During the next year, the pursuit of Yazdijird was followed up into Khurásán under 'Abdu-lla bin 'Ámar, then governor of Basra, after obtaining the permission of the Khalif to advance into that country. The southern provinces of the Caspian not having yet been finally conquered, it was considered the more feasible route to march by way of Fárs and the borders of Kirmán, and so advance through the desert. A rebellion which then existed in the latter province was quelled by a detachment of one thousand horse under Mujáshia. Rabí' bin Ziyád Hárisí was, at the same time, despatched to secure the obedience of Sijistán, in which province he received the sub­mission of the metropolis, Zaranj; and 'Abdu-lla himself, having compelled the city of Tabbas to surrender on capitulation, entered the Kohistán, where he met with a sturdy resistance; but ultimately, with the assistance of Ahnaf bin Kais, he took Hirát, Sarakhs, Tálikán, Balkh, Tukháristán, and Naishápúr, and brought the whole province of Khurásán under subjection.*

Firishta attributes to the following year a proselyting expedition to the eastward, which is said to have been despatched from Bagh-dád; but as that town was not built for more than a century after­wards, no great value can attach to his sources of information. Baghdád did not become the seat of the Khiláfat till the time of Abú Ja'far Al Mansúr, in 148 A.H. 765 A.D. The three first Khalifs established themselves at Medína. 'Ali, in 36 H., chose Kúfa as his metropolis; and in 41 H., the Ummayides constituted Damascus their capital: and so it continued during the whole period of their dynasty, which expired in 132 H., when Abú-l Abbás seated himself at Anbár, on the Euphrates;* and his successor, Al Mansúr, after remaining a few years at Háshimíya, in the same neighbourhood, finally established himself at Baghdád, where the seat of the Khilá-fat continued, with occasional transfers to Sámarrá, till its extinction by Hulákú in 656 H.—1258 A.D.

The same kind of error frequently occurs in Persian authors respecting the government of 'Irák, or of the two 'Iráks, 'Arabí and 'Ajamí, in writing of the period treated of in this note. It was seldom that the government of the two 'Iráks, and rarely that the whole of even 'Irák-i 'Arabí, was centred in the same individual. This province, which may be considered to correspond with Baby­lonia, contained the two chief military cantonments of Kúfa and Basra. The former town was of some antiquity, and the seat of an Arabian prince before the time of Muhammad; but the latter was founded in A.H. 15, chiefly with the view of interrupting the com­munication with the Persian Gulph, and preventing the flight of the royal family of Persia by the sea route to India.*

It was not till the time of Mu'áwiya, that these two important places were entrusted to the charge of one person. By him their government was bestowed upon his bastard brother, Ziyád, of whom we shall find frequent mention in the following paragraphs. By the succeeding Khalif they were, after some interval, conferred upon 'Ubaidu-lla bin Ziyád.* The two governments were once more combined in the person of Hajjáj, who was invested with greater power than any of his predecessors.*

To revert to the eastern conquests—Dárábgard, which together with Fasá was taken in 23 H., subsequently revolted, and was again taken in 28 H.*

Abdu-lla 'Ámar, who was a cousin of the Khalif, and had suc­ceeded the popular Abú Músá Asha'rí in the government of Basra, thinking the opportunity favourable for extending the Muhammadan conquests in the east, obtained permission to detach Hakím bin Jaballa al 'Abdí to explore Sijistán and Makrán, as well as the countries bordering on the valley of the Indus; but it appears that Hakím reported so unfavourably of the vast regions which he examined, that all idea of conquest in that direction was aban­doned.—“Water is scarce, the fruits are poor, and the robbers are bold. If few troops are sent there they will be slain; if many, they will starve” (supra, p. 116). The discord which prevailed among the Musulmáns after the death of 'Usmán, was an additional reason for not prosecuting any adventures in so remote a region; but private adventure does not seem to have been debarred, and was, no doubt, prosecuted under the tacit consent of the Khalif.*

'Alí,	A.H. 35-40.	A.D. 655-660.
Hasan,	A.H. 40-41.	A.D. 660-661.

Under the succeeding reign of 'Alí, it is related, on the authority of 'Ámar bin Háris bin 'Abdu-l Kais, that Tághar bin Dá'ir was appointed to the charge of the frontier of Hind, and an army was placed under his command, comprising a select body of nobles and chiefs. Towards the close of the year 38 H., they marched by way of Bahraj and Koh-Páya, obtaining on the road great booty and many slaves, until they reached the mountains of Kaikán, or Kai­kánán, where they met with a stout resistance from the inhabitants, of whom no less than twenty thousand had assembled to intercept their progress through the passes. But when the Arabs shouted out “Alláhu akbar,” and their voices re-echoed from the hills to the right and left, the infidels, hearing these shouts of triumph, were confounded and alarmed. Some came forward and embraced Islám' and the rest took precipitately to flight. From that time to the present, says the credulous author, voices proclaiming that God is great, “Alláhu akbar,” are heard at the same season throughout these mountains. It was upon this occasion that Háris bin Marra, distinguished himself by his bravery. “They were engaged in this victory when they were informed of the martyrdom of 'Alí; and on their return, when they arrived at Makrán, they learnt that Mu'áwiya bin Abí Sufyán, was Khalif.*

This is, no doubt, the same expedition which Biládurí (p. 116) attributes to Harab bin Marra Al 'Abdí,—that is, a man of the ancient and powerful tribe of 'Abdu-l Kais (the Abucœi of Ptolemy), which was established in Bahrain, and devoted itself chiefly to piracies on the high seas. The same country has always been pro­lific of such enterprises, until they were effectually repressed by the British Government in India. The name of Al 'Abdí shows that the preceding narrative is founded on the authority of a member of that tribe, and 'Ámar, being perhaps a son of the very Háris, the hero of the story, family pride may have suppressed all notice of the defeat. Harab's adventure commenced and ended at the same times which are mentioned in the preceding paragraph, but the result is represented very differently. At the opening of the cam­paign, he was so successful, that in a single day he divided one thousand captives amongst his adherents. nevertheless, he was in the end completely defeated in the country of Kaikán, and only a few Arabs survived to tell the tale of their disasters.

Col. Tod mentions that the generals of 'Alí made conquests within the kingdom of Sind itself, which were abandoned at that Khalif's death; but he does not give his authority for this improbable statement.*

DYNASTY OF THE UMMAYIDES.

A.H. 41-132. A.D. 661-750.

1. Mu'áwiya,

A.H. 41-60.

A.D. 661-679.

Under the Khiláfat of Mu'áwiya, the first of the Ummayides, we are informed by a respectable authority, that 'Abdu-r Rahmán con­quered Sind in the year 42 H.* It seems, however, probable that the expedition here alluded to is the one which occurred two years later, under Muhallab, one of 'Abdu-r Rahmán's officers, and which is more fully recorded in a subsequent Note upon the advances of the Arabs on the Kábul frontier.