134
Origins
the revolt,
so Ibn Abi
S.abra
consultedwith
the notables of
Medinaabout
plans
forfutureactions.
Hefeared
al-Mans.ffr’s
reaction--namely,
thathewould
have
everyone
killed,andes-
pecially
theslaves.Thenotables
showed
pride
inwhatthe
Blacks
haddonebuttriedtomodify
their
antagonism
to
theAbbasid
forces.Tomaintaintheirposition,
theBlacksbarracaded
them-
selvesinthemarketplace.
IbnAbi
S.abra
thencalled
acouncilto
whichfour
representatives
camefromeachtribeand
fourfrom
themawlas(i.e.
the
Blacks).
IbnAbi
S.abra
calledforobedience
toal-Mans.ffr;finally
hiswill
prevailed
andthe
Abbasid
governor
returned. Retribution wasrelatively
mild; thehands
offour
blackleaderswerecut
off
(thepunishment
forstealing).
Thus
endedamost
remarkablerebellionbyslaves
ontheirmasters’
behalf.
179
According
toOmar,"theoutburst
seemstohavebeen
motivated
by
economicandsocial
factorsaswellasthesense
of
passion
and
loyalty
feltby
the slaves fortheirindignant
masters."
180
The Abbasids
suppressed
a revolt
in al-Yamama and al-
Bahrayn
in152/769and
tookbothArabianandmawlacaptives
(s.abs)?
sx
Some
years
lateramawla
oftheBanff
Thaqif
wholived
inBukharaleda
rebellioninKhurasan?
s2
When
theShiCirebel
al-H.usayn
b.cAliadvancedtoMeccain169/785,
his 300 follow-
ersincludedmawlas;
among
thema
wa4.f
led 70 horsemen?
s3
When
al-Hu.sayn
b.CAlineededmoremanpower,
hesentoutthe
usualofferto slaves:
"Theslavewho
joins
us isfree."
Some
slaves
lefttheirmastersand
fought
forthe
rebels,butwhenan
irateslaveowneraskedal-.Husaynhow
hecouldmanumitand
employ
slaveshedidnot
possess,
al-
.Husaynmeekly
returned
to
thismanhisownandaneighbor’s
two
slaves,
ls4
Amawlaleda
four-year
rebellion
inKhurasanfrom
183/799
to 186/8027
s5
Urmiya
in Azerbaidzhan
felltoAbbasid
troops
179.
T,3:265-71.
180.Omar,AbbsidCaliphate,p.
239.
181.TYac,2:385.
182.T,3:470;
TYa
,
2:397.
T,3:563alsoidentifies
himasamawla.
183.
Mawlas:
Abfi’l-Faraj
al-Is.fahni,Maqtila.t-Tlibiyn,pp.
449,446.
Wf."
ibid.,
p.
45O.
184.T,3:556.
185.T,
3:649-51.