Chinese and Syriac records fill gaps in early Islamic historyhttps://en.majalla.com/node/290361/culture-social-affairs/chinese-and-syriac-records-fill-gaps-early-islamic-history
Much of the Umayyad dynasty remains a mystery — especially since contemporary historical studies in the Arab world continue to be dominated by Abbasid historical narratives and documentations.
Researchers and historians face a difficult challenge when trying to piece together history from the early Islamic era. This is because the available historical accounts from the Abbasid dynasty (which mainly came from Muhammad bin Jarir Al-Tabari) is seemingly inconsistent with accounts of other kingdoms and empires — such as those of Imperial China.
Skewed accounts
This is why accounts of the first ruler of the Umayyad dynasty — Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan — so drastically differ. According to Abbasid accounts, Muawiyah was a greedy usurper of power.
Historians like Sayf ibn Omar Al-Dhabbi, Abi Mikhnaf Lut ibn Yahya, and Muhammad ibn Omar Al-Waqidi, among others, claim that Muawiyah spent his life plotting against others in a bid to consolidate his ‘contested’ position.
Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan was the first Caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty.
These accounts also claim that Muawiyah wanted to build a dynasty similar to those of the ‘infidel’ Persian and Byzantine empires and breach the right of ‘Ahla al-Bayt’ to rule. They opine that he exploited the assassination of Islam’s third caliph, Othman ibn Affan, as a pretext to achieve his ‘mischievous’ objectives.
Similarly, Muawiyah’s call for peace between the two warring Muslim camps in the battle of Siffin (37 AH/657 AD) in line with the teachings of the Quran is described by Abbasid historians as a “ruse”, without providing any evidence to back their claim.
They automatically rule out any pure intentions Muawiyah could have had, to spare the warring parties from bloodshed.
Abbasid historians automatically rule out any pure intentions Muawiyah could have had, to spare the warring parties from bloodshed.
Cue the infamous 'arbitration' process, which some Islamic sources deem to be Muawiyah's biggest disgrace, along with the Arab commander and Amr ibn Al-As.
However, these sources disregard the murder of Caliph Othman ibn Affan in his own house and the false accusations pointing to him to justify the crime committed by the killers, who — by their own accounts — were no more than a bunch of power-hungry and greedy
To further sully Muawiyah's image, some Islamic historical sources deliberately turned a blind eye to his tremendous military achievements and his key role in changing the course of history and shifting international trade routes, particularly the Silk Road — the reason behind the rise and fall of many empires.
During the later mediaeval Ayyubid and Mameluke periods, Arab and Islamic historians took note of the obvious discrepancies in the accounts of the early Islamic period and tried to fix it. However, their efforts ended in failure, for they relied entirely on the historical accounts of Al-Tabari without attempting to separate facts from myths.
The outcome was an awkward attempt to convert Muawiyah's vices — as depicted by Abbasid historical accounts — into virtues through artificial and unpersuasive linguistic and interpretive twists of these accounts.
For instance, they tried to bestow reverence upon his mother Hind bint 'Utbah by attributing her alleged adultery to a Yemeni soothsayer's prophecy that she will give birth to a great king, instead of invalidating the flagrantly fabricated and untrue story.
Another attempt to turn vices into virtues was the justification of his habit of putting his hand on his large behind which he inherited from his mother whenever he showed mercy, as a symbol that his mercifulness resembles hers.
Contrasting accounts of Muawiyah's Silk Road campaign
The second Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab was keen to restrict Islamic invasions to lands with a clear Arab majority. He rarely acquiesced to expansions beyond Iraq, Greater Syria, and Egypt, and fiercely opposed maritime campaigns.
After Omar's murder, Muawiyah, Amr bin Al-As, and another important Arab commander Abdullah ibn Saad, persuaded Caliph Othman, Omar's successor, to expand Islamic conquests northward and westward to generate new sources of income — not only from tributes enforced on their new subjects, but also from international trade routes.
At the time, trade routes were the main source of funding for the reigning Byzantine and Sassanid Empires.
Muawiyah's early efforts to control the western part of the Silk Road are evident in the calculated and coherent series of battles and military campaigns his armies waged.
They conquered Armenia and the southern Caucasus to the north, while the westward campaigns gave them control over Cyprus, Kos, Rhodes, and other tiny isles, thereby securing a maritime route to Europe.
While Islamic historical accounts provide limited information about this campaign, historians were nonetheless determined to belittle his role in these conquests and attributed them instead to particular soldiers and war generals, barely mentioning Muawiyah.
By contrast, Syriac, Armenian, Byzantine, and Chinese historical annals single out Muawiyah as the leader who commanded all these conquests, relaying his battles and their outcomes in detail.
By contrast, Syriac, Armenian, Byzantine, and Chinese historical annals single out Muawiyah as the leader who commanded all these conquests, relaying his battles and their outcomes in detail.
Abbasid historians Al-Tabari and Al-Baladhuri attribute the conquest of Armenia to Ayadh bin Ghanam, who nonetheless did not conquer Armenia itself, but rather the lands adjacent to it along the Euphrates River.
Those lands were home to a majority of Christian Arab tribes, who bin Ghanam wanted to persuade not to fight on the Byzantines' side. And even if his troops launched incursions here or there on some Armenian outskirts, their incursions remain far from a conquest.
The actual conquest of Armenia was at the hands of one of Muawiyah's top-ranking war generals, Habib bin Muslima Al-Fahri.
Nevertheless, in his masterwork 'The Origins of the Islamic State,' Al-Baladhuri casts doubt on the Al-Fahri's affiliation with Muawiyah and instead validates the narrative that Caliph Othman assigned him on that mission.
Traders with camels crossing through the Silk Road which linked China to Europe, allowing the entry of Silk and other commodities c1850
Geopolitical objectives
Muawiyah's eagerness to conquer Armenia can only be understood in the geopolitical context of the time.
In another Islamic invasion of similar significance, Suraqa bin Amr conquered Derbend ("the Gate of all Gates") in what is now the southern Russian Republic of Dagestan, during the battles against the last Sassanid Emperor, who was seemingly trying to regain Iraq from the Muslims with the support of the Chinese.
Because Derbend was a key stop along the Silk Road, Muawiyah's general Al-Fahri controlled the rest of that historical route until the city of Tiflis (now Tbilisi, capital of Georgia) — the second most important stop along the Silk Road leading to Constantinople.
Syriac historical records provide informative details on the battles that took place on that front. Patriarch Dionysius I Telmaharoyo quotes a history book written by the son of a Syriac military leader of the Byzantine Army called Ionnais Rasafia as saying:
"The commander of the Arabs, Muawiyah, divided his army into two troops. He assigned Habib the Evil as commander of one batallion and sent him to Armenia. When the batallion arrived, they found the entire land covered with snow, so they brought oxen to forge pathways through the snow."
"They invaded the country, taking the oblivious inhabitants by surprise. They attacked the Armenians, looted countless booties, took captives, burnt villages, then returned joyfully to their bases."
"The other batallion, commanded by Muawiyah himself, invaded the city of Caesarea in the Province of Cappadocia, where they found several populous villages and seized their livestock. Muawiyah laid siege on Caesarea and attacked it for 10 days, then destroyed the entire province and left the city isolated. A few days later, he returned to Caesarea and besieged it again."
"When the city's leaders realised that they could not evade their gloomy fate, they surrendered and signed a pledge to pay tributes in return for a pledge by the conquerors not to harm them. When the Muslims entered the city, they regretted their oath upon seeing the beauty of its churches and monasteries and its abundant wealth, but they did not break their oath."
"They took what they needed and headed westwards to the city of Amorium, which was also of incredible beauty, and decided not to attack it. When they noticed that the city was difficult to conquer, they took money and gold and returned to their land."
Muawiyah's first attempt to invade Armenia proved to be successful, as the country became a subordinate state that paid him tributes. As such, Armenia's commercial significance to the Byzantines was largely diminished.
Muawiyah's first attempt to invade Armenia proved to be successful, as the country became a subordinate state that paid him tributes. As such, Armenia's commercial significance to the Byzantines was largely diminished.
The forgotten maritime commander
Following the conquest of Armenia, Muawiyah sought to conquer the Anatolian mountains, leading to the occupation of Cyprus and other Aegean islands that serve as trade hubs. Once achieved, this plan would guarantee Muawiyah full control of the Byzantine part of the Silk Road.
A Syriac source addressed Muawiyah's conquests of Cyprus, Rhodes, Kos, and other strategic maritime stations in the Mediterranean and the final annexation of Armenia extensively.
"In 27 AH/646 AD, Muawiyah amassed thousands of soldiers and brought over an entire army from Alexandria on 1,700 warships. When they arrived in Cyprus, Muawiyah ordered the annexation of Armenia and ordered the ships to be anchored offshore as a pledge of security to the Cypriots."
"When the Cypriots refused his offer, the Alexandrian soldiers anchored the ships on the island's shores and invaded it, wreaking havoc and looting everything they could lay their hands on. Then they headed to the densely-populated Constantinople and took it by force."
"Muawiyah himself stayed at the city's diocese, where he indulged in licentious lust. After the Muslims collected gold, money, and slaves from the island and distributed the booties amongst themselves and the Alexandrian army, they returned to their lands."
"As it was divine providence that ordained the destruction of the island, another Muslim commander by the name of Abu Al-Aawar Al-Salami headed to Cyprus after a while along with his army after hearing that it was inhabited by new populations."
"When he arrived, the horrified inhabitants took shelter in underground tunnels, but the Arabs found them. The Muslims plundered the entire island, then moved to the city of Paphos and besieged it."
"When the people of the city pleaded for safety, Abu Al-Aawar demanded that they hand the Muslim army all their gold, silver, and money, pledging not to cause harm. Hence, the Arabs conquered the city, took its fortune, then returned to Syria."
Additionally, Syriac sources discuss Abu Al-Aawar's invasion of the two Greek islands of Kos and Rhodes, unlike Islamic history books that disregard him and his conquests, likely due to his hostility against Ali bin Abi-Talib during the battle of Siffin, attributing to Ali that he publicly cursed Abu Al-Aawar in his sermons.
A diplomatic mission to China
Chinese imperial records also help decipher the enigma of Muawiyah's history, as they shed further light on his conquests.
During that period, Chinese commercial activities on the mainland Silk Road were halted due to Islamic conquests. Subsequently, Muawiyah dispatched diplomatic envoys to China to inform its rulers of the new developments in the region.
A Chinese document on the "Dashi" ("Arabs") in the Tongdian encyclopedia mentions that under the Tang Dynasty, between 650 and 656 AD, "several envoys arrived from the lands of the Arabs to the court of our King to present gifts".
These diplomatic missions were dispatched following the killing of Yazdegerd III, the last Sassanid Emperor of Persia in 649 at the hands of Said bin Othman bin Affan, as attested by Syriac historical documents. Unsurprisingly, Islamic history books make no mention of Said.
It appears that Muawiyah's aim behind dispatching those numerous diplomatic envoys to China was to persuade its rulers not to help the Persian Crown Prince Fairuz, the son of Yazdegerd III, in his bid to restore his father's empire.
Muawiyah's efforts proved successful.
An Arabic style decorated archway in the streets of Kashgar, a popular tourist place along the Silk Road and one of the western-most cities
Additionally, Muawiyah proposed the signing of a commercial agreement between the budding Islamic State and China. The Chinese sent a delegation of their own to inspect and report on the situation.
In a rather perplexing language, the Chinese delegation reported:
"It is said that at the beginning, there was a Bedouin man living in an area under Persian rule, and the Deity blessed that man with a sword that could kill anyone. The man started to gather other Bedouins around him. Eleven of them believed in him and joined him. They were consecrated as knights in the fashion of Persian royalties.
"Afterwards, more and more people believed in him, and ultimately, they formed an army capable of conquering Persia itself and invading some cities in the Byzantine Empire and India. Even if they all join forces, the enemies of the Arabs could not match their force, for they had more than 420,000 soldiers."
"Their first king [Abu Bakir al-Siddiq] died and was succeeded by the first Bedouin knight he appointed before his death [Omar ibn Al-Khattab]. In our current days, a third king [Othman ibn Affan] is on the throne."
"Their men have large, long noses, slim bodies, dark skin, full beards, and their women are beautiful. They also have their own writing system which differs from the one used in Persia. Their land has several animals including camels, horses, donkeys, mules, and antelopes."
"Agriculture bears no fruit in their native lands because they consist of rocks and sand. Hence, their diet consists mainly of meats of camels, horses, and other animals."
"After they conquered the Persian Empire and parts of the Byzantine Empire, they started to trade rice and wheat flour. We have also heard that their king often dispatches commercial ships bearing various foods and garments across the seas."
Another Chinese report discusses the turbulent relations with the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty (605-617 AD), which coincided with the huge defeat of the Byzantines by the Persian armies who conquered all Eastern Byzantine provinces, including Greater Syria and Egypt.
However, the report also mentions that the Byzantines sent a new delegation to restore the relations with China in the 17thyear of the reign of Li Chengqian, which corresponds to 643 AD. It seems that the Chinese took their time before responding to the Byzantine offer and sent an envoy to inspect the conditions.
The envoy found that Arabs had taken over all the Byzantine eastern provinces, and that their leader Muawiyah (mentioned by name) sent an army to besiege the Byzantine capital Constantinople. The report adds that Muawiyah defeated the Byzantine Empire and enforced tributes on its people.
Therefore, the Chinese report entirely corroborates the Syriac historical accounts that also mention Muawiyah's first attempt to besiege Constantinople, followed by his consent to a truce with the Byzantines in return for paying a large tribute. This truce was imposed by the sedition sparked by the killing of Caliph Othman ibn Affan in 656 AD.
The Chinese report adds that the completion of the Silk Road was now in the hands of the Arabs and not the Byzantine Empire.
The Chinese report noted that the completion of the Silk Road was now in the hands of the Arabs and not the Byzantine Empire. Syriac annals also mention the Byzantines' attempts to regain control over Armenia and Muawiyah's cunning circumvention of those attempts without any bloodshed.
A return to Syriac historical records
Syriac annals also mention the Byzantines' attempts to regain control over Armenia and Muawiyah's cunning circumvention of those attempts without any bloodshed, exploiting the differences between Armenians loyal to him and those who remained loyal to Constantinople.
It was also during that period that Muawiyah controlled Anatolia and its southern Lycian coastal line, where the Battle of the Masts took place.
The infamous battle resulted in the flight of Byzantine Emperor Constans II, son of Heraclius Constantine, to the island of Sicily to evade the Muslim troops that arrived in his capital and were about to lay siege to it had the Islamic sedition instigated by the killing of Caliph Othman ibn Affan not interrupted their plans.
Thus, Muawiyah accepted to receive tributes from Constantinople in exchange for a truce until the turbulent matters inside the Islamic empire could be settled.
Eventually, Muawiyah did try again to conquer Constantinople after Al-Hasan bin Ali pledged allegiance to him and after his armies fully controlled Asia Minor (Anatolia).
However, the emergence of the Khazars as a new force in the region and their plans to expand westwards and reach the Black Sea hampered Muawiyah's efforts to monopolise the western stretch of the mainland Silk Road.
Therefore, he diverted the trade route to the lands of the Euphrates River until the city of Qinnasrin to the south of Aleppo, along with Antioch and other Mediterranean coastal cities.
Meanwhile, the Khazars were endeavouring to gain control over Armenia and the lands of the Euphrates River, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
After a four-century hiatus, Muawiyah reopened the maritime Silk Road after he conquered the Indus Valley and the coasts of the Horn of Africa, thereby ushering in a new age in the history of world trade and economy, which saw the Mediterranean become an Arab-Islamic region in later stages.
After a four-century hiatus, Muawiyah reopened the maritime Silk Road after he conquered the Indus Valley and the coasts of the Horn of Africa, thereby ushering in a new age in the history of world trade and economy, which saw the Mediterranean become an Arab-Islamic region in later stages.
These are just a few aspects of Muawiyah's life and accomplishments that were unjustly ignored by Arab and Islamic historical accounts — on mostly dogmatic, sectarian, and political grounds.
Fortunately, other historical accounts written by different cultures were more straightforward and factual, which helps fill crucial missing gaps in the Islamic historical narrative. Such accounts should be thoroughly studied and examined by academic circles to help shed a more accurate light on early Islamic history.
