that the jewel be returned, adding, “A gift we have bestowed may never be reclaimed.” I therefore took it back to Yahya and told him the whole story—including Mansur’s disgraceful behavior. Yahya, aware that a man in straitened circumstances may act rashly, began searching for excuses on Mansur’s behalf. I, Salih, burst into tears and said, “The revolving sky will never again bring forth a man like you. Alas, how can one so noble in character ever lie hidden beneath the dust?”
Anecdote: It is said that a secret enmity existed between Yahya ibn Khalid al-Barmaki and ʿAbdallah ibn Malik al-Khuzaʿi, though they never showed it openly. The cause was that Harun al-Rashid loved ʿAbdallah with exceeding devotion, to the point that Yahya and his sons used to claim, “ʿAbdallah has cast a spell over the Commander of the Faithful.” The rancor festered in their hearts for some time until al-Rashid appointed ʿAbdallah governor of Armenia and sent him there.
A cultured, quick-witted Iraqi then fell on hard times: his funds were gone and his affairs in disarray. He forged a letter in the name of Yahya ibn Khalid to ʿAbdallah ibn Malik and journeyed with it to Armenia. On arrival he presented the letter at ʿAbdallah’s gate. A chamberlain took it in, gave it to ʿAbdallah, who opened, read, and scrutinized it—and at once knew it was counterfeit.
He nonetheless had the man admitted and said, “You have endured some hardship to bring me a forged letter, but take heart—we shall not let your effort go unrewarded.”
The man replied, “May Allah prolong the emir’s life. If my coming has burdened you, do not look for a pretext to bar me; Allah’s earth is vast and the Provider is living and steadfast. The letter I bear is genuine, not forged.”
ʿAbdallah answered, “Very well. If the letter you have brought is authentic, you will receive one thousand dirhams, a mount and a led horse, a robe of honor, and due esteem. But if it is forged, I shall command that you be beaten with two hundred strokes and that your beard be shaved.” He then ordered that the man be placed in a detention chamber with whatever provisions he required, and he wrote a letter