldom wrong. Badhan had sent him to Kisra from Yemen. 782

Whenever Kisra was disturbed by some matter, he would order his

779. The following is an embellished account of the events leading up to

Khusraw's deposition and death, concentrating on the prognostications and por-

tents that pointed to and presaged these events.

780. al-awra' (fem.) means "the one-eyed." As applied to the Tigris, it is the

estuary, extending nearly one hundred miles, of the combined Euphrates and Tigris before it debouches into the Persian Gulf at Abadan, i.e., the modem Shaft

al-'Arab. The appellation "one-eyed" may stem from the fact either of the island of Uways being close to the estuary's mouth or of the existence of the sand bar there.

See Le Strange, Lands, 26, 43; EP, s.v. Shaft al-'Arab (Amatzia Baram). According to al-Baladhuri, Futuh, 292, Khusraw hacTattempted, at the end of his reign, to cope with excessive floods in Lower Iraq by repairing or constructing dams with sluices (musannayat) and diversion channels from the river to feed the canals ( buthiiq ) (for these terms, see Bosworth, "Some Remarks on the Terminology of Irrigation Practices and Hydraulic Constructions," 81-82), but without success.

781. The fyazi was essentially the kahin or soothsayer in his r61e as prognostica-

tor, the term being etymologically connected with the Biblical Hebrew hozeh or

seer. See Fahd, La divination aiabe, rt2-i3.

782. Badhan was the last Persian governor in Yemen. See al-Tabari, 1, 958, p. 2sa

and n. 609 above.

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332 [The Last Sasanid Kings]

soothsayers, magicians, and astrologers to be gathered together

and would tell them, "Look into this matter and see exactly what

it is."

Now when God sent His prophet Muhammad, Kisra woke up

one morning and found that the arched roof of his royal palace ( taq

mulkihi) had collapsed in the middle without any weight having

been put upon it; also, that the [dam on the] "Blind Tigris" had

been breached. When he saw all that, he became filled with grief

and said, "The arched roof of my royal palace has collapsed in the

middle without any weight having been put upon it, and the [dam

on the] 'Blind Tigris' has been breached: Shah bishikast," meaning

[in Arabic] "the king has been overthrown (literally,

'broken')." Then he summoned his soothsayers, magicians, and

astrologers, and summoned al-Sa’ib with them, too. He told them

"The arched roof of my royal palace has collapsed in the middle

without any weight having been put upon it, and the [dam on the]

'Blind Tigris' has been breached: Shah bishikast. Look into this

matter and see exactly what it is."

They left his presence and looked into his affair, but all the

quarters of the heavens became covered over for them and the

earth became darkened; they exploited to the full the resources of

their knowledge, but none of the magicians' magic or the

soothsayers' ability to look into the future proved efficacious, nor

was the astrologers' knowledge of the stars of any avail. Al-Sa’ib

spent the whole of a dark, overcast night on a hillock, where he

saw a lightning flash that arose from the direction of Hijaz, flew

across the heavens, and reached as far as the East. The next moming,

he looked at what was beneath his feet, and behold, there was

a green meadow. He then made a pronouncement in his role as

diviner: "If what I was seeing is true, there will arise from Hijaz a

dominion ( sultan ) which will reach the East and from which the

earth will grow green and fertile — much more so than from any

previous kingdom ." 783 When the soothsayers and astrologers

spoke together confidentially [about what they had seen] and saw

what had happened to themselves, and perceived that only Sa’ib

had really seen anything, they said to each other, "You know, by

783. Referring, of course, to the rise of Muhammad and the birth of the new faith

in Mecca.

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333

God, that it can only be something originated from the heavens

that has prevented you from utilizing your specialist knowledge;

that is because of a prophet who has been already sent [from God],

or is just about to be sent, who will take away this present royal

power and smash it. But if you announce to Kisra the impending

destruction of his royal power, he will surely kill you, so concoct

among yourselves some explanation you can give him that will

deflect [his wrath] from you for some length of time." So they

went to Kisra and told him. "We have looked into this matter and

have found that your astrological calculators, to whom you entrusted

the prognostications for building the roof of your royal

palace and likewise for the construction of the dam across the

'Blind Tigris', based their calculations on inauspicious stars.

When night and day successively worked on those constructions,

the inauspicious stars assumed their most maleficient positions,

so that everything based upon those nights and days was

destroyed . 784 We can, however, make a calculation for you regarding

 when you should begin the work of reconstruction, and this

will not be destroyed." Kisra said, "Make the calculation, then."

They did this for him and told him, "Now construct it!" So he did

that, and was at work on the Tigris for eight months, expending on

it an incalculable amount of money. When it was at last completed,

Kisra asked them, "Shall I sit down on top of the dam's

wall?" They replied, "Yes." So he called for carpets and coverings

and aromatic herbs to be placed on it. He ordered the marzbans to

be gathered together before him, as were also musicians and

players ( la”dbun ). Then he went forth and sat down on it. But

when once he was installed there, the Tigris dashed the construction

away from beneath him, and he was only extricated [from it]

at his last gasp. When they had got him out, he gathered together

his soothsayers, magicians, and astrologers, executed nearly a

hundred of them and said, "I let you grow fat and let you come

closer to my presence than other people, and I gave you living

784. Belief in the favorable or unfavorable effects of the movements of the

heavenly bodies went back to the Ancient Near Eastern civilizations and to the

Greeks' division of the planets into beneficent ones, agathopoioi, and maleficent

ones, kakopoioi, and was transmitted to the ancient Arabs. See Fahd, La divination arabe, 483ft-; EP, s.w. Nudium, ahkam al- |T. Fahd), Sa'd wa-nahs (Fahd), al- Sa'dan 1 (P. Kunitzsch).

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allowances, and then you trifle with me!" They responded, "O

king, we were at fault, just as those before us were at fault, but we

can make a [new] calculation for you, and you can be sure of it, and

you can accordingly begin the task of reconstruction on the most

reliably auspicious of days! " Kisra said, "Take care what you say! "

They replied, "We will indeed!" Kisra further said, "Make the

calculation, then." They did this for him and told him, "Now

construct it!" He expended on it an incalculable amount of

money, over a period of eight months from that point.

Then they told him, "We've completed it," and he said, "Shall I,

accordingly, go forth and sit down on it?" They replied, "Yes." He

was nevertheless reluctant to sit down on it, hence rode one of his

steeds and started proceeding over the dam. But while he was

traveling along it, the Tigris dashed the construction away, and he

only reached safety at his last gasp. He gathered them together

again, and said, "By God, I will pass you along [for execution], to

the last man of you, and I will tear out your shoulder joints and

will throw you beneath the feet of elephants, unless you tell me

faithfully the truth about this matter concerning which you have

elaborated such a story for me."

They replied, "We won't lie to you any longer, O king. You

commanded us, when [the dam on] the Tigris was breached and

the arched roof of your royal palace collapsed without any weight

having been put on it, to use our specialist knowledge and look

into the reason behind it. We did that, but the earth became

darkened and all the quarters of the heavens became covered for

us. Our specialist knowledge was of no avail (literally, "came back

into our hands"), so that none of the magicians' magic nor the

soothsayers' ability to look into the future nor the astrologers'

knowledge of the stars proved efficacious. We realized that this

matter originated in the heavens and that a prophet had already

been sent, or was about to be sent, and because of that, something

had prevented us from exercising our specialist knowledge. We

were afraid that if we announced to you the destruction of your

royal power, you would kill us. Like everybody else, we did not

want to die, so we gave you an evasive answer in order to protect

ourselves, as you saw." Kisra said, "Woe upon you! Why didn't

you provide me with the explanation of this matter so that I might

have used my own judgment regarding what I should do?" They

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335

replied, "Our fear of you prevented us from doing that." Kisra,

therefore, let them go and gave up concerning himself with [the

dam on] the Tigris when this last had got the better of him.

There related to us Humayd— Salamah— Muhammad b.

Ishaq — al-Fadl b. 'Isa al-Raqashi — al-Hasan al-Ba§ri , 785 [who said]

that the Messenger of God's Companions said, "O Messenger of

God, how could God prevail over Kisra by means of you?" The

Prophet said, "God sent to him an angel, who put his hand out

through the wall of the house where he was, shining with light.

When Kisra saw it, he was alarmed. The angel said, "Why are you

so fearful, O Kisra? God has sent a prophet and sent down upon

him a book, so follow him, and you will be secure in this present

life of yours and in the next one." Kisra replied, "I'll think about

it ." 786

There related to us Ibn Humayd— Salamah— Muhammad b.

Ishaq — Abdallah b. Abi Bakr — al-Zuhri — Abu Salamah b. 'Abd al-

Rahman b. 'Awf, who said: God sent an angel to Kisra, when he

was in a room of his palace ( aywanihi ) where no one was allowed

to come into his presence. Suddenly 787 there was, round about the

time of midday at the time he was wont to take a siesta, a figure

standing by his head with a staff in his hand. The figure said, "O

Kisra, are you going to submit yourself to God ( a-tuslimu )? [If not,]

I shall break this staff!" He replied, 11 Bihil, bihil" ("Leave,

leave !"), 788 so the angelic visitant then left him. Kisra summoned

his guards and chamberlains, and became enraged at them, saying,

"Who let this person come into my presence?" They replied, "No

one has come into your presence, and we haven't seen this person

at all." In the following year, the angel came to him at precisely

the same hour as before and spoke the same words to him as

785. That is, the great popular preacher and ascetic of al-Ba$rah in Umayyad

times, the Successor Abu Sa'id [al-] Hasan b. Abi al-Hasan (died 110/728), subsequently regarded as the proto-$ufi. See EP, s.v. Hasan al-Basri (H. Ritter).

786. The following versions of the story of how Khusraw was warned by an

angelic visitant are of the same type as the Biblical story of King Belshazzar of

Chaldaea, who was warned of the imminent fall of his kingdom by the moving

finger writing on the wall of his palace (Daniel, v. $H.).

787. Literally, "he was not mindful of it," lam yat'iha, echoing the Qur’anic

phrase fa-ma ra'awha, "they (i.e., the followers of Jesus) did not cherish/look after

it," of LVH, 27.

788. Persian hishtan, hilidan "to leave, depart."

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before, saying, " Are you going to submit yourself to God? [If not,] I

[1014] shall break this staff!" Kisra replied three times, "Bihil, bihil,

bihil," so the angelic visitant departed from him. Kisra sum-

moned his chamberlains, guards, and doorkeepers, and became

enraged with them, saying to them what he had said to them on

the first occasion. They replied, "We didn't see anyone coming

into your presence." When the third year came round, the angel

came to Kisra at exactly the same hour as he had come to him

previously, and spoke the same words to him as before, saying,

"Are you going to submit yourself to God? [If not,] I shall break

this staff!" Kisra replied, ''Bihil, bihil." He related: At that, the

angel broke his staff and departed. Only a short time afterward, his

royal power disintegrated, and his son and the Persian rose in

rebellion and finally killed him.

'Abdallah b. Abi Bakr— al-Zuhri, 789 [who said,]: I recounted this

story to 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz, 790 from Abu Salamah b. 'Abd al-

Rahman, and he said: It has been mentioned to me that the angel

came into Kisra's presence with two glass bottles in his hands and

then said to him, "Submit yourself [to God]!" and when he did not

comply, he smashed one of the bottles against the other and broke

them into smithereens. Then he departed. Kisra's own destruction

followed, as is well known.

There related to me Yahya b. Ja'far — 'All b. 'Asim — Khalid al-

Hadhdha’, who said: I heard 'Abd al-Rahman b. Abi Bakrah say: 791

Kisra, son of Hurmuz, was asleep one night in his palace [aywan),

the palace of al-Mada’in, and the cavalrymen [of the guard] were

789. That is, Muhammad b. Muslim al-Zuhri, often referred to as Ibn Shihab,

from the Meccan clan of Zuhrah, one of the founders of the Islamic science of

tradition (died 124/742). As a teacher of Ibn Ishaq, he was a great contributor to the Sirah of the Prophet and was much quoted by al-Tabari for the history of the first three Rightly-Guided caliphs. See Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, II/2, 136-36; Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib al-Tahdhlb, IX, 445-51; El 1 - s.v. al-Zuhri (J. Horovitz).

790. That is, the member of the Umayyad family, governor of Medina and then

the caliph 'Umar II (r. 99-101/717-20).

791. 'Abd al-Rahman was the eldest son of the Companion Nufay' b. Masruh,

called Abu Bakrah, "the man of the pulley," and an Abyssinian mawla of the

Prophet. 'Abd al-Rahman managed his maternal uncle Ziyad b. Abihi's property in

al-Basrah for him, but submitted reluctantly to 'All after the Battle of the Camel

(al-Tabari, I, 3229, n, 22). See Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat , VII/ 1, 138; Ibn Qutaybah, Ma'arif, 288-89; EP, s.v. Abu Bakra (M. T. Houtsma-Ch. Pellat).

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337

posted all around his castle. Suddenly, there appeared a man with

a staff who walked up and stood at Kisra's head and said, "O Kisra,

son of Hurmuz, I am God's messenger to you [with the message]

that you should submit yourself [to Him]." He said this three

times, while Kisra lay prostrate, looking at him but returning no

answer. Then the angel left him. He related: Kisra sent for the

commander of the guard and said to him, "Did you allow this man

to enter my presence?" The commander of the guard replied, "No,

I didn't, and no one has come in from our part."

He related: When it was the following year, Kisra was fearful of

that night and sent a message to the commander of the guard,

"Post guards all round my castle and don't let anyone enter my

presence." He related: The commander of the guard did that. But

when it was that precise hour, behold, there was the angel with

the staff standing at his head and saying to him, "O Kisra, son of

Hurmuz, I am God's messenger to you [with the message] that you

should submit yourself [to Him]; so do this, and it will be best for

you!" He related: Kisra was looking at him without giving any

answer. Then the angel left him. He related: Kisra sent for the

commander of the guard [and upbraided him], "Didn't I order you

not to let anyone into my presence?" The commander of the guard

replied, "O king, by God, no one has come into your presence from

our part; search out whence he came into your presence."

He related: When the next year came round, it was as if he was

fearful of that night, and he sent a message to the commander of

the guard and the guard itself, "Stand guard all around me during

this night, and don't allow any woman or man to enter my presence."

 They did that. When it was that precise hour, behold, there

was the angel again standing by his head and saying, "Kisra, son of

Hurmuz, I am God's messenger to you [with the message that] you

should submit yourself [to Him], so do this, and it will be best for

you!" This he repeated three times, while Kisra was looking at

him but returning no answer. The angel said, "O Kisra, you have

rebuffed me! By God, God will certainly smash you just as I am

smashing this staff of mine!" Then he broke it, and went away.

Kisra sent to his guard and said, "Didn't I order you not to let

anyone into my presence this night, neither wife [ahl) nor child?"

They replied, "No one has come into your presence from our

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part." He related: Very soon afterward, his son rose in rebellion

against him and killed him. 792

[The Encounter at Dhu Qar]

A further episode [in the story of the fall of the Sasanid empire]

is what happened concerning [the tribal group of] Rabi’ah 793 and

the army Kisra Abarwlz had dispatched for war against them and

their subsequent encounter at Dhu Qar.

It is related from the Prophet that when the Prophet heard the

news of Rabi’ah's rout of Kisra's army, he exclaimed, "This [has

been] the first military encounter ( yawm ) in which the Arabs have

secured their just due from the Persians ( intasafat al-Arab min

al-'Ajam), and it was through me that they were given the victory.

" The battle of Dhu Qar 794 is also called that of Quraqir or

792. That is, Kawad (II) Sheroy, placed on the throne by the rebels against his

father. See al-Tabari, I, 1045-61, pp. 381-99 below.

793. Both Baler and Taghlib, on opposite sides at Dhu Qar, were accounted parts

of the great tribal group of Rabi'ah. See El 2 , s.v. Rabi'a and Mudar (H. Kindermann).

794. The battle of Dhu Qar, if this is not too grandiose a word for the encounter,

was to assume a position in subsequent Islamic lore greater than its military

significance — which was probably just one of several similar clashes along the

frontiers with Arabia — would warrant. The saying of the Prophet retailed here, oftrepeated in the sources, sets it up as the first stage in the upsurge of the Arabs

against the Persians and their influence in eastern and southern Arabia. It could

thus be regarded as a victory for proto-Islam over the Persian infidels, or at least as prefiguring that victory, and in later times a popular romance grew up round it, the Kitab Haib BanI Shayban ma'a Kisra Anusharwan.

The ambiguous role in the Dhu Qar events of a Shaybani leader like Qays b.

Mas'udb. Qays b. Khalidb. Dhl al-Jaddayn (see al-Tabari, 1 , 1028, p. 356-57 below) tends to confirm the view put forward by F. McG. Donner in his "The Bakr b. Wa’ii Tribes and Politics in Northeastern Arabia on the Eve of Islam," 27-33, that the anti-Sasanid alignment of Shayban and other Bakri tribes at Dhu Qar does not represent a decisive turning point in relations between the Sasanids and the Arab tribes of northeastern Arabia and the frontier region — whatever the views that grew up in Islamic times, outlined in the previous paragraph — but rather, a temporary fluctuation of allegiances, in which one group might move against the Persians and then return to its Persian allegiance later if circumstances so dictated. Donner notes that most of the powerful clans combating the Persians at Dhu Qar seem to have fought on the Sasanid side against the Muslim Arabs during the 630s and 640s, and concludes that "The theory that the Bakr tribes were, since Dhu Qar, awaiting the opportunity to rise against the Persians is, then, if not positively erroneous, at least dangerously simplistic" (ibid., 33).

The sources (see below) offer no firm date for the Yawm Dhi Qar, but the

Muslim traditions which place it just after the opening of the Hijri era (e.g., a few

months after the battle of Badr between the pagan Quraysh and the Muslims,

hence in the later part of 624, according to Abu al-Faraj al-l?fahanl, Aghani 3 , XXIV, 76) are clearly too late. The range of years for Dhu Qar is probably between 604 and 6 1 1, i.e., before the beginning of Muhammad's public ministry in Mecca but at a time when he could certainly have heard reports of the victory against the Persians and their allies.

Several Arabic sources treat of the last years of Lakhmid domination in al-Hlrah

and the desert fringes of eastern Arabia, including al-Ya'qubl, Ta’rikh, I, 246, h, 47; Muhammad b. Habib, Muhabbar, 360-61,- al-Mas'udi, Muiuj, n, 227-28, HI, 205- 209 - §§ 6 4 8 / 1065 -70; idem, Tanbih, 241-43, tr. 318-21; Abu al-Faraj al-l$fahanl, Aghani 3 , XXIV, 53-71; Yaqut, Buldan, IV, 293-95, Abu al-Baqa’, al-Manaqib ah mazyadiyyah, I, 373-426. Of modem studies, see Rothstein, Lahmiden, 114-23, Donner, loc. cit., Bosworth, "Iran and the Arabs before Islam," 607-608; EP-, s.v. Dhu Kar (L. Veccia Vaglieri), Eh, s.v Du Qar (Ella Landau-Tasseron).

[The Last Sasanid Kings]

339

that of the bend (al-hinw), the bend of Dhu Qar or the bend of

Quraqir, that of al-Jubabat; that of Dhu al-'Ujrum; that of al-

Ghadhawan; and that of the depression (al-batha’), the depression

of Dhu Qar. All of these are places around Dhu Qar . 795

There was related to me a narrative going back to Abu 'Ubaydah

Ma'mar b. al-Muthanna 796 — Abu al-Mukhtar Firas b. Khindif 797

and a number of the scholars {'ulamd’j of the Arabs, whom he

specified by name: The battle of Dhu Qar was the consequence of

al-Nu'man b. al-Mundhir al-LakhmTs killing of 'Adi b. Zayd

al-'Ibadl. 'Adi was one of Kisra Abarwiz, son of Hurmuz's, translators

( tarajimah ). 798 The reason for al-Nu'man (m) b. al-Mundhir

(IV)'s killing of 'Adi b. Zayd was what was mentioned to me in an

account going back to Hisham b. Muhammad — Ishaq b. al-Jas§a§,

795- According to Yaqut, Buldan, IV, 293, it lay to the south of what soon

afterward became the Arab mi$r of al-Kufah, and cannot have been far from the

Euphrates, hence in a region where the nomads' herds could have ready access to

water. It seems impossible to pinpoint it more exactly, although there were presumably bituminous springs bubbling to the surface there ( qai , qii "pitch, tar").

796. Abu 'Ubaydah (d. 209 or 210/824-25), philologist and grammarian, was a

mawla of Mesopotamian origin who became the most learned authority of his time

on the tribal history and lore of the early Arabs. He also achieved a later reputation, which does not in fact seem to be justified, as a zealous supporter of the claims of the Shu'ubiyyah, those vaunting the cultural supremacy of the 'Ajam, in effect the Persians, over the Arabs. See EP-, s.v. Abu 'Ubayda (H.A.R. Gibb), Eh, s.v. Abu 'Obayda Ma'mar (C. E. Bosworth).

797. Following what seems to be the correct emendation, following Addenda et

emendanda, p. dxciv, for this personal and tribal name (Khindif b. Mudar: cf. Ibn

al-Kalbl-Caskel-Strenziok, Jamharat al-nasab, I, Table r, n, 2, 347, and also n. 430

above).

798. See on 'Adi, n. 116 above.

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who took it from the book of Hammad [al-Rawiyah ], 799 and my

father also mentioned part of the story to me. He said: Zayd b.

Hammad b. Zayd b. Ayyub b. Mahruf b. 'Amir b. 'Usayyah b. Imri’

al-Qays b. Zayd Manat b. Tamim 800 had three sons: the poet 'Adi,

who was a handsome man, both poet and orator ( khatlb ), who had

read the books of the Arabs and the Persians ; 801 'Ammar, who was

also called Ubayy,- and 'Amr, who was also called Sumayy. They

had a uterine brother called 'Adi b. Hanzalah, from the [tribe of]

Tayyi’. 'Ammar used to stay at Kisra's court. One of the two of

them ardently desired the death of 'Adi b. Zayd; the other was a

firm devotee of Christianity. They all belonged to a notable house

whose members were close to the Kisras, eating their food with

them and staying at their side, and receiving from them land

grants (qata’i'}.

When al-Mundhir (IV) b. al-Mundhir (HI) became king , 802 he

entrusted his son al-Nu'man to 'Adi's care; it was this family who

fostered him (and reared him). Now al-Mundhir had another son

called al-Aswad, whose mother was Mariyah bt. al-Harith b.

Julhum from the [tribe of] Taym al-Ribab. There fostered 803 and

799. Hammad b. Maysarah, called Abu Layla, al-Rawiyah ("the great transmit-

ter"), d. 155 or 156/772-73, of Persian mawla stock, was famed as a collector of

ancient Arabic poetry but also suspected of forging some of this. See Sezgin, GAS, I, 366-38; EP-, s.v. Hammad al-Rawiya (J. W. Fuck).

800. Ndldeke, trans. 31a n. 5, noted that the appearance of the name Ayyub in

'Adi's nasab, as the poet's great-great-grandfather, indicates the ancientness of

Christianity within the family. He further noted that, for Ayyub to have been bom

four generations back from 'Adi (who must himself have been bom ca. 554, in J.

Horovitz's view), he must have been in extreme old age if he is to be identified with the person mentioned (together with the comes Angeleios (?), son of Zeid) in the Martyrium Aiethae as Iob/Ayyub, ethnarch of the Christian community in al-

Hirah, and as being a member of the entourage of the Lakhmid al-Mundhir ID b. al- Nu'man II. The "house of Ayyub" was clearly important, through its literacy and its practical skills, in the secretarial and diplomatic service of both the Lakhmids and the Sasanids. See further Horovitz, "'Adi ibn Zeyd, the Poet of Hira," 32-34 (also translates, 4off., the detailed account of Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani in AghanP, n, 95ff., much fuller than the account given here by al-Tabari); Shahid, Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century, I/i, 315-18.

801. Noldeke trans. 313 n. 1, commented that there could hardly have been any

books written in Arabic at this time, but only orally transmitted poetry and possi-

bly tales, and that, when the Christian Arabs of a city like al-Hlrah did write, they

would use Syriac.

802. That is, in ca. 575.

803. This passage in parentheses was supplied by Noldeke in his text, n. d, from

the parallel passage in AghanP, II, 105.

[The Last Sasanid Kings]

34i

reared him a family from the people of al-Hirah called the Banu

Marina, who were considered a part of Lakhm and were of noble

status ( ashiaf ). 804 As well as these two, al-Mundhir b. al-Mundhir

had ten other sons. Because of their handsome appearance, the

entire group of his sons were known as al-Ashahib ("the Shining

Ones"), as al-A'sha says:

The sons of al-Mundhir, the Shining Ones, go forth in the

morning in al-Hirah with their swords. 805

Al-Nu'man was red haired (or: had a reddish complexion, ahmar),

with a mottled skin, and was short of stature. 806 His mother was

called Salma (or Sulma) bt. Wa’il b. 'Atiyyah al-Sa’igh ("the goldsmith"), from the people of Fadak; she was a slave girl of al-Harith b.

Hisn b. Damdam b. 'Adi b. Janab's, from [the tribe of] Kalb. 807

Qabus b. al-Mundhir the Elder, the paternal uncle of al-Nu'man and

his brothers, had sent 'Adi b. Zayd and his brothers to Kisra, son of

Hurmuz, 808 these being secretaries and translators of his.

When al-Mundhir b. al-Mundhir died, 809 leaving behind those

thirteen sons of his, Iyas b. Qabisah al-Ta’i was given charge of his

804. For this family, see Rothstein, Lahmiden, 10, no. It was of such prominence in the life of the city that the poet Imru’ al-Qays speaks of al-Hirah as diyar

Bam Marina. See Diwan, 200, no. 37 v. 3, and cf. Olinder, The Kings ofKinda, 67.

The situation thus evolved in al-HIrah of al-Nu’man being supported for the

succession there by ’Adi b. Zayd and al-Aswad by the Banu Manna; ’Adi, however, had a distinct advantage through his honored status at the Sasanid court. See Rothstein, ibid., 109-10.

805. Diwan, 212, no. 63 v. r4.

806. Noldeke, trans. 3t4 n. 1, noted that this description is confirmed, in an-

other context, in AghanP, XXXI, a.

807. This maternal origin is confirmed in Hamzah al-I$fahani, Ta’iikh, 95, and

Abu al-Fara) al-I$fahani, AghanP, 13, but al-Mas’udi, Muruj, HI, aoa - § 106 r, says that Salma was of the Kalb.

As Noldeke, noted, trans. 314 n. 2, Fadak, a settlement in the Wadi al-Qura of

western Hijaz, had a significant Jewish element, famed as workers in precious

metals. It is thus possible that Salma came from this population group; the poet

’Amr b. Kulthum al-Taghlibi satirized al-Nu'man, that his mother's relatives were

smiths and weavers, practicing despised crafts [Aghani 3 , XI, 58-59, and a satire

attributed to al-Nabighah al-Dhubyanl by one of his enemies describes al-Nu'man

as wdrith al-$a'igh "heir of the goldsmith" (ibid., XI, r3; cf. Rothstein, Laluniden,

108-109).

808. Following Noldeke, trans. 314 n. 3, one should read here "Kisra, son of

Qubadh," i.e., Anusharwan, and not "Kisra [Abarwizj, son of Hurmuz."

809. That is, in 580.

342

[The Last Sasanid Kings]

governmental responsibilities, 810 but only held this office for a

few months while Kisra was searching for a man he could appoint

as ruler over the Arabs. At that juncture, Kisra, son of Hurmuz, 81 1

summoned 'Adi b. Zayd and said to him, "Who now remains of al-

Mundhir's sons? 812 What sort of persons are they, and is there any

good amongst them?" 'Adi replied, "There are still some of them

left from the sons of the recently deceased al-Mundhir b. al-

Mundhir,- those are real men!" Kisra said, "Send for them!" So he

wrote to the various sons, and they came to Kisra, who assigned

them lodging with 'Adi b. Zayd. 'Adi gave preferential treatment

in regard to lodging and hospitality to al-Nu'man's brothers over

al-Nu'man himself, and he would let them see that he expected

nothing from al-Nu'man. He spoke with them individually and

privately, and said to each of them, "If the king asks you, 'Can you

control the Arabs for me?' then tell him, 'Yes, we can control

them all for you, except al-Nu'man.'" 'Adi said to al-Nu'man,

however, "If the king asks you about your brothers, tell him, 'If I

can't cope with them, then I can't cope with anybody else!' " 813

810. That is, Hormizd (see n. 8n below) appointed him as temporary governor

of al-Hirah. It was Iyas b. Qablsah who was, nearly a quarter of a century later,

apppointed (this time by Khusraw II Abarwez) governor or ruler in al-Hirah after

the Lakhmid al-Nu'man's deposition in 602. At some point, the Persian king

awarded Iyas thirty villages along the Euphrates as a grant for life and made him

administrator of the district of 'Ayn al-Tamr (see on this place n. 112 above). See

EP Suppl., s.v. Iyas b. Kablsa al-Ta’i (Ch. Pellat). Noldeke, 314 n. 5, opined that the Qablsah of Aghani 1 ' II, 22, i.e., iyas's father, fitted better chronologically for this appointment by Hormizd, but a period of twenty-two years during which Iyas was occupied with other charges along Persia's frontier with the north Arabian desert does not seem an excessive amount out of a man's official career, and in any case, the same passage in Aghani 3 , n, 106, has "Iyas b. Qabl?ah" for the interim governor in al-Hirah before the choice of al-Nu'man was made.

81 1. Read here "Hurmuz, son of Kisra."

812. That is, of the progeny of al-Nu'man's grandfather al-Mundhir III (r. 504-

54 )-

813. That is, al-Nu'man is to stress to Hormizd his ability to cope with rivals

and with other unruly elements along the desert fringes of the Persian realm.

Noldeke, trans. 315 n. 3, noted further that in the more detailed account of

AghanP, II, 107-108, 'Adi gives al-Nu'man advice which will project himself to

the Persian king as a tough and spartan son of the desert: that he should appear

before Hormizd in travel-stained clothes, girt with his sword, and exhibiting a

voracious appetite. At the same time, 'Adi craftily instructs the other brothers to

wear their most opulent clothes, to eat in an elegant and restrained manner, and

generally to present themselves as refined, ineffective characters, useless for the

envisaged task of guarding the frontiers.

[The Last Sasanid Kings]

343

There was a man from the Banu Marina called 'Adi b. Aws b.

Marina, a headstrong fellow who was also a poet and who used to

say repeatedly to al-Aswad [b. al-Mundhir b. al-Mimdhir] ; "You

know that I expect some favor from you (or perhaps, "am well

disposed toward you, am concerned for your welfare," anni laka

rd / te ). 814 I beg and implore you not to follow 'Adi b. Zayd's

counsel, for by God, he never has your good interests at heart." But

al-Aswad paid no attention to his words.

When Kisra ordered 'Adi b. Zayd to bring them into his presence,

 'Adi began to lead them in one by one, so that Kisra might

speak with each of them; he found that he was looking at a group

of men whose like he had rarely seen. When he asked them, "Are

you able to fulfill this office for me, as your family previously

filled it?" They replied, "We can control the Arabs for you, except

al-Nu'man."

When al-Nu'man went into Kisra's presence, the latter perceived

an ugly and ill-favored person. Nevertheless, when Kisra

addressed him and asked, "Can you control the Arabs for me?" he

answered, "Yes!" Kisra asked, "How will you deal with your

brethren?" Al-Nu'man replied [mockingly], "If I can't cope with

them, then I can't cope with anyone!" Kisra thereupon appointed

him ruler, gave him robes of honour and a crown valued at sixty

thousand dirhams and set with pearls and gold . 815

Al-Nu'man went forth, having been just appointed thus. [At this

point,] 'Adi b. Aws b. Marina said to al-Aswad, "Now you've done

it! You have gone against the correct course of action!" Then 'Adi

b. Zayd prepared a feast in a church, and sent a message to Ibn

Marina, "Come along to me, and bring whomever you like, for I

need to say something [to you]." Hence Ibn Marina went to him

with a group of people. They all feasted and drank at a morning

meal in the church. 'Adi [b. Zayd] said to 'Adi b. Marina, "O 'Adi,

"People like you know how best to recognize good conduct and

then to avoid blaming [anyone] for it. I realize that you would have

preferred your candidate al-Aswad b. al-Mundhir to have been

814. N&ldeke follows the first of these interpretations in his trans., 316.

815. 'Adi's scheming has thus secured the authority in al-Hirah for al-Nu'man

(cf . Rothstein, Lahmiden, hi), but at the price of making powerful enemies in the

city.

344

[The Last Sasanid Kings]

appointed rather than my candidate al-Nu'man, but don't blame

me for something which you yourself would have done [if you had

been able]. I would not like you to hate me for a course of action

which you yourself would have followed had you been able. I

would further like you to treat me with the same consideration as

I show to you, for my share in the royal power is no more extensive

than your own share."

'Adi b. Zayd then arose and went to the church and took an oath

that he would not satirize 'Adi b. Marina in his poetry, would

never intend any wicked act against him, and would never keep

back from him anything good. 816 But when 'Adi b. Zayd had finished

saying this, 'Adi b. Marina stood up and swore a similar oath

that he would never cease satirizing 'Adi b. Zayd and never cease

intending evil against him as long as he lived. Al-Nu'man now

went forth and took up his residence at al-Hirah.

'Adi b. Aws b. Marina recited these verses regarding 'Adi b.

Zayd:

Ho there, announce to 'Adi from 'Adi, and do not grieve, even

though your physical power has become worn out.

You are despoiling our places of worship when you have no

need for such gains, merely in order that you may be

praised or your gain may be more complete. 817

If you are now successful, you will not be successful in a

praiseworthy manner; and if you perish, we shall wish

someone else, and not you, to be not far from us [in

death]. 818

816. The Cairo text, II, 196, has here khabai, "any piece of information," for

khayi, "anything good," the latter being the reading, however, in Abu al-Faraj al-

I|fahanl, Aghdni 3 , II, 108.

817. Following the emendations in the text, I, ior9 n. a and in Addenda et

emendanda, p. dxciv for the first hemistich of this verse. The reference here to

"despoiling our hayakil" seems to refer, as Noldeke noted, trans. 3 1 5 n. 3, to 'Adi's obtaining a loan of eighty thousand dirhams from the bishop of al-Hirah, Jabir b. Sham'un, on al-Nu'man's behalf so that the latter could inflate and strengthen his position in the Persian king's eyes. See AghdnP, II, r r 5; Rothstein, Lahmiden, 111 n. 2.

818. Literally, "may someone else, not you, not be far from us [in death]!" fa-la

yab'ad siwaka, a motif familiar in ancient Arabian elegiac poetry, in which the

spirit of a dead man, a companion, or kinsman, is enjoined la tab' ad, "do not go far away in death!" See Goldziher, Muhammedanische Studien, I, 255-56, Eng. tr. C. ii. Barber and S. M. Stem, Muslim Studies, I, 231-32; idem, "Beitrage zur arabischen Trauerpoesie," 311-12; EP, s.v. Marthiya. 1. (Ch. Pellat), at VI, 603b.

[The Last Sasanid Kings]

345

You will feel regret like the man of Kusa' when your two eyes

see what your hands have wrought . 819

'Adi b. Marina likewise said to al-Aswad, "Although you have

not been successful, do not be so weak as to forgo seelring vengeance

on this man of Ma'add, who has treated you in this fashion . 820

 I have kept on telling you that the crafty wiles of Ma'add

are never at rest, and I enjoined you not to follow his ways; but you

acted against my advice." He replied, "What do you want, then?"

Ibn Marina said, "I want you to hand over to me all the income

from your sources of wealth and land," and al-Aswad did that. Ibn

Marina was [already] very rich and well endowed with estates. No

day now ever passed without a present arriving at al-Nu'man's

portal from Ibn Marina, so that the latter became the most honored

 of men in al-Nu'man's eyes, and he did not decide any matter

of state without 'Adi b. Marina's instructions. Whenever 'Adi b.

Zayd's name was mentioned in Ibn Marina's presence, he would

heap praises on him and recount his merits, yet he would add,

"The make-up of a man of Ma'add is not complete without there

being an element of craft and treachery in it."

When the persons in al-Nu'man's court circle perceived the

high status of Ibn Marina in the king's sight, they attached themselves

to him and followed him. He began to tell his most trusted

followers, "When you see me mentioning 'Adi b. Zayd with approbation

to the king, say, 'Indeed, he is just like you say, but he

doesn't leave anybody alone but keeps on saying that the king — he

meant al-Nu'man — is merely his governor and that he secured al-

819. The "regret of the man of Kusa'" was proverbial for someone who commit-

ted an irrevocable action and then repented of it. Kusa' is variously described as a

clan or subgroup of archers of Qays 'Aylan, Yemen, or Himyar, but no such tribal

division is registered by Ibn al-Kalbl in his famhaiat al-nasab; clearly, the lex-

icographers had no real idea of the origin of the saying. See Ibn Mansur, Lisan

al-aiab, X, 186-87; al-Zabidi, Taj al-arus, V, 494-95.

820. 'Adi's genealogy, set forth by al-Jabari at 1 , 1016, p. 340 above, went back to the Zayd Manat b. Imri’ al-Qays, one of the two main branches of the great North Arab tribe of Tamim (see Ibn al-Kalbl-Caskel-Strenziok, Jamhaiat al-nasab, I, Table 59, n, 8, 544; EP, s.v. Tamlm b. Murr (M. Lecker) ), whereas most of the

Arabs in al-Hirah, from the ruling Lakhmid family downward, stemmed from

tribes accounted Yemeni in nasab.

346

[The Last Sasanid Kings]

Nu'man's appointment to the office which he now holds/" They

kept on thus repeatedly until they caused the king to be full of

hatred toward 'Adi b. Zayd. Also, they wrote a letter in 'Adi's

name to one of his stewards ( qahraman ) and then laid a plot

against him to seize the letter, which they then brought to al-

Nu'man. The latter read it, and it filled him with rage. He sent a

message to 'Adi b. Zayd in these terms: "I beseech you, why

haven't you visited me? I have been longing to see you." 'Adi was

at this juncture at Kisra's court; he asked Kisra for permission to

leave, and the latter gave this. But when 'Adi came to al-Nu'man,

he had hardly set eyes on al-Nu'man before he was thrown into a

prison, where no one came to visit him . 821 'Adi b. Zayd set about

composing verses while he was in prison. The first of the verses

which he composed there was:

Would that I knew something from the great hero (i.e., the

king)! Then would a tenderly persuasive enquiry bring you

authentic news [of him ]! 822

He further recited many other pieces of poetry . 823

821. In the second of Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani's accounts of the estrangement

between al-Nu'man and 'Adi, in AghanP, II, 115-16, that stemming from al-

Mufaddal b. Muhammad al-Dabbi, to the reasons for this estrangement set forth in the first account from Ibn ai-Kalbi, essentially that given above by al-Tabari, al- Mufaddal adds another cause, also involving 'Adi's enemy Ibn Marina. According to this, 'Adi grew angry with al-Nu'man because he had prepared for al-Nu'man and his entourage a splendid feast, but en route for this, al-Nu'man was intercepted by Ibn Marina who invited him on the spot to a feast of his own so that, when al- Nu'man eventually arrived at 'Adi's feast, he was satiated and oculd not touch any of it. 'Adi was naturally piqued, displayed his anger, reproached al-Nu'man in verse and broke off relations with him. In retailiation, al-Nu'man consigned 'Adi to prison.

822. Diwan, 56, no. 7 v, 2, a verse from a long poem, more of which is cited in

other sources such as AghanP, n, 1 10.

823. When Noldeke made his translation, he stated, 319 n. 2, that the verses of

'Adi had to be recovered from scattered citations in later sources. A formal diwan

of 'Adi's collected poetry is mentioned in several mediaeval Islamic sources, e.g.,

Ibn al-Nadim and Abu al-'Ala’ al-Ma'arri, as being in existence at that time, with

various copies circulating in Baghdad. However, the Diwan of 'Adi has now been

published by Muhammad Jabbar al-Mu'aybid on the basis of a unique manuscript,

preserved at al-Basrah, of the work of Jahili poets and called Kitab jamhazat shu'a ra' al-'Arab min al-fahiliyyah; see al-Mu'aybid's Introduction, 20-25.

As Noldeke commented, loc. cit., the poetry of 'Adi, the product of an urban,

Christanised environment, is perceptibly easier to understand than the verses of

contemporary Bedouin poets, products of the ruder, harsher desert.

[The Last Sasanid Kings]

347

Whenever 'Adi composed some poetry, this came to al-

Nu'man's notice and hearing, and he felt regret for having impris-

oned him. He began to send messages to 'Adi, making him various

promises and arousing his hopes [of being freed], but shrank from

releasing him lest 'Adi should then intend some evil against him.

'Adi thereupon uttered the verse:

I lay awake in a thick, dark cloud in which lightning flashes

continually rose up on the gray mountain peaks . 824

and also,

That night was long for us and intensely dark . 825

And also,

Ho there, the nights and the days are long ! 826

When he became wearied of addressing entreaties to al-Nu'man,

he recited poetry in which he reminded him of death and informed

him of those kings before him who had perished, saying,

Has farewell been said to him when he was setting out in the

morning or at even ? 827

and many other poems.

He related: Al-Nu'man once set out for al-Bahrayn, and [in his

absence] a man from Ghassan appeared and wrought whatever

violence he willed in al-Hirah. It is said that the person who attacked

al-Hirah and then put it to flames was Jafnah b. al-Nu'man

al-fafnl . 828 'Adi recited:

824. Diwan, 37, no. 3 v. 1.

825. ibid., 59, no. 8 v. 1.

826. ibid., 132, no. 60 v. 1.

827. ibid., 84, no. 16 v. 1.

828. This refers to a major, surprise attack on the Lakhmid capital involving an

operation mounted across the Syrian Desert by the Jafnid/Ghassanid prince, who

plundered al-Hirah and pitched his praetorium or military headquarters there for

five days, while the Lakhmid ruler was absent, as 'Adi's scornful verse stresses.

The Jafnid/Ghassanid prince would be al-Mundhir b. al-Harith or Arethas (r. 569-

82). N&ldeke, Die Ghassdnischen Fiirstea, 27-28, placed the attack in 580-81,

commenting that it could not in any case have happened after 591 when the

emperor Maurice and Khusraw Abarwez made peace, since the Byzantine ruler

would not have allowed his Syrian vassal to breach the agreement thus; see also

trans. 320 n. 3. This seems a reasonable argument, and the attack must in any case

have happened well before al-Nu'man's imprisonment of 'Adi toward the year 600. Rothstein, Lahmiden, 104 n. 2, 105, 112, however, placed the attack earlier than Noldeke. More recently, Irfan Shahid has dated the attack to 575, at the end of the three years' period when al-Mundhir b. al-Harith had withdrawn from Byzantine service and was keen to retaliate on the Lakhmids for their raids on the Syrian frontiers during that period. The Lakhmid ruler at that time would thus be al- Mundhir IV b. al-Mundhir in rather than the energetic al-Nu'man HI, ruling by ca. 580. The mention of the Jafnid/Ghassanid attacker as being "Jafnah b. al-Nu'man al-Jafni" in the account transmitted by Abu 'Ubaydah is thus both vague and inaccurate.

348 [The Last Sasanid Kings]

A falcon soared high, and then set both sides of it (i.e., the town

of al-Hirah) in flames, while you were completely occupied

with camels, some of which are sent out to travel by night

while others are left to pasture freely. 829

When 'Adi's imprisonment became protracted, he wrote the

following verses to his brother Ubayy, who was at Kisra's court,

Convey the news to Ubayy, however far away he is — is what a

man has come to know any use to him? —

—That your brother, the dear one of your heart, for whom you

were intensely concerned while ever he was safe and sound,

Is shackled with iron fetters in the power of a king, whether

justly or unjustly.

So let me not find you acting like a woman with a child (dhat

al-ghulami) if she does not find a suckler of her breast,

seeking for such an one.

So take care to remain in your own land, for if you come to us

you will sleep a dreamless slumber (i.e., will find death)! 830

His brother wrote back to him,

If Fate has betrayed you, then you are no weakling (literally,

"weak of outstretched arms"), nor an inactive person, nor a feeble

one.

829. Diwan, 114, no. 25 v. 1.

830. ibid., 164, no. hi w. 1-5. The message of the last two verses is that Ubayy

should not assume a task, that of avenging his brother 'Adi, which is no part of his

business— at least, not by immediately coming to the Lakhmid court seeking

vengeance and instead finding there his own certain death. Noldeke, trans. 321 n.

1, was uncertain about the rendering of v. 4, but the enlightning emendations in

Addenda et emendanda, p. dcxiv, and Glossarium, p. cccclix, make it clear that

the proverbial saying given in Lane, Lexicon, 2025 a, is being alluded to here.

[The Last Sasanid Kings]

349

By God's oath, even if a darkly massed, 831 mighty, crushing

force, with gleaming swords,

With a distant roaring sound, advancing across country with an

overwhelming host bringing death, with robes of battle

intact and enfolding them, 832

Had I been in the thick of its throng, I would have hastened to

you; so know that I would have responded when you asked

for succor!

Or if I had been asked for money for you, neither inherited

wealth nor wealth which had been earned for some specific

purpose would have been held back.

Or [if you had been] in a land and I could have come to you

there, neither its distance away nor any fearsome danger

would have affrighted me.

Since you are far away from me, the glory of this age and the

authority to command are with the enemy.

If, by God, I am bereft of you, an old companion whose loss

brings pain, there is no one who can replace you, while ever

the autumn rains pour forth.

Indeed, by my life, if I grieve over you, it is as an afflicted, sad

one.

Indeed, by my life, if I manage to regain control and find

consolation, nevertheless there will be few like you in the

lands through which I range. 833

They assert that, when Ubayy read 'Adi's letter, he went along

to Kisra and spoke with him [about the affair]. Kisra thereupon

wrote a letter and sent an envoy with it. Al-Nu'man's deputy in

the exercise of government ( khallfah ) wrote to al-Nu'man that

Kisra had sent a letter to him. At that, 'Adi's enemies from the  

Banu Buqaylah of Ghassan 834 went along to al-Nu'man and said,

831. That is, because of the dark color of the massed warriors in their mailed

coats.

832. Reading thus, with Abu al-Fara) al-I$fahani, Aghani 1 - n, 27, malfufu, as

suggested in n. a; but AghanP, n, 119, chooses the reading of Ndldeke's text,

makfufu "with the hems of their robes of battle trimmed short." Both renderings

are equally possible in the context.

833. This poem also figures in AghanP, n, 119-20. As NQldeke remarked, 321 n.

3, the poem reads more like an elegy composed after 'Adi's death than one ad-

dressed to him during it.

834. See n. 670 above.

350

[The Last Sasanid Kings]

“Kill him immediately!" but he refused. The envoy arrived; having

 been first accosted by 'Adi's brother, who gave him money as a

bribe and told him to visit 'Adi first. The envoy went to 'Adi, the

latter being incarcerated in [the fortress of] Sinnln . 835 'Adi's

brother said, “Go into his presence and see what instructions he

gives you." The envoy went into 'Adi's presence and said, “I have

brought the order for your release; what have you got [for me]?"

'Adi said, “Something you will like very much," and gave him

promises, adding, however, "Don't leave me, but give me the letter

so that I may convey it to him (i.e., al-Nu'man), for by God, if

you leave me, then I shall undoubtedly be killed." The envoy

replied, “I can't do anything except go to the king and deliver the

letter to him personally."

Meanwhile, someone went along to al-Nu'man to let him know

what was happening. This person came to al-Nu'man and told

him, “Kisra's envoy has been to visit 'Adi, and is going to bring

'Adi with him. If he does that, he will not spare any of us, neither

yourself nor anyone else." Al-Nu'man thereupon sent 'Adi's enemies

 to him, and they smothered him till he died, and then bur-

ied him. The envoy came into al-Nu'man's presence with the

letter. Al-Nu'man hailed him with the words, “Good fortune and

welcome!" and sent him four thousand mithqals 836 (i.e., in silver

dirhams) and a slave girl, saying to him, “When you go along to

'Adi next morning, go in to him and bring him back personally."

But when the envoy rode out to there next morning and entered

the prison, the guards told him, "He has already been dead for

several days; we didn't, however, dare to tell the king out of fear of

him, since we knew that he did not desire 'Adi's death." The

envoy returned to al-Nu'man and said, “I went into his presence

835. This was a fortress of the district of al-Hirah, mentioned in the account of

Sa'db. Abi Waqqa$'s attack on al-Hirah in 14/635 (al-Tabari, I, 2233). According to Hamzah al-Isfahani, Ta’ilkh, 90, it was built by the Greek architect Sinnimar, the luckless constructor of al-Khawamaq (see al-Tabari, I, 851-52, pp. 75-78 above).

See Yaqut, Buldan, HI, 43 1; Noldeke, trans. 322 n. 3 (on the most probable Aramaic etymology of the toponym); Musil, The Middle Euphrates, 1x7-18 (mentioning what he identified as the ruins of §innin and its castle); Morony, Iraq after the Muslim Conquest, 152.

836. For this measure for precious metals and monetary unit, based on the

weight of the Byzantine gold, solidus, see Hinz, Islamische Masse und Gewichte,

1-8; EP-, s.v. Makayil and Mawazin (E. Ashtor).

[The Last Sasanid Kings]

35i

[yesterday] and he was still alive!" Al-Nu'man told him, "The

king sends you to me, and you go to 'Adi before me? You're lying,

and you're only seeking bribe money and stirring up mischief! " He

threatened him but then gave him increased largesse and marks of

favor, and extracted a promise from him that he would merely tell

Kisra that 'Adi had died before he could go to him. So the envoy

returned to Kisra and informed him that 'Adi had died before he

could get access to him. Al-Nu'man was filled with remorse at

'Adi's death, but 'Adi's enemies behaved menacingly toward him,

and he was violently afraid of them.

Al-Nu'man went out hunting one day and met one of 'Adi's sons

called Zayd. When he saw him, he recognized his resemblance to

'Adi and asked him, "Who are you?" The son replied, "I am Zayd

b. 'Adi b. Zayd, " Al-Nu'man spoke with him and found him to be a

finely formed young man, and he rejoiced at this (or, "in him")

greatly. He introduced him into his court circle, gave him gifts,

made excuses to him over the matter of his father, 837 and fitted

him out handsomely with a traveling kit. Then he wrote to Kisra

in these terms: "'Adi was, because of his wise counsel and his

intelligence, one of those persons who are the supports of kings;

but the inevitable fate came upon him, his life span was fulfilled

and his sustenance was cut off; no one was more deeply afflicted

by his death than myself. Yet a king does not lose one of his men

without God sending along a replacement for him, since God has

made the king's royal power and exalted status so mighty. Now

one of 'Adi's sons, not inferior to him in qualities, has just reached

maturity. Hence I have sent him along to the king; if he sees fit to

appoint him in his father's stead, he may do so."

When the young man came to Kisra, he appointed him to his

father's old office and transfered his paternal uncle (i.e., Ubayy) to

another post. So it was Zayd who took charge of correspondence

dispatched to the land of the Arabs — in particular, [that of] the

king. The Arabs gave him a specific, annual payment for filling

this office, namely, two chestnut-colored colts, fresh truffles in

their season and dried ones, dried and compacted cheese, hides (or,

"seasonings," al-udum), and other products traded by the Arabs.

837. That is, over his being imprisoned and not, of course, over his killing. See

Noldeke, trans. 324 n. 1.

352

[The Last Sasanid Kings]

Zayd b. 'Adi b. Zayd was thus in charge of all this — that is, those

functions 'Adi b. Zayd had exercised. When Zayd had attained

such a position in Kisra's eyes, the latter asked him about al-

Nu'man; Zayd praised him profusely.

Zayd accordingly remained for several years filling the same

[1025] role his father had filled. Kisra was highly pleased with him, and

Zayd used frequently to go into his presence. The Persian kings

possessed the description of a [perfect] woman, written down and

kept by them, and they used to send that description out to all

those lands (i.e., to obtain for themselves such ideal wives and

concubines), except that they never had any dealings with the land

of the Arabs regarding this and would never seek it. At one point,

the king again took steps for seeking out women, and sent out that

written description. Then Zayd went into Kisra's presence and

spoke to him about the course of action the king had embarked

upon, and said, "I see that the king has sent out letters concerning

women who are to be sought out for him [as partners]. I have read

the description. I know the house of al-Mundhir very well. Your

servant al-Nu'man has many daughters and paternal nieces and

other members of his family, totaling more than twenty women,

who correspond to this description." Kisra said, "In that case, you

should write off concerning them." Zayd replied, "O king, the

worst characteristic of the Arabs, and of al-Nu'man [in particular],

is that they regard themselves as superior in nobility, as they

conceive themselves, to the Persians. I am afraid that he will

conceal these women. But if I personally go to him with this

mission, he will not be able to place them in concealment. So send

me, together with a man from your own guard who is a skilled

Arabic speaker." Hence Kisra sent with him a sturdy man. Zayd

set off with the latter. He began to treat that man in a noble and

friendly fashion until he reached al-HIrah. He went into al-

Nu'man's presence and extolled the monarch, then went on to say

that "He (Basra) requires women [as attendants] for his wives and

children, and desires to show you honor, hence has sent this mission

to you." 838 Al-Nu'man asked, "What kind of women are

838. Such a tribute of maidens was regarded by Noldeke, trans. 325 n. 1, as quite

credible, especially as Barhebraeus mentions a "Fast of the Maidens" of the

Nestorian Christians commemorating the frustration of Khusraw Abarwez's at tempt to carry off all the maidens from al-HIrah, and as al-Biruni, al-Athar al-

bdqiyah, 314, states that the $awm al-'adhara marked the relief of the Arabs at

being relieved of the tribute of virgins levied by the kings of al-Hlrah or else the

victory of Dhu Qar, which spared the Arabs from the Persian demand for their

maidens.

(The Last Sasanid Kings] 353

these [who are required]?" Zayd answered, "This is the description of them."