Nasr ibn Ahmad ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (1) — Abū Muḥammad al-Kindī, the ḥāfiẓ (hadith master), better known as Nasrak — was counted among the famous preservers of hadith. The governor of Bukhārā, the amir Khālid ibn Aḥmad al-Dhuhalī, summoned him there and had him compile the work entitled “al-Musnad.” He died in Bukhārā during this same year.
[Then came the year 294 AH]
In Muḥarram of this year Zakrawayh — may Allah curse him — and his followers waylaid the pilgrims from Khurāsān as they were returning from Mecca. He slew them to the last man, seized their possessions, and carried off their womenfolk. The property he collected was valued at two million dinars, and the number of those he killed reached twenty thousand. The Qarmaṭian women walked among the corpses of the pilgrims carrying water, pretending to give drink to the wounded; any wounded man who spoke to them they killed on the spot — may Allah curse them and disgrace their husbands.
Account of the killing of Zakrawayh — may Allah curse him
When the caliph learned what the wretch Zakrawayh had done to the pilgrims, he dispatched a large army against him. They confronted him and fought a very fierce battle in which a great many of the Qarmaṭians (2) were slain, only a few escaping. This occurred at the beginning of Rabīʿ al-Awwal of that year.
Zakrawayh — may Allah curse him — was struck on the head with a sword, the blow reaching his brain. Taken prisoner, he died five days later. His abdomen was opened, filled with salt, and his body displayed. He, together with the heads of a number of his leading followers, was carried to Baghdad, while the army took possession of all the wealth and supplies that had been in Qarmaṭian hands — praise and gratitude belong to Allah.
The caliph ordered the execution of the Qarmaṭian adherents and that Zakrawayh’s head be paraded throughout all the regions of Khurāsān so that people would not refrain from performing the Hajj; he also released the women and children whom the Qarmaṭians had captured.
In the same year:
Ahmad ibn Kayghalagh, the deputy governor of Damascus, raided Byzantine territory from the direction of Tarsus. He killed about four thousand of them and captured roughly fifty thousand of their dependants.
One of the Byzantine patricians embraced Islam and came with him, bringing nearly two hundred prisoners (3) who had been in his fortress. The Byzantine emperor sent an army in pursuit, but Ahmad set out with a detachment of Muslims, surprised the Byzantines, killed them, and took a very large booty. When he presented himself to the caliph, the latter honored him, treated him generously, and granted him whatever he desired.