Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire by Parvaneh. Pourshariati

Author:Parvaneh. Pourshariati [Pourshariati, Parvaneh.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2008-02-02T23:05:30+00:00

CHAPTER 3: ARAB CONQUEST

frontier regions of Jurj¯an by name.”1466 Suwayd then “allocated the Turks of

Dihist¯an [to look after] them, removing the tribute from those who remained

to defend them and taking taxes from the remainder of the people of Jurj¯an.”1467

Who this S.¯ul was, and what precisely was being negotiated, is clarified by the

terms of the treaty that was subsequently drawn up between the two parties. In

the treaty itself S.¯ul is no longer recognized as the ruler of Gurg¯an. Rather the

treaty is addressed to “R¯

uzb¯an S.¯ul b. R¯uzb¯an and the people of Dihist¯an and

all of those of Jurj¯an.” This S.¯ul was one of the Turkic leaders who in the post-Bagratuni period of Khur¯as¯an had managed to carve for himself a domain, from

where he imposed his rule on Gurg¯an and adjacent territories, such as Dihist¯an. Tangentially, we should mention a significant chronological issue before

we proceed. While Sayf’s narrative maintains that the conquest of Gurg¯an took

place in 18 AH/639 CE,1468 T.abar¯ıalso informs us that, according to al-Mad¯a in¯ı,

the conquest of Gurg¯an took place in 30 AH/650–651 CE, more than a decade

later. There is absolutely no indication, however, that the Arabs could have

reached Gurg¯an at this early stage in 639 CE. To this important chronological

dispute we will get shortly.

The treaty between Suwayd and S.¯ul stipulated that the tribute imposed on

S.¯ul and his followers would not be in the form of monetary arrangements but

“in the form of assistance.”1469 These treaty terms were analogous, as we shall

see, to those the Arabs made with the Mihr¯anid Shahrvar¯az in the Caucasus,

where the tribute due from the conquered population was calculated in terms

of the military assistance rendered.1470 In Bal am¯ı’s account, however, the terms

of the agreement between S.¯ul and Suwayd were even more advantageous for

S.¯ul: he entered into an agreement with Suwayd on the condition that the Arabs

agreed to pay him a portion of the khar¯aj of Gurg¯an, as well as a portion of

the dues given by “those who refuse to accept Islam.”1471 Another significant

chronological indicator is provided by Bal am¯ı: S.¯ul persuaded Suwayd that this

arrangement would also benefit the Arabs, for “once the ispahbud¯an [i.e., the

plural of sp¯ahbed] of T.abarist¯an realize that he, [i.e., S.¯ul,] has made peace, they will not engage in war with the Arabs.” If they did nevertheless elect war, S.¯ul

promised that he would come forth with the army of Gurg¯an, and wage war

until T.abarist¯an was likewise conquered.1472

The ispahbud Farrukh¯an

Bal am¯ı then adds, significantly, that when the ispahbudh¯an (pl.), that is to say,

the collectivity of the ispahbuds of T.abarist¯an, heard that S.¯ul had made peace

1466T.abar¯ı 1994, p. 29, de Goeje, 2658.

1467T.abar¯ı 1994, p. 29, de Goeje, 2658.

1468T.abar¯ı 1994, p. 30, de Goeje, 2659.

1469T.abar¯ı 1994, p. 29, de Goeje, 2658.

1470See page 279.

1471Bal am¯ı 1959, p. 334.

1472Bal am¯ı 1959, p. 334.

254

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