When 'Abdu-l Malik, the son of Marwán, ascended the throne, his dominions were circumscribed within the limits of Syria and Palestine, rebellion being rife in the various provinces. The east was especially affected by these internal commotions. Kúfa was in the hands of Muktár and the Shí'ites, who had taken up arms to avenge the death of Husain, the son of 'Alí. The Azárikans, or followers of Náfi' ibn Azrak, had established themselves in the provinces of Fárs, Kirmán, and Ahwáz; and Arabia and Khurásán obeyed 'Abdu-lla ibn Zubair, the rival claimant of the Khiláfat, who was in possession of Mecca. Within eight years after ascending the throne, 'Abdu-l Malik triumphed successively over all his enemies, re-established the authority of the Ummayides over the Muhammadan empire, and began to restore the foreign relations of Islám, which had greatly declined during the early vicissitudes of his reign.
'Ubaidu-lla bin Ziyád, one of the ablest of his generals, invaded the territory of Kúfa, but was defeated and slain, in 67 H., by the army which advanced against him under Muktár. This disaster was not retrieved till four years afterwards, by 'Abdu-l Malik's obtaining possession of Kúfa. Meanwhile, Muhallab had defeated the Azárikans, whom he had pursued into the very heart of Kirmán, and deprived them of their conquests in Fárs and Ahwáz. He then deserted 'Abdu-lla's cause, and submitted to 'Abdu-l Malik. Khurásán was obtained by similar corruption and treachery, and 'Abdu-lla was slain at Mecca by the army commanded by Hajjáj bin Yúsuf Sakifí. Thenceforward, 'Abdu-l Malik had leisure to attend to the extension of the empire towards the east.
To this especial object was directed his nomination of his successful general, Hajjáj, to be governor of 'Irák, who commenced his rule by conferring the charge of Makrán upon Sa'íd bin Aslam Kalábí. Sa'íd, however, had unfortunately to encounter the rivalry of Mu'áwiya and Muhammad, the sons of Haras, surnamed the 'Alláfí, from the title of 'Alláf, which was borne by one of their ancestors (p. 118).
As the 'Alláfís, or 'Allánís as they are styled in the Chach-náma,
are conspicuous in the subsequent history of Sind, that work dwells
more particularly upon their history. It appears that upon Sa'íd's
arrival at Makrán, he put to death a man of the name of Safhúí bin
Lám al Hamámí. This man was claimed as a relative and fellow-
The 'Alláfís remained in Sind till the arrival of Muhammad Kásim, when they came forward and sued for forgiveness, which was accorded to them, as will be seen in the translated Extracts from the Chach-náma (p. 168).
Sa'íd was succeeded by Mujjá', the son of the Si'r Tamímí, most probably the same Mujjá' above mentioned, who is called in the Chach-náma and the Tuhfatu-l Kirám, the son of Sa'íd, as well as the son of Safar in the former, apparently by error of the transcriber. He despoiled the border districts, and took many prisoners from the territory of Kandábel, the entire conquest of which was not effected till some years afterwards by Muhammad Kásim. Mujjá', after holding his office for the period of only one year, died in Makrán, about the same time as the Khalif 'Abdu-l Malik (p. 118).*
| 6. Walíd I. | A.H. 86-96. | A.D. 705-715. |
Under this powerful prince the Khiláfat attained the greatest extent of dominion to which it ever reached. A little previous to the accession of Walíd, Muhammad, son of Hárún, was appointed to the Indian frontier, where he was invested with full powers to conduct operations as he thought best.*
He was directed to search out the 'Alláfís, and to seize them by every means within his power, in order that the blood of Sa'íd might be avenged by their death and destruction. Accordingly, in the beginning of the year 86,* he secured one of the 'Alláfís, who was put to death by direct orders of the Khalif, and his head was despatched to Hajjáj, with a letter, in which the governor promised, “if his life were spared to him, and his fortune propitious, he would seize all the rest of that obnoxious tribe.” He was engaged, according to one author, for five years, according to another, for five months, in the important occupation of “conquering the rivers and forests.”*
Under the auspices of the cruel tyrant, Hajjáj, who, though nominally governor only of 'Irák, was in fact ruler over all the countries which constituted the former Persian kingdom, the spirit of more extended conquest arose, which had hitherto, during the civil wars, and before the re-establishment of political unity under 'Abdu-l Malik and his son Walíd, confined itself to mere partial efforts on the eastern frontiers of the empire. By his orders, one army under Kutaiba, after the complete subjugation of Khawárazm, crossed the Oxus, and reduced, but not without great difficulty, Bukhára, Khojand, Shásh, Samarkand, and Farghána—some of which places had been visited, though not thoroughly subjected, at previous periods, by the Muhammadan arms. Kutaiba penetrated even to Káshgár, at which place Chinese ambassadors entered into a compact with the marauders.* Another army had, by Hajjáj's directions, already operated against the king of Kábul, and a third advanced towards the lower course of the Indus, through Makrán.
The cause of this latter expedition was the exaction of vengeance
for the plunder, by some pirates of Debal, of eight vessels, which
the ruler of Ceylon had despatched, filled with presents, pilgrims,
Muhammadan orphans, and Abyssinian slaves, to propitiate the
good-will of Hajjáj and the Khalif. The pirates are differently
named by the authorities whom we have to follow. The Futúhu-l
Buldán says they were “Med.” The Chach-náma says they were
“Tankámara.” The Tuhfatu-l Kirám says they were “Nankámara;”
but in a subsequent passage gives the name more distinctly as “Nagá-