“Says Wáqid b. 'Amr at-Tamímí, who compiled the history of Bábak: ‘His father was an oil-seller of al-Madá'in (Ctesiphon) who emigrated to the frontiers of Ádharbayján and settled in a village called Bilál-ábádh, in the district of Maymadh.* He used to carry his oil in a vessel on his back, and wander through the villages in the district. He conceived a passion for a one-eyed woman, who afterwards became the mother of Bábak, and with her he cohabited for a long while. And while she and he were [on one occasion] away from the village, enjoying one another's company in a glade, and devoting themselves to wine which they had with them, behold, there came women from the village to draw water from a fountain in that glade, and they heard the sound of a voice singing in the Nabathæan tongue. They made in that direction and fell upon the two of them. 'Abdu'lláh fled, but they seized Bábak's mother by the hair, brought her to the village, and exposed her to contumely there.’

“Says Wáqid: ‘Then this oil-seller petitioned her father, and he gave her to him in marriage, and she bore him Bábak. Then he went forth in one of his journeys to the Mountain of Sabalán,* where there fell upon him one who smote him from behind and wounded him so that he died after a little while. And Bábak's mother began to act as a professional wet-nurse for wages till such time as he reached the age of ten years. It is said that she went forth one day to seek Bábak, who was pasturing the cattle of a certain tribe, and found him lying naked under a tree, taking his noontide sleep; and that she saw under each hair on his breast and head a drop of blood. Then he woke up suddenly from his sleep, and stood erect, and the blood which she had seen passed away and she found it not. “Then,” said she, “I knew that my son was destined for some glorious mission.”’

“Says Wáqid: ‘And again Bábak was with ash-Shibl ibnu'l-Mu-naqqá al-Azdí in the district of Sará,* looking after his cattle, and from his hirelings he learned to play the drum. Then he went to Tabríz in Ádharbayján, where he was for about two years in the service of Muḥammad ibnu'r-Rawwád al-Azdí. Then he returned to his mother, being at that time about eighteen years of age, and abode with her.’

“Says Wáqid b. 'Amr: ‘Now there were in the mountain of al-Badhdh* and the hills connected therewith two men of the bar­barians * holding the Khurramí doctrine, possessed of wealth and riches, who disputed as to which should hold sway over the Khurramís inhabiting these hills, that the supremacy might belong exclusively to one of them. One was named Jáwídán the son of Suhrak,* while the other was better known by his kunya of Abú 'Imrán; and there was continual war between them during the summer, while in winter-time the snow kept them apart by closing the passes. Now Jáwídán, who was Bábak's master, went forth from his city with two thousand sheep, which he intended to bring into the town of Zanján, one of the towns in the marches of Qazwín. So he entered it, sold his sheep, and turned back to the mountain of al-Badhdh, where, being overtaken by the snow and the night in the district of Mímad,* he turned aside to the village of Bilálábádh, where he sought hospitality from the jazír* of the place, who, holding Jáwídán in light esteem, passed him on to the mother of Bábak, bidding her entertain him. And she, by reason of poverty and straitened means, had no food [to set before him], wherefore she rose up and kindled a fire, being unable to do more than this [for his entertainment], while Bábak waited upon his servants and beasts, and tended them, and gave them water to drink. And Jáwídán sent him out to buy for him food and wine and fodder, and when he brought him these things, he conversed and talked with him, and found him, nothwithstanding his detestable character, and though his tongue was cramped by outlandish speech, of good understanding, and saw him to be a cunning rogue. So he said to Bábak's mother, “Oh woman, I am a man from the mountain of al-Badhdh, where I enjoy consideration and opulence, and I need [the services of] this thy son, wherefore give him to me, that I may take him with me, and make him my agent over my farms and estates, and I will send thee his wages, fifty dirhams every month.” She replied, “Thou seemest well-intentioned, and the signs of opulence are apparent in thee, and my heart feels confidence in thee; take him with thee, therefore, when thou departest.”

“‘Then Abú 'Imrán came down from his mountain against Jáwí-dán, and fought with him, but was routed and slain by him. And Jáwí-dán returned unto his mountain, bearing a wound which caused him anxiety, and abode in his house three days, and then died. Now his wife had conceived a passion for Bábak, who had yielded to her guilty desires, and so, when Jáwídán died, she said to him, “Verily thou art strong and cunning; Jáwídán is dead, and I have not men­tioned this to any one of his followers. Prepare thyself for to-morrow, when I will assemble them before thee, and will inform them that Jáwídán said: ‘I desire to die this night, and that my spirit should go forth from my body, and enter into the body of Bábak, and associate itself with his spirit. Verily he will accomplish for himself and for you a thing which none hath heretofore accomplished and which none shall hereafter accomplish; for verily he shall take poses-sion of the earth, and shall slay the tyrants, and shall restore the Mazdakites, and by him shall the lowest of you become mighty, and the meanest of you be exalted.’” And Bábak's ambition was aroused by what she said, and he rejoiced thereat, and prepared himself to undertake it.

“‘So when it was morning, she assembled before her the army of Jáwídán, and they said, “How is it that he doth not summon us and give us his instructions?” She answered, “Naught prevented him from so doing save that ye were scattered abroad in your homes in the villages, and that, had he sent to assemble you, tidings of this would have been spread abroad; wherefore he, fearing the malice of the Arabs towards you, laid upon me that which I now convey to you, if ye will accept it and act in accordance with it.” “Tell us,” they answered, “what were the wishes he expressed to thee, for verily we never opposed his commands during his life, nor will we oppose them now that he is dead.” “He said to me,” she replied, “‘Verily I shall die this night, and my spirit will go forth from my body, and will enter into the body of this lad, my servant, and I purpose to set him in authority over my followers, wherefore, when I am dead, make known to them this thing, and that there is no true religion in him who opposeth me herein, or who chooseth for him­self the contrary of what I have chosen.’” They answered, “We accept his testament to thee in respect to this lad.”

“‘Then she called for a cow, and commanded that it should be slain and flayed, and that its skin should be spread out, and on the skin she placed a bowl filled with wine, and into it she broke bread, which she placed round about the bowl. Then she called them, man by man, and bade each of them tread the skin with his foot, and take a piece of bread, plunge it in the wine, and eat it, saying, “I believe in thee, O Spirit of Bábak, as I believe in the spirit of Jáwídán;” and that each should then take the hand of Bábak, and do obeisance before it, and kiss it. And they did so, until such time as food was made ready for her; then she brought forth food and wine to them, and seated Bábak on her bed, and sat beside him publicly before them. And when they had drunk three draughts each, she took a sprig of basil and offered it to Bábak, and he took it from her hand, and this was their marriage. Then [their followers] came forth and did obeisance to the two of them, acknowledging the marriage…’”

Doctrines of Bábak.

The most important statements contained in the above narrative as to Bábak's doctrines are:—

(1) That he declared himself to be God, or at least a Divine Theophany.

(2) That he declared that the soul of his master Jáwídán had passed into him.* He thus held two at least, and probably three, of the four doctrines (ḥulul, or the passing of God into human form; tanásukh, or the passing of the soul from one body to another; and rij'at, or the return of a departed soul in a new tabernacle of flesh) regarded by Shahristání (see p. 311 supra) as characteristic of all sects of the Ghulát or “immoderate” Shí'ites. Whether Bábak was of pure Persian extraction is doubtful, for the Fihrist represents his father as singing songs in the Nabathæan language, while Dínawarí (p. 397) expresses the opinion* that he was one of the sons of Muṭahhar the son of Fáṭima the daughter of Abú Muslim. The Nidhámu'l-Mulk mentions in his Siyásat-náma (ed. Schefer, p. 204) that the Khurramís in their secret gatherings used first to call down blessings on Abú Muslim, the Mahdí, and Fírúz, the son of the above-mentioned Fáṭima, whom they called “the Wise Child” (Kúdak-i-Dáná), and who may perhaps be identical with Bábak's father Muṭahhar. It also appears that Bábak in the main merely perpetuated doctrines already taught by his master Jáwídán (whose followers are called by Ṭabarí, iii, 1015, al-Jáwídániyya), only adding to them, in the words of the Fihrist above cited, “murder, rapine, wars, and cruel punishments, hitherto unknown to them.” He certainly seems to have been of a bloodthirsty disposition, for according to Ṭabarí (iii, p. 1233) he slew in twenty years 255,500 persons, while Mas'údí (Kitábu't-tanbíh, p. 353) estimates the number of his victims as “500,000 at the lowest computation.” As regards his relation to the other sects which we have mentioned, he was, as the Fihrist tells us, “to restore the doctrines of the Mazdakites;” and we find (Siyásat-náma, p. 201) one of his generals bearing the name of 'Alí Mazdak. He is generally called al-Khurramí, a title which the Fihrist also applies to Jáwídán and his rival Abú 'Imrán, and which, according to the Siyásat-náma (p. 182) was simply synonymous with Mazdakite. His followers are commonly spoken of as the Khurramís, but sometimes (e.g., Ṭabarí, iii, 1235, where they are described as fighting for Theophilus against the Muslims) as al-Muḥammira, “the Wearers of Red.”