accompanied by Fadhl ibn Sahl as his vezir, with orders to establish himself in Merv and to send Harthama to attack Rafi', who had established his camp in Bokhārā and was now practically master of Transoxiana. Meanwhile the Caliph, who was suffering from a severe malady,1 was advancing by slower stages towards Khorāsān with the main body of his army. On reaching Tūs the symptoms became more acute, and on the 3rd of Jumāda II. 193 (24th March 809), the great Caliph succumbed at the early age of forty-five, and was buried in that town.

1 Its exact nature is not known, but it was probably the fruits of a life of reckless dissipation.

CHAPTER XIII

DECLINE OF THE CALIPHS' AUTHORITY IN
KHORĀSĀN. THE TAHIRIDES

ON the death of Härün er-Rashid, A.H. 193 (809), a serious dispute arose between his two sons, Amin and Ma'mun. The former, probably on the advice of his vezir, Fadhl ibn Rabi'a,' ordered the army, which was at Tūs, to return to Baghdad. This act was not only unfriendly towards his brother, but was also in direct contravention of his father's will. Ma'mun, in retaliation, put a stop to all postal communication between Baghdad and the East, and assumed the title of Caliph over a kingdom which extended from Hamadān to Tibet, and from the Caspian to the Persian Gulf. With the help of his able vezir, Fadhl ibn Sahl,2 he succeeded in establishing order throughout his realms. Meanwhile Harthama took Samarkand after a protracted siege; whereupon Rafi threw himself on Ma'mun's mercy and was pardoned, and thus peace was restored throughout Khorāsān. But the elements of civil disorder still held sway. While Amin, on the one hand, struck Ma'mun from the succession, the latter ordered the omission of his brother's name from the public prayers. Amin, angered at his rival's attitude, resolved on reducing him by force of arms. To this end

1 Cf. Zotenberg, op. cit. tome iv. p. 481.

2 He was minister of both the civil and military departments, and was hence known as Dhu-l-Riyāsatayn, or "Lord of the two Ministries."

he despatched 'Alī ibn 'Isā against him at the head of 50,000 men. On reaching Ray, A.H. 195 (810), he encountered Tahir, who had been posted there by Ma'mun to watch the frontier. In the battle that ensued 'Ali was slain in single combat by Tahir, and his army was put to flight. Tahir, in obedience to Ma'mun's orders, now marched on Baghdad, and with reinforcements brought by Harthama defeated all the armies sent to stop his progress. Having secured the submission of Arabia and Mesopotamia, he laid siege to Baghdad, and took the city by storm in A.H. 198 (813), after twelve months' investment. Amin made a vain attempt to escape, and was finally slain by a party of Persian soldiers.

Ma'mun, who was now the undisputed master of the Caliphate, made Merv his capital instead of removing to Baghdad. He took this fatal step, which gave offence to the people of the West generally, on the advice of Fadhl ibn Sahl; for Ma'mun, like his brother, was overruled by a selfish and masterful vezir. After the capture of Baghdad, Tahir placed himself at the head of affairs in that town; but the people soon rose against him to avenge the death of Amin. The revolt was quelled by the distribution of largesses, and all 'Irāk acknowledged Tahir's sway.1 It is impossible to enumerate the disorders which distracted Baghdad and the West, and the countless difficulties which Ma'mun had to face during the next few years. Suffice it to say that, in spite of repeated risings and conspiracies against the Caliph's authority, Ma'mun continued to be guided by the short-sighted counsels of his vezir, who, as a Persian 2 and a Shi'ite, was hated in the orthodox West. Not till A.H. 202 (817) did the monarch awaken to the dangers of the situation and set

1 Cf. Weil, Geschichte der Khalifen, voi. ii. p. 197.
He was called "the Magian, the son of a Magian,"

On reaching Sarakhs,

out from Merv to Baghdad. Fadhl, the real cause of all Ma'mūn's misfortunes, was murdered in his bath-it appears, at the instigation of his master. In A.H. 204 (817) Ma'mun entered Baghdad, and Tahir, who had during the recent troubles fallen into disfavour with the Caliph, was now appointed governor of Baghdad. He did not remain long in this office, for at his own request he was appointed to the viceroyalty of the East, A.H. 205 (818).1 With him the Caliph sent a confidential eunuch, who had orders to poison Tahir should he show any signs of insubordination. After a successful rule of two years Tahir suddenly omitted the Caliph's name in the weekly prayers, and on the following day he was found dead in his bed, A.H. 207 (822). But so great were the esteem and influence which the viceroy had gained in Khorasan, that the Caliph did not dare to take the governorship of that province out of the hands of Tahir's family. His two sons, Talha and 'Abdullah, did not inherit his turbulent character; and whilst 'Abdullah was fighting Ma'mun's battles in Mesopotamia and Egypt, his brother Talha governed the Eastern provinces (from A.H. 207-213 (822-828)) in the Caliph's name. His residence was Nīshāpūr, whence he exercised complete authority over Khorāsān, Tabaristan, and Transoxiana.

It is fitting in this place to revert to the rise of a family destined to play an important part in the East under the Tāhirides, and, after succeeding their former masters in the governorship of Khorasan, to found the first independent Mohammedan dynasty in Central Asia.

While Asad ibn 'Abdullah el-Kasri 2 held the governor

1 Ma'mun had conceived an aversion for Tahir (some authors say because Tahir reminded him of his brother Amin's death), and, being conscious of his, Tāhir naturally feared the proximity of the Caliph. He superseded a certain Ghassan, whom Ma'mun had left in charge of Khorasan,

2 Who died A.H. 166 (782).

ship of Khorāsān a certain nobleman of Balkh named Sāmān, who had been driven out of his native town, came to Asad in Merv and begged the governor to help him against his enemies. Asad warmly espoused his cause and succeeded in reinstating him in Balkh. Out of gratitude for this action, Sāmān, who had hitherto been a Zoroastrian,2 embraced Islam and named his son Asad after his protector. This Asad had four sons,

who rendered excellent services to Hārūn er-Rashid in quelling the revolt of Rafi' ibn Layth. Ma'mun, mindful of the obligations under which the sons of Asad had placed his father, ordered the then governor of Khorāsān, Ghassan ibn 'Abād, to give to each of them the government of a town. Thus in the year A.H. 202 (817) 5 Nūh, the eldest son, became Amir of Samarkand; Ahmed, Amir of Farghāna; Yahya, Amir of Shash (Tashkent) and Oshrūsana; and Ilyas, lord of Herāt. When, in A.H. 205, Ghassan was superseded by Tahir, these grants to the family of Saman were confirmed, and continued in the same hands until the downfall of the Tahirides and the rise of the Sāmānides to the supreme power in the East.

6

In A.H. 213 (828) Talha died and was succeeded by his son 'Ali, who, however, perished shortly afterwards in a conflict with the Khārijites near Nishāpūr. Ma'mūn thereupon sent Talha's brother 'Abdullah to Khorāsān

1 His full title was Sāmān-Khudāt, being lord of a village which he himself had built and given the name of Sāmān. He claimed descent from the Sāsānide Bahram Chūbin. Cf. Narshakhi, ed. Schefer, pp. 57, 58.

2 Vambéry (Bokhara, p. 55) notes that "the fact that Sāmān, whilst still a heretic, had held a command long after the Arab conquest, proves the small progress Islāmism had at first made among the followers of Zoroaster." 3 See above, p. 96.

4 See note I above, p. 100.

Narshakhi, ed. Schefer, reads absurdly 292!

• Cf. Mirkhwand, Historia Samanidarum, ed. Wilken, p. 3. Narshakhi says that Ahmed was made governor of Merv, but from what follows this

seems erroneous.