Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (12/515)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

The casualties mounted; Yaʿqūb broke and fled, his commanders were wounded, his treasuries were lost, and a number of his men drowned in the river (1).

Abu al-Saj (2) said to Yaʿqūb, “I have seen nothing of military planning on your part (3); how then did you defeat people? You left your baggage‐train and prisoners ahead of you, marched toward a land whose rivers and fords you did not know (4), hurried forward, and your troops were in disarray!”

Yaʿqūb replied, “I never imagined I would have to fight, nor did I ever doubt victory.”

Abu al-Faraj al-Isbahani relates: Yaʿqūb’s letters kept reaching al-Muʿtamid in evasive language, saying, “I am certain that the Commander of the Faithful has set out only to honor me and come forth to receive me.”

Al-Muʿtamid repeatedly sent urging him to withdraw, but to no avail. The caliph then mustered his forces and flooded the roads with canal water; that proved the cause of Yaʿqūb’s defeat. People imagined his retreat to be a stratagem and therefore did not pursue him. Ibn Ṭāhir slipped away and, still in chains, appeared before al-Muʿtamid.

Part of Yaʿqūb’s army consisted of Christians, and the battle took place in Rajab of the year 262 AH.

Yaʿqūb then moved to Wāsiṭ and from there to Tustar, which he captured. His army regrouped, his might grew formidable, and he was on the verge of mastering the world. Yet he died of colic; a clyster was prescribed for him but he refused it, and he perished after a fortnight.

Al-Muʿtamid had already dispatched an envoy to conciliate him and win his goodwill, and the ʿAlid ruler of Jurjān used to call him “Yaʿqūb the Anvil” because of his steadfastness.

He was seldom seen smiling.

He died at Gundeshapur in 265 AH.

His brother:
The ruler of Khurasan:

(1) See the report on the war between al-Muwaffaq and al-Saffar in Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil, vol. 7, p. 290. (2) Wafayat al-Ayan, vol. 6, p. 415, which adds: “Abu al-Saj is Dawud ibn Dust, after whom the Sajiyyah regiments in Baghdad are named.” (3) Wafayat al-Ayan reads: “ma‘aka” (with you). (4) Wafayat al-Ayan: “You headed for a town while having little knowledge of it, its canals, and its rivers.”

وَكَثُرت القَتْلَى، فَانهزم يَعْقُوْبُ، وَجُرح أُمَرَاؤُهُ، وَذَهبتْ خزَائِنُه، وَغرِق مِنْهُم خلقٌ فِي نهرٍ (١) . وَقَالَ أَبُو السَّاجِ (٢) لِيَعْقُوْبَ: مَا رَأَيْتُ مِنْكَ (٣) شَيْئاً مِنْ تَدبِير الحَرْبِ، فَكَيْفَ غَلبتَ النَّاسَ؟ فَإِنَّك تركتَ ثِقَلَكَ وَأُسرَاءك أَمَامك، وَقصدتَ بَلَداً عَلَى جهلٍ مِنْكَ بِأَنهَاره وَمخَائِضه (٤) ، وَأَسرعتَ، وَأَحْوَالُ جُنْدك مختلَّةٌ؟ قَالَ: لَمْ أَظن أَنِّي مُحَارِبٍ، وَلَمْ أَشكَّ فِي الظفر. قَالَ أَبُو الفَرَجِ الأَصْبَهَانِيُّ: لَمْ تزل كتبُ يَعْقُوْب تصل إِلَى المُعتمد بِالمرَاوَغَة، وَيَقُوْلُ: عرفتُ أَنَّ نهوضَ أَمِيْرِ المُؤْمِنِيْنَ ليشرفنِي وَيتلقَّانِي. وَالمعتمدُ يَبْعَثُ يحثُّه عَلَى الانْصِرَاف. فَمَا نَفَعَ. ثُمَّ عبَّأَ المعتمدُ جُيُوْشَه، وَشقُّوا المِيَاهَ عَلَى الطّرق، فَكَانَ ذَلِكَ سَبَب كسرتهم، وَتَوَهَّمَ النَّاسُ أَنَّ انهزَامه مكيدَةٌ فَمَا تَبِعُوهُ، وَخَلُص ابْنُ طَاهِرٍ، فَجَاءَ فِي قيدهِ إِلَى بَيْنَ يَدِي المُعْتَمِد، وَكَانَ بَعْضُ جُيُوْش يَعْقُوْب نصَارَى، وَكَانَ المَصَافُّ فِي رَجَبٍ، سنَة ٢٦٢، فَذَهَبَ يَعْقُوْبُ إِلَى وَاسِطَ، ثُمَّ إِلَى تُسْتَرَ، فَأَخَذَهَا، وَترَاجع جَيْشُه، وَعظُمت وَطأَته، وَكَادَ أَنْ يملكَ الدُّنْيَا، ثُمَّ كَانَ مَوْتهُ بِالقُوْلَنْجِ، وَوُصفت لَهُ حُقْنَةٌ، فَأَبَى، وَتَلِفَ بَعْدَ أُسْبُوْعَيْنِ، وَكَانَ المُعْتَمِد قَدْ بعثَ إِلَيْهِ رَسُوْلاً يترضَّاهُ، وَيتَأَلَّفه، وَكَانَ العَلَوِيُّ صَاحِبُ جُرْجَان يُسَمِّيه: يَعْقُوْب السندَان مِنْ ثبَاته. وَقَلَّ أَنْ رُئِيَ مُتَبَسِّماً. مَاتَ: بِجُنْديسَابُوْرَ، فِي سَنَةِ خَمْسٍ وَسِتِّيْنَ وَمائَتَيْنِ. أَخُوْهُ: صَاحِبُ خُرَسَانَ:

(١) راجع خبر الحرب بين الموفق والصفار في " الكامل " لابن الأثير ٧ / ٢٩٠. (٢) " وفيات الأعيان " ٦ / ٤١٥. وفيه: وأبو الساج هو داود بن دوست الذي تنسب إليه الاجناد الساجية ببغداد. (٣) في " الوفيات ": معك. (٤) في " وفيات لااعيان " وقصدت بلدا على قلة المعرفة منك به وبمغايصه وأنهاره.