Conquest of al-Ubulla and al-Furat

فتح الأبلة والفرات

al-Ubulla

Utba ibn Ghazwan stormed al-Ubulla and wrote Umar — borne by Nafi' ibn al-Harith — that it was the port of Bahrain, Uman, India and China; crossing to al-Furat its folk came out with their spades and were beaten, Mujashi' ibn Mas'ud taking the town by force; at al-Madhar its marzban came out, was routed with most of his men drowned, taken alive and beheaded; at Dastumaysan Utba struck pre-emptively 'to weaken their sides and embolden hearts', killing their dehqans; then Abar Qubadh fell — the tract from al-Fahraj to al-Furat being treaty-land, the rest of Ubulla by force. Utba's wife Arda bint al-Harith goaded the men 'if they rout you, you'll enter us uncircumcised', and the forelocked boy Ziyad divided the spoils at two dirhams a day.