he sent his servant to the man with some gold and said, “Give him the gold and take whatever bread he has.” The servant went, handed him the dinars, and the farmer gave him the bread he had (1).
The farmer’s companion, seeing the servant from a distance as he took the bread, imagined that he had robbed him. He therefore went to a nearby fortress where a deputy of the caliph named Sahl ibn Sunbāṭ was stationed, in order to lodge a complaint against the servant. Sahl mounted at once, came, and found the servant.
He asked, “What is the matter with you?”
The servant replied, “Nothing at all—-I simply gave him some dinars and took this bread from him.”
Sahl said, “And who are you?” The servant tried to conceal the truth, but when Sahl pressed him he said, “I am one of Bābak’s pages.”
Sahl asked, “And where is he?”
“He is over there,” the servant answered, “sitting down, about to have lunch.”
Sahl ibn Sunbāṭ walked over to Bābak; when he saw him he dismounted, came forward, and kissed his hand. “My master,” he said, “where are you intending to go?”
“I wish to cross into the lands of the Byzantines,” Bābak replied.
“To whom could you go who would be safer than my fortress,” Sahl said, “while I am your servant and at your disposal?” He persisted until he deceived him, took him into the fortress, lodged him there, and lavished upon him abundant provisions, gifts, and the like. Then he wrote to al-Afshīn to inform him of the matter.
Al-Afshīn dispatched two commanders to arrest him; they camped near the fortress and wrote to Ibn Sunbāṭ. Ibn Sunbāṭ replied, “Stay where you are until my order reaches you.”
He then said to Bābak, “You have been distressed and confined in this fortress. I have decided to go hunting today with falcons and hounds; if you would like to come, it may lift your spirits.”
“Yes,” Bābak answered.
They set out, and Ibn Sunbāṭ sent word to the two commanders: “Be at such-and-such a place at such-and-such an hour of the day.” When they reached that spot, the commanders advanced with their troops and surrounded Bābak (2) and Ibn Sunbāṭ. When they saw him they approached and said, “Dismount from your beast.”
He asked, “And who are you?” They told him they had been sent by al-Afshīn, so he dismounted. He was wearing a white durraʿah (long coat) and a white turban (3), short boots, and was holding a bāz (falcon) in his hand. Looking at Ibn Sunbāṭ he said, “May Allah disgrace you! Had you asked me for money I would have given you more than these men will ever pay you!”
They mounted him and took him with them to al-Afshīn. When they came near al-Afshīn’s territory, the latter rejoiced (4), came out to receive him, and ordered the people to form two rows and for Bābak to dismount and walk between them. He did so, and the day was truly momentous. This took place in Shawwāl of that year. Thereafter al-Afshīn kept him under guard, imprisoned in his custody.
Al-Afshīn then wrote to al-Muʿtaṣim informing him that Bābak was in his captivity and that he had also apprehended his brother ʿAbd Allah. Al-Muʿtaṣim replied, ordering him to send them both to Baghdad, so he made preparations to dispatch them before the year drew to a close.
That year the pilgrimage was led by Muḥammad ibn Dāʾūd, mentioned earlier.