Page:Baladhuri-Hitti1916.djvu/366

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350
THE ORIGINS OF THE ISLAMIC STATE

ʿAbdallâh ibn-Saʿd replaces ʿAmr. No sooner had ʿAmr returned to al-Fusṭâṭ after assigning his freedman, Wardân, as governor of Alexandria, than he was dismissed. In the place of ʿAmr, ʿUthmân appointed ʿAbdallâh ibn-Saʿd ibn-abi-Sarḥ ibn-al-Ḥârith of the banu-ʿAmr ibn-Luʾai,[1] ʿUthmân's foster-brother. That took place in the year 25.

According to others, ʿAbdallâh ibn-Saʿd was in charge of the kharâj of Egypt in behalf of ʿUthmân. Between ʿAbdallâh and ʿAmr, a verbal dispute arose and ʿAbdallâh wrote and accused ʿAmr. ʿAmr was dismissed by ʿUthmân, who assigned ʿAbdallâh to both functions, and wrote him saying that Alexandria was taken once by force and revolted two times, and ordering him to station in it a cavalry guard that would never depart from it, and to assign abundant subsistence allowances to the guard, and change its personnel once in every six months.[2]

Ibn-Hurmuz. Muḥammad ibn-Saʿd from al-Wâḳidi:—ibn-Hurmuz al-Aʿraj al-Ḳâri [the lame "reader"] used to say, "Your best coast, from the standpoint of guard, is Alexandria." At last he left al-Madînah and joined the guard stationed in Alexandria, where he died in the year 117.

The capitation tax. Bakr ibn-al-Haitham from Mûsa ibn-ʿAli's father:—The capitation tax from Alexandria was 18,000 dînârs; but when Hishâm ibn-ʿAbd-al-Malik became caliph, it amounted to 36,000.[3]

ʿAbdallâh ibn-Saʿd made governor. ʿAmr from Yazîd ibn-abi-Ḥabîb:—ʿUthmân dismissed ʿAmr ibn-al-ʿÂṣi from Egypt and assigned in his place ʿAbdallâh ibn-Saʿd. But when the Greeks occupied Alexandria, the Egyptians asked

  1. Nawâwi, pp. 345–347.
  2. Maḳrîzi, vol. i, p. 270.
  3. Maḳrîzi, vol. i, p. 269.