27 Facts About Ibn al-Ash'ath

Ibn al-Ash'ath was a scion of a noble family of the Kinda tribe that had settled in the Arab garrison town of Kufa in Iraq.

Ibn al-Ash'ath played a minor role in the Second Fitna and then served as governor of Rayy.

Caliph Abd al-Malik tried to negotiate terms, including the dismissal of al-Hajjaj, but the hardliners among the rebel leadership pressured Ibn al-Ash'ath into rejecting the Caliph's terms.

Ibn al-Ash'ath's fate is unclear, as some accounts hold that the Zunbil executed him after al-Hajjaj demanded his surrender, while most sources claim that he committed suicide to avoid being handed over to his enemies.

Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath was a member of a noble family from the Kinda tribe in the Hadramawt in eastern Yemen.

Defeated, Ibn al-Ash'ath was nevertheless pardoned and married Caliph Abu Bakr's sister, Umm Farwa, who became his chief wife.

Ibn al-Ash'ath went on to participate in the crucial battles of the early Muslim conquests, Yarmouk and Qadisiyya, and held governorships in the newly conquered province of Adharbayjan.

Ibn al-Ash'ath had four brothers, Ishaq, Qasim, Sabbah, and Isma'il, of whom the first three fought in the campaigns in Tabaristan.

Uthman himself was killed, while Ibn al-Ash'ath, who lost his horse, managed to escape with the help of a friend and reached Kufa.

In view of their bad relations, the sources report that the appointment came as a surprise to many; an uncle of Ibn al-Ash'ath even approached al-Hajjaj and suggested that his nephew might revolt, but al-Hajjaj did not rescind his appointment.

Ibn al-Ash'ath then went before the assembled troops and repeated al-Hajjaj's instructions, calling upon them to decide what should be done.

Dixon furthermore points out that the first of the commanders to swear allegiance to Ibn al-Ash'ath are known to have been Shi'a sympathizers from Kufa, who had participated in Mukhtar's uprising.

Ibn al-Ash'ath fortified Basra, and over the next month, a series of skirmishes were fought between the forces of Ibn al-Ash'ath and al-Hajjaj, in which the former generally held the upper hand.

Ibn al-Ash'ath initially prevailed, but in the end al-Hajjaj's Syrians, under the general Sufyan ibn al-Abrad al-Kalbi, carried off a victory.

Many rebels fell, especially among the, forcing Ibn al-Ash'ath to withdraw to his home town of Kufa, taking with him the Kufan troops and the elite of the Basran cavalry.

At Kufa, Ibn al-Ash'ath was well received, but found the citadel occupied by Matar ibn Najiya, an officer from al-Mada'in, and was forced to take it by assault.

Ibn al-Ash'ath left Abd al-Rahman ibn Abbas al-Hashimi as his commander in Basra.

Ibn al-Ash'ath's army was harassed by Ibn al-Ash'ath's cavalry under Abd al-Rahman ibn Abbas, but reached the environs of the city and set up camp at Dayr Qarra, on the right bank of the Euphrates, so as to secure his lines of communication with Syria.

Ibn al-Ash'ath was inclined to accept, but the more radical of his followers, especially the, refused, and pushed for outright victory.

Again Ibn al-Ash'ath initially held the upper hand, but the Syrians prevailed in the end: shortly before the sun set, Ibn al-Ash'ath's men broke and scattered.

The Zunbil remained true to his word: learning of this event, he came to Bust and forced Ibn al-Ash'ath's release, taking him with him to Zabulistan and treating him with much honour.

Once free, Ibn al-Ash'ath assumed command of some 60,000 supporters who had assembled in Sistan in the meantime, led by his lieutenants, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abbas al-Hashimi and Ubayd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura al-Qurashi.

Disillusioned with the fickleness of the Iraqis, Ibn al-Ash'ath returned to Zabulistan with those who would follow him there.

Ibn al-Ash'ath remained safe under the protection of the Zunbil, but al-Hajjaj, fearing that he might raise another revolt, sent several letters to the Zunbil, mixing threats and promises, to secure his surrender.

Accounts of Ibn al-Ash'ath's end differ: one version holds that he was executed by the Zunbil himself, or that he died of consumption.

Ibn al-Ash'ath's head was cut off and sent to al-Hajjaj in Iraq.

One tradition holds that Ibn al-Ash'ath's head was buried there, while another that it was then taken to Hadramawt and thrown into a well.