During the nine reigns which occupied the period between Al Mu'tasim and Al Muktadar, the power of the Khalifs had been gradually on the decline. The Turkish guard had become more and more outrageous and arbitrary; independent dynasties, such as the Táhirides and Suffárides, after having shorn the kingdom of some of its fairest provinces, had themselves expired; eunuchs, and even women,* had sat upon the judgment seat and dispensed patronage, while corruption and venality openly prevailed; and now, at a later period—notwithstanding that literature flourished, and the personal dignity of the Khalif was maintained in the highest splendour — yet, not only had the Sámánís conquered the whole of Máwaráu-n nahr and Khurásán, not only had the Dailamites penetrated to the borders of 'Irák, and all northern Africa, except Egypt, had been lost for ever to the Khiláfat, but, as if to crown the measure of its misfortunes, the Karmatian heretics, having plundered Kúfa, Basra, and Sámarra, had possessed themselves of Mecca during the very time of pilgrimage, had massacred the pilgrims, and even carried off the sacred black stone itself, the principal and universal object of Muhammadan veneration.
Under such circumstances, the most distant provinces necessarily
partook of the decline from which the heart of the empire was
suffering; and Sind, neglected by the imperial government, came to
be divided among several petty princes, who, though they transmitted
no revenue and rendered no political allegiance to the Khalif,
were, like other more powerful chiefs, who had assumed independence,
glad to fortify their position by acknowledging his spiritual
supremacy, and flattering him by the occasional presentation of
some rarity from the kingdoms which they had usurped. Among
these ostentatious displays of empty fealty in which revolted
governors were wont to indulge,—comprising, in the words of
Gibbon, “an elephant, a cast of hawks, a suit of silk-hangings, or
some pounds of musk and amber,”*
we may specially mention two
loyal and characteristic offerings from India,—“a cart-load of four-
The virtual renunciation of political control in Sind may be dated from the year 257 H., when the Khalif Mu'tamad, in order to divert the Suffárides from their hostile designs against 'Irák, conferred upon Ya'kúb ibn Lais the government of Sind, as well as of Balkh and Tukháristán, in addition to that of Sijistán and Kirmán, with which he had been already invested.*
The two principal kingdoms which were established in Sind a few years after this event, were those of Multán and Mansúra, both of which attained a high degree of power and prosperity. It is probable that the independence of those states commenced upon Ya'kúb ibn Lais' death in 265 H. (879 A.D.), for his successors were comparatively powerless, and the Sámánís, at the commencement of their rule, had little leisure to attend to so remote a province as Sind.
Mas'údi, who visited the valley of the Indus in the year 303-4 H. —915-6 A.D., and completed his “Meadows of Gold” in 332 H.— 943-4 A.D., furnishes a brilliant account of the state of Islám in that country. The Amír of Multán was an Arab of the noble tribe of Kuraish,* named Abú-l Dalhat al Munabba, son of Assad as Sámí, and the kingdom of Multán is represented to have been hereditary in his family for a long time, “nearly from the beginning of Islám,” —meaning, probably, its introduction into Sind; and Kanauj, he asserts, was then a province of Multán, “the greatest of the countries which form a frontier against unbelieving nations.”
He was descended from Sáma, son of Lawí, son of Ghálib, who had established himself on the shores of 'Umán before the birth of Muhammad. The Amír had an army in his pay, and there were reckoned to be 120,000 hamlets around the capital. His dominion extended to the frontier of Khurásán. The temple of the Sun was still an object of native pilgrimage, to which people resorted from the most distant parts of the continent, to make their offerings of money, pearls, aloe-wood and other perfumes. It was from this source that the greater part of the revenue of the Amír was derived. Mas'údí remarks, as does Ibn Haukal, that the threat of injuring or mutilating the idol was sufficient to deter the native princes from engaging in hostilities with the Amír.
Mansúra was governed by another Kuraishí, whose name was Abú-l Mundar 'Umar bin 'Abdu-lla. He was descended from Habbár bin Aswad, who was celebrated for his opposition to Muhammad, and on the return of the prophet to Mecca in triumph, was among the few who were excepted from the terms of the amnesty which was at that time proclaimed. He subsequently became a convert, and towards the year 111 A.H., one of his descendants came to the valley of the Indus to seek his fortune. Some time after, his family, taking advantage of the anarchy which prevailed in the country, made themselves masters of the lower Indus, and established themselves at Mansúra. Our voyager states, that he was kindly received by the Amír, as well as his minister. While he was there, he found some descendants of the Khalif 'Alí, whom persecution had compelled to seek a refuge in that distant country.
The principality of Mansúra extended from the sea to Alor, where that of Multán commenced. It was said to contain 300,000 villages, which is, of course, a ridiculous exaggeration; but the whole country was well cultivated, and covered with trees and fields. Nevertheless, the inhabitants were obliged continually to protect themselves against the aggressions of the Meds and other savage tribes of the desert.
The chief of Mansúra had eighty elephants of war. Their trunks were armed with a kind of curved sword, called kartal, and were covered with armour to protect them in fight.* The entire body of the animal was similarly protected, and each was attended by a detachment of five hundred infantry. Other elephants, not used in war service, were employed to carry burdens and draw chariots.*
| 23. Al Muti'-li-llah, | A.H. 334-363. | A.D. 945-974. |
| 25. Al Kádir-bi-llah, | A.H. 381-422. | A.D. 991-1031. |
A few years after Mas'údí, the valley of the Indus was visited by Istakhrí, and by Ibn Haukal, who has included nearly the whole of Istakhrí's relation in his own, and has entered into some further detail.
The account of Sind by Ibn Haukal, who wrote his work after the year 366 H. (976 A.D,), when he was for a second time in India, has been given in the preceding pages, and need not be repeated here. With respect to the condition of the country at the time of his visit, he observes that Multán was not so large as Mansúra, and was defended by a citadel; that the territory was fertile and produce cheap, but that its fertility was inferior to that of Mansúra, and its soil was not cultivated with the same care. The Amír* lived outside the town, and never entered it, except for the purpose of going to the mosque, on Fridays, mounted on an elephant. There appears to have been no native coinage, but the money in circulation was chiefly Kandahárian and Tátaríyan dirhams. The dress of the Sindians was like that of the people of 'Irák, but the Amírs habited themselves like the native princes. Some persons wore their hair long, and their dresses loose, with waistbands, on account of the heat, and there was no difference between the garb of the faithful and idolaters.