[Then came the year 217 AH]

In its month of Muḥarram al-Maʾmūn entered Egypt, seized ʿAbdūs al-Fihri, and ordered that he be beheaded. Al-Maʾmūn then turned back toward Syria.

That same year al-Maʾmūn also marched into Byzantine territory. He laid siege to Luʾluʾah (1) for one hundred days, then moved on and left ʿUjayf in charge of the siege. The Byzantines outwitted him, captured him, and held him for eight days; he escaped, resumed the siege, and the Byzantine emperor himself came and surrounded his forces from the rear. When word reached al-Maʾmūn, he set out toward him. Sensing al-Maʾmūn’s arrival, Theophilus fled, sending his minister—called al-Ṣunfal—to request safety, reconciliation, and a truce. In his letter to al-Maʾmūn, however, he placed his own name first, so al-Maʾmūn answered with an eloquent reply full of reproach and rebuke: “From you I will accept nothing but entry into al-ḥanīfiyya (pure monotheism); otherwise, it will be the sword and slaughter. Peace be upon those who follow right guidance.” (2)

The pilgrimage that year was led by Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sulaymān ibn ʿAlī.

Among the notable figures who died during the year were:
• Ḥajjāj ibn Minhāl (3)
• Surayj ibn al-Nuʿmān (4)
• Mūsā ibn Dāwūd al-Ḍabbī (5)