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Sa'id ibn Uthman and the Bukhara Host

سعيد بن عثمان وموقف بخارا

Bukhara

Mu'awiya gave Khurasan to Sa'id ibn Uthman ibn Affan (may God be pleased with him) — the first to cross the river with his whole army, and with him Rufay' Abu al-Aliya al-Riyahi ('Rufay' Abu al-Aliya: elevation and height'). The Khatun, hearing of his crossing, sued for peace; yet the Sughd, Turks, Kish and Nasaf — that is Nakhshab — came against him at a hundred and twenty thousand, meeting at Bukhara as the Khatun regretted her tribute and broke covenant. A slave of Sa'id's detached part of the host, the rest broke, and the Khatun gave hostages and renewed the peace — and Sa'id entered Bukhara's city.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Umayyad Period
Review
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In space

Bukhara

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

Overview

Al-Baladhuri says that Mu'awiya appointed Sa'id ibn Uthman ibn Affan over Khurasan, and he crossed the river, the first to do so with his troops. Rufay Abu al-Aliya al-Riyahi was with him. 1

The meeting at Bukhara

When Khatun learned that he had crossed the river, she sent him a peace offer. Then the Soghdians, the Turks, and the people of Kush and Nasaf came against Sa'id with a hundred and twenty thousand, and they met at Bukhara. Khatun had come to regret paying the tribute and broke the covenant. 1

A slave of Sa'id's withdrew with some of those in the gatherings, and the rest were broken. Khatun gave the pledge and restored the peace, and Sa'id entered the city of Bukhara. 1

The figure of one hundred and twenty thousand is as al-Baladhuri relates it, and needs an additional source.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
Sa'id ibn Uthman ibn Affan· The Khatun of Bukhara· Rufay' Abu al-Aliya al-Riyahi
Occurred at
Bukhara

People and things also explored

Sa'id ibn Uthman's Siege of Samarqand· Al-Biruni takes refuge at Bukhara· The killing of Sultan Alp Arslan and the accession of Malikshah· The Sughd Hostages' Killing of Sa'id ibn Uthman· Ala al-Din Tekish Seizes Bukhara in 594 AH· Ubaydallah ibn Ziyad's Baykand Campaign· Abdurauf Fitrat· Shams al-A'imma al-Kurdari

Sources

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

islam.museum contributors. “Sa'id ibn Uthman and the Bukhara Host”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/said-bukhara-host/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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Sa'id ibn Uthman's Siege of Samarqand

Sa'id ibn Uthman marched on Samarqand with the Khatun's Bukhara levies, camped at its gate, and swore not to stir until it opened and he had thrown down its qahandaz. Three days' fighting — fiercest on the third — cost him an eye and cost al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra his (or the Muhallab's eye went at Talaqan); the foe slackened, wounds telling, when a man guided Sa'id to a castle holding their kings' sons and nobles — besieged, the city feared its storm and sued: seven hundred thousand dirhams, hostages of their nobles' sons — fifteen, or forty, or eighty — and his right to enter the city and leave by the other gate. He loosed a stone at the qahandaz and it lodged in its loophole; then he withdrew, and at Tirmidh the Khatun's suit won another sulh.