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The Asawira's Settlement at Basra

نزول الأساورة البصرة

Basra

At Tustar's siege the asawira showed no treachery; Abu Musa told Siyah 'you are not what we supposed' — Siyah answered 'our insight is not yours, and we hold no sacrality over you to fear for and fight: we entered this religion at its dawn seeking refuge, and it may be God's generous provision'. Granted top-tier stipends, they asked at Basra which clan was nearest the Prophet ﷺ's kin — 'Banu Tamim' — so they allied them (the Azd having turned them away), took their plots, and dug the canal still called Nahr al-Asawira. Shirawayh had wished Bakr ibn Wa'il; Siyah refused, they settled with Tamim; the Sayabija and Zutt joined and Tamim contested for them — the asawira ending in Banu Sa'd, the Zutt and Sayabija in Banu Hanzala — fighting the polytheists and riding with Ibn Amir to Khurasan.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Rashidun Caliphate
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In space

Basra

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Overview

The report describes the settling of the Asawira in Basra after the siege of Tustar. 1

Alliance and settlement

The Asawira took part with Abu Musa in the siege of Tustar. Then in Basra they asked which of the quarters was closest in lineage to the Messenger of God, and they were told Banu Tamim. They allied themselves with them and left the Azd. Plots were laid out for them, they settled and dug a canal known as the Canal of the Asawira. Siyah al-Uswari remained of the view that they should settle with Banu Tamim. The Sayaiija and the Zutt joined them. The Asawira settled among Banu Sa'd, and the Zutt and the Sayaiija among Banu Hanzala. Then they went out with Ibn Amir to Khurasan. 1

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
Siyah al-Uswari· the Asawira
Occurred at
Basra

People and things also explored

The Asawira's Conversion Compact· al-Hajjaj's Punishment of the Asawira· Great Mosque of Basra· Qasr Qubadh / the Hajjaj palace at Basra· The Basra Bathhouse Permissions· The Basrans' Cry to Abdallah ibn Ali· Building of al-Mughitha· The Bukharans' Settlement at Basra

Sources

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

islam.museum contributors. “The Asawira's Settlement at Basra”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/asawira-basra-settlement/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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The Asawira's Conversion Compact

Siyah al-Uswari led Yazdgard's vanguard; sent to Ahwaz he camped at al-Kalbaniyya while Abu Musa besieged al-Sus — then seeing Islam's ascendancy he offered: we enter your religion, fight your enemies among the Persians, fight none of you in your internal disputes, you defend us if Arabs attack, we settle where we wish among you and rank in the highest stipend — compact sealed with the amir. Abu Musa countered 'you have what we have and owe what we owe'; they refused, so he wrote Umar, who wrote back: grant them all they asked.