HASAN SUCCEEDS ALY.--ABDICATES IN FAVOUR OF MUAVIA.
A.H. XL., XLI. A.D. 661.
[Sidenote: Hasan succeeds his father Aly. Ramadhân, A.H. XL. Jan. A.D.
661.]
When they had committed Aly, we know not where, to his last home, the
people, following the example of Cays ibn Sád, whose influence at the
Court of Baghdad continued undiminished, did homage, as it were by
common consent, to Hasan, the departed Caliph’s eldest son. But Hasan
was a poor-spirited creature, more intent on varying the charms of his
ever-changing harem than on the business of public life, and altogether
unworthy of his descent as the grandson of the Prophet.[569]
[Sidenote: But, attacked by Muâvia, and mobbed by his own troops,]
It was, therefore, now Muâvia’s opportunity for asserting his title to
the whole Moslem empire. Already, in accordance with Amru’s verdict
at the Arbitration, he was recognised as Caliph throughout Syria and
Egypt.[570] Resenting the succession of Hasan to his father’s power at
Kûfa, Muâvia at once gathered a powerful army and marched to invade
Irâc. No sooner was this intelligence received, than the men of Kûfa,
impatient at the prospect of falling under the rule of Syria, rallied
beneath their new Caliph’s standard, and an army forty thousand strong
was ready to repel the attack.[571] But Hasan had no stomach for the
war. Sending forward his vanguard of twelve thousand men under the
brave and faithful Cays, he followed himself irresolutely; and, with
the bulk of his army, rested at Medâin amidst the luxurious gardens of
the old Persian Court.[572] While thus ignobly holding back, the report
gained currency at Medâin that Cays had been defeated on the plains of
Mesopotamia, and slain. An émeute ensued. The troops rose mutinously
upon the Caliph. They rushed into his sumptuous pavilion, and plundered
the royal tents even to the carpets. A project was set on foot to seize
his person, and, by delivering him up to Muâvia, thus make favourable
terms. The faint-hearted Caliph, alarmed at these demonstrations,
took refuge in the Great White Palace, a more congenial residence for
him than the martial camp; and, trusting no longer to his fickle and
disloyal people, sent letters to Muâvia offering to submit. [Sidenote:
abdicates in favour of Muâvia July, A.D. 661.]Hasan agreed to
abdicate and retire to Medîna, on condition that he should retain the
contents of the treasury, five million pieces; that he should receive
for his support the revenues of a Persian district; and further, that
the imprecation against his father should be dropped from the public
prayers. Muâvia granted the first two requests; and as for the third,
he consented that no prayer against Aly should be recited within
hearing of his son. The truce was ratified accordingly on the 24th day
of Rabî I.
After a brief and inglorious reign of only five or six months, Hasan,
with his household and belongings, retired to the Hejâz. The people of
Kûfa, we are told, wept at their departure. But Hasan left them without
regret. It was a race, he said, in whom no trust could be reposed, and
who had set purpose neither for good nor for evil.[573]
[Sidenote: Cays submits to Muâvia.]
Cays, whose ability and prowess were worthy of a better cause, remained
for some little while longer in the field. But at length, having
obtained terms for all his soldiers who had been fighting on the side
of Aly, and there being no longer any master left to fight for, he laid
down his arms and recognised Muâvia as supreme.[574]
[Sidenote: Muâvia sole and undisputed Caliph.]
Thus, at last, Muâvia was able to make a triumphal entry into Kûfa.
Having received the homage of that city and of the Eastern provinces,
he returned to Syria sole and undisputed Caliph of Islam; and Damascus
thenceforth became the capital of the empire.
[Sidenote: Continued imprecation against the house of Aly.]
The imprecations against the memory of Aly, his house, and his
adherents, still formed part of the public service at Damascus. The
curse, indeed, continued to be so used throughout the whole period of
Omeyyad ascendency.[575]