ADMINISTRATIVE THEORY AND PRACTICEjoin him, seated beside him. Ziyad is supposed to have told Shurayl).
to inform him if his judgments could be improved, but, we are told,
Shurayl). always agreed with him.^204
The use of the governor's majlis as a forum to obtain justice also
eased the Islamic adaptation of the Sasanian appellate court for the
redress of grievances (Ar. ma~iilim), which had originally served as a
judicial check on the excesses of government officials. As a formal
session apart from regular audiences, the Sasanian monarchs held
special public audiences twice each year during the festivals of Nawruz
and Mihrajan, when charges of injustice might even be brought against
the king himself. In such cases the grand mobadh, the chief of the
scribes (N.P. dabtrbadh), and the chief director of the fire temples
served as a board of judges. Once they had been assembled, the people
were allowed to enter and their complaints were examined, beginning
with those against the monarch, while the grand mobadh passed judg-
ment on the charges against the king.^205 This practice was temporarily
abolished by Yazdagerd 11 (438-57)206 but was revived by his succes-
sors. Arabic literature claims to preserve examples of Khusraw Anu-
shirvan's decisions on the complaints presented to him. At least these
stories fir the general pattern. Khusraw Anushirvan is said to have sat
down before the mobadh for judgment with a man who accused him
of injustice; he is. also said to have told a man who complained that
a relative of , the king had taken his property wrongfully that, if the
charge were true, all the property of the guilty person would be turned
over to him. Thereafter, no one is supposed to have had reason to
complain about the king's relatives.^207 Khusraw Parviz is said to have
held public audiences one morning each month until noon to hear
requests.^208 Such practices had already been adopted by Christians in
Iraq. In 424 the Synod of Dadhisho' recommended that a bishop who
had been treated unjusdy by his superior should wait for the annual
assembly held by the metropolitan and present his complaint there.^209
204 Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, 'Iqd, V, 10.
205 Tiij, pp. 160-62.
206 BrockeImann, Syrische Grammatik, p. 56*.
207 Ibn 'Abd Rabbihi, 'Iqd, IV, 223.
208 Zotenberg, Chronique, 11, 341.
209 Chabot, Synodicon, pp. 48, 292. In this context the sessions held by Alexander,
the hegemon (Gk., governor) at Edessa, in 497 should also be noticed. They were held
every Friday in the church of St. John the Baptist and St. Addai to settle litigations free
of charge. Those who had suffered injustices were so encouraged to come, that even
fifty-year-old grievances that had never been brought to the attention of the authorities
were brought to him and settled; see W. Wright, The Chronicle of Joshua the Stylite
(Cambridge, 1882), p. 20.