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THE ORIGINS OF THE ISLAMIC STATE

forts, carried away many prisoners and fell to dispute regarding the general leadership. The Syrians wanted to kill Salmân, hence the verse quoted above. The former report, however, is more authentic and was orally communicated to me by many from Ḳâlîḳala and in writing by al-ʿAṭṭâf ibn-Sufyân abu-l-Aṣbagh, the ḳâḍi of Ḳâlîḳala.

Ḥabîb kills al-Mauriyân. Muḥammad ibn-Saʿd from ʿAbd-al-Ḥamîd ibn-Jaʿfar's father:—Ḥabîb ibn-Maslamah besieged the inhabitants of Dabîl and camped around the city. Al-Mauriyân ar-Rûmi[1] came against him; but under the cover of the night, Ḥabîb killed him and plundered what was in his camp. Salmân then joined Ḥabîb. The authorities of this tradition believe that Ḥabîb fell upon the Greek at Ḳâlîḳala.

Kûsân subdues Ḳâlîḳala. Muḥammad ibn-Bishr al-Ḳâli and ibn-Warz al-Ḳâli from the sheikhs of Ḳâlîḳala:—Ever since its conquest, the city of Ḳâlîḳala held out against attacks until the year 133 in which "the tyrant" set out, besieged Malaṭyah, destroyed its wall and expelled the Moslems that were in it to Mesopotamia, after which he encamped at Marj al-Ḥaṣa whence he directed Kûsân al-Armani against Ḳâlîḳala. Kûsân came and invested the city, whose inhabitants at that time were few and whose ʿâmil was abu-Karîmah. In the course of the siege, two Armenian brothers who lived in the city made a breach through a rampart in its wall, went out to Kûsân and brought him in to the city. Thus Kûsân subdued the city, killed [many], took captives and razed it to the ground, carrying off what he plundered to "the tyrant". The captives he distributed among his companions.

Al-Manṣûr rebuilds and al-Muʿtaṣim fortifies Ḳâlîḳala.

  1. Patrician of Armaniyâḳus which province is listed in De Goeje's edition of Balâdhuri as a name of person.