al-Hadath (al-Mahdiyya)

الحدث

al-Hadath, the Jaziran frontier-city at the Darb al-Hadath which Banu Umayya called al-Salama out of omen; its old fortress was taken by Habib ibn Maslama in Umar's days, and al-Hasan ibn Qahtaba chose its city-site returning from the raid of year 162 — al-Mahdi ordering it built before Tarsus — and Ali ibn Sulayman ibn Ali founded it in mud brick, named al-Muhammadiyya then al-Mahdiyya and al-Hamadiyya for al-Mahdi's death at its completion in year 169; four thousand fighters were levied for it from Syria, the Jazira and Khurasan at forty dinars' pay and three hundred dirhams a man, with two thousand transferred from Malatya, Shimshat, Sumaysat, Kaysum, Duluk and Ra'ban; its unsound brick fell to the snows and the Romans occupied it until al-Rashid rebuilt, fortified and garrisoned it.