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The Killing of Ma'n ibn Za'ida

مقتل معن بن زائدة

Bust

Fearing winter's onset Ma'n withdrew to Bust; Kharijites who resented his rule slipped among the builders at his house, hid their swords in reed bundles at roofing-time, and entered his dome while he was being cupped — they butchered him, one splitting his belly with a dagger, Abu al-Ghulam al-Taqi striking his head. Yazid ibn Mazyad killed every one of them, then held Sijistan, bearing hard on its Arabs and Ajam until forged letters to al-Mansur — that the Mahdi's letters confused him — brought his dismissal, imprisonment and confiscation. Later released, he lay hidden in Madinat al-Salam until Kharijites met him on the bridge and he fought them; then he rose to Yusuf al-Barm in Khurasan.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
Review
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Overview

Al-Baladhuri relates that Ma'n ibn Za'ida went to Bust out of fear of winter, and a group of Kharijites who disapproved of his conduct killed him. 1

The killing

The Kharijites slipped in among builders working in his house, and hid their swords in bundles of reeds. They then entered upon him in his tent while he was being cupped, and killed him. 1

Afterwards

Yazid ibn Mazyad killed all the killers and then took over Sistan. Al-Baladhuri says that a forged letter was written in his name to al-Mansur, which led to his removal and imprisonment; he was then released and returned to his revenues. 1

What is not covered here: the date of the event. This needs an additional source.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
Ma'n ibn Za'ida al-Shaybani· Yazid ibn Mazyad
Occurred at
Bust

People and things also explored

Ma'n ibn Za'ida's Campaign on Rutbil· Ma'n ibn Za'ida's Engraving on the Caliphal Seal· Ma'n ibn Za'ida al-Shaybani· Yazid ibn Mazyad· Bust

Sources

  1. Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition)
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The Killing of Ma'n ibn Za'ida”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/killing-of-man-ibn-zaida/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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Ma'n ibn Za'ida's Campaign on Rutbil

Al-Mansur gave Sijistan to Ma'n ibn Za'ida al-Shaybani, who demanded of Rutbil the atawa al-Hajjaj had settled; Rutbil sent camels, Turkish tents and slaves, doubled in value — which enraged Ma'n. With Yazid ibn Mazyad on the van he marched on Rukhkhaj; Rutbil had left to summer in Zabulistan, which Ma'n took with mass captives, among them the boy Faraj al-Rukhkhaji — who told how a cloud of dust raised by wild asses' hooves looked to Ma'n like an army coming to wrest the captives, so he put them to the sword until he saw the donkeys and stopped; 'I saw my father bent over me saying: kill me, not my son'. The captives ran near thirty thousand. Mawand, Rutbil's deputy, sought aman to be borne to the Commander of the Faithful — sent to Baghdad with five thousand of their fighters, honored by al-Mansur, granted stipend and command.