from one of the outlying provinces. A group of Shiʿa had gathered around him, so the caliph ordered him to be beaten; he received eighteen strokes of the scourge and was then confined in the dungeon.

That year the pilgrimage was led by Muḥammad ibn Dāʾūd.

Ibn Jarīr (1) said: During the same year Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm, known as Ṣāḥib al-Jisr—the governor of Baghdad—died on Tuesday, seven days before the end of Dhū al-Ḥijjah. His son Muḥammad was installed in his place; five robes of honor were bestowed upon him and a sword was girded on him.

I say: He had held the governorship of Baghdad and all Iraq since the time of al-Maʾmūn, and he was among the [foremost] (2) propagandists, following his lords and superiors, for the doctrine that the Qurʾān is created (3).

[In the same year there also died] Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Māhān (4), the Mosuli court-singer and man of letters, himself the son of a distinguished man of letters, a unique figure in his own time. He embodied the virtues of every discipline known to the scholars of his era—jurisprudence, hadith, dialectics, theology, language, and poetry—yet he became celebrated for singing only because he had no peer in it on earth.

Al-Muʿtaṣim said: “When Isḥāq sang to me, I felt as though my dominion had grown greater” (5).

Al-Maʾmūn said: “Had it not been for his fame as a singer, I would have appointed him judge, for I know his chastity, integrity, and trustworthiness.”

He composed fine poetry and left a large dīwān, and he possessed many books (6).

He died in this year. Ibn Khallikān (7) said: some report it was the previous year, [while others: the following year] (8). The ḥadith scholar Ibn ʿAsākir (9) wrote an extensive biography of him, recording many admirable anecdotes and exquisite, polished verses.