Ibn al-Ash'ath
| Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Ash'ath | |
|---|---|
| Died | 704 Rukhkhaj |
| Allegiance | Umayyad Caliphate |
| Years of service | 680–700 |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Karbala, campaigns against Mu'sab ibn al-Zubayr, Shabib ibn Yazid ibn Nu'aym al-Shaybani, and the Zunbīl |
| Relations |
|
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ashʿath (Arabic: عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن الأشعث), commonly known as Ibn al-Ashʿath after his grandfather, was a distinguished Arab nobleman and general under the early Umayyad Caliphate, most notable for leading a failed rebellion against the Umayyad viceroy of the east, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, in 700–703.
The scion of a distinguished family of the Kindaite tribal nobility, he played a minor role in the Second Fitna (680–692) and then served as governor of Rayy. After the appointment of al-Hajjaj as governor of Iraq and the eastern provinces of the Caliphate in 694, relations between the haughty and overbearing al-Hajjaj and the Iraqi nobility quickly became strained. Nevertheless, in 699 or 700, al-Hajjaj appointed Ibn al-Ash'ath as commander of a huge Iraqi army, the so-called "Peacock Army", to subdue the troublesome principality of Zabulistan, whose ruler, the Zunbīl, vigorously resisted Arab expansion. During the campaign, al-Hajjaj's overbearing behaviour caused Ibn al-Ash'ath and the army to rebel. After patching up an agreement with the Zunbīl, the army started on its march back to Iraq. On the way, a mutiny against al-Hajjaj developed into a full-fledged anti-Umayyad rebellion.
Al-Hajjaj initially retreated before the rebels' superior numbers, but quickly defeated and drove them out of Basra. Nevertheless, the rebels seized Kufa, where supporters started flocking. The revolt gained widespread support among those who were discontented with the Umayyad regime, especially the religious scholars known as qurrāʾ ("Quran readers"). Caliph Abd al-Malik tried to negotiate terms, including the dismissal of al-Hajjaj, but the hardliners among the rebel leadership pressured Ibn al-Ash'ath into rejecting the Caliph's terms. In the subsequent Battle of Dayr al-Jamajim, the rebel army was decisively defeated by al-Hajjaj's Syrian troops. Al-Hajjaj pursued the survivors, who under Ibn al-Ash'ath fled to the east. Most of the rebels were captured by the governor of Khurasan, while Ibn al-Ash'ath himself fled to Zabulistan. His fate is unclear, as some accounts hold that, after long pressure from al-Hajjaj to surrender him, the Zunbīl executed him, while most sources claim that he committed suicide to avoid being handed over to his enemies.
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