are willing to extend your protection, I shall tell you what I know."
Upon the latter's assent, he said: "Nahirjan had entrusted me with the
jewellery belonging to Khusraw, and, if you are willing to guarantee me
and those I shall name, protection, I shall, give you the treasure." Upon
Hudhayfah's agreement to his request, he brought two sacks which
contained nothing else but rubies and pearls. The Muslims were unanimous in their agreement that the jewellery should be handed over to
Caliph 'Umar only and no other Muslim should be given any share. Sa'ib
accordingly presented both sacks to the Caliph who commanded him to
deposit them in the bayt al-mal till he could decide what to do with
them, and that he should rejoin the army. Sa'ib did as he was commanded. 'Umar pondered on the disposal of the sacks the whole night.
Next morning he sent a messenger to call Sa'ib back. The messenger
found Sa'ib entering the gates of Kufah. Both had dismounted from
their camels the same morning. The messenger told him that the Caliph
had recalled him. Sa'ib returned to Madinah. When the Caliph saw him
he said: "What has happened to me and the son of Umm Sa'ib or to the
son of Umm Sa'ib and me. Take both these sacks away. May thy father
die. 56 Take them where from thou hadst brought them. Spend the
proceeds from these jewels upon the well-being of Muslims." Sa'ib did as
commanded and put the sacks (for sale) in the Mosque of Kufa where
'Amr bin Hurayth bought them for two million dirhams, and then he
sold them in Iran for four million dirhams.
In A.H. 92 the slave of Musa bin Nusayr, Tariq, marched into Spain
from Al-Maghrib, and, during the war, killed the king of that land. The
king who was sitting on a throne had a canopy mounted on wheels, and
studded with diverse kinds of jewels. The Greeks call them "the cars of
war," while the people of India call them raths. 57 The rooks in the game
of chess are also similar.
The Berbers brought from Spain bales of cloth and jewellery, the
cloth being silken. The Berbers, unaware of the value of these goods,
used to sell them to the Arabs for nominal value. After Tariq, Musa bin
Nusayr in A.H. 93 made his entry into Spain, where he was met by his
slave Tariq. Their combined armies invaded Toledo and captured it.
There they acquired a table which was known as The Table of Sulayman
bin Da'ud as is usual with the people to associate everything that is
strange to the Prophet Solomon as he held sway over powerful djinns,
who were very skilled divers and craftsmen. Studded with jewels, this
table was made of gold and silver, and it had three wheels. It was dragged by mules. One of its legs was taken off, and an iron leg substituted
in its place by Tariq (ibn Ziyad) as he was suspicious of the motives of
Musa. He kept the real leg in a secret place. Tariq found in the house of
a vanquished city twenty-four regal crowns, whose price was inestimable.
