ACCESSION OF OMAR--REINFORCEMENTS FOR IRAC--CAMPAIGN
THERE UNDER ABU OBEID AND MOTHANNA.
Jumâd II., A.H. XIII.--Moharram, A.H. XIV.
August, A.D. 634–March, A.D. 635.
[Sidenote: Accession of Omar.]
On the morrow after Abu Bekr’s death, Omar ascended the pulpit, and
addressed the people assembled in the Great Mosque. ‘The Arabs,’ he
said, ‘are like a rebellious camel obliged to follow its driver, and it
pertaineth to the driver to see which way he leadeth the same. By the
Lord of the Káaba! even thus will I guide you in the way that ye should
go.’
[Sidenote: His first two acts.]
The first act of the new Caliph was to issue the despatch, with which
the reader is already acquainted, deposing Khâlid. The second was,
in fulfilment of Abu Bekr’s dying behest, to raise a fresh levy for
Mothanna. Leaving the former, we turn for the present to the latter.
[Sidenote: Fresh levies sent to Irâc under Abu Obeid.]
A new standard was planted in the court of the Great Mosque, and
urgent proclamation made that soldiers for the campaign in Irâc were
to rally round it. Then followed the oath of fealty to Omar, which was
taken by all who were in and around the city, and not completed for
three days. Meanwhile, so great a fear of Persian pomp and prowess had
fallen on the people, that none responded to the military call. Seeing
this, Mothanna harangued them in a stirring speech. He told them of
his victories, the endless plunder, the captives, male and female, and
the fruitful lands which they had already spoiled the enemy of; ‘and
the Lord,’ he added, ‘waiteth but to give the rest into your hands.’
Warmed by his discourse, and stung by the indignant invectives of Omar,
men began at last to offer. The first who came forward was Abu Obeid, a
citizen of Tâyif; and then numbers crowded to the standard. When they
had reached a thousand, those around began to say to Omar: ‘Now choose
thee one of the chiefest among them to be Ameer--a veteran Companion
of the Prophet,--Refugee, or Citizen.’[200] ‘That I will not,’ said
Omar. ‘Wherein doth the glory of the Companions consist but in this,
that they were the first to rally round the Prophet? But now ye are
backward, and come not to the help of the Lord. Such as be ready for
the burden, whether it be light or whether it be heavy, these have
the better claim. Verily I will give the command to none but to him
that first came forth.’ Then turning to Abu Obeid: ‘I appoint thee,’
he said, ‘over this force, because thou wast the first to offer; and
_in eagerness for battle is the Arab’s glory_.’ Nevertheless, he
earnestly enjoined upon him ever to take counsel with the Companions of
the Prophet, and to associate them with him in the conduct of affairs.
So the force started for Irâc. At the same time Omar removed the ban
against the employment of the once apostate tribes; and bade Abu Obeid
to summon to his standard all, without distinction, who since the
apostasy had made a good profession. Mothanna, with a lightened heart,
hastened back in advance of Abu Obeid, and returned to Hîra after the
absence of a month.
[Sidenote: Rustem rouses the Persians against the invaders.]
During this period, while Mothanna was away, further changes were
transpiring at the unhappy court of Persia. Prince and princess
succeeded one another in the midst of bloodshed and rebellion, till at
last a royal lady named Burân summoned Rustem, a general of renown,
from Khorasan, and by his aid established herself as Regent upon the
throne.[201] Rustem was an astrologer, and knew from the conjunction
of the planets the impending fate of Persia. When asked why then he
had linked himself with a doomed cause, he answered that it was the
love of pomp and riches. Amidst such silly tales, of which there is no
lack, we may discern the lineaments of a prince brave in the field,
but proud and overweening. Such was the man whose authority Burân now
proclaimed supreme. His energy was soon felt. The nobles rallied round
him; the great landholders were incited to rise against the invaders,
and Mesopotamia, with the Sawâd and delta, speedily cast off the Moslem
yoke. Two columns were despatched from Medâin, one under Jabân to cross
the Euphrates and advance on Hîra; the other under Narsa to occupy
Kaskar between the Euphrates and Tigris. The people flocked to their
standard, and the position of the Moslems again became precarious.
Mothanna, thus threatened, called in his forces, but they were too
few to oppose the enemy; so he abandoned Hîra, and falling back on
Khaffân, by the border of the desert, on the road to Medîna, there
awaited Abu Obeid. [Sidenote: Abu Obeid gains a victory over the
Persians. Shaban, A.H. XIII. October, A.D. 634.] But he had to wait
some time. Swelled by reinforcements from the tribes by the way, and,
burdened by their families, it was a month before the army made its
appearance there. After a few days’ repose at Khaffân, Abu Obeid took
command of the combined force, and, attacking Jabân, put him to flight.
Then crossing the Euphrates, he surprised Narsa, who was strongly
posted at a royal date-grove near to Kaskar, and, routing his army,
took possession of his camp, with much spoil. Great store of dates
fell into their hands, of a rare kind, reserved for royal use. These
were distributed among the army, and became the common food of all.
With the royal Fifth, a portion of them was sent to Medîna: ‘Behold,’
wrote Abu Obeid to his Master, ‘the food wherewith the Lord hath fed
us, eaten heretofore only by the kings of Persia. We desired that
thou shouldest see the same with thine own eyes, taste it with thine
own lips, and praise the Lord for his grace and goodness in giving us
royal food to eat.’ Jalenûs, another general, coming up too late to the
help of Narsa, was also discomfited; and the unfortunate delta, prey
to alternate conquest and defeat, began again to acknowledge Moslem
sway. The neighbouring chiefs brought in their tribute, and, in proof
of loyalty, made a feast of good things for Abu Obeid. But he declined
to partake of it, unless shared equally with his soldiers. A further
supply of the same delicacies was therefore furnished, and the whole
army sat down with him to the repast. His determination to taste none
of the Persian viands but in company with the rank and file of his men
redounded greatly to his popularity.[202]
[Sidenote: Bahmân sent with great army against Abu Obeid. A.H.
XIII. Autumn A.D. 634.]
Enraged at the defeat of his generals, Rustem assembled a still larger
force under the warrior Bahmân.[203] To mark the gravity of the
crisis, the great banner of the empire, made of panthers’ skins, was
unfurled,[204] and an array of war elephants accompanied the army.
Jalenûs, too, was sent back to fight, under the threat that if again he
fled before the enemy, he would be put to death. Before this imposing
host, the Arabian army fell back, and, recrossing the Euphrates, took
up ground on the right bank. Bahmân, following, encamped at Coss
Nâtick, on the opposite shore. The field of battle was not far from
Babylon, and, being on the highway between the Capital and Hîra, a
bridge of boats spanned the river near the spot.[205] Bahmân, in his
pride, gave Abu Obeid the option of crossing the river unopposed, thus
leaving him the choice of either bank for the impending action. Abu
Obeid desired to take the offer and pass over to the other side. His
advisers strongly opposed the movement, and sought to dissuade him
from quitting their more advantageous ground. But he made it a point
of honour; and exclaiming, ‘Shall we fear death more than they?’ gave
the order at once to cross. They found the ground upon the farther
side confined; and, though they were under 10,000 men, there was
little room to manœuvre, and nothing but the bridge to fall back
upon. [Sidenote: Battle of the Bridge. Shabân, A.H. XIII.
October, A.D. 634.[206]]The unwieldy elephants, with their
jingling bells and trappings, spread confusion among the Arab cavalry.
The riders, however, dismounting, went bravely at them on foot, and
tried, with some success, to cut the bands of the _howdas_, and
drive them from the field. Abu Obeid singled out the fiercest, a white
elephant, with great tusks, and rushed at it, sword in hand. While
vainly endeavouring to reach some vulnerable part, the huge beast
caught him with its trunk, and trampled him to death. Consternation
seized the ranks at the horrid spectacle. One after another the
captains whom Abu Obeid had named to meet disaster, were slain,[207]
and the troops began to waver. Just at this moment, a soldier of the
Beni Thackîf,[208] appalled at the fate of Abu Obeid and other leaders
of his clan, ran to the bridge, and crying out, _Die, as your chiefs
have died, or conquer_, cut the first boat adrift. Exit thus closed,
the panic spread. The Moslems were hemmed in, and driven back upon the
river. Many leaped in, but few reached the other shore of the deep
swift stream.[209] At this eventful moment Mothanna rushed to the
front. Backed by a few heroic spirits, among them a Christian chief of
the Beni Tay,[210] he seized the banner, and, planting himself between
the enemy and the bewildered Arabs, called out that he would hold the
ground till all had passed securely. Then he chided the Thackîfite for
what he had done, and commanded the bridge to be restored. ‘Destroy not
your own selves,’ he cried; ‘retire in order, and I will defend you.’
While thus bravely holding the Persians at bay, the thrust of a lance
imbedded several rings of his armour in a deep and dangerous wound.
Heedless of the pain, he stood heroically to his ground endeavouring
to calm his panic-stricken men. But in vain. [Sidenote: The Moslems
routed.]The confusion increased, and before order could be restored, a
vast number had perished in the river. At last the native boatmen were
made to refit the bridge, and a remnant escaped across it; but four
thousand were either swept off by the flood, left dead upon the field,
or borne wounded over the bridge. Of the new levies, two thousand,
stung with remorse, fled from the terrible field, away to their homes
in Arabia; and Mothanna, again assuming the command, was left with
only three thousand men. After the battle, Bahmân was on the point of
crossing the river to follow up his victory. Had he done so, it would
have fared badly with Mothanna and the wounded disheartened remnants,
who still held their ground on the opposite bank. But fortunately
for them, just at that moment, news reached Bahmân of a revolt at
Medâin; and so, relinquishing his design, he hastened, in support of
his master, back to the distracted capital.[211] [Sidenote: Mothanna
retires on Allîs.]With the relics of his army, Mothanna fell back upon
Allîs, farther down the river; and there, for the time, fixing his
head-quarters, bravely defended his first conquests. The cause of Islam
looked dark; but a hero like Mothanna would not despair. Mindful of
his early tactics, he sought to recruit his diminished ranks from the
surrounding coasts; so, rallying around him the tribes of kindred race,
before long he regained a firmer footing.
[Sidenote: Jabân taken prisoner and beheaded.]
Jabân, unaware of the General’s hasty recall to Medâin, and supposing
the Arabs to be in full flight before the conquering host, followed in
pursuit. He had before been taken prisoner and obtained his ransom by
deceit.[212] Crossing now the river, he was cut off by the Arabs, and,
with his column, was taken prisoner by Mothanna. The people also of
Allîs brought many of the stragglers into the Moslem camp. These were
all beheaded. At a later period, Allîs had special grace shown it for
this service.
[Sidenote: How the tidings of defeat were received at Medîna.]
Omar received with calmness the tidings of the disaster. Abu Obeid’s
levies kept on their flight till they reached their homes; and when
those from Medîna returned there, they covered their faces with
shame. The Caliph spoke comfortably to them. ‘Verily,’ he said, ‘I
am a defence to every believer that faceth the enemy and misfortune
overtaketh him. The Lord have mercy on Abu Obeid, and be gracious unto
him. Had he survived, and taken refuge from the foe on some sandy
mound, I surely would have been his advocate and defender.’ Muâdz,
reciter of the Corân, was among those who fled. Shortly after, when,
in the course of recitation, he came to this verse: ‘Whosoever in the
field shall give his back to the enemy (excepting again to join in the
battle), or shall turn aside unto another party, verily he draweth
the wrath of God upon him; his refuge shall be hell-fire--an evil
end!’[213] And he lifted up his voice and wept. Omar addressed him
kindly: ‘Weep not, O Muâdz,’ he said, ‘thou hast not “_turned aside
unto another party_”; thou hast turned aside to none but unto me.’
Such was the spirit of these Moslem heroes, even in defeat. The reverse
had no other effect than to nerve the Caliph to redoubled effort;
and the cry for a levy _en masse_ soon resounded over the whole
peninsula. The reinforcements, in response to this new call, would,
however, have been too late to help Mothanna if (fortunately for Islam)
earlier succour had not reached him.
[Sidenote: Numerous levies join Mothanna in Irâc.]
For the previous call, made at the time of Abu Bekr’s death, was still
drawing. Levies, from all directions, were daily coming in, eager (now
that the ban against apostates was removed) at once to evince the
sincerity of their repentance, and to share in the rewards of victory.
Each band, as it came in, besought Omar that they might be sent to
Syria.[214] But the late victory on the Yermûk had made him easy in
that direction; and every available man must now be despatched in haste
to Irâc. The Beni Bajîla, a brave and numerous levy, raised under the
banner of Jarîr, urged that their ancestral relations were all with
Syria; but Omar was firm, and, at last, reconciled them to set out at
once for Irâc by the promise--singular in the history of the time--that
they should have one fourth of the royal Fifth of all booty taken
there.[215] The fugitives also, from the army of Abu Obeid, hastened
back, seeking to retrieve their honour. But far the most remarkable of
the levies that now gathered under Mothanna’s standard--a proof, at
once of his liberality, statesmanship, and widespread influence--was
from the Beni Namr, a Christian tribe of the northern desert, which,
without detriment to their faith, threw in their lot with Mothanna, and
brought a large contingent to his help.[216] Thus, rapidly and largely
reinforced, he was soon stronger than ever, and ready for an offensive
movement. These troops were massed at first well in the rear of the
enemy’s country, on the edge of the Arabian desert, near Khaffân. The
women and children (for the practice had now become general of carrying
their families with them) were placed in security at a distance behind;
some were even left with friendly citizens in Hîra, although, since
the last retreat, the city had been reoccupied by a Persian satrap.
Mothanna had also a trusty follower in hiding there, to give him notice
of what was passing.
[Sidenote: Mothanna advances to meet a Persian army. Ramadhân, A.H.
XIII. November, A.D. 634.]
From this spy, Mothanna now learned that, matters having been settled
at the capital, a great army was in motion against him.[217] Sending
an urgent message to Jarîr, now close at hand, to hurry on, he marched
forward to Boweib, on the western branch of the Euphrates, and there,
close by the future site of Kûfa, and on ground commanded by a bridge,
he awaited the enemy. Omar had cautioned him not again to risk his
men by crossing the river before victory was secure; so he suffered
Mehrân, the Persian commander, without question to defile his troops
over the bridge.[218] The armies were then marshalled. The Persians
advanced in three columns, an elephant surrounded by a company of
footmen, at the head of each, and all with great tumult and barbaric
din. It was the fast of Ramadhân; but a dispensation was given to the
troops, and they had been strengthened by a repast. Mothanna, on his
favourite charger (called, by the humour of his men, _the Rebel_,
from its docility in action), rode along the lines, and exhorted his
soldiers to quit themselves like men: ‘Your valour this day will be a
proverb in the mouths of all. Be still as death,’ he cried; ‘and if ye
speak aught one to the other, speak it in a whisper. None shall give
way amongst us this day. I desire no glory for myself, but the glory of
you all.’ And they answered him in like words; for he was beloved by
his men.[219]
[Sidenote: The Battle of Boweib.]
The word for the advance was to be the _Takbîr_, ‘Great is the
Lord!’ It was to be thrice repeated; then, on the fourth cry, the rush.
But Mothanna had barely shouted the first, when the Persian myrmidons
bore down in great force; and the Beni Ijl, the nearest column, broke
before them. Mothanna stroked his beard in trouble. Calling an officer
of his staff, he bade him hasten with this message to the wavering
corps: ‘The Ameer sendeth greeting, and saith, _Ye will not this day
shame the Moslems_!’ They gave answer, ‘Yea, we shall not!’ And, as
the broken ranks closed up again in sharp serried line, Mothanna smiled
approvingly. The battle raged long and equally. At last, Mothanna,
seeing that a desperate onset must be made, rode up to the chief of the
Beni Namr, and said to him: ‘Though Christian, ye are one in blood with
us; come now, and as I charge, charge ye with me.’ The Persian centre
quivered before the fierce onslaught, and as the dust cleared off, it
was seen to be giving way. The Moslem wings, hitherto outflanked, now
took heart, and charged also. Then the Persian army fell back, and
made for the bridge. But Mothanna was before them. In despair, they
turned on their pursuers, and the multitude was so great that again
there was a moment of danger. But the fiery zeal of the Arabs, though
a handful in comparison, beat back the forlorn charge. ‘The enemy,’
says an eye-witness, ‘driven before Arfaja, were brought up by the
river, and finding no escape, re-formed, and charged upon us. One cried
to the leader to move his banner back; “_My work_,” he answered,
“_is to move the banner on_.” So forward we drove, and cut them
up, not one reaching even to the river bank.’ Mothanna reproached
himself afterwards with having closed the bridge, and caused (on his
own side) a useless loss of life. ‘I made a grievous error,’ he would
say: ‘follow not my example herein; it behoveth us not to close the
way against those who may be driven to turn upon us by despair.’[220]
The carnage was almost unparalleled even in the annals of Islam, and
it went on amongst the fugitives all night. A hundred warriors boasted
that they had slain each ten men to his lance; and hence the battle
of Boweib is sometimes called _the field of Tens_. There was no
engagement of which the marks were wider or more lasting. For ages the
bones of the slain bleached upon the plain; and the men of Kûfa had
here, at their very door, a lasting proof at once of the prowess and
the mercilessness of their forefathers in the faith.
[Sidenote: Persian general slain by a Christian youth.]
The victory is remarkable, not only for the unexampled loss of life,
but also as secured in great part by the valour of the Beni Namr, a
Christian tribe. And yet further, the most gallant feat of the day
was achieved by the member of another Christian clan. A party of Beni
Taghlib merchants, with a string of horses for sale, arriving just
as the ranks were being dressed, threw themselves into the battle,
choosing the Arab side. A youth from amongst them, darting into the
very centre of the Persians, slew Mehrân, and leaping on his richly
caparisoned horse, rode back upon it, amidst the plaudits of the
whole Moslem line, crying, as he passed in triumph: ‘I am of the Beni
Taghlib. I am he that hath slain Mehrân’[221]
[Sidenote: Loss on the Moslem side.]
The loss on the Moslem side was considerable. Mothanna had to mourn
the death of his brave brother Masûd. As this hero was borne from
the field mortally wounded, he cried: ‘Exalt your banners high, ye
Beni Bekr.[222] The Lord will exalt you, my men; and let not my fall
disturb you!’ Amr, the Christian chieftain, met a similar fate. And
Mothanna affectionately tended the last moments of both together--the
Christian and the Moslem--an unwonted sight on these crusading fields.
He performed the funeral service over his brother and the other fallen
Moslems, and said in his panegyric of their heroism: ‘It assuageth my
grief that they stood stedfast; that they yielded not a step; and now
they lie here the martyrs of Boweib.’
[Sidenote: The spoil.]
The spoil was great. Immense stores of grain, as well as herds of
cattle, were captured; and, therefrom, supplies were sent to the
families in their desert retreat. As Amr ibn Mádekerib rode up with
these, the women, mistaking the convoy for a plundering raid, rushed
out, with their wild shrill Arab scream, and began attacking them with
stones and staves. [Sidenote: Moslem women defend their camp.]Amr soon
made himself known to them, and praised their courageous attitude. ‘It
well becometh the wives of such an army,’ he said, ‘thus to defend
themselves.’ Then he told them of the victory; ‘and lo,’ he added, as
he produced the stores of grain, ‘the first-fruits thereof!’[223]
[Sidenote: Mesopotamia and delta regained.]
The country was now ravaged without let or hindrance up to Sabât,
within sight of the walls of Medâin. The enemy’s garrisons were all
driven back; and lower Mesopotamia and the delta anew reoccupied.
Parties also scoured the country higher up. Anbâr and Khanâfis were
again taken possession of, and many rich markets ransacked. They
penetrated to Baghdad (then a mere village on the Tigris above the
modern city), and even as far north as Tekrît. Great booty was gathered
in these plundering expeditions. It was divided in the usual way,
excepting that the Beni Bajîla, who well merited the distinction,
received, according to promise, a fourth of the imperial Fifth, beyond
their proper share--the remaining portion being sent to Medîna.[224]
[Sidenote: Mothanna superseded.]
Mothanna lived but a few months after his last great victory. He never
entirely recovered from the wounds received in the disastrous battle
of the Bridge, and eventually succumbed under them. His merits have
not been recognised as they deserve. That he did not belong to the
nobility of Medîna was the misfortune which kept him in the background.
Jarîr, leader of the Beni Jadîla, declined to serve under him as Ameer,
or commander, in Irâc, since he was a mere Bedouin chief, and not a
_Companion_ of the Prophet; and he complained accordingly to
the Caliph. Omar listened to the appeal; and eventually (as we shall
see) appointed another commander over both. But with that opens a new
chapter in the Persian war, and before entering on it, we must revert
to the course of events in Syria.
[Sidenote: Mothanna.]
The character of Mothanna, however, deserves more than a passing
notice, and as we shall hear little of him in the short remaining
period of his life, I may here devote a few lines to his memory. Among
the generals who contributed to the triumph of Islam, he was second
only to one. Inferior to Khâlid in dash and brilliancy of enterprise,
he did not yield to him in vigour and strategic skill. Free from the
unscrupulous cruelty so often disfiguring the triumphs of that great
leader, he never, like him, used victory to gratify his own ends. It
was due alone to the cool and desperate stand which Mothanna made at
the Bridge, that the Moslem force was not utterly annihilated there;
while the formation so rapidly after that disaster of a fresh army,
by which, with the help of Christian tribes (rare mark of Moslem
liberality), a prodigious host was overthrown, and the prestige of
Islam restored--showed powers of administration and generalship far
beyond his fellows. The repeated supersession of Mothanna cost the
Caliphate much, and at one time rendered the survival of Islam in Irâc
doubtful; but it never, in the slightest measure, affected his loyalty
and devotion to Omar. The nobility of the Moslem peerage may have
rendered it difficult for the Caliph to place a Bedouin chieftain of
obscure origin in command of men who, as Companions, had fought under
the Prophet’s banner. But it is strange that no historian, jealous
for the honour of the heroes of Islam, has regretted the supersession
of one so distinguished, or sought to place Mothanna on the deserved
pinnacle of fame, as one of the great generals of the world.[225]