The Caliphs And Their Non Muslim Subjects

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THE CALIPHS AND
THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

THE CALIPHS AND THEIR
NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

A Critical Study of the Covenant
of 'Umar

BY

A. S. TRITTON

MUSLIM UNIVERSITY, ALIGARH

HUMPHREY MILFORD

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

LONDON BOMBAY CALCUTTA MADRAS

1930

PRINTED AT

THE WESLEY AN MISSION PRESS
MYSORE CITY

PREFACE

PN the middle of India it is hard to get books ; I
could find only one Jewish book and some only of
the Christian authorities. This explains some of
the deficiencies of my work. Much more than appears
between inverted commas is translation, hence some
variations in spelling and some unevenness in the
English. My debt to von Kremer, Mez, Browne,
Shedd, and Sir T. W. Arnold is obvious. Chap-
ters VIII and XIII appeared in the Journal of the
Royal Asiatic Society, the former has been rewritten
and the latter revised. I used Mr. H. I. Bell's
translation of the papyri. He suggests that the
three taxes mentioned on p. 201 are land tax, poll-tax,
and the tax for the support of officials. If some of the
tales told by Muslims and repeated here are not true,
it does not matter much. If invented, they must
have been possible at the time of invention, or the
inventor thought that they represented the true
Muslim policy.

Dates are of the Hejira unless otherwise marked.
The only contraction used is * b.', * son of '. Arabic
history is full of proper names ; only the more
important are put in the index.

It is a pleasant duty to thank Prof. W. B.
Stevenson, of Glasgow, Maulvi Abd ul Aziz Memon
and Dr. S. Hadi Hasan, of Aligarh, for help given.
The last named also undertook the wearisome task
of reading the proofs.

A.S.T.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAP, P AOE

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . i

I. THE COVENANT OP 'UMAR . . . . 5

II. GOVERNMENT SERVICE . . 18

III. CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES . . 37

IV. A RIOT IN CAIRO . . . . 61
V. CHURCH AND STATE . . . . 78

VI. CHRISTIAN ARABS, JEWS, AND MAGIANS . . 89

VII. RELIGIOUS PRACTICES. . .. .. 100

VIII. DRESS .. .. .. ..115

IX. PERSECUTION, MOSTLY FINANCIAL . . 127

X. SOCIAL CONDITIONS . . . . . . 137

XL MEDICINE AND LITERATURE .. ..155

XII. HOLY GROUND . . . . . . 175

XIII. TAXATION . . . . . . . . 197

CONCLUSION . . . . . . 229

ORIGINAL AUTHORITIES . . . . 235

INDEX .. .. .. ..239

INTRODUCTION

A'FTJER the death of Muhammad, in A.D. 632, his
community was ruled by three caliphs, who kept
Medina, the City of the Prophet, as their capital.
That was the time of the most spectacular conquests.
The system of administration was simple. Arabs
were appointed governors of the provinces and to a
few of the chief posts in them, while most of the
subordinate officials retained their posts. The great
innovation was that the Arabs became the standing
army and militia, and were paid by the state to protect
it, the provincials supplying the money. Such orga-
nization of the state as there was was the work of 'Umar
I, who ruled from A.H. 13 to 23, A.D. 634 to 644.

From A.H. 40 to 132, A.D. 661 to 750, the Umayyad
caliphs ruled. They moved the capital to Damascus,
where the government was surrounded by a Chris-
Jtian population and exposed to the influence of an
old civilization. Mu'awia, the first caliph, owed his
success largely to having done his duty as an Arab
and avenged the murder of 'Uthman, and in con-
sonance with this he and his successors lived as Arab
chiefs rather than as rulers of a great empire. They
were Arabs first and Muslims second. The words
attributed to Mu'awia, * I found that the people of
Egypt were of three sorts, one-third men, one-third
like men, and one-third not men, i.e. Arabs, con-
verted foreigners, and those who pretend to be
Muslims, the Copts ', reveals the Umayyad mind. 1

1 M., i,so.

2 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

The words, c those who pretend to be Muslims ', are
probably an addition, but otherwise the saying may
well be genuine. The chief distinction in that age
was to be an Arab.

At first the idea was that no Muslim paid 'any-
thing to the state, rather he was kept by it. In
theory all revenue, except the profits of crown lands,
came from non-Muslims. It is doubtful how far the
religious taxes paid by Muslims were applied to
their rightful object, the relief of the poor ; they
may have gone into the common purse of the state.
As the provincials turned Muslim, and claimed ex-
emption from tribute, the revenue diminished, and it
was found necessary to compel the converts to pay.
'Umar II (A.H. 99-101, A.D. 717-720), who modelled
himself on his namesake, tried to make a state in
which all Muslims were equal, but died before he
could accomplish much. Throughout the dynasty
1 the antithesis was between Arab and non-Arab.

It was a popular saying at Damascus that under
the caliph Walld men talked of fine buildings, under
Sulaiman of cookery and women, and under 'Umar
II of religion. The epigram illustrates the fact that
the Umayyad caliphs took little interest in religion,
and that Muslim law began its development away
from the court and government.

The Umayyads fell as a result of internal strife
and of an attack from without, which promised to
elevate the family of the Prophet to the throne.

From A.H. 132 to 656, A.D. 750 to 1258, the
Abbasids reigned, though they did not always rule.
As they had been raised to power by Persians who
were devoted to the family of the Prophet, the

INTRODUCTION 3

Abbasid caliphs were Muslims first and then
monarchs in the style of the Great King. As Mus-
lims they were exact in the performance of their
religious duties, and often genuinely interested in
religion. As most of their supporters were Persians,
the Arabs lost their place of pride, and any Muslim,
whatever his race, might hope for success at court.

As the antithesis between Arab and non-Arab
disappeared, so that between Muslim and non-
Muslim was sharpened. The salaries of the Arabs
were stopped and all men paid taxes, though non-
Muslims still paid their special poll-tax.

At the beginning of the dynasty the Abbasids
ruled the whole Muslim world except Spain. In
the reign of Mamun (A.H. 198-218,^A.D. 813-833)
we find hereditary governors of provinces, and
about A.H. 250, A.D. 864, Egypt became practically
independent under Ahmad b. Tulun. Then separate
kingdoms arose in the east, while the caliphs
entrusted their fortunes to Turkish mercenaries,
who often tyrannized over their so-called masters.

In A.H. 334, A.D. 946, the Dailamite family of
Buwaih, who belonged to the sh?a sect, conquered
Baghdad, and the caliphs became puppets in the
hands of schismatics.

In A.H. 358, A.D. 959, the Fatimid caliphs, who
also belonged to the shfa sect, conquered Egypt,
and later Syria, and held them for two and a half

centuries.

In A.H. 431, A.D. 1040, the Seljuk Turks founded
a kingdom, and in A.H. 447, A.D. 1055, they took
Baghdad. The caliph kept up the form of sove-
reignty with his vizier and ministers, but all powei

4 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

was in the hands of the Turks. When their might
decayed, in A.H. 552, A.D. 1156, the Muslim world
split into a number of small states, of which
Baghdad, the seat of the caliph, was by no means
the most important. Most of these were wiped out
by the Mongols when they sacked Baghdad in A.H.
656.

Long before this the laws fixing the status of
the non-Muslim subjects had been made, some by
lawyers, some by caliphs. The lawyers' laws seem
to have been complete by A.H. 200, A.D. 815, while
the laws of Mutawakkil (A.H. 232-247, A.D. 47-861)
sufficed for later monarchs, who only put them in
force again. It depended on the temper of the
monarch or the political exigencies of the time
whether they were enforced or not.

CHAPTER I
THE COVENANT OF 'UMAR

UNDER the rule of the caliphs those who did not
confess the Muslim faith were under certain restric-
tions both in public and private life. This was the
price they paid for the privilege of living under
Muslim government. The only religions recognized
as entitled to this privilege were the Christian,
Jewish, Magian, Samaritan, and Sabian. Adherents
of these were called * the people of protection '
(aklu dh-dhimmatf) or dhimmis. It was held that
the words of the Koran (9, 27), * Until they pay
tribute out of hand, and they be humbled ', justified
these restrictions/ A list of them is contained in
the 'covenant of 'Umar I'. This is recorded in
several forms. One is given in a letter from 'Umar,
in which he quotes a letter from some Christians.

* When you came to us we asked of you safety
for our lives, our families, our property, and the
people of our religion on these conditions ; to pay
tribute out of hand and be humiliated ; not to hinder
any Muslim from stopping in our churches by
night or day, to entertain him there three days and
give him food there and open to him their doors ;
to beat the nakus * only gently in them and not to
raise our voices in them in chanting ; not to shelter
there, nor in any of our houses, a spy of your

* A board beaten with a stick or hammer, taking the place of bells in
eastern churches. In Spain the word is used for bell.

6 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

enemies ; not to build a church, convent, hermitage* 1
or cell, nor repair those that are dilapidated, nor
assemble in any that is in a Muslim quarter, nor
in their presence ; not to display idolatry nor ir^vite
to it, nor show a cross on our churches, nor In any
of the roads or markets of the Muslims ; not to learn
the Koran nor teach it to our children ; not to pre-
vent any of our relatives from turning Muslim if he
wish it; to cut our hair in front; to tie the zunriar
round our waists ; to keep to our religion ; not to
resemble the Muslims in dress, appearance, saddles,
the engraving on our seals (that we should engrave
them in Arabic) ; not to use their kunyas ; 2 to honour
and respect them, to stand up for them when we meet
together ; to guide them in their ways and goings ;
not to make our houses higher (than theirs) ; not
to keep weapons or swords, nor wear them in a town
or on a journey in Muslim lands ; not to sell wine
or display it ; not to light fires with our dead in a
road where Muslims dwell, nor to raise our voices at
their (? our) funerals, nor bring them near Muslims ;*
not to strike a Muslim ; not to keep slaves who have
been the property of Muslims. We impose these
terms on ourselves and our co-religionists ; he who
rejects them has no protection.' 3

Another form of the covenant is given in a letter
to Abu 'Ubaida, the chief commander in Syria and
apparently from Damascus.

' When thou earnest into our land we asked of thee

1 Kall&ya t SynajcJ{ellitha. In other copies the word is corrupt. It may
stand for Kall&ya or Kullaisa* which is found in the Mustatraf. Kullais
was the name of a church in Sanaa, and has become a common noun.

1 The titles, ' father of ', ' son of ', ' mother of '. LA., 1, 178.

THE COVENANT OF 'UMAR 7

safety for our lives and the people of our religion,
and we imposed these terms on ourselves ; not to
build in Damascus and its environs church, convent,
chapel, monk's hermitage, not to repair what is
dilapidated of our churches nor any of them that are
in Muslim quarters ; not to withhold our churches
from Muslims stopping there by night or day ; to
open their doors to the traveller and wayfarer ; not
to shelter there nor in our houses a spy, not to hide
one who is a traitor to the Muslims ; to beat the
nakus only gently in our churches, not to display a
cross on them, not to raise our voices in prayer or
chanting in our churches, not to carry in proces-
sion a cross or our book, not to take out Easter
or Palm Sunday processions ; not to raise our
voices over our dead, nor to show fires with them
in the markets of the Muslims, nor bring our
funerals near them ; not to sell wine nor parade
idolatry in companies of Muslims ; not to entice
a Muslim to our religion nor invite him to it ;
not to keep slaves who have been the property
of Muslims ; * not to prevent any relative from
entering Islam if he wish it; to keep our religion
wherever we are ; not to resemble the Muslims in
wearing the kalansuwa? the turban, shoes, nor in
the parting of the hair, nor in their way of
riding; not to use their language nor be called
by their names ; to cut the hair in front and
divide our forelocks ; to tie the zunriar round our
waists ; not to engrave Arabic on our seals ; not to
ride on saddles ; not to keep arms nor put them in
our houses nor wear swords; to honour Muslims

1 Ar-raldku 'Uadlna jarat 'alaihim siham ul-muslimln. 3 A tall cap.

8 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

in their gatherings, to guide them on the road, to
stand up in public meetings when they wish it ; not
to make our houses higher than theirs; not to
teach our children the Koran ; not to be partners
with a Muslim except in business; to entertain
every Muslim traveller in our customary style and
feed him in it three days. We will not abuse a
Muslim, and he who strikes a Muslim has forfeited
his rights/ *

The version given in the Mustalraf is very like
Abu 'Ubaida's, but one phrase has been omitted
(whether by the fault of the compiler or a copyist
could only be decided by an examination of the
manuscripts), so that it reads, l not to build in or
near our cities churches, convents, chapels, and
cells; not to repair those that are dilapidated by
day or night ; to open their doors to the traveller
and wayfarer.' 2

There are some very curious points in this
covenant. It is not usual for a conquered people to
decide the terms on which they shall be admitted to
alliance with the victors. Again, it is strange that
the conquered Christians should forbid themselves
all knowledge of the Koran, and yet quote it to the
caliph, * to pay tribute out of hand and be humbled '.
The covenant is attributed now to 'Umar and now
to his general. This is not strange if it were
concluded by the general and ratified by the caliph.
It is strange that, in the popular form, it is a treaty
with a nameless town. If it had been made with
Damascus, the capital of the province, one would
expect the fact to have been remembered. The other

1 LA., 1,149. Must., 1,124.

THE COVENANT OF 'UMAR 9

alternative is that it was first made with a place
the name of which was forgotten, and then it was
assumed to be the treaty between Abu 'Ubaida and
Damascus. This view might be supported by the
existence of other treaties with Damascus. These
vary, from Khalid's * This is what Khalid b. Walld
gave to the inhabitants of Damascus. He gave them
security for their persons, property, churches, and
the wall of their city. None of their houses shall be
destroyed or confiscated. On these terms they have
alliance with God, and the protection of His Prophet,
the caliphs, and the believers. Nothing but good
shall befall them if they pay tribute,' * to such as
this ' These are the terms imposed on the dhimmis
of Syria (or Damascus) ; to bring back lost animals ;
to build bridges for travellers out of their own means;
to entertain a Muslim traveller three days; not to
abuse or strike a Muslim ; not to display a cross in
any gathering of Muslims ; not to let a pig stray
into any Muslim house ; not to carry wine in any
gathering of them ; to light beacons for the soldiers ;
not to betray the Muslims ; not to build any new
church nor beat the nakus before the call to prayer ;
not to display flags in their feasts nor to carry arms
then ; not to show arms in their houses.' 2

On the other hand, no treaty with any Syrian
town at all resembles the covenant; they are all
quite simple. That with Hims may be taken as
typical. ' The inhabitants of Hims made peace with
him on condition that he gave them security for
their persons, property, the city wall, the churches
and the mills. He set apart a quarter of the church

1 B., 121 ; I.A., 1, 241. LA., 1, 150.

10 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

of St. John as a mosque, and imposed tribute oy.
those who remained.' 1 Even that with Jerusalem,
made by 'Umar in person, is not nearly so detailed.
The important clauses of it are. * He gave thfem
security for their lives, property, churches, *and
crosses, their sick and healthy, and the rest of their
religion. Their churches shall not be used as dwel-
lings nor destroyed, nor they (the churches), nor
their estates, nor their crosses, nor their property be
diminished in any way. They shall not be per-
secuted for religion's sake. No Jew shall dwell with
them there. Whoso wishes to go to the Greeks
and take his property with him shall leave his
churches and crosses. There shall be no payment
of tribute till the harvest is gathered in.' 2

Suspicion arises that the covenant is not the
work of 'Umar. It presupposes closer intercourse
between Christians and Muslims than was possible
in the early days of the conquest. We cannot save
it by arguing that it was legislation for the future.
That was not the way of 'Umar and his advisers;
as statesmen they lived from hand to mouth, and
did not look to the future. Sufficient proof of this
is found in the laws about tribute. These assumed
that the Arabs would continue to live on the labour
of the dhimmis ; so that when these latter were con-
verted in crowds to Islam, the finances of the state
and the state itself received a grievous and quite un-
expected shock. It has been argued that Syria was
the frontier province and more exposed to war with
Byzantium, therefore, it was needful to impose
special restrictions on the inhabitants. To which it

1 B., 131. * T., I, 2405.

THE COVENANT OF 'UMAR 11

i$ enough to say that only part of the province was
exposed to the danger of foreign war, that al Jazira
North Mesopotamia was in the same or even a
higher degree the seat of war with the Greeks, and
we hear nothing of these rules being enforced there.
Later they were more or less enforced throughout
the Muslim world, but there is no evidence to show
that they were enforced in Syria in the days of
'Umar.

But this is not all. There is another form of the
covenant which is said to have been reached after
a conversation between 'Umar, Abu 'Ubaida, and
the patrician Constantine. It runs as follows:
1 These are the terms imposed on the Christians.
The rich are to pay forty-eight dirhams, the middle
class twenty-four, and the poor twelve. They are
not to build churches, not to lift up a cross in the
presence of Muslims, and to beat the riakus inside
the churches only. They are to share their houses
that the Muslims may dwell in them, otherwise I
['Umar] shall not be easy about you. They are to
give that part of the churches towards Mecca as
mosques for the Muslims, for they are in the middle
of the towns. They are not to drive pigs into the
presence of Muslims. They are to entertain them as
guests three days and nights. They are to provide
mounts, for those on foot, from village to village.
They are to help them and not to betray them.
They are not to make agreements with their
enemies. He who breaks these conditions may be
slain and his women and children made slaves/ 1

1 Ghazi, 389.

12 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

The conclusion forced on one is that no one kney
what the covenant of 'Umar was; and that any
collection of peace terms might be glorified with his
name. It would seem that it was an exercise in the
schools of law to draw up pattern treaties* One
such is preserved in the Kitdb ul Umm. It may be
quoted as the fullest statement of the limitations
imposed on the people of the book. After a protocol,
in which the name of the contracting country and
its prince could be inserted, it proceeds :

* I, and all Muslims, promise you and your fellow
Christians security as long as you and they keep
the conditions we impose upon you. Which are:
you shall be under Muslim laws and no other, and
shall not refuse to do anything we demand of you.
If any of you says of the Prophet, of God's book or
His religion what is unfitting, he is debarred from
the protection of God, the Commander of the Faith-
ful, and all Muslims ; "the conditions on which
security was given are annulled; and the Com-
mander of the Faithful has put his property and life
outside the pale of the law*like the property and
lives of enemies. If one of you commits fornication
with or marries a Muslim woman, or robs a Muslim
on the highway, or turns a Muslim from his religion,
or helps their enemies as a soldier or guide to
Muslim weaknesses, or shelters their spies, he has
broken his agreement, and his life and property are
without the law. He who does lesser harm than
this to the goods or honour of a Muslim shall be
punished. We shall scrutinize your dealing with
Muslims, and if you have done anything unlawful
for a Muslim we shall undo it and punish you ; e.g.

THE COVENANT OF 'UMAR 13

if you have sold to a Muslim any forbidden thing, as
wine, pigs, blood, or an (unclean) carcase, we shall
annul the sale, take the price from you (if you have
received it) or withhold it from you (if it has not
been paid) ; we shall pour out the wine or blood
and burn the carcase. If he (the Muslim) wishes it
to be destroyed we shall do nothing to him, but we
shall punish you. You shall not give him any
forbidden thing to eat or drink, and shall not give
him a wife in the presence of your witnesses nor in
an illegal marriage. We shall not scrutinize nor
enquire into a contract between you and any other
unbeliever. If either party wishes to annul the
contract, and brings a request to us, if we think
that it should be annulled we shall annul it, if it is
legal we shall allow it. But if the object has been
taken and lost we shall not restore it, for a sale
between unbelievers has been finished. If you or
any other unbeliever asks for judgment we shall
give it according to Muslim law ; if we are not
approached we shall not interfere between you. If
you kill accidentally a Muslim or an ally, Christian
or not, then the relatives (of the homicide) shall pay
blood money, as among Muslims. For you, relatives
are on the father's side. If a homicide has no relatives
then his estate must pay. A murderer shall be
killed unless the heirs wish to take blood money,
which shall be paid at once. A thief, if his victim
complains, shall have his hand cut off, if this is the
punishment, and shall pay a fine. The slanderer
shall be punished if the punishment is fixed; if
not, he shall be punished according to Muslim law.
You shall not display in any Muslim town the cross

14 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

nor parade your idolatry, nor build a church ncy
place of assembly for your prayers, nor beat the
ndkus, nor use your idolatrous language about Jesus,
the son of Mary, to any Muslim. You shall wfear
the zunnar above all your clothes, cloaks * and
others, so that it is not hidden ; you shall use
peculiar saddles and manner of riding, and make
your kalansuwas different from those of the Mus-
lims by a mark you put on them. You shall not
take the crest of the road nor the chief seats in
assemblies, when Muslims are present. Every free
adult male of sound mind shall pay poll-tax, one
dinar of full weight, at new year. He shall not
leave his town till he has paid and shall not
appoint a substitute to pay it, one who pays no
jizya till the beginning of the year. A poor man is
liable for his jizya till it is paid ; poverty does not
cancel any of your obligations nor abrogate the
protection given you. [Text ?] If you have anything
we shall take it. The jizya is the only burden on
your property as long as you stay in your town or
travel in Muslim land, except as merchants. You
may not enter Mecca under any conditions. If you
travel with merchandise you must pay one-tenth to
the Muslims, you may go where you like in Muslim
land, except Mecca, and may stay in any Muslim
land you like except the Hedjaz, where you may
stay three days only till you depart.

* These terms are binding on him who has hair
under his clothes, is adult, or has completed fifteen
years before this date, if he agrees to them ; if not,
there is no treaty with him. * Your little boys, im-
mature lads, lunatics, and slaves do not pay jistya*

THE COVENANT OF 'UMAR 15

If a lunatic becomes sane, a boy grows up, a slave is
set free and follows your religion, he pays jizya.*
The terms are binding on you and those who
accfept them; we have no treaty with those who
refuse them. We will protect you and your lawful
(according to our law) property against any one,
Muslim or not, who tries to wrong you, as we
protect ourselves and our own property; our
decisions about it will be the same as those about
our own property, and ourselves. Our protection
does not extend to forbidden things, like blood,
carcases, wine and pigs, but we will not interfere
with them ; only you must not obtrude them
on Muslim towns. If a Muslim or other buys them
we will not force him to pay, for they are forbidden
and have no price ; but we will not let him annoy
you about them, and if he does it again we will punish
him, but will not force him to pay. You must fulfil
all the conditions we have imposed on you. You
must not attack a Muslim nor help their enemies by
word or deed.

* The treaty of God and His promise and the most
complete fulfilment of promise He has imposed on
any of His creatures; you have the treaty of God
and His promise and the protection of N.N. the
Commander of the Faithful, and of the Muslims to
fulfil their obligations towards you. Your sons,
when they grow up, have the same obligations as
you. If you alter or change them then the protec-
tion of God, of N.N. the Commander of the Faithful,
and of the Muslims is taken from you. He who is at a
distance, yet receives this document and approves
it, these are the terms that are binding on him and

16 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

on us, if he approves them ; if he does not approve,
we have no treaty with him/ 1

The object of the following chapters is to trace
the rise of these various enactments, as far as that
is possible. One difficulty is that most Muslim
historians pay very little attention to the affairs of
the dhimmis. Another is that in the east law is
often the expression of the will or whim of the ruler.
Laws are made and obeyed as long as the lawgiver
is interested in them. When he grows bored with
one subject or starts another hobby, things return
in a short while to their old course. We shall see
many examples of this.

Before going into details there is one general
remark to be made. In theory the dhimmi had to
fulfil all the conditions of the covenant if he would
claim protection. In practice a few actions only put
him outside the protection of Muslim law. The
lawyers did not entirely agree what these actions
were.

Malik, Shafe'i, and Ahmad b. Hanbal hold that
failure to pay the poll-tax deprives them of protec-
tion. This was not the view of Abu Hanlfa. Ahmad
and Malik hold that four things put the dhimmi
outside the law blasphemy of God, of His book,
of His religion, and of His Prophet.

Abu 1 Kasim said that eight deeds made a dhimmi
an outlaw. They are an agreement to fight the
Muslims, fornication with a Muslim woman, an
attempt to marry one, an attempt to pervert a Muslim
from his religion, robbery of a Muslim on the
highway, acting as a spy for unbelievers or sending

1 Umm.4,118.

THE COVENANT OF 'UMAR 17

them information or acting as guide to them, and
tlie killing of a Muslim man or woman. 1

Abu Hanifa taught that they must not be too
severe .with dhimmis who insulted the Prophet.
Shafe'i gaid that one who repented of having insulted
the Prophet might be pardoned and restored to his
privileges. Ibn Taimiya taught that the death
penalty could not be evaded. 2

1 Mizan, 2, 162. 2 Andrae, Person Muhammeds, 268.

CHAPTER II
GOVERNMENT SERVICE

WHEN the Arabs consolidated their conquests
they took over the administrative system they found
there and those officials who had not fled. An histori-
cal parallel is given by the action of Ibn Sa'ud, the
sultan of Nejd, when he conquered the Turkish
province of Hufuf. None of his Arabs could or
would do the clerical work of the minister of finance ;
it would not have been politic to employ a local
merchant; so he kept the Turkish official in his
service. Sometimes the Arabs were in straits to
find suitable men. When the capture of Caesarea
put a finish to the conquest of Palestine the prisoners
were sent to the caliph 'Umar. Some he gave as
slaves to orphans of the Ansar: some he made
clerks and employed in government service. 1 Abu
Musa al Ash'ari had a Christian secretary. 2 On the
other hand, it is reported that 'Umar refused to
employ a Christian of Hira. 8 It is said that Mu'awia
was jealous of 'Abd ur Rahman b. Khalid, and bribed
his physician, Ibn Uthal, a Christian, to poison him.
He rewarded the doctor by releasing him from the
payment of tribute and making him collector of taxes
in Hims. 4

It was not till the reign of 'Abd ul Malik that
official records began to be kept in Arabic instead

1 B., 142. * 'Uyun, 1, 43 ; Ghazi, 388. 8 'Uyun, 1, 43.

4 T., II, 82 ; Agh., 15, 12. Wellhausen doubts the appointment at
Elims.

GOVERNMENT SERVICE 19

D, in Greek, Persian, and Coptic. As told by
Baladhuri, the story shows that the active head of
the finance department was a Syrian in Syria and
in Persia a Persian. Sarjun, who had been appoint-
ed firstly Mu'awia, was secretary to the caliph and
said to his co-religionists, 'Seek your livelihood in
another profession, for God has taken this from you.' 1
This gloomy prediction was not fulfilled ; indeed
Sarjun b. Mansur was succeeded by his son, and
it was seldom that no Christians were to be found
in government service. 2 As late as 253 a receipt
for taxes in Egypt was written in both Arabic and
Greek. 3 In Isfahan Arabic was first used in the
government offices in the time of Abu Muslim. 4
While Walld b. 'Ukba was governor of Kufa a
Christian was head of a prison near the town, c. 26. 5

In Egypt the Byzantine officers were retained.
One, named Menas, who had been made prefect of
the north province by Heraclius, and who, being
presumptuous and illiterate, detested the Egyptians,
was kept at his post by the Muslims after the con-
quest. Another, Shenouti, was made governor of the
Rif, and Philoxenus governor of Arcadia or Fayyum.
These men loved the pagans, detested the Christians,
and forced them to bring to the Muslims forage,
milk, honey, fruit, raisins, and many other things
over and above the ordinary rations. 6 This Menas
squeezed 32,056 pieces of gold out of Alexandria as
tribute. He was replaced by John, who paid 22,000,
the rightful sum fixed by the treaty. 7

Athanasius, a native of Edessa, who held office in

1 B,, 193, 300. M., 1, 98. Rainer, 787. I.R., 196.

Agh., 4, 183. ' J.N., 375. ' J.N., 384.

20 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Egypt, is comparatively well known. Marwan fir,st
appointed him along with Isaac, another Christian.
He became head of the government offices in
Alexandria, and led the other Christian officials in
making a petition to the governor about ' church
affairs. In official correspondence he is the 'glorious
secretary ', and in his establishment are twenty and
again forty-four clerks. He was treasurer to 'Abd
ul 'Aziz. Finally he was dismissed, and one Abu
Yarbu' appointed in his place. On his return to
Syria his property all that he had acquired in
Egypt was confiscated. Legend has been busy
with him. He is said to have been paid 60,000
dinars a year and one dinar from every soldier. Bar
Hebraeus says that his fame reached 'Abd ul Malik,
who made him tutor to his little brother, 'Abd ul
'Aziz. 1 He grew very powerful, owned four thousand
slaves, houses, villages, and gardens, and gold and
silver like stones. From the rent of four hundred
shops, which he owned in Edessa, he built the church
of the Mother of God there. Sarjun, whowasaMelkite,
envied him, and slandered him to the caliph, saying
that he had stolen the treasures of Egypt. Moral
suasion was employed, so Athanasius gave up what
satisfied the caliph and still had much left for
himself. In spite of exaggerations, it is clear that he
had great power and used it for the benefit of his
fellow Christians.

A certain Theodosius, who was a prominent
Melkite, held a high position in Alexandria. He
went to Yazid, at Damascus, and, in return for a

1 S., 116, 133, 135 ; B.M., 4, 1447 ; K., 50, 59 ; M., 1, 98 ; B.H., 112 ;
Lang., 247.

GOVERNMENT SERVICE 21

big sum of money, got a patent as governor of
Alexandria, Mareotis and their dependencies,
independent of the governor of Egypt. He was an
enemy of the Coptic patriarch, and used his position
to vex him. He extorted thirty-six dinars yearly as a
tax for his disciples (it is possible that at this time the
clergy, as such, did not pay taxes), the governor's
share of the requisitions for the fleet, besides other
monies. 1 There seems to be some exaggeration here,
but there is no reason to doubt that a Christian
could exercise great power.

During the patriarchate of Alexander (81-106)
Theodore was prefect of Alexandria. 2 In official
letters he is called Augustalis, which was the title in
Byzantine times of the prefect of Alexandria. 8 He
was probably the second in command under an Arab.
In the time of Hajjaj, Muhammad b. Marwan, the
governor of North Mesopotamia put to death
Anastasius b. Andrew, the headman of Edessa, and
the chronicler adds, c up to that time Christians had
been secretaries, prefects, and governors of districts
for the Arabs.' 4

'Umar II was shocked that non-Muslims should
exercise authority over Muslims, and tried to pre-
vent it. His letter to the governors is instructive.
* To proceed ; God honoured, exalted and streng-
thened His people with Islam, and put humiliation
and shame on their opponents. He made them the
best nation that was created for men. We will not
give to their subjects authority over any one of them,
nor over their revenue ; lest they stretch out their
hands and tongues against them. We will humiliate

1 S., 113, 137. * S., 141. 8 B.M., 4, 1392. * S.A., 1, 294.

22 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

and disgrace them after that God had strengthened
and honoured them. We will expose them to
deceit and pride ; and one is never safe from their
treachery. God says, " Take not your friends from
outside yourselves " (K. 3, 114). They will not fail
to corrupt you, they desire your suffering. So do
not choose Jews and Christians as friends.' In
Egypt he removed some of the Coptic officials and
replaced them by Muslims. Indeed, he claims to
have done this throughout the empire, for he writes,
4 1 do not know a secretary or official in any part of
your government who was not a Muslim but I dis-
missed him and appointed in his stead a Muslim/ *

The caliph Sulaiman made a Christian secretary,
al Batrik b. Naka, overseer of his constructions in
Ramla (Palestine), water channels, wells, and a
mosque. 2

About this time Muslims are found in subordinate
government posts. The pay of an Arab clerk and
the upkeep of his horses is an item in the accounts
between A.D. 714 and 716. 8 In A.D. 710 an Arab, or
at least a Muslim, is postmaster in a small town. 4
This is perhaps significant, for in later times the
postmaster was also in the secret service. Hisham,
in a letter to Khalid ul Kasri, refers to * what you
have done in the way of asking help from Magians
and Christians, and making them rule over the necks
of the Muslims, and collecting their taxes, and exer-
cising authority over them.' 5 Mansur appointed a
Jew, Musa, one of the two collectors of revenue. 6 It

1 K. f 60 ; Umar, 165 ; Ath., y. 101 ; S., 143.

B., 143. B.M., 4, 1434. B.M., 4, 1347.

5 Mubarrad, 790. Lang., 261 ; C.M., 248 .

GOVERNMENT SERVICE 23

is clear that the relations of Christians with authority
were sometimes very easy. Bukam, a rich man
from Bura, in Egypt, came to Mamun and asked to
be n^ade headman of his town. The caliph said,
* Turn "Muslim, become my client, and I will make
you headman/ Bukam replied, * You have ten
thousand Muslim clients and not one Christian.'
Mamun laughed, and made him headman of Bura
and district. 1

Mutawakkil re-enacted the law that no non-Muslim
should be in government service ; 2 he even went so
far as to dismiss, in 247, the Christian keeper of the
Nilometer. Abu Raddad was appointed in his
place at a salary of six, or, according to another
story, seven dinars monthly. 8 At the accession of
Muktadir, however, the Christian secretaries had
become powerful again, so complaint was made to
the caliph, and in 296 he dismissed them. ' But this
did not last long.' 4 In 313 a Christian was
secretary to the head of the diwan of Lower
Mesopotamia, one was head of the diwan of the
palace, and two more were heads of the private
diwan and the treasury. 5 In 319, when Husain b.
Kasim was intriguing to become vizier, he thought
it worth while to curry favour with the Christian
secretaries. 6 Many of the prominent men of that
time had Christian secretaries, Ibn abi Saj, governor
of Armenia and Adharbaijan, Muflih, the eunuch,
'AH b. *Isa, the vizier, Abu Sulaiman b. Daud b.
Hamdan, one of the family ruling in Mosul, Munis
the Victorious, and the sons of Raik. 7 Ahmad b.

1 But., 2, 434. M,, 2, 494. K., 203, 507. 'Arib., 30. B 'Arib., 125.
'Arib., 164. ' 'Arib., 31, 112, 135, 159, 169 ; Ed., 1, 218.

24 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Tulun employed a Christian architect, but lost his
temper with him, beat him and threw him into prison.
When he wanted to build a new mosque it was sug-
gested that he should take pillars from churches in
deserted villages and the Delta. He refused, because
such pillars were unclean and he wished to build his
mosque with clean money. His architect heard of
the dilemma, and sent a message from prison that
he could build a mosque without pillars except the
two beside the mihrab* Ahmad had him brought
from prison, his uncut hair hanging over .his face,
and questioned him. He sketched the mosque on
a piece of parchment, and was given the work.
When it was finished he received a present of ten
thousand dinars and a comfortable provision till
his death. 1 The village of Anduna was named after
a Christian servant of Ahmad, one whom he had
dismissed and fined fifty thousand dinars. 2

In Baghdad a Christian vizier, 'Abdun b. Sa'id,
visited the kadi, Ismail b. Ishak, who rose up to
greet him. He noticed that the witnesses and the
rest of the company disapproved of his action.
When the vizier had gone, he said, * I noticed your
disapproval, but God has said, " God does not forbid
you to have dealings with those who have not
fought with you for religion's sake nor driven you
out of your homes " (K. 60, 8). This man manages
the business of Muslims, he is the ambassador
between us and the caliph. What I did was right.*
This speech convinced those who listened to it. 8
One account says that non-Muslims were dismissed
from government service by *Amr b. 1 'As, the

1 M., 2, 265. M., 2, 269. Y.Ir., 2, 259.

GOVERNMENT SERVICE 25

caliphs 'Abd ul Malik and Mamun, and the vizier
Yahya b. Fadl. 1

Ibn Sagha, who was named Paul, the Coptic
secretary, was finance minister in Egypt during the
Ikshhid dynasty. 2 The Fatimids attached great
importance to the post of chief secretary, and chose
their secretaries, both Muslims and dhimmis, for
their skill in writing. A poet said of the Jews
under the Fatimids:

The Jews of this age have attained their highest hopes and
grown strong.

Power is theirs and wealth, from them is chosen the coun-
sellor and the king.

Men of Egypt, turn Jews, I advise you ; the sky has turned
Jew. 8

It is stated definitely that in Spain and Morocco
no Christians and no Jews were secretaries. 4

Mukaddasi reports in the fourth century that the
clerks in Syria and Egypt were Christians, as were
most of the doctors in Syria. 5 In 369 the vizier in
Baghdad was a Christian, Nasr b. Harun. 8 When
Ibn ul Furat was blamed for setting a Christian in
command of the army, he defended himself against
the charge of impiety by pleading the example
of previous caliphs who had given office to Chris-
tians. 7 These Christian officers received all the
usual marks of honour, for the Muslims objected to
kissing their hands. In 387 two Christians were
masters of the town of Dakuk, acted as rulers in it,
and made the Muslims their servants. Some of
these came to Jibrail b. Muhammad and said, c You

1 Ghazi, 392 f . M., 1, 73. * Husn, 2, 129, 146.

4 Mak., 1, 134. 8 Muk., 183. Eel., 2,406. T Viziers, 95.

26 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

want to fight the unbelievers, here are two all ready
for you/ He captured the two men and seized
their property. 1 In 380 al 'Aziz, the caliph of
Egypt, made 'Isa b. Nestorius vizier, and Man|sseh,
a Jew, his deputy in Syria. The vizier favoured the
Christians and the deputy the Jews. Complaint was
made, so the caliph tortured both of them, seized
300,000 dinars from 'Isa and a large sum from
Manasseh. 2 Reference is made elsewhere to Abu
Nasr, the Christian official in Baghdad. 3

In 393 'Isa b. Nestorius and Fahd b. Ibrahim
were in the service of al Hakim ; in 400 Mansur b.
'Abdun was his chief minister, and in 401 Zar'a b.
'Isa. 4

Abu Sa'd Ibrahim and Abu Nasr Harun were
the sons of a Jew, Sahl of Tustar. One was a
merchant and the other a banker, who also dealt in
goods from Irak. They were famous for their
extensive trade, and for giving back to the heirs
things deposited with them by traders who had
since died. For this they had a good reputation.
They became important men. Ibrahim served the
caliph az Zahir, bought all manner of goods for him,
and advanced in favour. Az Zahir bought a black
slave girl from him, was pleased with her, and begat
Mustansir on her. She furthered the interests of
Ibrahim, and when Mustansir became caliph she
advanced him and attached him to her own service.
When al Jarjarai died, Ibn ul Anbari became vizier.
Abu Nasr went to pay his respects to the new vizier,
and one of the servants insulted him. He expected

1 Ath., y. 387; B.H., 201. Ath., y. 380 ; lyas, 1, 48.

1 B.H., 205. * M., 2, 286.

GOVERNMENT SERVICE 27

the vizier to rebuke the man and apologise, but the
opposite happened, and he was again insulted. He
then complained to his brother, who at once set the
queep-mother against the vizier. She persuaded her
son to dismiss him and appoint Abu Nasr Sadaka
b. Yusuf in his place. He was a creature of Ibrahim,
and did as he was told. This was in 436. Though
not a minister, Ibrahim was the power behind the
throne. 1

In Persia the minister of Malikshah, Nizam ul
Mulk, was alarmed at the employment of dhimmis
by the government in place of Turks. In 484 he
wrote : ' If a Jew or Christian, Magian or Karmathian,
gets a position of authority or does the work of a
Turk, carelessness is their chief characteristic ;
there is no respect for religion, no love for the state,
and no pity for the subjects. They (Jews, etc.)
become very rich. The author fears the evil eye
and knows not how this may go. In the days of
Mahmud, Mas'ud, Tughril, and Alp Arslan no Ma-
gian, Jew, Christian, or heretic had the boldness to
take part in public life.' 2 Probably the writer was
the victim of a common weakness, and ascribed to
the past a virtue it did not possess.

In 501 Majd ud Dm b. Muttalib was made vizier
of the caliph in Baghdad, on condition that he did
not employ any dhimmis in the government offices, 8
In 506 a Jew, Abu Minja b. Isaiah, was the engineer
or surveyor in charge of digging the canal called by
his name.* In 519 al Amir did without a vizier, and
appointed two heads for the government offices, one
of whom was a Samaritan, Abu Ya'kub Ibrahim, and

1 M., 1, 424. * Siyasetnameh, 139. Ath., y. 501. * M., 1, 72.

28 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

a private secretary, Ibn abi Najah, a monk. This last
lorded it over the people, directed the ministry, and
extorted money from the Christians. Then he began
to squeeze everybody officials, tax-farmers^ 'and
others till all, headmen, kadis, and clerks, suffered
from his exactions. Then al Amir had him put to
death. 1 In 529 al Hafiz made Taj ud Dawla Bahram,
an Armenian Christian, his vizier. He dismissed
Muslims and appointed Armenians, and generally
oppressed the Muslim population. Ridwan led a
riot against him, so he fled to Aswan, and was killed
there in 53 1. 2 Asad ud Din Shirkuh, the conqueror
of Egypt, had joined Nur ud Dm because he had
killed a Christian secretary in Tekrit. 3 In Egypt
he probably obeyed the orders of Nur ud Dm, and
dismissed all Christians from the civil service,
though Saladin certainly employed them. Nur ud
Dm dismissed all Christians from public service in
Mosul, and all employed in the palace, except
'Abdun, his servant, an old, prudent man, rich in
gold and knowledge. 4 In 569, when the Egyptians
were conspiring with the Franks against Saladin,
he used a Christian to discover their secrets. 5

The manner of collecting the taxes in Egypt and
an irregularity in the same are described by Makrizi.
When the Nile fell and sowing began, headquarters
sent out a prudent man with reliable assessors who
knew about the tribute, and often a Christian clerk,
to survey the crops, etc ; then in the fourth Coptic
month valiant soldiers, reliable clerks, and a different
Christian clerk, to receive one-third of the tribute. 6

1 M., 2, 291. a Ath., y. 531. B.H. Mu., 370.

4 S.A., 2, 168. ' Ath., y. 569. M., 1, 86.

GOVERNMENT SERVICE 29

In the reign of al Hafiz lidin illah, when the
Nile flood was over, witnesses, Christians, and
clerks were sent to the provinces to measure the
irrigated and cultivated land and to record the taxes.
The collector, surveyor and witnesses went to
measure a district. A Christian clerk had stayed
behind, and wished to cross the river into the
district to catch up with them. A boatman took him
across and asked for payment. The clerk was
angry, cursed him, and said, ' I am the surveyor,
and you want me to pay the fare for crossing ! '
The boatman said, * If I have a field, take it;' seized
his mule's bridle and threw it into the boat. So the
Christian had to pay the fare. When the survey was
finished, and he made a clean copy of the assessment
to take to the office in the capital, as was customary,
he added twenty feddans to the total, and left a
blank on one page. He showed the list to the
witnesses and got their signatures to its accuracy.
Then he wrote in the blank : ' The field of the
Bridle, the name of the boatman, twenty feddans, a
fief, four dinars the feddan, total eighty dinars ' ; and
took the assessment to the ministry of finance. It
was the custom, when four months of the financial
year had elapsed, to send dare-devil soldiers, clerks,
witnesses, and a Christian clerk to the provinces to
collect one-third of land tax according to the assess-
ment. This was spent on the army, which then had
no estates as it has now. It was usual not to send the
man who made the survey, but others. When the
collector, the clerk, and the witnesses went to collect
one-third of the revenue, they summoned the farmers
on the basis of the assessment, among them

30 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

the boatman, and they forced him to pay twenty-six
and two-thirds dinars, one third of the eighty in the
list. He denied having any land in the district, and
the villagers supported him. The collector, a^ liard
man, refused to listen, beat him with a whip, appealed
to the signatures of the witnesses on the assessment,
and made him sell his boat and what not to pay the
third of the tax.

The boatman went to Cairo and told his story to
the caliph. The tax lists were examined, and no
mention of the field of the Bridle was found in them.
The guilty clerk was paraded round the various
offices, and all Christians were dismissed from
government service. Now al Hafiz believed in
astrology, so the Christian clerks bribed his favourite
astrologer to tell him that Egypt would flourish if a
certain Christian were given power in the land.
The caliph fell into the trap, and made this man, al
Akhram b. Zakariah, head of the offices. He at
once appointed more Christians than ever. They
showed off their wealth by wearing fine clothes, and
riding horses of the best breed. They oppressed the
Muslims, seized the property of religious institutions,
and kept Muslim slaves and slave girls. They even
forced one Muslim clerk to sell his children to pay a
fine. 1

During the intrigues between the Egyptians and
the Franks to drive Saladin out of Egypt, a Jewish
secretary wrote the letters from Egypt. 2

A Christian held some post in the army. He
turned monk, and lived in the desert of the mountains
of Hulwan. It is said that he discovered a treasure

1 M., 1,405. * M., 2,22.

GOVERNMENT SERVICE 31

that had belonged to the caliph, al Hakim. With
it he helped the poor and fugitive of every religion.
His fame spread, and in three years he spent large
sums. He was brought before the sultan, who
treated him kindly, but he refused to reveal his secret.
The sultan then threatened him and abused him, and,
when his patience was exhausted, he tortured him
till he died. Several legal opinions had been given
that he ought to be put to death, lest he should lead
weak Muslims astray. This happened in 666. 1
When Mansur died, inJSS, and Khalil came to the
throne, Christian clerks who were in the service
of the emirs of the court became highminded
towards the Muslims, wore gorgeous raiment and
lived in great state. One was in the service of
an emir named ( Ain ul Ghazal. One day he met
a broker who managed his chief's affairs. The
broker dismounted and kissed the foot of the clerk,
who began to curse and threaten him for his slow-
ness in paying the price of some crops. The man
excused himself humbly, but this only made the clerk
behave more harshly. He told his servant to dis-
mount, bind the broker, and lead him away. A
crowd gathered, and accompanied him to the square
before the mosque of Ibn Tulun. Many entreated
him to release the man, but he refused. The crowd
grew larger, threw him from his donkey, and set
the broker free. He was then near his chief's house,
who sent an officer with servants and soldiers to
rescue him. They delivered him, and began to arrest
some of the crowd to punish them. These raised a
tumult, hurried to the castle, and implored the help

1 Husn, 2, 176.

32 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

of Nasr ullah, the sultan. He sent to enquire into
the matter, so they told him of the high-handed con-
duct of the Christian clerk towards the broker, and
what had happened to themselves. He senf for
'Ain ul Ghazal, and told the crowd to fetch the
Christians to his presence. He also sent Badr ud
Dm Baidar and Sinjar, and bade them bring all the
Christians before him to be killed. They appealed
to him, and persuaded him to proclaim, in Old and
New Cairo, that no Christian or Jew should serve
the emirs. He bade the emirs propose to their Chris-
tian clerks to accept Islam ; if they refused, they were
to have their heads cut off ; if they accepted, they
might stop in their service. The same offer was made
to all employees in the government offices. Many
of the Christians hid themselves, and the mob burst
into and plundered their houses ; their women were
made slaves and many were killed. Badr ud Din
Baidar at last persuaded the sultan to send the
governor of Cairo to make a proclamation that any-
one plundering the house of a Christian would be
hanged. Some were caught, paraded, and beaten.
Many clerks of the sultan and emirs were collected,
and made to stand a little distance from the sultan.
He ordered some to be taken to the horse market,
a great pit to be dug, the men to be thrown into it,
and a fire lighted on top. Baidar interceded for
them, but the sultan would not listen, saying, ' I will
not have a Christian civil service in my kingdom/
Baidar obtained the grace that those who turned
Muslim might remain in their service, while those
who refused were to be beheaded. He took them
to the palace of the deputy and said, ' My influence

GOVERNMENT SERVICE 33

availed with the sultan on one condition only.
Those who choose their own faith will be put to
death, those who choose Islam will be decorated and
remain in the service/ Then Makln, one of the
chief secretaries, came forward and said, 'Sir, which
of our leaders will choose death for such a foul
faith ? A faith for which we are killed and die, goes ;
God has not set safety in it. Tell us which to
choose that we may go to it.' Baidar burst out
laughing and said, * Shall we choose any but Islam ?'
Makln answered, 'We do not know, tell us and we
will obey you.' He then called the witnesses, and
recorded their conversion to Islam. 1

A Christian secretary rode by the mosque of al
Azhar wearing boots and spurs, with an Alexandrian
jacket thrown over his head, runners in front to
save him from the pressure of the crowd, and
servants behind in fine clothes on light baggage
horses. This annoyed some Muslims, who sprang
at him, dragged him from his horse, and thought to
kill him. A crowd collected and they let him go.
Some of them spoke to the emir, Taz, and he pro-
mised to get justice done them. They preferred a
complaint to the sultan, Salih, in the presence of the
emirs, kadis and other dignitaries, asking for a
solemn court, to remind the Christians of the terms
imposed on them. The patriarch and the leading
Christians, with the head of the Jews and their
notables, were summoned to the sultan's presence.
The kadi 'Ala ud Dm 'Ali, the private secretary,
read the covenant between the Muslims and the
protected, which they had brought with them. He

1 M., 2, 497.

34 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

demanded from those present the acceptance of
these terms, he recounted their many and repeated
violations of the covenant, and they promised not to
take service in the offices of the government or of
the emirs, even though they pretended to 'be Mus-
lims. They were, however, not to be forced to turn
Muslim, Letters to this effect were sent to the
local governors.

The mob pursued and attacked them, caught
them in the streets, tore off their clothes and beat
them ; they did not leave them till they had turned
Muslim. They lit fires to throw them in, so they hid
in their houses and did not dare to show themselves
abroad. The crowd followed up their weak points,
and destroyed any houses that were higher than the
Muslims'. The Christians were in sore straits, and
neither they nor the Jews were seen in the streets.
Complaint was made about the building of new
churches, and several were pulled down. The
governor of Cairo tried to restrain the mob, but it
was too strong and the leaders were powerless to
hold it.

Orders were published that no Jew or Christian
was to be in government service, even though he
had turned Muslim, for he would still associate
with his Christian family. If anyone turned Mus-
lim he was to be watched, to make sure that he
observed the five daily prayers and those on Friday.
When a Christian died Muslims were to be his
executors, and if he had no heirs the treasury took
his estate. 1

Ambassadors. Christians were sometimes employ-

3 M., 2, 499.

GOVERNMENT SERVICE 35

ed as envoys, especially to Christian powers. The
patriarch, Dionysius, went to Egypt in 216, and, on
his arrival, was sent by Mamun to some rebels, to
bring % them back to their allegiance/

When the musician, Ziryab, went to Spain, Man-
sur, a Jewish singer, was sent to meet him. 2

About 344 the Spanish caliph, 'Abd ur Rahman,
received an embassy from king Otto, and sent back
with them the bishop, RabI'. 3 In the reign of Hakam
II the chiefs of the protected Christians accompanied
an ambassador. 4

In 381 Lulu, the chamberlain of Sa'd ud Dawla,
sent Malkutha, the Syrian, to ask help from the
emperor Basil. 5 The catholicus of Jerusalem and the
patriarch of Antioch were forced to use their influ-
ence with the emperor to secure good treatment for
Muslim captives. 6 Jamal ud Din, vizier of Kutb ud
Dm, the emir of Mosul, sent Ignatius, the maphrian,
as ambassador to George, king of Georgia, to ransom
Arab captives. This happened about the year 560. 7

ADDITIONAL NOTE

Many dhimmis became government officials and
then accepted Islam; this happened so often that
there is no need to give examples. Occasionally con-
versions were forced. Thus al Asbagh, son of 'Abd
ul 'Aziz, the governor of Egypt, forced Butrus, an
important official in upper Egypt, to be converted. 8
Persuasion was also used. Hafs, another governor
of Egypt, announced that all dhimmis who abandoned

1 S.A., 2, 266 f. a Mak., 2, 85. * Mak., 1, 235. 4 Mak., 1, 249.
Eel., 3, 218, 220. c Nish., 31. 7 B.H., 328. 8 S., 134.

36 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

their religion would be free from khardj\ which is
jizya?

In 755 many conversions took place in Egypt, in
Kalyub alone 450 in one day. The people turned
Muslim and learnt the Koran. These conversions,
however, were not altogether approved, for it was
felt that they were only deceit and trickery, so that
men might get posts under government and marry
Muslim women. They succeeded so well that the
race became quite mixed, and their descendants are
in the majority. 2

1 S., 164 f. 2 M., 2, 500.

CHAPTER III
CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES

IN the covenant of 'Umar it was stipulated that
Christians should neither build new churches nor
repair ruinous ones and those situated in parts
of towns inhabited by Muslims. This is an advance
on the position in the time of Harun Rashid, when
a lawyer held that the terms were, ' that their
churches should not be destroyed, neither within
nor without the towns, but that they should not
build new '.* He upheld his opinion by this state-
ment, ' Any newly built church or chapel may be
pulled down. Several caliphs wished to pull down
churches, but the townsmen produced their charters
and canon lawyers did not support the caliph's
plans ; for 'Umar's covenant stands till the day of
resurrection'. 2 From this it is clear that churches
had been built, and it is probable that the ' covenant
of 'Umar' is not that known to us. There is an
opinion, which may be old as it is attributed to
Ibn 'Abbas: ' In a town which the Arabs founded
Christians may not build a church nor beat the
nakus, . . . but in one founded by foreigners* and
captured by Arabs, where they surrendered, they
may do these things.' 8 This does not exhaust the
variety of legal opinion ; the views of the four
schools are summarized in the following extract :

*Kh.,82, 'Kh.,87. ' Kh., 88.

38 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

' All schools agree that it is not allowed to build
new churches or synagogues in towns or cities of
Islam. They differ whether this is permitted in the
neighbourhood (of towns). Malik, Shafe'i, and
Ahmad do not permit it ; Abu Hanifa says that if
the place is a mile or less from a town, it is not
permitted ; if the distance is greater, it is. Another
question is, whether it is allowed to restore ruinous
or rebuild ruined churches or synagogues in
Islamic countries. Abu Hanifa, Malik, and Shafe'i
permit it. Abu Hanifa adds the condition that the
church is in a place that surrendered peaceably ; if it
was conquered by force, it is not allowed. Ahmad,
according to the most probable version, which is also
supported by some of his followers, and by famous
Shafe'ites like Abu Sa'id al Istakhri and Abu 'AH b.
abl Huraira, says that the restoration of the ruinous
and the rebuilding of the ruined is never permitted.
Another version of his teaching is that restoration
of the ruinous is allowed, but not rebuilding of the
ruined. A third version allows both.' 1

Bar Hebraeus says that the Nestorian patriarch
made an agreement with the Arabs, one of the terms
of which was that the Arabs would help them to
repair their old churches. 2

The treaties with the various towns do not al-
together support the legal view. Most guarantee
the conquered the peaceful possession of their
places of worship. 8 Those with towns in Persia
usually guarantee the exercise of the milla, i.e.
religious rites, and this must include the possession

1 Mizan, 2, 211. B.H. Eccl., 2, 115 f.
B M 130, 133, 147 ; T., I, 2655, 2657.

CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES 39

of the place of worship. In both Hims 1 and Hit 2
the Muslims seized a quarter of a church. In
Tiberias one treaty says that half the churches were
taken % by the Muslims, another left them all to
their owners. 3 Three treaties with Edessa are
quoted ; two say nothing about religion, the third
says that no new churches are to be built. 4 Accord-
ing to John of Nikiou, the Muslims in Egypt agreed
not to seize any churches and not to interfere in
any way with the Christians. In another place he
adds, that 'Amr exacted the taxes which had
been fixed, but took none of the property of
the churches and committed no act of spoliation
or plunder ; nay, he preserved the churches to the
end of his days. 5 In the treaty with Jerusalem it is
said that 'Umar 'gave them protection for their lives,
property, churches, and crosses, their sick and
sound, and the rest of their religion. Their churches
shall not be used as dwellings, nor destroyed, nor
they (the churches) nor their estates, nor their
crosses, nor their property be diminished in any
way'. That with Lydda is almost identical. 6

The story of the churches of Damascus is as com-
plicated as that of its capture. Tabari says nothing
about them. There are several forms of the treaty
which Khalid is said to have made with them, and
all guarantee the safety of the churches. The longest
is this, ' He gave them security for their persons,
property, churches, and the wall of their city. None
of their houses shall be destroyed or dwelt in. For
this they have the promise of God, and the protec-

1 B., 131 ; Muk., 156 ; I.H., 117. ' B., 179. * B., 116 ; Yak., 2, 159.
* B., 172, 174. J.N., 383. T. t I 2405 f.

40 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

tion of His Prophet, the caliphs, and the believers.
Nothing but good shall befall them if they pay
tribute.' 1 But Abu 'Ubaida is said to have seized
half the churches, and a treaty in this sense agd his
name is recorded. 2 This is supported by the story
of an appeal to 'Umar II. Hassan b. Malik began a
process against the natives of Damascus before
'Umar II about a church which a former governor
had granted to him. *Umar said, ' If it is one of the
fifteen churches named in their treaty you have no
case.' s Ibn 'Asakir also refers to these fifteen.
He explains the Muslim possession of some churches
on the ground that twelve patricians who had
private chapels in their houses fled from the town,
and the Muslims took the vacant dwellings. There
is no reason to doubt the report that the natives of
Damascus pleaded against the Arabs before 'Umar II
about a church which someone Ibn 'Asakir says
Mu'awia had granted to the Banu Nasr in the city.
'Umar took it from them and gave it back to the
Christians. Yazid b. 'Abd ul Malik restored it to
the Banu Nasr. 4

It is now generally agreed that the tale of the
division of the church of S. John between the
Muslims and Christians is a myth. It is only the
later historians who say that it was divided. It is
curious that the Muslims are said to have taken
the east end of the church and made a mosque
of it. Now the altar stood at the east end,
and the Christians would have made the most
strenuous efforts to save that, the most sacred
part of the church, for their own use and

1 B., 121. LA., 1, 178 B., 124. 4 B., 126 ; I.A., 1, 240.

CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES 41

worship. Further, the east end of the town is
still the Christian quarter, so probably they always
lived there, near their place of worship. Both Mu-
'awia and ' Abdul Malik wished to take the whole
church from the Christians, but they refused to sur-
render it. Walld made the same attempt. He tried
to buy it. When that failed he threatened to pull
down the other churches in the town and district.
According to another story, he threatened to seize
the church of S. Thomas, which was some distance
from S. John, for the latter is described as ' within '.
Finally he had his way, and destroyed the church of
S.John to enlarge themosque. All accounts emphasize
the fact that he destroyed the church. Abu 1 Fida
states that he destroyed a church which was beside
the mosque, and incorporated it, i.e. the site, in the
mosque. Baladhuri and Tabari say nothing of half
a church. A pilgrim from the west, Arculphus, who
visited Damascus in the reign of Mu'awia, says
distinctly, ' In which town the king of the Saracens
has set up his rule and reigns, and a great church
in honour of S. John the Baptist is established.
In the same city has been made a church of the
unbelieving Saracens, where they worship.' Every-
thing shows that it was not till the reign of Walld
that the Muslims took possession of the church of
S. John. To continue the story, when 'Umar II
came to the throne, the Christians complained of
Walid's action. The caliph ordered the governor
of Damascus to give the church back to them.
The population of Damascus objected, ' Shall a
mosque where we have prayed be turned into a
church ? ' Finally it was agreed that the Christians

42 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

should get the churches in the Ghuta, and give up
all claim to S. John. 1 As a possible explanation of
the problem of the other churches, one may suggest
that the Muslims seized those in districts de^rted
by Christians, and the private chapels in deserted
houses.

Most of the treaties do not agree with the regula-
tions in the covenant. The conclusion, therefore, is
that the authors of them knew nothing of it. If, as
is highly probable, many of the treaties were com-
posed by historians, an early date for the covenant
is even less probable. The preceding paragraphs
have given the theories of lawyers and historians.
Historians and geographers often give details which
show that the practice of rulers and subjects was
not always according to law.

'Amr b. 1 'As gave to the Makaukas part of the
Lake of Habash as a burial ground for Christians. 2
In 60 or 61 part of the great church in Edessa was
thrown down by an earthquake. Mu'awia ordered
it to be rebuilt. 8

The church in the monastery of Beth 'Abhe was
built about 25 ; perhaps before Muslim rule was
established. 4 That of Mark in Alexandria was built
between 39 and 56, though Severus puts it rather
later. 5 The first church in Fustat was built in Harat
ur Rum while Maslama b. Mukhallad was governor,
between 47 and 68. 6 When 'Abd ul 'Aziz founded
Hulwan he allowed two Melkite servants of his to
build a church there, and the patriarch built one also,

* I. A., 1, 199 ; B., 125 ; Abu 1 Fida, y. 96.

M., 1, 124 ; Husn, 1, 68. ' S.A., 1, 288 ; C.M., 231.

4 Thomas, 1, xliii. M., 2, 492 ; S., 119. A.S., 86.

CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES 43

because he had to pay his respects to the governor
there. 'Abd ul 'Aziz told some bishops to build two
convents there, and he allowed Athanasius, his
secretary, to build a church in Kasr ush Shama'. He
built two, Jurjis and Abu Kir, within the castle and
also one in Edessa. 1 Walid took a copper gilt dome
from the church in Baalbek and set it over the Rock
in Jerusalem, and removed some marble pillars from
the Church of Mary at Antioch for the mosque in
Damascus. He destroyed a church, as the beating of
the nakus annoyed him. 2 'Umar II is said to have
commanded his governors not to destroy existing
churches, but not to suffer the building of new. 3
Yazld 1 1 ordered the destruction of churches, but died
before it could be done. 4 In 104 Usama b. Zaid, the
surveyor of taxes in Egypt, attacked convents and
destroyed churches. The caliph Hisham told him to
let the Christians alone, according to their treaty. 5
The patriarch Kosmas went to Hisham, and by the
help of some learned men was granted the Melkite
churches in Egypt, which the Jacobites had seized.
Hisham wrote to the governor to take these churches
and give them to Kosmas. 6 Hisham wanted to build
a mosque in Ramleh, and was told that the Chris-
tians had some marble pillars hidden in the sand
ready for building a church. He told them to hand
over those pillars, threatening to pull down the
church at Lydda and use the columns from it for
his mosque. The pillars were produced. 7

Further east also the subject peoples were treated

1 A.S., 157 ; Eut., 2, 369 f. ; Lang., 247.

1 But., 2, 372 ; Mas,, 3, 408 ; 5, 381. T., II, 1371 f. 4 S., 144.

M., 2, 492 f. fl Eut., 2, 386. T Muk., 165.

44 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

equally generously. In the treaty with Adhetbaijan
the Arabs agreed not to kill or take prisoner any-
one, not to destroy any fire temple, not to oppress
the Kurds, especially not to prevent the people of
Shiz from dancing at their feasts and doing in public
what they were wont to do. 1 In the fourth century
there were still so many fire temples * that it would
be impossible to know them without a list '. In every
district were many, and one is said to have cost
thirty million dirhams. 2 That temple in the town
of Akhurin was very holy, and people visited it from
all parts of the country. 8 That in Medain is said to
have an income bigger than the tribute of the pro-
vince of Pars. 4 Kerman remained Magian through-
out the time of the Umayyads, and turned Muslim
only under the Abbasids. 5 When the town of Rur
surrendered it was stipulated that the idol was not
to be injured. The Arab commander said that the
idol was in the same position as the churches of the
Christians and the fire temples of the Magians. 6
The general's opinion became so common that Abu
Yusuf, writing during the reign of Rashld, elevates
it into a principle, and says that tribute was taken
from polytheists. But Mamun did not recognize it
when he compelled the pagans of Harran to choose
between Islam and death. 7 When Afshln was brought
to trial he was faced with two men whom he had
flogged. He defended himself in these words : ' I
inflicted on each of them a thousand stripes because
I had covenanted with the princes of Sughd that I
would leave all men unmolested in the religion which

1 B., 236. I.H., 189. ' I.R., 165. * I.R., 186. I.H., 221.
B., 439. 7 Kh M 75 ; Fih., 320.

CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES 45

they professed, and these two fell upon a temple
wherein were idols worshipped by the people of
Ushrusna, cast them forth, and made the place into a
mos<!Jiie. Wherefor I punished each of them with a
thousand stripes, because they had acted aggressive-
ly and hindered the people in their worship.' 1

The Arabs did not always take their treaty obliga-
tions seriously. Abdulla b. Kulaib is celebrated as
the first man who struck his sword on the gate of
Constantinople and gave the call to prayer in the
empire. The emperor made known his desire to
have him killed. Abdulla said, ' If you kill me, not
a church will be left in the lands of Islam undestroy-
ed.' 2 This may have been an empty boast.

It was not unknown that Muslims and Christians
met on peaceful terms in a church. Mas'udi relates
that he discussed the Trinity with a Christian, named
Abu Zakaria, in the Green Church at Baghdad. 8 It
was forbidden to whitewash fire temples lest they
should look like mosques. 4

During the conquest of Spain the Muslims were
much less tolerant. On one of his expeditions
Musa destroyed every church and broke every bell. 5
When Marida surrendered the Muslims took the
property of those killed in the ambush, of those who
fled to Galicia, of the churches, and the church
jewels. 6

Khalid ul Kasri (after 105) built a church for his
mother behind the south-west wall of the mosque in
Kufa. They beat the nakus when the call to prayer
was given, and their loud chanting drowned the

1 T., Ill, 1309. * I.R., 193. s Mas.T., 155. * Ghazi, 394.
8 Mak., 1, 174. Mak., 1, 171.

46 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

voice of the imam. 1 About this time, or rather earlier,
Damisius, of Asfant, in Egypt, built a great monas-
tery in the mountains. 2 About 117 Walld b. Rifa'a,
the governor of Egypt, allowed the church ofr'Abu
Mlna, in Hamra, to be built (restored). ' This was
after the conflict with the Arabs, when the Christians
complained to the governor that their women and
children were not safe from molestation while going
to and returning from churches in Misr, especially
on the nights of the forty days fast. In consequence
of these outrages, a great number of the Arabs were
killed.' Many Muslims complained of the building
of this church ; one account makes it produce an
Arab riot. 3

About 125 'Ishoyahbh, the abbot of Beth 'Abhe,
pulled down the monastery church and rebuilt it.
It was a time of scarcity, and the greedy governor
of Mosul, urged on by jealous men, fined the monas-
tery fifteen thousand dirhams. 4 About the same time,
one Hujair, a believer of noble family, built a monas-
tery, which he named Hujairabad. The metropolitan
refused to consecrate it. 6 In Egypt, Abu 1 Jarrah
Bishr b. Aus plundered the monastery of Mart
Mariam,near Bilbes, but afterwards restored to it all
he had taken away. 8 The caliph Marwan plundered
and destroyed many monasteries in Egypt, as he. fled
before the Abbasid troops. 7 He destroyed all the
churches in Tana except one, and he asked three
thousand dinars as the price for sparing that. As
the rich men of the town could only collect two

1 Agh., 19, 59 ; I.Khall., 1, 212. a S., 147.

8 A.S., 103 ; K., 77 ; M., 2, 493, 1, 303. 4 Thomas, 1, 206.

Thomas, 2, 282. S., 158. T S., 181, 185.

CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES 47

thousand, he turned one-third of it into a mosque. 1
Some merchants begged him to give back to the
Melkites the church of Abu Mina, in Mareotis. The
result was a riot in the governor's palace. 2

In 141 the altar and apse of the great church in
Nisibis were completed. 3 In 146 Mansur ordered
Yazid b. Hatim to install the government offices in
the churches in the castle in Fustat. 4 In the reign
of Mahdi, or perhaps a little later, the convent of
the Greeks in Baghdad was built. 5 Harun Rashid,
soon after his accession, told 'AH b. Sulaiman, the
governor of Egypt, to destroy the newly-built
churches. He pulled down that of Mary, beside
the church of Abu Shenuda, and those of the Guard-
house of Constantine. He was offered fifty thousand
dinars to spare them, but refused. Makrlzi says that
these churches were destroyed about twenty years
before, after a revolt of Copts in Sakha. 6 In the
reign of Harun, Musa b. 'Isa allowed the Christians
to rebuild the churches which 'Ali b. Sulaiman had
destroyed. This was done on the advice of Laith b.
Sa'd and Abdulla b. Lahl'a, who said that they were
national buildings. They argued that all the
churches in Egypt had been built under Islam in
the days of the Companions and Followers. Makrlzi
calls Abdulla kadi of Misr. The arguments of these
two do more credit to their hearts than their
heads. 7

The convent of Samalu was built in Baghdad
about this time. 8 Harun helped the Melkites to

1 A.S., 222. a S., 167. ' Elias, 128. 4 K., 115.

Y., 2, 662. K., 131 ; M., 2, 493. T K., 132 ; M., 2,493.

Y., 2, 670.

48 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

recover some churches which the Copts had seized. 1
In 191 he destroyed some in al 'Awasim, the frontier
province, and used the material of two of them to
build the town of Hadath. 2 His action herymay
have been due to the fact that the Christians of the
province were helping the Greeks. Bishop Anania
built a monastery on the site of a ruined castle,
which he bought from the Arabs. 3

About the year 198 Ibrahim of Kuraish, the prefect
of Harran, was walking in his lofty palace and saw
some new buildings. He asked his cup-bearers what
these new white buildings were. They said, * New
churches, which the Christians have built in your
time; wherefor many of the Arabs are vexed that
you should have allowed them to build what had
not been built before.' He ordered every new church
to be pulled down before the sun set. At once they
destroyed the altar of the Catholic Church and that
of the Theotokos, part of that of Mar George, and
others of the Chalcedonians and Nestorians, and
synagogues of the Jews. When morning dawned
God had changed his mind, and he permitted what
had been destroyed to be restored gradually. They
were quickly rebuilt. 4

During the fighting between Amm and Mamun
many monasteries in the Wadi Hablb (Wadi Natrun)
were destroyed, but were rebuilt a few years later. 5
Some chamberlains of Mamun restored the church
of the Virgin at al Kantara, and two servants
(farrasti) obtained permission to build one on Mount
Mukattam, because those in the castle were too far

1 But, 2, 410 ; M., 2, 493. 2 T., Ill, 712 ; Lang., 263.

Lang., 266. 4 S.A., 2, 10 ; B.H., 139. B M., 2, 492 f.

CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES 49

away. 1 In this reign Bukam, a wealthy Christian of
Bura, built many beautiful churches in his native
town. 2

If "She Kitab ul Umm represents the opinions of
Shafe'i, and not those of his disciples, by the year
200 it was recognized that churches might not be
built in towns where Muslims lived, though in
places where there were none Christians could build
churches as they pleased and celebrate their festivals. 3

The Muslims were not always as tactful as they
might have been. It is recorded that one of
them shut up his dog for the night in the outer
martyrium, close by the church. 4

Arabs gathered from Harran, Edessa and Samo-
sata, to ask ' Abdulla b. Tahir to destroy the churches
which had been built during the last ten years or so.
He refused, saying, * The poor Christians have not re-
built one-tenth of the churches which have been
ruined and burnt' In his days, adds the chronicler,
the Christians enjoyed peace and prosperity. 5
Muhammad, the brother of 'Abdulla, gave orders to
destroy the churches in Beth Nahrain. Dionysius,
the patriarch, and his brother Theodosius, metro-
politan of Edessa, went down to Egypt to 'Abdulla,
and brought back orders to stop this persecution. 6
When 'Abdulla (the text has 'Ubaidulla) b. Tahir
returned from Egypt, on his way to Baghdad, the
Muslims of Jerusalem complained that the Chris-
tians had transgressed and done what was not lawful
for them. They had pulled down the dome of the
Church of the Resurrection, and enlarged it so that

1 A.S., 154 ; Eut., 2, 430. But., 2, 434. Umm, 4, 126.
4 Thomas, 1, 229. 5 S.A., 2, 16. e S.A., 2, 21, 271.

4

50 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

it was higher than the Dome of the Rock. 'Abdulla
put the patriarch Thomas and some of his com-
panions in prison, to enquire into this matter. Had
the complaint been true he would have had'them
flogged. A Muslim came to them in prison by
night, and said to Thomas, ' If I tell you an argu-
ment that will save you, your companions, and the
dome, will you pay me, and my children after me,
a thousand dinars yearly from the revenues of the
church ? ' The patriarch gave the promise in
writing, and the Muslim said, * Ask the com-
plainants to tell the height of the old dome and of
the new.' They could not do this, so Thomas and
his friends were released. 1 About this time a
church was built in Jerusalem for visitors from
Egypt. 2

In 239 Mutawakkil ordered all new churches to
be destroyed. 3 From this survey certain facts are
clear. At first churches were built freely, some-
times with the approval or even the help of author-
ity. 'Umar II is said to have forbidden the building
of churches. As only one historian records this, and
the Christian records are silent, it may not be true.
Apart from this solitary notice, it is not till 150 or
170 that there is the least suggestion of a ban on
new churches, and this idea was slow in finding
general recognition. Mutawakkil was the first to
make this ban law. On the other hand, from an
early date churches were always liable to be
destroyed for some caprice of the ruler. In times of
political upheaval the danger was of course greater.
Usually much, if not everything, depended on the

1 But., 2, 455. a M., 2, 494. 8 T., Ill, 1419.

CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES 51

character of the ruler, were he governor or caliph.
One thing is certain, the first century of Islam
kne^ nothing about the covenant of 'Umar.

In * the second century the idea began to take
shape that all places of worship had been built
under Islam. Later this became the general view.

The law of Mutawakkil was not the end of the
story: sometimes it was enforced and sometimes
not. Sometimes the mob took the law into its own
hands. It is enough to make a list of riots in which
religious buildings were destroyed.

In 271 or 272 the convent of Kalilishu, in Bagh-
dad, was destroyed, the gold and silver vessels
stolen, and all wood in the building sold. 1 The last
item is explained by the scarcity of wood in Meso-
potamia.

In 312 the church and convent of Mary, in Damas-
cus, were burnt and plundered, and other churches
wrecked, 2 A little later two Melkite churches in
Ramleh, Kosmas and Cyriac, and others in Ascalon
and Caesarea, were destroyed. Complaint was made
to Muktadir, who gave orders to repair the damage.
In 321 the church outside the fort at Tinnis was
destroyed. Then the Christians rebuilt the church
in the town, but when it was nearly finished the
Muslims burnt and destroyed it. The sultan helped
in rebuilding it. 8 In 325 the eastern gates and
half the cloister of the Church of the Resurrection,
in Jerusalem, were burnt and the church sacked/
A year or two later the Muslims, helped by the
Jews, sacked and burnt the Church of the Dark

1 Elias, 68 ; T., Ill, 2107. a M., 2, 494. 8 But., 2, 513.

4 Eut., 2, 529 ; M., 2, 495.

52 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Madonna, in Ascalon. The bishop fled to Ramleh
and died there. 1 In 355 the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre was burnt. Kafur wrote to the emperor,
who was invading Syria, that he might restore it. 2
In 392, during an anti-Christian riot in Baghdad,
houses were plundered and churches attacked. A
Jacobite church was set on fire, and it fell on a
crowd of Muslims, killing men, women and children. 3
Many churches were ruined during the invasion of
of Egypt by Asad ud Dm Shirkuh ; 4 but this is not
surprising, for one object of the invasion was to
overthrow the Fatimid heresy, and passions had
been further inflamed by the presence of the Franks
in Egypt. In his book on the churches of Egypt,
Abu Salih often refers to the destruction of churches
and monasteries.

The behaviour of the government varied. In 240
the inhabitants of Hims, with the help of the
Christians, started a riot against the governor. So
Mutawakkil ordered the Christians to be expelled
from the town and their churches destroyed. One,
that adjoined the mosque, was incorporated into
it. In the circumstances, these drastic measures
seem natural. 5 Eutychius laments that in his day
the Muslims met in the church at Bethlehem for
prayers, and had removed the mosaics and put up
their own inscriptions. They also met for prayers
on the steps of the Church of Constantine, all
contrary to the treaty of 'Umar. 6 When building
that quarter of Cairo known as Katai', Ahmad b.
Tulun ploughed up Jewish and Christian ceme-

1 M, 2, 495. a Eel., 2, 221 n. 8 Ed., 3, 418 ; B.H., 203.
E.g. A.S., 91, 250. T., Ill, 1423 ; B., 134. But., 2, 290.

CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES 53

teries. 1 In 328 the ruler of Egypt sent an officer
to seal the doors of the Melkite churches in Tinnls,
and bring the sacramental vessels to Fustat. The
patrhirch redeemed them for five thousand dinars,
and to get the money sold the church estates. 2 In
350 the Church of Mar Behnam, in Tripoli, of Syria,
was built. 3 In 369 the vizier Nasr b. Harun was
given permission to build churches and monas-
teries. 4

Sometimes the authorities made a show of
observing legal forms. Al Kindi has preserved an
account of one such episode; here it is. 'It
happened that one side of the Church of Abu
Shenuda fell, and the Christians offered much
money to be allowed to restore it. Lawyers'
opinion was asked. Ibn Haddad said that it should
be destroyed, and the school of Malik agreed with
him, but Muhammad b. 'AH said that it might be
restored and rebuilt. The crowd raised a tumult
against him, and wanted to burn his house, so he
hid himself. The mob surrounded the church.
When the governor heard of it he was angry, and
sent his chief retainers with many men ; the crowd,
however, stoned them. The governor was informed,
so he sent Ibn Haddad with the command, "Ride
to the church ; if it still stands, let it be ; if it is in
ruins, pull it down ". He came with 'Ali b. 'Abdulla
b. Nuwas, the engineer, and met a dense crowd. He
spoke kindly and pleasantly to them, told them that
he was on their side, till they cleared the road and
he could enter the church. He drove out all the
Christians, shut the doors, and gave the engineer a

1 M., 1, 315. a M., 2, 495. ' B.H., 184. 4 Eel., 2, 408.

54 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

candle. He went into the sanctuary 1 and examined
it, and gave his report. " It will last fifteen years, and
then part will fall ; it will then last forty, and all
will fall/' So it was left and not rebuilt. In 3t>6 it
was rebuilt.* 2

The caliph al 'Aziz gave orders that the Church
of Mercurius should be restored to the patriarch.
The common people attacked the patriarch and
hindered him from rebuilding it. Al 'Aziz offered
money for the work, which was refused, but a guard
for the workmen was accepted. 3

Al Hakim biamr illah gave orders that the
churches in his dominions should be destroyed.
Their contents were seized and the vessels of gold
and silver sold in the markets. In the church of the
Mu'allaka was a great store of goldsmith's work
and fine cloth. Muslim prayers were said in Abu
Shenuda. The church lands were confiscated, and
every one who asked for some got it. A Muslim
historian reports that over thirty thousand churches,
which had been built by the Greeks, were destroyed
in Egypt, Syria and elsewhere. Bar Hebraeus is
more modest, he only says thousands. Among them
was the Church of the Resurrection, at Jerusalem;
it was destroyed ' to the roots ', and everything in it
stolen. The chief damage was done between 403
and 405, though one account puts the Jerusalem
trouble in 400. When the monastery of Kusair, in
Egypt, was destroyed, in 400, the common people
stole the timbers from the ruins, and even the coffins
of the dead. Al Hakim changed his mind before his

1 Madbah usually means ' altar ', but here ' sanctuary '.
* K., 554. * A.S., 117.

CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES 55

death, and suffered the Christians to rebuild their
places of worship. They did so, and made them finer
than before. Another account says that they were
shut^for nine years. 1

In 418 the caliph az Zahir allowed the Church of
the Resurrection to be restored, in return for the
restoration of a mosque in Constantinople. 2 In 439
the patriarch built the Church of Bu Markura, in
Cairo, and that of Our Lady in the quarter of the
Greeks. 3 In the reign of Mustansir (427-487), during
disturbances in Upper Egypt, the monks of a monas-
tery near Ushmunain were killed. 4 In the same
reign the Church of George, in Hamra, was restored.
It was destroyed when the Kurds entered Egypt,
and restored in the following year along with others.
The mob was annoyed, sacked and wrecked it. The
property was given back and it was consecrated
afresh. 5 The caliphs Hafiz, Zafir, and 'Adid contri-
buted to the support of the Church of al Martuti. 6

Al Bustan was allotted as a fief to the canon
lawyer Baha ud Dm *Ali, who set apart for the
Armenians the Church of John the Baptist in the
Zuwaila quarter; here the patriarch dwelt in 564.
By a decree of the sultan, the Copts took possession
of this church. Then certain Christians allowed
their servants to beat the Muslim guardians of it.
These complained to Baha ud Dm 'Ali. He told the
sultan, who took back the decree empowering the
Copts to hold the church. Not long after, in 573, he
issued a fresh decree restoring it to them. 7

1 B.H., 204 f . ; M., 2, 287, 494 ; Ath., y. 398 ; A,S., 142, 147 ; A.M., II,
2,65; Husn, 2, 168.

3 M., 1, 355. M., 2, 496. 4 A.S., 252. 8 A.S., 91.

8 A.S., 140. T A.S., 3-11.

56 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Benjamin of Tudela found a synagogue in Kufa; 1
so the opinion of Ibn 'Abbas was not followed in
practical life.

In 573 there was trouble in Medain. The mofeque
was close to a synagogue, and the Jews were disturb-
ed by the frequent calls to prayer. The muedhdhin
paid no attention to their complaint, so there was a
quarrel and the Jews got the better of it. The
Muslims came to Baghdad with a petition, but Ibn
ul 'Attar, the controller of stores, put them in gaol.
They were let out, and came to the castle mosque
before the Friday prayers, to ask for aid. The prayers
were cut short and they again asked for help. Some
soldiers tried to stop them, but the populace took
their part, grew angry and very abusive in defence
of Islam, tore bricks out of the wall, and stoned
the soldiers till they ran away. The mob then
rushed to the shops of the money changers, 2 most
of whom were Jews, and pillaged them. The keeper
of the gate tried to stop them, so they stoned him
and he ran away. The city was disturbed, and the
synagogue by the Basasiri gate was destroyed and
the book of the Law burnt The caliph ordered the
synagogue at Medain to be turned into a mosque. 3

When Nur ud Dm Zanji conquered Mosul he
ordered all new churches and buildings to be
destroyed, so two churches, one Nestorian and one
Jacobite, were pulled down. 4 Apparently they were
quickly rebuilt. About this time some Kurds cap-
tured the monastery of Mar Mattai, in the land of
Nineveh, seized all the valuables, and killed fifteen

1 Benj., 64. * Mukhli^ or ntukhalli^ meaning unknown.
Ath., y. 573. * S.A., 2, 166, 168.

CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES 57

monks; they also took that of Mar Sergius, in
which Moses bar Kefa had been a pupil. 1 And in
Edessa the great Church of Hagia Sophia (?) was
destroyed to its foundations, and the stones taken
away to build a mosque in Harran and the castle in
Edessa, The west wall of the Church of the Apostles
fell, so the whole was pulled down, as well as those
of the Forty Martyrs, near the mosque, and Mar
Stephen. 2 At the capture of Jerusalem all the
churches, except that of the Resurrection, were
stripped of the iron, wood, doors, and marble
on the walls and floors. Every Christian who
entered the church to worship at the Holy Grave
had to pay ten dinars to the Muslim guards. 3 But
Najm ud Dm, the lord of Mardln, was favourable to
the Christians, their churches, and monasteries, and
was more concerned than they themselves with
building churches in his land. Regularly he visited
the monasteries, and liked to drink and stay there. 4
And when Kilij Arslan captured the town of
Kaisum (c. 568) he abolished the gold tax on the
monastery of Mar Barsuma. 5

When the Mongols conquered Damascus, in 658,
Hulagu protected the Christians. They drank wine
in public in Ramadan, poured it on the clothes of
Muslims, and on the doors of mosques. When they
carried the cross in procession they made the shop-
keepers stand up, and ill-treated those who refused to
do so. They preached sermons in praise of their
faith, exclaiming, c The faith of the Messiah triumphs
to-day.' If the Muslims complained they were beaten.

* S.A., 2, 168. S.A., 2, 170. * S.A., 2, 201 ; M., 2, 234.

* S.A., 2, 182. ' S.A., 2, 187.

58 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

The governor loaded the priests with honours.
When the Mongols were driven out the Muslims
plundered the houses of the Christians and destroy-
ed all they could. They ruined two churches,
slaughtered many Christians, and enslaved others.
Thus they avenged themselves on those who had
destroyed their mosques. Not content with this,
they pillaged the houses of the Jews and reduced
their shops to mounds of rubbish. 1 When the
Mongols captured Aleppo, the synagogue was one
of the houses where the inhabitants escaped
massacre. 2 In 661 the church at Nazareth was
destroyed. 3 In 669 the sultan of Egypt captured
Antioch and burnt the churches. 4

In 700 an attempt was made, prompted by the
visitor from the west who is mentioned in the
chapter on dress, 5 to destroy all the churches in
Egypt, but it was foiled by the chief kadi, TakI ud
Dm Muhammad, who ruled that only the new
ones might be pulled down. All were closed to
worship for a time, and then some prominent
Christians managed to have one reopened. This
caused a riot. Three years later the king of Barcelona
sent an extra big present to the Muslim lords and the
sultan, to persuade them to let the churches be
opened, but actually only two were opened. 6 In 718
the Christians asked permission of Muhammad b.
Kalawun to restore the Church of Barbara, and made
a very fine building of it. Some Muslims were
vexed at this, and complained to the sultan that they
had put up a new building beside the church. He

1 Q., 1,S8, 106. Abu 1 Fida., y. 658. 8 Abu 1 Fida., y. 661.
4 B.H. Mu., 500. * See below, p. 122. fl M., 2, 499.

CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES 59

ordered the governor of Cairo to have this new
edifice destroyed. Thereupon the mob destroyed
the church and built a mihrab there. The Christians
appealed to the kadi, Karlm ud Dm ; he was angry
and, being zealous for the faith of his forefathers,
importuned the sultan till he had the mihrab pulled
down. The place remained a rubbish heap. 1 In 721
there was a general attack on the Egyptian
churches. The story in Makrlzi is so long that it
had better be given separately. In 755 a survey of
church lands was taken ; the cause of it being the
proud bearing of the Christians. A general perse-
cution broke out, and several churches in and near
Cairo were wrecked and their contents stolen, all
woodwork being taken away. 2 In 780 the Church of
George, in Gizeh, and in 800 that of Mark, in the
same place, were destroyed and then rebuilt. 3

The information that the two churches in Khindik
were built as substitutes for those in Maks shows
that the rule forbidding the erection of new churches
had been extended. 4 Whatever the mob might do,
the government only set its face against newly-built
churches. Makrlzi names several as having been
built under Islam, and says, ' No one denies that all
the synagogues of Cairo which we have named were
built under Muslim rule.' 5 He makes no attempt to
reconcile this with the covenant of 'Umar, which he
mentions.

By 860, dhimmis had to get permission for any
repairs they wished to make in places of worship.
The head of a church was flogged, paraded, and put

1 M., 2, 511. M., 2, 499 f. , 8 M., 2, 517.

4 M., 2,511. ' M.,2, 472.

60 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

in prison for a few days, because he had made more
extensive repairs than his permit allowed. 1

ADDITIONAL NOTE

Muslim authors sometimes have a word of praise
for Christian buildings. Thus Mas'udi says that the
church at Hims was one of the wonders of the world,
and in the next sentence he calls the cathedral at
Edessa one of the four wonders of the world. 2

Ibn Rusteh quotes a saying, attributed to the
Greeks though he does not agree with it that
there is no finer stone building than the cathedral
of Edessa, no finer wooden than the church at
Manbij, and no finer marble than the church of
Kusyan at Antioch. It is said also that the church
at Hims is the finest stone building. 3 Nasir i Khusrau
describes a church where the latticed iron door of
the sanctuary was the most beautiful he had ever
seen. 4

1 Gottheil, 400. 2 Mas.T., 144. 8 I.R., 83. 4 Sefernameh, 9.

CHAPTER IV
A RIOT IN CAIRO

WHEN the king Muhammad b. Kalawun laid out
the parade ground of the Mahara (mahra, camels),
which is near the Arches of the Wild Beasts, in
720, he proposed to build a shooting lodge on the
main stream of the Nile, near the mosque of Tabarsi.
So he gave orders to remove a mound of earth
there, and dig out the clay underneath, to build the
lodge, and brought water to the site of the digging,
so that it became the Pool of Nasir. They began to
dig out this pool at the end of Rabi' I, 721. When
the digging reached the side of the church of Zuhri
many Christians were in it, and near it were
several churches, in the place known as the section
of Akbagha, between the Seven Conduits and the
bridge of the dam outside Misr the diggers began
to dig round the church of Zuhri, till it was left in
the middle of the site where the sultan had com-
manded them to dig, which is now the Pool of Nasir.
The digging went on till the church was isolated.
Now their object was that it might fall and yet
there be no apparent intent to destroy it. Most of
the servants of the emirs, and the others working
with them, cried out that it should be destroyed, but
the emirs paid no attention to them till the 19th of
Rabr II, a Friday, when all were at prayer and the
work of digging had ceased. A crowd of roughs
gathered, without any orders from the sultan, and

62 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

began to cry, ' God is most great ', and to use their
picks on the church of Zuhri. They reduced it to a
heap of rubbish, killed the Christians in it, and stole
all that was in it. They then destroyed the church
of Bu Mina, in Hamra, which had been highly
honoured by the Christians from of old. In it were
several Christians who had devoted themselves.
The Christians of Misr brought to it whatever was
needed, and paid to it rich vows and many offer-
ings. Great wealth was found in it, coin, plate,
and other things. The mob went to the upper end,
opened the doors, and took from it money, cloth,
and jars of wine. It was terrible ! After destroying
it they went to two churches near the Seven Con-
duits. One was called the Church of the Daughters,
for the daughters of Christians, and a number of
monks lived there. They broke open the doors of
the two churches, made the nuns prisoners there
were more than sixty of them stole the clothes
they wore, seized all they could lay hands on, and
burnt and demolished these churches. This was
while the Friday prayers were being said. When
men came out of the mosques they found a state
of terror, due to the thick dust, the smoke of the
conflagration, and the confused and hasty move-
ments of the mob, who were laden with their plunder.
It was felt that the horror could only be compared
to the day of judgment. The news spread, and
was carried to Rumaila, below the citadel. The
sultan heard a great noise and an unwonted tumult,
which frightened him. He sent to enquire, and
when he heard what had happened he was greatly
troubled and angered at the impudence of the mob

A RIOT IN CAIRO 63

in doing such things without an order from him.
He ordered the emir Idghamash to ride, with a
detachment of troops, to the centre of disturbance
and lay hands on the malefactors. Idghamash was
ready to start, when news came that a mob was
rioting in Cairo and had destroyed a church in the
quarter of the Greeks, and another in the Zuwaila
quarter. News came that a great mob had risen in
Misr and attacked the Church of Mu'allaka, in the
castle of Shama'. The Christians had shut them-
selves inside it, were besieged, and it was on the
point of being taken. The sultan grew more angry,
prepared to ride out himself and attack the mob, but
he waited when the emir Idghamash dissuaded
him. With four emirs Idghamash went from the
citadel down to Misr ; the emirs Baibars and Almas,
the chamberlains, rode to the excavation ; and the
emir Tmal to Cairo, all with sufficient troops.
The sultan had given orders to put to death any
of the mob they took, without sparing any. All
Cairo and Misr were on foot, and the plunderers
fled, so the emirs could only seize those who were
too drunk with wine stolen from the churches to
walk. When Idghamash reached Misr, the governor
of the town had already marched to the Church of
Mu'allaka, to drive the would-be thieves from the
lane of that name, but he was received with
showers of stones, and ran away. They were about
to set fire to the doors of the church, so Idghamash
and his followers drew their swords to attack them.
The crowd was too big to be counted. He feared
disaster, and held back from a fight. He told his
retainers to drive away the mob without shedding

64 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

blood. He made a proclamation, * Whoever stands
his ground may be killed', so the mob scattered and
fled. Idghamash stayed there till the afternoon
prayer, as he feared the return of the mob. Then
he went away, but he made the governor of Misr
stay there with his police, and left fifty soldiers with
him. The emir Almas went to the churches of
Hamra and Zuhri to protect them, but found them
heaps of rubbish, with not a wall standing. He and
the emirs returned and reported to the sultan, who
was more angry than before. They stopped with
him till his rage abated.

Now the destruction of the churches was very
extraordinary. The congregation was at prayers
that Friday in the mosque in the citadel, and when
they had finished a gloomy man stood up and cried
from the middle of the mosque, * Destroy the church
in the citadel; destroy it/ and went on with his
alarming cry till he passed all bounds and fell
exhausted. The sultan and the emirs marvelled at
his words, so the sultan ordered the head of the
army and the chamberlain to look into it. They
went from the mosque to the ruins of the Tartars, in
the citadel, and found a church built there. They
destroyed it, and had hardly finished when news
came of what had happened to the churches in
Hamra and Cairo. The sultan marvelled at the
fakir, sought for him, but could learn nothing
about him.

In the mosque of al Azhar also, on the same day
when the congregation was met for the Friday
prayers, a sort of shivering seized a fakir, and he stood
up, after the call to prayer and before the preacher

A RIOT IN CAIRO 65

came forth, and said, ' Destroy the churches of the
wicked and the infidels ; yes, God is most great,
God is victorious and conquering/ He threw him-
self about from one side to the other, crying out.
Men looked sharply at him, did not know what to
think, and were divided in opinion. Some said
that he was mad, others that he was a sign of
something. When the preacher appeared he
ceased shouting, and when they looked for him
after the prayers they could not find him. Then
they went to the gate of the mosque, and saw the
plunderers, with wood from the churches, clothes of
the Christians, and other booty. They asked what
was the matter, and were told that the sultan had
ordered the demolition of the churches. At first
they thought this was correct, but later it was evi-
dent that it had been done without the sultan's
order.

One church in the quarter of the Greeks, one in the
Bundukani district, and two in Zuwaila were des-
troyed that day in Cairo. On the following Sunday
came a report from Badr ud Din Bailabak, the
governor of Alexandria, that on the same Friday
after prayers there had been a disturbance. When
they went out of the mosque the cry was raised,
'The churches have been destroyed. 1 The officer
rode off immediately, and found that four churches
had been laid in ruins. A report had come from
the governor of Buhaira, that two churches in Dam-
anhur had been destroyed while the people were at
the Friday prayers. The wonder grew till, on
Friday 16, this report came from the town of Kus.
On Friday 9, when the people had finished the

66 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

prayers, a fakir stood up and said, * O fakirs, come
out to destroy the churches/ He went out with a
crowd, and found that the destruction of the churches
had already begun. Six were destroyed in Kus and
the neighbourhood at one time. Reports continued
to come in from the north and the south of churches
and monasteries destroyed during the Friday
prayers throughout the whole of Egypt, between
Kus, Alexandria, and Damietta. The rage of the
sultan against the mob grew hotter, for he feared
for his kingdom. The emirs tried to moderate his
anger, and said, * It was not in the power of man to
do this. Had the sultan wished to do this, he could
not have done it. It happened by God's will and
disposition, for He knew the corruption of the
Christians and the increase of their wickedness, as
vengeance on them and punishment for them/
Now the mob in Cairo and Misr were sore afraid of
the sultan when they learnt of his threat to kill
them, and many of the scoundrels and roughs fled.
The kadi Fakhr ud Din, the inspector of the army,
tried to dissuade the sultan from going to extremes
against the mob, and succeeded. Karlm ud Din, the
controller of the household, provoked him against
them, till the sultan sent him to Alexandria to get
money and to examine the churches which had been
destroyed. Hardly a month passed when several
fires broke out in Cairo and Misr, and the damage
was many times greater than that caused by the
destruction of the churches. Fire broke out in the
quarter of the Cooks, in Cairo, on Saturday, 11
Jumada I, spread at night, and burnt till the end of
Sunday. Much damage was done, and when it was

A RIOT IN CAIRO 67

put out another fire broke out in the quarter of
Dailam, in the alley of the Bride, near the house of
Karim ud Dm, the controller of the household, on IS
Jumada I. A high wind was blowing that night, so
the fire spread on all sides till it reached the house
of Karim ud Din. When the sultan heard this he
was troubled exceedingly, for the royal storehouses
were there, and sent a number of emirs to put it
out. They collected a great crowd of workers, but
the danger had grown from the night of Monday to
the night of Tuesday, the fire was blazing more
furiously, and the emirs and the workers were un-
able to put it out because it was so widespread, and
the wind was so strong that it blew down palms and
sank boats. Every one believed that the whole of
Cairo would be burnt. They climbed the minarets ,*
poor and rich alike hastened to shriek out prayers
and praises and lamentations. Men cried and wept
everywhere. The sultan ascended to the top of the
citadel, but could not stand because the wind was so
strong. The burning went on, and the sultan's ex-
hortations to the emirs to quench it, till Wednesday.
The deputy of the sultan came down with all the
emirs, and the rest of the water carriers, and also
the emir Biktamir, the cupbearer. It was a terrible
day ; none had ever seen a more terrible or more
horrible. Men were stationed at the gates of
Cairo, to turn back the water carriers if they tried
to leave the city. Every one of the water carriers
of the emirs and the town was busy, bringing
water from the schools and baths. All carpen-
ters and masons began to demolish houses. Many
great houses and blocks were destroyed. Twenty-

68 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

four of the prominent emirs, besides emirs of the
drum room, emirs of ten, and mamelukes, laboured
at the fire, working with their own hands. The
street, from the gate of Zuwaila to the quarter of
Dailam, was like a river, from the number of men
and camels carrying water. The emir Biktamir
and Arghiin the deputy superintended the removal
of the stores from the house of Karlm ud Dm to
that of his son, in the street Rusasi. They pulled
down sixteen houses near and opposite to it, till
they could move the stores. As soon as they had
removed them and put out the fire another broke
out in the block of Zahir, outside the gate of
Zuwaila, which consisted of one hundred and twenty
houses, with a portico underneath called the Portico
of the Poor. A strong wind blew. The chamberlain
and the governor rode to put it out, and pulled down
several houses round it till it died out. The next
day there was a fire in the house of the emir Salar,
in * between the two palaces*. It began in the
ventilator, which was one hundred cubits above the
ground, and was only put out after great exertions.
The sultan ordered the emir 'Alam ud Din
Sinjar, the treasurer and governor of Cairo, and
Rukn ud Din Baibars to be watchful and vigilant.
Orders were issued to put a jar of water, or a great
pot filled with water, beside every shop, and this
was to be done in every quarter, lane, and street.
The price of the jars rose from one dirham to five,
and that of the pots to eight. Fires broke out in the
quarter of the Greeks and in many places, so that
there was no day without a fire in some place. Men
pondered on what was happening and thought that it

A RIOT IN CAIRO 69

was the work of the Christians, for fire had been
seen in the pulpits and woodwork of the mosques
and schools which had been prepared for burning.
The^ investigated, and found that the fire came from
naphtha, rolled in rags soaked in oil and pitch.

On the night of 16 Jumada two monks were taken,
as they came out of the Kaharia school after the
second evening prayer ; a fire had been started in
"the school and the smell of sulphur was on their
hands. They were taken to 'Alam ud Dm, the
treasurer and governor of Cairo, who informed the
sultan. He ordered them to be tortured. Scarcely
had he come down from the citadel than the crowd
seized a Christian, who was found in the mosque of
Zahir, carrying a bundle like a loaf with pitch and
naphtha inside it. He had thrown one like it beside
the pulpit, waited till smoke began to rise, and then
went away to leave the mosque. Someone suspected
him, watched him unobserved, and seized him. A
crowd gathered, and dragged him to the governor's
house. He was disguised as a Muslim. He was
tortured in the presence of Rukn ud Din Baibars,
and confessed that a band of Christians had united
to prepare naphtha and to distribute it among their
servants. Some had been given to him, with the
order to put it beside the pulpit in the mosque of
Zahir. Then the two monks were brought, tortured,
and confessed that they were inmates of the monas-
tery of the Mule, and had set on fire the places we
have named in Cairo because they were bitter
against the Muslims for destroying their churches,
and that a party of Christians had united and
gathered much money to prepare naphtha.

70 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Then Karlm ud Dm, the controller of the house-
hold, arrived from Alexandria, and the sultan told
him of the capture of the Christians. He said, ' The
Christians have a patriarch, they depend on* him,
and he knows all about them.' The sultan ordered
the patriarch to be fetched to the house of Karlm
ud Dm, to discuss the conflagrations and what the
Christians said about their share in them. He came,
escorted by the governor of Cairo, at night, for fear
of the mob. When he came into the house of
Karlm ud Din they brought before him from the
governor's house the three Christians, who repeated
to Karlm ud Din, in the presence of the patriarch
and the governor, what they had confessed previously.
The patriarch wept as he listened to them, and said,
' These are wilful Christians who aimed at recom-
pensing wilful Muslims for their destruction of the
churches.' He then left with all marks of honour
and respect, and found that Karlm ud Din had put a
mule at the gate for him to ride, so he mounted and
rode away. The crowd was annoyed at this and
rose against him with one accord, and, but for the
escort of the governor, he would have been killed.
Next morning early Karlm ud Din started as usual
for the citadel, but when he reached the street the
mob yelled at him, ' Is it lawful, O kadi, to protect
Christians, when they have burnt the houses of
Muslims, and to let them ride on mules?' It hurt
and wounded him to hear this. When he saw the
sultan he affected to despise the Christians who had
been taken, said they were foolish and ignorant.
The sultan ordered the governor to torture them
again, so he rode down and tortured them severely,

A RIOT IN CAIRO 71

till they confessed that fourteen monks from the
monastery of the Mule had sworn to burn all the
houses of the Muslims, that one of them prepared
the Naphtha, that they had divided Cairo and Misr,
and allotted eight to Cairo and six to Misr.

The monastery of the Mule was attacked, all
in it captured, and four of them burnt in the street
in front of the mosque of Ahmad b. Tulun, on a
Friday, before a great crowd of spectators. From
then on the crowd vexed the Christians, assaulted
them, and tore the clothes off them, till it became
a scandal and they exceeded all bounds. The
sultan was enraged at this and proposed to punish
the mob. It chanced that one Saturday he rode
down from the citadel to go to the great parade
ground, and found the streets filled with a great
multitude, crying out, 'God help Islam; help
the religion of Muhammad, the son of 'Abdulla.'
This vexed him. When he reached the parade
ground the treasurer brought two Christians, whom
he had caught in the act of setting fire to houses, so
he ordered them to be burnt. They were taken
away, a pit was dug, and they were burnt in it in
the sight of the people. While they were burning
the two Christians, the steward of Biktamir, the
cupbearer, passed on his way to his master's house.
Now he was a Christian. As soon as the mob saw
him they threw him to the ground off his animal,
tore all his clothes off him, and bore him away to
throw him in the fire. He shouted the two testi-
monies, showed himself a Muslim, and was let go.
It happened that Karlm ud Din, in court dress,
passed on his way from the parade ground. They

72 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

stoned him continuously, cried out, ' How long will
you protect the Christians and make common cause
with them ? ' cursed him and abused him, till he was
forced to return to the sultan on the parade grofand.
The shouts and cries of the mob were so loud that
the sultan heard them, and when Karim ud Dm
came and told him what had happened he was filled
with wrath. Now there were present the emirs
Jamal ud Dm, the lieutenant of Kerak, Saif ud Dm,
the Bubakri, the Khatlri, and Biktamir the cham-
berlain, and others, so the sultan asked their advice.
The Bubakri said, ' The mob is blind ; the best
policy is for the chamberlain to go and ask them
what they want, so that he may know/ The sultan
did not approve of this, and turned from him. The
lieutenant of Kerak said, ' The Christian secretaries
are the cause of all this, for the people hate them.
My opinion is that the sultan should not do any-
thing to the mob, but should dismiss the Christians
from the public service/ This also did not please
him. The emir Almas, the chamberlain, said, ' Take
with you four emirs, and put sword to the mob from
the time it leaves the gate of the parade ground till
it reaches the gate of Zuwaila, and smite them with
the sword from the gate of Zuwaila to the gate of
Nasr, so that none escape the sword/ He said to the
governor of Cairo, ' Go to the gate of Luk and the
River gate, lay hands on every one without excep-
tion, and bring them up to the citadel. If you do not
bring those who stoned my agent Karim ud Dm, by
the life of my head I will punish you in their stead/
He sent with him several royal mamelukes. The
emirs went off slowly, the order was bruited abroad,

A RIOT IN CAIRO 73

and neither they nor their servants and retainers
found anybody. The news spread in Cairo, all the
markets were shut, and an indescribable terror
reigfred. The emirs went out, and did not find any-
one on the whole of the road till they came to the
gate of Nasr. At the gate of Luk, near Bulak, and
the River gate, the governor took some sailors,
riff-raff and others. There was a panic, and many
departed to the west side to Gizeh. The sultan left
the parade ground, went up to the citadel, and did
not meet any of the mob. Arrived in the citadel,
he summoned the governor in haste, and the sun
had not set when he brought some two hundred of
the mob whom he had taken. Some he set apart
to be strangled, some he ordered to be cut asunder,
and some to have their hands cut off. They
all cried, * O lord ; this is not lawful ; we are
not those who stoned.' The emir Biktamir, the
cupbearer, and the other emirs, wept in pity for them,
and pleaded with the sultan till he said to the
governor, * Take some of them, put up poles from
the gate of Zuwaila to the Horse Market, below the
citadel, and hang them by their hands/ On the
Sunday morning he hanged them, from the gate of
Zuwaila to the Horse Market ; many of them were
well dressed and respectable. The emirs went by
grieving and weeping for them, and that day no
shopkeeper in Cairo or Misr opened his shop.
Karlm ud Dm left his house, to go to the citadel as
usual, and could not pass by those who were impal-
ed, so he turned from the road of the gate of Zuwaila.
The sultan sat in a window, and those whom the
governor had captured were brought before him.

74 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

He cut off the hands and feet of three, and the emirs
dared not intercede with him for them because he
was so wrathful. Karlm ud Dm advanced, uncover-
ed his head, kissed the ground, and pleaded for
them. His intercession was heard. The sultan gave
orders that they should be put in the pit of Gizeh.
They were taken away, though two of those whose
hands had been cut off had died. Those who had
been hung up were taken down from the poles.
While the sultan sat in the window a cry of fire was
raised in the neighbourhood of the mosque of Ibn
Tulun,in the citadel, in the house of the emirRukn ud
Din Ahmadi, in the quarter of Baha ud Dm, and in
the inn outside the River gate, in the Maks and
beyond. On the morning of this fire three Christians
were seized, with ropes soaked in naphtha. They
were taken to the sultan, and confessed that they
had started the fire. These places burned till
Saturday. When the sultan rode to the parade
ground, as was his custom, he found a mob of about
twenty thousand men, who had dyed rags blue and
put white crosses on them. When they saw him
they gave one shout, * There is no religion but Islam;
help the religion of Muhammad, the son of 'Abdulla ;
O victorious king, O sultan of Islam, help us against
the unbelievers ; help not the Christians.* The
earth shook at the noise of their voices, and God
put fear in the hearts of the sultan and the emirs.
He rode on in increasing thought till he reached
the parade ground, and the shouting never ceased.
He saw that he must temporize, so told the chamber-
lain to make this proclamation before him : * Whoso
finds a Christian may take his goods and his life. 1

A RIOT IN CAIRO 75

The proclamation was made and the mob shouted
and yelled ' God help you ', and screamed prayers
for him. The Christians used to wear white
turbans, so it was proclaimed in Cairo and Misr,
* Whoso finds a Christian wearing a white turban
may take his life and his goods. He who finds a
Christian riding may take his life and his goods/
An order was issued that Christians were to wear
blue turbans, were not to ride on horses and mules,
that he who rode on a donkey must ride sideways,
that no one might go into a bath unless he had a
bell on his neck, that no one might wear Muslim
costume, and that the emirs might not employ
Christian servants. They were driven out of the
sultan's employ, and he wrote to the other provinces
to discharge all Christian employees. The Muslims
made so many attacks on the Christians that they
ceased to go out into the streets, and many turned
Muslim.

In all this not a word was said about the Jews,
so if a Christian wanted to go out of his house he
borrowed a yellow turban from a Jew and wore it,
to be safe from the mob.

A Christian secretary had deposited with a Jew
four thousand dirhams in bullion, and went to his
house by night in disguise to demand it. The Jew
took hold of him, shouted, and called on the help of
God and the Muslims. A crowd collected to seize the
Christian, who ran inside the Jew's house and asked
the protection of his wife. He was made to take an
oath that cleared the Jew so that he was free of him.
A number of Christians were found in the monas-
tery of Khindik preparing naphtha to set fire to
houses : thev were seized and blinded.

76 CAL IPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

An amnesty was proclaimed, and the people made
a holiday to see the sultan's procession to the parade
ground, for they had feared for themselves because
they had gone beyond the limit in perpetrating^out-
rages on the Christians. Their minds were at ease ;
they went to the parade ground, called down bless-
ings on the sultan, and said, ' May God help you,
sultan of the land ; we are at peace, we are at peace.'
The sultan was pleased and smiled at what they
said. That night there was a fire in the house of
the emir Almas, the chamberlain in the citadel. The
wind was strong, the fire blazed, and spread to the
house of the emir Itamsh. Those in the citadel and
the inhabitants of Cairo thought that the whole
citadel was on fire.

LIST OF THE CHURCHES DESTROYED
IN EGYPT IN A.H. 721

1 in the ruins of the Tartars in the citadel

1 Zuhri.

1 Hamra.

1 of the Daughters near the Seven Conduits.

1 Abu Mina (or Abu 1 Minya).

1 Fahadain in Cairo.

1 in the quarter of the Greeks.

1 in the Bundukani.

2 in the quarter of Zuwaila.
1 in the Flag Store.

1 in Khindik.

4 in the province of Alexandria.

2 in Damanhur.

4 in the west province.

3 in the east province.
6 in Behnasa.

8 in Assiut Manfalut and Munyat ul Khasib,

A RIOT IN CAIRO 77

11 in Kus and Aswan.
1 in Atfihia.

8 in Misr (Suk Wardan, Masasa, and Kasr Shama').
And many monasteries. Those of the Mule and Shahran
remained empty for a long time. 1

1 M., 2,512-17.

CHAPTER V
CHURCH AND STATE

SEVERUS is the chief source of information about
Egypt. When the patriarch Agatho died, Theodo-
sius sealed the patriarchal palace, so that the house-
hold could not get bread to eat on the day Agatho
died. The palace remained shut till orders came
from 'Abd ul 'Aziz, obtained by the intervention
of his Christian secretaries, Athanasius and Isaac. 1
This was religious jealousy rather than government
tyranny, for Theodosius was a Melkite. When John
of Samnud died (c. 65), the bishops did not approve
of the man he had designated as his successor, and
chose another without waiting for the permission of
the governor. He had all concerned in this election
brought to Cairo, cancelled their choice, and appoint-
ed Isaac the nominee of John. 2

In 76 John of Sanya died, and Hajjaj forbade the
Christians to appoint another catholicus, so they
remained without one till Hajjaj died. 3

When Isaac died the man chosen by the bishops
was presented to 'Abd ul 'Aziz. There was some
opposition, and one Simon was suggested. He was
fetched and the governor asked him, ' Do you think
it fit that this John should be patriarch?' He
answered, ' There is not to be found in Egypt or
the east one so fit for this office ; he is my spiritual
father, educated me from childhood, and I know

1 S., 116. a S., 120. Elias, 9.

CHURCH AND STATE 79

his life to be angelic.' All the bishops and secre-
taries present cried out, c God give the governor
long life ; give the throne to Simon, for he deserves
to be patriarch/ When the governor heard what
they said about a stranger whom they had known
only two days, he bade them take him and anoint
him. 1

During an interregnum in the patriarchate, while
Athanasius was head of the government offices in
Alexandria, he and other secretaries asked the
governor to appoint the bishop Gregory manager
of the church and palace of the patriarch, because
the income and expenditure were great. This was
done. 2

When the patriarch of Antioch died the caliph
Walld would not allow the appointment of another. 3

In return for a bribe of one thousand dinars,
Kurra allowed a Melkite patriarch to be appointed
in Alexandria. 4 In 107 the emperor sent a pre-
sent to Hisham, and had Kosmas made Melkite
patriarch. This was the first patriarch they had
had for seventy-seven years. 5 From these two
stories and the comment, it is safe to conclude that
the appointment was made about the turn of the
century. Hisham allowed a patriarch to be installed
in Antioch. 6

While Theodore occupied the throne (109 to 120}
the prosperity of the patriarchal palace and church
in Alexandria grew daily, till it was restored to its
former state or even greater ; it was as if it had
never been sacked. 7

1 S., 123. a S., 133. 8 S., 140. 4 S., 141.

8 M., 2, 493 ' S., 144. 7 S., 150.

80 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Al Hurr b. Yusuf was asked to permit the
election of a patriarch ; he asked for money, and,
when this was not given, refused his permission.
Then the bishops appealed to Hafs, his successor,
who told them to choose their man and then present
him at the governor's palace. They chose Michael,
a monk in the wadi Habib, and asked Hafs to have
him brought from there for his installation. 1

On the death of Athanasius, patriarch of Antioch,
Hisham appointed his successor and several bishops. 2

The government kept a sharp watch on the
doings of the priests. An Indian priest came to
Simon, the patriarch, and asked him to consecrate
a bishop for India. He refused until the governors
permission was obtained, as the Indians were not
subject to the Muslims. However, Theodore
consecrated a bishop, and sent him with two priests
to India. They were taken prisoners and sent
to the caliph. The Indian, however, escaped and
went back to Egypt. The three had their hands
and feet cut off, and the caliph ordered 'Abd ul
'Aziz to give the patriarch two hundred lashes, fine
him one hundred thousand dinars, and send him to
Damascus for acting as a spy on behalf of India.
Fortunately for him, the Indian priest was dis-
covered, and he proved the innocence of the
patriarch. 8 4

One Isaac, a monk in a monastery near Edessa,
was visited by a stranger monk, who turned a piece
of lead into gold by means of an elixir. Isaac mur-
dured him for his secret, and then found that none
of the elixir was left. He then made friends with

1 S., 158. a S., 163. S., 127 ; M., 2, 492.

CHURCH AND STATE 81

Athanasius Sandalana, metropolitan of North Meso-
potamia, and became a dependent of the caliph
Mansiir. Athanasius made him bishop of Harran
illegally, and then Mansiir forced the bishops to
elect him patriarch in 138 or 139. Knowing that he
would not be well received by the church, he got
letters of installation from the caliph, who gave him
a staff and robe from the royal treasury. He studied
alchemy, but was unmasked, put to death, and his
body was thrown into the Euphrates. Mansur then
made the bishops choose Athanasius as patriarch,
gave him letters of installation and soldiers to
secure his position. After two years Athanasius
died, and there was a schism in the church. The
bishops of the West chose George, a deacon, and
those of North Mesopotamia chose John. John died,
and David, bishop of Dara, slandered George to the
caliph, accusing him of having said that he would
never take the name of Muhammad on his lips.
It was clear that the charge was frivolous, but
George had not asked for letters of installation, so he
was put in prison, where he stayed for ten years, till
the death of the caliph. David was then elected
in 146 by Mansur's wish, and it is said that when
he visited a church the sanctuary was filled with
soldiers and horsemen, not with priests. Those who
would not recognize him as patriarch were imprison-
ed in Harran. 1

It is evident that the government kept a close
watch on the church. Though the bishops kept the
right of electing the catholicus, that right was often
only nominal ; and one who neglected to secure the

1 C.M., 236,24347.

6

82 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

caliph's favour was in danger of being treated as a
rebel. The head of the Christian community had
not the right to flog or put to death, though he could
fine or excommunicate. He was often indulgent to
the rich and those who had influence with the govern-
ment. 'Aun ul 'Ibadi was threatened with excom-
munication because he kept concubines. He retort-
ed by threatening to turn Muslim if discipline was
applied to him. 1

Sometimes the caliph helped in the maintenance
of discipline. Hunainand Taifuri met in the house
of a Christian, where a lamp was burning before a
picture of Christ and the disciples. Hunain asked
the master of the house why he wasted oil, as these
figures were only pictures. Taifuri said, ' If these
do not deserve honour, spit on them/ Hunain did so,
and Taifuri complained to Mutawakkil about it, and
asked that judgment should be done on him accord-
ing to Christian law. The catholicus and bishops
were consulted, and decreed that he should be ex-
communicated. This was done. He took off his
zunnar, went to his house, and died ; it is said that
he poisoned himself. 2

The government kept a close watch on the heads
of the churches, though it took a friendly interest in
them on occasion. When 'Abdulla b. Tahir, the
governor, came to Kallinicus, Abiram and his par-
tisans came to ask from him authority and a com-
mission. The patriarch of Antioch also went there,
and was given an audience before these rebels.
The governor asked about their history, so the
patriarch told all their doings and their opposition to

1 JahizH.,4,9. B.H. Mu., 252.

CHURCH AND STATE 83

his predecessors, and that they wanted a commission
only to cause trouble in the land. Then 'Abdulla
gave orders for that mad man and his party to be
admitted, and asked who he was. He answered
that he was the patriarch. Because he was not tell-
ing the truth the rightful patriarch opposed him.
The governor then told the officer, who stood behind
him, to go to the crowd of thousands of Christians
standing outside, and ask who was their patriarch
and legal head. When he went out and shouted his
question the Christians cried out, * We have no
patriarch and head save Dionysius.' When
'Abdulla saw this, and commissions given us by
Mamun and his own father, Tahir, he looked sternly
at Abiram and said, ' I see that you are a fraud ;
this patriarch is the head.' Immediately the pallium
was taken from Abiram, and 'Abdulla reproved him
and said, ' Do not let me hear again that you have
worn the pallium, nor held in your hand the pastoral
staff, nor been addressed as patriarch. And if I
hear again that you travel through the land, you
are a dead man. 5 Dionysius returned to Antioch,
and 'Abdulla was kind to him and showed him
much honour.

Then Simeon, the brother of Abiram and an
excommunicated monk, went to Baghdad, took with
him the commission from 'Ali b. abi Talib preserved
in the monastery of Gubba the Outer, and showed
them there. He wrote calumnies against Dionysius
purporting to come from Christians, complaining of
oppression, appealed to the commission of 'Ali, and
claimed the supremacy. Orders and a commission
were given him in the name of Abiram, that he

84 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

might go where he chose without hindrance. When
Simeon came back with this commission, crowds of
monks gathered and prepared to come into the
presence of 'Abdulla. The patriarch was sent for
from Antioch. When he arrived he was told about
Abiram, and that he had not been given an audience.
Then 'Abdulla sent for him, and when he saw the
cowl on his head he gazed sternly at him and asked,
* Why do you transgress my commandment and
wear the pallium ? ' He replied that it was a cowl for
the head, and not the pallium. 'Abdulla then asked
the patriarch, who gave the same answer. When
'Abdulla saw the commission given by Mamun,
he said to Dionysius, ' I cannot banish Abiram
unless you send to Baghdad and get a rescript to
cancel this/ 1

As the natural importance of the patriarchate
might be enhanced by the favour of a powerful
governor or the caliph himself, it is not surprising
that candidates for the post were ready to give
bribes to those who could help to the attainment of
this office. About the year 449 there was a quarrel
in the church ; two patriarchs were elected, one in
the castle of Mansur and one in Amid, and one of
them gave bribes to ' the rulers of the world '. 2 The
same thing happened in Mardln a few years later. 3
In 688 presents were given to the ruler of Mosul. 4
Details of the sort of intrigues that went on and
the difficulties the church had to face are revealed
by the following incident. Shahraman was vexed
with the catholicus in Kal'at ur Rum, because he
refused to surrender a fugitive monk, so gave orders

1 S.A., 2, 269. 2 S.A., 2, 290. 8 S.A., 2, 316. 4 S.A., 2, 320.

CHURCH AND STATE 85

that his name should not be mentioned in the
church prayers in his land and that he should not
be received. The captain of the castle of Sansun,
an Armenian of the family of the catholicus, bribed
Shahraman, and told him that the catholicus had a
son and so was not fit to hold his office, and offered
him money for his help. Shahraman agreed. The
captain collected some forty bishops, who elected an
old man as catholicus. Afterwards he appointed
the young son of the captain. The lad took the
land of Armenia, appointed bishops, and consecrated
the holy oil. When Karikarius, the then catholicus
in KaPat ur Rum, heard of this, he sent a messenger
to Baghdad to ask the help of the caliph. In return
for big gifts, he was given letters to Biktamir, the
lord of Armenia and Khalat. When Biktamir
received these letters, he gave orders to dismiss
this lad and the bishops he had appointed. In this
way Karikarius got back the land of Armenia. 1
These events must have happened between 581
and 589. Yakut remarks that Kal'at ur Rum was
the seat of the Armenian patriarch ; the Muslims
let him keep it as they let the Christians generally
keep their churches, and also it was not important.

Though the patriarch was apt to be the plaything
of the temporal powers in times of peace, in time ol
trouble he was the protector to whom the Christians
turned. During the confusion that followed a sack
of Baghdad the Christians of Tekrit asked him tc
send them a governor to protect them. 2

In dealing with foreign powers the governmem
was sometimes very conciliatory. Michael Palaeo

1 S.A., 2, 306. B.H., 508.

86 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

logus requested the sultan Baibars to allow the
appointment of a Melkite patriarch in Egypt.
Rashid ul Kahhal was chosen, sent to Constantinople
with several bishops for consecration, and brought
back presents from the emperor for the sultan.
Baibars told him to keep them, 660. 1 In 673 the
king of Abyssinia asked for a metropolitan to be
chosen by the patriarch of Alexandria. His request
was granted. 2

The patriarch was a government servant, and his
appointment needed to be ratified by the caliph.
This is brought out clearly in the charter granted
to the Nestorian 'Abdishu III, who entered on his
office in A.D. 1138. After the usual pious introduc-
tion, the caliph refers to his

* Regard for the common weal, which includes
Muslims and allies, the near and the far, and the
various religions of the people of the book who have
a covenant and sanction of the law ; the protection
of~which embraces and shields them, so that the
shade of kindness reaches them all, and their eyes
and ears acknowledge the watch over them. I laid
your case before the Commander of the Faithful, that
you are the most exemplary in life of the people of
your faith, the nearest of them to goodness both in
doctrine and nature, the most filled with qualities
which, they agree, distinguish and separate you
from them, and make you worthy of receiving that
which you hope and desire ; and that you fulfil all
the conditions of the office of catholicus, which are
known among them, with its qualities, and witness
is born to you that you have the complete character

1 Q., 1, 177. ' Q., 2, 122.

CHURCH AND STATE 87

and nature. A deputation of Christians came,
men whose opinion is respected in finding out the
life of those like you, in discovering the histories
of those who resemble you and are akin to you.
They announced that religious men, both public
and private, had examined your life, and by the ex-
perience of their need of a catholicus, to control their
affairs and guide their community wisely, they
confirmed and agreed, by the consent of their minds
and the union of their hearts and desires, to choose
you as the head of their religion, to manage their
affairs, settle their policy, and do justice between the
strong and the weak. They asked that their choice
of you might be ratified by that approval which
establishes its rules, makes valid its promises,
consolidates its erection, and strengthens its pegs.

4 The caliph gave orders to fulfil their request at
once and to put on them the wings of desire to its
attainment. The most noble order went forth may
its commands be ever bound up with success ! to
make you catholicus of the Nestorian Christians in
Baghdad and the other lands of Islam, and head of
them and the others, Greeks, Jacobites, and Melkites
in the whole land, to single you out from all people
of your faith to wear the well-known insignia of the
catholicus in all your houses of prayer and all places
of worship, so that no other wears this dress or is
permitted to adorn himself with it, neither metro-
politan, bishop, nor deacon, to put them below your
rank and to keep them under the place and position
which is especially yours. If any of those mentioned
enters the door of strife or opposition, or frightens
and terrifies the hearts of your servants, or refuses to

88 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

obey your commands, or from being at peace turns
to enmity with you, punishment shall overtake him
and retribution come upon him for his schisrgi till
his spear is made straight and his stone grows soft
by beating, those like him are prevented from acting
as he has done, and your law is saved from every-
thing that disturbs its order.

'According to the example of the imams, he
ordered you to be invested with the rights of those
who preceded and came before you in the office of
catholicus. He ordered to confirm your position,
and that of those who follow and come after you, to
protect you and the people of your faith in their
persons and property, to guard you well in safety,
and to confirm established customs in the burying
of your dead and the protection of your churches
and monasteries ; in all this to act on the model set
by the first four caliphs towards your predecessors
and followed by later imams, your treaty and
covenant ; to limit themselves to asking the poll-tax
from your men of sound understanding, but not
from women and immature boys; to demand it
once a year, without turning aside from the approved
decree of the law in levying it ; that the various
Christians may find justice in their litigation, that
he will take justice from the strong for the weak
and will lead to the right him who has turned to
wickedness and injustice. He will so watch over
them as to establish the rights and privileges
whereby men live in safety, and he will go on the
plain path and straight road/ 1

1 Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 1926.

CHAPTER VI
ARAB CHRISTIANS

NOT all the Arabs accepted Islam at once ; the
Taghlib are the best known of those who clung to
their Christianity. 'Umar wished to treat them
like other Christians and make them pay jizya, but
they refused on the ground that it was beneath their
dignity as Arabs. As a compromise, they were
allowed to pay the same taxes as the Muslims, only
doubled. Thus the tax on merchandise became five
per cent. There are the usual differences of
opinion as to who paid the zakat. One story is that
men and women paid it, but not boys. The Irak
view was that boys and idiots paid it on land (crops)
and not on cattle ; the Hedjaz view was that they
paid on cattle, but not on their slaves and other
property. 1 The lawyers also differ. Ahmad b.
Hanbal says that it was paid by all men, women,
and boys. Abu Hanifa says that it was paid by
women, while Malik and Shafe'i say that it was
not paid by women and boys. 2 Another condition
imposed by 'Umar was that they were not to
baptize the children of those tribesmen who turned
Muslim. 8

'Umar seems to have felt it a disgrace that Arabs
should not be Muslims, for he ordered Ziyad b.
Jarir, the tax gatherer, to be severe with Taghlib,
'for they were Arabs and not people of the book'.

1 Kh., 69. * Rahmat, 2, 171. T.I., 2509.

90 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Still, justice was not always denied them. There is
a tale that one of the tribe, with a horse, which he
valued at twenty thousand dirhams,met the tax collec-
tor and paid one thousand dirhams as tax. Later in
the year the same collector asked him to pay the tax a
second time, or to surrender the horse and get back
his thousand dirhams. The man appealed to the
caliph, who decreed that the tax had to be paid once a
year only. 1 Further, it was enough for a man of
Taghlib to declare that his debts equalled the value
of his goods, and he paid nothing. 2

In the reign of 'Abd ul Malik a lampoon of al
Akhtal's was the cause of an attack on Taghlib, in
which many men and women were killed. 8 There
is nothing to show that religion had anything to do
with this, it may have been ordinary tribal warfare.
At this time, however, persecution began. Muham-
mad, the governor of Mesopotamia, sent for Mu'adh,
the chief of Taghlib, and persecuted him to make
him turn Muslim. As he refused, he cast him into a
pit of mud. Then he brought him out and flogged
him, and, as he would not be persuaded, he had him
killed. 4 It continued in the next reign. Walid, the
caliph, said to Sham'ala, the chief of Taghlib, ' As
you are a chief of the Arabs you shame them all by
worshipping the cross; obey my wish and turn
Muslim.' He replied, * How so ? I am chief of
Taghlib, and I fear lest I become a cause of destruc-
tion to them all, if I and they cease to believe
in Christ.' When Walid heard this he gave an order,
and they dragged him away on his face. The caliph
swore to him that if he did not turn Muslim he

1 M., 2, 122. * Yabya, 50. Agh., 11, 56. B.H., 112.

ARAB CHRISTIANS 91

would make him eat his own flesh. This did not
move him. Flesh was cut from his bones, roasted,
and t.hrust into his mouth. As he endured this
he was blinded. He lived, and the wounds could be
seen on his body. 1

About the same time Taghlib suffered in tribal
war and lost its chief. One of their enemies an-
nounced that he would protect the pregnant women
of Taghlib if they would take shelter with him.
They fled to him, some even tying cooking pots
under their clothes to simulate pregnancy. Then
he ripped open the bellies of them all. 2

One is glad to know that this barbarity disgusted
the chiefs of his own side.

The Banu Tha'laba were also Christians, their
interview with 'Umar II is described in the chapter
on dress. There were bishops of the Banu Tha'laba
and the Banu Jarm apparently in Muslim times. 3
Between the years A.D. 837 and 850 there was a
bishop of Sanaa and Yemen, but presumably he
was only titular. 4 About 183, one Simeon was
bishop of the Arabs. 5 Parts of the tribes of Sulaim
and Tai were also Christian. 6 Thomas of Marga,
tells of a man who had been bishop of the Scattered.
During a drought he had gone with his church into
the desert to pray for rain. The Arabs who dwell
in tents fell upon them, captured him, and kept him
a prisoner for forty years in northern Mesopotamia.
He was useful to them as a herd. The diocese of
this man seems to have been nomadic or semi-

1 B.H., 115 ; Agh., 10, 93 3 Agh., 20, 128.

1 Cheikho, 99. 4 Thomas, 2, 448.

8 C.M., 256. Yak.B., 309.

92 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

nomadic. 1 At times their religion made no differ-
ence to the Christian Arabs, they behaved and were
treated just like the others. A'sha, of the 3anu
Taghlib, was a poet and boon companion of Hurr b.
Yusuf , who was at one time governor of Egypt. They
were once drinking in his garden, at Mosul, when
A'sha got drunk and fell asleep, so Hurr called for
his slave girls and went into a summer house. A'sha
woke up, followed him, and, though the servants
tried to stop him, he burst in upon Hurr and his
women. A eunuch hit him in the face, so he went to
his tribe, told them of the insult, got help, rushed
on Hurr, and hit him in the face.

The caliph Walld was friendly with A'sha, who
later recited a poem in praise of 'Umar b. 'Abd ul
'Aziz, after he had become caliph. He said, c I do
not think that poets have any claim on the treasury,
and if they had, you, a Christian, have none/ 2

According to the law books, Christian Arabs were
not ' people of the book'; Muslims might not marry
their women, nor eat animals they had killed. 3

JEWS

It is surprising how little Muslim authors have
to say about the Jews ; the law books rarely mention
them, speaking only of dhimmis or Christians. The
natural impression would be that they were few and
unimportant ; but that is not so. Benjamin of
Tudela, found them wherever he went, sometimes in
large numbers. In Alexandria, at the conquest, were
40,000 or 70,000 of them, and it is stated that there

1 Thomas, 1, 132, 2, 275 n. * Agh., 10, 93. Umm, 4, 194 f.

ARAB CHRISTIANS 93

was a special clause in the treaty of surrender
permitting them to live there. 1 In Persia were fewer
Jews than Christians. 2

(The Jews were traders, craftsmen, doctors, and
civil servants^and examples of their success in these
professions have been given elsewhere. Of Ya'kub
b. Yusuf b. Killis it was said, ' If he were a Muslim
he would be fit to be vizier.' About 380 he turned
Muslim and became vizier. 3 Amm ud Dawla abu 1
Hasan b. Ghazal, a Jewish or Samaritan doctor,
was for a time vizier of Malik Salih. When he was
put to death they found property worth three million
pieces of gold and a library of ten thousand volumes,
many of them valuable. 4 Yusuf Burhan ul Falak,
the astronomer of Zain ud Din, the brother of Nur ud
Dm, was a leading Jew in Mosul. 5

They followed various trades, and as jewellers
had dealings with kings. The widow of Kafur com-
plained to the Fatimid caliph, al Mu'izz, that she had
entrusted to a Jewish goldsmith a kuba^ woven with
gold and pearls, and that he denied having received
it. The caliph sent for him and urged him to give
back the garment, but he persisted in his denial.
His house was searched, and the kuba found buried
in an earthen jar. 6 The Jews of Jerusalem had a
monopoly of the dyeing industry in the town. 7
The making of eunuchs was one of the occupations
of those in Andalus. 8 In Baghdad most of the
mukhallitun were Jews. 9 In Palermo they had
their own quarter of the town. 10 Jews resident

1 Husn, 1, 60 ; J.N., 374. ' I.H., 207. 8 A.M., II, 2, 45.

4 Q., 1, 27, 30. ' Benj., 46. a Husn, 2, 13. 7 Benj., 31.

8 I.H., 75. Ath., y. 573. 10 I.H., 85.

94 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

in Europe were well-known traders in the domains
of the caliph. They spoke Arabic, Persian, Greek,
French, Spanish, and Russian. ^They travelled
from the east to the west and from west to east,
bringing from the west slave boys and girls,
eunuchs, silk, skins of beavers, rats, and foxes, and
swords. Starting from Frankland they go to Farama
and then by land to Kulzum, and from there to Jar,
Jidda, India, and China/ Thence they bring musk,
aloes, cinnamon, camphor, etc. They return by the
same road, but sometimes go and sell their goods in
Constantinople. Sometimes they go from the land
of the Franks to Antioch, thence by land to the
Euphrates and Baghdad, thence down the Tigris to
Ubulla and Uman, India, and China. 1 Jewish
scholars and doctors travelled as did the Muslims.
Yiisuf b. Yahya b. Ishak studied in Jallada, and,
when the Almohades forced the Jews to accept
Islam or go into exile, he concealed his religion and
went to Egypt, where he studied under Maimonides,
himself an exile from Spain. 2 Yehuda b. Yusuf was
a pupil of Thabit b. Kurra, the Sabian, in philosophy
and medicine, at Rakka. 8

Jews and Christians were not always on the best
of terms. In the early stages of the Muslim con-
quests the invaders realized that the Jews might be
relied on to support them against the Christians.
So Mu'awia settled Jews in Tripoli as soon as he
had captured it. 4 It was the same in Spain. The
Muslims gathered the Jews into the towns they
conquered, into Cordova, Granada, Toledo, and

1 KhunJadbeh, 153. 2 B.H. Mu., 423. Mas.T., 113.

4 B.,127.

ARAB CHRISTIANS 95

Seville, 1 because they were the enemies of the
Christians. When Walid incorporated the church
of S. John into the mosque of Damascus, he sent
Zaid b. Tamim, who was over the tribute, to
summon the Jews to do the work of destruction. 2
Other instances of this bad feeling, both in Syria
and Egypt, have been given elsewhere ; yet at
times Jews came to the relief of Christians. In
a time of persecution Jews lent their yellow tur-
bans so that Christians could go into the streets with
less fear of molestation. The Jews never seem to
have provoked the same ill-feeling as the Christians.

Still their reputation was not altogether good.
There was a saying, ' A Jew will never pay his taxes
till he has had his head smacked \ 3 Another saying
was, ' Do not travel with a Jew, for he will play some
trick on you '. In illustration of this saying, the story
is told that a Muslim who was riding with a Jew
asked him what trick he was playing. He explained
that he rode in such a position that the shadow of
his mule always fell on the shadow of his com-
panion's head. The same prejudice lies behind
the tale that the Jewish physician, Musa, on his
deathbed told the kadi to forbid all Jews to practise
as doctors, for ' we think it right to kill those who
profane the Sabbath '. 4 The tale, that a Jew was
drowned for sitting above the notables in the pre-
sence of Mamun, seems to be an exaggeration of the
story of al Kindi. 5

They were looked on as an inferior people, who
were occasionally allowed the crumbs that fell from

1 Mak., 1, 166 f,, 170. a I.A., 1, 201. Raudatain, 1, 203.

4 Ghazi,397. 5 Ghazi,396.

96 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

their masters' tables. This attitude still persists in
Yemen, where the Jews for the most part do not
carry arms. An Arab would be disgraced if it be-
came known that he had killed a Jew. It is not the
act of a sportsman.

In the time of Nasir i Khusrau the Jews went on
pilgrimage to Jerusalem, 1

They had their own religious chief, called the
Head of the Dispersion. In the reign of Muktadir,
one Daud b. Zakkai filled the post. 2 Benjamin of
Tudela paints a highly coloured picture of the power
and importance of this dignitary, who was at that
time Daniel b. Khasdai. With his ten assistants he
was the judge of all the Jews. The Muslims called
him ' Our Lord, the son of David '. He had authority
over all Jews in the caliph's dominions. Muktafi,
who restored the office, had given him this power.
Every one, Jew or Muslim, had to stand up in his
presence, and he who failed to do so was beaten
with one hundred stripes. He had an audience with
the caliph every Thursday, when horsemen, Jews
and others, cried out before him, ' Make way for our
Lord, the son of David.' He wore a turban and
rode a horse. He kissed the hand of the caliph and
then sat in the presence while Muslim kings had to
stand. 3 His income was two hundred thousand gold
pieces, derived from taxes on the Jews. When he is
appointed he has to pay great sums to the caliph,
the nobles, and the officials.* In later times Egypt
had its own Head of the Dispersion. In 684 Muha-
dhdhab abu 1 Muwaffak, a doctor, was made head
of the Jews. He was given a diploma, conferring on

1 Sefernameh, 20. a Mas.T., 113. * Benj,, 56. * Benj., 58.

ARAB CHRISTIANS 97

him the superintendence over all sects of Jews and
the Samaritans in the whole of Egypt. 1 When the
Jews wish to excommunicate a man they blow
trumpets against him. This is not strictly part of
their law, but under Muslim rule their chief could
neither flog nor put to death. 2

Once when a Jew tried to raise a rebellion the
Head of the Dispersion came to the rescue of his
people. He proclaimed that this pretender was not
the Messiah, and gave to the king of Persia one
hundred talents, and so persuaded him not to
punish the Jews for the folly of one of them. 3

The rule that difference of religion constitutes a
bar to inheritance originated in the marriage of an
Arab woman to a Jew. The aunt of al Ash'ath
married a Jew, and died childless. Al Ash'ath asked
for her property, but 'Umar replied, ' There can be
no inheritance between people of two religions'. 4

Mahmud of Ghazna made a garden in Balkh and
forced the townsfolk to maintain it. They grumbled
at the burden, so the sultan imposed the duty on
the Jews of the town, stipulating that not more than
five hundred dirhams should be exacted from them
for it. 5

In Egypt, in 860, the Samaritans and the Karaites
had their own chiefs, and were no longer under the
head of the orthodox Jews. 6

MAGIANS

'Umar I was told of a people, worshipping fire,
who were neither Jews, Christians, nor people of

1 Q., 3, 80. * Jahiz H., 4, 9. Benj., 72, 75. I.R., 205.
8 Barthold, 288. Gottheil, 409.

7

98 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

the book. He said that he did not know what
to do with them. Then 'Abd ur Rahman b. 'Auf
rose and said, * I testify that the Prophet said,
"Treat them like the people of the book.'" 1
There are many traditions like this, and it is evident
that the Muslims were puzzled how to treat the
Magians. Though the Prophet is said to have
decided the question, there is no evidence that he
ever had dealings with the adherents of this faith.
In practice they were treated much as the other
conquered religions. The treaties guarantee them
the free exercise of their religion, and that this was
no empty form is shown by the words written in the
fourth century, ' It is a rule of the Magian religion
that if a woman under certain circumstances commits
adultery, she has to come before the sacred fire and
strip before one of the priests, that he may purify her
with the urine of the cow '. 2 At first their temples
did not suffer more than the churches. It has been
shown in Chapter III that their temples were numer-
ous, rich, and much visited. They kept their own
marriage laws. In some ways they were worse off
than the other dkimmis. The blood money for
killing a Magian was much less than for the other
dhimmis, and no Muslim was allowed to marry one
of their women or to eat an animal killed by them. 3
In early times relations between Muslims and
Magians were at times very friendly. Thus
Mughira ul Ukaishir married his cousin, paying a
bride price of four or (accounts vary) ten thousand
dirhams. 4 His own family would not help him to
raise the money, so he appealed to Ibn Ras ul

1 Kb., 74. * I.H., 190. 3 B., 80 ; Umm, 4, 104. * Agh., 10, 86.

ARAB CHRISTIANS 99

Bughl, a Magian dihkan, who gave him the money.
Magian customs died hard. Near Kazwln was a
village of Magians, who ate the flesh of all the
draught cattle which died. 1 In Bukhara they
sacrificed a cock before sunrise on the day of
Nawruz. 2 Those who lived in Samarkand had to
keep a dam in repair, and in return for this service
were excused the payment of tribute. 8

The government gave some support to this faith,
which, as one of the protected religions, was
officially recognized. Thus, when Bih Afrld started
preaching his reformed doctrine, the priests ap-
pealed to Abu Muslim, who sent an army against
the innovator. 4 Again, when Mutawakkil contem-
plated his reform of the calendar, he consulted a
Magian priest as if it were the most natural thing
in the world to do. 5

In certain quarters there was a prejudice against
things Persian and Magian. 'Abdulla b. Tahir
refused to listen to the Persian romance of Wamik
and'Adhra, threw the book into the river, and ordered
all Magian books to be burnt. 6 One account says
that a Muslim divine refused Firdausi burial in the
cemetery because he was a heretic. A later form of
the story says that the divine refused to read the
prayers for the dead over him because he had sung
the praises of Persian kings. 7

1 Mas., 3, 27. 2 Barthold, 107. 8 Barthold, 85. * Br. Ch., 210 f.
Br. Ch., 31 f. Dawlatshah, 30. 7 Ch.M., 51 ; Dawlatshah, 54.

CHAPTER VII
RELIGIOUS PRACTICES

AMONG other things the covenant forbade loud
beating of the nakus^ loud chanting during worship,
the carrying of the cross or sacred books in pro-
cessions, and, in one version, the setting of crosses
on churches. Another opinion forbade the riakus in
cities founded by the Arabs. 1 The schools of law
add other conditions. Thus, four things put a
dhimmi outside the pale of the law; blasphemy
of God, His book, His religion, or His Prophet A
list of eight deeds which outlaw a dhimmi includes
fornication with a Muslim woman, an attempt to
marry one, and any attempt to pervert a Muslim
from his religion. 2

The opinions of the lawyers, though perhaps not
conclusive evidence of what was actually happening,
are not entirely divorced from everyday life. Thus
Shafe'i says that the government must not interfere
with any practice of the dhimmis, although contrary
to Muslim law, so long as it is not obtruded on
public notice. So, in a town where no Muslims live,
Christians may build churches and tall houses, and
no one may interfere with their pigs and festivals.
A dhimmi may lend money at interest to another,
or contract a marriage not recognized by Muslim
law, and no one can interfere. It is reported that

1 Kh,, 88. a Mizan, 2, 162.

RELIGIOUS PRACTICES 101

4 Umar dissolved certain Magian marriages, but
Shafe'i thinks that one of the parties concerned
must have asked him to act. A dhimmi must not
give a wife to a Muslim ward without the guardian's
permission. Some of ShafeTs views are not al-
together consistent with this generous attitude.
He says that anyone may destroy wine, a pig, or
a raw skin, for these are unclean and have no price.
But there is a penalty for destroying a skin in
which wine has been kept, for it is a manufac-
tured article and has, therefore, a price. There is
no penalty for destroying a golden image, as the
material is not damaged, but if a man breaks a
wooden image or cross, so that the wood is useless
for any other purpose, there is a penalty. Similarly,
with a drum or a flute. He does not think it right
for a Muslim to sell a (Muslim ?) slave man or
women to a Christian, but is not sure that he ought
to cancel the sale if once it has taken place. The
correct thing to do is for the Muslim to offer the
slave, and, when he fails to find a Muslim purchaser,
then only to sell him to a Christian. A Koran
must not be sold to a Christian. If Shafe'i had
had his way, he would have annulled a will bequeath-
ing a Koran or a collection of Traditions to a
Christian, and would have put other restrictions on
a dhimmi's power of dividing his property. A
bequest for building a church, or buying land, or
servants for it, would have been disallowed ; also
one for copying the Bible. A bequest to build a
church as a resting-place for wayfarers and the
poor would have been permitted. A Christian
might not will away more than one-third of his

102 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

property from the natural heirs. 1 'Umar II allowed
bequests to churches, for which the technical term
wakf is used. 2

The treaties do not entirely support these state-
ments. Abu 'Ubaida promised not to interfere
with the festivals of Damascus, but in another ver-
sion of the treaty is this clause, 'If they bring a
cross outside a church it shall be broken over the
head of him who carries it '. 3 At c Ana the terms
of surrender were, ' That they might beat the
nakus at any hour of the day or night they wished,
except at the times of Muslim prayer, and they
might take out the crosses on the day of their
festival (Easter)*. 4 In the treaties with Jerusalem
and Lydda, crosses were expressly exempted from
destruction. 5 In that with Rai is the stipulation,
* Whoso curses a Muslim or insults him shall be
punished severely, whoso strikes one shall be put
to death '. 6

Often the historians mention casual details which
throw light on this subject. In Egypt 'Amr b. 1 'As
prayed in a church, following its orientation almost
exactly. 7 The pulpit in his mosque is said to have
been taken from a church ; but there are other
accounts of its origin. The governor Maslama b.
Mukhallad forbade the beating of the nakus during
the call to prayer. 8

When, in 40, Mu'awia was proclaimed caliph in
Jerusalem, he prayed at Golgotha and then went to
Gethsemane and prayed at the tomb of Mary.
Being a wise ruler, he took care to keep the peace

1 Umm, 4, 126, 132 f. 2 Ibn Sa'd, 5, 262. 8 LA., 1, 178. 4 Kh., 86.
6 T.I., 2405. T.I., 2655. 7 M., 2,247. 8 M., 2,248.

RELIGIOUS PRACTICES 103

between his Christian subjects. The Jacobite
bishops, Theodore and Sabukt, came to Damascus
and disputed with the Maronites before the caliph
about the faith. The Jacobites were worsted, so
Mu'awia ordered them to pay twenty thousand dinars.
He bade them be at peace, and made it a custom
that the Jacobite bishops should pay him this money
every year, that they might not be persecuted by the
orthodox church. He who is called the patriarch of
the Jacobites put a tax on all monks, nuns, and all
members of the church to pay this sum. He made
Mu'awia his heir, so from fear all the Jacobites were
subject to him. 1 Walid b. 'Ukba and the Christian
poet Abu Zubaid were buried in one place. 2 In
Egypt the governor 'Abd ul 'Aziz ordered all
crosses, even those of gold and silver, in Misr to be
broken, and had placards fixed on the doors of the
churches in Cairo and Lower Egypt bearing the
words, ' Muhammad is the great Prophet of God
and Jesus is also a prophet of God'. 3 Later he
stopped the service of the mass. 4 These state-
ments seem to be at variance with what we read of
the churches that were built with the permission,
if not at the command of, ' Abd ul 'Aziz, but Makrizi
says that he dealt hardly with the Christians. 5
Al Asbagh, his son, went into the monastery of
Hulwan, saw a picture of the Virgin and child,
hawked and spat on it. He said, ' If I find an
opportunity I will blot out the Christians from this
province/ fl At a later date Abu 1 Kasim came to
Insina, and visited the monastery of Abu Shenuda.

' C.M., 70 f. * Agh., 4, 185. S., 121. 4 S., 126.

' M., 2, 492. fl S., 134.

104 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

He and a concubine rode to the monastery on
horseback. He proposed to ride into the church,
but the abbot tried to prevent him, telling him that
no woman had ever entered that church and come
out alive. He paid no attention. Inside the horses
reared, the governor was thrown, and the woman
and her horse killed. He gave his horse and four
hundred dinars to the church. In the same church
was a chest used to hold the service books. One of
the governor's suite tried to buy it, but the monks
refused to sell it. Then the Arab wanted to take it
away by force, but thirty men could not lift it.
Frightened at his ill success, the man gave them
three hundred dinars. 1

The caliph Walid b. 'Abd ul Malik was one day
seated on his minbar when he heard a noise which
he was told was the beating of the nakus. So he
had the church destroyed. The emperor sent a
complaint about it. 2 'Umar II stopped the nakus
and forbade loud chanting in worship. 3 While
Hanzala was governor of Egypt, in 104, Usama b.
Zaid, at the orders of Yazld, destroyed churches,
broke crosses and images, and defaced ikons. 4
Maslama, the brother of Yazld, who was governor
of Irak and Khorasan, gave orders to erase all
pictures, whether on churches, walls, or houses, or
in books, and to break all images, whether of wood,
stone, or ivory. 5

In Kufa, when the muedhdhin wished to give
the call to prayer, the Christians beat the nakus
in the church which Khalid ul Kasri had built

1 S., 154. Mas., 5, 381. 8 S.A., 1, 307. * M., 2, 492 ; S., 144.
8 S.A., 1, 308.

RELIGIOUS PRACTICES 105

for his mother behind the mosque, and when the
preacher began the sermon the Christians began to
sing loudly. 1

The following incident seems to be early and to
have happened in Damascus. It is not possible
to identify the governor, but there is nothing in-
herently improbable in the story. l The governor
*Amr b. Sa'd was urged by evil men to attack the
Christians in his province. He proposed to smite
them and destroy their prosperity. He gave orders
that crosses should be removed and torn down
from walls and markets, and that the passion of the
cross should not be displayed at feasts and Easter.
When the governor issued this tyrannical order
the Jews rejoiced exceedingly, and ran to take down
the honoured crosses from the roofs of the holy
temples and churches, and to demolish those in the
markets and on walls. The Christians were much
afflicted ; so one of their notables, a pious man,
who feared God and was on friendly terms with
*Amr, went to him and said, " Virtuous governor, is
it just to give the accursed Jews, the adversaries of
our faith, power over us, to go into our churches
and make mock of our mysteries and crosses ?"
The governor said, and God put it into his heart,
" I only ordered them to destroy the crosses in the
markets, which we see as we pass by." He com-
manded one of those who stood before him to go
and cast down headlong every Jew he found on the
roof of a church. Now a Jew had climbed on to the
roof of the great church of John the Baptist, and
was coming down the stairs, carrying the cross

1 Agh., 19, 59.

106 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

which he had torn from the roof. When the soldier
sent by the governor saw the Jew, he took the cross
from him and struck him on the head, so that his
brains came out through his nostrils, and he fell
dead. So this order was made less oppressive/ 1

The church in Damascus was near the royal
palace. Hisham ordered a house to be built near by
for the patriarch, that he might hear the prayers
and services. He often said to him, * When you
begin the prayers at night, great peace comes to me,
care for my kingdom goes, and then sleep comes to
me.' 2 Hisham was kindly disposed to the Chris-
tians ; in his reign the patriarch Michael entered
Alexandria in procession with candles, crosses, and
gospels. Another marvel was that it rained. 3 In
the early days of the Abbasid dynasty the Nile failed
to rise. A great company of Christians went out
carrying the cross and the holy gospel, stood on
the bank of the river and prayed, crying till the
third hour of the day, ' Kyrie Eleisori . Their prayers
were heard. 4

In the time of Harun it was customary to carry
the cross in procession, for the Christians had insist-
ed on their right to do so on one day, presumably
Easter. Banners were forbidden. 5 Once when the
caliph passed through Edessa, the Arabs assembled
and slandered the Christians, alleging that they were
spies of the emperor, who came every year secretly
and prayed in the churches. They asked him to
demolish the great church and abolish the nakus.
By the mediation and advice of Yahya, the caliph's
secretary, they were rebuffed and their request

1 S.A., 1, 262. a S., 145. 8 S., 163. * S., 199, Kh., 82.

RELIGIOUS PRACTICES 107

rejected. 1 A few years later, ' by the contrivance
of evil men ', the riakus was prohibited in Malatia,
also the passage of funerals through the markets,
and the setting up of crosses in them. A cross
was allowed on the church. 2

Mutawakkil's laws are definite. He forbade Chris-
tians to carry the cross in procession, and to read
their services in the street. All graves were to be
levelled with the ground, and wooden devils fixed
to the houses of dhimmis? It is also said that he
forbade them to light fires in the streets. 4 When
Ahmad b. Tulun built the part of Cairo known as
Katai' he destroyed some Jewish and Christian
cemeteries. 5 When building his mosque, he refused
to use pillars taken from churches because they
were taboo. 6

Under the stress of calamity distinctions were
dropped. In 319 there was a bad flood in Tekrit,
and Christians and Muslims were buried toge-
ther, for none could distinguish between them. 7
Mukaddasi, writing in the fourth century, reveals
that the ruling faith was not without interest in those
whom it despised. In Shiraz the markets were
decorated for the feasts of the unbelievers. 8 The
yearly opening of the canal, which marked the
beginning of the inundation of the Nile, took place
on the feast of the Cross. 9 In Syria, Muslims
recognized some of the Christian feasts and divided
the year by them; Easter the time of Nawriiz,
Pentecost the time of heat, Christmas the time of

1 S.A.,2,3. a S.A., 2,35. ' T., Ill, 1389. 4 M., 2, 494.
8 M., 1, 315 ; K., 215. M., 2, 265. T Ath., y. 319.
8 Muk., 429. Muk., 206.

108 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

cold, S. Barbara the time of rain, the Cross at the
vintage, and S. George, otherwise called the feast
of Lydda, at seed time. The feasts occur in popular
proverbs, of which he gives examples. 'When
the feast of Barbara comes, let the mason take his
flute. When the kalends come, be warm and cosy.' 1
On this feast, 1 January, the Christians light fires at
night in the districts of Antioch, Syria, and Egypt,
and many of the common people and of the upper
classes help them in this. 2

In 330 the feast of Immersion was celebrated
with great splendour. Muhammad b. Tufj, the
Ikhshldi, was in his palace on an island in the Nile,
and had one thousand torches lighted round it.
The populace also had lighted torches and candles,
and thousands of Muslims and Christians were in
boats, on the roofs, or on the banks of the river,
wearing their richest clothes, with abundance of
food and drink in vessels of gold and silver. That
night the streets were not shut, and most of the
people bathed. They believe that bathing on this
night prevents illness. In 367 the observance of
this feast was forbidden. In 388 it was celebrated
under the presidency of Fahd b. Ibrahim, who sat
on the river bank drinking till the time for bathing
was due. In 401 it was again forbidden. In 415 it was
celebrated in the presence of the caliph az Zahir.
He forbade the Muslims to mix with the Christians
during the bathing. Men brought fruit, sheep, and
other kinds of food. Priests and monks were there
with crosses and lights. At Christmas the churches
'were filled with lights, and under the Fatimid

1 Muk., 182. Mas., 3, 406.

RELIGIOUS PRACTICES 109

caliphs it was the custom to distribute presents
among prominent government servants. In 381
the caliph al 'Aziz forbade the people to visit the
Banu Wail on the feast of the Cross, but they went
out as usual to amuse themselves the next year. In
402 al Hakim forbade the celebration of this feast,
and stopped the people from adorning themselves
and going near the churches. 1

On Palm Sunday the Christians of Egypt were
accustomed to decorate the churches and to carry
palm fronds in procession ; al Hakim forbade this. 2 ,
In 403, the funeral of the wife of Abu Nasr b.
Israel, a Christian official in Baghdad, was the
occasion of a riot. The bier was carried out in day-
time with crosses and lights, with priests and monks
praying, and with women weeping and wailing in
chorus. This annoyed a Muslim, who threw a stone
at the bier, though the retainers of the emir Munasih
surrounded it as guards. One of them smote the
Muslim with his sword. Then there was a great
riot and many were killed, both Christians and
Muslims. Abu Nasr fled to the house of Munasih,
but the disturbance continued till he was given up.
Then he was taken to the palace of the caliph and
imprisoned for a time. He was then released, to the
delight of the Christians. 3 It is clear that the rela-
tions between Munasih and his subordinate were
friendly; he was his natural protector and he did
not fail him.

In or about the year 492 many Christian festivals
in Egypt were stopped. 4 In 502, the Assassins

* M., 1, 265 f., 494. M. t 2, 495. B.H., 205 ; A.M., II, 2, 124.
4 M., 2, 496.

110 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

captured the castle of Shaizar, while the garrison,
which consisted of the Banu Munkidh, watched the
Christians celebrate Easter. 1 Yakut, writing in the
seventh century, says that non-Muslim rites were
celebrated openly in Shiraz, speaks of festivals in
connexion with several monasteries as if they were
familiar spectacles, and of the inhabitants of the
villages gathering to the show. 2 Considering the
size of the churches in the hills above Mesopotamia,
there can be no doubt that most of the celebrations
were in the open air. He names four monasteries as
the homes of four festivals during the * first fast ' in
Baghdad, and says expressly that both Christians
and merry-makers were present at one. 3 In the year
664 dhimmis were forbidden to enter the tomb of
Abraham at Hebron. 4

Yakut implies a religious procession at Samnud
when he says, ' On the feast the martyr is taken out
in his coffin, which moves over the ground and none
can stop it till it has immersed itself in the river, and
then it returns to its place/ It looks as if someone had
blundered, for a similar story is told of Shubra, near
Cairo. The Christians think that the Nile will not
rise unless a wooden casket, containing the finger of
a saint, is thrown into it there. From all parts they
come to this feast, riding on horses. All Cairo, in all
its degrees, goes there, and they pitch tents on the
river bank and elsewhere. Singers, musicians,
professional entertainers, harlots, scamps, and
scoundrels of all sorts go in crowds. Money is spent
freely, and there are quarrels and murders. On wine
alone more than 100,000 dirhams is spent, 5,000

1 Ath., y. 502. 2 Y., 2, 641, 643, 658. 8 Y., 2, 660. 4 Q., 2, 27.

RELIGIOUS PRACTICES 111

dinars of that sum in gold. Once a Christian sold
over 12,000 dirhams' worth. From the sale of wine
the inhabitants of Shubra reckoned to pay their land
tax. In 702 the government, at the instigation
of Baibars, stopped this feast, much to the disgust of
the Copts, both Christian and Muslim. Now Baibars
had a secretary, Taj b. Sa'id ud Dawla, who was in
his confidence and managed his affairs, as is the
custom of the Turkish kings and emirs to have such
Copts, whether Muslim or Christian. The Copts
made this man try to persuade Baibars to change
his mind, but without success. The feast was
prohibited till 738, when it was started again by a
whim of the sultan. In 755 the Muslims took the
finger of the saint, burnt it, threw the ashes into the
Nile, and abolished the feast. 1

On Thursday in Easter week ten thousand small
gold coins, to the value of five hundred dinars, were
struck, and many of them were distributed among the
king's courtiers. Once al Amir had double the
number struck. On this day Christians sent presents
to each other and to Muslims, of fish and lentils.
The shops sold quantities of coloured eggs, with
which slaves, boys, and the common people gambled.
The day was known in Egypt as lentil Thursday,
or egg Thursday, and in Syria as rice Thursday. 2

In Khwarizm the feast of roses was celebrated
on 4 May, when roses were offered in the churches
in memory of those given by Mary to Elizabeth. 3

Even as late as the time of the Samanids, fairs
were held twice a year in Bukhara, when heathen
idols (probably Buddhist) were sold. The demand

1 M., 1, 78 ; 2, 500 ; Q., 4, 213. * M., 1, 266, 450. 3 Br. Ch., 296.

112 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

was so great that 50,000 dirhams' worth were sold. 1
At Akhmim, on Palm Sunday, the priests and
deacons came out with censers and incense,
crosses, the gospel, and lighted candles, and stood
at the gate of the kadi's house, and then at those
of the other Muslim notables. They burnt incense,
read a portion of the gospel, and praised the master
of the house. 2

Churches were used for other than religious pur-
poses. Official proclamations were made in them.
A papyrus reads as follows : ' On receiving the
present letter, therefore, collect the headmen and
police of the places in your district, and read them
the present letter, ordering them to write a copy of
it to each place, in order that it may be read to the
people of their own places and published in their
churches.' 3 They were also used as lodgings, for
several of the treaties stipulate that the churches
are not to be used as dwellings. We have also
seen that Shafe'i regards the erection of a church,
as a rest house for travellers, as a legitimate form
of charity. In Spain, the emir 'Abd ul 'Aziz
married the widow of Roderick, and it is said that
he lived with her in a church in Seville.* About
320, Abu 'Amir b. Shahld spent a night in a
church at Cordova. It was a bower of delight and
sweet fellowship, for branches of myrtle were
strewn on the floor, the sound of the nakus pleased
the^ ear, the lamps shed a bright light, and the
priest, wearing the zunnar as a neat girdle, came
forward among the worshippers of the Messiah,

1 Barthold, 107. M., 2, 517. B.M., 4, 1343, 1384.

4 Mak., 1, 178.

RELIGIOUS PRACTICES 113

men who had fled from pleasure and thrown off all
wealth. 1 In Spain the word nakus means bell.

In 755, in Egypt, during a riot the tall houses
of the Christians were one object of the mob's
attention. 2

Even in the time of Kalkashandi, who died in 821,
some festivals were still celebrated more or less in
public. The Jews placed lighted lamps at their
doors at the feast of Dedication. 3 At Christmas, the
Christians decorated the churches and illuminated
them. At the feast of Baptism they immerse their
children in the river, in spite of the cold. After it
the heat begins, so that the proverb runs, * You
baptize and begin the summer, you keep the Nawruz
and begin the winter V On the feast of the Cross
they lighted fires and threw water about ; low class
Muslims joined with them in this game. The writer
adds, c Often the spirit of frivolity makes them bold
towards men in authority. If the authorities do not
prevent it, they make the roads impassable. Still, if
they catch anyone they do not let him go till he has
satisfied them. This state of affairs lasted till 791.
Now they no more light fires, except perhaps in
private houses/ 5

It is clear that the feast of the Cross had become
a public holiday. One cannot always decide what
was the purpose of the public appearances of
Christians. Thus in the time of Mamun they met
publicly on Palm Sunday, but there is nothing to
show if it was for worship or amusement. 6

To sum up : at quite an early date the Muslims

1 Mak., 1, 345. M., 2, 499. Subh., 2, 428.

* Subh., 2, 416. ' Subh., 2, 419. B.H. Mu., 239.

8

114 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

disliked the public display of other forms of worship.
The many prohibitions of this display prove that
the covenant of 'Umar was either unknown or dis-
regarded. 'Umar II and Mutawakkil tried to sup-
press the commonest manifestations of Christianity
but did not succeed. In the time of Harun it was
felt that the right of the Christians to take out some
religious processions was too ancient to be assailed,
however great the annoyance of the Muslims.
Normally, festivals were occasions of rejoicing in
which all joined eagerly. However, the dhimmis
were never safe from arbitrary acts of the ill-dis-
posed, whether they were their rulers or fellow-
subjects.

CHAPTER VIII

DRESS

ACCORDING to the covenant, 'Umar ordered the
dhimmis to wear the zunnar, and forbade them to be
like the Muslims in dress and the saddles they used.
Abu Yusuf (f 182) ascribes these ordinances to
'Umar, and Ibn 'Abd ul Hakam (f 257) states that
he ordered the Christians to wear the girdle and to
cut the hair short in front. The treaties given by
Tabari and Baladhuri do not mention dress. If, as
is argued by Caetani 1 in the case of Jerusalem, these
treaties are later fabrications, the absence of any
mention of dress makes one suspect even more
strongly that 'Umar did not issue the commands.

The object of the rules about dress was to
distinguish the Christian from the Arab ; this is
definitely stated by both Abu Yusuf and Ibn 'Abd
ul Hakam, 2 two of the earliest writers whose works
have come down to us. At the time of the conquest
there was no need to command the Christians to
dress differently from the Arabs ; they did so. It
was only later, as the Arabs grew civilized, that there
was any temptation for their subjects to imitate
their costume.

The historians do not often speak of the dress of
the dhimmis, but a few details are given. The
Christian poet al Akhtal wore silk, with a gold
cross round his neck, and rode to the gate of a

1 Caetani, y. 17, 175. * Kh., 72 ; Hakam, 151.

116 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

mosque on a horse, 1 and in this guise he came into
the presence of the caliph. He died in 95. In 89
the Muslims came to terms with the Jarajima, who
lived in the mountains of Syria. One of the condi-
tions was that these people should wear Muslim
dress. 2 In Egypt, when the Arabs wished to insult
the patriarch Isaac, they threatened to put on him
Jewish clothes, smear his face with ashes, and parade
him through the town. 3

'Umar II issued laws about dress. There are
several accounts of his edict or edicts. According
to that in the 'Ikd ul Parid, he forbade all dhimmis
to wear turbans or to be like the Muslims in dress. 4
Bar Hebraeus 5 says that he forbade Christians to
wear the dress of soldiers, i.e. Arabs. Another
Syriac author says that he forbade them to use rid-
ing saddles on horses. 6 Abu Yusuf repeats the
prohibition of riding saddles, and adds that their
women must use a pack saddle when riding a
camel. He gives further details about clothes.
'Umar II forbade them to wear the kuba (the short
Persian jacket), silk garments, and a special kind
of cloak, "isb; he complained that they omitted to
wear the girdle, did wear turbans, and let their
hair grow long. 7 According to Ibn 'Asakir, he
forbade them to appear in public unless they had cut
the hair on the forehead short and wore girdles of
leather. He forbade the kuba, the tailasan (a veil
thrown over the turban), trousers of some special
cut (datu khadama), sandals with straps, and riding
saddles. 8 It is recorded that the Banu Tha'laba 9

1 Agh., 7, 169, 178. a B., 161. * S., 118. * V., 2, 339.

B.H., 117. S.A., 1, 307. T Kh., 73.

8 I.A., 1, 180 ; Umar, 166. Must., 1, 125.

DRESS 117

came to him and said they were Christians, and asked
what they were to do. He sent for a barber, cut the
hair on their foreheads, cut strips from their mantles
to make girdles, and told them to use only pack
saddles and to ride sideways. In 216 the pagans
of Harran still wore the kuba and long hair. 1

It is worth noting that Abu Yusuf, in reporting
the edict of 'Umar II, and Ibn 'Abd ul Hakam, do
not use the word zunnar \ they use the word mintak.
In describing the ordinances of 'Umar I, Abu Yusuf
uses zunnar, but in the plural zunnarat, instead of
the broken plural zananlr, which afterwards became
common. He seems not to quote the exact words of
'Umar II, but to use his own terms. Later on, a gar-
ment called mintak was forbidden to the dhimmis by
Mutawakkil. It is clear that the word zunnar was
only slowly appropriated to the girdle that was the
distinctive mark of the Jew and Christian. The
word is Greek, came into Arabic probably through
Aramaic, and finally became so identified with the
dhimmis that in modern Arabic it denotes the Jew's
lovelocks, the corners of the head which he is
forbidden to shave.

By the time of the caliph Harun it was expected
that they would wear a thick cord as a girdle, a
quilted (mudarraba) kalansuwa (a tall cap), twisted
thongs on the sandals, and shoes different from
those of the Muslims. Their saddles had to have
two wooden balls as big as pomegranates on the
back, and the women had to use pack saddles when
riding on camels. 2 Some of these rules may have
been fifty years old, for about 130 the bishops in

1 Fih., 320. * Kh., 72.

118 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Egypt wore the kalansuwa? During the fighting
in Egypt that led to the death of Marwan and the
fall of his dynasty, the Abbasid soldiery advised the
Christians to display the cross on their foreheads,
clothes, and houses. 2 In 191, Harun forbade the
Christians to be like the Muslims in dress and
manner of riding. 3

During the caliphate of Mamun a Christian
named Bukam was headman of Bura, in Egypt.
On Fridays he wore black, girded on the sword
and belt (mintaka), rode on a palfrey to the mosque
with his officers about him. He stopped at the gate,
and his deputy, a Muslim, entered and led the
prayers. 4 The historian remarks that this was
nothing unusual. Here the mintak> or mintaka^
appears to be part of the official uniform.

In 236 came the first edict of Mutawakkil ; it
runs as follows: Christians had to wear honey-
coloured, i.e. yellow, cloaks, and two buttons on
their caps, which differed in colour from those worn
by Muslims. They might use only wooden stirrups
and saddles, marked by two balls behind. Their
slaves 5 had to wear two patches on the outer garment,
one in front and one behind, of a different colour
from the rest of the garment. The patches were
yellow, and four fingers square. Hence Christians
were called spotted. 6 If anyone wore a turban it
had to be yellow. They had also to wear the zunnar
round the waist. When Hunain was excommunicat-

1 S., 173. 3 S., 195. * T., IH, 713. * Eut., 2, 434.
8 T., Ill, 1389 ; M., 2, 494 ; B.H., 155. T. and B.H. read, ' slaves ' ;
M., ' men '.

6 Jahiz B., 1, 41.

DRESS 119

ed he took off his zunnar? Makrizi adds that a
woman had to wear a yellow wrapper when she went
out of doors. The mintak was forbidden. Three
years later, in 239, the caliph ordered the Christians
to wear two yellow durra'a over the durrd'a or
kuba, and forbade them to ride horses. (The durra'a
is a long coat of wool, open in front.) 2

Working backwards, we see that Mutawakkil
gave precise orders about the clothes Christians had
to wear ; Harun commanded them to be unlike
Muslims in dress; and 'Umar II forbade them to
copy the Muslims. The edicts grew steadily more
severe. Had 'Umar I any share in this legislation?
Probably, no. There was no need to fix a distinctive
dress for the dhimmis in his days ; there is no hint
that these laws existed before 'Umar II, and several
that they did not. In any circumstances, such
laws might easily have been attributed to the
traditional organizer of the Muslim state, and this
was made easier by the fact that another 'Umar was
the author of some of them. Abu Yusuf is the first
to ascribe them to 'Umar I, and before he wrote
there was plenty of time for the legend to grow up.

In Spain the Jews wore yellow and were never
allowed to wear turbans. 3 About the year 400 priests
there wore the zunnar* Otherwise, Mutawakkil's
laws shared the fate of so many oriental plans. In
271 or 272 the inhabitants of Baghdad made a riot
against the Christians, because they rode on horses. 5
In the next century, Mukaddasi reports that the
Magians, in Shiraz, do not wear the ghiyar and the

1 B.H. Mu., 252. ' T., Ill, 1419. 8 Mak., 1, 137.

4 Mak., 1, 345. Elias, 68.

120 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Christians wear the tailasan? Strictly, ghiyar means
the patched garment, but it is often used for the
girdle.

Christian dress is next heard of in the reign of
the mad caliph of Egypt, al Hakim (386-411). He
ordered non-Muslims to wear black, presumably
because it was the colour of the Abbasids, his rivals.
He made Christians wear crosses, and Jews bull's
heads, in memory of what they had worshipped in
the wilderness. Their saddles had to be plain, with
stirrups of sycamore wood and reins of black
leather. They might not wear rings on the right
hand. If they transgressed any of these rules they
were punished with banishment. Some denied
their faith, many went into exile. Those who stayed
in Egypt and true to their religion, wore crosses
of gold or silver and made themselves saddles with
richly coloured trappings. Then al Hakim ordered
the crosses to be of wood, five rolls in weight, and
made the Jews wear billets of wood of the same weight,
shaped like the clapper of a bell. When they went
to the baths, Christians had to wear their crosses
and Jews bells. 2 Later he set apart for them special
baths. He forbade Jewesses and Christian women
to wear Arabian shoes, and made them wear boots
with legs (sarmuz), one red and one black. 3 These
laws remained in force for nine years. 4

In 484, while Abu Shuja 4 , surnamed Rablb ud
Dawla, was vizier of the caliph in Baghdad, orders
were issued that dhimmis, especially the dignitaries,

1 Muk., 429.

1 M., 2, 495 ; B.H., 204 ; A.M., II, 2, 64 ; lyas, 1, 52 ; Husn, 2, 168.

Ghazi, 395. * A.S., 142.

DRESS 121

must put on the ghiyar and wear what 'Umar had
ordered. 1

In 515 the Seljuk sultan, Mahmud, forced the
dhimmis in Baghdad to wear the ghiyar. Negotia-
tions took place, and it was agreed that they should
pay the sultan 20,000 dinars and the caliph 4,000.
Presumably they escaped the hated badge. 2

After he had captured Mosul, Nur ud Dm Zanji
ordered the Christians to wear the zunndr, and
forbade them to use saddles when riding on horses
or mules. In Egypt, Asad ud Din Shirkuh, as
lieutenant of Nur ud Din, enforced the same laws ;
indeed he forbade Christians to ride on horses or
mules. Michael, the Syrian, ascribes the enforce-
ment of these rules to Saladin. It is reported that
when Nur ud Din left Mosul no one paid any atten-
tion to his laws. In Egypt, Saladin certainly had
Christian officials, and probably did not enforce the
laws about dress. 3

The general laws were never repealed, but were
usually disregarded unless the zeal of some ruler, or
an outburst of popular feeling, caused them to be
put in force again. In 682 the wearing of the zun-
nar was again enforced in Egypt. 4 In addition, no
Christian was permitted to wear red r> clothes. A
pedestrian might not speak to a mounted Muslim,
and Christians had to use donkeys for riding. In
the month of Sha'ban 700, the Jews, in Egypt and
Syria, were compelled to wear yellow turbans, the
Christians blue, and the Samaritans red. They were

1 Ath., y. 484 ; Bundari, 78. Ath.,y.515.

1 S.A., 2, 166, 168 ; Lang., 328. 4 M., 2, 497.
Either red, or made of fine cloth. Cf , L.A., 13, 404.

122 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

bidden to observe the treaty of 'Umar. These rules
were still enforced in the time of Suyuti. A poet
said:

They wondered at the Christians, Jews, and Samaritans,

when they put on rags as turbans.
It was as if a vulture of the sky had spent the night in

dye vats ; and in the morning coloured cloths were

on top of them.

On this occasion the enforcement of these laws
was due to a visitor to Egypt, who was disgusted by
the pomp displayed by a Christian. He rode on
horseback, with footmen in front and attendants
behind, while poor Muslims crowded round and
kissed his feet. Indeed many, if not most, of the
outbreaks of popular feeling were due to the lack of
restraint shown by Christians and Jews when they
gained wealth and power. Many Christians were
too proud to wear the blue turban, and tried to get
exemption through the protection of the emirs. So
public proclamation was made that any Christian
wearing a white turban was to forfeit property and
life. In another place it is said that the wearing by
them of Muslim dress was forbidden, under the
same penalties. So strong was the feeling against
them that he who wanted to walk abroad borrowed
a yellow turban from a Jew. Nevertheless, in
Shobek and Kerak Christians were allowed to wear
white turbans, because only few Muslims lived in
those towns. 1

In 704 it was suggested to the vizier that dhimmis
might be allowed to wear white turbans with badges,
as they had offered to the treasury 700,000 above

1 M., 2, 498 ; Husn, 2, 178 ; Q., 4, 180.

DRESS 123

the poll-tax. Owing to the opposition of Ibn
Taimiya, the proposal was not accepted. In 734
Baghdad copied Egypt in making dhimmis wear
blue and yellow. 1 In 755, in Egypt, Christian
women were made to wear blue wrappers, Jewesses
yellow, and Samaritan women red. 2

The Mustatraf quotes a list of dress regulations
approved by the school of Shafe'i ; it seems to be a
product of historical study, not a record of what
happened. Here they are. Non-Muslims must differ
from Muslims in dress, wearing red caps, girdles
round the waist, seals of copper or lead round the
neck, or a bell when they go to the bath. They must
not wear turbans or long coats. Women must wear
girdles under (some say over) the skirt, a seal round
the neck when they go to the bath, one shoe black
and one white. On horses, mules, and donkeys they
may use only pack saddles, riding sideways. Riding
saddles are forbidden. 3

The statement made by Juynboll, that blue was
the colour of the ghiyar for Christians, yellow for
Jews, and black or red for Magians, is evidently
incorrect as a general rule. 4 Yellow was at first the
the colour for all dhimmis^ and differentiation came
later.

These sumptuary laws were able to adapt them-
selves to circumstances, for in Persia, a few years
back, the Zoroastrians dressed in yellow and were
not allowed to wear socks. 5

The statement made above, that dhimmis had to

1 Husn, 2, 179. * Husn, 2, 180. 8 p. 1, 125.

* Juynboll, Handbuch des islamischen Geselzes,3S2n.
5 Browne, Year among the Persians (ed. 1),370.

124 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

wear a seal on the neck always, is an exaggeration.
The facts are these. Tradition says that 'Umar
sent two men, 'Uthman b. Hunaif and Hudhaifa, to
Irak to assess the tribute, and they sealed the necks
of the dhimmis. This was first done in Khanikin. 1
In another place it is said that 'Uthman sealed the
necks of 550,000 dhimmis. It is not definitely
stated, but it is implied that the sealing was con-
nected with the payment of tribute. Then 'Umar
ordered 'Amr to seal the necks of the people of
Egypt. 2 Without other evidence, one would imagine
that the seals had to be worn always. But Abu
Yusuf says that they were only used at the collection
of tribute. His words are, 'It was right that their
necks should be sealed at the time of collecting the
tribute (fizya), till the presentation of them be
finished. Then the seals are broken, as did
'Uthman b. Hunaif when they asked to have them
broken.' a Seals of the years 240 and 287 are
figured in Rainer. 4 Now it is curious that an
anonymous Syriac chronicle names two governors,
Maslama, the brother of the caliph Walid, and Musa
b. Mus'ab, in the time of Mansur, who put seals of
lead on men's necks ; thus suggesting that this
practice was the exception and not the rule. 5
Severus, in his History of the Patriarchs, mentions
this seal once, but only in connexion with another
badge. 6

The Arabs do not bear the shame of inventing
this custom, for it was known to the Byzantines. In
the year A.D. 500, * after the governor Demos-

1 B., 271. Hakam, 151. Kh. t 72 ; cf. 21. 4 Rainer, 672.
S.A., 1, 299, 340. S., 145

DRESS 125

thenes had gone up to the emperor, he informed
him of this calamity ; and the emperor gave him no
small sum of money to distribute among the poor.
And when he came back from his presence to
Edessa, he sealed many of them on their necks
with leaden seals, and gave each of them a pound of
bread a day.' 1

Other badges were sometimes enforced. In the
reign of Sulaiman (96-99), Usama b. Zaid counted
the monks in Egypt, and put on the left wrist of
each an iron ring, marked with the name of his
church and monastery and the Muslim date, but
not the cross. If he found one running away he
had him hamstrung, so that he was permanently
lame. Many had their beards shaved, their eyes
put out, or were put to death. Later he inspected
the monasteries, and found many monks without
badges. Some he beheaded and some died under
the lash. 2 In the reign of Hisham, Hanzala b.
Safwan put a lead seal on the necks of all persons
between the ages of twelve and a hundred, and
recorded them in registers. He put a badge, in the
shape of a lion, on the hands of all Christians ; with-
out it no one could buy or sell. If any was found
without it his hand was cut off and he was heavily
fined? 3 This last statement about the seal and the
registers invites criticism. It is notorious that the
government kept full lists of all taxpayers, so there
is no point in saying that a governor kept such
lists unless something very drastic is meant, which
would have been worth describing in full.

1 Joshua Stylites, 37. S., 142 f. ; M., 2, 492. S., 145 ; M., 2, 493.

126 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

ADDITIONAL NOTE

Another word for the special dress of the dhimmi
is kastaja. This is Persian in origin, wandered to
Syriac, and probably from it to Arabic. In Persian
it means a girdle. In Syriac it seems to mean
something other than the zunnar, for Bar Hebraeus
says, * none shall be seen abroad without the kastaja
and zunnar\* In Arabic it is sometimes the same
as zunriar, for ' they shall tie the kastaja round their
waists '. 2 Bustani gives two forms, kastaja and
kustlj, and says that it was a cord, as thick as a
finger, worn under the zunnar of silk. I do not
know where he got his information ; it contradicts
the definitions given above.

A prisoner who was paraded through the streets
of Baghdad wore the kalansuwa? This cap seems
to have been peculiar to the dhimmis, so the wear-
ing of it may have been an insult. But this is not
certain, for such prisoners often wore the durrcta*
which was part of the dress of a gentleman.

1 RH., 215. 2 Suli, 215. Ibn 1 Mu'tazz, poem on Mu'tadid, 1, 359.

CHAPTER IX
PERSECUTION, MOSTLY FINANCIAL

THE soldiers of Sa'd b. abl Wakkas killed many
monks and ascetics in Mount Marda, especially in the
great and famous monastery called ' The Daughters
of Five Churches', on the hill of Ras ul 'Ain. The
killing of Christians is also recorded at the Abbasid
capture of Damascus and during the fighting
against Marwan in Egypt. 1 Evidently the killing
of Christians was something out of the ordinary,
which deserved special mention. These three cases
all happened in time of war.

The patriarch John of Samnud was accused of
being too proud to wait upon the governor. At
first the Arabs wanted to fine him one hundred
thousand dinars, but this sum was reduced to ten
thousand. He was persuaded by the secretaries
who ruled in Alexandria to pay this, for they
promised to collect it from the bishops, secretaries,
and government offices. 2 Al Asbagh, the son of
'Abd ul 'Aziz, made the bishops pay two thousand
dinars yearly, apart from the tax on their estates. 8
When Athanasius returned to *Abd ul Malik, in
Damascus, he was robbed of all he had gained. 4 The
patriarch Alexander came into the presence of
'Abdulla b. 'Abd ul Malik, the governor of Egypt,
who asked, * Who is this ? ' They said, * The father
and patriarch of all Christians.' He said to one of

1 S.A., 1, 245, 331 ; S., 193, S., 116. S., 134. * S., 135.

128 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

his chamberlains, humiliate him as you please til
he pays three thousand dinars/ The patriarch was
made to tour the country to collect the money foi
the governor. Most of it came from the bishops.
When Alexander went to pay his respects to Kurn
b. Shuraik he was made to pay a like sum, foi
Kurra said, ( If you have to sell your flesh you musi
pay three thousand dinars/ While he was collecting
the money, four jars of buried treasure were founc
and given to his household. The governmenl
heard of it, seized the treasure and also all vessels
of silver and gold, books, and animals in his estab
lishment. He was put in prison for seven days
and forced to promise three thousand dinars. Al
the end of two years he had paid one thousand,
The monks who had secreted part of the treasure
began to spend it on fine clothes and slave girls, bu
were soon caught by the Arabs and forced tc
explain how they had got the money. 2

In the time of Hajjaj several important Christians
were put to death by Muhammad b. Marwan and
their houses plundered. Mardanshah of Nisibis and
his son, Simeon of Khaluja, and Anastasius ol
Edessa were among these killed. 3

The Chalcedonian bishop of Damascus was
denounced to Walld as having blasphemed the
Prophet. His tongue was cut out and he was
banished to Yemen. 4 About 160, a Christian in
Egypt said, ' Poor Muhammad, he says that you
will be in paradise. Is he now in paradise? Poor
man ! What he has will not help him if dogs eat his

1 S., 136 ; M., 2, 492, says ' 6,000 '. a S., 137 f. 8 S.A., 1, 294.
S.A., 1, 314.

PERSECUTION, MOSTLY FINANCIAL 129

legs. Had he been burnt in fire, men would not
have been troubled with him/ The kadi appealed
to Malik b. Anas, who gave his opinion that the
man should lose his head. He was executed. 1

Walid also tried to force the Christians to abjure
their faith, and many were killed in the churches. 2
In return for a bribe of one thousand dinars, Kurra
allowed a Chalcedonian patriarch to be installed in
Alexandria. Makrlzi reports the appointment of a
patriarch there in 107, at the suggestion of the
emperor accompanied by a present to Hisham. 3
Severus mentions a fine of one thousand dinars on
a bishop, 4 and says that a governor, whom he calls
Abu 1 Kasim, made Ibrahim, the bishop of Fayyum,
give him three hundred dinars. He said to him, ' I
will do you this great honour, I will make my wife
your daughter, whatever you give her will honour
her.' He gave her a hundred dinars, and it was
counted part of the tribute which he had to pay. 5

'Abd ul Malik b. Rifa'a (governor of Egypt, 96-
99 and 109) caused all arrears of tribute to be paid.
He summoned the patriarch Michael to his palace,
asked as tribute a sum that he could not pay, and
then put him in prison, with a block of wood tied to
his feet and a heavy collar round his neck. He was
in a cell hollowed out of the rock, with no window,
and stayed there from Tut 11 till Baba 12, thirty-one
days. When a governor complained that the whole
church paid no tribute, the patriarch asked leave to
go to Upper Egypt to collect what he could. 7 Kawthar
seized the patriarch, asked from him much money

1 K., 382. a Lang., 250. 8 S., 141 ; M., 2, 493. * S., 146.
S., 154. S., 173. T S., 175.

130 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

which he could not pay, and put him in prison, with
iron balls tied to his sacred feet. He was also beaten,
two hundred blows with a stick. Kosmas, the Melkite
patriarch, was also imprisoned, but he escaped by
paying one thousand dinars. 1 These things happen-
ed after Marwan, the last Abbasid caliph, had fled to
Egypt. About this time 'Amran b. Muhammad
tried to take possession of the monastery of Beth
'Abhe and its lands. The abbot frightened him
away by sheer force of personality, and accused him
of having killed many Christians and seized their
houses. Later 'Amran sent his private assassins to
kill the abbot. 2 It is said that Mahdi found more than
twelve thousand Christians in Aleppo ; annoyed, he
bade them choose between apostasy and death. Seven
thousand were put to death. 3 This may be another
version of the massacre of the Zindiks. 4 Between
206 and 238 the Christians were persecuted in
Toledo. The story is told at length by Dozy, in
Spanish Islam. The cause of this persecution was
the obstinacy of the Christians and their desire for
martyrdom ; the Muslims can hardly be blamed. 5

Ahmad b. Tulun levied a forced loan of twenty
thousand dinars on the Christians. To pay it the
patriarch sold church lands. He also sold to the
Jews a church in the castle of Shama', the property
of the churches in Alexandria, and the herds of
camels of the monastery of Macarius. 6

Further east, al Baridi in 321 attacked the Jews,
who were the chief merchants in Tustar, shamefully
ill-treated them, and took from them one hundred

1 S., 184. a Thomas, 1, 239. 8 Lang., 262. 4 T., HI, 499.
P. 268. M., 2, 494 ; A.S., 136.

PERSECUTION, MOSTLY FINANCIAL 131

thousand dinars. 1 In 361 the vizier squeezed money
out of the dhimmis and then from the Muslims.
Prayers were said against him in the churches,
synagogues, and big mosques. 2 In 369 there was a
serious riot in Shiraz, between Muslims and Magians,
in which many of the latter were killed and their
houses burnt. 'Adud ud Dawla punished all the
guilty severely. 3 In 386 Baha ud Dawla asked a loan
from a Jew. It was refused, so he seized a number
of Jews, extorted money from them and punished
them. 4 In 392 the catholicus was arrested and ill-
treated, presumably to extract money. 5 The catho-
licus of Jerusalem and the patriarch of Antioch
were forced to use their influence with the emperor
to secure good treatment for Muslim captives. 6 In
421 there was a riot between Sunna and Shi' a in
Baghdad. The houses of some Jews were burnt
because they were suspected of helping the inhabi-
tants of the suburb of Karkh. 7 In 398 al Hakim
confiscated the property of the churches and monas-
teries throughout his dominions, both in Syria
and Egypt. 8 Isolated cases of the sequestration of
church property are mentioned. During the reign
of al Amir (523-543), in Egypt, the government
took a garden belonging to a church. The shaikh
Sani'at ul Mulk bought this estate and devoted it to
the use of the church. It is not clear whether this
happened before or after the sequestration. 9 Another
garden was taken from the church of al Martuti. 10
When the Kurds invaded Egypt they took the

* Eel., 1, 257. 2 Eel., 2, 308, 3 Ath., y. 369. Eel., 3, 282.

8 Eel., 3, 456. a Nish., 31. 7 Ath., y. 421, 8 M., 2, 286, 495.

A.S., 114. 10 A.S., 138.

132 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

gardens and other endowments of the monastery
near Assiut. 1

Benjamin of Tudela tells of a Jew who tried to
start a rebellion. The Head of the Diaspora gave
the king of Persia one hundred talents, and thus
persuaded him not to punish the Jews for the deeds
of their countryman. 2 Christians were killed and
their houses plundered in Damascus, and in 658 they
were compelled to pay one hundred and fifty
thousand dirhams to Muzaffar Kutuz, after the
defeat of the Mongols at 'Ain Jalut. 3

In 663 the quarter named Batiliyat was burnt, at
a time when there were many fires in Cairo and
Misr. The Christians were suspected, and Baibars
made preparations to burn them. Paris ud Dm
interceded for them, and proposed that they should
pay fifty thousand dinars damages. Crowds gathered
to see the show, and the Christians and Jews were
brought forward. A banker, named Ibn ul Kaziruni,
asked that he and the other Jews might not be burnt
with ' these cursed dogs, your enemies and ours '.
The sultan laughed, and the affair was arranged for
a sum of money, the payment to be spread over
a series of years. Finally, after some time the
payment of the remaining balance was cancelled. 4
Makrizi believed the tale of arson, and put it down
to Christian disappointment at Muslim victories.

During the confusion following the sack of Bagh-
dad, Malik Salih, of Mosul, received a letter advising
him to throw over the Mongols and come to Egypt.
The letter was stolen, and the thief, to safeguard

1 A.S., 250. 3 Benj., 75. 8 M., 2, 497.

* M., 2, 8 ; Q., 2, 16, has ' 500,000 '.

PERSECUTION, MOSTLY FINANCIAL 133

himself, spread the rumour that Malik Salih was
about to massacre the Christians and flee to Egypt.
Those who could took refuge in Arbela. Salih
feared that his secret was betrayed to the Mongols,
and went to Syria. But some of his followers turned
back half-way, captured Mosul, and killed those
Christians who would not turn Muslim. Many
priests and deacons abjured their faith. In the
district the Kurds killed many, among them those
who had taken refuge in the monastery of Beth
Kudida. They also attacked the monastery of Mar
Mattai, but after some fighting, in which the abbot
lost an eye, they were bought off. 1 It is obvious
that the tale, told by the man who stole the letter,
would not have been so readily believed if massacres
of Christians had been quite unknown. Saif ud
Dm, the brother of Malik Salih and lord of Jazirat
ibn 'Umar, also extorted money from his Christian
subjects. 2

'Abd ul Mumin, the Almohade sovereign, gave to
his Jewish and Christian subjects the choice between
Islam and exile. This was the reason why Maimo-
nides came to Egypt. 3

This record shows the Muslim rulers in an
unfavourable light. It must be remembered that
they were arbitrary and often cruel in their behav-
iour to their co-religionists. Their Christian subjects
were not much worse off than their Muslim. Still,
it is not surprising that disaffected Christians joined
the ranks of the Karmathians. 4

1 B.H., 516. 2 B.H., 518. 3 Kifti., 317. * 'Arib., 10.

134 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

PASSPORTS

Towards the end of the first century the Egyp-
tian peasants began to desert their holdings in
large numbers, probably because of the heavy
taxation. The government tried to stop this move-
ment by following up the fugitives, as they were
called, and keeping lists of them. Anyone shelter-
ing a fugitive was fined five dinars, and the
headman, officials, and police of the place seem
to have been fined the same sum. The man himself
was fined five dinars, given forty lashes, put in a
wooden yoke, and sent to the governor. Informers
received two dinars a head. 1 The papyrus 1460, in
its imperfect state, contains a list of more than a
hundred and eighty fugitives, apparently from one
district alone.

Between 81 and 86 the governor ordered to
collect from all the land those of twenty years and
under (apparently this phrase refers to length of
residence and not to age), so they went and gathered
them. Those in charge of this business were 'Asim,
Yazid, and their colleagues. They marked on the
hands and foreheads the strangers whom they found,
and sent them to places that were strange to them. 2
Kurra adopted a different policy. ' Men with their
wives and children fled from place to place ; but no
place sheltered them from the weight of calamities
and the demands for tribute. 'Abd ul 'Aziz, from
Sakha, was put in charge of this business. He
gathered the fugitives from every place, bound them,
and brought them back to their homes.' 8 Usama

1 B.M.,4, 1384. 2 S., 136. S., 140.

PERSECUTION, MOSTLY FINANCIAL 135

b. Zaid started a system of passports, and ordered
that every Christian found without one was to
be fined five dinars. 1 He was very strict. He
gave orders that wherever a traveller, or a man
moving from place to place, or a boat ascending or
descending the river, was found without a passport,
the man should be arrested, the boat and its cargo
confiscated, and the boat burnt. If they caught
Greeks on the sea (river?) they took them to the
governor, and some were killed, some impaled, and
some mutilated. So the roads were deserted, there
were no travellers, and none to buy or sell. Grapes
diminished in quantity and none were found to buy
them, even for a dirham, as the owners had to wait a
month or two at the governor's gate to get a permit.
If a passport was eaten by a mouse, fell into the
water, or was damaged in any way, the holder was
fined five dinars and was given another.

A widow got a passport for her son and herself
and went from Alexandria to a riverside village, as
she hoped he would find work to keep them alive.
The son went to the river to drink, and a crocodile
took him and the passport, while the mother looked
on and wept. When she got back to Alexandria
she told the governor what had happened. He
showed her no mercy, but put her in prison until
she paid ten dinars for losing her passport and
entering the city without one. She sold her clothes
and all that she had, and went about begging till
she paid the sum, 2

1 M., 2, 493. S., 142.

136 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

CONVERSION

Change of religion was a bar to inheritance.
Tradition finds the historical origin of this rule
in a decision of 'Umar I. Al Ash'ath asked that
the property of his childless aunt, who had mar-
ried a Jew, might be given to him. The caliph
refused. 1 So if the child of a dhimmi turned Muslim
it lost its share of the father's property, and, if it
was a girl, the father could not give her in
marriage. 2

When a dhimmi turned Muslim he surrendered
his real property. This was important because of
its bearing on taxation. Where tribute was levied
collectively where a fixed sum was paid by the
community and they distributed the burden among
themselves as they thought right a dhimmi who
became a Muslim had to abandon his house and land
to the community, but kept his personal property.
Where tribute was levied on the individual the land
of the convert became the property of the state.
Another opinion was that it reverted to the state
only if the convert had no heir. 3

Shafe'i held that a dhimmi who was converted
to another protected religion had to be banished,
because the protection accorded to him ceased
with his change of religion. 4

1 I.R., 205. a Mud., 4, 259. 8 Hakam, 154 ; M., 1, 77. * Umm, 4, 10J

CHAPTER X

SOCIAL CONDITIONS

MUSLIM tradition insists strongly that the con-
quered peoples were to be treated kindly, or at least
justly. The Prophet said, * If anyone wrong a man
to whom a treaty has been granted, or burdens him
above his strength, I am an advocate against him till
the day of judgment/ 1 Abu Bakr said, * Do not kill
any of the protected people, for if you do God will
require the protection of them from you and will
cast you on your faces in hell/ 2 When the troops
started for Syria he is said to have given these com-
mands, ' When you enter that country, kill neither
old man, nor little child, nor woman. Do not pull
down a pillar saint from his place. Do not injure
the monks, for they have set themselves apart to
worship God. Do not cut down a tree nor uproot
a plant. Do not rip up any ox, cow, or sheep. If a
province or people receive you, make an agreement
with them and keep your promise. Let them be
governed by their laws and established customs, and
take tribute from them as is agreed between you.
Leave them in their religion and their land.' 3

Various tales are told about 'Umar to illustrate
his tenderness for the dhimmis. On his way back
from Syria, he passed by some men who had been
stood in the sun with oil poured over their heads
(to attract the flies). He asked questions, and was

1 Kh., 71. a Ibn Sa'd, III, 1, 137. 8 S.A., 1, 240.

138 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

told that they were liable for tribute, had not paid it,
and were punished till they should. Their excuse
was that they were too poor to pay. 'Umar said,
' Let them go, do not annoy them.* 1 Again he passed
a house where an old blind man was begging. He
touched him on the arm from behind, and said, * To
which of the people of the book do you belong ? '
He said that he was a Jew, and begged to provide
for his daily needs and food and to pay the tribute.
'Umar took him by the hand, led him to his
own house, gave him something from it, and
then sent him to the keeper of the treasury with
this message, * See to this man and his like, for
we have not done right if we devour their youth
and neglect their old age. The religious tax is
for the poor and needy. The poor are the Mus-
lims; this man is one of the needy of the people
of the book/ He freed him from the obliga-
tion to pay tribute. 2 It is hard to reconcile this
story with the fact that the blind did not pay tribute.
Perhaps it is aetiological, and is meant to explain
why they did not pay. He is said to have given
these instructions about the adherents of the protect-
ed religions. ' Make it easy for him who cannot
pay the tribute ; help him who is weak. Let them
keep their names, but do not give them our kunyas.
Humiliate them, but do them no injustice. If you
meet them on the road make them go to the side/ 3
In his dying charge to his successor he said, ' I
charge the caliph after me to be kind to the dhimmis^
to keep their covenant, to protect them, and not to
burden them above their strength.' 4 There is some

1 Kh., 71. Kh., 71. LA., 1, 178. 4 Yahya, 54.

SOCIAL CONDITIONS 139

Christian evidence to support this view. 'Ishoyahbh,
who was patriarch from A.D. 647 to 657, writes, ' The
Arabs, to whom God gave the dominion over the
world, behave to us as you know. They are not
hostile to Christianity, but praise our religion,
honour the priests and saints, and help the churches
and monasteries/ 1 The agreement made by 'Isho-
yahbh with the Arabs seems to have been quite
favourable to the Christians. It was stipulated that
they should be protected from their foes ; that they
should not be compelled to fight for the Arabs;
that they might keep their manners and laws ;
that the tax on the poor should not exceed four zuze
(dirhams) and that on merchants and the wealthy
should be twelve ; and that a Christian woman in
the service should not be forced to give up her
religion nor to neglect prayer and fasting. 2

On the other hand, there are signs that the
Muslims were not altogether easy in their minds
about the position of the subject peoples, for there
is too much insistence on the moderation of 'Umar.
A tradition, found in several places, tells that two
men were appointed to survey the taxes in Lower
Mesopotamia: 'Uthman b. Hunaif in the Euphrates
district, and Hudhaifa b. Yaman to the west of the
Tigris. 'Umar asked if they had not laid on the
land more than it could bear. 'Uthman replied, * I
have laid on the land what it can bear ; had I
chosen, I could have doubled (the tribute on) my
land/ Hudhaifa said, ' I imposed on it what it can
bear, and there is a great surplus in it.' But during
the rule of 'Ali, Tha'laba b. Yazld is reported to

1 Thomas, 2, 156. a B.H. Eccl., 3, 118.

140 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

have said, ' I will never go back to Irak because of
the misery one sees there/ 1

In the early days the Arabs were long-suffering,
for again and again we read of towns that capitulat-
ed on terms, rebelled, were captured, and the
original treaty re-imposed. 2

No historian thought of writing a social history,
so the facts have to be gathered from scattered
notices.

Agatho, the patriarch of Alexandria from 39 to
56, used to buy Byzantine prisoners of war and set
them free. 3 Maslama, the governor of Egypt from
47 to 62, sent seven bishops on a judicial commis-
sion to Sakha, to try certain prisoners whom it was
proposed to burn. 4

Certain priests and sorcerers had plotted to
poison the patriarch. When 'Abd ul 'Aziz heard
of it he ordered them to be burnt. The patriarch
interceded for the priests, so they were let off, but
the sorcerers were burnt. 5 Al Akhtal, the Christian
poet, was a familiar figure at the court of 'Abd ul
Malik. Without permission he came into the pre-
sence of the caliph wearing a silk jubba, an amulet, a
gold cross hanging from his neck on a gold chain,
and his beard dripping wine. When he acted as arbi-
trator for the tribe of Bakr b. Wail he went into a
mosque and they came before him. 6 He lampooned
al Jahhaf, who said, * Son of a Christian woman, I did
not think that you would be so daring towards one
like me/ Al Akhtal was hot with fear, so the caliph
said, ' I am your protector.' He replied, ' Granted

1 Kh., 21. 2 E.g. B., 116, 147. S., 112. 4 S., 114.
6 S., 125. a Agh.,7, 169 f.

SOCIAL CONDITIONS 141

that you are my guard while you are awake, who
will protect me against him while you sleep?* 1
Though some Arabs felt contempt for Christians,
that did not prevent al Akhtal from acting towards
the caliph as impudently as any Muslim poet.
Earlier 'Uthman had made much of the other
Christian poet, Abu Zubaid, and had given him a
seat beside his own. One of the charges against
Walld b. 'Ukba was his friendship for this man
and its consequences. 2 Once when al Asbagh visited
his father, 'Abd ul 4 Aziz, he found Christians sitting
in the audience hall, and, though it happened to be
Easter, it is probable that they were present
regularly. 3 It was the duty of the patriarch, along
with the government officials, to pay his respects to
a new governor, and it seems that his presence was
frequently required. 4 'Umar II stopped women,
presumably Christian, from going to the public
baths. 5

Some governors were extravagant in their friend-
ship for Christians. Severus tells this story : 'Abu
1 Kasim loved Anba Masis above all the bishops,
and used to show him his young concubines in my
presence that he might bless them. He said,
"These are your children, lay your hands on them
and give them your most efficacious blessing."* 6
To Ibrahim, the bishop of the Fayyum, he said, ' I
will do you this great honour; I will make my wife
your daughter.' 7 The historian spoils the effect, by
adding that the governor had the mind of a child.
Hassan, who was governor in 127, loved the

1 Mubarrad, 287. 2 Agh., 4, 180. 11, 23. 8 S., 124.
4 S., 121, 135, 137. K., 69. S., 153. ' S., 154.

142 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

churches, bishops, and monks, and used to talk with
the patriarch about affairs of state and the salvation
of his soul. 1

The Melkites asked that the church of Abu Mlna,
in Mareotis, might be given back to them, and, as the
Copts resisted the claim, a meeting was held in the
governor's palace. When some men from Upper
Egypt heard that one Constantine was a Melkite
they sprang on him, dragged him outside, and
wished to kill him. The bishops threw their cloaks
over him and saved him. Severus continues, ' One
jumped up, abused me, and blasphemed the holy
Trinity. I and all present saw his robe torn into
three pieces, whereupon all in the palace, Muslims,
Christians, and heretics, cried, " There is no God but
the God of the Christians, no faith but that of the
patriarch Michael." ' Many were wounded in the
throng. 2 There is no hint that any of the brawlers
were punished.

Sometimes the dhimmis were treated as if they
had equal rights with the Muslims. When 'Abdulla
b. Sa'd b. abl Sarh (25-35) made a treaty with the
Nubians, one of the contracting parties is called * the
Muslims, non-Muslims and the protected peoples \
and the Nubians bound themselves to protect 'the
Muslims and dhimmis travelling in Nubia'. 3 The
Khawarij were more friendly to the dhimmis than the
orthodox Muslims, and they are blamed because they
argued wrongly, did not follow the agreed opinion
of the companions of the Prophet, but treated Arab
towns like foreign towns, and let the dhimmis parade
their religion. 4 But the criminal found no mercy.

* S., 165. * S., 166-71. 8 M., 1, 200. ' Kh., 33.

SOCIAL CONDITIONS 143

One of the tales about 'Umar is that he heard how
a Nabataean of Syria had thrown a woman off her
horse and outraged her. He commanded the man
to be impaled, and said, ' Not for this did we grant
them terms/ l A good statement of the principles
which guided the Arab government is contained in
the rescript found among the Aphrodite papyri.
Unfortunately it has been damaged :

* ... fearing God and preserving justice and
equity in the assessment of the quota apportioned by
them in accordance with . . . and caused the over-
seer with four other notable persons in your district
to [assist ?] them in the said assessment. And when
they have finished this, send to us a register con-
taining particulars as to the amount assigned to
each person among them, showing us in it the name
and patronymic and place of residence of those who
assessed the said fine. And let it not come to our
knowledge that you have in any respect at all cheat-
ed the people of your district in the matter of the fine
distributed by you, or that you have shown any
preference or antipathy at all to anyone in the assess-
ment of the said fine. For we know that the persons
who are to assess it will certainly not disobey in any
instructions given them by you, and if you find that
they have assessed anyone too lightly through
partiality, or too heavily through antipathy, we shall
requite them both in their persons and in their estates
by God's command. Therefore, exhort and warn
them about this, and also (tell them) not to assess any
of the officials beyond his means, even if he is at a
distance from them and does not join them in the

1 Kh., 100.

144 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

assessment of the said fine, but to treat each with
justice as aforesaid, and assess him according to his
means ; and cause the assessors of the said fine
first of all to make a written agreement, in which
they declare that if they are proved, after the assess-
ment, to have assigned to anyone an apportionment
beyond his means and to have assessed another too
lightly that they themselves in equal shares will
make up the deficiency caused through the person
too heavily burdened in their assignment, and will
be liable besides to severe punishment for their dis-
obedience and disregard of our command ; and the
said agreement send to us with the register of the
quota assessed for the fine upon each person/ *

Nevertheless the Copts were not contented ; the
number of revolts shows this clearly. They took
place as under :

107 in the Delta. 321 Upper Egypt.

132 Samnud. 135 Samnud.

150 Sakha. 156 Balhib.

211 Lower Egypt.

In 216 there was more trouble, and the fighting
men were killed and the women and children en-
slaved. 2 c From then on God made the Copts of
little account in all the land of Egypt, and destroyed
their power. They could no longer rebel nor stand
against the might of the governor. Muslims also
got possession of the country towns. The Copts then
employed trickery against Islam and those who pro-
fessed it, and did harm as they made their influence
felt by those who kept the records of the land tax/ 8

Conditions were especially bad in Tinnls. 'In

1 B.M., 4, 1345. K M 73, 81, 94, 102, 116, 119, 190, 192.

M., 1, 79 ; 2, 494.

SOCIAL CONDITIONS 145

the days of 'Abdulla,' says the patriarch Dionysius,
4 we saw in the land of Egypt at Tinnls, and the
inhabitants told us, a shameful thing. This place is
wholly Christian and very populous, but they are
in dire poverty. When we asked how they came to
this sore poverty they told us. Water surrounds
us on every side, we have no fields, no agriculture,
we cannot keep cattle ; the water we drink is
brought from a distance, and scarcely do we drink
it but at a price, a dirham for four jars. Our trade
is linen ; the women spin it on spindles and we
weave it into cloth. Each day we earn as wages,
from the merchants who own the material, half a
dirham. Our labour scarcely suffices for our food.
When they levy the taxes they impose five dinars
on each house, and we are oppressed and cast into
prison. In our misery we give our households as
pledges, even our sons and daughters, that they
may work in slavery. Should it happen that a
man's wife or daughter bears them a child, they
make us testify that we will not go to law with them
about this. What is worse, before the time for
redeeming the wife or daughter comes, there are
the taxes of the next year, and we take on these
pledges further dinars. Thus our sons and our
daughters remain slaves of the Arabs all the time.'
The patriarch told this to 'Abdulla ; he had pity on
them, and by the mediation of the patriarch gave
order that there should be a poll-tax on the men
and they should pay twenty-two dirhams, as is the
law in Mesopotamia. 1 In 439 the taxes in Tinnls
amounted to a thousand dinars a day. 2

1 S. A., 2, 17. Sefernameh, 37 ; cf. Muk., 213.

10

146 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

There were, however, rich Christians in Egypt.
Even if the following story did not actually happen,
something like it must have been possible. When
Mamun made a progress through the towns of
Egypt, in each a platform was made and a tent
pitched for him on it with his guard round about,
and he stayed there for a day and a night. He passed
one, Ta un Namal, but did not enter it as it was
unimportant. When he had gone on, an old woman,
called Maria the Copt, the owner of the town, came
out and called to him. He thought her a suppliant
for justice and waited for her. He never travelled
without interpreters, and one of them explained that
the woman said, ' O Commander of the Faithful, you
have halted in every other town and have passed by
mine ; therefore the Copts will mock me. I beg
the Commander of the Faithful to honour me by
alighting in my town, to exalt me and my descen-
dants, that my enemies may not exult over me.'
Then she wept bitterly. Mamun had compassion
on her, turned his horse towards the town and
dismounted. Her son came to the chief cook, and
asked how much he usually wanted of sheep, fowls,
capons, fish, spices, sugar, honey, perfumes, wax,
fruit, fodder, etc. He provided much more than was
asked. With Mamun were his brother, Mu'tasim,
his son, 'Abbas, the sons of his brother, Wathik,
Mutawakkil, Yahya b. Aktam, and the kadi, Ahmad
b. Daud. The woman provided for each one's wants
separately, and none had to supply the other, and
the same with the officers. She gave Mamun a great
quantity of the finest tasty food, so that he thought it
extraordinary. Next morning, when he was ready to

SOCIAL CONDITIONS 147

go, she came forward with ten girls carrying trays.
As he saw her far off the caliph said to those about
him, * The Copt has brought a rustic gift, spices,
herbs, and wormwood.' But as she placed the trays
before him there was on each a purse of gold. 1

An agent of Yazld b. Muhallab sold a ruby to a
Jew of Khorasan for thirty thousand dirhams. After
the sale was concluded the Jew said that he would
have given fifty thousand willingly, and when he
saw the seller's disappointment he gave him a
further hundred dinars. 2 Sometimes the Muslims
played low tricks on their fellow subjects. Bukam,
the headman of Bura, in Egypt, offered to build a
new mosque if he were allowed to destroy the old
one. The Muslims agreed, but when the new was
completed they went back on their word, saying,
4 Our religion does not permit us to destroy a
mosque wherein we have prayed/ 3 It may be noted
that when Saladin built the walls of Cairo he pulled
down mosques to make room for them. 4

About this time opinions differed about the
treatment of the dhimmis. The author of the Book
of the Land Tax could say in his address to the
caliph Harun, 'It is right that you should order the
protected people to be treated with kindness, that
no injury should be done them, that they should not
be burdened above their strength, and that none of
their goods should be taken except according to
law.' 5 But these pious wishes are capable of widely
differing interpretations. Yahya says that he who
cannot pay the poll-tax is given relief, and also he

1 M., 1, 81. 2 Agh., 15, 18. 3 Eut., 2, 434. 4 M., 2, 203.
8 Kh.,71.

148 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

who cannot pay the land tax/ But in the Kitab ul
Umm it is stated that if a dhimmi is poor the ruler
is one of his creditors, and cannot spend money
from the treasury on a poor dhimmi?

Muslims did look down on the dhimmis, as this
story shows. Ya'kub b. Ishak of Kinda, a Jew, was
the most prominent philosopher and physician of
his age and a favoured attendant of Mamun. One
day he came into the presence of the caliph and
took a seat higher than that of a leading Muslim,
who said, 'Why do you, a Jew, sit above the
scholars of Islam ? ' Ya'kub answered, c Because
I know what you know ; and you do not know what
I know/ 3

Mustansir (350-366) sat in his audience hall, with
the chiefs of the protected Christians in Andalus
around him, among them Walld b. Khaizuran, the
kadi of the Christians in Cordova, and 'Ubaidulla b.
Kasim, the metropolitan of Toledo. 4 In 379 a Jew
was governor of Slraf. 5 Another influential Jew
was Ibn 'Allan, who farmed the taxes of Basra.
When his wife died all Basra, except the kadi, fol-
lowed the bier. The sultan borrowed one hundred
thousand dinars from him, and he paid the same
sum and one hundred horses to Khamaratakin for
the taxes of Basra. Khamaratakin and Kuharain
had him murdered when he was living under the
protection of Nizam ul Mulk. After the murder,
Nizam ul Mulk shut himself up in his house for
three days, and the sultan had to cajole him into
appearing in public. 6

1 P. 9. 2 Umm, 4, 102. Ch.M., 55. 4 Mak., 1, 252.

Ed., 3, 150. Ath,, y. 472.

SOCIAL CONDITIONS 149

We hear of the easy circumstances and great
expenditure of the Copts in their houses, while at the
government office they wore the poorest clothes,
ate the coarsest food, and rode on donkeys. ' At
home they changed from one state to another, and
passed from non-existence to existence.' * Mustansir
gave a robe of honour to Sarur ul Jallal, who
restored the Church of George in Cairo. 2 Chris-
tians took some part in the social life of the Muslims.
At Ishna, at weddings and other rejoicings of the
Muslims, the Christians were present, chanted in the
Sahidic dialect of Coptic, and walked before the
bridegroom through the bazaars and streets. This
was a recognized custom, and continued to the time
of the writer. 3

The Muslims did not hold entirely aloof from the
protected religions. A building in Bethlehem was
set apart as a mosque, and 'Umar made the Chris-
tians promise to provide lights in it, keep it in repair,
and clean it. 4 The monasteries were often popular
with the Muslims, for in many cases the situation
made them pleasant places for picnics. To that of
Kusair the people of Cairo went from time to time
to refresh themselves. That of Khanafls, in Meso-
potamia, was favoured, for it was high above the
villages and looked down on the rivers and meadows.
It is recorded that Saif ud Dawla seldom passed
that of Mart Marutha without stopping. Wine, the
forbidden, was one of the attractions. In the convent
of the Virgins were taverns. The poets tell that
wine and women were among the charms.

4 How often have I been awakened in the dark

1 Subh., 4, 43. * A.S., 88. A.S., 278. * Y,

150 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

night for my morning draught by the voices of the
monks reciting the prayers loudly, clad in black,
girt about the waist with the zunnar, with crowns of
hair on their heads/ Ibn ul Mu'tazz. (f 296. ) l

' When I have completed a full year, go with me to
the vineyards of Awana, and find me a drinking
place in the monastery at 'Alth ; perchance I shall
make friends with the monks. Fair girls reading a
book of the gospel attend mass in the morning.
They wear skins, but God made them slender
underneath; shamefaced till the cup goes round,
when they discover throat and body/ Jahza ul
Barmaki. (f 326. ) 2

'Drink to the sound of the nakus\ says another
poet.

Sometimes Muslims ill repaid the hospitality of
the monasteries. Some men took refuge in the
Convent of the Virgins, and, when the danger was
past, they bound the priest and violated the nuns. 3
During the disturbances that accompanied the fall
of the Umayyads, a band of freebooters attacked a
nunnery in Egypt. One of the nuns was a remark-
ably beautiful girl, who had taken the vows at the age
of three. The men wondered what to do with her,
whether to cast lots for her or to take her to the
caliph. She told them that she had inherited from
her soldier forefathers an ointment that made a man
invulnerable, ' against him iron became as wax '.
She offered them to let them make trial of it on her,
and if she spoke the truth they were to let her go.
She anointed herself with holy oil, knelt down, and
told the strongest man with the sharpest sword to

* Y., 2, 678 ; cf. I.H., 140 ; Agh., 8, 178. * Y., 2, 681. Y.

SOCIAL CONDITIONS 151

strike. He struck, and cut off her head. Then they
understood what had been in her mind, left the
other nuns, and went away praising God. Makrlzi
tells much the same story, but without the last two
words. 1

Some monasteries were rich ; Mar Sim'an, near
Damascus, is said to have had a revenue of four
hundred thousand dinars. 2

Pleasure was not the only object in visiting these
places. In the monastery of Mimas, between Damas-
cus and Hims, the saint was reputed to heal the sick.
The poet Batm was ill, so he was brought to the
saint to be cured. He thought that the monks
neglected him, so he micturated before the tomb of
the saint. Later he chanced to die and it was
reported that the saint had killed him. The
populace went to destroy the monastery, saying,
1 Shall a Christian kill a Muslim ? We will not
be satisfied unless you give us the bones of the
saint to burn/ A Christian bribed the governor
of Hims to drive away the crowd. Excursions
were also made to a place beside the monastery of
Barsuma, near Malatia. Here even Muslims used
to make vows. Yakut tells of a merchant who paid
such a vow after a successful business journey.
The monastery paid ten thousand dinars yearly to
the emperor from the proceeds of these vows. 3
Benjamin of Tudela says that the chiefs of the
Muslims prayed at the tomb of Ezekiel because of
the love they bore him. 4 He also says that the tomb
of Daniel was in Khuzistan, in a town that was
divided into two parts by a river. Each half of the

1 S., 185 ; M., 2, 493, Y. Y. * Benj., 63.

152 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

town was anxious to keep the body of the prophet,
so it stayed for a year in each half alternately.
Both Jews and Muslims accompanied it when it was
carried over the river from one side to the other. 1

Sometimes Christians obtained great influence ;
due in part to force of character, and in part perhaps
to superstition. When the boat in which Mar
Kuriakos was travelling arrived at the castle of the
Hebrews, and passed along the side of it which
faces the east, the believers of Mosul sent and
stopped it in its course, giving the owner of the
boat much money to stop it, and crowds upon
crowds of Christians and Arabs came forth to see
that blessed man and to be blessed by him (c. 136). 2
In Egypt, when the patriarch Michael anointed
with oil the lunatic daughter of an official named
*Isa, and prayed over her, the devil left her. 8 The
wife of Mansiir bore a child in response to the
prayers of the bishop Isaac at least, so the Chris-
tians said so when Mansur became caliph he made
him patriarch. 4

When the danger of a low Nile had been removed
by the prayers of the Christians, Abu 'Aun did good
to them and their churches and made the kharaj
lighter. 5 When Ahmad b. Tulun was dying he
ordered the people to pray for him. They prayed in
the mosque of Mahmud, on the flank of Mukattam,
and the Jews and Christians were there also, stand-
ing apart from the Muslims. They did the same on
the next day, when women and children were present,
and continued doing so till he died. 6 When Timur-

1 Benj., 70. * Thomas, 1, 246. ' S., 179. 4 S., 205.

S., 200. K., 231.

SOCIAL CONDITIONS 153

tash, the Ortokid lord of Mardin, was ill and the doc-
tors could not help him, he had recourse to the
prayers of the Christians, and sent to the convent of
Mar Barsama for the right hand of the saint. He
saw a man shining in light, who said to him, ' The
Christians have sent me to take you from death.'
He was healed on the spot. He did much to make
the lot of the Christians easier and granted favours
to the churches of Nisibis, Mardin, Mayafarekln, Ras
'Ain, Dara, and other places in his dominion. 1

Non-Muslim birth never prevented a man from
winning a high religious position among the
Muslims. To take two examples : Ma'ruf of Karkh,
who died in 200, an ascetic and worker of wonders,
was the son of a Christian, 2 and Hasan b. 'Abdulla
b. al Marzaban Sairafi, the kadi, was the son of a
Magian. He died in 368. 3

In one respect some Christians had a bad reputa-
tion. Ahmad b. 'Ali Razi ' was even dirtier than
the monks '.*

Once, at any rate, Christians preferred Muslim
rule to Christian.

Philardus, an Armenian in the pay of Constanti-
nople (Ibn ul Athir calls him Firdaus), captured
Antioch from the Muslims, appointed a Persian
named Ismail governor, and marched away. When
Sulaiman, the son of that Kutulmish who was killed
near Constantinople, heard that Philardus had gone,
he prepared ships, for he had just conquered
Antartus and Tarsus, and attacked Antioch from
the side of the hills, the Persian governor helping

1 Lang., 312. Abu 1 Fida, y. 200. 8 A.M., II, 2, 23.

4 A.M., II, 2, 28.

154 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

him. He captured the Church of Kusyan, and seized
all the furniture, and vessels of gold and silver, and
the deposits of the townsmen, a great sum. He
turned the church into a mosque. He proclaimed
peace in the town, stopped the slaughter, prevented
the Turks from entering the houses of the Christians,
and from taking their daughters even for marriage.
He did not let them remove from Antioch any of
the plunder of the town, but made them sell it there
at cheap rates. He pleased the townsmen, and the
governor surrendered to him the citadel. The
inhabitants preferred him to Philardus, who was
nominally a Christian. This capture of Antioch
took place in 47 7. *

To insult a Muslim by calling him a Jew, Chris-
tian, Magian, or idolater was a punishable offence. 2

1 B.H., 257 f. Mud., 4, 396.

CHAPTER XI
MEDICINE AND LITERATURE

IT is well known that under the caliphs many of
the physicians were Jews or Christians. It is not the
purpose of this book to give a detailed history of
them and what they did ; that belongs to the history
of science. Our concern is with their relations to
their rulers and fellow subjects. 1

A historian says that in the reign of Mu'awia
many people died of poison, and goes on to tell in
detail how Ibn Uthal, a Christian physician, poisoned
'Abd ur Rahman b. Khalid at the order of the caliph,
leaving his readers to draw their own conclusions.
Another Christian, Abu 1 Hakam, attended Yazld
as doctor when he led the pilgrimage. 2

Khaslb, a native of Basra, was summoned to treat
the governor of the town, who was the son of the
caliph, as Saffah. The patient died, so the doctor
was arrested on suspicion and put in prison, where
he died. 3

Jurjis b. Bukhtishu' lived at Jundeshapur, where
he worked in a hospital, which he seems to have
regarded as his private property. The caliph
Mansur fell ill, and, as none of the Baghdad doctors
could cure him, he sent for Jurjis. When he came
into the presence, he offered prayers for the caliph
in both Persian and Arabic in very polished langu-

1 Facts in this section are from Tabak., unless other references are
given.

Agh., 15, 13. a Agh., 13, 95.

156 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

age, so that the caliph was surprised and made him
sit. Some time after the caliph noticed that Jurjis'
health was suffering. Thinking that this was due
to the lack of wine, which he was accustomed to
drink, he had some brought from Kutrubbul for
him. On a Christmas Day Jurjis had an audience
with Mansiir, who asked him, ' What do you eat? '
He said, 'All good things, as the Lord pleases.'
The caliph said, * I hear that you have no wife.'
He replied, * I have an old bedridden wife.' The
caliph waited till he had gone, and ordered Salim,
the chief eunuch, to choose three beautiful Greek
slave girls and take them to the physician, with
three thousand dinars. Jurjis was not at his house
when they arrived, but when he came home he said to
his pupil, ' Servant of Satan, why did you let them
into my house ? Do you wish to defile me ? ' He
called the eunuch, and sent the girls with him back to
the caliph. When Mansur heard this, he asked him
why he had sent the girls back. He answered, * We
Christians do not have more than one wife. So long
as one of us has a wife living, our law forbids him to
take another. 1 This pleased the caliph, so he gave
orders that the physician should go in to his wives
and concubines without hindrance. He gave him
increased honour and loved him as himself. 1 It is
said of Bukhtishu* b. Jibrail also, that the caliphs
trusted him to visit their concubines. 2 Rashld called
in Masaweih to attend his sister. The doctor insist-
ed on seeing the patient, and was allowed to see and
touch her in the presence of her brother. Naturally
these men often had great influence. Rashld said of

1 Cf. B.H., 125. Fih., 296,

MEDICINE AND LITERATURE 157

Jibrail b. Bukhtishu*, * Let all who have petitions
to bring to me speak to Jibrail, for I answer every
request and fulfil every desire which he brings to
me/ Sometimes they abused their position. 'Isa
b. Shahla followed Jurjis b. Bukhtishu* in the
service of Mansur. He stretched out his hand
against the metropolitans and bishops, to take their
wealth for himself. He even wrote to the metro-
politan of Nisibis, asking for some of the church
vessels, which were worth a big sum, threatening
him if he delayed. In his letter were the words,
1 Do you not know that the kingdom is in
my hand ? If I choose I make it sick, and if I
choose I make it well/ The metropolitan con-
trived to put the letter in the hands of the vizier,
who gave it to the caliph. He confiscated the
property of 'Isa and banished him. 1 A new doctor
might expect to have his knowledge tested or to
have tricks played on him. When Bukhtishu' b.
Jibrail first came to Baghdad, the caliph sent to
him the water of an ox, and told him* it was the
water of one of his wives. The doctor was not
deceived.

Jibrail b. Bukhtishu' was also famous as a doctor,
and served Rashld. A girl whom the caliph loved
suffered from a stiff arm, and the physicians
exhausted themselves in preparing ointments and
modes of treatment, but did her no good. Rashld
summoned Jibrail and told him what had happened.
He said, * I can treat her if you will bring her into
the audience hall before the whole court. I will do
what seems good to me ; only be not hasty and

1 Tabak., 1, 125. The father's name is also given as Shulafa.

158 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

angry.' The caliph agreed and sent for her. As
soon as he saw her, Jibrail ran to her and took hold
of her trousers, as if he wished to uncover her
nakedness. From excess of shame the girl grew
hot and sweated, her limbs relaxed, she moved the
stiff arm, and took hold of her trousers, shielding
herself. Jibrail left her instantly, and said to the
caliph, * Now she is cured/ The girl moved her
arm to right and left, to the amazement of the caliph
and all who were present.

His salary was twelve thousand dirhams monthly.
Mamun imprisoned him and confiscated his goods,
because he had tended Amm, but later restored him
to favour and gave to him more than had been taken
from him. In the time of Rashld, a salary of a thousand
dirhams monthly, with an allowance of twenty
thousand a year and provisions, was paid to Masaweih.
Jibrail received ten thousand a month, an allowance
of a hundred thousand a year, besides regular gifts
and estates.

Muslim writers are generous in recognizing the
merit of these men who did not follow their religion.
Hunain, who lived in the time of Mamun, is called
the leader of his day in medicine. Hibatulla b.
Tilmidh was 'the Hippocrates of his age and the
Galen of his day '. Ibn Khallikan wonders that a
man of his intelligence did not accept Islam. His
contemporary, Abu 1 Barakat Hibatulla, the Jew*
was called the ' solitaire of the age '.

Even Mutawakkil could not dispense with these
sectarian doctors. Hunain wore the zunnar. Bukh-
tishu' b. Jibrail stood high in the caliph's favour,
so much so that he had the same clothes, respect.

MEDICINE AND LITERATURE 159

wealth, horses, slaves, and slave girls as he had.
One day, as the doctor sat beside the caliph wearing
a robe of Greek atlas, Mutawakkil noticed that the
robe was slightly torn. He kept him in talk, and
made the tear bigger till it reached the sleeve. The
doctor, however, saw what he was doing. The talk
was of mad men, and the caliph asked, * When do
you admit that a mad man needs chains ? * The
answer was, ' When the mad man tears the garment
of his doctor to the sleeve, then we know that he
needs chains/ The caliph laughed till he fell on his
side. Nevertheless, the caliph came to envy him,
and confiscated all his goods. It is said that he had
him flogged, one hundred and fifty lashes, laid in
fetters and imprisoned. Another story is that
Bukhtishu* was banished to Bahrain. 1

The account of an entertainment given by him to
Mutawakkil is in the best style of the Arabian
Nights. He brought up all the thermantidotes
(screens that were wetted to cool the air) in the
capital, so that every place in his house where the
caliph could pass might be cool. He used to sit in
an ebony carriage, and came from the palace with a
thousand men in attendance. From evening till
midnight he indulged in all manner of orgies, then
he rose to pray, surrounded by black eunuchs, of
whom he was fond. After prayer he sat down to
conversation, read the gospel till morning, and then
went to the palace. He disobeyed the law of the
church, and took two wives at once. It is said that
every night he spent five hundred dinars on candles,
ointments, and perfumes. When all was taken from

1 T.,III, 1437,1447

160 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

him, the wood, coal, and wine in his house were sold
for six thousand dinars. The purchaser sold it
again for twelve thousand. 1

When Salamaweih was ill, Mu'tasim sent his son
to visit him, and when he died had the funeral
service celebrated in the palace, with candles and
incense in his presence, after the manner of the
Christians. The caliph also fasted for a day.

Sinan, the Sabian, was appointed by Muktadir to
examine all who wished to practise medicine, and
without his leave none could act as doctors. One
day an elegantly dressed old doctor came to him.
Sinan rose and went forward to greet him. When
he wished to examine him and find out what was the
matter, the old man pulled out a purse, holding a
large sum in gold, and said, * Sir, believe me, I can-
not write my name and have not studied, but I have
a big family, and they live by my practice. I beseech
you, do not take from me the bread that God
gives.' Sinan laughed, and told him that he would
permit him to practise if he would agree not to
approach dangerous cases, not to open an artery,
and not to use purgatives. The old man promised
to use only oxymel, and drugs like it. The next day
a fashionable young doctor came to him, and Sinan
asked under whom he had studied. He replied,
'Under my father, who came to you yesterday.'
Sinan laughed, and imposed on him the same
conditions as on the father. 2

Hibatulla b. Tilmidh was very grave, and in all
his intercourse with Muktafi was only once known
to make a joke. A sinecure in the ' House of

1 B.H., 157. 2 B.H., 175.

MEDICINE AND LITERATURE 161

Bottles' had been taken from him by the vizier, with-
out the caliph's knowledge. At the end of a visit
the old man found great difficulty in standing up,
so the caliph asked what was the matter. 'My
bottles are broken.' Now this was a slang phrase,
used in Baghdad, to denote old age. Muktafi was
so struck at this piece of slang on the lips of the
dignified old gentleman that he made enquiries and
restored to him his sinecure. When he died, in
560, the whole of Baghdad attended the funeral. 1

The physicians sometimes suffered through palace
intrigues. The famous doctor and excellent physician
Amln ud Dawla Abu 1 Karam Sa'id b. Toma, a Jaco-
bite of Baghdad, was killed on Thursday, 28 Jumada
1,618. He was skilled in healing, trustworthy in his
deeds, wise, generous, a good mediator in supplying
the needs of the poor, answering their requests, and
visiting them. The caliph Nasir loved, respected,
and honoured him, and entrusted to him the treat-
ment of his kingdom, his sons, his daughters, and
his wives. At the end of his life the caliph's
eyes grew weak, so that he could not see to write
confidential letters to the vizier. He found a woman
in Baghdad, named Sitt Naslm, whose writing could
not be distinguished from that of the caliph. He
took her into the palace, told her his secrets, and
whenever he wanted to write she wrote at his
dictation. The vizier thought that her letters were
in the caliph's own hand, for he concealed his blind-
ness. This lasted some time. Then a certain
eunuch, Taj ud Din Rashlk, made an agreement
with her, and they wrote what they chose when the

1 I. Khali.

11

162 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

caliph dictated, and their orders were carried out.
One day the vizier, Muayyid ud Dm, wrote to the
caliph, and received a confused and disordered reply,
and therefore felt doubtful about it, and made secret
enquiry from Amm ud Dawla. He told him of the
caliph's blindness, of the woman whose writing was
like his, of the eunuch Rashik who was in league
with her, and the letters they wrote as they chose
without the caliph's knowledge. The vizier began
to disregard the orders sent him. The woman and
eunuch were angry with Amln ud Dawla for
betraying them, because he was the only one to
meet and speak with the vizier who knew their
secret. They suborned two brothers, the sons of
Kamar ud Dm, who lay in wait for the doctor one
night as he left the palace to go to his house, sprang
on him, and stabbed him twice with daggers. When
he saw them, he cried out, * Seize them, they are so
and so.' These evil men heard him, came back and
finished him, and wounded also the servant with
him who carried the lantern. The city and palace
were roused, and the dead man was carried to his
house and buried there. Nine months later they
took him to the Church of Mar Thomas, and buried
him with his fathers. On the night in which he was
killed, those two wicked murderers were taken,
disembowelled, and impaled on the spot where they
had killed him. 1

It was not only the Muslims who travelled-
Ya'kub b. Saklan, of Jerusalem, who died in 626,
was doctor to al 'Adil b. Ayyub. Later he was
taken to Damascus, where he prospered. Towards

1 B.H., 449 f.

MEDICINE AND LITERATURE 163

the end of his life he was crippled by gout, so al Malik
ul Mu'azzam sent a litter to fetch him when he
needed his professional attentions. 1 About the year
570, two Jews, Jehuda and his son Samuel, migrated
from the west. Samuel went to Adherbaijan, and
became physician to the house of Pahlawan. After-
wards he turned Muslim. 2 Yiisuf b. Yahya b. Ishak,
of Fez, fled from his home when *Abd ul Mumin
persecuted the Jews and Christians, went to Egypt,
and then to Aleppo. From there he travelled in
Irak and India. On his return he had a big practice
and was a close friend of al Kifti, the author of the
History of Learned Men. He died a Jew in 623. 3

Yuhanna b. Masaweih served the caliphs from
Rashld to Mutawakkil, and was always present at
their meal times. He was enough of a favourite
with Mutawakkil to be allowed to chaff him mildly.
He could also make jokes at the expense of Islam,
jokes recorded by Muslim writers. To a priest who
suffered from indigestion, and had tried all the
remedies the doctor could recommend, he said,
4 Turn Muslim ; this is good for the digestion.'
When 'Isa b. Ibrahim b. Nuh, the secretary of al
Path b. 1 Khakan turned Muslim, Yuhanna came
home from the palace to find some monks in his
house, and said to them, * Get out of my house,
children of sin. Turn Muslim, for the Messiah has
just turned Muslim/

In..sg.ite of the wealth and influence which these
men attained, Muslims felt that they belonged to a
lower class. This comes out very clearly in the
following incident. Under orders from the vizier>

1 B.H. Mu,, 443. B.H. Mu., 377. Kifti, 392.

164 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Sinan b. Thabit sent a travelling dispensary round
Irak. The doctors found that Sura and Nahr Malik
were inhabited mainly by Jews, so asked whether
they should work there or go to some place where
the people were Muslims. Sinan knew that the
hospitals in Baghdad treated both Muslims and
dhimmis^ but asked for instructions from the vizier,
who sent this order : ' We agree that the treatment
of dhimmis and animals is right, but men must be
treated before animals, and Muslims before dhimmis.
If anything is left over which Muslims do not need,
let it be used on the class below them.' 1

It may be mentioned that Bukhtishu' b. Jibrail
endowed the monastery where his father was buried. 2

Doctors sometimes quarrelled. Jurjis, who was
named the Philosopher on the same principle that
the crow is called Father of Whiteness, wrote verses
on Salama b. Rahmun, the Jew :

What is good weighs light in the scales of Abu 1 Khair, for

he is ignorant.
By his bad luck his poor patient is in a shoreless ocean of

death.
To him come three at once the doctor's face, the bier, and

the washer of the dead. 8

LITERATURE

During the first and second centuries relations
between the Arabs and their subjects in the
sphere of letters and arts were very friendly, and
even in later times much of the old friendliness
endured. It has been pointed out elsewhere that
the government employed non-Muslims as engineers
and architects. One may add here that Kuseir

1 Kifti, 194. * Kifti, 142. B.H. Mu., 348.

MEDICINE AND LITERATURE 165

'Amra, a hunting lodge of an Umayyad prince,
was decorated by painters who knew no Arabic.
Religion made no difference to the treatment of
poets and musicians by the great. Hunain, the
Christian singer of Hlra, was an intimate friend of
Bishr b. Marwan, and an article of six pages is
devoted to him in the Kitab ul Aghani^ Barsauma,
the flute player, often performed before Harun
Rashld. As he is called a Nabataean and his name
is Aramaic, it is almost certain that he was a
Christian. 2 The poet Abu Zubaid was treated with
courtesy by 'Uthman, 3 verses by the Jewish poet
Abu Zannad were set to music by Ibn Mashaj abu
1 Uthman Sa'id. 4

In the whole of Arabic literature there is only
one dhimmi who has a great reputation among
Muslims, and he is the poet al Akhtal. He with
Sarjun and Kasim b. Tawil ul 'Ibadi were com-
panions of Yazid in his amusements. 5 Al Akhtal
was respected as a judge of poetry, though he was
once accused of accepting a jar of wine as a bribe. 6
When he went to Kufa, Sha'bi visited him to listen
to his poetry, and was invited to dine and drink
wine with him. 7 It was he who said, ' When a
connoisseur in poetry hears a fine verse, he does not
care whether the author is Muslim or Christian ; '
and the sentiment was often true, though Hammad
ur Rawi could say, ' I will not speak of the verse of
a man who made Christian poetry popular.' 8 The
caliph Harun declared that the highest and most

1 Agh., 2, 116. * Agh., 6, 72. Agh., 11, 23.

4 Agh., 19, 102, * Agh., 6, 128. 16, 68. Agh., 7, 40.

T Agh., 8, 81. 8 Agh., 7, 165, 172.

166 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

fulsome (afkhar) praise ever sung of a caliph was
the line by al Akhtal: 'Till they are brought to him,
the sun of enmity, most clement when they are
overcome.' l

Mu'awia, or, in another version of the story, his
son Yazld, had no scruple in employing al Akhtal
to lampoon the inhabitants of Medina, who had
angered him, when other poets refused to attack
them, on the religious ground that they could not
lampoon those who had sheltered and helped the
Prophet. 2 For this freedom he narrowly escaped
having his tongue torn out.

Jarir recited to 'Abd ul Malik a poem in praise of
Hajjaj, and when it was finished the caliph told al
Akhtal to praise the Commander of the Faithful.
He stood opposite and recited a poem, most poetical
and most fulsome. The caliph said, 'You are our
poet and our panegyrist ; ride on him.' He made
ready to do so, but Jarir said, ' Commander of the
Faithful, a Christian unbeliever should not be above
a Muslim, should not overpower him, nor ride on
him.' The courtiers supported him, so the caliph
told al Akhtal to stop. 3 The same feeling of the
superiority of Islam comes out in the answer of
Jarir to the question whether he or al Akhtal was
the better poet ; ' I was helped against him by the
burden of his age and his lack of the true religion ;
still I never saw him without fearing that he would
swallow me.' 4 One writer points out that his rivals
Farazdak and Jarir belonged to Mudar, and so, as a
matter of course, Rabl'a took the side of al Akhtal

1 Agh., 10, 4. Agh., 13, 147.

8 Amali, 3, 43. 4 Muwashshah, 130.

MEDICINE AND LITERATURE 167

and upheld his claim to be a great poet. 1 Religious
jealousy may lie behind this statement, an attempt
to belittle the Christian by suggesting that tribal
pride and not merit gave him his reputation.
Except for a few verses which will be noticed later,
there is practically nothing in his poetry to dis-
tinguish it from the compositions of Muslim poets.

The covenant of 'Umar says that dhimmis are
not to learn the Koran or teach it to their children.
In 235 Mutawakkil forbade Muslims to teach Chris-
tians. 2 There was some prejudice against teaching
the Koran to non-Muslims. Certain dhimmis asked
Abu 'Uthman al Mazini to read with them the
book, the grammar of Slbawaih, offering him a
hundred dinars for his trouble. Although he was
poor he refused. When a friend remonstrated with
him he said, * In the book are three hundred tradi-
tions and ever so many verses of the Koran ; I will
not give a dhimmi such mastery over our religion.'
Shortly after he was summoned into the presence
of the caliph al Wathik to explain a point of gram-
mar, and was given a thousand dinars. His comment
was, * I gave God one hundred dinars and He has
given me one thousand.' In this anecdote there is
no hint that the teaching of the Koran to dhimmis
had ever been forbidden by law ; the objection is
simply a matter of conscience. Indeed, the law of
Mutawakkil remained a dead letter, and famous
dhimmis studied under Muslim teachers. 3

Hunain b. Ishak studied under Khalll b. Ahmad
and Slbawaih, and became a master of Arabic.*

1 Muwashshah, 138. M., 2, 494.

Agh., 8, 136 n. Tabak., 1, 185, 189.

168 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Yahya b. 'Adi b. Hamld became the chief logician
of his day, and was a pupil of al Farabi. 1 Thabit b.
Kurra was a pupil of Muhammad b. Musa, who
introduced him to Mu'tadid. 2 Ibn Jazla studied under
*Ali b. Walid, a Mutazelite ; he wrote a beautiful
hand and was a scholar of literature. His books
reveal his quality and his knowledge. He after-
wards turned Muslim. 3 He died in 493. It may
not be amiss to mention that the same tolerance
was sometimes found among Christians ; Mattai b.
Yunus, a Nestorian, studied under Jacobite teachers. 4
Ibrahim b. Hilal may be taken as an example of
what a dhimmi might become. He held high office,
poets praised him, and Bakhtiyar, the Buwayhid,
offered him the post of vizier if he would turn
Muslim ; but he refused. His relations with Muslims
were good. He exchanged letters, gifts and presents
with the Sahib Ismail b. 'Abbad and also with the
sharlf ar Rida; though religion separated them,
letters united them. He knew the Koran. He used
to tell this story of the death of his father, Hilal.
' The vizier al Muhallabi paid me a visit of con-
dolence. When I knew that he was on the way to
my house, I went out to meet him and begged him
not to take the trouble to come inside. He would
not listen, but came up and sat for a time, saying
everything that would encourage the mind and com-
fort the heart. He praised and lauded my father,
and said, " That man is not dead who has you as his
heir and substitute/' ' When Ibrahim died, the sharlf
ar Rida wrote an elegy upon him. Some murmured

1 B.H. Mu., 296. B.H. Mu., 265.

Tabak., 1, 255 ; I. Khali., 3, 256. 4 B.H. Mu., 285.

MEDICINE AND LITERATURE 169

that a sharif should lament a Sabian. Ar Rida
defended himself on the ground that he lamented
only the excellence that was in the jnan. It is said
that his letters, both official and private, were among
the most finished that were written at that time.
Yakut devotes thirty-four pages to him in his
Dictionary of Learned Men. 1

In 385 Bishr b. Harun, a Christian, died. He
had been a secretary and a poet, a lampoonist with
a sharp tongue. 2 Though there was prejudice against
Christians and others, yet it cannot have been very
strong or general if an historian thought it worth
while to record the death of such an inconspicuous
man as this.

The account of al Akhtal given by ibn Rashik is
very different in temper from that in the Kitab ul
Aghani, and shows religion turning into fanaticism.

*A1 Akhtal was one of the great poets of the
second period, and by virtue of his poetry became
a companion of 'Abd ul Malik, who made him ride
on the back of Jarlr, a pious Muslim. It is said that
the reason for this order was a poetical contest in
his presence. The poet, the curse of God be on
him, openly attacked Islam and belittled the Mus-
lims. He said : "I do not fast obediently in Ramadan,
I do not eat the flesh of sacrifices ; I do not drive
strong young camels to the valley of Mecca to get
success ; I do not cry at night, like others, * Come
to salvation.' But I will drink cold wine and wor-
ship before the break of dawn."

' Religious toleration was very advanced when
kings could listen to words like this ! But for his

1 Y.Ir., 1, 324 ; A.M., II, 2, 54. A.M., II, 2,59.

170 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

poetry, he would have been killed for his lampoons on
the Ansar ; and his abusive reply to Jarlr would have
ruined a descendant of 'Ali, let alone a Christian.' 1

These words show an entirely new spirit, for
there is a fierceness in them that has not been seen
earlier. The isolation produced by spiritual pride
has given the writer swelled head (this is a good
Arabic idiom) and destroyed his sense of humour.
Otherwise, he would have seen the absurdity of
calling these innocent words an attack on Islam.
The mental segregation and consequent decay of
Islam has begun.

Muslim philosophy and science began in transla-
tions. Many, if not most, of those who turned books
from Greek and Syriac into Arabic were Christians.
One of the earliest of them, Stephen the elder,
worked for Khalid, the grandson of Mu'awia. 2 The
caliphs Mansur and Mamun especially employed
men on this work. It is said that the three sons of
Musa, famous patrons of learning, paid five hundred
dinars monthly for translation work. 3

It would be hard to overestimate the importance
of men like Hunain b. Ishak and Thabit b. Kurra,
but their work was not literature. The philologists
and grammarians despised them. Yakut has re-
corded a discussion, between Abu Sa'id Hasan b.
'Abdulla us Slrafi and Mattai b. Yunus, wherein
Hasan speaks of ' men, weak and imperfect in one
tongue, who translate it into another, in which they
are also weak and imperfect'. 4 The whole discus-
sion shows the Arab belief in the unique value of
his language. Nevertheless, bibliographers and

1 Umda, 1, 21. Fih., 244. Fih., 243. 4 Y.Ir., 3, 117.

MK I) 1C INK AND LITERATURE 171

historians have preserved the names of these men, in
spite of the defects of their Arabic.

When Mukhtar, who was called Ibn Batlan (f 455),
quarrelled with Ibn Ridwan, he wrote a letter
attacking him, pointing out his faults and calling
attention to his ignorance. 1 In this case, at any rate,
a Christian carried on a controversy with a Muslim
on an equal footing with his opponent.

Ibn Khallikan thought the poetry of Hibatulla b.
Tilmidh worth quoting, though Yakut criticizes it
as not being as good as his prose. Makkari thought
Ismail the Jew and his daughter Kasmuna deserv-
ing of mention as poets. 2 In Spain, too, Mansur, the
Jewish singer, was sent as a representative of the
caliph with Ziryab, the Persian musician. 8

Though Muslim scholars often show a great lack
of curiosity about those things that do not belong to
Islam, yet there are brilliant exceptions. Al Biruni's
book on India stands alone ; in it he treats of the
land and people, their habits, religion, and philo-
sophy. Ibn Hazm, of Spain (f 456), had a very good
knowledge of the Bible and Christian theology. Ibn
Khaldun knew the outer form of the Bible and
something about the organization of the church, and
fitted these things into the Prolegomena to the
study of history. One subject that drew interest
was the calendar. Al Biriini dealt exhaustively with
the various systems of counting time in the Kanun
Mas { udi. Kalkashandi thought a knowledge of the
religious festivals of the dhimmis necessary to a
secretary. He is well acquainted with the feasts,
the stories connected with, and the customs observed

1 B.H. Mu., 331. Mak., 2, 236. * Mak., 2, 85.

172 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

at them ; he knows, for example, of the searching of
the house for leaven before the Passover. In speak-
ing of such things, he does permit himself at times
a pious sniff. Makrlzi gives even more detail about
Christian and Jewish festivals, describes the various
sects, gives a list of the patriarchs of Alexandria as
an essential part of the history of Egypt, and says
something about the history of Christianity and
Judaism. Kazwlni describes the calendars in his
Wonders of Creation. Mas'udi's interests also went
beyond the bounds of Islam. In the Kitab ut
Tanblh he tells the legend of the translation of
the Septuagint, gives in outline the history of Con-
stantinople with a list of the CEcumenical Councils,
a fairly accurate account of the various heresies and
sects, and the intricacies of Christian theology and
theologians.

The earlier Christians wrote either in Syriac or
Coptic, and did not appeal to a Muslim audience.
Severus b. Mukaffa' broke through literary tradi
tion and wrote Arabic as it was spoken, and
so courted the disdain of fashionable scholars.
Christians helped to preserve their separate exis-
tence by writing Arabic in Syriac or Coptic
letters. Later, Jews and Christians wrote in Arabic,
but for the most part their work lay apart from the
main stream of Arabic letters. Saadya translated the
Law into Arabic, but Muslims took no notice of it.
Makrlzi must have used books written by dhimmis^
but he is careful not to name the authors. Mas'udi
knows of books by Christians, and praises the
histories of Kais the Maronite and Eutychius of
Alexandria; also one by Abu Zakaria of Kuskar,

MEDICINE AND LITERATURE 173

and another by a Jacobite, who was also named Abu
Zakaria. 1 This is, however, unusual ; Christian
writers are generally ignored. Al Makln and Bar
Hebraeus have a higher reputation in the west than
in the east.

The Book of Religion and Empire ', by 'Ali Tabari,
with its many quotations from the Bible, stands by
itself, for it is a defence of Islam by a convert from
Christianity. Still it is hard to imagine that it
could have been popular, except among those who
knew something about the Bible.

Another unique book is the Apology of al Kindi,
which was written shortly before 300. The author,
whoever he may have been, writes with the greatest
freedom and criticizes Islam severely. He finds
fault with the doctrine of the sacred war, makes
fun of the ceremonies of the pilgrimage, com-
paring Indian rites, and criticizes the mothers of
the faithful the wives of the Prophet. What is
perhaps more remarkable, he quotes a speech by the
caliph attacking the hypocrisy of the courtiers in
religious matters.

The kadi of Harran had a Syriac account of the
Sabian religion translated carefully into Arabic
for the benefit of 'All b. 'Isa. 2

Al Asbagh, the son of *Abd ul 'Aziz, is said to
have read Christian books with the help of a deacon,
to see if they contained blasphemies against Muham-
mad. 3

Writers, especially the geographers, often record
curious facts concerning dhimmis. A few examples
may not be out of place. Near Safed is a cave in

1 Mas.T., 154. f Fih., 327. S., 134.

174 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

which water collects once a year. Jews collect on
that day, and take the water to distant places. If a
crowd gathers and makes a noise in a church in
Nazareth, a pillar in it sweats so that the sweat can
be seen. 1 In a church in Egypt, to which you go
down by some twenty steps, is a throne, and under
the throne a dead man wrapped in leather. Above
the throne is a big marble vessel, with a glass one
inside it, and in this again a piece of hollow, twisted
brass. The sacristan puts a flaxen wick in the piece
of brass, pours in oil, and lights it. Soon the glass
is filled with oil, which overflows into the marble
jar. The sacristan takes this oil, which runs
continually, fills the lamps with it, and sells the
surplus for the maintenance of himself and the
other servants of the church. A friend tested this,
and it is true. If the dead man is taken away the
oil will not flow. 2

In one point the covenant of *Umar was kept;
Christians were not given names of honour contain-
ing the word din, religion. Instead they were given
names like Amin ud Dawla.

One Muslim, at least, did not disdain to use
Christian ideas for political satire. He said : * Turn
Christian, for that is the true religion. Our age
proves it. Confess the three, may they be exalted
and glorious ; think all else vain, for it is vain.
Ya'kub the vizier is the father, 'Aziz is the son,,
and Fadl the holy spirit/ 8

1 Subh., 4,75. a I.R.,81. 8 Ath.,y. 380.

CHAPTER XII
HOLY GROUND

THE accepted version of history is that, in obedi-
ence to the tradition, * Two religions shall not
remain in the land of the Arabs', 'Umar drove
all Jews and Christians out of Arabia, because
that was the land of Islam and Islam alone. This
is an exaggeration. The dkimmis were never
banished from Yemen, and Hamdani mentions a
village with two hundred Jewish inhabitants in the
east of the peninsula. 1 Dhimmis were excluded from
the Hedjaz,but even this was contrary to the practice
of the Prophet, was opposed to the views of some
of the great lawyers, and was not carried out con-
sistently.

During the Prophet's lifetime, dkimmis lived in
Medina, Mecca, Khaibar, Yemen, and Nejran, and a
Christian, named Mawhib, is specially mentioned as
living in Mecca. 2 'Umar did not allow adult male
captives non-Muslims to enter Medina, but he
made an exception in favour of Abu Lulua, at the
request of Mughlra b. Sha'ba, as he was a skilled
workman. 3 The rule that Nabataeans trading with
Medina paid only five per cent instead of ten prob-
ably implies that they visited the town. 4 Abu Zubaid,
the Christian poet, certainly visited it, for 'Uthman
drew him near to him and made him sit beside him. 5

1 Hamdani, 152 ; Umm, 4, 100. * Suli, 214 ; Umm,4, 101.

Ibn Sa'd, III, 1, 250. * Umiu, 4, 125 ; M., 2, 121.

8 Agh., 11, 23.

176 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS
Hunain, the Christian singer of Hira, stayed in
Medina. 1 Abu 1 Hakam, a Christian, accompanied
Yazid to Mecca, when he led the pilgrimage during
the reign of his father, Mu'awia. 2 c Abd ul Malik sent
a Christian engineer to build dams in Mecca to wa'rd
off floods. 3 In 87 or 88 Walid sent eighty Greek
and Coptic masons to rebuild the Prophet's mosque ;
it is even said that he wrote to the emperor for
them. 4 In the papyri are frequent references to
dhimmi labourers engaged in work on mosques.

According to the Mizan, Abu Hanlfa permitted an
unbeliever to enter the Haram, the sacred territory
round Mecca, as a traveller, while the other three
imams forbade it. 5 But in the Kitdb ul Umm it is
stated that a dhimmi might visit the Hedjaz, though
he might not stay longer than three days. He was
only there on sufferance. If such a traveller died
in Mecca the body was taken outside the sacred
area for burial ; if he were taken ill he was carried
outside at once. One who died elsewhere in the
Hedjaz, was buried where he died ; if he fell ill he
was taken outside the province as soon as he could
be moved.

MOSQUES

We have already seen that Christian masons were
employed in building and rebuilding mosques. It
is reported that the king of Nubia sent to 'Abdulla
b. Sa'd b. abl Sarh a pulpit, and with it he sent
his carpenter, Victor of Dendera, to set it up in
the mosque of 'Amr/ In early times Christians

1 Agh., 2, 122. Tabak., 1, 116. B., 54. 4 B., 7; I.R.,69.
Mizan, 2, 162. Umm, 4, 100. ' M., 2, 248.

HOLY GROUND 177

went into the mosques freely, though sometimes
objection was taken to them. Al Akhtal acted as
arbitrator for the tribe of Bakr b. Wail, apparently
more than once, and performed his duties in the
rftosque. 1 Khalid b. Muhajir seems to have killed
Ibn Uthal in the mosque at Damascus, as he was
leaving the presence of Mu'awia. 2 An embassy from
the emperor asked permission to visit the mosque
in Damascus. It was granted, and they entered by
the gate opposite the dome over the mihrab. When
they lifted their eyes to the dome the leader fell
fainting, and had to be carried to his house. 3 One
of the complaints against Walld b. 'Ukba, governor
of Kufa, was that he had given a house beside the
mosque to Abu Zubaid, who made a road of it to
get to Walid's house. An aggravated form of the
story is, that Abu Zubaid used to spend the night
with the governor and in the morning cross the
mosque drunk. 4

'Umar ordered Abu Musa al Ash'ari to bring his
secretary to the mosque. He explained that he
could not do so because the man was a Christian,
and his explanation was accepted as natural. 5

Of the lawyers, Malik and Ahmad forbid the entry
of dhimmis into mosques under all circumstances.
Abu Hanlfa lets them enter without special per-
mission, while Shafe'i requires them to get per-
mission from the recognized authority.

In early times dhimmis seem to have taken
their lawsuits to the kadi in the mosque. Khair
b. Nu'aim was kadi of Egypt from 120 to 128,

1 Agh., 7, 171. 2 Agh., 15, 13. 3 I.A., 1, 210. 4 Agh., 4, 180.
8 Ghazi, 388 ; Uyun, 1, 62. Mizan, 2, 163.

12

178 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

judged Muslims in the mosque and Christians at
the door, after the afternoon prayer. Others had
judged Christians in their houses. It is said that
the first to take Christians into the mosque was
Muhammad b. Masruk, kadi from 177 to 184. 1 O/te
cannot help thinking that the historian has made
a mistake. Perhaps Muhammad reverted to a
former custom, and, as he was well hated, everything
he did was wrong. Bukam, the Christian headman
of Bura in the time of Mamun, did not go into the
mosque. On Fridays he went in procession to the
gate, and then left his deputy to lead the prayers. 2

In 720 a Christian, disguised as a Muslim, went
into the mosque of Zahir, in Cairo, and tried to set
it on fire, but it is not clear that it was necessary
for him so to disguise himself in order to enter. 3

BLOOD MONEY

In the desert compensation for the killing of a
man could often be made by paying blood money.
After their conquests the Arabs brought this
custom with them, and extended it to include the
dhimmis. What actually happened is not clear.
The evidence is conflicting ; tradition contradicts
tradition ; the legal schools differ widely ; the
records of fact are few.

Both Muhammad and 'Umar are said to have put
Muslims to death for murdering Christians. The
Prophet said, * Whoso kills a dhimmi will not smell
the scent of paradise, and its scent spreads a journey
of forty years ; ' but 'Ali said, 'A Muslim must not
be killed for the murder of an unbeliever.' The

1 K., 351, 390. * But, 2, 434. ' M., 2, 514.

HOLY GROUND 179

balance of opinion was against the execution of a
Muslim for the murder of a dhimmi. Of the four
imams, only Abu Hanlfa demanded it. 1 A Christian
historian says that 'Umar II forbade it, but tradition
bys that he ordered such an execution. 2

There is even less agreement as to the amount
of the blood money. Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman
demanded the full amount, the same as for a Muslim ;
this was also the opinion of Abu Hanlfa. Malik
said that it was one-half of what was paid for a
Muslim, whether for murder or manslaughter.
Shafe'i said that it was one-third. Ahmad b.
Hanbal held that for murder it was the same as for
a Muslim, but for manslaughter one-half or one-third.
If the victim was a woman, Ahmad demanded the
full sum for murder and half for manslaughter,
while the others required half of what was paid for
a man. For the killing of a Magian, Abu Hanlfa
demanded the full blood wit, Malik and Shafe'i
wanted eight hundred dirhams, and Ahmad demand-
ed eight hundred for manslaughter and one thousand,
six hundred for murder. 8

Some of these differences represent regional
differences of custom, but others may be due to
changes in the value of money joined with legal
conservatism.

In the time of the Prophet blood money is said
to have been 800 dinars, or 8,000 dirhams, for a
Muslim, and half this for a dhimmi. In the days of
'Umar it was 1,000 dinars, or 12,000 dirhams, or
100 camels, or 200 cattle, or 2,000 sheep, or 200

1 Bnkhari, 4, 119, 120 ; Umm, 7, 291.
S.A., 1, 107. 3 Rahmat, 2, 126.

180 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

costumes consisting of wrapper, cloak, shirt, and
trousers, while that for a dhimmi remained fixed.

The third demanded by Shafe'i was 4,000 dirhams
which is one-half the blood money in the time of
the Prophet. 'Umar II fixed it at 5,000 dirhatrs v ,
which is half the blood money in the time of 'Umar I,
if ten dirhams are reckoned to the dinar. This
suggests that the blood money for a dhimmi was
fixed at half the sum for a Muslim, and, as the imams
fixed on different sums as the full amount, so the
different fractions arose. 1

A notice in the Kitdb ul Agkani introduces
further complications. Mu'awia made the Banu
Makhziim pay blood money, 12,000 dirhams, for Ibn
Uthal. Half was paid into the treasury, and the
caliph kept the other half for himself. This was
the custom with blood money paid for dhimmis till
'Umar II gave up his share. The treasury, how-
ever, still took half, i.e. 6,000 dirhams. 2 Elsewhere
it is stated that Mu'awia put half the blood money
for a dhimmi in the treasury. 3 The only solution
that can be offered is this: at first full blood
money was paid and the treasury took half, for
Mu'awia made no distinction between his private
purse and the public treasury. Then the govern-
ment waived its rights, and the relatives still got
their half. The lawyers accepted this custom, and
formulated the rule that the blood money for a
dhimmi was half that for a Muslim.

The rule that a Muslim might not be executed
for murdering a dhimmi was not always observed.
The reason why Asad ud Dm Shirkuh and his

1 Abu Daud, 4, 308. a Agh., IS, 13. 3 Umm, 7, 291.

HOLY GROUND 181

brother, Saladin, took service with Nur ud Din
Zanji was that Shirkuh had killed a Christian, who
was a friend of the emir of Tekrit, so the two
brothers fled to escape the consequences. 1 When
the doctor Amin ud Dawla was killed, in 618, the
two murderers were executed as soon as caught, on
the spot where they had killed their victim. 2

If a Muslim were killed in a country inhabited by
dhimmis, they had to pay the blood money if the
murderers were not known or could not be caught. 3

Malik held that no expiation was necessary for
the accidental killing of a dhimmi\ the other three
held that it was necessary. 4

The damages to be paid for killing the unborn
child of a dhimmi mother were one-tenth of the blood
money for the mother. But if the mother were the
wife of a Muslim, the penalty was the same as for
the child of a Muslim woman. 5

APOSTASY

The lawyers are agreed that death is the penalty
for apostasy from Islam, for they appeal to the
tradition, 4 If a man changes his religion, kill him '.
Some held that the apostate was to be killed under
any circumstances; others argued that one who
had returned to Islam, and did not persist in his
apostasy, did not deserve to be put to death.
Various stories are told to point the moral. Usama
killed a man after he had pronounced the confession,
' There is no god but God ', and defended himself on
the ground that the man had spoken from fear only.

1 B.H., 330. a B.H., 449. * LA., 1, 179.

4 Mizan, 2,129. Umm,6,97.

182 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

The Prophet asked, ' Did you split open his heart ? '
Another tells that at the conquest of Tustar a
Muslim joined the unbelievers, but was captured and
killed. 'Umar said, ' You should have put him in
prison, fed him, and asked him to repent three day^f;
if he did not, you might then have killed him.'
Abu Musa kept a Jew apostate from Islam for two
months, though Mu'adh would have put him to
death on the spot. 1

The imams agree that death is the penalty ; they
differ about the time when it should be inflicted.
Abu Hanlfa says that it must follow immediately on
sentence, though some of his school allow a delay of
three days. Malik says that the apostate must be
invited to repent, and, in case of a first refusal, be
given three days' grace. Two views are current
under Ahmad's name. One agrees with Malik's
teaching ; the other is that there is no need to
invite the apostate to repent. Shafe'i holds that he
must be invited to repent, but there is no delay in
carrying out sentence if he is obdurate. If the
apostate is a woman, Abu Hanifa holds that she is
to be imprisoned and not executed ; the others hold
that she is to be treated as a man. 2

If an apostate escaped to a foreign country he was
treated as dead; his property was divided among
his heirs, his slaves set free, and his wife could
marry again. Anything taken from him after his
arrival in a foreign land was booty. 8

Shafe'i ruled that if a dhimmi changed from one
protected religion he was to be banished, for tribute

1 Kh., 109 f. * Mizan, 2, 131. * Kb., 111.

HOLY GROUND 183

is not to be taken from a man for a faith other than
that for which it was taken from him at first. 1

The opinions of the imams do not reflect the
practice of early Islam. It is said that 'Amr put
$fts problem to 'Umar. A man turned Muslim, then
apostatized, then repeated this process several
times. Was his conversion to be accepted? 'Umar
wrote, 'Accept it from him. Offer him Islam ; if he
accept, leave him alone; if not, cut off his head.' 2
Salt b. 1 'As was flogged for drunkenness by 'Umar
II, when he was governor of the Hedjaz, so he
turned Christian, and fled to Constantinople. An
ambassador, sent to arrange an exchange of prisoners,
found him there, and tried to persuade him to revert
to his original faith and return to Arabia. He refused
because he, his wife, and his children would be
jeeringly called Christians. Another part of the
story implies that he had been forced to turn Chris-
tian after his arrival in Constantinople. There is
no hint that he would have been in any danger for
his perversion. 8

A Jew turned Muslim and then reverted. 'Umar
II gave this command about him: 'Invite him to
accept Islam ; if he does, let him go. If he refuses,
fetch a plank and make him lie on it, then invite
him ; if he still refuses, tie him to it, put a spear at
his heart, and then ask him. If he returns to Islam,
let him go ; if he refuses, then kill him/ 4

Frightened at the threats of Mamun, some of the
pagans of Harran turned Muslim, but after the
caliph's death many of them reverted. 5

1 Urnm, 4, 105. Hakam, 168. Agh., 5, 175.
4 Kh,, 112. Fih., 320.

184 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

About the year 375, complaint was made to
Muhammad b. Nu'man that a Christian, more than
eighty years old, had turned Muslim and then aposta-
tized. He was called on to repent but refused, so
his case was sent to the caliph al 'Aziz. He handsel
him over to the chief of the police, and required the
kadi to send four witnesses to ask him to repent.
He was promised one hundred dinars if he repented,
and if obstinate he was to be put to death. As he
refused he was executed, and his body was thrown
into the Nile. 1

During the persecution under al Hakim, in Egypt,
many dhimmis embraced Islam. Then the caliph
changed his policy. It is even said that he was
sorry for what he had done, and he gave orders that
those who had apostatized might return to their
former faith. One version is that some Jews and
Christians came to him and said that they preferred
their old faiths ; he replied, ' Do what seems good
to you.' His successor, az Zahir, allowed those who
had been forced to embrace Islam under al Hakim
to return to their old religions, and many did so in
418. 2

It is said that during the persecution of 'Abd ul
Mumin, Maimonides was forced to pretend to be a
Muslim. As soon as he could he escaped from Spain
and went to Egypt, where he settled among the Jews
in Old Cairo. The kadi, 'Abd ur Rahlm b. 'Ali al
Baisani, befriended him. A man who had known him
in Spain came to Egypt and tried to injure him for
his reversion to Jewry, but the kadi protected him.

1 K., 593. B.H., 205 ; A.M., II, 2, 69 ; M., 1, 355.

HOLY GROUND 185

A kindly tolerance was expressed in the words, 'A
forced convert is not a true Muslim.' 1

SOLDIERS

% '*In early days, the rule in the covenant of 'Umar
forbidding dhimmis to bear arms was unknown.
The Christian poet, Abu Zubaid, fought at the battle
of the bridge on the Muslim side. The historian
says that he had gone to Hlra on private business,
and implies that, finding himself in the neighbour-
hood of a fight, he naturally joined in. 2

John of Nikiou says that 'Amr compelled the
inhabitants of Egypt to fight against the Pentapolis. 8
A Christian Arab was in the army of Walid b.
'Ukba when he raided Asia Minor. 4 In the treaty
which Suraka made in 22 with Armenia, it was
stipulated that they might join the Muslim army
instead of paying tribute, and the wording suggests
that it was expected that they would prefer military
service. 5 The Jarajima of Syria fought in the
Muslim ranks. 6 Marwan b. Hakam enrolled two
hundred men of Aila, who were probably Christians,
as police to keep order in Medina. 7 In the papyri
several soldiers with Greek or Coptic names are
mentioned ; as all the Muslims in these documents
bear Arabic names it may be presumed that these
men were Christians. 8 The Christian tribe of
Taghlib carried arms and carried on a war with
their neighbours, in which al Akhtal narrowly
escaped death. 9 While Hafs was governor of Egypt,

1 B.H. Mu. v 417. * B., 252. * J.N., 376.

* Agh., 4, 183. T.I. 2665. B., 159.

Agh., 4, 155. 8 B.M., 4, 1448, 1449. Agh., 20, 126 f.

186 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

many of the natives were enrolled and became
soldiers. 1 The passage is not quite free from
ambiguity, but probably all these men had first
turned Muslim. 'Umar II assumed that dhimmis
would be present in most armies. 2 In 365, Abifl
'Ala 'Ubaidulla b. Fadl, a Christian, was commander
under 'Adud ud Dawla. 3 Two thousand warrior
Jews lived in Tadmur, and fought against the
Christians and Arabs who were subjects of Nur ud
Din, but helped their Muslim neighbours. 4

Even monks must have had arms of some sort,
for monasteries were able to defend themselves
when attacked. 5

It is evident that very little attention was paid to
this clause of the covenant.

WITNESSES

The testimony of a dhimmi to what concerned a
Muslim was not accepted. 6 It is reported that
'Umar II was the first to impose this disability. 7

Some authorities were very strict. They imagined
an extreme case that of a Muslim who fell danger-
ously ill on a journey, and wished to make his will
when there were no Muslims at hand to act as wit-
nesses. According to one book, Abu Hanlfa, Malik,
and Shafe'i refused to accept a dkimmi as witness
even in such circumstances. 8 According to another,
the witness of a dhimmi was then accepted, though
Ahmad b. Hanbal added that he must swear that
he has not been unfaithful, has not concealed,

1 S., 164. > Ibn Sa'd, 5, 262. Ed., 2, 392. * Benj., 45.

8 B.H., 516. fl Mud., 4, 81. T Lang., 253. " Rahmat, 2,188.

HOLY GROUND 187

changed or altered anything, and that it is the man's
will. 1 The systems of the lawyers were stricter than
common usage, for the Lisan ul ''Arab, in the article
on the word witness, says that the testimony of a
dMmmi to the concerns of a Muslim is accepted if
he is on a journey or in case of necessity. 2 Opinions
were divided whether the witness of one dhimmi
against another could be accepted. Abu Hanifa
accepted it, Malik and Shafe'i did not; both views are
attributed to Ahmad. 3 Here again system was stricter
than usage ; for if a dhimmi had wine to be taxed,
its value had to be assessed by two other dhimmis*
Malik gives the forms to be observed by a
dhimmi in taking an oath. It had to be taken in a
place of worship, whether synagogue, church or fire
temple. A Christian had to swear by God, not by
* God who revealed the Gospel to Jesus '. Similarly
a Jew swore by God, and not by ' God who revealed
the Law '. A certain Ka'b b. Sawar swore by God,
and put the Gospel on his head, in the sanctuary. 5

MARRIAGE

The books of canon law have a lot to say about
the relations between Muslims and d/timmis. While
it is certain that the rulings of the lawyers were not
always respected, there can be no doubt that the
pressure of legal opinion did help to mould popular
feeling, and so influenced the position of the dhimmi.

A Muslim woman could marry none but a Mus-
lim. This law seems never to have been broken. A

1 Mizan, 2, 177. * L.A., 4, 225.

8 Rahmat, 2, 188 ; Mud., 4, 81 ; Mizan, 2, 176.

< Kh., 79, 8 Mud., 4, 104.

188 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Muslim man might not marry a pervert from re-
ligion from whose tongue had gone forth words of
unbelief, a Magian, an idolater, a Zindik, or one who
was converted to a religion of the book after the
coming of the Prophet and was not by birth a Je^. 1

If the wife of a d/iimmi turned Muslim and was
pregnant at the time, she was given alimony till the
child was born and was paid while suckling it. If
one of the parents turned Muslim, minor children
were counted Muslims. Shafe'i disapproved of the
suggestion that children born outside Islam remain
outside till they adopt it of their own accord. If
the wife of a dhimmi turned Muslim after the
consummation of marriage, she took the whole of
the bride price ; if before the consummation, the
husband took half. A Christian woman married to
a Muslim has to observe some of the Muslim laws
on ablution ; otherwise she robs her husband of his
rights. 2

If a Muslim sends away his Christian wife with a
triple divorce, and she marries a Christian, who
divorces her, the Muslim can marry her again when
her time is up. 3 If the concubine of a Christian turns
Muslim, there can be no intercourse between them,
and at his death she becomes free. 4 If the wife of a
Christian turns Muslim while her husband is absent
on a long journey, she may either wait for his
return in case he also should have turned
Muslim or she may marry again. 8

The lawyers held that none but a Muslim could
be perfectly moral. Hence unchastity was a lesser

1 Ihya, 2, 25. a Umm, 4, 183. Umm, 4, 186.

4 Umm, 4, 189. 6 Mud., 4, 236.

HOLY GROUND 189

sin in a dhimmi than in a Muslim. So, if a Muslim
committed fornication or adultery with a dhimmi
woman he was beaten, but the woman was handed
over to the people of her own religion to do what
thty liked with her. Any other procedure would
have been interference with their privileges. 1 If a
Christian man committed either of these offences
they were not thought so heinous, because the
offender did not receive the full legal punishment
in stripes. 2 What actually happened was not in
accord with the rules. The Prophet is reported to
have had two Jews stoned for adultery, presumbly
with Jewesses. 3 Here Jewish law was simply
carried out. In 617 Abu 'Ali, the son of Ibn abi 1
Baka, a Christian, was seized by the police with a
Muslim woman, named Sitt Sharaf, in his company.
He confessed that many Muslim women had come
to him for his wealth's sake, among them Ishtiyak,
the wife of Ibn ul Bukhari, the keeper of the store
house. The women were put in prison, and Abu
*Ali was fined six thousand dinars. 4 In 820, in
Egypt, a Christian committed adultery with a
Muslim woman, and both confessed to their sin.
They were stoned outside the gate Sha'ria ; the
woman was then buried and the man burnt. 5

If a Christian makes a vow not to have anything
to do with his wife for four months, and at the end
of that time they appeal to a Muslim judge, judg-
ment is given according to Muslim law, restitution
of conjugal rights or divorce. The law recommends
him to pay compensation, but cannot enforce this.

1 Mud., 4, 400. * Mud., 4, 398. 3 Umm, 4, 186.

4 B.H. Mu., 419. 5 Husn, 2, 184.

190 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

If a Christian slanders his wife and they appeal to
a Muslim judge, he decides as for Muslims. If the
man refuses to accept the verdict, he is beaten, but
not with the full number of stripes ; for the full
number is not fixed as the punishment for slander-
ing a Christian woman. 1 If the concubine of a
dhimmi commits a crime, he can redeem her at her
full value, if the damages are equal to or greater
than that. If they are less, he can pay them or he
can give her to the party wronged. 2

Al Ghazali says that a Muslim woman ought not
to expose her person to a dhimmi woman. He
assumes that this might happen in a bath used by
both Muslims and dhimmis^ men and women. 3

TRADE

It is not necessary to repeat here what has
been said in other chapters of the existence and
wealth of dhimmi merchants. Benjamin of Tudela
is careful to name the occupations of the Jews he
met ; they were dyers, weavers of silk, makers of
Tyrian glass, and shipowners.

The lawyers did not approve of association with
such people in trade. Malik did not think it right
for a Muslim to hire a garden from a Christian on a
profit-sharing basis, though he might let one to a
Christian on these terms ; or a vineyard, so long as
no wine was made from the grapes. 4 Again he
would have allowed partnership between a Muslim
and a dhimmi only on the impossible condition that
the Muslim should be present at all transactions
carried through by his partner. 5 He ruled also

1 Umm, 4, 184. * Mud., 4, 463. 8 Ihya, 2, 235.

4 Mud., 4, 11,57. 6 Mud., 4, 38.

HOLY GROUND 191

that a Muslim might not employ a Christian slave
in trade. 1 That these lawyers' laws were only
counsels of perfection is proved by incidents like the
following: About the year 567, the Franks captured
two Egyptian ships and seized the cargoes, but,
after energetic action by Nur ud Din, restored the
goods to their owners. A merchant had some
goods on both ships in charge of two agents. When
the goods were given back each man got only a
small part of his property. Each took what belong-
ed to him and the cloth marked by his name ; but
some took what did not belong to them. One of
the two agents, a trustworthy man and a Christian,
took only what bore his name and mark, thus losing
much of his merchandise ; indeed, he saved more of
the merchant's wares than his own. When he came
back he restored his goods to the merchant, who
refused to take them and told him to keep them all,
as he was better able to bear the loss than the agent.
He also rejected a proposal to share equally. Some
time later the agent came with some cloth belonging
to the merchant. A man from Tabriz, a passenger
on the same ship, had got back his wares, and found
among them some cloth with the agent's name on it.
He had enquired after him, searched him out, and
given his cloth back to him. * Such men are few/
adds the historian. 2

Nasir i Khusrau says that in his day there was a
Christian in Egypt who, when a famine was expected,
told the vizier that he had enough corn to feed the
whole of Cairo for six years. 3

1 Mud., 4, 128. Raudatain, 1, 203. Sefernameh, 53.

192 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Some of the lawyers' views are quite favourable
to dhimmis. Thus if a Muslim and a Christian are
part owners of a house, and the Muslim wants to
sell his share, the Christian has the right of pre-
emption. 1 * '

If a slave to whom his master has promised free-
dom at his death is hurt or killed, the master takes
the damages. 2

The thought that Muslims could be the slaves of
dhimmis was not pleasant, but the lawyers did not
dare to deny the dhimmis right to buy any slaves
he chose. The purchase was legal, but Shafe'i would
compel a Christian to sell his Muslim slave to a
Muslim. In the same way, if a slave turned Muslim,
his Christian owner, or part owner, should be forced
to sell his slave or his share of him. 3 If the slave
of a Christian turns Muslim while his master is
absent on a long journey, he is to be sold. 4

A dhimmi may not bring waste land under
cultivation. 5

A Muslim may not accept from a dhimmi wine or
a pig as a pledge. 6

He may not bequeath anything to a dhimmi, but
he may accept as a bequest from one anything,
except wine or a pig or anything that makes a
Muslim liable to poll-tax. 7 It is reported that 'Abd
ul Malik ordered all pigs in the towns of Syria and
North Mesopotamia to be slaughtered. 8

If a dhimmi promises to give something to a
Muslim and then tries to back out of his promise,

1 Mud., 4, 236. 3 Mud., 4, 438. 3 Umm, 4, 188.

4 Mud., 4, 236. Umm, 4, 133. fl Mud., 4, 164.

* Mud., 4, 287. 8 S.A., 1, 296 ; C.M., 232.

HOLY GROUND 193

the Muslim can take him to law. If this happens
between two dhimmis there is no appeal to law. 1

It was not thought right for a Muslim to borrow
money from a Christian. 2 This is only an example
^)fthe general rule that a dhimmi must not have
power over a Muslim.

BANKING

Two Jews, Yusuf b. Finhas (Phinehas) and
Harun b. 'Imran, formed a firm of bankers in
Mesopotamia. At one time they farmed the taxes
of Ahwaz. 3 The vizier, Ibn ul Furat, had 700,000
dinars deposited with them. 4 He also employed
them when he wished to embezzle government
money. 5 There was a guild of Jewish bankers in
Egypt. 6 The Jewish quarter of Isfahan was a great
centre of trade. 7

WINE

History has many stories of the drinking of
wine by Muslims. It is argued that a sharp dis-
tinction was drawn between palm wine and grape
wine, the one forbidden and the other allowed ; that
khamr, the foreign product, foreign as its name, was
taboo, and nabidh, the indigenous article, was
allowed ; and that men like the caliph Harun drank
only palm wine. According to the Lisan urArab, no
argument can be based on the word used. Nabidh
might mean the non-intoxicating fresh palm juice,
but it was also used for any intoxicating liquor. It
is probable that many Muslims drank grape wine,

1 Mud., 4, 330. a Mud., 4, 11, 57. 8 Viziers, 178,

* 'Arib., 74. Viziers, 78 f . e Mez., 449. T Muk., 388.

13

194 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

and it is certain that many were, according to later
standards, very lax in their attitude towards it.

The covenant says that no dhimmi shall sell wine
to a Muslim or show it in public. The opinion of
Shafe'i is that, if a dhimmi sells wine to a Muslim',
the government has to annul the sale, confiscate the
price if it has been already paid, pour out the wine,
and punish the seller. 1 All this is unknown in the
first century.

Thus Bishr b. Marwan, among other gifts, sent
wine to al Akhtal. 2 When Sha'bi visited Kufa he was
asked to dine and drink wine with the Christian
poet, 3 who once came into the presence of 'Abd ul
Malik, his beard dripping with wine. 4 Speech was
free to an extent not possible later. Al Akhtal said
to Mutawakkil ul Laithi, * If I poured wine into you,
you would be the best of all poets.' 5 The exploits
of some topers have been recorded and the literary
world does not seem to have been shocked at them.
Thus al Ukaishir passed by a woman in Hira who
sold wine, and said to her, ' Give me good measure
and I will give you good praise.' G The same man was
compelled to join an army that went to fight the people
of Syria. He rode on a donkey as he had no horse,
and, lagging behind, came to a village where was
a tavern kept by a Nabataean. He hid there, sold
his donkey, and spent the price on drink and the
wife of the innkeeper. 7

Among the papyri is an order, dated 82, for wine
for the household of the governor. 8 This may have
been for the use of the Christian members of the

1 Umm, 4, 131. a Agh., 10, 2. Agh., 8, 81. Agh., 7, 169.
Agh., 11, 37. Agh,, 10, 86. 7 Agh., 10, 90, " B.M., 4, 1375.

HOLY GROUND 195

household. Boiled wine occurs regularly in the
tax lists and requisition forms ; it is probably the
vinegar of the Arabic texts.

'Umar II forbade the use of wine, and gave orders
to'break the wine jars and shut the taverns. 1 The
prohibition had very little effect. Even caliphs
were not too pious to provide wine for those who
wanted it. Mansur thought that Jurjis b. Bukhtishu'
was not looking well, so had some special wine
fetched for him. Once when Yuhanna b. Masaweih
was drinking with al Wathik, he was given bad wine
because he had failed to tip the cup-bearer. He told
the caliph that it was his business to know the taste
of things, but he had never tasted anything like that
wine. He contrived to get three hundred thousand
dirhams out of the caliph as compensation. 2

The papyri show that Muslims took part in the
wine trade, both directly and indirectly. In one a
certain Yazld reports the purchase and carriage to
Fustat of a quantity of wine, and the payment of
duty on it. 3 One Ahmad b. 'Umar b. Sarf received
half a dinar from Stephanus, being six months' rent
of a tavern. 4 In the third century the 'taxes of
enjoyment ', in other words, taxes on wine, in Nisibis
produced five thousand dinars yearly. 5 In the next
century there were heavy taxes on taverns in Shiraz. 6
In Kara], the trade in wine produced four hundred
thousand dirhams for the revenue. 7

The accounts of the festivals in Egypt show how
important the wine trade was. Al Hakim forbade
the sale of intoxicants. 8 Baibars made several

1 K.,68, a Tabak., 1, 175. s Rainer, 161. 4 Rainer, 630.
8 I.H., 142. ' Muk., 429. T Yak.B., 273. 8 M., 2, 287.

196 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

attempts to stop the trade. In 663 he forbade the
sale and brewing of beer in Egypt. 1 In 666 he
poured away the wine in Cairo. And again i n 669
he poured away the wine and stopped the mono-
poly which had brought into the treasury a thousand
dinars yearly. 2

1 Q., 2, 5. a M., 1, 106.

CHAPTER XIII
TAXATION

IN legal terminology, kharaj means land tax and
jizya poll-tax. It has been proved conclusively, and
here it is only needful to mention the fact, that this
usage is not primitive, and that both words, kharaj
in the east and jizya in Egypt, meant tribute. The
commonly accepted tradition is that 'Umar I
imposed two taxes, land and poll, which were uniform
throughout the empire.

Information about taxation is found in the papyri,
historical works, law books, and those written for
the instruction of secretaries.

THE PAPYRI

Among the papyri discovered in Egypt are many
dealing with taxation, for the most part between the
years 80 and 100. There are lists of payments
by individuals, tax rolls, notifications of taxes due,
requisitions, and details of sums paid by persons
and institutions. Many of these papers are fragment-
ary, fail us when we most want their aid, and take
for granted what we most want to know. Still some
things are clear. There were several taxes. The
land paid both money and corn, though it is not
clear whether these were two separate taxes or parts
of one ; the tetartia paid in money ; requisitions
which seem to have been paid usually in money ;
special requisitions of milk and honey ; and the
poll-tax. No Muslim is recorded as paying taxes.

198 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

This might be chance but, considering the testimony
of Muslim historians, it is certain that they did
not pay.

?* : ; POLL-TAX

)-

There is no record of a woman paying poll-tSx,
which agrees with the statements of the historians
and lawyers. Not all men paid it. Some priests
paid, but others did not (1420; 38 f., 47, 49, 77). 1
Sons and children (presumably grown up) paid
while other children (presumably minors) did not
(1420 ; 39, 45, 87). There is no evidence that monks
paid. The rate of assessment varied, it was 3 dinars
(1427, 5; 1428, 6), 2\ (1428, 5), and 4 (1428, 11).
Easement was given by assessing a man as a frac-
tion of a person, so 9 men are counted as 8j
(1427, 5). In A.M. 195 a baker paid \ dinar (670).
A few totals will show the amounts actually paid.
95 men pay 230 dinars. 7 men pay 20 dinars.

^ *0 ^ ^

' >, > 17 1<- >> ^5g ,,

15 38J 44 ,,1088

, , (1420 ; 3, 146 f.)

LAND TAX

The land paid both cash and corn ; for con-
venience we may call the latter payment the corn
tax. Landholders, including women, paid this tax,
and some who had no land even paid the corn tax.
Tradesmen paid a special tax, apparently in place of
the land tax. Corn land and vineyards were registered
separately, and probably at different rates (1339).
The palms and acacias were counted (577).

1 In the references to papyri, numbers below 1,000 refer to Rainer,
those above to B.M.

TAXATION 199

The rate of the land tax varied ; often it was 1
dinar on 4 aroura, though it might be as low as or
as high as 1 . In one case 3*4 aroura of irrigated
land, and 5'1 of unirrigated, each paid 1 dinar (1428).

Some leases of crown lands of a later date may
serve for comparison. (The last three were certainly
granted to Muslims.)

Forty feddan,zk a rent of 30 dinars, for 10 feddan
were without water and not taxable. A.H. 176 (621).

Fifty feddan, at a rent of 50 dinars, and payment in
kind. 'A.H. 177 or 178 (625).

One dinar, 10 ardebb of wheat, and 3j ardebb of
barley for the feddan. No date. (626.)

One dinar and 15 ardebb of wheat the feddan for
wheat land, and 1 dinar, \ ardebb of wheat, and \
ardebb of barley for land under barley. A.H. 180 (638).

At the end of the first century most of the hold-
ings seem to have been small ; the biggest sum paid
by an individual was 7 dinars. The following prices
and wages will be useful for estimating the real value
of money. In A.H. 80, twenty ardebb of wheat cost 1
dinar, and in A.H. 88, twelve cost 1 dinar, while later,
10 ardebb of wheat, or 20 of barley, cost 1 dinar
(587, 1433, 1434). In A.H. 92, one sheep cost | dinar
(1375).

A shipbuilder for wages and expenses got 2 dinars a month.
A caulker 1J (1410)
A carpenter f (1336)
A sawyer got 11 dinars yearly, a labourer 16, and a carpen-
ter 23 (1341, 1366).

In A.H. 88 the corn tax was roughly 1 ardebb for
every dinar of the land tax (1420), but in 96 (?) it
was 2 ardebb to the dinar (1424).

200 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

In 98 and the five following years the land tax of
Aphrodite (Ashkuh) remained constant at 6951
dinars, 15 carats, i.e. if. It was not always so.
In 80, Psurou (Baslru) paid 70 dinars 21 c., and in
91 it paid 104 (1412 and Der Islam 2, 267).
The following list shows how payments varied :

A.H. 80-85 A.H. 91

Pakaunis . . . . 371 din. 498 din.

Empheuteuon . . . . 390 131J

Bounon . . . . 40 47J

Keranios . . . . 50 25J

Poimen . . 102 ,, 30

Monastery of Mary . . 114 ,, 98 ,,

Monastery of Pharos . . Ill ,, 5J ,,

Monastery of Mary . . 48 ,, 47J

3 Pediades . . . . 436 J 400

2 Pediades . . 233 253J

5 Pediades . . . . 421 461i

Monastery of Barbaros . . 110 ,, 10 ,,

(1412-1419. P.S.R. Appendix)

A.H. 88 A.H. 97

Desert Monastery of Mary 30J din. 114 din.

Abba Ermaotos .. 28 J 189 J

It is clear from these figures that some of the
monasteries were rich; the desert monastery of
Mary had eight estates in A.H. 98, -and that of
Barbaros had ten (1419).

The central government notified a district how
much it had to pay, and local officials distributed the
sum among the taxpayers. A typical notice is, ' From
Kurra b. Shuraik to the people of Psurou. Your
share of the tribute for the year 88 is 104 dinars,
and of the corn tax ll ardebb wheat. Written by
Rashid, Safar'91.' It seems that the lunar year 91
was the solar year 88. 1

1 Caetani, Vol. IV, pi. v.

TAXATION 201

TETARTIA

This was about one per cent of the land tax.

It is noteworthy that 609 has a list of three money
taxes, and a Syriac historian speaks of taxes, tribute
and poll-tax. 1

REQUISITIONS

fall into two classes : those ' included in the
schedule ' and * those not included '. The ' includ-
ed ' requisitions bear no fixed proportion to the
land tax ; but vary from one-half in the case of
Sakoore to one-ninety-second in the case of Pakaunis.
The * not included* vary even more (1413). The
requisitions for milk and honey were not levied on
the smaller sub-divisions. Indeed, the smaller places
seem to have been burdened only with the bigger,
more general, requisitions. The following table
shows the requisitions on three monasteries :

T* i *, r* *_ Abba

Holy Mary Barbaros ~

J Ermaotos

Allowance for the Commander of

the Faithful . .

Goods for the boats . . tf $

Cloth for a hair tent . . . . T \ T \ ? T 5 *

Fine .. .. .. 33 T V

Half sailor for the fleet, expenses,

and 2 measures of boiled wine

for the Muhajimn . . J

Two measures of boiled wine for

the Muhajirun of the fleet J

Carriage of goods for the boats at

Klysma . . . . J J

Pile for embankment . . J

Expenses of governor. . $ J

1 C.M.,335.

202 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Holy Mary Barbaros _

3 Ermaotos

Care of embankment . . J ?

Goods for Klysma . . . . j i

Sailor for Anatolian fleet, and

expenses . . . . . . , \

Forty workmen for the mosque

at Damascus . . . . J

Care of embankment, baskets 50 20 ?

Money total. dinars 36f \ 2\ 31

(A.H. 88, 1433)

Contributions are often mentioned. It is not
certain if these were the same as the requisitions or
not. From the Rainer collection come the following :
' 20 ardebb of barley (551), 3,164 ardebb of wheat (A.H.
21, 553), 3 meals for men (555), 342 ardebb of wheat
and 171 measures of oil for 342 soldiers and 12
armourers' (?) (557). This last reminds one curiously
of Omar's method of finding out how much was
wanted by the soldiers as rations. Then 65 sheep
(558) and 99 horses (564) are called for. In A.H. 91
is a demand for 70 camisia at \ dinar each, for ' the
subsidy of the Commander of the Faithful ' (1362).
Divers articles of food are wanted by the governor
' for the maintenance of us, and the officials who are
with us, both Arabs and Christians, and of various
persons . . . ' (1375). Many sailors were wanted
for the fleets, and the taxpayers had to provide
their wages ; hence the frequent occurrence in the
accounts of half a sailor or some other fraction, the
district having to provide that part of his wages.
Labourers had to be supplied for work in Jerusalem
and Damascus, and their wages paid.

At this time many of the Egyptian peasants fled
from their holdings. It is safe to assume that one

TAXATION 203

reason for their doing so was the burden of taxation.
It is obvious that there are serious discrepancies
between the account given by the lawyers and that
of the papyri. The latter prove the existence of
taxes which are not even hinted at by the legal
system.

THE HISTORIANS

The terms given to the various places conquered
were not on a model imposed from Medina, but
depended on local conditions and the temper of the
victor. For the sake of completeness, terms imposed
by the Prophet, whether historical or legendary, are
included in the following list of treaties.

The Prophet wrote to Bahrain, ' Whoso prays
facing in the same direction as we do, and eats what
we kill, is a Muslim with the same privileges and
duties as we have. Whoso does not do this must
pay one dinar in Ma'afiri cloaks.' 1

Some of the people of Bahrain made peace,
promising to pay half their dates and corn. 2

Every adult male in Bahrain paid one dinar, 3 in
Yemen one dinar or its value in cloth. In Yemen
both men and women paid a dinar. 4

A male dhimmi in Yemen paid one dinar. A
governor tried to take one-fifth of the crops, but was
not allowed to. A Christian living in Mecca paid
one dinar a year. 5

The terms with Nejran were : (1) the payment of
2,000 cloaks of the average value of 40 dirhams
weight of silver; any deficiency could be made
good in horses, camels, arms, or provisions ; (2) the
entertaining of the Prophet's messengers for a

1 Kh M 75. B., 80. B., 81. B., 71. Umm, 4, 101.

204 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

month ; (3) the supply of 30 horses, 30 camels, and
30 coats of mail in the event of war in Yemen ; these
were to be made good by the Prophet if destroyed.
The tribute of cloaks was diminished by 'Uthman,
and by subsequent caliphs, as the numbers of 1?he
Nejranis decreased. 1

On his return to Medina from Tebuk, the Prophet
imposed a tax on the dhimmi in Medina, Mecca,
Khaibar, Yemen, and Nejran, 1 dinar or there-
abouts on the men, and nothing on the women and
children. 2

He levied 1 dinar a head on Tebuk and Aila. 3

In the reign of Abu Bakr almost the first place
outside Arabia to be conquered was Bosra ; there
every adult male had to pay 1 dinar and 1 jarlb of
wheat. 4 The same terms were given to Antioch
later. 5

Banikia paid 1,000 dinars and a tailasan?

In the reign of ( Umar conquests became rapid.
Many traditions refer to Syria, but it is impossible
to know whether they mean Damascus or Syria as
a whole.

At first every one paid 1 dinar and 1 jarlb, but
later 'Umar changed this.

Khalid imposed on Damascus 1 dinar, 1 jarib, and
oil and vinegar. 7 Abu 'Ubaida imposed a fixed
tribute, not to be increased if they multiplied, not
to be diminished if they became fewer. 8 Two dinars
a head and food. Some were taxed according to their
ability to pay ; if their wealth increased so did the
tax, if it diminished the additional tax was dropped. 9

1 B., 64. 8 Suli, 214. 8 B., 59. 4 B., 113. 8 B., 147.
B., 244. * B., 124. I.A., 1, 178. LA., 1, 150.

TAXATION 205

On adult males 4 dinars, 2 mudd wheat, 3 kist
oil, and the duty of entertaining Muslim travellers
for three days. 1 Another version makes the wheat
and oil a monthly payment, adds to these ghee and
honey, and omits the entertainment. 2

In Rakka every man paid 1 dinar, several kaj Iz
of wheat, vinegar, oil, and honey. 3

In Edessa every man paid 1 dinar and 2 mttdd of
wheat. 4

In al Jazira North Mesopotamia tribute was at
first paid in kind, food, oil, and vinegar. Then
'Umar reduced this, and introduced the graduated
poll-tax, with 2 mudd of wheat and 2 kist each of oil
and vinegar. 5 Another version is 1 dinar, 2 mudd
of wheat, and 2 kist each of oil and vinegar, and that
*Abd ul Malik raised it to 4 dinars without grading. 6

Barlisma and az Zawabi agreed to pay 4 dirhams
a head. Barusma broke faith and was sacked. 7 This
resembles the story that Constantine, the patrician
of Syria, told 'Umar that the terms imposed by Abu
'Ubaida were 4 dirhams and a cloak a head. He
afterwards confessed that this was his own invention. 8
It also resembles the treaty made by c lshoyahbh,
whereby the rich paid 12 dirhams, and the poor,
except priests, paid 4. 9 It is curious that the figure
4 occurs later. Tamlmabu Harrab rebelled against
Mu'tasim in Palestine, and was followed by 30,000
of the hungry and naked. According to Michael the
Syrian, who calls him Thamam, he declared that
Christians should pay only a tax of 4 dirhams. 10

1 B., 152. * B M 125. a B., 173. 4 B., 174. ' B., 178.
6 Kh., 23. T B., 251. a Ghazi, 389. B.H., Eccl., 3, 115 f.
10 Lang., 275 ; cf. B.H., 152.

206 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

There is a story, that is almost unbelievable, but
yet is too curious to have been invented. The tribe
of Bajila formed a quarter of the army which fought
at Kadisia, so 'Umar promised them a quarter of
the Sawad South Mesopotamia. Finally he per-
suaded their chief, Jarlr b. 'Abdulla, to surrender
his claims according to one story, after he had
enjoyed them for three years for 80 or, in another
version, 400 dinars. A woman refused to give up
her share till 'Umar gave her a pure bred camel,
with a red saddle cloth, and filled her hands with
gold. Another version is that, after the battle of
J alula, Jarlr gave up his rights at the caliph's request
Yet another says that every man of the tribe
received a pension of 2,000.*

Other places paid lump sums. Hlra paid 80,000
or 100,000 dirhams yearly. 2 Yahya says, * Terms
were made with the men of Hlra to pay a sum
which they distributed among themselves ; there
was no fixed amount on the individual.' 3

Anbar paid 400,000 dirhams and 1,000 cloaks. 4

Edessa and Harran paid fixed sums. 5 Hims paid
170,000 dinars according to one story, but Tabari
says that some of the inhabitants paid 1 dinar and
food. 6

The Samaritans at first paid poll-tax. Yazld b.
Mu'awiamade them pay land tax, and put a poll-tax
of 2 dinars on those in the Jordan province and 5 on
those in Palestine. Some of them appealed tc
Mutawakkil, and he cut it down from 5 to 3. 7

When Tiflis was captured, in the reign oi

1 B., 267 f. ; Umm, 4, 192. B., 243. 3 Yahya, 36. * B., 246.
* Kh., 23. B., 130 ; T.I., 2391 ; Azdi, 128. B., 158.

TAXATION 207

'Uthman, each family agreed to pay 1 dinar, both
sides promising to play fair in counting families. 1

In the treaty made by Suraka, in 22, with the
people of Armenia and the Gates, it was arranged
th^t they should join the Muslim armies, and
military service take the place of tribute. Those
who did not join the army had to pay the same
tribute as the people of Adherbaijan. 2

In al Jazlra the villagers were treated exactly as
the townspeople, except that they had to supply
rations to the Muslims. 3

Egypt. The traditions are many. Two dinars
on every male. 4 Two dinars a head and food for
the Muslims. 5 Two dinars and food. The food was
later compounded for at the rate of 2 dinars, making
a tax of 4. 6 Two dinars on every adult male and
on 1 jarib, 1 dinar, and 3 ardcbb of food. 7 Two
dinars on every male except the poor, and on every
landowner 3 ardcbb of wheat, and 2 kist each of oil,
honey, and vinegar. All had to provide clothing
for the army, shoes, trousers, turbans, coats, and
cloaks. 8 As Suli gives the same tribute without the
clothing. 9

The graded money tax, 12 ardcbb of wheat yearly
and three days' entertainment of Muslims. 10

It is said that 'Amr imposed a tax of 26 dirhams
on all, and on the rich 2 dinars and 3 ardebb of
wheat. 11 This is intelligible if the second tax was in
addition to the first, when the rich would have paid
about twice as much as the poor.

1 B., 201. * T.I.,2665. Kh. f 23. 4 M., 1,76. " M., 1, 294.
B., 216. ' B. 215, 6 B., 214. Suli, 217.

10 B., 125; M., 1,76. A.S., 75.

208 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

It is definitely stated that the Copts paid to the
Muslims the same tribute they had paid to the
Byzantines. 1

The general impression gained from these tradi-
tions is that the larger part of the tribute was derived
from a poll-tax. The papyri show that the poll-tax
was a smaller item than the land tax.

It was held that if a town had capitulated, the

terms of the capitulation were binding on the

Muslims, whereas they were free to do as they liked

with one that had been captured by force of arms.

There was much discussion whether Egypt had

capitulated or not. The discussion was purely

academic, though traditions were quoted on both

sides. Mu'awia tried to add to the tribute of Egypt,

but the attempt was foiled by the refusal of Wardan,

a freedman of 'Amr's. 2 On the other side this tale

is told. The headman of Ikhna came to 'Amr and

said, * Tell us what tribute each one has to pay and

we will pay it.' 'Amr pointed to a corner of the

church, and said, ' If you gave me that, filled with

money from the floor to the roof, I would not tell you

what you have to pay. You are our treasury. If we

need much, you will pay much, if our burdens are

small, so will yours be.' 8 Not all accounts of ' Amr are

flattering. A Christian says that he was of savage

extraction, treated the Egyptians without pity, and

did not keep the treaties he had made. 4 He is said

to have left 70 skins of dinars, each weighing 2

Egyptian ardebb. His sons refused to take this

money until those to whom any of it might belong

1 M., 1,76. 'B.,217. * M M 1,77, 168. 4 J.N.,377.

TAXATION 209

had received their due share. Mu'awia took it. 1 In
this same period 'Umar fined several of his gover-
nors for enriching themselves at the expense of the
provincials ; they were Sa'd b. abl Wakkas of Kiifa,
'Atnrof Egypt, Abu Hurairaof Bahrain, Nu'man b.
'Adi of Maisan, Nafi' b. 'Amr of Mecca, and Ya'la b.
Munya of Yemen. 2

At a later date a caliph is made to testify to the
sufferings of the dhimmis. A Muslim said to 'Umar
II, ' Commander of the Faithful, why are prices high
in your reign when they were low in those preced-
ing?' He replied, 'Those before me burdened the
dhimmis above their strength, so that they were
obliged to sell their goods at a loss. I lay on them
a burden they can bear, so that they can sell when
they please. 5 The man said, * I wish you would fix
prices for us/ The caliph answered, * This is not
our business; God fixes prices/ 3 But the order
attributed to him, * Leave to those on the Euphrates,
who pay tribute enough to let them have gold seals,
to wear the tailasan, and to ride on hackneys. Take
what is left over ', 4 gives a less favourable view of
his rule.

There can be no doubt that the tribute of Egypt
and probably of other provinces was increased.
'Abdulla b. abl Sarh extracted a bigger revenue
than did 'Amr, though the figures twelve and four-
teen millions are exaggerated, and 'Amr's defence
before the caliph is famous. Other increases are
mentioned. While 'Abd ul 'Aziz was governor, a
census of the monks was taken and they were made

1 M., 1, 301. ' Yak., 2, 181 ; B., 82, 384. Kb., 76.

Uyun,l, 53.

14:

210 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

to pay 1 dinar each. 1 Severus says, * This was the
first jizya? It is not clear whether he means the
first poll-tax or the first tribute paid by monks.

As Suli has an account that deserves to be
quoted in full. ' These terms were given them ;
their wives, children, estates, and houses were not
to be sold, their treasures not confiscated, and no
addition made to their tribute. This continued till
'Abdulla b. Sa'd b. abl Sarh became governor ; he
raised two million of revenue till the reign of 'Abd
ul Malik, who made his brother 'Abd ul 'Aziz
governor of Egypt. He made a survey of the estates
which were many and gave fiefs to some soldiers.
This added to the burden on the payers of poll-tax,
who were asked to pay a million dinars. They went
to 'Abd ul Malik and complained. When they came
back 'Abd ul 'Aziz added to their tribute/ 2

The tribute was increased by two-thirds ; no date
is given. 3

Kurra b. Shuraik added 100,000 dinars to the
tribute. 4

Usama made each monk pay 1 dinar.

'Umar II freed the estates of the church and the
bishops from kharaj, but Yazld restored these taxes. 5

In the reign of Hisham the tribute was doubled. 6

Ibn ul Habhab increased the tribute by one-eighth
or one-twenty-fourth. 7

Abu 1 Kasim doubled the tribute. 8

In 167 Musa b. Mus'ab doubled what was taken
from each feddan, and laid taxes on those who had
stalls in the markets and on animals. This was

1 M., 2, 492 ; S., 134. ' Suli, 217. S., 136. 4 S., 140. 8 S., 143.
S., 145. T S., ISO ; K. 73 ; M., 2, 492. S., 155, 163. K., 125.

TAXATION 211

evidently part of the policy of the caliph Harun, who
added to the tribute of the Christians so that many
emigrated and fled from their estates, leaving them
,in the hands of the Arabs. 1

Another increase was made in 213. 2

The phrase, ' doubled the tribute ', is so common
that clearly it is not to be taken literally. Even
if Christian evidence is suspect, there is enough
Muslim testimony to prove that the tribute of Egypt
was made heavier.

METHODS OF ASSESSMENT
The mode of assessment, outlined in the demand
notes of the governor preserved among the papyri,
is described by Makrlzi, following Ibn 'Abd ul
Hakam. This account takes the original assessment
for granted, and treats of increases only. The
method is the same. ' 'Amr, when he was sure of the
tribute (or, had received assurances from the
officials), fixed for the Copts the tribute paid before
to the Greeks. That had been allotted justly. If a
village had been cultivated and populous, the
tribute had been increased ; if the people were few
and the land neglected, it was diminished. Those
who knew the villages, the officials, and the heads of
the people came together and examined the state
of cultivation ; then, if they decided on an increase,
they allotted this between the districts. They met
the village headmen, and divided it according to the
capacity of the villages and the extent of their fields.
Then each one took its share (of the increase), and
combined it with the tribute and the cultivated

1 S.A., 2, 3. a K., 185.

212 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

area. They began by subtracting two feddans from
the total area for their churches, carts, and boats;
then they subtracted enough to meet the entertain-
ment of Muslims and visits of the ruler. Next they
estimated the number of workmen and hireling^' in
each village, and gave them shares according to
their ability. If there were any fugitives (from
other places) they were given shares equal to their
ability. A share was seldom given except to young
or married men. Then they took what was left of
the tribute, and divided it among themselves in
proportion to the size of their holdings. Then a
re-arrangement was made for those who were ready
to cultivate according to their capacity. If a man
could not cultivate his land and pleaded inability,
they gave what he could not work to those who
could; and he who was ready to do more than
his share supplied the deficiences of the weak. If
they acted stingily towards each other, division was
made according to their preparedness. The basis of
the division was the twenty-four kirats in the dinar.

' Each feddan paid \ ardebb of wheat and 2 waiba,
that is 12 mudd, of barley. Clover (or, mimosa leaves
for tanning) was not taxed. 'Umar took from
tributaries the appointed sum, neither more nor less.
He considered the case of those who surrendered on
condition of paying tribute though no sum had been
fixed ; if needful, he fixed it low, but if they were
rich he made it higher/ 1

It is well to emphasize certain points in this des-
cription. The agreement with the papyri has already
been noted. Land is held by the commune rather

1 M., 1,77.

TAXATION 213

than by individuals. Fugitives, who have tried to
escape the burden of taxation, do not succeed in
doing so entirely. Certain fields are set apart to
meet the cost of public works, but this does not
m^n any lightening of the burden of tribute, for it
presses more heavily on the remaining land. The
entertainment of Muslims is a communal matter, not
a private one, as is suggested by most references to
this duty. In its emphasis on the fairness and the
good temper of the proceedings, it reads like a
rescript from the governor.

LAND TAX

Men who pay tribute are of three sorts: landowners,
who pay out of the produce of the land, craftsmen,
who pay out of their earnings, and merchants, who
deal in money and pay out of their profits ; as
payers of tribute they are all in the same class. 1
This statement by 'Umar II agrees with the papyri,
which show that tradesmen paid a special tax in
place of the land tax.

Most detailed accounts of the land tax refer to
Mesopotamia. A selection of them follows. The
unit of measurement is always the jarlb, a square of
60 cubits side, the area sown by a jarib, a measure
of capacity.

One dirham and 1 kafiz. ' He left them the palms
for their own use/ 2

Vineyards 10 dir. 3 Vineyards 10 dir. 4

Palms 5 (10 B.) Vegetables 6

Sugarcane 6 Sesame 5

Wheat 4 ,, Summer greens 3 ,,

Barley 2 Cotton 5

* Umar,99. B., 269 ; Suli, 218. 8 B., 269 ; Suli, 218. 4 Suli, 218.

214 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Peas, vineyards, sesame, vegetables, 8 dir.

Palms were not taxed.

Vineyards and vegetables, 10 dir. Wheat, 2 dir., 2 jarlb?

Cotton 5 dir. Barley 1 dir., 1 jarib.

One palm (farisi) I Bad land

One palm (dikla) %

Rough wheat l din. and 1 sa.

Medium wheat 1 ,,

Fine wheat {f ,,

Barley paid about half these rates and vegetables,
etc., were free. Gardens(palms,fruit trees, vineyards),
10 dirhams. 2

These lists all agree with the statement that the
tribute of Mesopotamia was fixed by * measurement '
(masahd).

The figures are very different from those given
by Ibn Hawkal for Persia, where the tribute was also
by * measurement '. Taxes were heaviest in Shiraz.
His figures are for the big jarib, 3 of the small jarib.

Wheat and barley (watered by streams) . . 170 dir.

Trees (watered by streams) . . . . 192

Vegetables (watered by streams) . . 237

Vineyards (watered by streams) . . 1,425

In Kuvar taxes were two-thirds of the above.
There had been no tax on vines and fruit trees in
the plains till 302, when 'AH b. 'Isa b. ul Jarrah
imposed the land tax. 3

Ibn Hawkal also says that in Egypt Jawhar, the
minister of Al Mu'izz, made the rate 7 dinars on the
feddan ; before it had been 3j. 4

In part of Upper Egypt, the corn tax had been at
the time of the Fatimids 3 ardebb on the feddan, in
572 it was 2j,and later 2. 5

1 B., 270. * B., 271. I.H., 216. 4 I.H., 108. M,, 1, 101,

TAXATION 215

Kalkashandi says that in Upper Egypt the fedddn
of wheat paid 2 or 3 ardebb, and 1, 2, or 3 dirhams
with every ardebb. Sometimes money only was
paid. In the Delta money only was paid till 570;
thfe best land paid 40 dirhams and second quality 30.
Later the tax was raised to 100 dirhams and 80. In
810 a fedddn of the best land paid 400 or even 600
dirhams. Other land paid in proportion. 1

Some comment is necessary. The kaj Iz was either
\ or try of the jarlb. Now a crop may be anything
from thirteen to twenty-five times the amount of seed
sown. So the tax in kind, if it were one kafiz, would
be, at the highest estimate, one-seventy-eighth part,
or one hundred and one-thirtieth of the crop. The
addition of the dirham to be paid in money would
not bring the tax anywhere near the tithe which the
Muslim farmer paid. A tax of two jarib (capacity)
sounds more reasonable. Ibn Hawkal's figures
seem to err on the other side ; especially the tax on
vineyards, unless the policy of the government was
to tax them out of existence. It is impossible to
believe that palms were tax free. Possibly, in those
parts where isolated trees only were found, there
was no tax on them. It is definitely said that soli-
tary palms, regarded as common property, were not
taxed. 2 It is more likely that the figures, one dinar
or a half on each palm, according to the quality of
the tree, are right. The Turkish government levied
a tax of seven piastres on each tree, though they are
said to have been not over-careful in counting them.

1 Subh., 3, 453. * B., 271.

216 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

POLL-TAX

Most of the information about the poll-tax comes
from the lawyers. Books usually say that it was
graduated, four, two, or one dinar in lands with
a gold currency, that is Syria and Egypt, wtele
where silver was current the dinar was reckoned at
twelve dirhams, in Mesopotamia and Persia. Another
theory makes the dinar equal to ten dirhams. This
system is too simple ; the differences of the schools
show that this amount of agreement is fictitious.

The views of the four imams are these :

Abu Hanlfa says that the poll-tax is fixed at 12,
24, and 48 dirhams.

Ahmad b. Hanbal says that it is not fixed, but is
at the discretion of the ruler. Another version of
his teaching is, that the lower limit is fixed but not
the upper.

Malik says that it is fixed at 4 dinars or 40 dirhams.
Probably he mentions the highest rate only, and
takes the others for granted.

Shafe'i says that it is fixed, 1 dinar on rich and
poor alike.

These differences reflect different local conditions.
Sha'rani says this definitely, for he writes, ' These
differences are due to the fact that the imams take
into account the conditions prevailing in the
countries in which they live '.

If a man were too poor to pay the lowest rate,
Shafe'i held that he should be banished. The
other three held that he should be excused payment. 1
Another writer says that he who cannot pay the
graded tax should be given relief. 2

1 Mizan,2, 161. Yahya, 9.

TAXATION 217

From this statement of the lawyers' views, it is
clear that the commonly accepted history is a later
systematization.

Opinions differed as to who paid. Abii Yusuf
says that women, boys, the poor in receipt of alms,
the indigent blind, the paralyzed, and the aged
did not pay. Some add to this list servants,
lunatics, and men who live in cells. On the other
hand, Shafe'i held that the paralyzed, aged, blind,
monks, and hired servants paid. 1 In one place the
Kitdb ul Umm assumes that women may at times
pay. 2 Hasan ul Basri said, ' Monks pay no jizya
because they are poor and have left the world/ 3 In
the treaty of 'Ishoyahbh, it is stipulated that poor
priests and monks shall not pay tribute. 4 Ibn 'Abd
ul Hakam knows that monks pay no taxes, for
' dhimmis have to bear the tribute of those of them
who turn monks '. 5 Abu Yusuf says that rich monks
were taxed. If a convent had estates or property in
trust, the father superior paid for the monks under
him. If he pleaded poverty, he was allowed to take an
oath valid in his religion, and was excused payment. 6
Theodosius, a Chalcedonian Christian, who held high
office in Alexandria, was an enemy of the Coptic patri-
arch Agatho, and made him pay thirty-six dinars jizya
for his disciples. Presumably these were monks, so
we may conclude that at that time it was not usual
for monks to pay tribute. 7 It has already been said
that in Egypt 'Abd ul 'Aziz made the monks pay
jizya,) while Usama's action was to prevent men
escaping tribute by becoming monks. 'Ali b. 'Isa

1 Kh., 69 ; Mizan, 2, 160. a Uram, 4,98. 8 Suli, 216.

4 B.H. Eccl., 3, 115 f. 8 Hakam, 156. Kh., 69. T S., 113.

218 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

wished to take the jizya from bishops, monks, and
poor Christians, but the caliph Muktadir stopped
him. 1

ENTERTAINMENT OF MUSLIMS

The rules for this varied. Where there was a gold
currency they had to be entertained for three days,
but in South Mesopotamia only for a day and a night.
The food to be supplied was bread, porridge, condi-
ments, oil, milk, ghee, cooked vegetables, fish, or
meat, whatever was easy to provide. Three was
the maximum number to be received. 2 Hims is
said to have come under the one day and night rule. 3
If rain delayed these guests beyond the legal time,
they had to pay. 4 When some dhimmis complained
to 'Umar that these guests laid on them a burden
greater than they could bear, asking for chicken and
sheep, he said, * Give them only what you yourselves
eat and such of your food as is lawful for them.' 5
Mamiin gave orders to release the Christians from
the duty of providing lodgings in their houses for
soldiers. 6

TAXES ON TRADE T

'Umar I instituted taxes on trade. The common
tradition is that the rates were, for a Muslim 2
per cent, for a dhimmi 5, and for a foreigner 10.
The tax was paid once a year only. Malik, however,
held, that it was paid on every trade journey. A
Taghlibi or Nejrani was on the same footing as
another dhimmi, but a Magian was treated as a

1 M., 2, 495 ; Eut., 2, 517. a Uram,4, 102, 104. Azdi, 152.
4 Hakam, 152. I.A., 1, 179. S.A., 2, 15.

1 Most of this section comes from Kh., 77 f.; M., 2, 121.

TAXATION 219

foreigner. Another tradition is that only foreigners
paid this tax, at a rate of 10 per cent. Another says
10 per cent on dhimmis, and still another that a
dhimmi did not pay in his own province, but every
time he went outside it he paid 10 per cent.

'Umar I took from the Nabataeans 5 per cent of
the wheat and oil, to encourage the transport of
these goods to Medina, and 10 per cent on the
pulse. A governor in the time of 'Umar took 10
per cent from the Nabataeans. 1 The author tries to
reconcile these two statements, but evidently knows
nothing about the matter. Another version of the
same tradition is that 'Umar took 10 per cent from
Copts in Medina, and 5 per cent on wheat and
raisins.

The tax on slaves was 10 dirhams and on horses
and camels 8. 2 The minimum taxable was 200
dirhams, 20 dinars or 20 mithkals\ but 'Umar II is
said to have made 10 dinars the minimum for a
dhimmi '; this was the doctrine of Abu Hanifa.

The goods of a slave were not taxed. A dhimmi
wine merchant had to have his goods valued by two
other dhimmis. If a dhimmi declared that his debts
equalled the value of his goods, he paid nothing. At
one time in Yemen taxes on winepresses, bridges,
and roads were abolished, but had to be restored
because of the loss to the revenue.

In the fourth century, in Persia, in addition to the
religious taxes, there were tithes on shipping, fifths
from mines and pastures, profit on the mint, tax
establishments (octroi, toll bars?) in towns, store-
houses, dues on salt pans and swamps, dues on the

1 Umra.,4,125. * M., 1, 103.

220 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

sale of perfumes. The item storehouses included
rent of ground, mills, and rosewater factories. Most
of these taxes were the same, or nearly so, in all
provinces. 1 Makrizi gives a long list of dues that
had to be paid in Egypt. Many brought in so little
that they cannot have covered the cost of collection.
Probably many of these existed from the earliest
times.

Rabf a b. Shurahbll was controller of these taxes
in Egypt under 'Amr b. 1 'As, and Zuraik b.
Hayyan in Ubulla under 'Umar II. Anas b. Slrln
was appointed to collect them in Ubulla, but refused
the post, 2 for ' the pious of an earlier generation
disapproved of them '. Perhaps this disapproval
may be connected with a change in the meaning of
the word maks. Originally it was quite general, and
meant tribute tax. Later it was limited to certain
special dues which were not mentioned in the Koran
or Traditions, and were consequently looked at
askance by all good Muslims.

'Umar II is said to have abolished these dues. 3
This may be an anachronism ; still it may be true,
for it is evident that taxes were levied which had no
place in the legal system.

Mansur first started a tax on shops in 167, and in
the same year the governor in Egypt as part of
the caliph's policy put a tax on stalls in the market
and on animals. 4

The year 250 saw the introduction into Egypt of a
monopoly of natron, and dues on grazing and
fishing. Though they brought in 100,000 dinars

1 I.H., 217. 3 M., 2, 123 ; Husn, 1, 74. M., 1, 103.

4 K., 125; M., 1,103.

TAXATION 221

yearly, Ahmad b. Tulun abolished them. They were
introduced again under the Fatimids,and were called
maks. Saladin abolished them, but his son 'Uthman
re-introduced them. We hear of some dues the
aliolition of which was opposed by the Copts. In
801, Balbagha abolished the rent (assessment) of the
Cattle Lake, but the Copts restored it. He also
found that some dues in Egypt brought in about
70,000 dirhams daily, that the government got no
profit from them, but that they profited the Copts
and their servants. He proposed to do away with
them, but did not succeed. 1 In 389 it was proposed
to tax certain kinds of cloth made in Baghdad, but
the opposition was so strong that the proposal had
to be dropped. 2 In 479 Malikshah abolished trade
dues and tolls in Irak. 3

CONCLUSIONS

The methods of exaction were not as severe as
they might have been. Apparently, the subjects were
allowed considerable latitude in the payment of taxes,
for there are frequent complaints in the papyri of
delay in payment and other forms of slackness.
'Umar is said to have compelled the Nabataeans of
Syria to give some of their fruits and chaff to the
Muslims, but they were not forced to cart it for
them. 4 At times relief was given. A Copt said to
'Amr, * If I lead you to a place whence ships can
go till they reach Mecca, will you release me and my
family from tribute ? ' * Amr agreed. 5 When Barka
was first conquered, no collector of tribute entered

1 M., 1, 107 ; Subh., 3,460. * Eel., 3, 336. Ath., y. 479.

* LA., 1,179. 8 Hakam, 166.

222 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

it : they sent the money when it was due. 1 Mr. Bell's
judgment is perhaps more severe. 2 * To sum
up, while the evidence is not at present such as to
justify very positive conclusions, it seems probable
that the Arab government, during the first century
of the Hejira, was on the whole efficient and not
noticeably oppressive, but that the nature of the
fiscal system (which, be it remembered, was
inherited from the Byzantine empire) tended to a
constant increase in the burden of the taxpayers,
and gave exceptional opportunity for the exactions
of the subordinate officials.'

In later times the land tax was paid in instalments,
and this was probably the case from the first. 3 The
poll-tax seems to have been paid as a whole.

In Egypt, the pensions and rations of the Arabs
enrolled in the diwan, and their families, repairs to
the dykes, rations of the clerical staff, and the supply
of corn for the Hedjaz were provided out of the
tribute ; the balance was sent to the capital of the
empire. 4

It is to be noted that the Byzantine empire
levied land, corn, and poll taxes, and its officials when
travelling received free entertainment. It is at least
a curious coincidence that its senators paid a tax, the
three grades of which were in the proportion of
four, two, and one.

The following conclusions are probable. The
original terms made with the conquered places were
almost forgotten. When remembered, the historians
interpreted them in the light of later conditions, and
so misunderstood them. The clearest example of

1 Hakam, 171. * B.M,, 4, xli. M., 1, 405. 4 M., 1, 79.

TAXATION 223

this process is the words kharaj and jizya> which
both meant tribute.

'Umar's settlement was not a homogeneous system,
but varied from town to town, and was less com-
prehensive and thorough than historians make out.

The distinction between ( capitulated ' and ' con-
quered ' is a legal fiction. Within a few years of
the conquest the Muslims treated the subject
peoples much as they chose.

The original tribute was that paid to the preced-
ing government ; it may have been about two dinars
a head in the west.

The graded poll-tax was first levied in Mesopo-
tamia.

At first monks did not pay poll-tax.

The subject peoples at first bore the whole weight
of taxation ; though it is not possible to decide how
heavy that was. It certainly grew heavier, but then
the dhimmis did not bear the whole weight, for the
Muslims paid land tax, the religious taxes were paid
into the treasury, and Muslims and dhimmis alike
were liable to the other burdens.

LATER DEVELOPMENTS

The poll-tax became known later as fawali.
When Saladin conquered Jerusalem, in 583, the
Christians native to the town obtained permission
to reside there by paying the poll-tax. 1 In the
middle of the third century, the poll-tax from
Baghdad is given as 120,000 dirhams, and again as
200,000. 2 That of Misr (Egypt, or Cairo) was
130,000 dinars in 587 and 11,400 in 816. 3 It was

1 Ath., y. 583. * Khurdadbeh, 125, 251. M., 1, 107.

224 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

paid according to the lunar year. 1 In 682 it was
paid in Muharram, having been postponed from
Ramadan, the usual date. 2

In 674 part of Nubia was conquered, and the in-
habitants given the choice between the poll-tax afcid
death. They agreed to pay one dinar for all adult
males. 3 Kalkashandi says that the poll-tax used
to be in three grades 4j dinars, 2 -A, and l!i, with
2j dirhams added to pay the accountant and his
assistants. In the writer's own day it had grown
less; the highest grade was 25 dirhams and the
lowest 10. 4

The poll-tax was paid separately before the land
tax and after the dues named hilali, rents of build-
ings, fishing dues, etc., which were paid monthly.
It was paid annually, though it had been proposed
to have it paid monthly for convenience in the case
of a man dying or turning Muslim. 5 Lawyers
differed as to what should be done when a dhimmi
died before he had paid his tax. Some held that the
payment lapsed, others that it was to be recovered
from his estate. 6 There was the same difference
about a convert. 'Umar II ruled that the tax ought
not to be taken from a dhimmi for the year in
which he was converted. 7 It is clear that his ruling
was not accepted.

In 678 Saif ud Din Kalawun abolished a tax of one
dinar on the dhimmis over and above the poll-tax
which had been paid for eighteen years. It was
called mukarrar un nasara*

1 M M 1, 276. * Q., 3, 39. Q., 2, 130. Subh., 3, 462.

8 M., 1, 107. Mizan, 2, 161. ' Ibn Sa'd, 5, 262.

8 M., 1,106; Q.,3,3.

TAXATION 225

Figures giving the totals for tribute are irritating
in their fewness and vagueness.

Alexandria began by paying 18,000 dinars, and in
the reign of Hisham it paid 36,000. The prefect
M^nas exhorted 32,056 pieces of gold presumably
dinars from the town. He was dismissed, and his
successor demanded only 22,000, the rightful sum. 1
The figure 600,000 dinars, reached by assuming a
population of 300,000 paying 2 dinars a head, is
obviously a fiction.

A number of totals are given for Egypt as a whole.

Date A.H.

19-25. 2,000,000 dinars. 'Amr, governor.

26-35. 4,000,000 'Abdulla b. Sa'd, governor.

47-62. Surplus sent to Damascus, 600,000. Maslama,

governor.
c. 107. 4,000,000. 'Abdulla b. Habhab, finance minister.

Expenses 2,700,783. (Tribute 2,723,783. Ibn

Khurdadhbeh.)

200. 4,275 ,000 (2 dinars on the feddan). Mamun, caliph.
254. The tribute had sunk to l.ttrVMi (the text has
800,000,000), but Ahmad b. Tulun raised it to
4,000,000.

358. 3,400,000. Jawhar. (3,200,000. Ibn Hawkal.)
463. 2,800,000. 2

These figures are enough to show that the twelve
millions attributed to 'Amr and Usama, and the
fourteen millions given to 'Abdulla b. Sa'd, are
exaggerated.

Three figures are given for Hims 340,000,
218,000, and 118,000 dinars. No argument can be
based on them. 8 At the time of the conquest Barka

1 B., 223 ; J.N., 384. M., 1,79, 98 ; B., 216 ; KhurtLadbeh, 83 ; I.H., 108,
8 KhuKladbeh,76,246,25l,

15

226 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

paM 131000 dinars. 1 Ibn Khaldun's tribute list
gives it 1,000,000.

Thus me tribute in Egypt grew smaller while the
rate of lai\d tax rose from one dinar the feddan to
seven.

Occasional acts of grace on the part of the ruler
are recordeu. Thus Mamun was kind to the people
of Edessa, and ordered all burdens and taxes to
be removed from them. As it stands this must be
'an exaggeration ; it may have been a temporary
measure. He entered the great church and wonder-
ed at its beauty. He asked the metropolitan what
its revenue was. The bishop said, * By thy grace, O
king, its wealth is great ; but also much of the
income is spent in the burden of the taxes laid
upon it.' Mamun then ordered that no tax should
be levied on the inns, shops, baths, and mills (belong-
ing to it), but only on gardens and agricultural land ;
for he said that it was not right that anything with
a roof should pay taxes. 2 This idea was not peculiar
to Mamun, for two legal opinions have been pre-
served ; that if a Muslim or a dhimmi builds a shop
on kharaj land, it pays no taxes, and if Muslims
settle on ownerless land and make a market, there
is no tax on it. 3

The Muslim year was lunar, so there were more
calendar years than agricultural. Khalid ul Kasri
stopped the intercalation in the Persian calendar.
It has been noted already that the taxes of the solar
year 88 were paid in 91. Apparently there was no
systematic equalization of the two calendars, but
from time to time a year was dropped. So in the

1 Hakam, 170. * S.A., 2, 23. B., 448.

TAXATION 227

time of Mutawakkil 241 was counted as 242 *fcor
the purpose of finance. A year was dropped at 278,
at 499 two were dropped, another at 507, and two
more at 565.

In the course of his reign Mu'tadid shifted
Nawruz from 11 Safar to 13 Rabr II, which was 11
Hazlran. 1

MODE OF PAYING THE POLL-TAX

In a guide to the duties of a civil servant, the
following instructions for the collection of poll-tax
are given. It is to be collected without violence or
flogging. The dhimmi need not sell his cattle, asses,
or sheep to pay it. He has to stand while paying,
and the officer who receives it sits. The dhimmi
has to be made to feel that he is an inferior
person when he pays, he is not to be treated with
honour. 2

Further details are given in this quotation. ' The
dhimmi, Christian or Jew, goes on a fixed day in
person (at first a substitute was forbidden) to the
emir appointed to receive the poll-tax. He sits on a
high throne. The dhimmi appears before him, offer-
ing the poll-tax on his open palm. The emir takes
it so that his hand is on top and the dhimmi s below.
Then the emir gives him a blow on the neck, and
one who stands before the emir drives him roughly
away. . . . The public is admitted to see this show.' 3

I have not been able to discover what authority
the writer had for these statements.

In the beginning payment in kind was allowed.
It is said that 'Ali accepted ropes and needles.

1 M., 1, 274-81. 2 Suli, 215. 3 Rainer, 672.

228 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Carcases, wine, and pigs were not accepted, but the
taxpayer might sell them and pay the proceeds into
the treasury. 1

PRESENTS

The custom of allowing the governors to receive
presents on festivals, particularly Nawruz, was
especially open to abuse. Probably it always existed
but Arab historians have discovered the originator
of it. Either Walld b. 'Ukba or Hajjaj began it.
'Umar II stopped it, but it began afresh in the days
of Mamun, when Ahmad b. Yusuf gave him a sack
of gold. 2 During the reign of Mu'awia, the revenue
of Kufa was fifty million dirhams and as much again
in presents. Under Ibn Zubair the revenue was
sixty million dirhams, and gifts amounted to twenty
millions. 8

1 Kh., 69 ; Soli, 215. 2 Suli, 220 ; Subh., 2, 409. Suli, 219.

CONCLUSION

THIS study of the relations between the govern-
mgnt and its subjects who did not profess Islam can
only produce confusion in the mind. At one
moment the dhimmi appears as a persecuted worm
who is entirely negligible, and the next complaint is
made of his pernicious influence on the Muslims
round him. Laws were made, observed for a time,
and then forgotten till something brought them to
the remembrance of the authorities. There is no
constitutional growth; events move in irregular
curves, not in a straight line. One feels that if
events had been governed by logic, Islam would
have swallowed up the subject religions; but they
survive, vigorous though battered.

A few dates are fixed and some periods can be
marked off roughly, though the boundaries are
vague. Under the first Umayyads, the conquerors
were on fairly good terms with the vanquished.
Most of the minor officials were not Muslims, and
many of the victors were better Arabs than Muslims.
Historians delight to picture the justice of the con-
querors. Take such a scene as this. 'Amr b. 1 'As
was sitting on the ground in his palace with his
Arabs, when the Makaukas came to visit him. A
golden throne was carried with him, that he might
sit on it after the manner of kings. He did so sit
on it in the presence of *Amr, who made no objec-
tion to his doing so. Thus the Muslims kept the
treaty they had made with him. 1 There was, how-

1 I.Khald.,260.

230 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

ever, a darker side to the picture. 'Amr was told
that a man in Upper Egypt, whose name was Peter,
had a treasure. As the man denied all knowledge
of any treasure, he was put in prison. 'Amr asked if
he were ever heard to enquire about any special pQr-
son, and was told that he had asked after a certain
monk. 'Amr wrote to the monk, sealing the letter
with Peter's seal, * Send me that you have.* The
messenger brought back a Syrian pot sealed with
lead; inside was a paper with the words, 'Your
money is under the big pool '. 'Amr drained the
pool, removed the flooring, and found there fifty-two
ardebbs of gold in coin. c Amr had Peter executed
at the door of the mosque, and then all the Copts
brought out their treasures in fear of a like fate. 1
John of Nikiou says that 'Amr was of savage
extraction, treated the Egyptians without pity, and
did not keep the treaties he had made with them. 2

The rule of Islam was often burdensome, the
revolts in Egypt prove it. 'Umar II might order a
governor to distribute the surplus cash in his
treasury among the dhimmis after the needs of the
Muslims had been satisfied, 3 but as a rule they had
to provide the money which the state wanted and
got nothing for it. Probably, at first, the subjects did
not pay heavier taxes than they had paid to the
previous governments, but in one way and another
the burden grew steadily heavier. There can be no
doubt that, at the end of the first century, the reign
of 'Umar II saw the beginning of definite disabilities
for the dhimmis. Restrictions were placed on their
dress, and the attempt to oust them from official

1 M., 1, 76. a J.N., 377 ; cf. 355. * Umar, 67.

CONCLUSION 231

posts began. It may be remarked that 'Umar II is
the typical pious persecutor, scrupulously just in his
dealings with individuals while he tries to suppress
the dhimmis as a class. 1 Not all of his laws were
enforced ; for, in the time of Mamun, the inhabitants
of Harran still wore the kuba and long hair. His
attempt to drive the dhimmis from government
service was even less successful.

During the second century the Muslim spirit
hardened. In the days of Harun Rashld, a lawyer
could say that idolaters were entitled to the privi-
leges of the people of the book, yet Mamun gave
the people of Harran the choice between Islam and
death. At the same time the laws about dress were
made more stringent, and the idea took shape that
churches might not be built.

The next fixed point is the reign of Mutawakkil.
His laws deserve the name of persecution. Yet his
zeal was strangely impersonal, for he was on the
best of terms with his Christian doctors. His were
the most severe laws that were issued against the
dhimmis ; in later times it was enough to put them
in force.

It is only fair to say that the conduct of the rulers
was often better than the law demanded. Places of
worship were built in purely Arab towns ; Chris-
tians, guilty of misconduct with Muslim women,
were only fined instead of being put to death;
apostasy was not always punished with death ; men
of various faiths studied under Muslim masters. Jews
and Christians were always to be found in public
service, indeed they sometimes held the highest posts.

1 Umar; Jauzi, 104.

232 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

They could amass wealth ; indeed, indiscreet display
of wealth and power was often the cause of the evils
that befell them. On paper, many things were forbid-
den them ; the public celebration of weddings and
funerals, feasts, and church ceremonies. It was ,3,
punishable offence to tread intentionally on the
skirt of a Muslim's garment, and they had to leave
the centre of the road to the Muslims. 1 Kinglake
tells that, in his day in Damascus, a native Christian
dared not walk on the footpath. Yet, in spite of the
laws, Christians jostled Muslims, were employed by
them in positions of trust, and Muslims seized the
Christian feasts as opportunities of merrymaking.

Mu'tasim bought the monastery at Samarra that
stood where he wanted to build his palace. 2 Other
caliphs destroyed churches to obtain material for
their buildings, and the mob was always ready to
pillage churches and monasteries. Though dhimmis
might enjoy great prosperity, yet always they lived
on sufferance, exposed to the caprices of the ruler
and the passions of the mob. The episode of al
Hakim must be regarded as the freak of a mad man,
and not typical of Islam. But in later times the
position of the dhimmis did change for the worse.
They were much more liable to suffer from the
violence of the crowd, and the popular fanaticism
ivas accompanied by an increasing strictness
among the educated. The spiritual isolation of Islam
ivas accomplished. The world was divided into
two classes, Muslims and others, and only Islam
:ounted. There were brilliant exceptions, but the
general statement is true. If a Muslim gave any

1 Path, 1,334. * Mas.T., 357.

CONCLUSION 233

help to the religion of a dhimmi, he was to be
summoned thrice to repentance, and then, if obdu-
rate, he was to be put to death. 1 Indeed, the general
feeling was that the leavings of the Muslims were
gpod enough for the dhimmis.

It has been proved that 'Umar I did not destroy
the library at Alexandria. In addition to other
reasons, one may argue that the words put into his
mouth, * If the books agree with the Koran, they are
unnecessary ; if they do not, they are pernicious \
reveal the mind of a later age, when Islam had
become intellectually proud. Practically the same
story is told of a governor of Khorasan in the third
century.

About the covenant of 'Umar, it is only needful to
collect what has been said in scattered places.
Reference to the covenant does not become common
till quite late. In the first century it is ignored. In
the second some of its provisions are sometimes
observed. By 200 it existed in the traditional
form, but with many minor variations. The agree-
ments made by Muslim commanders with conquered
towns are not modelled on it. Some of its provisions
seem to have been first enacted by 'Umar II, which
may have helped the attribution of it to his greater
namesake. The covenant mentioned by Abu Yusuf
may have been an early form of this document, but
probably he had in mind some special treaty or a
general claim of rights made by the dhimmis. The
covenant was drawn up in the schools of law, and
came to be ascribed, like so much else, to 'Umar I.

1 Path, 1, 334.

ORIGINAL AUTHORITIES

A.S.

Abu Daud
Abu 1 Fida

Agh.
Amali
'Arib.
Ath.

Azdi
B.

B.H.

B.H. Eccl.
B.H. Mu.

B.M.
Benj.

Br. Ch.

Bukhari

Bundari

C.M.

Ch.M.

Dawlatshah

Eel.

Elias

Eut.

Fath

Fin.

Ghazi

History, Abu 1 Mahasin Taghriberdi.
Churches and Monasteries of Egypt, Abu

Salih.

Sunan, Delhi, A.H. 1318.
History. (References are given to the year

only.)

Kitab ul Aghani.
Al Amali, lali, 1926.
Continuation of Tabari.
History, Ibn ul Athir. (References to the

year only.)

Futuh ush Sham, Al Azdi, 1854.
Futuh ul Buldan, Baladhuri.
Chronicle, Bar Hebraeus, Paris.
Ecclesiastical Chronicle. Bar Hebrseus.
Mukhtaar ud Duwal. Bar Hebrseus,

1890.
Greek Papyri in the British Museum, Vol.

4.
Benjamin of Tudela, ed. Gruenhut and

Adler. 1903-.

Chronology of Ancient Nations, al Biruni.
Sahih.

History of the Seljuk Turks, Bundari.
Chronica Minora, C.S.C.O., Sen III, Vol. 4.
Chahar Mafeala, Nizami, 1909.
Memoirs of the Poets.
Eclipse of the Abbasid Caliphate.
Elias of Nisibis, 1884.
History, Eutychius.
Fath ul 'AH ul Malik, A.H. 1319.
Fihrist, Abu n Nadim.
An Answer to the Dhimmis, Ghazi b. ul

Wasiti, J.A.O.S., 1921.

236 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Hakatn . . Futuh Misr, Ibn 'Abd ul JJakam.

Hamdani . . Geography of Arabia, Hamdani.

Husn . . usn ul Muhatfara, Suyuti, A.H. 1321.

LA. . . History, Ibn 'Asakir.

LH. . . Kitab ul masalik walmamalik, Ibn Hawltal.

LR. . . Kitab ul A'lak un nafisa, Ibn Rusteh. <

I. Khald. . . Prolegomena, Ibn Khaldun, Beirut.

I. Khali. . . Biographical Dictionary, Ibn Khallikan,

A.H. 1299.

Ibn Sa'd . . Kitab ut tabakat ul kabir, Ibn Sa'd.

Ihya . . Ihya 'ulum ud din, Ghazali, A.H. 1312.

Ikd . . Al 'Ifcd ul farid, Ibn 'abd rabbihi.

lyas . . History, Ibn lyas, A.H. 1311.

J.N. . . John of Nikiou, Journal Asiatique, 1879.

Jahiz B. . . Kitab ul bayan, Al Jahiz, A.H. 1313.

Jahiz H. . . Kitab ul hayawan, Al Jahiz, A.H. 1323.

Joshua . . Joshua Stylites, ed. Wright.

K. . . Book of Governors and Judges, Kindi.

Kh. .. Kitab ul kharaj, Abu Yusuf Ya'fcub,

A.H. 1332.

Khurdadbeh . . Kitab ul mamalik walmasalik, Ibn Khur-

dadhbeh.

Kifti . . Tarikh ul Hukama, al Kifti.

L.A. . . Lisan ul *arab.

Lang. . . Michel le Syrien, trans. Langlois.

M. . . Khitat, Makrizi, A.H. 1270.

Mak. . . Nafh ut tlb, Makkari.

Mas. . . Muruj udh dhahab, Mas'udi.

Mas.T. . . Kitab ut tanbih wal ishraf, Mas^udi.

Mizan . . Kitab ul mizan, Ash Sha c rani, A.H. 1306.

Mubarrad . . Kamil, Mubarrad.

Mud. . . Al mudawwana ul kubra, A.H. 1324.

Muk. . . Geography, Mukaddisi.

Must. . . Mustatraf, Egypt, A.H. 1306.

Muwashshah . . Al Marzubani, Egypt, A.H. 1343.

Nish. . . Nishwar ul Muhatfara.

P.S.R. . . Papyri Schott Reinhardt.

Q. . . Histoire des Sultanes Mamlukes, trans.

Quatremere.

ORIGINAL AUTHORITIES

237

Rahmat . . Rahmat ul Umma (on the margin of

Mizan).

Rainer . . Fuehrer durch die Ausstellung Erzherzog

Rainer.

Raudatain . . Kitab ur raudatain fi akhbar id daulatain,
* A.H. 1287.

S. . . History of the Patriarchs, Severus, ed.

Seybold.

S.A. . . Anonymous Syriac Chronicle, C.S.C.O.,

Ser. Ill, Vols. 14, 15.

Sefernameh . . Paris, 1881.

Siyasetnameh .. Paris, 1891.

Subh. . . Subh ul a'sha, Kalkashandi.

Suli . . Adab ul kuttab, As Suli, A.H. 1341.

T. . . Annals, Tabari.

Tabak. . . Tabakat ul atibba, Ibn abi Usaibra.

Thomas . . Book of Governors, Thomas of Marga.

Umar .. Life of 'Umar II, 'Abdulla b. 'Abd ul

Hakam, 1927.

Umar Jawzi . . Life by 'Abd ur Rahman ul Jawzi.

Umda . . Al 'Umda, Ibn Rashlk, 1907.

. Umm . . Kitab ul Umm, Shafe'i.

Uyun . . 'Uyun ul akhbar, Ibn Kutaiba, Egypt,

1925.

Viziers . . Kitab ul wuzara, ed. Amedroz.

Y. . . Geographical Dictionary, Yakut. (Refer-

ences are not given when the names of
places stand in alphabetical order.)

Y.Ir. . . Biographical Dictionary.

Yahya . . Kitab ul Kharaj, Yahya.

Yak. . . History, Ya^ubi.

Yak.B. . . Kitab ul Buldan, Ya'kubi.

Andrae

Barthold

Browne

MODERN BOOKS

Die Person Muhammads.

Turkestan down to the Mongol Invasion.

Year among the Persians (First Edition).

238 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Caetani . . Annali dell' Islam.

Cheikho . . Le Christianisme en Arabic avant T Islam

(Arabic).

Gottheil . . Dhimmis and Muslims in Egypt (Old

Testament and Semitic Studies in me-
mory of W. R. Harper). /

Juynboll . . Handbuch des islamischen Gesetzes.

Mez . . Die Renaissance des Islams.

Rylands . . Bulletin of the John Rylands Library.

INDEX

'Abd ul 'Aziz, 20, 35, 42 f ., 78, 103,

%40 f., 209 f., 217.
'Abdulla b. Tahir, 49 f., 82 f., 99,

145.
'Abd ul Malik, 18, 20, 25, 41, 90,

127, 140, 166, 169, 176, 192 f.,

205, 210.
Abu Hamfa, 17, 38, 89, 176-9,

182, 186, 216.

Abu 'Ubaida, 6, 8 f., 11, 40, 102,

204 f.
Abu Zubaid, 103, 141, 165, 175,

177, 185.
Ahmad b. Hanbal, 16, 38, 89, 177,

179, 182, 186, 216.
Ahmad b. Tulun, 3, 23, 52, 107,

130, 152, 221, 225.

Al Akhtal, 90, 115, 140 f ., 165 f.,

169, 177, 185, 194.
Al Asbagh, 35, 103, 127, 141, 173.
Alexandria, 19-21, 42, 65 f., 70,

76, 86, 92, 106, 135, 172, 225,

233.
Al Hakim, 26, 31, 54, 109, 120,

131, 184, 195.

'Amr b. 1 'As, 24, 39, 42, 102, 124,

183, 185, 207-9, 220 f., 225,
229 f.

Antioch, 43, 79 f., 82-4, 94, 108,

153 f.

Athanasius, 19 f., 43, 78 f., 127.
Baghdad, 3 f ., 24-6, 45, 47, 51 f.,

56, 83-5, 87, 93 f., 109 f., 119-

21, 123, 126, 131, 155, 161,

164, 221, 223.

Blood money, 13, 98, 178-81.
Bukam, 23, 49, 118, 147, 178.
Catholicus, see Patriarch.
Church, 5-11, 14, 20, 34, 37-66,

69 f., 76 f., 100-13, 130 f., 139,

187, 212.

Cross, 6 f., 74, 100-9, 112 f.,

118, 120, 125.
Damascus, 6-9, 39-41, 43, 51, 57,

95, 102, 105 f., 132, 162, 177,

202, 232.
Doctors, 18, 25, 93, 96, 148, 155-

64.
Dress, 6 f., 14, 30 f., 33, 75, 95 f.,

115-26.
Festivals, 7, 14, 44, 46, 49, 57,

101-14, 171 f.
Fire temples, 44 f., 187.
Hair, 6 f ., 116 f., 125.
Harran, 44, 48 f ., 57, 81, 117, 183,

206, 231.
Harun Rashid, 37, 44, 47, 106,

114, 117 f., 147, 156 f., 163, 165,

193, 211, 231.
Head of the Dispersion, 33, 96 f .,

132.
Hims, 9, 18, 39, 60, 151, 206, 218,

225.
Hisham, 22, 43, 79 f., 106, 125,

129, 210, 225.
Hedjaz, 14, 89, 175 f ., 222.
Houses, tall, 6, 8, 34, 100, 113.
Ibn Taimiya, 17, 123.
Images, 44 f., 101, 103 f., 111.
Inheritance, 34, 97, 101 f., 135.
'Ishoyahbh, 46, 139, 205.
Jerusalem, 10, 39, 43, 49 f., 54,

57, 96, 102, 115, 162, 202, 223.
Jews' hostility to Christians, 51,

75, 91, 94 f., 105, 116, 132.
Khalid b. Walld, 9, 39, 204.
Khalid ul Kasri, 22, 45, 226.
Kindness to dhimmis, 49, 54, 98,

106, 137 f., 141, 163, 165, 168,

184.
Kufa, 19, 45, 56, 104, 165, 177,

194.

240 CALIPHS AND THEIR NON-MUSLIM SUBJECTS

Magians, 5, 27, 44, 97 f ., 101, 119,

123, 154, 179, 188.
Malik, 16, 38, 53, 89, 129, 177, 179,

181, 186 f,, 190, 216, 218.
Mamun, 3, 23, 25, 35, 44, 48, 83,

95, 113, 146, 148, 158, 170, 183,

218, 225 f ., 228, 231.
Mansur, 47, 81, 152, 155 f., 170,

195, 220.
Marriage, 12 f., 36,98, 100 f., 136,

187 f.

Metropolitan, see Patriarch.
Monastery, 6 f., 42, 46-57, 71, 75,

77, 110, 130 f ., 133, 139, 149-

52, 164, 186, 200 f.
Monks, 28, 30, 55, 57, 62, 69, 71,

80, 84, 103, 108 f ., 128, 137, 153,

163, 186, 217 f., 223.
Mu'awia, 1, 18 f., 40 f., 94, 102 f ,

155, 166, 176 f., 180, 206, 208 f.,

228.
Mutawakkil, 4, 23, 50 f., 82, 99,

107, 114, 117 f., 146, 158, 163,

167, 206, 227, 231.
N&kus, 5, 7, 9, 11, 14, 37, 43, 45,

100, 102, 104, 107, 112 f., 150.
Nizam ul Mulk, 27, 148.
Nur ud Din Zanji, 28, 56, 121,

181, 186, 191.
Patriarch, 21, 33, 35, 42 f., 49 f .,

70, 7&-88, 103, 106, 116, 127-

31, 139-42, 145, 148, 152, 157,

172, 217, 226.
Persia, 19, 26 f ., 38, 44, 93, 98, 104,

107, 111, 123, 130 f., 148, 151,

155, 193, 214, 219.
Pigs, 9, 11, 15, 100 f., 192, 228.
Poll-tax, 11, 14 f., 36, 88, 124, 145,

147, 198, 210, 216 f., 222 f., 227.
Punishments, 11, 13, 17, 30 f., 59,

69 f., 75, 80, 82, 96 f., 102, 122,

125, 128 f., 137, 143 f., 227.
Riots, 28, 31 f., 34, 46 f., 51 f., 55,

58 f., 61-77, 109, 119, 122, 131,

142, 144.

Sabians, 5, 94, 160, 168, 173.
Saddles, 7, 14, 115-8, 120 f.,

123.
Saladin, 28, 30, 121, 147, 181, 221,

223.

Samaritans, 5, 27, 93, 97, 121, 206.
Secretary, 18-23, 25-35, 72, 111,

168, 177.
Shafe'i, 16 f., 38, 89, 100 f., 112,

123, 136, 177, 179, 182, 186 f.,

192, 194, 216 f.
Slaves, 6 f., 11, 18, 30, 101, 118,

192, 219.

Soldiers, 1, 25, 185 f.
Spain, 25, 35, 45, 93 f ., 112 f., 119,

148, 171.

Synagogue, 48, 56, 58 f., 187.
Taxes, see Tribute.
Tinnls, 51, 53, 144 f.
Trade, 14, 26, 89, 93, 110 f., 145,

190-3, 195, 218-21.
Tribute, 2 f., 10, 14, 19, 21 f.,

28 f., 44, 57, 89f.,95f., 99, 103,

137 f., 145, 148, 197-228, 230.
'Umar I, passim.
'Umar II, 2, 21, 40 f., 43, 50, 91 f.,

102, 104, 114, 116 f., 119, 141,

180, 183, 186, 195, 209 f., 213,

220, 224, 228, 230 f., 233.
'Uthman, 1, 141, 165, 179.
Viziers, dhimmi, 24 f., 30, 53, 93.
Walid b. 'Ukba, 19, 103, 141, 177,

185, 228.
Walid, caliph, 2, 41, 43, 90, 92,

95, 104, 128 f., 176.
Wine, 6 f ., 9, 13, 15, 57, 62 f., 101,

110 f., 140, 149 f., 156, 177, 190,

193-6, 228.
Witnesses, 13, 186 f.
Zunntr, 6 f., 14, 82, 112, 115-9,

121, 123, 150, 158.