Islamic Occupation Of Khuzestan

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

"Meanwhile groups of Banu al-Ami left their former dwelling places and took up residence in al-Basra, one group after another. Utbah wrote about that to Umar and sent a delegation."

Then al-Anaf b. Qays [a leader of the Bani Tamim tribe in al-Basra] told Umar (paragraph #2539): "We kept on moving from one place to another, until we arrived at a piece of open country. Well, our brothers among the inhabitants of al-Kufah have settled in a place rich in vegetation, overflowing with sweet springs and lush pald groves; in a never-ceasing flow its fruit produce reaches them. But we, the people of al-Basra, we have settled in a soggy swamp, which does not produce anything. One side faces the desert and the other side gives on to a brackish river. Supplies reach this region like a trickle from an ostrich's gullet. Our houses are crammed, our daily rations poor. Our numbers are large but our nobles are few in number. Many of us have fought vigorously, but our finances are strained, while our plots of land are small. In the past God enriched us and increased our land. So may you now enrich us, Commander of the Faithful, and increase the daily rations assigned to us so that we may survive!"

"So Omar reviewed their dwelling places which they had occupied until they moved out into the desert. Then he gave them the region as their share in the bounty and alloted plots to them, also taken from what used to belong to the Persian royal family. Thus all the land between the Tigris and the desert became their land and was divided amongst themselves. The other properties of the royal family in the land around al-Basra were thus dealt with in the same manner as the land of al-Kufah was dealt with."

"The land occupied by the people of al-Basrah consisted of two halves, one was divided up into plots; the other was left for the benefit of the armed forces and the community."

While the people of al-Basrah and those who were living under their protection were thus engaged, a controversy flared up, each side putting forth contradictory claims concerning the boundaries of their lands, between al-Hurmuzan on the one hand and Ghalib and Kulayb on the other. Sulma and Harmala went there to see what going on among them and found Galib and Kulayb to be in the right and al-Hurmuzan to be wrong. So they separated the quarreling parties. Moreover al-Hurmuzan went back on his word and withheld what he had accepted to pay. Then he called upon the Kurds to help him, whereupon his army grew in strength."

Omar then sends "Hurqus b. Zuhair al-Sadi, one of the Prophet's Companions, as reinforcement." (paragraph #2541)

"So, when they crossed over the bridge to the other side, fighting broke out while they were still on that part directly facing Suq-al-Ahwaz. In the end al-Hurmuzan was defeated. He set out in the direction of Ramhurmuz and took a village called al-Shaghar on the dam of Arbuk and finally alighted at Ramhurmuz. Hurqus conquered Suq-al-Ahwaz and took up residence there. Then he entered the mountain region, and the administration of the whole region from Suq-al-Ahwaz all the way to Tustar became well organized. He imposed the jizah, wrote the news about the conquest to Umar and sent fifth parts of the bounty acquired in the different areas, dispaching a delegation to carry this to him."

Tabari quotes a poem by "al-Aswad b. Sari" (paragraph #2542):

"We wrested from al-Hurmuzan a whole area so rich in provisions in every district. It's dry land and water supply well in balance, when excellent groves come to early fruition. This land has a turbulent stream into which pour tributaries from both sides, always overflowing."

Then in paragraph 2543 Tabari writes:

"When al-Hurmuzan had arrived in Ramhurmuz and the province of al-Ahwaz had become full of the Muslims settling in it, even right in front of him, he sent a peace agreement and sent messages to Hurqus and Jaz asking for this."

Hormozan, one of the last military leaders of Sassanid Persia, was defeated again at Ramhormoz. He then converted to Islam.