then you have seized what is not lawful for you. When the Umayyads are brought to judgment tomorrow, they will put forward ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, but when you are summoned you will have no one to offer—so be that one yourself, for sixteen years of your caliphate have already passed.

He answered, “I find no helpers.”

I said, “Your helpers are my responsibility, and at no cost to you. You know that every year Abū Ayyūb al-Muryānī (1) demands from you a whole treasury, whereas I will bring you men who will serve without stipend: I will bring you al-Awzāʿī, I will bring you al-Thawrī, and I will keep you informed about the common people.”

He replied, “Wait until I have finished building Baghdad; then I will send for you.”

Sufyān (2) said to him, “Why did you mention me to him?”

He answered, “By Allah, I meant only to give sincere advice.”

Sufyān said, “Woe to anyone who enters their presence without great intelligence and deep understanding—how he becomes a trial for them and for the ummah!”

Nūbakht the Magian said: “I was imprisoned in Ahwāz and saw al-Manṣūr imprisoned as well—he was still a young man. I perceived in him such awe, dignity, and beauty as I had never seen in anyone. So I asked, ‘By the sanctity of the sun and the moon, are you one of the descendants of the Master of Medina?’ He replied, ‘No, but I am of the Arabs of Medina.’ I kept drawing closer to him and serving him until I asked his teknonym. He said, ‘Abū Jaʿfar.’ I swore, ‘By Magianism itself, you will surely rule.’ He asked, ‘And how do you know that?’ I said, ‘It is exactly as I tell you…,’ and he proceeded to recount the story in detail (3).”

Al-Manṣūr was in the habit of listening to astrologers, who made a great profit from him—one of his flaws despite his many virtues.

At the very start of his rule, his uncle ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī (4) rebelled against him, and he pitted against him one who was his equal.