KUTAYBA’S FALL AND DEATH
The realm of Arabic literature contains no more vivid picture of
contemporary life and manners than that given us by Tabari in his
account of Kutayba’s fall.[137] Many circumstances conspired to effect
his ruin. The unbounded arrogance arising from uniform success, and
the many acts of perfidy of which he was guilty, had weakened the
attachment of his followers, which was based rather on greed for booty
than devotion to a cause. His friend and constant patron Hajjāj had
died in A.H. 94. The new Caliph, Sulaymān, had never forgotten that
Kutayba had supported his predecessor Welīd in an attempt to exclude
him from the succession; and his principal adviser was Yezīd ibn
Muhallab, whom Kutayba had ousted from the government of Khorāsān. But
tribal hatred was the most telling factor in Kutayba’s fall. It raged
with intense fury among the Arabs during the Caliphate, and was at the
root of every revolution of that stirring period.
Kutayba’s first thoughts[138] on hearing of the accession of Sulaymān
were that the Caliph would certainly reinstate Yezīd as governor of
Khorāsān. In view of forestalling this action he sent a messenger to
Sulaymān bearing three letters. The first contained assurances of his
loyalty; the second, expressions of his contempt for Yezīd; the purport
of the third, which was written on a smaller sheet, was as follows: “I
have ceased to recognise Sulaymān as my sovereign, and have revolted
against him.” His envoy was intrusted to hand the first missive to the
Caliph and watch his movements narrowly. If he should read it and then
pass it to Yezīd, the second was to be submitted to him. Should it be
similarly treated, the gauntlet of defiance was to be thrown down in
the third letter.
The injunctions were strictly followed. The three messages were
delivered successively; but, beyond communicating each to Yezīd, the
Caliph betrayed no sign of resentment. The messenger was allowed to
depart in company with a courtier, who carried with him an Act of
reinvestiture in the governorship of Khorāsān in favour of Kutayba.
When the pair reached Holwān[139] they learnt that Kutayba had already
raised the standard of revolt, and Sulaymān’s messenger returned
straightway to Syria. When Kutayba’s messenger reached Khorāsān his
master asked him how matters had gone. On learning that his action
of throwing off his allegiance had been, to say the least of it,
premature, Kutayba was filled with repentance, and took counsel with
his brothers and captains as to what course he should pursue. They
were agreed that Sulaymān would never pardon Kutayba, but opined that
his life would be spared in remembrance of his past services to Islām.
“Alas,” cried Kutayba, “it is not death I fear, but that the Caliph
will certainly give the government of Khorāsān to Yezīd, and humiliate
me before all the world; I prefer death to that!”[140] Among the many
projects suggested to him the wisest seems to have been that of his
brother `Abd er-Rahmān, who advised him to proceed to Samarkand and
then give his followers the option of staying with him or returning to
their homes. Having by this means surrounded himself with men whom he
could trust, he might declare his independence of Sulaymān. But Kutayba
was too confident in his own influence to listen to counsel savouring
of timidity. The only plan which suited his temper was one formulated
by another brother named `Abdullah. It was that Kutayba should call his
officers together and urge them to join in a revolt against the Caliph.
This desperate scheme was promptly acted upon. Kutayba harangued his
followers in brief but stirring words, dwelling on the want of capacity
shown by his predecessors, especially by Yezīd; he reminded his troops
of the successes that had attended them under his leadership, of the
fairness with which he had always divided the spoil among them, and
of his prosperous administration of Khorāsān. He then awaited the
acclamations which his lightest utterances had hitherto received. A
deep and anxious silence reigned on the assembly. Kutayba, lashed to
fury by the ingratitude of those who owed everything to him, lost all
semblance of self-restraint and burst forth into a tirade, in which
his lieutenants were designated as “cowardly Bedouins, infidels, and
hypocrites.” Then, trembling with half-suppressed passion, he withdrew
to his palace, where he joined the members of his family. They
attempted to remonstrate, and pointed out the folly of exasperating men
on whose goodwill everything depended. The Arab troops, too, entered
into negotiations with `Abd-er-Rahmān, who was regarded as the most
reasonable of Kutayba’s brothers, and he proffered his services as a
peacemaker. But Kutayba had by this time entirely lost his head, and
turned a deaf ear to all advice. The Arabs, lashed to madness by his
obstinacy, beset his palace with shouts of vengeance. Some set fire to
his stables, and in the confusion that ensued another band broke into
the council-hall and attacked their fallen chief. He received a wound
from an arrow, and was straightway hacked to pieces with swords, A.H.
96 (714).
Thus fell, at the age of forty-six, a man whose personality stands out
in bold relief in the earlier annals of the most militant of creeds.
It would be unjust to omit mention of Kutayba’s zeal in the propaganda
of Islām. Narshakhi has much to tell us of his pious exertions in the
town of Bokhārā. On each of his four expeditions thither he compelled
the inhabitants to accept the faith of Mohammed, but as soon as his
back was turned they reverted to idol-worship. In A.H. 94 Kutayba
built, on the site of a fire-temple, a large mosque, where prayers were
read every Friday; a reward of two direms was given to every attendant
in order to assure the permanent conversion of the people. Kutayba
quartered an Arab in every house, who played the dual part of spy and
missionary. His character was an epitome of the qualities which made
Islām a terror to mankind, and ultimately conspired to reduce it to
impotence.
[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF BOKHĀRĀ]