FRONTIER WITH THE HOUSE OF GOLD 35
Chachnama. With that in mind, let us turn to his description of the
military campaigns of Muslims toward the region of Hind and Sind.
Baladhuri notes that the first campaign toward Hind did not happen
until the Muslim armies achieved control of a port. During the ca-
liphate of 'Umar (r. 634-644), the appointed governor of Bahrain,
'Uthman bin Abi'l Thaqafi dispatched three naval expeditions to port
cities in Hind in 636: under the command of Hakam Thaqafi to Thana
(near Bombay) and ·to Broach (in Gujarat); and under Mughira to Daybul
(near the delta of the Indus River).^33 :ijaladhuri dqes not note the size
of the expeditionary force or the intent of the expeditions. Presumably,
these were small sorties, attempting to trace trading networks and gain
a foothold in the ports. It is also probable that these expeditions were
not sanctioned by the caliphate: the governor of Bahrain received a
sharp rebuke from 'Umar when he learned of the expedition: "0 Brother
of Thaqif, you have put the worm on the wood. I swear, by Allah, that
if they had been smitten, I would have taken the equivalent 1in men)
from your families."^34 Baladhuri notes that this rebuke stopped further
sea approaches to Sind while the campaigns to subdue the Sassanian
forces in Iran continued eastward through the regioqs of Khurasan,
Kirman, Sistan, and Makran. Given that the late-ninth-century political
realities of the 'Abbasid imperium prevented any military incursions
into Sind, this piece of rebuke served the function of giving 'historical
precedent for a policy that may be seen as too engrossed in the 'Abbasid
eastern front.^35
As Baladhuri narrates it, the Sassanid retreat from Iran lingered for
decades, continually driving the Muslim armies into pursuit. It was
at this time, Baladhuri recounts, during the reign of caliph 'Uthman
bin 'Affan (r. 644-655), that another naval expedition was sent to the
frontier of Sind. I:Iakim bin Jabalah 'Abdi was dispatched and returned
to deliver a report, described by Baladhuri, on the condition of Sind:
"'O Commander of the Believers, I examined it [Sind] and know it well.'
The caliph said, describe it. He said, 'the water supply is sparse, the
dates are i1tferior, and the robbers are bold. A small army woulcibe lost
there, and a large army would starve.' "^36 This was enough to dissuade
'Uthman, states Baladhuri, from sending any further expeditions
to Sind, though there were continued efforts to subdue eastern
Afghanistan-Sistan was taken in 652.^37 These reports .p.arrated by