ARAMAEANSArabic tradition estimates that in the caliph ate of 'Umar I, between
five hundred and five hundred and fifty thousand men were put under
seal for the head tax in the Sawad of Kufa.^32 On this basis, the total
non-Muslim population (Christians and Jews) has been estimated at
about one million, five hundred thousand.^33 Other considerations in-
dicate that this number might serve equally well as an approximation
of the Aramaean population of the Sawad of Kufa at the time of the
conquest.^34 The numerical relationship between the peasants and the
Muslim occupying forces immediately after the conquest is indicated
by an account in which 'Umar I is said to have considered partitioning
the Sawad among the Muslims there, and it was discovered that each
Muslim would receive three peasants as tenants. This plan was aban-
doned in favor of the assessment of a poll tax, the proceeds of which
were divided among the Muslim forces.^35 Apparently the territory of
the villages that had made peace with the Muslims at the time of the
conquest continued to enjoy a special status afterwards. As qura-~
~ul~ (Ar.), they were supposed to be free from taxation, and Muslim
soldiers and merchants were not allowed to enter these villages, nor
could their women or children be taken captive.^36
There are a number of ways in which the Aramaeans participated
in the life of Islamic Iraq: by acting as spies and guides, serving in the
army, giving advice on local administration, continuing to exert their
ethnic influence on sedentary Arabs and in place names, and restoring
and preserving the irrigation system. First of all, the accounts of the
arrangements made by Khiilid and Muthannii with the native popu-
lation included the stipulation that they were to act as spies and guides
for the Muslims against the Persians.^37 Not only were these require-
ments fulfilled during the conquest, but, during the remainder of the
32 BaladhurI, Futu~, p. 271; rbn Khurradadhbih, Masalik, p. 14; rbn Rustah, A'laq,
p.l05.
33 L. E. Browne, The Eclipse of Christianity in Asia (Cambridge, 1933), p. 9; A. Mez,
Die Renaissance des Islams (Heidelberg, 1922), p. 34. Baron's suggestion (Social and
Religious History, Ill, 113) that the number of taxpayers should be multiplied by five
to estimate the total population would produce a figure of over two million five hundred
thousand.
34 This figure was used for the Aramaean population on the assumption that the
Aramaeans were closely identified with the sedentary, agricultural population in the
Sawad; they alone seem to have been subjected to having seals put around their necks
when they paid their taxes.
3S Abii Yiisuf, Kharaj, p. 57; BaladhurI, Futu~, p. 266; Ya~ya ibn Adam, Kharaj, p.
41.
36 Lekkegaard, Islamic Taxation, p. 83.
37 Abii Yiisuf, Kharaj, p. 61; BaladhurI, Futu!p, p. 242; Tabari, Ta'rikh, r, 2020.