Islam Museum Islam Museum islam.museum
Search ⌕ ARENUR
Accessibility
Text size 100%

Saved on this device only — nothing is sent anywhere.

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

حملة معن بن زائدة على رتبيل

Zabulistan

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.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

Overview

Al-Baladhuri relates that al-Mansur appointed Ma'n ibn Za'ida over Sistan. Ma'n wrote to Rutbil ordering him to pay the tribute he had agreed to pay al-Hajjaj. 1

The campaign

Rutbil sent camels, Turkish tents and slaves, and inflated their value, so Ma'n became angry and marched to al-Rukhkh, with Yazid ibn Mazyad at the head of his vanguard. He found that Rutbil had gone out to Zabulistan, so he took it, took many captives and captured about thirty thousand. 1

Mawand

Mawand, Rutbil's deputy, asked for safe conduct on condition that he would take him to the commander of the faithful. Ma'n granted it and sent him to Baghdad with five thousand of their fighting men. Al-Mansur honoured him and granted him a stipend. 1

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
Ma'n ibn Za'ida al-Shaybani· Yazid ibn Mazyad· Rutbil (the Zunbil)· Mawand, Rutbil's Deputy
Occurred at
Zabulistan

People and things also explored

The Killing of Ma'n ibn Za'ida· Abd al-Aziz ibn Abdallah ibn Amir's Sijistan· Abdullah ibn Umayya's Truce with the Second Rutbil· Ibn al-Ash'ath's End at Sijistan· Ma'n ibn Za'ida's Engraving on the Caliphal Seal· Qutayba's Coming to Sijistan· Rutbil's War and al-Rabi' ibn Ziyad· Rutbil's Refusal of the Governors' Tribute

Sources

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

islam.museum contributors. “Ma'n ibn Za'ida's Campaign on Rutbil”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/man-ibn-zaida-sijistan/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

Improve this page on GitHub · Report an error · JSON

Wing

Time

Eras, timelines, this day in history, any year in the Islamic world. Related

The Killing of Ma'n ibn Za'ida

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.