The Meds are familiar to us, as being frequently mentioned by Ibn Haukal and the early writers on Sind.* The name of Tangámara presents great difficulties; but as there is a variation about the first letter, and as the omission of diacritical points would admit of the word being read Sangámara, it may be proper to point out, if that should be the correct reading, the identity of the two first syllables with those of Sangada, which Arrian tells us was the name of the mainland in the neighbourhood of Krokala.* How far the name extended does not appear, but it is curious that, to our time, it seems to be preserved beyond the eastern mouth of the river, in the celebrated pirate-coast of the Sanganians, or Sangárs, who for centuries have committed their ravages on the shores of Sind and Guzerát, until their total suppression under our government.* It may be remarked, also, that there is a tribe called Sangúr still dwelling on the coast of Makrán, at Malán and Batt.
It is probable, therefore, that the several authorities may be right in part, and that the different piratical tribes of the mouths of the Indus may have joined in the expedition which gave Hajjáj grounds for demanding reparation from Dáhir, the ruler of Sind.
Upon his declaring his inability to restrain their excesses, Hajjáj
earnestly solicited from the Khalif permission to exact due vengeance
from Dáhir and his subjects, offering to pay, from his own resources,
double what would be exhausted from the public treasury. But the
Khalif replied:—“The distance is great, the requisite expenditure
will be enormous, and I do not wish to expose the lives of Musul-
When, at last, the repugnance of the Khalif had been overcome by the urgent remonstrances of Hajjáj, and by his generous offer of double payment, which was at a subsequent period rigorously demanded, 'Ubaidu-lla bin Nabhán, was sent against the sea-port of Debal, where he met with defeat and death (p. 119).*
Hajjáj then wrote to Budail, of the Bajalí tribe, directing him to
advance against Debal. As Budail was at 'Umán, M. Reinaud
considers it probable that he proceeded by sea to his destination;
but the Chach-náma, though somewhat confused, is fuller than the
Futúhu-l Buldán, and tells us that Budail was ordered to proceed to
Makrán, that Muhammad Hárún was directed to place three thousand
men at his disposal, for the purpose of proceeding to Sind, and
that 'Abdu-lla bin Kahtán Aslamí was ordered to join him from
'Umán, which he accordingly did at Nairún. Budail advanced at
the head of three hundred men from Makrán, and was joined on the
way by the reinforcements from Muhammad Hárún. In the battle
which ensued, Budail, after fighting gallantly, was thrown from his
horse, surrounded by the enemy, and killed, and many Musulmáns
were taken captive. The Futúhu-l Buldán and the Tuhfatu-l Kirám
represents the action as having taken place at Debal, but the Chach-
Hajjáj was sorely afflicted at this disastrous result of his expedition, and vowed that he would take ample vengeance for the various indignities which had been heaped upon him. As the people of Nairún dreaded the consequences of Hajjáj's anger, and reflected that their city stood on the very road by which the Arabs would enter Sind, their governor, who was a Samaní, or Buddhist, sent privily some confidential messengers to Hajjáj, promising to remit tribute regularly, and soliciting from him some writing, under which Nairún might be secured from further annoyance at the hand of the Musulmáns. This bond was readily granted, and the Samaní was enjoined to obtain the freedom of the prisoners taken in the late action, with the threat of “putting to the sword of Islám the lives of all infidels as far as the borders of China, if this demand was not complied with.”*
After this, 'Umar bin 'Abdu-lla requested that the government of Hind might be confided to him, but he was rebuked by Hajjáj, and told that the astrologers, after being consulted, had pronounced that the conquest of that country could be effected only by the hand of Muhammad Kásim.
Muhammad Kásim, as he is universally styled by the Persians, but by Biládurí, “Muhammad bin Kásim Sakifí,” and by Abú-l Fidá, “Muhammad bin Al Kásim,” was in the bloom of youth, being only seventeen years of age, when this important command was conferred upon him. It is probable that, although he is represented to have already administered the province of Fárs with ability, he obtained his appointment less from personal merit, than from family interest, for he was cousin and son-in-law of Hajjáj; but the result showed the wisdom of the selection. His rapid career of conquest along the whole valley of the Indus, from the sea to the mountains, has been fully narrated in the translations from the Futúhu-l Buldán and Chach-náma. From them it is evident, that his successes, like those of his contemporary, Tárik, in Spain, were as much attributable to his temper and policy as to his courage and strategy. There was, though by no means little—as Debal and Multán bear witness—yet much less, wanton sacrifice of life than was freely indulged in by most of the ruthless bigots who have propagated the the same faith elsewhere. The conquest of Sind took place at the very time in which, at the opposite extremes of the known world, the Muhammadan arms were subjugating Spain, and pressing on the southern frontier of France, while they were adding Khwárazm to their already mighty empire. In Sind, as in Spain, where submission was proffered, quarter was readily given; the people of the country were permitted the exercise of their own creeds and laws; and natives were sometimes placed in responsible situations of the government. Much of this unwonted toleration may, in both instances, have arisen from the small number of the invading force, as well as from ignorance of civil institutions; but we must still allow the leaders credit for taking the best means of supplying these deficiencies, and seeking assistance from the quarters most able to afford it.*
The two authorities above-mentioned differ from each other in some particulars, and the Chach-náma, which is the source of the Persian accounts, furnishes a few details, wearing, especially towards the close, the appearance of embellishment; but there is no startling discrepancy in the general history of the conquest, of which the broad features are preserved with fidelity in both naratives.
The Persian authorities, following the Chach-náma, mention that Muhammad Kásim penetrated to Kanauj, which, as the borders of that country then extended nearly to Ajmír, is no improbable circumstance, if we do not construe the expression to signify literally that the city of Kanauj was conquered. But even the possession of that great capital would not have satisfied the ambitious aspirations of Hajjáj; for he had ordered Muhammad to penetrate to China; and with the view of exciting emulation between him and Kutaiba, had promised, that whichever of them arrived there first should be invested with the government of the celestial empire: a fair challenge and a fair start,—for in the self-same year, one was on the Indus, the other on the Jaxartes, in the same longitude, and at the same distance from the eastern goal, which fanaticism and avarice, as well as the desire to secure a safe and remote asylum upon the death of Walíd, had designated to these rival generals as the guerdon of success and victory.*