In this year, the caliph al-Mansur had his secretary, Abu Ayyub al-Muriyani, arrested. He also imprisoned his brother Khalid and Khalid’s sons Sa‘id, Mas‘ud, Muhammad, and Mahallad. He confiscated a large amount of money from them. The reason for this is as follows: According to what Ibn Asakir relates, Abu Ja‘far al-Mansur, in his youth, went to Mosul as a poor man with nothing, and worked for a ship captain. Eventually, after earning some money, he married a woman. Later, he began to instill in her the hope that he would soon enter the family of rulers. Then the woman became pregnant by him. However, after some time, the Umayyads began searching for Mansur. Fearing capture, Mansur fled, leaving his pregnant wife in Mosul. As he fled, he left with his wife a document attesting to the child’s lineage. In that document, it was written that he was ‘Abdallah b. Muhammad b. ‘Ali b. ‘Abdallah b. ‘Abbas. He instructed his wife that, should she give birth to a boy, she should name him Ja‘far, and that she should come to him as soon as she sent word. The woman gave birth to a boy. This child grew up, learned to write, studied Arabic and literature, and became very knowledgeable in these fields.
Then, sovereignty passed to the Abbasids. When al-Saffah came to power, the woman searched for him and realized he was not her husband. Then, when Mansur ascended the throne, her son Ja‘far went to Baghdad and joined the ranks of the scribes. Abu Ayyub al-Muriyani, Mansur’s chief secretary, took a liking to him. Ja‘far gained seniority and rose in rank there. One day, Abu Ayyub took him along and entered the presence of Caliph Mansur. The caliph began to scrutinize his son Ja‘far, observing him closely and carefully.
Later, one day, Caliph Mansur sent his servant to summon a scribe. His son Ja‘far came into his presence. Ja‘far began to write in the caliph’s presence. Mansur looked at him intently. Then he asked his name. When he replied that he was Ja‘far, Mansur asked, “Whose son are you?” The boy remained silent. When Mansur asked, “What is the matter with you, why do you not speak?” Ja‘far replied, “O Commander of the Faithful, my situation is such and such,” and recounted what had happened to him.
The color of the caliph’s face changed. Then he asked the name of his mother, and the boy explained her name and situation. The caliph asked him about the state of the city of Mosul, and the boy began to describe it. The caliph was astonished and amazed at what had happened. Then he sent him to his mother with an expensive necklace, a large sum of money, and a letter. He instructed him to have his mother explain the true nature of the matter and the situation of her son. The boy took the necklace, the money, and the letter, and left through the caliph’s secret door. Then he stopped by Abu Ayyub. Abu Ayyub asked him, “Why did you stay so long in the caliph’s presence?” The boy replied, “He had me write a great deal.” Then they argued, and Ja‘far, becoming angry, left Abu Ayyub and set out. He hired a mount to go to Mosul. He intended to inform his mother of the situation and bring her and her children to Baghdad, to his father the caliph. He traveled a few stages. Meanwhile, Abu Ayyub inquired as to where he had gone. He was told that he had set out on the road. Abu Ayyub suspected that Ja‘far had divulged his secrets to the caliph and had therefore fled. He sent someone after him, instructing the man, “Wherever you find him, bring him to me immediately.” The man searched for him, caught up with him at a waystation, strangled him, and threw his body into a well. He took the necklace, the money, and the letter, and returned to Abu Ayyub. When Abu Ayyub saw the caliph’s letter, he greatly regretted what he had done and was overcome with fear.
When Caliph Mansur noticed his son’s delay, he began to investigate his situation. Eventually, he learned that Abu Ayyub’s man had caught and killed him. Then he summoned Abu Ayyub to his presence and imposed a heavy fine on him. Then he began to torture him. In the end, he confiscated all his wealth and possessions, then killed him, saying, “He killed my beloved son.” Whenever Mansur remembered his son, he would be overcome with intense grief.
In this year, the Kharijites from among the Sufriyya and others rebelled in the lands of Africa. They formed a force of about 350,000 cavalry and infantry. Their leaders were Abu Hatim al-Anmati and Abu ‘Abbad. Abu Kurra al-Sufri also joined them with his force of 40,000 men. They fought against the governor of Ifriqiya. They routed his troops and killed him. The governor’s name was ‘Umar b. ‘Uthman b. Abi Sufra. As mentioned previously, this man was the governor of Sind. Thus, the Kharijites killed him—may Allah have mercy on him. The Kharijites greatly increased corruption and disorder in Ifriqiya. They killed many people, sparing neither women nor children.
In this year, Caliph Mansur made it obligatory for the people to wear long black caps. So much so that people would place sticks inside them to keep them upright.
The poet Abu Dulama composed the following poem on this subject:
“We hoped that the caliph would increase everything, but the caliph in whom we placed our hopes only increased the length of the caps.
You see those long caps on men’s heads, resembling Jewish jars covered with cloaks.”
In this year, Ma‘yuf b. Yahya al-Hajuri went on a military expedition to Anatolia and took many captives from among the Byzantines. The number of captives was around 6,000. He also seized a large amount of booty.
In this year, the heir apparent and son of Caliph Mansur led the people in the Hajj. Muhammad b. Ibrahim was the governor of Mecca and Ta’if, Hasan b. Zayd was the governor of Medina, Muhammad b. Sulayman was the governor of Kufa, Yazid b. Mansur was the governor of Basra, and Muhammad b. Sa‘id was the governor of Egypt. According to al-Waqidi, Yazid b. Mansur was appointed governor of Yemen by Caliph Mansur. Allah knows best.
The notable figures who died in this year are: Aban b. Shama‘a, Usama b. al-Laysi, Thawr b. Yazid al-Humusi, Hasan b. ‘Ammara, Qutr b. Khalifa, Mu‘ammar, and Hisham b. al-Ghazi. Allah knows best.