Capture of Amr ibn al-Layth by Isma'il ibn Ahmad

أسر إسماعيل بن أحمد لعمرو بن الليث

287 AH

In 287 news came that Isma'il ibn Ahmad had captured Amr ibn al-Layth al-Saffar and plundered his army, and it is recorded that al-Mu'tadid praised Isma'il and blamed Amr for it ^{1 2}. In al-Mas'udi, Amr was brought into Madinat al-Salam in Jumada I 288 by Abd Allah ibn al-Fath, the sultan's envoy; he was paraded, mounted on a paralysed camel and wearing a silk robe, with Badr and the vizier al-Qasim ibn Ubayd Allah in the army behind him. They brought him to al-Thurayya, where al-Mu'tadid saw him, and then he was put into the dungeons, raising his hands in supplication. Muhammad ibn Bassam said of him: 'You who are deceived by the world, did you not see Amr coming, made to ride the paralysed one after kingship by force, wearing the cloak of wrath?' ³. In Ibn al-Jawzi: in 287 Isma'il ibn Ahmad crossed the river of Balkh to face Amr ibn al-Layth al-Saffar and defeated him; the people of Balkh had grown weary of him and resented his mother's lodging in some of their dwellings, and he had reached out for their property. Amr fled, was taken and brought to Isma'il, who rose, kissed him between the eyes, said 'It grieves me, my brother, what has befallen you', washed his face, robed him, and swore that he would neither harm him nor surrender him. Then a letter from al-Mu'tadid came ordering Amr's handover, and Isma'il handed him over. Amr used to say: were I to wish to build a bridge of gold over the river of Balkh, I could; he had carried his bedding and kitchen on six hundred camels, and it ended with him in chains and humiliation ⁴.