“Whoever sets out longing for his household—may he never return!
He fled from death, yet in death he fell.”

A latticed pavilion would be erected for Abū Muslim; he would sit there whenever the two armies closed in, and whenever he noticed a weakness in his line he sent orders to have it repaired. On Tuesday—or, some said, Wednesday—seven days into Jumādā al-Ākhirah, the armies met and fought a fierce battle. Abū Muslim then out-maneuvered them: he dispatched word to al-Ḥasan ibn Qaḥṭabah, commander of the right wing, instructing him to move with all his men, save a few, over to the left. When the Syrians saw this, they too shifted toward the right, opposite the newly reinforced left. At that moment Abū Muslim ordered the centre, together with those who remained on the right, to charge the Syrian left. They smashed it; the Syrian centre and right broke and scattered, the Khurāsānīs pressed their attack, and the rout was complete. ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAlī fled after some hesitation, while Abū Muslim took possession of all the wealth and stores in their camp. He granted safety to the remainder of the troops and did not kill a single one of them. He then wrote to al-Manṣūr reporting what had happened, whereupon al-Manṣūr sent his freedman Abū al-Khaṣīb to make an inventory of the spoils found in ʿAbd Allah’s camp. Abū Muslim al-Khurāsānī was angered by this.

The provinces now closed ranks behind Abū Jaʿfar al-Manṣūr. ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAlī and his brother ʿAbd al-Ṣamad wandered on aimlessly; when they reached al-Ruṣāfah, ʿAbd al-Ṣamad remained there. On his return Abū al-Khaṣīb found him, shackled him in iron, and brought him before al-Manṣūr, who handed him over to ʿĪsā ibn Mūsā and granted him safe-conduct—though some say it was Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAlī who secured it for him. As for ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAlī, he went to his brother Sulaymān ibn ʿAlī in Baṣrah and lived with him in hiding for some time. When al-Manṣūr learned of his whereabouts, he had him arrested and imprisoned [in a house whose foundations were laid on blocks of salt; water was then let in, the salt dissolved, the building collapsed upon ʿAbd Allah, and he died. Such were among the stratagems of al-Manṣūr; Allah, exalted is He, knows best].(1)

He remained in prison for seven years, after which the building in which he was confined fell in upon him and he died, as will be set forth in its proper place, if Allah Most High wills.

The Death of Abū Muslim al-Khurāsānī

In this same year, after Abū Muslim had completed the ḥajj, he set off a stage ahead of the people. While on the road he received news of as-Saffāḥ’s death, so he wrote to Abū Jaʿfar offering condolences for his brother but did not congratulate him on the caliphate and did not return to him. Al-Manṣūr was angered by this, in addition to the ill will he already harboured against him should the caliphate come into his hands.

It was also said that al-Manṣūr himself had travelled a stage ahead of the pilgrims, and that when word of his brother’s death arrived he wrote to Abū Muslim urging him to hasten forward, as we have already mentioned.(2) He then said to Abū Ayyūb, “Write him a harsh letter.” When the letter reached Abū Muslim he sent his congratulations on the caliphate and was cowed by it. Some said