so point him out to me.”
The monk replied, “I have already described him to you.”
Al-Ḥajjāj asked, “Do you know what end awaits me?”
“Yes,” he answered.
“Who will take charge of Iraq after me?”
“A man called Yazīd.”
“During my lifetime or after my death?”
“I do not know.”
“Do you know what he looks like?”
“He will commit a single act of treachery; beyond that I know nothing.”
Al-Ḥajjāj at once concluded that the man must be Yazīd ibn al-Muhallab. For seven days he travelled on, troubled by the elder’s words, and then wrote to ʿAbd al-Malik asking to be relieved of the governorship of Iraq, intending to gauge the caliph’s regard for him. The reply came back filled with reproach, scolding, and censure, together with a command that he remain firm and continue in office.
Not long after, al-Ḥajjāj sat deep in thought and summoned ʿUbayd ibn Mohaib. When ʿUbayd entered he found him scratching the ground; al-Ḥajjāj raised his head and said:
“Woe to you, ʿUbayd! The People of the Book relate that the authority I now hold will pass to a man named Yazīd. I have considered Yazīd ibn Abī Kabshah, Yazīd ibn Ḥuṣayn ibn Numayr, and Yazīd ibn Dīnār, but none of them fits. It can be none other than Yazīd ibn al-Muhallab.”
ʿUbayd replied, “You have indeed exalted them and magnified their standing. They possess stature, endurance, and good fortune—it is entirely plausible.”
Al-Ḥajjāj therefore resolved to remove Yazīd ibn al-Muhallab. He wrote to ʿAbd al-Malik disparaging him, warning of his treachery, and recounting what the elder had said. ʿAbd al-Malik replied, “You have said much about Yazīd; name someone suitable for Khurāsān.” Al-Ḥajjāj chose al-Muḍaffar ibn al-Muhallab, appointing him for a brief term of nine months. During that time he campaigned against Bādhghīs (1) and elsewhere, seized abundant spoils, and was lauded by the poets; afterward al-Ḥajjāj replaced him with Qutaybah ibn Muslim.
Ibn Jarīr (2) said: In this same year Mūsā ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khāzim was killed at Tirmidh. He then recounted the circumstances, summarised as follows. After his father was slain, not a single town remained under his control to which he and his followers could repair. Whenever he drew near a settlement its ruler would come out and fight him. This continued until he encamped near Tirmidh, whose king was weak; the king therefore sought terms, sending him gifts and presents, until the two of them even went hunting together.
Later the king conceived a stratagem: he prepared a banquet and sent word to Mūsā ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khāzim, “Come to me with one hundred of your men.” From his army Mūsā chose one hundred of their bravest warriors. He entered the town and ate of the king’s food. When the hospitality was finished, Mūsā lay down on his side in the king’s residence and said, “By Allah, I shall not rise from here until this house is either my dwelling or my grave.” The palace folk rose against him, but his companions defended him. Fighting then broke out between them and the people of Tirmidh; many townsfolk were killed and the rest fled. Mūsā summoned the remainder of his army, seized the town, fortified it, and shielded it from the enemy.
The king escaped and fled to his kinsmen among the Turks, seeking their aid. They said, “These are but a company of about one hundred men who have driven you from your own town—you have no power….”