He used to have his hunting dogs put in tethers of gold and...

He used to have his hunting dogs put in tethers of gold and dressed in clothes woven with gold thread. He appointed for each dog a special servant to take care of it…” [5] [1] Sammawal Maani fi Samma waz Zaat , Pg. 60 [2] Quzai, Tarikh [3] Dhahabi, Tarikh Islam 5/271, Events of the year 70 [4] Ruhul Islam , Pg. 296 [5] Al-Fakhri, Pg. 55 Fondness for Monkeys According to the unanimity of historians Yazid was very fond of playing with monkeys.

He had a monkey as a pet whom he had named as Abu Qais so that he may give him the last drops of wine that remained in his cup. He used to say: “He is an old man of Bani Israel who turned into a monkey due to his sins.” He used to mount this monkey on a wild female donkey and make him race with horses. One day the donkey carrying the monkey went ahead of the horse.

Yazid was overjoyed by this and he recited the following couplets: “O Abu Qais, take care of your rein, for if you fall no one would save you. Because all are competing with their mounts, and the horse of the chief of the believers shall be a single female donkey.” Then one day he sent him to participate in a race but he fell down due to the wind and died. Yazid was devastated by this tragedy and he commanded that the monkey be dressed in a shroud and given a proper burial.

In the same way he ordered that people of Syria must give him condolence on this sad demise. He himself composed a dirge for the departed pet monkey as follows: “So many prominent and noble persons came to give condolence to us regarding Abu Qais. He was a senior member of the family and the most powerful and most beautiful leader of the people. May God not make that grave distant in which you are interred.

There is beauty in it and the beard of a goat.”[1] Yazid’s fondness for monkeys became well-known for the people till they gave him a title on this matter. A man from Tanukh says in his disparagement: “Yazid, lover of monkeys, became fed up with our company, thus he became attached to monkeys. Curse be on the one who became our caliph while his closest friends were monkeys.”[2] Habitual Alcoholism of Yazid Another prominent trait of Yazid was his alcoholism and he was a habitual drunkard.

He indulged in this vice so much that never was he seen to be sober and he was never free of intoxication and in a normal condition.