of the country. After refusing to pay the jizyah, the : of al-'Ala' was very small - three hundred the events in BaI:irain were on a the other parts of the Arabian peninsula. by the local levies belonging to the tribes who had not agreed to cooperate in the riddah. After

doi:10.4324/9780203038017-167

Chapter

of the country. After refusing to pay the jizyah, the

ABSTRACT

Thelegendaryaccountof~ayfibn'Omariscomparedby CaetaniwiththemoreconsistentreportofBaladhuri,17accordingto whomtherewasnomiraculoushelpfortheMuslims,butonlyfierce fighting.TheMuslimcommander,al-'Ala',wasobligedtoaskthe caliphforreinforcements,andAbuBakrsentKhalidibnal-Walid, whoarrivedinBal:_lrainwhenal-I:Iuthamhadalreadydied.Hewas thereforeorderedtogoto'Iraq.Inthemeantime,however,alMuka'baral-FarisiassembledanIranianarmyinal-Qatifwithorders topunishtheTamimtribeinaz-Zarah.Therehewasbesiegedbyal-'Ala',who,however,wasnotabletoconquerthecityuntilthe caliphateof'Omaribnal-Khattab,whenthewholecountryjoined theMuslimstateagain.Muka'barwaskilled,whileal-'Ala'victoriously assaultedSabunandDarin.18