Tarikh (al-Tabari) 3519
The Year 268 AH
أَخْبَارِ الزَّنْجِ فِي سَنَةُ ثَمَانٍ وَسِتِّينَ وَمِائَتَيْنِ فِي الْمُحَرَّمِ خَرَجَ إِلَى الْمُوَفَّقِ مِنْ قُوَّادِ الْخَبِيثِ جَعْفَرُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْمَعْرُوفُ بِالسَّجَّانِ، وَكَانَ مِنْ ثِقَاتِ الْخَبِيثِ، فَارْتَاعَ لِذَلِكَ، وَخَلَعَ عَلَيْهِ الْمُوَفَّقُ، وَأَحْسَنَ إِلَيْهِ، وَحَمَلَهُ فِي سُمَيْرِيَّةٍ إِلَى إِزَاءِ قَصْرِ الْخَبِيثِ، فَكَلَّمَ النَّاسَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ، وَأَخْبَرَهُمْ أَنَّهُمْ فِي غُرُورٍ، وَأَعْلَمَهُمْ بِمَا وَقَفَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ كَذِبِ الْخَبِيثِ وَفُجُورِهِ، فَاسْتَأْمَنَ فِي ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ خَلْقٌ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ قُوَّادِ الزَّنْجِ وَغَيْرِهِمْ، فَأَحْسَنَ إِلَيْهِمُ الْمُوَفَّقُ، وَتَتَابَعَ النَّاسُ فِي طَلَبِ الْأَمَانِ. وَمَا زَالَ الْمُوَفَّقُ يَنْظُرُ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ مَوْضِعًا يَجْلِبُ مِنْهُ الْمِيرَةَ إِلَى بَلَدِ الْقَوْمِ فَيَمْنَعُهَا، حَتَّى ضَاقَ الْأَمْرُ بِهِمْ، حَتَّى أَكَلُوا لُحُومَ النَّاسِ، وَنَبَشُوا الْقُبُورَ فَأَكَلُوا لُحُومَ الْمَوْتَى، وَكَانَ الْمُسْتَأْمَنُ مِنْهُمْ يُسْأَلُ: كَمْ عَهْدُكُمْ بِالْخُبْزِ؟ فَيَقُولُ: سَنَةٌ وَسَنَتَانِ، فَلَمَّا رَأَى الْمُوَفَّقُ مَا قَدْ جَرَى عَلَيْهِمْ، رَأَى أَنْ يُتَابِعَ الْإِيقَاعَ بِهِمْ لِيَزِيدَهُمْ بِذَلِكَ ضُرًّا وَجُهْدًا. ثُمَّ أَقَامَ الْمُوَفَّقُ لَا يُحَارِبُ لِيُرِيحَ أَصْحَابَهُ إِلَى شَهْرِ رَبِيعٍ الْآخِرِ، فَلَمَّا انْتَصَفَ رَبِيعٌ الْآخِرُ قَصَدَ الْمُوَفَّقُ إِلَى مَدِينَةِ الْخَبِيثِ، وَفَرَّقَ قُوَّادَهُ عَلَى جِهَاتِهَا، وَجَعَلَ مَعَ كُلِّ طَائِفَةٍ مِنْهُمْ مِنَ النَّقَّابِينَ جَمَاعَةً لِهَدْمِ السُّورِ، وَتَقَدَّمَ إِلَى جَمِيعِهِمْ أَنْ لَا يَزِيدُوا عَلَى هَدْمِ السُّورِ، وَلَا يَدْخُلُوا الْمَدِينَةَ، وَتَقَدَّمَ إِلَى الرُّمَاةِ أَنْ يَحْمُوا بِالسِّهَامِ مَنْ يَهْدِمُ السُّورَ وَيَنْقُبُهُ، فَتَقَدَّمُوا إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ مِنْ جِهَاتِهَا وَقَابَلُوهَا، فَوَصَلُوا إِلَى السُّورِ، وَثَلَمُوهُ فِي مَوَاضِعَ كَثِيرَةٍ. ( وَدَخَلَ أَصْحَابُ الْمُوَفَّقِ مِنْ جَمِيعِ تِلْكَ الثُّلَمِ، وَجَاءَ أَصْحَابُ الْخَبِيثِ يُحَارِبُونَهُمْ )، فَهَزَمَهُمْ أَصْحَابُ الْمُوَفَّقِ وَتَبِعُوهُمْ حَتَّى أَوْغَلُوا فِي طَلَبِهِمْ، فَاخْتَلَفَتْ بِهِمْ طُرُقُ الْمَدِينَةِ، فَبَلَغُوا أَبْعَدَ مِنَ الْمَوْضِعِ الَّذِي وَصَلُوا إِلَيْهِ فِي الْمَرَّةِ الْأُولَى، وَأَحْرَقُوا، وَأَسَرُوا، وَتَرَاجَعَ الزَّنْجُ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَخَرَجَ الْكُمَنَاءُ مِنْ مَوَاضِعَ يَعْرِفُونَهَا وَيَجْهَلُهَا الْآخَرُونَ، فَتَحَيَّرُوا، وَدَافَعُوا عَنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ، وَتَرَاجَعُوا نَحْوَ دِجْلَةَ بَعْدَ أَنْ قُتِلَ مِنْهُمْ جَمَاعَةٌ، وَأَخَذَ الزَّنْجُ أَسْلَابَهُمْ. وَرَجَعَ الْمُوَفَّقُ إِلَى مَدِينَتِهِ، وَأَمَرَ بِجَمْعِهِمْ، فَلَامَهُمْ عَلَى مُخَالَفَةِ أَمْرِهِ، وَالْإِفْسَادِ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ رَأْيِهِ وَتَدْبِيرِهِ، وَأَمَرَ بِإِحْصَاءِ مَنْ فُقِدَ، وَأَقَرَّ مَا كَانَ لَهُمْ مِنْ رِزْقٍ عَلَى أَوْلَادِهِمْ وَأَهْلِيهِمْ، فَحَسُنَ ذَلِكَ عِنْدَهُمْ، وَزَادَ فِي صِحَّةِ نِيَّاتِهِمْ.
Translation
✧ Reports on the Zanj In the year two hundred and sixty-eight, in al-Muḥarram, one of the commanders of the Evil One, Jaʿfar b. Ibrāhīm, known as al-Sajjān, went over to al-Muwaffaq. He had been one of the Evil One's trusted men, and he was alarmed at that. Al-Muwaffaq bestowed a robe of honour upon him and treated him well, and carried him in a sumayriyyah to a position facing the palace of the Evil One. He spoke to the people among his companions and informed them that they were in a state of delusion, and acquainted them with what he had found out about the lies and profligacy of the Evil One. On that day a great many of the commanders of the Zanj and others sought a guarantee of safe-conduct, and al-Muwaffaq treated them well, and people came one after another seeking amnesty. Al-Muwaffaq continued each day to look for a place from which provisions were being brought into the country of the people, and he would block them, until the situation became dire for them, until they ate human flesh and dug up graves and ate the flesh of the dead. Those of them who sought safe-conduct would be asked: 'How long is it since you had bread?' and he would say: 'A year, or two years.' When al-Muwaffaq saw what had befallen them, he decided to continue striking at them, in order to add thereby to their hardship and distress. Then al-Muwaffaq remained without fighting, to give his men rest, until the month of Rabīʿ al-Ākhir. When the middle of Rabīʿ al-Ākhir arrived, al-Muwaffaq advanced toward the city of the Evil One, and distributed his commanders around its sides, and placed with each group of them a body of sappers to demolish the wall. He ordered all of them not to go beyond demolishing the wall and not to enter the city. He ordered the archers to protect with arrows those who were demolishing and breaching the wall. They advanced toward the city from its sides and confronted it, and reached the wall and breached it in many places. (And al-Muwaffaq's men entered through all those breaches, and the Evil One's men came to fight them), and al-Muwaffaq's men routed them and pursued them until they went deep in pursuit of them. The roads of the city confused them, and they reached farther than the place they had reached the first time. They burned, and took captives. The Zanj turned back upon them, and those lying in ambush came out from places they knew and which the others did not know. They were bewildered, and they defended themselves and fell back toward the Tigris after a number of them had been killed, and the Zanj took their spoils. Al-Muwaffaq returned to his city, and ordered them to be assembled, and reproached them for disobeying his command and for spoiling his judgment and plan. He ordered a count of those who were missing, and he confirmed the stipends they had received for their children and dependents. This pleased them and increased the soundness of their intentions.
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