A.H. 12
now established; and the citizens might hear the cry of the Muëzzin, as five times a day, beginning with the earliest dawn, it resounded from the adjacent camp. Khālid celebrated his success in a special Service of Victory. The occasion was memorable. Clad in a flowing robe girt loosely about the neck, he turned, when prayers were ended, to the assembly and thus extolled their bravery: "In the field of Mūta, when fighting with the Greeks, nine swords were broken in my hand. But I met not any there to match the foes ye have encountered here; and of these none more valiant than the men of Ulleis." The early campaign in Al-ʿIrāḳ, indeed, is surrounded by tradition with a special halo; for the loss on the Muslim side had not hitherto been great, and the fighting here could hardly have compared with that of many a well-contested field in the Prophet's time.
Administration of the province.While Al-Ḥīra was left in the hands of its chief men, summary rule was set up over the adjacent country. The Dihḳāns—great landholders and imperial taxgatherers—had been waiting upon fortune. Seeing now that Khālid carried everything before him, many began to tender submission and enter into engagements for the revenue. Abu Bekr had wisely enjoined that the fellāḥin should be maintained in possession, and their rights as occupiers of the soil respected. The demand remained unchanged, with the addition only of a light poll-tax. In other respects, the terms, made with the consent and approval of the army, corresponded with those of Al-Ḥīra. Holding their ancestral faith, the people became dhimmīs, or protected dependants. Khālid undertook
expressed in these verses sung by one of their poets. Al-Mundhir and An-Noʿmān were Princes of the Lakhmid dynasty:—
"Now that the Princes of the house of Al-Mundhir are gone, shall I ever again behold the royal herd of camels returning at eve from the pastures of Khawarnaḳ and Sedīr?
Now that the horsemen of An-Noʿmān are passed away, shall I ever again feed the young she-camel on the pastures between Mecca and Ḥafīr?
Like a flock of goats on a stormy day, we are scattered by the Beni Maʿadd (the invading Muslims), even as pieces of camels slaughtered for the feast.
Heretofore our homes were sacred, and we like the teats of a well-filled udder,
Yielding tribute at the appointed times to the Chosroes, and imposts in cattle and gold.
Such is Fortune: her revolution is like that of the buckets. Now the day ascends with joy and gladness, and now it sinks into darkness and distress."
