Chapter XIV

ACCESSION OF OMAR--REINFORCEMENTS FOR IRAC--CAMPAIGN
THERE UNDER ABU OBEID AND MOTHANNA.

Jumâd II., A.H. XIII.--Moharram, A.H. XIV.
August, A.D. 634–March, A.D. 635.

[Sidenote: Accession of Omar.]

On the morrow after Abu Bekr’s death, Omar ascended the pulpit, and addressed the people assembled in the Great Mosque. ‘The Arabs,’ he said, ‘are like a rebellious camel obliged to follow its driver, and it pertaineth to the driver to see which way he leadeth the same. By the Lord of the Káaba! even thus will I guide you in the way that ye should go.’

[Sidenote: His first two acts.]

The first act of the new Caliph was to issue the despatch, with which the reader is already acquainted, deposing Khâlid. The second was, in fulfilment of Abu Bekr’s dying behest, to raise a fresh levy for Mothanna. Leaving the former, we turn for the present to the latter.

[Sidenote: Fresh levies sent to Irâc under Abu Obeid.]

A new standard was planted in the court of the Great Mosque, and urgent proclamation made that soldiers for the campaign in Irâc were to rally round it. Then followed the oath of fealty to Omar, which was taken by all who were in and around the city, and not completed for three days. Meanwhile, so great a fear of Persian pomp and prowess had fallen on the people, that none responded to the military call. Seeing this, Mothanna harangued them in a stirring speech. He told them of his victories, the endless plunder, the captives, male and female, and the fruitful lands which they had already spoiled the enemy of; ‘and the Lord,’ he added, ‘waiteth but to give the rest into your hands.’ Warmed by his discourse, and stung by the indignant invectives of Omar, men began at last to offer. The first who came forward was Abu Obeid, a citizen of Tâyif; and then numbers crowded to the standard. When they had reached a thousand, those around began to say to Omar: ‘Now choose thee one of the chiefest among them to be Ameer--a veteran Companion of the Prophet,--Refugee, or Citizen.’[200] ‘That I will not,’ said Omar. ‘Wherein doth the glory of the Companions consist but in this, that they were the first to rally round the Prophet? But now ye are backward, and come not to the help of the Lord. Such as be ready for the burden, whether it be light or whether it be heavy, these have the better claim. Verily I will give the command to none but to him that first came forth.’ Then turning to Abu Obeid: ‘I appoint thee,’ he said, ‘over this force, because thou wast the first to offer; and _in eagerness for battle is the Arab’s glory_.’ Nevertheless, he earnestly enjoined upon him ever to take counsel with the Companions of the Prophet, and to associate them with him in the conduct of affairs. So the force started for Irâc. At the same time Omar removed the ban against the employment of the once apostate tribes; and bade Abu Obeid to summon to his standard all, without distinction, who since the apostasy had made a good profession. Mothanna, with a lightened heart, hastened back in advance of Abu Obeid, and returned to Hîra after the absence of a month.

[Sidenote: Rustem rouses the Persians against the invaders.]

During this period, while Mothanna was away, further changes were transpiring at the unhappy court of Persia. Prince and princess succeeded one another in the midst of bloodshed and rebellion, till at last a royal lady named Burân summoned Rustem, a general of renown, from Khorasan, and by his aid established herself as Regent upon the throne.[201] Rustem was an astrologer, and knew from the conjunction of the planets the impending fate of Persia. When asked why then he had linked himself with a doomed cause, he answered that it was the love of pomp and riches. Amidst such silly tales, of which there is no lack, we may discern the lineaments of a prince brave in the field, but proud and overweening. Such was the man whose authority Burân now proclaimed supreme. His energy was soon felt. The nobles rallied round him; the great landholders were incited to rise against the invaders, and Mesopotamia, with the Sawâd and delta, speedily cast off the Moslem yoke. Two columns were despatched from Medâin, one under Jabân to cross the Euphrates and advance on Hîra; the other under Narsa to occupy Kaskar between the Euphrates and Tigris. The people flocked to their standard, and the position of the Moslems again became precarious.

Mothanna, thus threatened, called in his forces, but they were too few to oppose the enemy; so he abandoned Hîra, and falling back on Khaffân, by the border of the desert, on the road to Medîna, there awaited Abu Obeid. [Sidenote: Abu Obeid gains a victory over the Persians. Shaban, A.H. XIII. October, A.D. 634.] But he had to wait some time. Swelled by reinforcements from the tribes by the way, and, burdened by their families, it was a month before the army made its appearance there. After a few days’ repose at Khaffân, Abu Obeid took command of the combined force, and, attacking Jabân, put him to flight. Then crossing the Euphrates, he surprised Narsa, who was strongly posted at a royal date-grove near to Kaskar, and, routing his army, took possession of his camp, with much spoil. Great store of dates fell into their hands, of a rare kind, reserved for royal use. These were distributed among the army, and became the common food of all. With the royal Fifth, a portion of them was sent to Medîna: ‘Behold,’ wrote Abu Obeid to his Master, ‘the food wherewith the Lord hath fed us, eaten heretofore only by the kings of Persia. We desired that thou shouldest see the same with thine own eyes, taste it with thine own lips, and praise the Lord for his grace and goodness in giving us royal food to eat.’ Jalenûs, another general, coming up too late to the help of Narsa, was also discomfited; and the unfortunate delta, prey to alternate conquest and defeat, began again to acknowledge Moslem sway. The neighbouring chiefs brought in their tribute, and, in proof of loyalty, made a feast of good things for Abu Obeid. But he declined to partake of it, unless shared equally with his soldiers. A further supply of the same delicacies was therefore furnished, and the whole army sat down with him to the repast. His determination to taste none of the Persian viands but in company with the rank and file of his men redounded greatly to his popularity.[202]

[Sidenote: Bahmân sent with great army against Abu Obeid. A.H. XIII. Autumn A.D. 634.]

Enraged at the defeat of his generals, Rustem assembled a still larger force under the warrior Bahmân.[203] To mark the gravity of the crisis, the great banner of the empire, made of panthers’ skins, was unfurled,[204] and an array of war elephants accompanied the army. Jalenûs, too, was sent back to fight, under the threat that if again he fled before the enemy, he would be put to death. Before this imposing host, the Arabian army fell back, and, recrossing the Euphrates, took up ground on the right bank. Bahmân, following, encamped at Coss Nâtick, on the opposite shore. The field of battle was not far from Babylon, and, being on the highway between the Capital and Hîra, a bridge of boats spanned the river near the spot.[205] Bahmân, in his pride, gave Abu Obeid the option of crossing the river unopposed, thus leaving him the choice of either bank for the impending action. Abu Obeid desired to take the offer and pass over to the other side. His advisers strongly opposed the movement, and sought to dissuade him from quitting their more advantageous ground. But he made it a point of honour; and exclaiming, ‘Shall we fear death more than they?’ gave the order at once to cross. They found the ground upon the farther side confined; and, though they were under 10,000 men, there was little room to manœuvre, and nothing but the bridge to fall back upon. [Sidenote: Battle of the Bridge. Shabân, A.H. XIII. October, A.D. 634.[206]]The unwieldy elephants, with their jingling bells and trappings, spread confusion among the Arab cavalry. The riders, however, dismounting, went bravely at them on foot, and tried, with some success, to cut the bands of the _howdas_, and drive them from the field. Abu Obeid singled out the fiercest, a white elephant, with great tusks, and rushed at it, sword in hand. While vainly endeavouring to reach some vulnerable part, the huge beast caught him with its trunk, and trampled him to death. Consternation seized the ranks at the horrid spectacle. One after another the captains whom Abu Obeid had named to meet disaster, were slain,[207] and the troops began to waver. Just at this moment, a soldier of the Beni Thackîf,[208] appalled at the fate of Abu Obeid and other leaders of his clan, ran to the bridge, and crying out, _Die, as your chiefs have died, or conquer_, cut the first boat adrift. Exit thus closed, the panic spread. The Moslems were hemmed in, and driven back upon the river. Many leaped in, but few reached the other shore of the deep swift stream.[209] At this eventful moment Mothanna rushed to the front. Backed by a few heroic spirits, among them a Christian chief of the Beni Tay,[210] he seized the banner, and, planting himself between the enemy and the bewildered Arabs, called out that he would hold the ground till all had passed securely. Then he chided the Thackîfite for what he had done, and commanded the bridge to be restored. ‘Destroy not your own selves,’ he cried; ‘retire in order, and I will defend you.’ While thus bravely holding the Persians at bay, the thrust of a lance imbedded several rings of his armour in a deep and dangerous wound. Heedless of the pain, he stood heroically to his ground endeavouring to calm his panic-stricken men. But in vain. [Sidenote: The Moslems routed.]The confusion increased, and before order could be restored, a vast number had perished in the river. At last the native boatmen were made to refit the bridge, and a remnant escaped across it; but four thousand were either swept off by the flood, left dead upon the field, or borne wounded over the bridge. Of the new levies, two thousand, stung with remorse, fled from the terrible field, away to their homes in Arabia; and Mothanna, again assuming the command, was left with only three thousand men. After the battle, Bahmân was on the point of crossing the river to follow up his victory. Had he done so, it would have fared badly with Mothanna and the wounded disheartened remnants, who still held their ground on the opposite bank. But fortunately for them, just at that moment, news reached Bahmân of a revolt at Medâin; and so, relinquishing his design, he hastened, in support of his master, back to the distracted capital.[211] [Sidenote: Mothanna retires on Allîs.]With the relics of his army, Mothanna fell back upon Allîs, farther down the river; and there, for the time, fixing his head-quarters, bravely defended his first conquests. The cause of Islam looked dark; but a hero like Mothanna would not despair. Mindful of his early tactics, he sought to recruit his diminished ranks from the surrounding coasts; so, rallying around him the tribes of kindred race, before long he regained a firmer footing.

[Sidenote: Jabân taken prisoner and beheaded.]

Jabân, unaware of the General’s hasty recall to Medâin, and supposing the Arabs to be in full flight before the conquering host, followed in pursuit. He had before been taken prisoner and obtained his ransom by deceit.[212] Crossing now the river, he was cut off by the Arabs, and, with his column, was taken prisoner by Mothanna. The people also of Allîs brought many of the stragglers into the Moslem camp. These were all beheaded. At a later period, Allîs had special grace shown it for this service.

[Sidenote: How the tidings of defeat were received at Medîna.]

Omar received with calmness the tidings of the disaster. Abu Obeid’s levies kept on their flight till they reached their homes; and when those from Medîna returned there, they covered their faces with shame. The Caliph spoke comfortably to them. ‘Verily,’ he said, ‘I am a defence to every believer that faceth the enemy and misfortune overtaketh him. The Lord have mercy on Abu Obeid, and be gracious unto him. Had he survived, and taken refuge from the foe on some sandy mound, I surely would have been his advocate and defender.’ Muâdz, reciter of the Corân, was among those who fled. Shortly after, when, in the course of recitation, he came to this verse: ‘Whosoever in the field shall give his back to the enemy (excepting again to join in the battle), or shall turn aside unto another party, verily he draweth the wrath of God upon him; his refuge shall be hell-fire--an evil end!’[213] And he lifted up his voice and wept. Omar addressed him kindly: ‘Weep not, O Muâdz,’ he said, ‘thou hast not “_turned aside unto another party_”; thou hast turned aside to none but unto me.’ Such was the spirit of these Moslem heroes, even in defeat. The reverse had no other effect than to nerve the Caliph to redoubled effort; and the cry for a levy _en masse_ soon resounded over the whole peninsula. The reinforcements, in response to this new call, would, however, have been too late to help Mothanna if (fortunately for Islam) earlier succour had not reached him.

[Sidenote: Numerous levies join Mothanna in Irâc.]

For the previous call, made at the time of Abu Bekr’s death, was still drawing. Levies, from all directions, were daily coming in, eager (now that the ban against apostates was removed) at once to evince the sincerity of their repentance, and to share in the rewards of victory. Each band, as it came in, besought Omar that they might be sent to Syria.[214] But the late victory on the Yermûk had made him easy in that direction; and every available man must now be despatched in haste to Irâc. The Beni Bajîla, a brave and numerous levy, raised under the banner of Jarîr, urged that their ancestral relations were all with Syria; but Omar was firm, and, at last, reconciled them to set out at once for Irâc by the promise--singular in the history of the time--that they should have one fourth of the royal Fifth of all booty taken there.[215] The fugitives also, from the army of Abu Obeid, hastened back, seeking to retrieve their honour. But far the most remarkable of the levies that now gathered under Mothanna’s standard--a proof, at once of his liberality, statesmanship, and widespread influence--was from the Beni Namr, a Christian tribe of the northern desert, which, without detriment to their faith, threw in their lot with Mothanna, and brought a large contingent to his help.[216] Thus, rapidly and largely reinforced, he was soon stronger than ever, and ready for an offensive movement. These troops were massed at first well in the rear of the enemy’s country, on the edge of the Arabian desert, near Khaffân. The women and children (for the practice had now become general of carrying their families with them) were placed in security at a distance behind; some were even left with friendly citizens in Hîra, although, since the last retreat, the city had been reoccupied by a Persian satrap. Mothanna had also a trusty follower in hiding there, to give him notice of what was passing.

[Sidenote: Mothanna advances to meet a Persian army. Ramadhân, A.H. XIII. November, A.D. 634.]

From this spy, Mothanna now learned that, matters having been settled at the capital, a great army was in motion against him.[217] Sending an urgent message to Jarîr, now close at hand, to hurry on, he marched forward to Boweib, on the western branch of the Euphrates, and there, close by the future site of Kûfa, and on ground commanded by a bridge, he awaited the enemy. Omar had cautioned him not again to risk his men by crossing the river before victory was secure; so he suffered Mehrân, the Persian commander, without question to defile his troops over the bridge.[218] The armies were then marshalled. The Persians advanced in three columns, an elephant surrounded by a company of footmen, at the head of each, and all with great tumult and barbaric din. It was the fast of Ramadhân; but a dispensation was given to the troops, and they had been strengthened by a repast. Mothanna, on his favourite charger (called, by the humour of his men, _the Rebel_, from its docility in action), rode along the lines, and exhorted his soldiers to quit themselves like men: ‘Your valour this day will be a proverb in the mouths of all. Be still as death,’ he cried; ‘and if ye speak aught one to the other, speak it in a whisper. None shall give way amongst us this day. I desire no glory for myself, but the glory of you all.’ And they answered him in like words; for he was beloved by his men.[219]

[Sidenote: The Battle of Boweib.]

The word for the advance was to be the _Takbîr_, ‘Great is the Lord!’ It was to be thrice repeated; then, on the fourth cry, the rush. But Mothanna had barely shouted the first, when the Persian myrmidons bore down in great force; and the Beni Ijl, the nearest column, broke before them. Mothanna stroked his beard in trouble. Calling an officer of his staff, he bade him hasten with this message to the wavering corps: ‘The Ameer sendeth greeting, and saith, _Ye will not this day shame the Moslems_!’ They gave answer, ‘Yea, we shall not!’ And, as the broken ranks closed up again in sharp serried line, Mothanna smiled approvingly. The battle raged long and equally. At last, Mothanna, seeing that a desperate onset must be made, rode up to the chief of the Beni Namr, and said to him: ‘Though Christian, ye are one in blood with us; come now, and as I charge, charge ye with me.’ The Persian centre quivered before the fierce onslaught, and as the dust cleared off, it was seen to be giving way. The Moslem wings, hitherto outflanked, now took heart, and charged also. Then the Persian army fell back, and made for the bridge. But Mothanna was before them. In despair, they turned on their pursuers, and the multitude was so great that again there was a moment of danger. But the fiery zeal of the Arabs, though a handful in comparison, beat back the forlorn charge. ‘The enemy,’ says an eye-witness, ‘driven before Arfaja, were brought up by the river, and finding no escape, re-formed, and charged upon us. One cried to the leader to move his banner back; “_My work_,” he answered, “_is to move the banner on_.” So forward we drove, and cut them up, not one reaching even to the river bank.’ Mothanna reproached himself afterwards with having closed the bridge, and caused (on his own side) a useless loss of life. ‘I made a grievous error,’ he would say: ‘follow not my example herein; it behoveth us not to close the way against those who may be driven to turn upon us by despair.’[220] The carnage was almost unparalleled even in the annals of Islam, and it went on amongst the fugitives all night. A hundred warriors boasted that they had slain each ten men to his lance; and hence the battle of Boweib is sometimes called _the field of Tens_. There was no engagement of which the marks were wider or more lasting. For ages the bones of the slain bleached upon the plain; and the men of Kûfa had here, at their very door, a lasting proof at once of the prowess and the mercilessness of their forefathers in the faith.

[Sidenote: Persian general slain by a Christian youth.]

The victory is remarkable, not only for the unexampled loss of life, but also as secured in great part by the valour of the Beni Namr, a Christian tribe. And yet further, the most gallant feat of the day was achieved by the member of another Christian clan. A party of Beni Taghlib merchants, with a string of horses for sale, arriving just as the ranks were being dressed, threw themselves into the battle, choosing the Arab side. A youth from amongst them, darting into the very centre of the Persians, slew Mehrân, and leaping on his richly caparisoned horse, rode back upon it, amidst the plaudits of the whole Moslem line, crying, as he passed in triumph: ‘I am of the Beni Taghlib. I am he that hath slain Mehrân’[221]

[Sidenote: Loss on the Moslem side.]

The loss on the Moslem side was considerable. Mothanna had to mourn the death of his brave brother Masûd. As this hero was borne from the field mortally wounded, he cried: ‘Exalt your banners high, ye Beni Bekr.[222] The Lord will exalt you, my men; and let not my fall disturb you!’ Amr, the Christian chieftain, met a similar fate. And Mothanna affectionately tended the last moments of both together--the Christian and the Moslem--an unwonted sight on these crusading fields. He performed the funeral service over his brother and the other fallen Moslems, and said in his panegyric of their heroism: ‘It assuageth my grief that they stood stedfast; that they yielded not a step; and now they lie here the martyrs of Boweib.’

[Sidenote: The spoil.]

The spoil was great. Immense stores of grain, as well as herds of cattle, were captured; and, therefrom, supplies were sent to the families in their desert retreat. As Amr ibn Mádekerib rode up with these, the women, mistaking the convoy for a plundering raid, rushed out, with their wild shrill Arab scream, and began attacking them with stones and staves. [Sidenote: Moslem women defend their camp.]Amr soon made himself known to them, and praised their courageous attitude. ‘It well becometh the wives of such an army,’ he said, ‘thus to defend themselves.’ Then he told them of the victory; ‘and lo,’ he added, as he produced the stores of grain, ‘the first-fruits thereof!’[223]

[Sidenote: Mesopotamia and delta regained.]

The country was now ravaged without let or hindrance up to Sabât, within sight of the walls of Medâin. The enemy’s garrisons were all driven back; and lower Mesopotamia and the delta anew reoccupied. Parties also scoured the country higher up. Anbâr and Khanâfis were again taken possession of, and many rich markets ransacked. They penetrated to Baghdad (then a mere village on the Tigris above the modern city), and even as far north as Tekrît. Great booty was gathered in these plundering expeditions. It was divided in the usual way, excepting that the Beni Bajîla, who well merited the distinction, received, according to promise, a fourth of the imperial Fifth, beyond their proper share--the remaining portion being sent to Medîna.[224]

[Sidenote: Mothanna superseded.]

Mothanna lived but a few months after his last great victory. He never entirely recovered from the wounds received in the disastrous battle of the Bridge, and eventually succumbed under them. His merits have not been recognised as they deserve. That he did not belong to the nobility of Medîna was the misfortune which kept him in the background. Jarîr, leader of the Beni Jadîla, declined to serve under him as Ameer, or commander, in Irâc, since he was a mere Bedouin chief, and not a _Companion_ of the Prophet; and he complained accordingly to the Caliph. Omar listened to the appeal; and eventually (as we shall see) appointed another commander over both. But with that opens a new chapter in the Persian war, and before entering on it, we must revert to the course of events in Syria.

[Sidenote: Mothanna.]

The character of Mothanna, however, deserves more than a passing notice, and as we shall hear little of him in the short remaining period of his life, I may here devote a few lines to his memory. Among the generals who contributed to the triumph of Islam, he was second only to one. Inferior to Khâlid in dash and brilliancy of enterprise, he did not yield to him in vigour and strategic skill. Free from the unscrupulous cruelty so often disfiguring the triumphs of that great leader, he never, like him, used victory to gratify his own ends. It was due alone to the cool and desperate stand which Mothanna made at the Bridge, that the Moslem force was not utterly annihilated there; while the formation so rapidly after that disaster of a fresh army, by which, with the help of Christian tribes (rare mark of Moslem liberality), a prodigious host was overthrown, and the prestige of Islam restored--showed powers of administration and generalship far beyond his fellows. The repeated supersession of Mothanna cost the Caliphate much, and at one time rendered the survival of Islam in Irâc doubtful; but it never, in the slightest measure, affected his loyalty and devotion to Omar. The nobility of the Moslem peerage may have rendered it difficult for the Caliph to place a Bedouin chieftain of obscure origin in command of men who, as Companions, had fought under the Prophet’s banner. But it is strange that no historian, jealous for the honour of the heroes of Islam, has regretted the supersession of one so distinguished, or sought to place Mothanna on the deserved pinnacle of fame, as one of the great generals of the world.[225]