Karmathians

Karmathians, a religious and communistic sect into which the Ismailis (q.v.) developed in Asia under the lead of Hamdan Karmat, a peasant-prophet in the region of Kufa. The secret society soon organised itself and began a formidable peasant war. Bahrein was overrun, and in 900, under Abu Said, the Karmathians took Hajr, north-east of Yambu, and made it their capital. Damascus had to ransom itself; Baalbec was taken and its inhabitants put to the sword. Abu Said's son, Abu Taher, succeeded him. In 923 he took and plundered Bassora; next year he plundered a caravan of 20,000 pilgrims returning from Mecca; and in 925 captured and plundered Kufa, killing or enslaving the inhabitants. In 930 during the Hajj he took Mecca, killing 30,000 persons, choked the well Zem Zem with corpses, and carried away the black stone. Then he threatened Bagdad with only 500 horse from among his 107,000 armed zealots. During the next eight years there was no Hajj, but it was resumed on a payment of 25,000 dinars by the calif to Abu Taher. This leader died in peace in 943, leaving the control of religion and politics to a council of seven. After a twenty-two years' absence the black stone was brought back to Mecca by the Karmathians and ransomed. During the next hundred years the sect gradually succumbed to the sword and to natural causes, but not until it had acted as a powerful dissolvent on the califate.