Hajjaj’s Struggle Against the Khawarij: The Revolt of Ibn Jarood and Muhallab’s Victories

Hajjaj made arrangements for Kufa and deputed Urwa bin Mughira bin Sho'ba as his deputy there and he proceeded to Basra. At Basra, he delivered the same kind of lecture he had delivered in Kufa and threatened the desers of Muhallab.

Sharik bin 'Amr Yeshkuri came to Hajjaj and said, "I am suffering from the hernia. Bishr bin Marwan accepted this excuse. Will you please accept it also and exempt me from going to Muhallab's army." Hajjaj instantly ordered his execution. Seeing that all the Basraites were afraid and began to get ready to join Muhallab.

After expelling the people from Basra and Kufa, Hajjaj also moved towards Muhallab's army. When Muhallab's cantonment was at a distance of 18 miles, he encamped and said, "O Kufans and Basraites! You will stay here unless the Khawârij are totally exterminated." The next order Hajjaj issued created trouble for himself.

The salaries of the army during Mus'ab bin Zubair's regime had been enhanced at the rate of 100 dirhams per head and that increment was still in force and no one had a thought of curtailing it. Hajjaj ordered that all of them should be getting the same salaries they had been getting before Mus'ab bin Zubair's regime, in other words, 100 dirhams per head would be reduced. When Abdullah bin Jarood heard the order, he said, "Our salaries were allowed to continue by Abdul Malik and Bishr bin Marwan. Don't commit the mistake of reducing it."

Hajjaj did not pay any heed to Jarood's advice. He again raised his voice against Hajjaj's order. Masqala bin Karb Abdi said to Abdullah bin Jarood, "It is our duty to comply with the amir's order. It is unbecoming of us to oppose it." Abdullah bin Jarood left Hajjaj's court abusing Masqala. He went to Hakeem bin Majashi and told him what took place. He also supported Abdullah. Then most of the soldiers became Jarood's supporters and all of them took an oath at his hands for the purpose of having Hajjaj dismissed and expelled from Iraq. All those under Jarood's command, surrounded Hajjaj's tent.

Hajjaj had only a few persons with him and he was about to be killed or captured but evening set in and they decided to postpone their action and they all returned to their camps. They did not want to kill Hajjaj they only wanted to expel him from Iraq.

At night Hajjaj's friends advised him to leave and go to Abdul Malik. He was in a quandary. Meanwhile there was dissension among his enemies and Abbad bin Haseen Habti became angry with Ibn Jarood and went over to Hajjaj's side. Then Qutaiba bin Muslim Sabra bin Ali Kalabi, Sayeed bin Aslam Kalabi, Jafar bin Abdur Rahman bin Makhnaf Azdi followed suit. In short, six thousand people rallied round him by morning and at that time, there was a fierce battle between the two opposing sides.

Hajjaj and his men were beaten and Abdullah bin Jarood was victorious but unfortunately, an arrow hit Abdullah in the neck causing instant death. With his death, Hajjaj's defeat turned into victory. Many of Jarood's men were killed and many asked for security of life for surrender and rejoined his army. Hajjaj cut off eighteen heads of Jarood's main supporters and sent the heads to Muhallab. Muhallab had them fixed on the heads of spears to intimidate the Khawârij. While the fight between Hajjaj and Jarood was going on news came from Basra that a tribe of Sowan named Zanj that had settled in the vicinity of Basra, turned rebellious.

After the killing of Ibn Jarood, Hajjaj gave a small army to his son Hafs to discipline them. He wrote to his deputy in Kufa to send an army to stamp out the new uprising. After several encounters, it was put down.

The groups of Khawârij drawn from the cities of Iran, Khorasan and Iraq, had assembled at Dar Hurmuz to face Muhallab and were busy trying to fight and defeat him and then to capture Basra.

When the supporting armies from Basra and Kufa started arriving in quick succession, Muhallab and Abdur Rahman bin Makhnaf who stood against the Khawârij, received a boost. Prior to that, they were fighting defensively due to a shortage of soldiers and had stopped the Khawârij from advancing. However, after becoming stronger, they began to fight offensively and pushed the Khawârij back to Garzoon. The Khawârij entrenched and fortified themselves near Garzoon and began to fight. Seeing this, Muhallab had a moat dug and made a defensive wall around his cantonment. Abdur Rahman kept his army aloof from Muhallab, from the beginning of the engagement. He had also established his own cantonment.

Muhallab sent word to Abdur Rahman that there was a danger of a night attack and so it was advised to dig a moat out around his cantonment. Abdur Rahman replied that he should rest assured; their swords would serve as a moat. He encamped on an open field.

One night the Khawârij attacked Muhallab but because of the moat they could not advance against him. Having failed there, they moved towards Abdur Rahman. The way was open and clear. They kept advancing and started killing. The sleeping soldiers could not withstand the attack and fled in all directions. Abdur Rahman along with only a few soldiers were able to fight and he was killed along with his soldiers at the hands of the Khawârij.

Muhallab and Abdur Rahman were two commanders, Muhallab's army consisted of the Basraites and Abdur Rahman's army was made up of Kufans. The Kufan army suffered a great loss. The news reached Hajjaj and he deputed Attab bin Warqa in place of Abdur Rahman and clearly instructed him that he should remain under Muhallab's command and obey him. Attab resented this and it led to a rift between them.

Attab wrote to Hajjaj to recall him. Hajjaj accepted his request. Then all the Kufans were placed directly under Muhallab's command. Muhallab deputed his own son Habib bin Muhallab to take command of the Kufan army and they were stationed at Nishapur for a year, and continued fighting against the Khawârij. Later there erupted some discord among the Khawârij and they began to fight in two groups. Muhallab did not attack them at that time but was patient. Then one faction fought and expelled the other towards Tabristan, Muhallab attacked the victorious group and killed them. So, in 77 A.H. he was finally able to get rid of the disruption of the Khawârij.

The Khawârij were such valiant fighters that sometimes they defeated an army ten or twenty times their number. Once one thousand Khawârij made an army of fifty thousand retreat near Kufa.

It was Muhallab alone, who was a hundred percent successful against the Khawârij. When he returned to Hajjaj in Kufa after the victory, Hajjaj held a grand court and made the Muhallab sit by his side. Muhallab had seven sons and all of them had shown exemplary valor against the Khawârij. As a reward, they were given an increment of two thousand dirhams per year.

Hajjaj sent an army after the run away Khawârij and defeated them near Tabristan. In 76 AH, another group of the Khawârij, under the leadership of Saleh bin Masrah, staged an uprising. Abdur Malik's brother Muhammad bin Marwan, the Amir of Mosil, deputed an army to deal with it. After many encounters, Saleh was killed. His place was taken by Shabib who took his group to Madain. Hajjaj started sending other troops after them but he could not suppress them. Shabib had only one thousand men. Once he stayed in Kufa unchallenged along with his men and then left. Hajjaj sent fifty thousand men to face those one thousand men and the smaller force routed the larger one. Finally, those one thousand men along with their chief Shabib were annihilated.