After WALID, the son of 'ABD AL-MALIK, the son of MARWAN, SULAIMAN his brother [ruled] for two years and five months. In the beginning of his reign MASLIMA made a raid and captured the fortress which was in the country of GALATIA, and he returned with a great quantity of spoil. And the soldiers of the army which ANASTASIUS sent to the west rebelled, and they killed their captain, and brought [in] THEODOSIUS, and he reigned one year. And ANASTASIUS fled to NICAEA. And in the year one thousand and twenry-six [of the GREEKS, i.e. A.D. 715] MASLIMA subdued the TURKAYE in their own country, and he captured [116] much spoil and returned.
And in the year one thousand and twenry-seven (A.D. 716) MASLIMA went to the country of ASIA. And he captured PERGAMOS and RHODES, and he emptied them of spoil. In that same year SULAlMAN made MASLIMA ready to go against CONSTANTINOPLE. And he collected two hundred thousand soldiers, and five thousand ships which were filled with soldiers and provisions. And he collected twelve thousand artisans, and six thousand camels, and six thousand asses which were loaded with provisions (or, stores), and arms, and the armaments and engines for war. And he appointed over them another captain of the host, viz. 'OMAR BAR-HUBAlRA. And there went with them also thirty thousand warriors who of their own proper motion and at their own expense set out to fight, that is to say on 'the road of God; and they were called in their own language 'MUTA-WA'AH' (1). And the ARABS set out (or, went down) in two divisions, the one by sea and the other by land. Now when LEO, the captain of the host of the RHOMAYE, met MASLIMA, the captain of the host of the ARABS, he promised to help them in the opening up (i.e. conquest) of the royal city. And they promised him the kingdom of the RHOMAYE.
Now when THEODOSIUS the king perceived the treachery of LEO, he took his people and shut them up in prison in the city of 'AMURIN. And when LEO heard [this] he came to SULAlMAN the king. Now he himself with twelve thousand [men ] had pitched his camp by the city of CHALCEDON in order that he might prevent provisions and food from entering CONSTANTINOPLE. And he took six thousand soldiers, and encamped at 'AMURIN. And the citizens being afraid gave him its population (or, household servants). And he sent away the ARABS and gave to each man twelve dinars. And he and the RHOMAYE marched direct to CONSTANTINOPLE. And when he met the hosts of the RHOMAYE he explained to them that by means of treachery he had turned back with the ARABS; and they were very pleased with him, and they made him king over them. And when he went in to CONSTANTINOPLE, THEODOSIUS went out; he had received the tonsure and had become a cleric. And LEO reigned twenty-four years. And with a vain hope he began to hang the ARABS, and to fortify the city with food and provisions and other things.
And when MASLIMA learned that LEO had deceived him (or, led him astray), he crossed the arm of the sea and encamped against CONSTANTINOPLE. And because MASLIMA, [117] with four thousand men, had come last (or, delayed in coming), the BULGARIANS whom LEO had hired rushed upon him and killed many of his men. MASLIMA himself only escaped with the greatest difficulty, and he came to the Great Camp which was pitched on the western side of CONSTANTINOPLE, opposite the Golden Gate. And he made [a mound, or, rampart?] in front of them, between the camp and the city, and a trench behind them opposite to the BULGARIANS. On the right hand and on the left was the sea. And the ARABS were attacked [on land] by the citizens and by the BULGARIANS, and on the sea by the ships of the RHOMAYE. Now it was impossible for less than two thousand men to go and bring food to the ARABS. And the ARABS suffered greater tribulation through those who were outside the city than through the TURKAYE who were inside [it]. And the winter came upon them, and famine, and the BULGARIANS who were killing them. And the ARABS were afflicted so grievously through hunger that they ate the bitumen of the ships. And while MASLIMA was deceiving them by saying, 'Behold, gifts are coming to them from the king', the report of the death of king SULAIMAN came.
After SULAlMAN, 'OMAR, the son of his uncle 'ABD AL-'AZIZ, [ruled] for two years and five months. This Khalifah sent [men] that they might bring him back reports concerning the army [which was fighting] against CONSTANTINOPLE. And MASLIMA wrote lying letters, saying: 'The people are very well, and the city is nearly [ready] to be opened up (i.e. conquered)'. And when 'OMAR learned the truth from the envoy, he sent [the command] to MASLIMA to take the soldiers and to go out. And MASLIMA made the winter his excuse [for not doing so]. And when the rigour of the winter had passed, another envoy came, who told the people that if MASLIMA would not be persuaded to retreat, they themselves were to go forth. And when they did go forth the RHOMAYE killed very many of them on the sea and on dry land.
Then 'OMAR himself sent twenty thousand horsemen to them, and he gave to each man ten dinars to be used as subsistence money. And because of the disgrace which came upon the ARABS through their withdrawal from CONSTANTINOPLE, great hatred against the Christians sprang up in the heart of 'OMAR, and he afflicted them severely. And he stopped [the ringing of] their bells [in the churches], and they were not to lift up their voices in prayer, and they were not to put on apparel [which in any way resembled that of] the soldiers, and they were not to use saddles when riding. And in the year one thousand and thirty-four [of the GREEKS] (A.D. 723), in the month of SHEBHAT (FEBRUARY), [118] 'OMAR died.
After 'OMAR, the son of' ABD AL-'AZIZ, YAZID, the son of his uncle, 'ABD AL-MALIK, [ruled] for four years. There came upon him a rebellion through a certain ARAB from HIRTA whose name was YAZID BAR-MUHALAB, and there were with him all the ARABS of 'AKULA, and of BOSRA, and of all PERSIA. And YAZID, the son of 'ABD AL-MALIK, sent a great army against him, and YAZID, the son of MUHALAB, was defeated near BABYLON and killed. And YAZID commanded and the images (or, pictures) of every living being were obliterated from the temples, and from walls and wooden panels, and from stones and from books. And LEO, king of the RHOMAYE, also acted in this manner. He took down the images of the saints and of the kings from the churches and houses. And for this reason there was an uprising among the RHOMAYE, and many complained openly about the king. And he expelled from his country every man who did not agree with the COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON. And he afflicted the JEWS and baptized many of them, and the rest of them fled to SYRIA.
And at this time a certain man who was a SYRIAN, and whose name was SEVERUS, declared concerning himself that he was CHRIST. And when he was arrested by the governor he said, 'I have been taught to think this by the JEWS'.
And in the year one thousand and thirty-two [of the GREEKS] (A.D. 721) the water in the wells failed so completely that the villagers had to walk as far as seven miles to draw water. And there was a scarcity of crops. After one year the locusts came and destroyed the crops. And after two years there was a pestilence caused by the disease of tumours, especially in BETH NAHRIN. And in the year one thousand and thirty-seven [of the GREEKS = A.D. 726] YAZID died in BALKA, in the country of DAMASCUS.
After YAZID, the son of 'ABD AL-MALIK, HISHAM his brother [ruled] for twelve years and eight months. This Khalifah oppressed men with excessive taxes and levies of money (or, contributions). And he made canals to take off from the EUPHRATES above CALONICUS to water the crops and plantations, and the income [derived] from them was more than all the tribute of his dominions.
And in this year the ARABS camped against NEO CAESARAEA, that is PONTUS, and they destroyed it completely. And the ARABS also invaded the country of the TURKAYE with GIRAH, the captain of the host, and they captured one great city; and he collected a vast amount of spoil and went away.
And in the year one thousand and thirty-eight [of the GREEKS = A.D. 727] the EGYPTIANS rebelled against the ARABS; and an army came against them [119] and many of the EGYPTIANS were killed, and the remainder fled in ships.
And in the year one thousand and thirty-nine [A.D. 728] MASLIMA went again to the country of the TURKAYE, but the ARABS failed and they abandoned their valuables and fled.
And in the year one thousand and forty-two [A.D. 731] the TURKAYE went forth and captured the cities of 'ADHORBIJAN. And MASLIMA marched against them with a great army, and thousands and tens of thousands were killed on both sides. Now the TURKAYE, though holding the cities which they had captured, did not go up against (i.e. attack) the rest of the dominions of the ARABS. And the ARABS made peace with the TURKAYE. And again the ARABS invaded the territories of the RHOMAYE, together with MU'AWIYAH, the son of the king. And they threw down the walls of the city of GANGRA, and then went and encamped against the city of NICAEA. And having fought against it for forty days and dug down the wall thereof, the RHOMAYE who were inside it fled in ships. And the ARABS took the city and destroyed it. And HISHAM commanded, and all the prisoners of the RHOMAYE were killed, because he heard that LEO had killed the ARAB prisoners. And at this time LEO the king took the daughter of the KHAKAN, king of the KHAZARAYE, to be the wife of his son CONSTANTINE. And when they had baptized her and blessed her, he placed the crown on his son and proclaimed him king.
In the year one thousand and forty-eight (A.D. 737) a certain man whose name was BASHIR, and who was a RHOMAYA by race, pretended to be a Muslim, and he went to HARRAN to a paralytic man whose name was THEOPITUS, and told him, as if he were telling him a secret, that he was 'TIBERIUS, the son of CONSTANTIUS' (CONSTANTINE or JUSTINIANUS), who, it was generally supposed, was already dead. Then the RHOMAYA went and delivered him over to SULAIMAN, the son of HISHAM, and he having seized the man, informed his father HISHAM. And HISHAM rejoicing that, as it were, a son of the king of the RHOMAYE had fallen into his hands, commanded [his servants] to array the man in the purple, and [they did so] and brought him, to him. When this man entered EDESSA he went inside the altar, and took in his hands the Offering from the Table of Life, according to the custom of the kings of the RHOMAYE. And he called upon the JEWS to bring up [his ancestors] for him by enchantments, and he also commanded the chief of the HARRANITES to examine for him a liver and to see whence his family sprung. Finally the miserable man was exposed, and he was killed.
In the year one thousand and fifty-three [of the GREEKS] (A.D.742) [120] LEO died, and his son CONSTANTINE reigned thirty-four years. And 'ARTABAS, his son-in-Iaw, rebelled against him, and he went to CONSTANTINOPLE and sat down in the palace. Now the king, because he was outside, fled from his ministers and found a refuge among the troops of the ANATOLIANS. And he raised an army from them and came to 'AMURIN of PHRYGIA, and there he wintered. Then 'ARTABAS collected an army and came against him, and 'ARTABAS was defeated and fled. And in the year one thousand and fifty-six [A.D. 745] HISHAM died in RUSAFAH of CALONICUS.
After HISHAM, WALID, the son of YAZID, the son of 'ABD AL-MALIK, [ruled] for one year and three months. This Khalifah behaved wickedly to the children of the house of HISHAM and plundered their palaces. He commanded and the tongue of the Patriarch of CHALCEDON in SYRIA was cut out. And the ARABS hated him greatly because he drank wine and fermented liquors; and he used to do other wicked thmgs. And therefore the people gave him the nickname of 'PASIK', that is to say 'riotous liver'. Therefore 'ABBAS, the son of WALID, the uncle of WALID, the son of YAZID, rose up against him, and wished to reign. But the ARABS did not wish for him, because he was the son of a concubine, and they made his brother YAZID, son of WALID, king in DAMASCUS. And he sent an army and they overtook WALID, the son of YAZID, in the desert, and they cut off his head and fixed it on a spear, and they hung up by the side of it a wine pot and took him into DAMASCUS.
After WALID, the son of YAZID, YAZID, the son of WALID, [ruled] for two months. A great schism fell upon the ARABS, and in every quarter a man rose up who did not agree with his companion. In the ISLAND (GAZRTA, i.e. GAZIRAH) BASTAM rose up; in MAWSIL, SA'ID, the son of HUDAIL, in WASIT, 'ABD ALLAH, the son of 'OMAR the king, in ARMENIA, MARWAN, in KHORASAN, the son of SARIG, and in AFRICA, ABU HUDAIL And two months after YAZID began to reign an ulcer broke out in his body and he died.
After YAZID, the son of WALID, IBRAHIM his brother. This was a man whom it was pleasant to meet, and his natural disposition was good. [121] Two months after he reigned, he abdicated from sovereignty in DAMASCUS, and hid himself. And his place was not known for five years, when he was found in a grave of the ARABS, [lying] among a miscellaneous crowd of ARABS who had been killed.
After IBRAHIM, MARWAN, son of WALID, son of MAHAMMAD, son of MARWAN, son of HAKAM, [ruled]. This Khalifah was called 'HAMAR GAZARTA', i.e. 'Wild Ass of the Island', because he loved the flower of the crocus, which is called 'flower of the ass'. And during the whole of his time he ruled on the island of KARDU. Now he went forth from ARMENIA, and engaged in battle with SULAIMAN on the banks of the EUPHRATES, and twelve thousand of his men were killed, and he fled to RUSAFAH. And MARWAN came to DAMASCUS, and reigned therein two months. And he carried off the royal treasures, which formed loads for three thousand camels. And he came and pitched his camp in EMESA, and after four months they took the city; and he dug down the wall thereof, and he pounded the sculptures into dust with hammers. And he also dug down the wall of BA'ALBAK, and came to HARRAN. And he came down toward 'ATHOR (ASSYRIA), and to the country of PARTHIA, that is to say 'ESFAHAN.
Then ABU AL-'ABBAS, that is 'ABD ALLAH, the son of MAHAMMAD, the son of 'ALl, the son of 'ABD-ALLAH, the son of 'ABBAS, the uncle of the Prophet of the Muslims, and a mighty army of the men of KHORASAN pitched their tents on the ZABHA, the river which is in ASSYRIA. And MARWAN came and engaged in battle with the army of ABU AL-'ABBAS, and MARWAN was defeated, and he was despoiled of seven hundred camel loads of gold and zuze (i.e. silver money). And he and his son and his son-in-law came in disgrace to HARRAN. And they loaded his treasures on three thousand camels, and he went to ASCALON, which is on the sea coast. And ABU AL-'ABBAS pursued MARWAN and he fled to SIWANI (SYENE, ASWAN), a city which is on the frontier of the NUBIANS; and when he camped on the banks of the NILE he was overtaken and killed.
At this time there went forth from CONSTANTINOPLE 'ASHKIRASH, the captain of the host of the 'ARMANIKO, and he came against MELITENE, and looted the whole country. And CONSTANTINE the king, having conquered ARTABAS the tyrant, divided the kingdom. And a son was born to him by the daughter of the KHAKAN, and he was called LEONE (LEO). And the countries of the RHOMAYE were at peace with each other, because the ARABS were occupied in making war upon each other.
After MARWAN, ABU AL-'ABBAS [ruled] four years [122] and eight months. This Khalifah, having killed MARWAN, reigned alone throughout all the dominion of the ARABS. He removed the kingdom from DAMASCUS and transferred it to BABYLON. And by him the Khalifate of BAGHDAD was transmitted to those whose sovereignty an end hath been put in our days by the HUNS and MONGOLS.
It is said that one day when this ABU AL-'ABBAS was encamped on a place in the region of the west, suddenly a mighty tumult burst forth on his camp, and all the people, the king himself included, ran to see what wonderful thing [had happened]. And having gone they saw eight men who had risen from graves, some as far as their breasts, and some of them as far as their thighs, and some of them as far as their knees; and some of them had their beards dyed according to the custom which the ARABS observe, and many identified them. And when the people drew nigh to talk to them, the dead men vouchsafed never a word. And whilst [the people] were wondering [at the sight], the king commanded them to depart [from the men in the graves] for that day, and not to go near them, as he expected that, peradventure, speech might be given to them [later]. And on the following day when the people went they found [the men in the graves] in the condition of living beings who had no speech. Then [the king] commanded, and they were buried a second time.
And in the year one thousand and sixty-three [of the GREEKS] (A.D. 752) the wife of CONSTANTINE the king, who was the daughter of KHAKAN, died; and he remained without a wife for three years, according to the law of Christian kings. Then certain crafty men, under the guise of affection, wishing to eject him from the kingdom, advised him to take [another] wife. But he, knowing full well their craftiness, said, 'I cleave to your advice, but I am not forgetting the law of the RHOMAYE; and, moreover, I think that it is not seemly for a king to be the slave of desire (or, lust). But if ye are certain that it is right, make my son king instead of me, and I will bow to your will.' And having placed the crown upon him, he administered the affairs of the kingdom, because he was wise and timid as concerning enemies. And in that same year he went and pitched his camp at MELITENE. And he heaped up mounds against it, and broke down a portion of the wall thereof, and finally he gave a pledge to the ARABS who were inside it, and he spared them. And he carried away into captivity the people of CLAUDIA, and all the villages of 'ARMAN DHE-'ARBA'. And in that year died [123] ABU AL-'ABBAS 'ABD ALLAH.
After ABU AL-'ABBAS, his brother 'ABU JA'AFAR MANSUR [ruled] twenty-two years. And in the year in which 'ABU JA'AFAR [began to] reign, that is to say, the year one thousand and sixty-six of the GREEKS (A.D. 755), and the year one hundred and thirty-five of the ARABS, CONSTANTINE, king of the RHOMAYE, went forth against KALONIKALA (KALIKALA?), which is 'ARZN-AR-RUM, And he captured it and left it a ruin. And he placed a garrison in the fortress of KAMAK. When 'ABD ALLAH, the son of 'ALI, heard of the death of 'ABU AL-'ABBAS, he began to make a circuit through the cities and he made himself king in them. And 'ABU JA'AFAR sent [an army] against 'ABU MUSLIM, the captain of the host, and defeated him. Then 'ABU MUSLIM, the captain of the host, himself rebelled against 'ABU JA'AFAR, and he journeyed about through the cities that he might seize the kingdom (or, grasp sovereignty). Then 'ABU JA'AFAR sent to him a man whose name was 'ISA, and he cajoled him and brought him [to him], and at the moment when he was entering his presence 'ABU JA'AFAR made a sign and he was killed. And the kingdom of the ARABS was established for him. And he commanded and MELITENE was [re]built as it was formerly, and he placed a garrison therein. And he also built KALONlKOLA and placed a gamson therein.
And in the year one thousand and seventy-one (A.D. 760) the ARABS subjugated AFRICA. And at this time the country of TABARISTAN was subjugated by the ARABS. It is bounded on the north by the CASPIAN SEA, and on the east by GURGAN, on the south by MEDIA and a portion of PARTHIA, and on the west by DILUM (or, DILAM). In it are five walled cities, and it aboundeth in mountains, and forests, and meadows, and streams of water. The passes thereto are difficult [to traverse]. Its length from east to west is forty parasangs, and its breadth from north to south is twenty parasangs.
And in the year one thousand and seventy-three of the GREEKS (A.D. 762), 'ABU JA'AFAR built a city on the river DEKLATH (TIGRIS) above CTESIPHON, and he called it 'BAGHDAD', after the name of an image (or, idol) which was in that place, and he dwelt therein. And after one year MAHAMMAD, one of the sons of 'ALI, the kinsman of their Prophet and the son of his uncle, rebelled, and the whole of Arabdom was drawn to follow him. And 'ISA, the captain of the host, went against him, and slew him in YATHREB, in the month of RAMADAN during their fast. And IBRAHIM his brother in BOSRA also rebelled, and he also was killed.
And in this same year the KHAZARAYE went forth and made captives fifty thousand souls [124] from GURZANIA. And at the same time the country of KHABUL in the Indian quarter of the world was subjugated by the ARABS. And 'ABU JA'AFAR imposed taxes on all the nations, and he doubled the tribute of the Christians.
And in the year one thousand and sixty-six [of the GREEKS] (A.D. 765) there was an exceedingly severe earthquake in the country of KHORASAN, and one mountain departed from its place [a distance of] about three miles, and because it was [formed] of earth it was shattered in pieces.
And in the year one thousand and eighty [A.D. 769] the MAGIANS who were in PERSIA rebelled against the ARABS, and they set up a chief for themselves. And an army of the ARABS went against them, and the ARABS were defeated. And again the MAGIANS became strong enough to establish a kingdom for themselves, and an exceedingly strong army of ARABS went against them, and the MAGIANS were defeated, and about forty thousand of them fell and their chief was killed. And in that same year the ARABS went up in wrath against the Valley of GERMANIKI, which is MAR'ASH, because they heard that [their] spies (or, scouts) had been enslaved by the RHOMAYE. And they carried off the people of the country into captivity, and took them away and settled them in the land of RAMLEH. Thus also they did with the natives of SAMOSATA.
And at this time the Barbarians who were natives of AFRICA rebelled, and they killed the ARABS and the PERSIANS. And YAZID, the captain of the host, went against them and defeated them, and about thirty thousand of the Barbarians fell. And in the year one thousand and eighty [of the GREEKS] (A.D. 769) a certain woman was discovered in the country of the BUKHARAYE who had never taken food, and she had never sucked at the breast, and she never had any need of drink. And MAHDI, the son of the king, heard of her, and he sent and had her brought to BAGHDAD. And they verified the story, and it was found to be in truth a fact which was outside [the course] of nature. And in the year one thousand and eighty-three (A.D. 772) ABU JA'AFAR built a city by the side of CALONICUS, and he called it 'RAPEKAH', and no man had ever seen such handicraft as was displayed on the gates thereof. As for these gates: 'when I, the feeble one, was performing the duties of a pastor in BEROA, they brought to ALEPPO two huge double gates [made] wholly of iron, and they fastened them on the gate of KENNESHRIN, and two smaller double gates, but they did not succeed in setting them up. For immediately after the MONGOLS captured ALEPPO and they destroyed its walls and smashed its gates.
And in the year one thousand and eighty-three [A.D. 772] 'ABU JA'AFAR marched from BABYLON to BETH NAHRIN and SYRIA, and he oppressed [125] men with very heavy taxes, and he gathered together all the silver and gold into his treasure-house. And the children of men, being afflicted in this wise, used to dig up the graves, [thinking] that perhaps they might find some of trinkets (or, ornaments) which had been buried with the dead. And at the same time the RHOMAYE used to dig in the city of NICOMEDIA, and they found a cave wherein was laid the mummified body of NICOMEDIUS (?), who built it, and with it were ornaments of gold, and red jacinths which sparkled in the dark. And when CONSTANTINE the king perceived [what was being done] he showed great magnanimity, and he did not take anything whatsoever from that place, 'For', said he, 'it is a disgraceful thing for the living to be in need of anything from the dead'. And not this only, for he sent workmen and they blocked up the place strongly, and heaped up a mighty mound of dust and stones above it. At this time a pestilence broke out in SYRIA and 'ATHOR (ASSYRIA), and there came a famine of excruciating severity. It was not caused by the lack of grain (or, wheat), but it arose because not a single zuza (i.e. a coin of about the value of a piastre) remained with any man. The price of an ox or a donkey was one zuza; the price of ten measures of wine was one zuza; the price of five bushels of wheat was one zuza; and the price of youths and maidens was five zuza each. Afer thirty years of these tribulations 'ABU JA'AFAR died in the Ka'ba (?), and the whole world was delivered from tribulation. Twenty-five days before his death, CONSTANTINE, king of the RHOMAYE, died, and LEO his son reigned five years.
(1) i.e. 'those who exceed what is obligatory on them in fighting or warring against unbelievers or the like'. Lane, quoted by Payne Smith, Thesaurus, col. 2034.
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