And in 308 AH Hāmid took upon himself the tax-farming of the whole Sawād. He behaved oppressively, prices shot up, the common folk rose in revolt and came after him. His mamluks charged the crowd, who nevertheless stood their ground; the affair grew grave, people were killed, the mob grew still more desperate, they set the bridge on fire, and they stoned Hāmid while he was in the river ferry (1).
For all his overbearing power, he was open-handed and generous.
A certain Hāshimī (2) said: “Of all the men we have seen he had the broadest spirit, the finest sense of honor, and the greatest bounty. He would set up in his house a number of tables and feed even the commoners and the servants—about forty tables in all.”
On one occasion he noticed fava-bean husks in his vestibule and said to his steward, “What is this?”
“It is the doorkeepers’ doing,” the steward replied.
When they were questioned the doorkeepers said, “We have our allowance of bread and meat, which we take home.”
So he arranged that for them. Later he again saw husks, flew into a rage—he used to sweep them away himself—then assigned them a table of their own and said, “If I see any more husks after this, I will beat you with whips.”
It is also said that in one of his privies bags were found containing four hundred thousand dinars. He used to go in to relieve himself with a purse in his sleeve and drop it there, and the bags were seized when disaster befell him (3).
When Hāmid and Ibn ʿĪsā were dismissed and Ibn al-Furāt was restored to office, the latter tortured Hāmid.
Al-Masʿūdī said: “There was a certain recklessness in Hāmid. A man once spoke to him; Hāmid threw his cloak over his shoulder and shouted, ‘Woe to you! Bring him to me!’ ”
He also said: “Umm Mūsā the chamberlainess, a woman of great influence, once entered his presence and asked him for money. He retorted, ‘Break wind and pick it up—and count carefully, do not make a mistake!’ ”
(1) A river craft used to ferry passengers across the Tigris.
(2) An unnamed descendant of Hāshim who served as the source.
(3) I.e., during the confiscation of his property when he fell from power.