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The Sughd Hostages' Killing of Sa'id ibn Uthman

قتل رهن السغد سعيد بن عثمان

Sa'id carried his Sughd hostages to Medina, gave their clothes and belts to his mawali, dressed them in wool, and set them to water-carrying, wells and labour — they entered his majlis, butchered him, then killed themselves. Malik ibn al-Rayb and Khalid ibn Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt each have verses on him.

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Era
The Umayyad Period
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Overview

Al-Baladhuri relates that Sa'id ibn Uthman took the hostages he had taken from the Soghdians to Medina. He gave their clothes and belts to his clients and dressed them in woollen robes, and ordered them to water and work. 1

His killing

The hostages came in on him in his session and killed him, then they killed themselves. Al-Baladhuri says that Malik ibn al-Rayb and Khalid ibn Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt composed two odes about him. 1

The date of the event is not recorded in the data and needs an additional source.

Connections

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Had participant
Sa'id ibn Uthman ibn Affan

People and things also explored

Sa'id ibn Uthman and the Bukhara Host· Sa'id ibn Uthman's Siege of Samarqand· Sa'id ibn Uthman ibn Affan

Sources

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

islam.museum contributors. “The Sughd Hostages' Killing of Sa'id ibn Uthman”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/said-ibn-uthman-assassination/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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Sa'id ibn Uthman and the Bukhara Host

Mu'awiya gave Khurasan to Sa'id ibn Uthman ibn Affan — 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.