He, therefore, said to the people, “He is Ibn Ziyad, by the Lord of the Ka’ba!

He, therefore, said to the people, “He is Ibn Ziyad, by the Lord of the Ka’ba!”[^13] They, thereupon, dispersed, each going back home. In the morning, Ibn Ziyad gathered people at the grand mosque. There, he delivered a speech warning them against mutiny and promising them generous rewards for conforming.

Said he, “Anyone found to be sheltering one of those who scheme against the authority of the commander of the faithful and who does not hand him over will be crucified on the door of his own house.”[^14] [^1]: al-Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 6, p. 199. [^2]: Ibn al-Jawzi, the grandson, Tathkirat al-Khawass, p. 138. Al-al-Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 6, p. 211. [^3]: Ibn Shahr Ashub, Vol. 2, p. 310. [^4]: Ibn Nama, p. 11. [^5]: al-Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 6, p. 210. [^6]: al-Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 6, p. 224.

[^7]: al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 10, p. 185 (old edition). [^8]: al-Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 6, pp. 99-201. [^9]: The following comment is stated on p. 158, Vol. 2, of Muhammad Kurd ‘Ali's book Al-Islam wal Hadara al-’Arabiyya: “Serjun Ibn Mansur was a Syrian Christian who was employed by Mu’awiyah. His father, Mansur, was in charge of Syria's treasury since the days of Heracles, before the country fell to the Muslims. He assisted the Muslims in fighting the Romans (Byzantines).

Like his father, Mansur Ibn Serjun Ibn Mansur also served the government, and [second caliph] ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab used not to appoint Christians in a government job except after they had embraced Islam.” [^10]: al-Balathiri, Ansab al-Ashraf, Vol. 4, p. 82. [^11]: Ibn Nama al-Hilli, Muthir al-Ahzan. [^12]: Historians maintain no consensus with regard to [Ubaydullah] Ibn Ziyad's date of birth. Those who did state it cannot be accurate even if it is to be taken by way of guessing. On p. 283, Vol.

8, of his book Al-Bidaya, Ibn Kathir quotes Ibn ‘Asakir citing Ahmad Ibn Yunus al-Dabi saying that ‘Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyad was born in 39 A.H./660 A.D. If that is the case, he was, on the Battle of Taff, near the close of 60 A.H./680 A.D., twenty-one years old. This means that he was fourteen years old when his father, Ziyad, died in 53 A.H./673 A.D. This, however, does not agree with the date stated by Ibn Jarir [al-Tabari] on p. 166, Vol. 6, of his Tarikh.

Says the latter, “Mu’awiyah appointed ‘Ubaydullah Ibn Ziyad as the wali [provincial governor] of Khurasan in 53 A.H./673 A.D.” But it is highly unlikely that a fourteen-year old can be appointed to govern a vast country such as Khurasan.