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"Yes, not a dirham
less."
Quickly the princess handed over 1,000 dirhams
to the exulting Arab and returned to her family.
Shuwail rejoined his comrades, many of whom
were more knowledgeable than he. Bursting with pride he told them
the story: how he had released Kiramah, but made her pay through
the nose-1,000 dirhams!
He was quite unprepared for the laughter
which greeted his boastful account. "1,000 dirhams!"
his friends exclaimed. "For Kiramah bint Abdul Masih you
could have got much, much more."
Bewildered by this remark, the simple Arab
replied, "I did not know that there was a sum higher than
a thousand!" When Khalid heard the story he laughed heartily,
and observed, "Man intends one thing, but Allah intends
another." 1
Once Hira was his, Khalid turned to the
subjugation of other parts of Iraq, starting with the nearer districts.
He wrote identical letters to the mayors and elders of the towns,
offering them the usual alternatives-Islam, the Jizya or the sword.
All the districts in the vicinity of Hira had the good sense to
submit; and pacts were drawn up with the chiefs and mayors, laying
down the rate of Jizya and assuring the inhabitants of Muslim protection.
These pacts were witnessed by several Muslim officers, including
Khalid's brother, Hisham, who served under him in this campaign.
Meanwhile the affairs of Persia were going
from bad , to worse. The Persians were split over the question of
the succession to the throne. In opposition to Khalid, they were
united, but this was a sterile unity, offering no positive results.
With the military affairs of the Empire in disarray, Bahman had
assumed the role of Commander-in-Chief, and was working feverishly
to put the defences of Ctesiphon in order against a Muslim attack
which he was certain would come. Bahman aimed at nothing more ambitious
than the defence of Ctesiphon; and in this he was being realistic,
for over the rest of the region west of the Lower Tigris the Persians
had no control.
Over this region the Arab horse was now
supreme. Khalid, having crushed four large Persian armies, knew
that there was no further threat of a counter-offensive from Ctesiphon,
and that he could venture into Central Iraq in strength. He made
Hira his base of operations and flung his cavalry across the Euphrates.
His mounted columns galloped over Central Iraq up to the Tigris,
killing and plundering those who resisted and making peace with
those who agreed to pay the Jizya. For the command of these fast-moving
columns he used his most dashing generals Dhiraar bin Al Azwar,
Qaqa, Muthanna. By the end of June 633 (middle of Rabi-ul-Akhir
12 Hijri) the region between the rivers was all his. There was no
one to challenge his political and military authority.
Along with military conquest Khalid organised
the administration of the conquered territories. He appointed officers
over all the districts to see that the Jizya was promptly paid and
that the local inhabitants provided intelligence about the Persians
and guides for the movement of Muslim units. Khalid also sent two
letters to Ctesiphon, one addressed to the court and the other to
the people. The letter to the Persian court read as follows:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent,
the Merciful. From Khalid bin Al Waleed to the kings of Persia.
Praise be to Allah who has disrupted your system and thwarted your
designs. And if He had not done so it would have been worse for
you. Submit to our orders and we shall leave you and your land in
peace; else you shall suffer subjugation at the hands of a people
who love death as you love life. 2
The letter addressed to the people was in
much the same words, with the added promise of Muslim protection
in return for the payment of the Jizya. Both the letters were carried
by local Arabs of Hira and delivered at Ctesiphon. There was no
reply!
1. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 569; Balazuri: p.
245.
2. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 572.
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