The Chaliphate - Muir - The Search For Mecca

548 AL-MOTAMID [ciiAi-. Lxx.
A.H. 256- (|uit of thee, and thou of me
;
if I live, there is nought
^^ betwixt us but this sword, that I may take my revenge of
thee ;
or beaten, retire content (pointing to tlie crust) with
Ya'kub's this simple fare." He died. 'Amr, liis brother, succeeding,
^^^
'
submitted himself to the Caliph, and was confirmed, with
every honour, in the east to the farthest bounds of Khorasan
Saffarid and Sind. Some years after things changed again ;
for Al-
(iynasty, Muwaffak, now relieved of domestic as well as external
271-274 A-
•
pressui-e, and seeking to restore the Tahirid dynasty, had
the Saffarids denounced from the pulpits, and meeting 'Amr
in the field, drove him from all his western possessions back
to Sijistan. Towards the close of the reign we find 'Amr
again in favour, and acknowledged as before. But in the
end he fell, as we shall see, before the various antagonists
who now sprang up in the East and fought for its supremacy.
The rise of the Saffarids was the first step towards the
recovery of the national independence of Persia.^
Tulunidrule. We turn to Egypt, where Ahmed ibn Tulun, appointed,
!.".^fJI*^A rr as we have seen, Governor of Fustat, in 254 A.H., had
868-S83 A.D. gradually assumed independent power over the whole
country. A wise and able ruler, the land flourished under
his government as it had never done before. The revenues,
instead of passing to Bagdad, were expended in public works
at home ; buildings, canals, and charities were the objects of
his care, and a Mosque bearing his name is still the ornament
of Cairo ; learning was promoted, while a magnificent Court
and powerful army maintained the dignity of Egypt without
unduly increasing the financial pressure. Ahmed had for a
while to fight at home against 'Alid and. other pretenders,
whom he subdued ; and then with like success against
Ibrahim the Aghlabid ruler of Kairawan, who, after signal
conquests in Sicily, had turned his aspirations eastwards.
262 A.H. At this point, Al-Muwaffak, jealous of the Tulunid's
independent attitude, sent Musa, with the view of again
reducing him to subjection. The Egyptian with his large
resources easily repelled the invasion, while MCisa's army,
in want and discontent, mutinied at Ar-Rakka, and after
long months of inaction forced him to retrace his way to
Al-'Irak.
pp.
1
On the Saftarid dynasty see Ntildeke, Sketches of Eastern History
176 ff.