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THE ORIGINS OF THE ISLAMIC STATE

The Greeks seeking to flee through the tunnel found it occupied by Moslems. The Moslems opened the city gate and Muʿâwiyah with his men went in. Many Arabs were in the city [as prisoners?]. One of them was a woman, Shaḳrâʾ, whom Ḥassân ibn-Thâbit referred to when he said:

"Shaḳrâ says, 'If thou shouldst relinquish wine,
thou wouldst become rich in number.'[1]"

Others say her name was Shaʿthâʾ.

The captives from Ḳaisârîyah. Muḥammad ibn-Saʿd from al-Wâḳidi:—The prisoners from Ḳaisârîyah [Caesarea] amounted to 4,000. When Muʿâwiyah sent them to ʿUmar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb the latter gave orders that they be settled in al-Jurf. They were then distributed among the orphans of the Anṣâr, and some were used as clerks and manual laborers for the Moslems. The daughters of abu-Umâmah Asʿad ibn-Zurârah, having been given by abu-Bakr two servants from the prisoners of ʿAin at-Tamr who were now dead, ʿUmar assigned to the daughters two of the captives of Ḳaisârîyah to take the place of the two dead servants.

Muʿâwiyah forwarded two men of the Judhâm to carry the news of the conquest to ʿUmar. Fearing that they might not hasten enough, he forwarded a man of the Khathʿam who exerted all effort in walking by day and by night repeating:

"The two brothers of Judhâm have brought insomnia on me,
the brother of Ḥishm and the brother of Ḥarâm.
How can I sleep so long as they are ahead of me?
They are going along and the midday heat is becoming vehement."[2]

At last he got ahead of them and presented himself before

  1. Cf. Ḥassân ibn-Thâbit, Diwân, p. 61; al-Mubarrad, al-Kâmil, p. 148.
  2. Ṭabari, vol. i, p. 2397.