The community divided: a textual analysis of the murders of Idris b. 'Abd Allah (d. 175/791).

• Author: Haider, Najam

In 175/791, Idris (I) b. 'Abd Allah b. al-Hasan b. al-Hasan b. 'Ali b. Abi Talib, the eponymous founder of the Idrisid dynasty in North Africa, was killed by an unknown assailant. Disagreement regarding the details of the murder emerged in the form of two fundamentally different narratives. In the first, Idris I was poisoned by tainted tooth powder administered by an 'Abbasid client (al-Shammakh), who was rewarded with a political appointment in Egypt. In the second, he was poisoned (in a number of possible ways) by a traitorous Zaydi theologian, who was injured in his subsequent flight to safety. The first of these narratives occurs in the earliest extant historical works and persists into the Mamluk period in the non-Zaydi (and largely Sunni) historiographical tradition. The second originates almost exclusively in Zaydi historical works from the fourth/tenth century, but exerts a clear influence on a number of important late sources. This study examines both these versions with an eye towards better understanding (a) the polemical motivations that helped shape each narrative and (b) the techniques utilized by late premodern Muslim historians to reconcile contradictory source material.

1. HISTORICAL CONTEXT

   The Muslim historiographical tradition depicts Idris I as a prominent participant in the failed Zaydi revolt of Sahib Fakhkh al-Husayn b. 'Ali (his nephew), which erupted in Medina in 169/786. (1) The uprising was a result of tensions stemming from the concurrent deaths of the 'Abbasid caliph, al-Mahdi, and the consensus head of the nascent Zaydi community, 'Isa b. Zayd. (2) The new caliph, al-Hadi, assumed a hostile and antagonistic stance towards the 'Alids, ordering al-Husayn b. 'Ali and other prominent (and potentially dangerous) Hasanids and Husaynids residing in Iraq to return to Medina, where they were kept under the watchful eye of the new governor of the Hijaz, 'Abd al-'Aziz b. 'Abd Allah al-'Umari. (3) The historical sources attribute the revolt to a series of repressive measures, particularly the imposition of a daily roll call. If an 'Alid failed to appear when his name was called, his relatives were held accountable and threatened with physical and fiscal sanctions. (4) One day, the absence of an 'Alid precipitated a harsh exchange between al-'Umari and al-Husayn b. 'Ali in which the former threatened the latter with physical violence. (5) The 'Alids (and Talibids) in Medina were enraged at the governor and convened an emergency meeting in June 169/786 during which they offered al-Husayn b. 'Ali the oath of allegiance and decided (in a rather thoughtless manner) to revolt the next day. (6)

   When the following morning al-Husayn b. 'Ali appealed to the local Medinan population for support against the 'Abbasids, he found them wholly unenthusiastic. In fact, most quickly left the mosque and returned to their homes to await the 'Abbasid military response. (7) Perhaps if the 'Alids had waited a month until the end of the Hajj and had declared their intentions in Mecca, they would have posed a more serious threat to 'Abbasid power. (8) In Medina, however, al-Husayn b. 'Ali was isolated with a limited support base--no more than 300 men--drawn primarily from his own family. (9) His only viable option was to head to Mecca where pilgrims, unaware of the events in Medina, might be mobilized for rebellion. When the 'Abbasids learned of the uprising in Medina, however, they were able to raise a patch-work army and intercept the 'Alids at Fakhkh, six miles outside of Mecca. (10) The subsequent battle claimed the lives of al-Husayn b. 'Ali and over one hundred of his 'Alid supporters. Most of the survivors, including Idris I and his older brother Yahya, fled to Mecca where they escaped by dispersing among the large crowds of pilgrims. (11) Idris I eventually reached the Maghrib and Ifriqiya where he settled in the town of Walila near present-day Fas and began proselytizing among the Berber tribes of the area. (12) He met such immediate success that it threatened the authority of local dynasties and in 175/791 he was murdered by a mysterious assassin. (13)

   This basic chronology is preserved in almost every historical chronicle that covers the period in question. Idris I is invariably described as one of the driving forces behind the rebellion at Fakhkh and a leading figure within both his family and the larger Zaydi community. (14) There is a stark contrast, however, between the portrayal of his murder in the non-Zaydi and the Zaydi sources, reflecting differences in historical perspective and intent. The next two sections examine these differences through an examination of historical accounts that focus on his flight to North Africa and subsequent murder.

2. THE NON-ZAYDI NARRATIVE: IDRIS I AND THE DANGERS OF BAD DENTAL WORK

   Before turning to the murder accounts from the non-Zaydi sources, we should pause and consider the nature of historical writing from the 'Abbasid period. Recent scholarship has examined Islamic historiography from multiple perspectives, emphasizing the influence of literary forms, social mores, polemical disputes, and theological controversies. Stefan Leder (15) and Lawrence Conrad (16) focus on the literary devices and topoi employed in filling lacunae in information and creating dramatic accounts. Tayeb El-Hibri analyzes the civil war between al-Amin and al-Ma'mun through the lens of societal aversion to regicide and disloyalty. (17) Jacob Lassner interprets early 'Abbasid historical narratives as weapons in a propaganda battle between the 'Abbasid caliphs and their 'Alid rivals. (18) In these and other works it appears that history in the 'Abbasid period was crafted for a variety of complex purposes. While we should bear in mind the literary (e.g., Leder and Conrad) and ethical (e.g., El-Hibri) dimensions of the historical tradition, it is the political (e.g., Lassner) and theological that are of greatest importance in the case of Idris I. The struggle for political control between the 'Alids and the 'Abbasids was a central theme for premodern 'Abbasid historiography. This point is made by Lassner (19) in his examination of the wasiya of Abu Hashim and Michael Cooperson (20) in his literary analysis of the relationship between al-Ma'mun and 'Ali al-Rida. Even a summary reading of al-Tabari's exchange of letters between al-Mansur and al-Nafs al-Zakiyya suggests the centrality of this conflict in the historio-graphical tradition. (21)

   As the non-Zaydi historians (retrospectively) understood, Idris I's flight marked a sea change in the 'Abbasid--'Alid political dynamic. The failure of the revolt at Fakhkh prompted a Zaydi migration to the physical (and intellectual) margins of the Islamic world. Whereas the major Zaydi uprisings prior to 168/785 occurred in either the Hijaz or Iraq, most subsequent revolts erupted far from the center of 'Abbasid power in areas such as North Africa and the Caspian provinces. As a practical consequence of this change, the 'Abbasids could no longer employ their tested strategy of waiting for 'Alid revolts (and sometimes even goading premature rebellions) and then crushing them with overwhelming military force. The revolts were now in regions where 'Abbasid control was predicated on the nominal deference to local dynasties. This did not eliminate the importance of the 'Abbasid-'Alid rivalry but it did recast the rules of the game, as encounters between the two families became increasingly indirect.

   The impact of this change is evident in the non-Zaydi sources where Idris I's death is linked to a batch of poisoned tooth powder (subsequently: the "murderous dental work" narrative). In these texts, Harun al-Rashid--upon learning of Idris I's whereabouts--dispatches a client of his father (al-Mahdi) named al-Shammakh to North Africa. Al-Shammakh insinuates his way into Idris I's inner circle posing as a doctor and poisons him one night when the 'Alid complains of a toothache. Versions of this narrative are preserved with a strong pro-'Abbasid bias in the late third/ninth-century historical works of al-Baladhuri (d. 280/892), Ibn al-Faqih (fl. 289/902), and al-Tabari (d. 311/923) and with a pro-'Alid slant in the chronicles of al-Ya'qubi (d. 284/897) and al-Mas'udi (d. 345/956). In addition, variants are mentioned by two important fourth/tenth-century Zaydi historians, Ahmad b. Ibrahim (d. 353/964) and al-Isbahani (d. 356/967), albeit with a very different end in mind.

   Al-Baladhuri's account begins with a description of Idris I's flight to Egypt in a Hajj caravan. (22) Upon arriving in Fustat, he finds himself in difficult straits before discovering that Wadih, the man in charge of the Egyptian postal service (barid), is Shi'i. The latter helps him escape to Tanja where Idris I begins to build an army by converting the local Berber population to his cause. Al-Baladhuri strongly condemns Wadih as a traitor by emphasizing his status as an 'Abbasid client (through al-Mansur's son Salih) and his subsequent execution on the orders of al-Rashid. The importance of Idris I's escape from Egypt cannot be overstated as he is now outside the direct reach of 'Abbasid authority. With this realization in mind, al-Rashid "secretly dispatches" al-Shammakh to Ibrahim al-Aghlab, the 'Abbasid governor of Ifriqiya, who directs him to Tanja. Al-Rashid's dependence on his governor to coordinate the assassination exemplifies the limits of 'Abbasid power and intimates a changed political dynamic with the rise of local dynastic power. (23) This is further emphasized by the fact that, after Idris I's death, the 'Abbasids do not play a significant role in any subsequent 'Alid revolt in North Africa. The assassin befriends Idris I in the guise of a doctor and, when the 'Alid consults him about a recurring toothache, prescribes a batch of poisoned tooth powder (sanun) and quickly flees. The details of Idris I's death are left to the imagination as the text ends with the simple...