Tarikh (al-Tabari) 3990
Then the year 332 AH began
ذِكْرُ مَسِيرِ الْمَرْزُبَانِ إِلَيْهِمْ، وَالظَّفَرِ بِهِمْ لَمَّا فَعَلَ الرُّوسُ بِأَهْلِ بَرْدَعَةَ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ، اسْتَعْظَمَهُ الْمُسْلِمُونَ، وَتَنَادَوْا بِالنَّفِيرِ، وَجَمَعَ الْمَرْزُبَانُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ النَّاسَ وَاسْتَنْفَرَهُمْ، فَبَلَغَ عِدَّةُ مَنْ مَعَهُ ثَلَاثِينَ أَلْفًا، وَسَارَ بِهِمْ فَلَمْ يُقَاوِمِ الرُّوسِيَّةَ، وَكَانَ يُغَادِيهُمُ الْقِتَالَ وَيُرَاوِحُهُمْ، فَلَا يَعُودُ إِلَّا مَفْلُولًا، فَبَقُوا كَذَلِكَ أَيَّامًا كَثِيرَةً، وَكَانَ الرُّوسِيَّةُ قَدْ تَوَجَّهُوا نَحْوَ مَرَاغَةَ، فَأَكْثَرُوا مِنْ أَكْلِ الْفَوَاكِهِ، فَأَصَابَهُمُ الْوَبَاءُ، وَكَثُرَتِ الْأَمْرَاضُ وَالْمَوْتُ فِيهِمْ. وَلَمَّا طَالَ الْأَمْرُ عَلَى الْمَرْزُبَانِ، أَعْمَلَ الْحِيلَةَ، فَرَأَى أَنْ يَكْمُنَ كَمِينًا، ثُمَّ يَلْقَاهُمْ فِي عَسْكَرِهِ، وَيَتَطَارَدَ لَهُمْ، فَإِذَا خَرَجَ الْكَمِينُ عَادَ عَلَيْهِمْ، فَتَقَدَّمَ إِلَى أَصْحَابِهِ بِذَلِكَ، وَرَتَّبَ الْكَمِينَ ثُمَّ لَقِيَهُمْ، ( وَاقْتَتَلُوا، فَتَطَارَدَ لَهُمُ الْمَرْزُبَانُ وَأَصْحَابُهُ، وَتَبِعَهُمُ الرُّوسِيَّةُ ) حَتَّى جَازَوْا مَوْضِعَ الْكَمِينِ، فَاسْتَمَرَّ النَّاسُ عَلَى هَزِيمَتِهِمْ لَا يَلْوِي أَحَدٌ عَلَى أَحَدٍ. فَحَكَى الْمَرْزُبَانُ، قَالَ: صِحْتُ بِالنَّاسِ لِيَرْجِعُوا، فَلَمْ يَفْعَلُوا لِمَا تَقَدَّمَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مِنْ هَيْبَةِ الرُّوسِيَّةِ، فَعَلِمْتُ أَنَّهُ إِنِ اسْتَمَرَّ النَّاسُ عَلَى الْهَزِيمَةِ، قَتَلَ الرُّوسُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ، ثُمَّ عَادُوا إِلَى الْكَمِينِ ( فَفَطِنُوا بِهِمْ )، فَقَتَلُوهُمْ عَنْ آخِرِهِمْ. قَالَ: فَرَجَعْتُ وَحْدِي، وَتَبِعَنِي أَخِي وَصَاحِبِي، وَوَطَّنْتُ نَفْسِي عَلَى الشَّهَادَةِ، فَحِينَئِذٍ عَادَ أَكْثَرُ الدَّيْلَمِ اسْتِحْيَاءً فَرَجَعُوا وَقَاتَلْنَاهُمْ، وَنَادَيْنَا بِالْكَمِينِ بِالْعَلَامَةِ بَيْنَنَا، فَخَرَجُوا مِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ، وَصَدَقْنَاهُمُ الْقِتَالَ، فَقَتَلْنَا مِنْهُمْ خَلْقًا كَثِيرًا مِنْهُمْ أَمِيرُهُمْ، وَالْتَجَأَ الْبَاقُونَ إِلَى حِصْنِ الْبَلَدِ، وَيُسَمَّى شِهْرِسْتَانَ، وَكَانُوا قَدْ نَقَلُوا إِلَيْهِ مِيرَةً كَثِيرَةً، وَجَعَلُوا مَعَهُمُ السَّبْيَ وَالْأَمْوَالَ، فَحَاصَرَهُمُ الْمَرْزُبَانُ وَصَابَرَهُمْ، فَأَتَاهُ الْخَبَرُ بِأَنَّ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْحُسَيْنَ بْنَ سَعِيدِ بْنِ حَمْدَانَ قَدْ سَارَ إِلَى أَذْرَبِيجَانَ، ( وَأَنَّهُ وَاصِلٌ إِلَى سَلْمَاسَ، وَكَانَ ابْنُ عَمِّهِ نَاصِرُ الدَّوْلَةِ قَدْ سَيَّرَهُ لِيَسْتَوْلِيَ عَلَى أَذْرَبِيجَانَ )، فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ الْخَبَرُ إِلَى الْمَرْزُبَانِ، تَرَكَ عَلَى الرُّوسِيَّةِ مَنْ يُحَاصِرُهُمْ وَسَارَ إِلَى ابْنِ حَمْدَانَ، فَاقْتَتَلُوا، ثُمَّ نَزَلَ الثَّلْجُ، فَتَفَرَّقَ أَصْحَابُ ابْنِ حَمْدَانَ ; لِأَنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ أَعْرَابٌ، ثُمَّ أَتَاهُ كِتَابُ نَاصِرِ الدَّوْلَةِ يُخْبِرُهُ بِمَوْتِ تُوزُونَ، وَأَنَّهُ يُرِيدُ الِانْحِدَارَ إِلَى بَغْدَاذَ وَيَأْمُرُهُ بِالْعَوْدِ إِلَيْهِ، فَرَجَعَ. وَأَمَّا أَصْحَابُ الْمَرْزُبَانِ فَإِنَّهُمْ أَقَامُوا يُقَاتِلُونَ الرُّوسِيَّةَ، ( وَزَادَ الْوَبَاءُ عَلَى الرُّوسِيَّةِ ) ( فَكَانُوا إِذَا دَفَنُوا الرَّجُلَ، دَفَنُوا مَعَهُ سِلَاحَهُ، فَاسْتَخْرَجَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ شَيْئًا ) كَثِيرًا بَعْدَ انْصِرَافِ الرُّوسِ. ثُمَّ إِنَّهُمْ خَرَجُوا مِنَ الْحِصْنِ لَيْلًا وَقَدْ حَمَلُوا عَلَى ظُهُورِهِمْ مَا أَرَادُوا مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَغَيْرِهَا، وَمَضَوْا إِلَى الْكَرِّ، وَرَكِبُوا فِي سُفُنِهِمْ وَمَضَوْا، وَعَجَزَ أَصْحَابُ الْمَرْزُبَانِ عَنِ اتِّبَاعِهِمْ وَأَخْذِ مَا مَعَهُمْ، فَتَرَكُوهُمْ وَطَهَّرَ اللَّهُ الْبِلَادَ مِنْهُمْ.
Translation
✧ Mention of the march of al-Marzubān against them and the victory over them When the Rūs did to the people of Bardhaʿa what we have mentioned, the Muslims regarded it as a grave matter, and they called out for a general mobilization. Al-Marzubān b. Muḥammad gathered the people and summoned them to arms, and the number of those with him reached thirty thousand. He marched with them but did not engage the Rūsiyya in a pitched battle. He used to attack them in the morning and take turns fighting them, returning only after being broken. They remained thus for many days. The Rūsiyya had headed toward Marāgha and eaten much fruit, so an epidemic struck them, and illness and death became widespread among them. When the affair grew long for al-Marzubān, he employed a stratagem, deciding to set an ambush, then meet them with his army and feign flight before them. When the ambush came out, he would turn back upon them. He instructed his companions accordingly, arranged the ambush, and then met them. They fought, and al-Marzubān and his companions feigned flight before them, and the Rūsiyya pursued them until they passed the place of the ambush, but the people continued in their flight, no one turning to another. Al-Marzubān related, saying: I shouted at the people to return, but they did not do so because of what had taken root in their hearts of awe of the Rūsiyya. I knew that if the people continued in flight, the Rūs would kill most of them, and then they would return to the ambush and become aware of them, and would kill them to the last man. He said: So I returned alone, followed by my brother and my companion, and I resolved myself upon martyrdom. Then most of the Daylamites turned back out of shame and returned, and we fought them. We called out to the ambush with the signal agreed upon between us, and they came out from behind them. We fought them in earnest and killed a great number of them, among them their commander. The rest took refuge in the citadel of the town, called Shahristān. They had transferred to it abundant provisions and placed with them the captives and the wealth. Al-Marzubān besieged them and endured patiently against them. Then news came to him that Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn b. Saʿīd b. Ḥamdān had marched to Adharbayjān and that he was arriving at Salmās. His cousin Nāṣir al-Dawla had sent him to seize control of Adharbayjān. When the news reached al-Marzubān, he left those who were besieging the Rūsiyya and marched against Ibn Ḥamdān. They fought, then snow fell, and the companions of Ibn Ḥamdān scattered, for most of them were Bedouins. Then a letter from Nāṣir al-Dawla came to him informing him of the death of Tūzūn and that he intended to go down to Baghdādh, and ordering him to return to him, so he went back. As for al-Marzubān's companions, they remained fighting the Rūsiyya, and the epidemic increased upon the Rūsiyya. When they buried a man, they buried his weapons with him, and the Muslims extracted from that a great deal after the departure of the Rūs. Then they came out of the citadel at night, having loaded on their backs what they wanted of the wealth and other things, and went to the Kurr, embarked on their ships, and departed. Al-Marzubān's companions were unable to pursue them or seize what they had, so they left them, and God purified the lands of them.
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