A literary history of Persia

1 Some account of this is found in al-Fakhn (p. 203) ;Tabari iii, 119-120 ;314 THE GREAT PERSIAN HERESIARCHSMagian, 1 who had been Abu Muslim's friend and partisan asignificant fact, as showing that the great propagandist's religiousviews were not sufficientlyintolerant to alienate from his causeeven "guebres." Starting from Nishapur, his native place,with the avowed intention of avenging Abu Muslim, he sooncollected a numerous following, occupied Qumis 'and Rayof the treasures which Abu Muslim(where he took possessionhad deposited in that city), and declared his intention ofadvancing on the Arabian province of the Hijaz and destroyingthe Ka'ba. He soon attracted to him hosts of Magians fromTabaristan and elsewhere, Mazdakites, Rafidis (Shi'ites), and" Anthropomorphists"(Mushabbiha], whom he told that AbuMuslim was not dead, but that, being threatened with death byal-Mansur, he had recited the " Most Great Name " of God,and turned himself into a white dove,2 which flew away.His armed followers are said to have numbered some 100,000men, and if, as stated by al-Fakhri, 60,000 of these were leftdead on the field when he was finally,aftermany successes,defeated and slain by the 'Abbasid general Jahwar b. Marrar,this can be no exaggeration. This insurrection, thoughformidable, was short-lived, only lasting seventy days, accordingto the most trustworthy accounts, though the Nidhamu'1-Mulksays seven years, which iscertainlyan error.Ishdq " the Turk," whom we have already mentioned, wasanother of Abu Muslim's da 1 is or propagandists, who, on theIs&k."hedeath of his master, fled into Transoxiana, andtaught that Abu Muslim was not dead, but concealedin the mountains near Ray, whence hewould issue forth in the fulness of time. Accordingto theMas'udi's Muruju'dh Dhahab, vi, 188-189 ; al-Ya'qubi, ii, 441-442 ; Idem,Kitabu'l-Bitlddn (de Goejc's Bibl. Gcogr. Arab., vol. vii), p. 303 ;Dorn'sGesch. von Tabaristan, &c., p. 47 ; Idem, Auszuge . . . betreffend dieGesch. . . . der Sudl. Kilstenlilnder des Kaspischen Mccres, pr>. 442-444Justi's Iranisches Xaineiibuch, pp. 314-315, article Sninbdt (Sitnfudh), 19.*Cf. Shahristani, op. cit., p. in, and al-Ya'qubi, ii, p. 313.