Part 22 (1/2)
”O people of Kufa! I see heads that are ripe for cutting, and I am the man to do it; and methinks, I see blood between the turbans and beards.”[374] The rest of his speech was in keeping with the commencement. He used no idle threats, as the malcontents soon found out. Rebellion, which had been rampant before his arrival, was rapidly extinguished. ”He restored order in 'Iraq and subdued its people.”[375]
For twenty years his despotic rule gave peace and security to the Eastern world. Cruel he may have been, though the tales of his bloodthirstiness are beyond doubt grossly exaggerated, but it should be put to his credit that he established and maintained the settled conditions which afford leisure for the cultivation of learning. Under his protection the Koran and Traditions were diligently studied both in Kufa and Ba?ra, where many Companions of the Prophet had made their home: hence arose in Ba?ra the science of Grammar, with which, as we shall see in a subsequent page, the name of that city is peculiarly a.s.sociated. ?ajjaj shared the literary tastes of his sovereign; he admired the old poets and patronised the new; he was a master of terse eloquence and plumed himself on his elegant Arabic style. The most hated man of his time, he lives in history as the savage oppressor and butcher of G.o.d-fearing Moslems. He served the Umayyads well and faithfully, and when he died in 714 A.D. he left behind him nothing but his Koran, his arms, and a few hundred pieces of silver.
[Sidenote: Walid (705-715 A.D.).]
[Sidenote: Moslem conquests in the East.]
[Sidenote: Conquest of Spain (711-713 A.D.).]
It was a common saying at Damascus that under Walid people talked of fine buildings, under Sulayman of cookery and the fair s.e.x, while in the reign of 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz the Koran and religion formed favourite topics of conversation.[376] Of Walid's pa.s.sion for architecture we have a splendid monument in the Great Mosque of Damascus (originally the Cathedral of St. John), which is the princ.i.p.al sight of the city to this day. He spoke Arabic very incorrectly, and though his father rebuked him, observing that ”in order to rule the Arabs one must be proficient in their language,” he could never learn to express himself with propriety.[377] The unbroken peace which now prevailed within the Empire enabled Walid to resume the work of conquest. In the East his armies invaded Transoxania, captured Bokhara and Samarcand, and pushed forward to the Chinese frontier. Another force crossed the Indus and penetrated as far as Multan, a renowned centre of pilgrimage in the Southern Punjaub, which fell into the hands of the Moslems after a prolonged siege. But the most brilliant advance, and the richest in its results, was that in the extreme West, which decided the fate of Spain. Although the Moslems had obtained a footing in Northern Africa some thirty years before this time, their position was always precarious, until in 709 Musa b. Nu?ayr completely subjugated the Berbers, and extended not only the dominion but also the faith of Islam to the Atlantic Ocean. Two years later his freedman ?ariq crossed the straits and took possession of the commanding height, called by the ancients Calpe, but henceforth known as Jabal ?ariq (Gibraltar). Roderic, the last of the West Gothic dynasty, gathered an army in defence of his kingdom, but there were traitors in the camp, and, though he himself fought valiantly, their defection turned the fortunes of the day. The king fled, and it was never ascertained what became of him. ?ariq, meeting with feeble resistance, marched rapidly on Toledo, while Musa, whose jealousy was excited by the triumphal progress of his lieutenant, now joined in the campaign, and, storming city after city, reached the Pyrenees. The conquest of Spain, which is told by Moslem historians with many romantic circ.u.mstances, marks the nearest approach that the Arabs ever made to World-Empire. Their advance on French soil was finally hurled back by Charles the Hammer's great victory at Tours (732 A.D.).
[Sidenote: 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz (717-720 A.D.).]
Before taking leave of the Umayyads we must not forget to mention 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz, a ruler who stands out in singular contrast with his predecessors, and whose brief reign is regarded by many Moslems as the sole bright spot in a century of G.o.dless and bloodstained tyranny. There had been nothing like it since the days of his ill.u.s.trious namesake and kinsman,[378] 'Umar b. al-Kha??ab, and we shall find nothing like it in the future history of the Caliphate. Plato desired that every king should be a philosopher: according to Mu?ammadan theory every Caliph ought to be a saint. 'Umar satisfied these aspirations. When he came to the throne the following dialogue is said to have occurred between him and one of his favourites, Salim al-Suddi:--
'Umar: ”Are you glad on account of my accession, or sorry?”
Salim: ”I am glad for the people's sake, but sorry for yours.”
'Umar: ”I fear that I have brought perdition upon my soul.”
Salim: ”If you are afraid, very good. I only fear that you may cease to be afraid.”
'Umar: ”Give me a word of counsel.”
Salim: ”Our father Adam was driven forth from Paradise because of one sin.”[379]
Poets and orators found no favour at his court, which was thronged by divines and men of ascetic life.[380] He warned his governors that they must either deal justly or go. He would not allow political considerations to interfere with his ideal of righteousness, but, as Wellhausen points out, he had practical ends in view: his piety made him anxious for the common weal no less than for his own salvation. Whether he administered the State successfully is a matter of dispute. It has been generally supposed that his financial reforms were Utopian in character and disastrous to the Exchequer.[381] However this may be, he showed wisdom in seeking to bridge the menacing chasm between Islam and the Imperial house. Thus, _e.g._, he did away with the custom which had long prevailed of cursing 'Ali from the pulpit at Friday prayers. The policy of conciliation was tried too late, and for too short a s.p.a.ce, to be effective; but it was not entirely fruitless. When, on the overthrow of the Umayyad dynasty, the tombs of the hated 'tyrants' were defiled and their bodies disinterred, 'Umar's grave alone was respected, and Mas'udi ( 956 A.D.) tells us that in his time it was visited by crowds of pilgrims.
[Sidenote: Hisham and Walid II.]
The remaining Umayyads do not call for particular notice. Hisham ranks as a statesman with Mu'awiya and 'Abdu 'l-Malik: the great 'Abbasid Caliph, Man?ur, is said to have admired and imitated his methods of government.[382] Walid II was an incorrigible libertine, whose songs celebrating the forbidden delights of wine have much merit. The eminent poet and freethinker, Abu 'l-'Ala al-Ma'arri, quotes these verses by him[383]:--
[Sidenote: Verses by Walid II (743-4 A.D.).]
”The Imam Walid am I! In all my glory Of trailing robes I listen to soft lays.
When proudly I sweep on towards her chamber, I care not who inveighs.
There's no true joy but lending ear to music, Or wine that leaves one sunk in stupor dense.
Houris in Paradise I do not look for: Does any man of sense?”
Let us now turn from the monarchs to their subjects.
[Sidenote: Political and religious movements of the period.]
In the first place we shall speak of the political and religious parties, whose opposition to the Umayyad House gradually undermined its influence and in the end brought about its fall. Some account will be given of the ideas for which these parties fought and of the causes of their discontent with the existing _regime_. Secondly, a few words must be said of the theological and more purely religious sects--the Mu'tazilites, Murjites, and ?ufis; and, lastly, of the extant literature, which is almost exclusively poetical, and its leading representatives.
[Sidenote: The Arabs of 'Iraq.]
The opposition to the Umayyads was at first mainly a question of politics. Mu'awiya's accession announced the triumph of Syria over 'Iraq, and Damascus, instead of Kufa, became the capital of the Empire.