Al-Layth said: When al-Dahḥāk publicly proclaimed the allegiance of Ibn al-Zubayr in Damascus and prayed for his success, the bulk of the Umayyads and their retainers left for the Jordan, while Marwān and the clan of Baḥdal set out toward al-Dahḥāk.

Ibn Saʿd reported: al-Madāʾinī told us—through Khālid ibn Yazīd from his father, and through Maslama ibn Muḥārib from Ḥarb ibn Khālid, and others—that when Muʿāwiya ibn Yazīd died, al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr in Ḥimṣ invited the people to pledge allegiance to Ibn al-Zubayr; Zufar ibn al-Ḥārith, the governor of Qinnasrīn, did likewise; and in Damascus al-Dahḥāk called to him in secret because of the presence of the Umayyads and the tribe of Kalb.

News of this reached Ḥassān ibn Baḥdal in Palestine, and his sympathies lay with Khālid ibn Yazīd. He wrote to al-Dahḥāk, exalting the right of the Umayyads and disparaging Ibn al-Zubayr, and told the courier, “If he reads the letter, fine; if not, recite it aloud to the people.” He also wrote to the Umayyads.

Al-Dahḥāk did not read his letter, which caused discord. Khālid ibn Yazīd quieted them, and al-Dahḥāk withdrew to his house (1) for a few days. He then led the people in prayer, mentioned Yazīd, and cursed him. A man from Kalb struck him with a staff, the swords were drawn, and the people fought. Al-Dahḥāk retired into the governor’s residence and did not re-emerge, and the community split: one faction with Ibn al-Zubayr, another with the Baḥdal clan (2), and a third that remained indifferent.

They next wished to pledge allegiance to al-Walīd ibn ʿUtba ibn Abī Sufyān, but he refused and soon died.

Al-Dahḥāk then summoned Marwān, who came with his uncle, al-Ashdaq, Khālid ibn Yazīd, and Khālid’s brother. Al-Dahḥāk apologized to them and said, “Write to Ibn Baḥdal to come down to al-Jābiyah; we shall march to meet him, and one of you will assume the caliphate.”

Ibn Baḥdal arrived, and al-Dahḥāk together with the Umayyads set out for al-Jābiyah. When the standards had been raised and the columns were on the move, Maʿn ibn Thawr and the Qaysites said to al-Dahḥāk:

“You have called us to the allegiance of a man who is the shrewdest among people in judgment, in merit, and in valor,”