In that same year there appeared in Damascus a claimant known as “the Sufyani.” He was Abu al-ʿAmayṭir ʿAli ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Khalid ibn Yazid ibn Muʿawiyah (1). He called the people to himself, expelled al-Amin’s governor, and secured control of the city. The Yemeni faction, together with the inhabitants of Homs, Qinnasrin (2), and the coastal districts, rallied to him, whereas the Qays tribes would not and instead took to flight.

Tahir then routed a third army dispatched by al-Amin and encamped at Hulwan (3).

Al-Amin poured the contents of the public treasuries upon his troops, yet they proved of no help. Reinforcements for al-Maʾmun arrived with Harthama ibn Aʿyan and al-Fadl ibn Sahl, and al-Amin’s position grew ever weaker; his soldiers lost heart in the face of the Khurasanis. He therefore sent ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Salih the ʿAbbasid to Syria to raise forces for him, offering them his hoards of gold. Fighting then broke out between the Arab contingents and the Zawaqil (4), and many of them perished by the sword. Al-Maʾmun’s supporters surrounded Baghdad, besieging al-Amin. The ordeal intensified, the battle grew savage, and the townsfolk and rabble fought for al-Amin with the desperation of men facing death. The misery and the siege dragged on; events unfolded that defy description, and the crisis deepened (5).

When the year 197 AH began, al-Qasim—styled al-Muʾtaman—and his uncle Mansur fled and joined al-Maʾmun. Stones from the mangonels rained down, the breach-holes (6) were taken, and the supplies were exhausted.