al-Anṭāq. Saʿd therefore wrote to ʿUmar about the situation in Jalula—the Persians massing there—and about the people of Mosul. We have already set out ʿUmar’s reply concerning Jalula and what ensued. As for the people of Mosul who had gathered at Tikrit around al-Anṭāq, ʿUmar ordered that an army be formed to fight them, placing ʿAbd Allah b. al-Muʿtam (1) in overall command. He was to put Rabiʿī b. al-Afkal al-ʿAnazī (2) over the vanguard, al-Hārith b. Ḥassān al-Dhuhlī over the right wing, Furāt b. Ḥayyān al-ʿIjlī over the left, Hāniʾ b. Qays over the rear guard, and ʿArfajah b. Harthamah over the cavalry.
ʿAbd Allah b. al-Muʿtam set out from al-Madāʾin with five thousand men. After four stages he halted at Tikrit opposite al-Anṭāq, who had been joined by contingents of Byzantines, Shahārijah, Christian Arabs, and tribesmen from Iyād, Taghlib, and al-Namr. They had ringed the town; ʿAbd Allah b. al-Muʿtam besieged them for forty days. During that time they sallied out to fight twenty-four times (3), yet on every occasion he defeated them and shattered their ranks. Their strength waned, and the Byzantines resolved to escape by boat with their wealth.
ʿAbd Allah b. al-Muʿtam then sent word to the nearby Bedouins, inviting them to join him in attacking the town. Couriers (4) returned with their acceptance. He replied: “If you are sincere, bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and affirm what has come from Allah.” The messengers returned saying that they had embraced Islam. He then instructed them: “If you are truthful, when we pronounce the takbīr and storm the town tonight, hold the boat-doors shut, prevent them from boarding, and kill whomsoever you can.”
ʿAbd Allah and his men then charged, uttering a single, mighty takbīr, and stormed the town. The Bedouins on the far side likewise shouted the takbīr, throwing the townspeople into confusion. They tried to flee through the gates facing the Tigris, where Iyād, al-Namr, and Taghlib met them (5) and slaughtered them mercilessly. ʿAbd Allah b. al-Muʿtam entered through the other gates with his men and killed every inhabitant of the town to the last man, sparing none except those Arabs of Iyād, Taghlib, and al-Namr who had accepted Islam.
In his letter (6) ʿUmar had stipulated that, once Tikrit was taken, Rabiʿī b. al-Afkal should be dispatched at once to al-Ḥiṣnayn—namely, Mosul. Accordingly he marched—as ʿUmar had ordered—with a large detachment of seasoned warriors and reached the city before any news of Tikrit’s fall had arrived. He had scarcely taken up position before they agreed to a treaty (7); humiliation and subjugation (8) were imposed “out of hand” while they stood subdued.
The booty seized at Tikrit was then divided, and the share of the mounted warrior came to