The Chaliphate - Muir - The Search For Mecca

A.D. 724-43] BALKII CAPITAL OF CENTRAL ASLA. 395
in the country, who succeeded, was a wise and able ruler. A.IL 105-
12;.
He moved the capital back to Merv. Besides the four old
capital towns, Nisabur, Merv, Merv ar-Rud, and Herat, there Nasr pacifies
was a seat of government also at Balkh, Khwarizm, and 120 a.h.
Samarkand. He carried his arms into Ferghana. The task
was now comparatively easy ; for since the fall of the
Khakan, the Turkoman hordes had broken up into parties,
which offered no effective resistance. By the promulgation
of a general amnesty, the Soghdians were brought back to
their allegiance. Both Arabs and Mawali were conciliated
by assessing unbelievers alone for the poll-tax. The Jews'
tax was collected by the Chief Rabbi, that of the Christians
by the Bishop, and that of the Magians by the Marzuban.
The Muslims, on the other hand, both Arabs and Mawali,
were made liable for the land-tax. Thus Nasr introduced
into Khorasan the distinction oijizya (poll-tax) and kJiaraj
(land-tax), which were originally identical, and neither of
which was paid by Muslims. And so, after having been
for so many years harassed by rapine and war, the provinces
in Central Asia at last enjo}'ed repose until the outbreak of
civil war in
Syria.
In Sind and Western India there is little to record of Sind and
progress during the present reign. Al-Juneid, the governor, jo-'^^",,.
afterwards transferred to Merv, made some successful raids 725 a.d.
in the East ;
but he injured the Muslim name b\- warring
against Jeishaba, an Indian prince, who, notwithstanding
his profession of the faith, was made prisoner in a sea-fight
and put to death. ^ His brother set out for Al-Kufa to lodge
complaint against this unjust attack, when he too was caught
on the way in the tyrant's toils and put to death. The result
of such treatment was that, under his successor, a general
revolt arose against a rule hateful to the Indians
;
and so
it became necessary to found in the tract bordering on the
Indus, two strongly fortified garrisons, Al-Ma/ifjl.ui and
Al-Mansurar By these the surrounding country was long
held in check, and forward movement made into the rich
provinces of the Deccan.
llisham revived the war against the Romans which had
'
Ibn al-Alhlr, under tlic year 107 ad iuit. The iiiridcnt is not
mentioned by 'j'abari.
-
That is, the Protected i\\\(\ llic Viitorious.