the stipends of the troops and dispatched them without delay. At that time the governor of Iraq was Yazid ibn Hubayrah, while the governor of Khurasan was Nasr ibn Sayyar—although Abu Muslim al-Khurasani had already seized part of his province.

Among the notable figures who died that year were: Salim Abu al-Nadr; ʿAli ibn Zayd ibn Judʿan, according to one report; and Yahya ibn Abi Kathir. Their biographies are given in Al-Takmil—praise belongs to Allah.

Year 130 AH
On Thursday, the ninth of Jumada I of that year, Abu Muslim al-Khurasani entered the city of Marw, took up residence in the governor’s palace, and wrenched it from the hands of Nasr ibn Sayyar with the help of ʿAli ibn al-Karmani. Nasr fled with only a small contingent—some three thousand men—accompanied by his wife al-Marzabana. Hurrying on, he reached Sarakhs, having abandoned his wife on the road and saved himself. Abu Muslim’s power now grew tremendously; various groups and many Arab tribes flocked to his side.

The Slaying of Shayban ibn Salamah the Haruri
When Nasr ibn Sayyar escaped, Shayban remained behind; he had been conspiring with him against Abu Muslim. Abu Muslim therefore sent envoys to Shayban, but he detained them. Abu Muslim then dispatched Bassam ibn Ibrahim, the client of the Banu Layth, ordering him to ride out against Shayban and fight him. Bassam advanced, they engaged in battle, and Bassam routed Shayban, killed him, and pursued his followers, killing and capturing them.

After that, Abu Muslim executed ʿAli and ʿUthman, the two sons of al-Karmani. The reason was that Abu Muslim had earlier sent Musa ibn Kaʿb to Abiwurd, which he captured; Musa wrote to inform him of the victory. He next dispatched Abu Dawud to Balkh, and Abu Dawud wrested it from Ziyad ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Qushayri. Ziyad then mustered a large force from the people of that region to fight the sūd (the “black-clad warriors”). Abu Dawud marched against them, defeated them, sacked their camp, slew many of them, and seized abundant booty, so that his authority there became formidable. An incident then occurred that led Abu Muslim and Abu Dawud to agree that ʿUthman ibn al-Karmani should be killed on a certain day, and that on that very day Abu Muslim himself would kill ʿAli ibn Jadaʿ al-Karmani; and it happened exactly as planned.

In the same year Abu Muslim sent Qahtaba ibn Shabib to Nishapur to fight Nasr ibn Sayyar. With Qahtaba were several leading commanders, among them Khalid ibn Barmak and many others. They met Nasr’s son, Tamim ibn Nasr ibn Sayyar—whom his father had dispatched against them—at Tus. Qahtaba slew about seventeen thousand of Nasr’s men in that encounter, while Abu Muslim had—