ADMINISTRATIVE THEORY AND PRACTICEentering Mu'awiya's presence. Or he might create embarrassment, as
when al-Muhallab tried to enter the presence of Mu~'ab ibn az-Zubayr
in Basra on a day of public audience in 686 but was prevented from
doing so by the lJajib who failed to recognize him.^191Audience and Judgment
The customary Arab tribal council (Ar. maj/is) came to resemble
the ancient royal practice of holding public audiences. The relative
freedom and informality of tribal councils survived in the general
meetings that were held in local masjids and presided over by the
governor, or in sessions such as the daily public majlis which Said
ibn al-'A~ held at Kufa in 654 where everyone entered, sat, and con-
versed.^192 By the time of Ziyad and his son 'Ubaydullah, the governor's
majlis was attended by the tribal leaders (Ar. ashraf) and was growing
increasingly formal in spite of the jostling and rowdiness that some-
times occurred.^193 In order to improve decorum, Ziyad is supposed to~
have established the precedent that those who attended court should
not greet each other in the presence of the ruler. This is said to have
provoked the retort .from Ibn 'Abbas: "May people not give up greet-
ing each other in the presence of their amirs!"194 In 669, Ziyad is said
to have held audience at Basra every day except Friday. At this time
he questioned the messengers of tax collectors (Ar. 'ummal) about their
districts, examined what they presented to him, and examined matters
concerning wealth and expenses. Then his 'ummal over the dar ar-
rizq, the river harbor, and the market came to him and he questioned
them about the shipments arriving at the dar ar-rizq, prices, news,
and their personal needs.^195 In the time of al-l:Iajjaj, the governor's
majlis was organized smoothly for admission and interviews with
several petitioners in succession.^196 The governor of Iraq, Yiisuf ibn
'Umar, is described at the middle of the eighth century as holding
audiences seated in the niche (Ar. mihrab) in the oratory (Ar. mu~al
lam) of the citadel at Wasit, with access controlled by his lJajib.^197
Muslims considered the distinction between holding private {Ar. al-
kha~~a) and public (Ar. al-'amma) sessions to be Sasanian,198 and this
191 JaQ.i~, Rasii'i/, 11, 40, 49; Tabari, Ta'rlkh, 11, 719.
192 Tabari, Ta'n7t.h, I, 2908.
193 Baladhuri, Ansiib al-ashriif, IVb, 84; Dinawari, Akhbiir (It-pwiil, pp. 252-53.
194Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, 'Iqd, 1,16-17; 11,124,459-60.
195 Baladhuri, Ansiib, IVa, 186.
196 Ibid., V, 32-35.
197 Dinawari, Akhbiir at-pwiil, pp. 369-70.
198 JaQ.i~, Rasii'i/, 11, 39-40.