Tarikh (al-Tabari) 3103
The year 196 AH
ذِكْرُ مَا فَعَلَهُ طَاهِرٌ بِالْأَهْوَازَ لَمَّا نَزَلَ طَاهِرٌ بِشَلَاشَانَ وَجَّهَ الْحُسَيْنَ بْنَ عُمَرَ الرُّسْتَمِيَّ إِلَى الْأَهْوَازِ وَأَمَرَهُ بِالْحَذَرِ، فَلَمَّا تَوَجَّهَ أَتَتْ طَاهِرًا عُيُونُهُ، فَأَخْبَرُوهُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ يَزِيدَ بْنِ حَاتِمٍ الْمُهَلَّبِيُّ، وَكَانَ عَامِلًا لِلْأَمِينِ عَلَى الْأَهْوَازِ، قَدْ تَوَجَّهَ فِي جَمْعٍ عَظِيمٍ يُرِيدُ جُنْدَيْسَابُورَ لِيَحْمِيَ الْأَهْوَازَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ طَاهِرٍ، فَدَعَا طَاهِرٌ عِدَّةً مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ، مِنْهُمْ: مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ طَالُوتَ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْعَلَاءِ، وَالْعَبَّاسُ بْنُ بُخَارَاخُذَاهَ وَغَيْرُهُمْ، وَأَمَرَهُمْ أَنْ يَجِدُّوا السَّيْرَ، حَتَّى يَتَّصِلَ أَوَّلُهُمْ بِآخِرِ أَصْحَابِ الرُّسْتَمِيِّ، فَإِنِ احْتَاجَ إِلَى مَدَدٍ أَمَدُّوهُ. فَسَارُوا حَتَّى شَارَفُوا الْأَهْوَازَ وَلَمْ يَلْقَوْا أَحَدًا، وَبَلَغَ خَبَرُهُمْ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ يَزِيدَ، فَسَارَ حَتَّى نَزَلَ عَسْكَرَ مُكْرَمٍ، وَصَيَّرَ الْعُمْرَانَ وَالْمَاءَ وَرَاءَ ظَهْرِهِ، وَتَخَوَّفَ طَاهِرٌ أَنْ يَعْجَلَ إِلَى أَصْحَابِهِ، فَأَمَدَّهُمْ بِقُرَيْشِ بْنِ شِبْلٍ، وَتَوَجَّهَ هُوَ بِنَفْسِهِ حَتَّى كَانَ قَرِيبًا مِنْهُمْ، وَسَيَّرَ الْحُسَيْنَ بْنَ عَلِيٍّ الْمَأْمُونِيَّ إِلَى قُرَيْشٍ وَالرُّسْتَمِيِّ، فَسَارَتْ تِلْكَ الْعَسَاكِرُ حَتَّى أَشْرَفُوا عَلَى مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ بِعَسْكَرِ مُكْرَمٍ، فَاسْتَشَارَ أَصْحَابَهُ فِي الْمُطَاوَلَةِ وَالْمُنَاجَزَةِ، فَأَشَارُوا عَلَيْهِ بِالرُّجُوعِ إِلَى الْأَهْوَازِ وَالتَّحَصُّنِ بِهَا، وَأَنْ يَسْتَدْعِيَ الْجُنْدَ مِنَ الْبَصْرَةِ وَقَوْمَهُ الْأَزْدَ، فَفَعَلَ ذَلِكَ، فَسَيَّرَ طَاهِرٌ وَرَاءَهُ قُرَيْشَ بْنَ شِبْلٍ، وَأَمَرَهُ بِمُبَادَرَتِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَتَحَصَّنَ بِالْأَهْوَازِ، فَسَبَقَهُ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ، وَوَصَلَ بَعْدَهُ بِيَوْمٍ قُرَيْشٌ، فَاقْتَتَلُوا قِتَالًا شَدِيدًا، فَالْتَفَتَ مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَى مَنْ مَعَهُ مِنْ مَوَالِيهِ، وَكَانَ أَصْحَابُهُ قَدْ رَجَعُوا عَنْهُ، فَقَالَ لِمَوَالِيهِ: مَا رَأْيُكُمْ ؟ إِنِّي أَرَى مَنْ مَعِي قَدِ انْهَزَمَ، وَلَسْتُ آمَنُ خِذْلَانَهُمْ، وَلَا أَرْجُو رَجْعَتَهُمْ، وَقَدْ عَزَمْتُ عَلَى النُّزُولِ وَالْقِتَالِ بِنَفْسِي حَتَّى يَقْضِيَ اللَّهُ بِمَا أَحَبَّ، فَمَنْ أَرَادَ الِانْصِرَافَ فَلْيَنْصَرِفْ، فَوَاللَّهِ لَئِنْ تَبْقَوْا أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ تَمُوتُوا. فَقَالُوا: وَاللَّهِ مَا أَنْصَفْنَاكَ إِذًا أَنْ تَكُونَ قَدْ أَعْتَقْتَنَا مِنَ الرِّقِّ، وَرَفَعْتَنَا مِنَ الضَّعَةِ، وَأَغْنَيْتَنَا بَعْدَ الْقِلَّةِ، ثُمَّ نَخْذُلُكَ عَلَى هَذِهِ الْحَالِ، فَلَعَنَ اللَّهُ الدُّنْيَا وَالْعَيْشَ بَعْدَكَ ! ثُمَّ نَزَلُوا فَعَرْقَبُوا دَوَابَّهُمْ، وَحَمَلُوا عَلَى أَصْحَابِ قُرَيْشٍ حَمْلَةً مُنْكَرَةً، فَأَكْثَرُوا فِيهِمُ الْقَتْلَ، وَقُتِلَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ الْمُهَلَّبِيُّ. وَاسْتَوْلَى طَاهِرٌ عَلَى الْأَهْوَازِ وَأَعْمَالِهَا، وَاسْتَعْمَلَ الْعُمَّالَ عَلَى الْيَمَامَةِ وَالْبَحْرِينِ وَعُمَانَ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْمَهَالِبَةِ، وَجُرِحَ فِي تِلْكَ الْوَقْعَةِ عِدَّةُ جِرَاحَاتٍ، وَقُطِعَتْ يَدُهُ: فَمَا لُمْتُ نَفْسِي غَيْرَ أَنِّي لَمْ أُطِقْ حَرَاكًا، وَأَنِّي كُنْتُ بِالضَّرْبِ مُثْخَنَا وَلَوْ سَلِمَتْ كَفَّايَ قَاتَلْتُ دُونَهُ وَضَارَبْتُ عَنْهُ الطَّاهِرِيَّ الْمُلَعَّنَا فَتًى لَا يَرَى أَنْ يَخْذُلَ السَّيْفَ فِي الْوَغَى إِذَا ادَّرَعَ الْهَيْجَاءَ فِي النَّقْعِ وَاكْتَنَى وَلَمَّا دَخَلَ ابْنُ أَبِي عُيَيْنَةَ الْمُهَلَّبِيُّ عَلَى طَاهِرٍ وَمَدَحَهُ، فَحِينَ انْتَهَى إِلَى قَوْلِهِ: مَا سَاءَ ظَنِّي إِلَّا بِوَاحِدَةٍ فِي الصَّدْرِ مَحْصُورَةٍ عَنِ الْكَلِمِ تَبَسَّمَ طَاهِرٌ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَمَا وَاللَّهِ سَاءَنِي مِنْ ذَلِكَ مَا سَاءَكَ، وَآلَمَنِي مَا آلَمَكَ، وَلَقَدْ كُنْتُ كَارِهًا لِمَا كَانَ، غَيْرَ أَنَّ الْحَتْفَ وَاقِعٌ، وَالْمَنَايَا نَازِلَةٌ، وَلَا بُدَّ مِنْ قَطْعِ الْأَوَاصِرِ وَالشُّكْرِ لِلْأَقَارِبِ فِي تَأْكِيدِ الْخِلَافَةِ، وَالْقِيَامِ بِحَقِّ الطَّاعَةِ. فَظَنَّ مَنْ حَضَرَ أَنَّهُ أَرَادَ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ يَزِيدَ بْنِ حَاتِمٍ.
Translation
✧ Mention of what Ṭāhir did at al-Ahwāz When Ṭāhir encamped at Shalāshān, he dispatched al-Ḥusayn b. ʿUmar al-Rustamī to al-Ahwāz and ordered him to be on his guard. When he set out, Ṭāhir's scouts came to him and informed him that Muḥammad b. Yazīd b. Ḥātim al-Muhallabī, who was governor of al-Ahwāz for al-Amīn, had set out with a great host intending Jundaysābūr in order to protect al-Ahwāz from Ṭāhir's men. Ṭāhir summoned a number of his companions, among them Muḥammad b. Ṭālūt, Muḥammad b. al-ʿAlāʾ, al-ʿAbbās b. Bukhārākhudhāh, and others, and ordered them to march quickly until their vanguard caught up with the rearguard of al-Rustamī's men, and if he needed reinforcement they should reinforce him. They marched until they approached al-Ahwāz without meeting anyone. News of them reached Muḥammad b. Yazīd, so he marched until he encamped at ʿAskar Mukram, placing the cultivated land and the water behind him. Ṭāhir feared that he might hasten against his companions, so he reinforced them with Quraysh b. Shibl and set out himself until he was near them. He sent al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī al-Maʾmūnī to Quraysh and al-Rustamī. Those troops marched until they looked down upon Muḥammad b. Yazīd at ʿAskar Mukram. He consulted his companions about drawing things out or engaging immediately, and they advised him to return to al-Ahwāz and fortify himself there, and to summon troops from al-Baṣrah and his people, al-Azd. He did so. Ṭāhir sent Quraysh b. Shibl after him and ordered him to overtake him before he fortified himself in al-Ahwāz. Muḥammad b. Yazīd reached it ahead of him, and Quraysh arrived a day later. They fought a fierce battle. Muḥammad turned to his mawālī who were with him—his other companions had deserted him—and said to his mawālī: "What do you think? I see that those with me have fled. I do not trust that they will not abandon me, nor do I hope for their return. I have resolved to dismount and fight in person until God decrees what He wills. Whoever wishes to depart, let him depart. By God, if you remain alive, that is dearer to me than your dying." They said: "By God, we would not be treating you fairly if, after you had freed us from bondage, raised us from lowliness, and made us rich after poverty, we were to abandon you in this state. May God curse this world and life after you!" Then they dismounted, hamstrung their mounts, and launched a fierce charge against Quraysh's men, killing many of them. Muḥammad b. Yazīd al-Muhallabī was killed. Ṭāhir took control of al-Ahwāz and its districts, and appointed governors over al-Yamāmah, al-Baḥrayn, and ʿUmān. One of the Muhallabids, who was wounded several times in that battle and whose hand was cut off, said: I blamed not myself except that I could not move, And that I was heavily wounded by blows; Had my two hands been sound, I would have fought in his defense And struck on his behalf the accursed Ṭāhirid— A youth who deemed it shameful to fail the sword in battle When he donned the armor of war amid the dust and took a kunyah. When Ibn Abī ʿUyaynah al-Muhallabī entered upon Ṭāhir and praised him, and reached his saying: My thoughts were not ill save for one matter Confined in my breast, unable to be spoken, Ṭāhir smiled, then said: "By God, what distressed you distressed me, and what pained you pained me. I was averse to what happened, except that death is certain and fates descend, and one must sever ties and forgo gratitude to kinsfolk in affirming the caliphate and upholding the duty of obedience." Those present thought he meant Muḥammad b. Yazīd b. Ḥātim.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.