Page:Baladhuri-Hitti1916.djvu/496

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480
THE ORIGINS OF THE ISLAMIC STATE

Damascus. Shuraiḥ ibn-Hâniʾ al-Muradi interceded in favor of Kathîr; and he was released. Yazîd ibn-Muʿâwiyah, for selfish reasons, approved of following Kathîr and siding with him, and wrote to ʿUbaidallâh ibn-Ziyâd, asking him to appoint Kathîr over Mâsabadhân, Mihrijânḳadhaf, Ḥulwân and al-Mâhain [the two Mâhs] , which he did, giving Kathîr many villages of the crown-domains in al-Jabal[1] as fief. Here Kathîr built the castle which bears his name and which lies in ad-Dinawar. Zuhrah ibn-al-Ḥârith ibn-Manṣûr ibn-Ḳais ibn-Kathîr ibn-Shihâb had secured many crown-villages at Mâsabadhân.

Al-Khashârimah. I learned from a descendant of Khashram ibn-Mâlik ibn-Hubairah-l-Asadi that the Khashârimah came first to Mâsabadhân towards the end of the Umaiyad dynasty, their grandfather being an emigrant from al-Kûfah.

Kathîr made governor. Al-ʿUmari from al-Haitham ibn-ʿAdi:—Ziyâd was one day on a trip when the belt of his robe became loose. Kathîr ibn-Shihâb immediately drew a needle, that was stuck in his cap, and a thread and mended the belt. Seeing that, Ziyâd said, "Thou art a man of discretion; and such a one should never go without an office." Saying this, he appointed him governor over a part of al-Jabal.

  1. or al-Jibâl == Persian ʿIrâḳ or Media. Meynard, p. 151; Ḳazwîni, p. 228; Hamadhâni, p. 209; Rustah, p. 106.