Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

Racial Pride of the Arabs
In their racial pride the Arabs held themselves aloof from the natives and, in spite of the teachings of Islam, looked down upon them as an inferior race, and were hated in consequence. The subordinate departments of the civil and fiscal administration were largely in the hands of the Persians; but they were excluded from military posts and the higher offices of state. When an appeal was made to that charter of emancipation - the Quran-as proclaiming the equality and brotherhood of man, it was either treated with contempt, or evaded by quibbles. With the exception of a few, whose names were borne on the register of the great Umar, or who had distinguished themselves by eminent services, the members of the subject race took no part in the social gatherings or the pleasures of their rulers, and brooded in sullen wrath and hatred over their lost greatness. But the Syrian Arabs, Modhar as well as Himyar, engaged in their own pastimes or tribal quarrels, racked little of the pent-up storm. Political disabilities and invidious social distinctions gave rise among the Persians to a strong and natural sense of injustice. A watch-word alone was needed to fire national enthusiasm; and that was found in ”the rights of the Ahl ul-Bait-People of the House,” which became the rallying cry of the subject nationalities of the East. The Himyarite tribes, and the bulk of the Arabs of Hijaz and Iraq settled in Khurasan, were equally discontented. The party in power, as is usually the case, strove to retain the monopoly of influence and emolument in its own hands, and to exclude any participation L.y rhe others, which bred bitter jealousy and disputes. In these elements of discontent and disaffection, Abu Muslim found his materials for the revolt and Khurasan became the centre for the adherents of the Banu Abbas.2
”In the West, the administration was weak and unsettled. The governors throughout Africa had to keep up a continual contest against the Berbers and the Khawarij”. Spain was gradually slipping from the grasp of the Eastern Caliphate. Taking this opportunity the
S>ed Ameer Ali.P 177
Marwan II
443
Greeks made inroads upon the border lands of Asia Minor and Syria. Thus when the political sky was clouded with danger, Marwan returned to Harran and remained there till he was called by the battle of Zab. While these were happening in the empire, the Abbasids thought it right to raise the standard of rebellion in Khurasan. Abu Muslim championed the cause of the Abbasids in Khurasan. He was a man of parts and impressive character. For his intelligence and power of organization he was appointed to head the propaganda. He began to criticise the policy of the Umayyads and was able to rouse the sentiment of the people by raising the question of Ahl al-Bayt, people of the House. As the ruling class had no contact with the subject people, his appeal won the Kharijites, the Yamanites, the Mudarites, the Persians and the Shi’ites over to his side. Thus when all the disaffected people rallied round his banner, he decided to wage war against Nasr, the governor of Khurasan in 747 A.D.
As a commander of the frontier force, he soon found a weakness in the old Arab armies which were composed of volunteers. These volunteer armies were useless for a ^g and arduous fighting on the frontiers. Consequently Marwan began to rely more and more on regular troops instead of the old tribal levies, the Muqatila. Along with this change, Marwan introduced a new method of warfare. Before him, the Arab commanders used to array their forces on the battle-field in long lines, called the Sufuf, as exemplified by the tactics of the Holy Prophet. But Marwan replaced the Sufuf by Karadis, which were small, compact, and easily movable units. This shows his capacity as a military organizer.
Whilst Marwan was beating down the insurrections in Syria and contending with the Zealots in Iraq and Arabia, the bitter feud between Modhar and Himyar was working out the destruction of the Umayyads empire in Asia. Nasr, the governor of Khurasan, was a Modharite, and against him was arrayed the entire Himyarite faction. The deadly conflict in which the two branches of the Arab nation who held guard over the subject races were involved, was deemed by the leaders of the Abbassid propaganda to give the long-wished for opportunity for applying the torch to the mine that had been so carefully laid. Abu Muslim, the leader of the revolt, was peculiarly fitted for the task entrusted to him by the Abbassid Imam. An impassive exterior, which no adversity or success could affect, however slightly, concealed a pitiless and cruel heart. ”The gravest events could hardly disturb the serenity of his countenance,” says an

444 Political and Cultural History of Islam
old author. ”He received the news of the most important victories without expressing the least symptom of joy; under the greatest reverses of fortune he never betrayed the slightest uneasiness; and when angered, he never lost his self-command.” His unvarying urbanity and condescension conciliated enemies and secured adherents; whilst the capacity for organizing the troops and administering public affairs extorted admiration. A Machiavellian dexterity in playing upon the vanity of Modhar and Himyar and the bitterness which animated both, enabled him to carry out his design with sufficient immunity from either side.
Nasr and Abu Muslim
Nasr, the governor of Khurasan, was an able and vigorous administrator, and in happier circumstances would probably have left his impress on the province. But whilst his master was struggling with the Zealots in the west, he was endeavouring to make head against the Yaman faction led by a man called, after his birthplace, Kermani. Finding the Arab garrisons thus off their guard, Abu Muslim issued the manifesto for the long-planned rising. The cause proclaimed was ”the rights of the Ahl ul-Bait” against the usurping Banu Umayyad; and the dubious words al-Hashim, ”the children of Hashim,” whose champion he announced himself to be, secured the support of the adherents of the Fatimides. The gathering was to take place on the 25th of Ramzan, 129 A.H., and the people were summoned by large bonfires lighted on the hill-tops. Vast multitudes, all clothed’in black, in sign of mourning for the chiefs that had fallen or been murdered, flocked to the try sting-places; and before a few weeks were over, the black standards of the Abbasid King-maker, called ”the Cloud”’ and ”the Shadow,” flew from city to city on their onward march towards the west. The Umayyads garrisons were expelled from Herat and other places in the far East. Kermani’s death in an ambush prepared by the Modhar, led to his sons joining Abu Muslim; and their combined forces drove Nasr out of Merv. The ominous sable standard of the al-Hashim brought the hitherto divided Syrians to their senses; they suddenly awakened to the gravity of the danger, and tried to patch up a semblance of union. But it was too late. The rising had now grown into a revolt, and was joined by many of the leading Arabs of Hijaz and Iraq. The unfortunate Viceroy, unable alone to contend with the force under Abu Muslim, which was all the while increasing in number and strength, invoked the assistance of his sovereign, but received no reply, as Marwan was