The realm of Arabic literature contains no more vivid picture of contemporary life and manners than that given us by Tabari in his account of Kutayba’s fall.137 Many circumstances conspired to effect his ruin. The unbounded arrogance arising from uniform success, and the many acts of perfidy of which he was guilty, had weakened the attachment of his followers, which was based rather on greed for booty than devotion to a cause. His friend and constant patron Hajjaj had died in A.H. 94. The new Caliph, Sulayman, had never forgotten that Kutayba had supported his predecessor Welid in an attempt to exclude him from the succession; and his principal adviser was Yezid ibn Muhallab, whom Kutayba had ousted from the government of Khorasan. But tribal hatred was the most telling factor in Kutayba’s fall. It raged with intense fury among the Arabs during the Caliphate, and was at the root of every revolution of that stirring period.

Kutayba’s first thoughts138 on hearing of the accession of Sulayman were that the Caliph would certainly reinstate Yezid as governor of Khorasan. In view of forestalling this action he sent a messenger to Sulayman bearing three letters. The first contained assurances of his loyalty; the second, expressions of his contempt for Yezid; the purport of the third, which was written on a smaller sheet, was as follows: “I have ceased to recognise Sulayman as my sovereign, and have revolted against him.” His envoy was intrusted to hand the first missive to the Caliph and watch his movements narrowly. If he should read it and then pass it to Yezid, the second was to be submitted to him. Should it be similarly treated, the gauntlet of defiance was to be thrown down in the third letter.

The injunctions were strictly followed. The three messages were delivered successively; but, beyond communicating each to Yezid, the Caliph betrayed no sign of resentment. The messenger was allowed to depart in company with a courtier, who carried with him an Act of reinvestiture in the governorship of Khorasan in favour of Kutayba. When the pair reached Holwan139 they learnt that Kutayba had already raised the standard of revolt, and Sulayman’s messenger returned straightway to Syria. When Kutayba’s messenger reached Khorasan his master asked him how matters had gone. On learning that his action of throwing off his allegiance had been, to say the least of it, premature, Kutayba was filled with repentance, and took counsel with his brothers and captains as to what course he should pursue. They were agreed that Sulayman would never pardon Kutayba, but opined that his life would be spared in remembrance of his past services to Islam. “Alas,” cried Kutayba, “it is not death I fear, but that the Caliph will certainly give the government of Khorasan to Yezid, and humiliate me before all the world; I prefer death to that!”140 Among the many projects suggested to him the wisest seems to have been that of his brother `Abd er-Rahman, who advised him to proceed to Samarkand and then give his followers the option of staying with him or returning to their homes. Having by this means surrounded himself with men whom he could trust, he might declare his independence of Sulayman. But Kutayba was too confident in his own influence to listen to counsel savouring of timidity. The only plan which suited his temper was one formulated by another brother named `Abdullah. It was that Kutayba should call his officers together and urge them to join in a revolt against the Caliph. This desperate scheme was promptly acted upon. Kutayba harangued his followers in brief but stirring words, dwelling on the want of capacity shown by his predecessors, especially by Yezid; he reminded his troops of the successes that had attended them under his leadership, of the fairness with which he had always divided the spoil among them, and of his prosperous administration of Khorasan. He then awaited the acclamations which his lightest utterances had hitherto received. A deep and anxious silence reigned on the assembly. Kutayba, lashed to fury by the ingratitude of those who owed everything to him, lost all semblance of self-restraint and burst forth into a tirade, in which his lieutenants were designated as “cowardly Bedouins, infidels, and hypocrites.” Then, trembling with half-suppressed passion, he withdrew to his palace, where he joined the members of his family. They attempted to remonstrate, and pointed out the folly of exasperating men on whose goodwill everything depended. The Arab troops, too, entered into negotiations with `Abd-er-Rahman, who was regarded as the most reasonable of Kutayba’s brothers, and he proffered his services as a peacemaker. But Kutayba had by this time entirely lost his head, and turned a deaf ear to all advice. The Arabs, lashed to madness by his obstinacy, beset his palace with shouts of vengeance. Some set fire to his stables, and in the confusion that ensued another band broke into the council-hall and attacked their fallen chief. He received a wound from an arrow, and was straightway hacked to pieces with swords, A.H. 96 (714).

Thus fell, at the age of forty-six, a man whose personality stands out in bold relief in the earlier annals of the most militant of creeds.

It would be unjust to omit mention of Kutayba’s zeal in the propaganda of Islam. Narshakhi has much to tell us of his pious exertions in the town of Bokhara. On each of his four expeditions thither he compelled the inhabitants to accept the faith of Mohammed, but as soon as his back was turned they reverted to idol-worship. In A.H. 94 Kutayba built, on the site of a fire-temple, a large mosque, where prayers were read every Friday; a reward of two direms was given to every attendant in order to assure the permanent conversion of the people. Kutayba quartered an Arab in every house, who played the dual part of spy and missionary. His character was an epitome of the qualities which made Islam a terror to mankind, and ultimately conspired to reduce it to impotence.