The Khalifah's Mirror Read online

  That was why they had come, after all. The khagan might deliberate in secret, but everything the bek did resounded across the lands of the Khazars. Now they pounced on his words and pulled them apart for meaning, like birds scrapping over seeds.

  While they chattered, servants brought forward a large bronze candlestick. It had three branches, each of which bore a single, slender candle. Once they had placed it at the centre of the platform and withdrawn, Bhulan rose again.

  “I welcome and thank my guests, who have come to expound their beliefs. In order that none may gain an unfair advantage, each will speak for as long as it takes one candle to burn, and not a moment more.”

  This was unexpected. I looked at the shocked faces of our party as they realised Abu Yusuf would have to cut down his prepared oration to a fraction of its length, with no time to rewrite it. When I looked across to the Roman side I saw similar consternation; only the rabbi remained serene. Bhulan himself held a taper to the first candle, and it sprang alight.

  “Qadi, perhaps you would honour us by speaking first?”

  The scribes began passing notes, trying to assess whether this was a mark of favour, or a subtle slight. Certainly it gave the Christians longer to adapt to the new restrictions. Abu Yusuf, however, was unperturbed.

  “Mighty bek, I am grateful to you. Your hospitality, and that of the Khazar people, is renowned throughout the civilised world. However I must tell you that this debate is unnecessary; that the question you ask has no meaning.”

  Abu Yusuf gave the crowd a moment to absorb what he had said. For a holy man, he had excellent timing.

  “You ask whether you should follow the religion of Musa, to whom God gave the commandments on tablets of stone. Or that of Isa ibn Maryam, born of a virgin. Or of Muhammad, peace be upon him, the last of the Prophets. Yet this is no choice at all, for just as there is only one God, so there is only one true faith, now, and throughout all time.

  “God has sent prophets to all the nations of the earth, guiding them to righteousness and away from the darkness. Musa was such a prophet, as were Nuh, and Ishaq, and Lut, Ilias and al-Yasa and Zakariyya. And so was Isa ibn Maryam.

  “Every nation has had its prophets, not all of them now remembered, but one nation was favoured above all others. To the children of Isra’il, God sent messengers again and again, generation after generation, warning them of their errors and reminding them of the truth. At best the Jews would submit for a while, before returning to sin. At worst they killed the prophets, or drove them away. They even sought to have Isa ibn Maryam crucified by the Romans, but when the traitor Yahuda al-Skarioti came with soldiers, God took Isa bodily up into heaven. He gave Yahuda the likeness of Isa, so that he died in the place of the man he had betrayed, and even Maryam umm Isa failed to realise that the man on the cross was not her son.

  “The sin of the children of Isra’il was the greater because they were given the true faith, but refused to submit. And so God cursed the Jews. If you seek evidence that their ways are corrupted, that they are a condemned people, you need only consider their history. They were enslaved by the Egyptians, massacred by the Assyrians, and exiled by the Babylonians. Twice their temple has been destroyed, and after the second time it was never rebuilt. Now they wander the earth, with no kingdom of their own, and everywhere they are alien, despised.

  “The Christians, too, have received God’s word, but perverted it. They say that Isa ibn Maryam is the Son of God, and worship him as part of a trinity of deities, along with the angel Jibril, whom they call the Holy Spirit. They will tell you that this is not polytheism, that the three are one. They tell you this, and expect you to believe it in the face of all the evidence, in the same way that a man might tell you his ass is in fact an eagle. However, if the animal brays, and plods, and cannot fly, then you will judge as any wise man would.

  “Likewise they will tell you that they are not idolaters, then get on their knees and pray to pictures, of prophets and saints and holy men, images that they worship as gods. Worst of all, however, they deny the revelation of Muhammad, peace be upon him, even though his coming is foretold in their own holy book. For does it not say, in the Injil of Yahya, that Isa spoke of a Witness, who would come after him, and teach his followers all things?

  “I mean no disrespect to Isa ibn Maryam, peace be upon him. He was a Messenger of God, and one of the most important of the prophets. In the last days he will come again, to defeat the false Messiah, al-Masih al-Dajjal. Yet he was a prophet, and no more than that, and as such one of many sent by God.

  “The Hadith tell us that God has blessed mankind with one hundred and twenty four thousand prophets, and of those three hundred and fifteen were Messengers, who brought books of God’s law. Although there were differences in their teachings, they were all true prophets; each described the will of God in that time and place.

  “However, there are to be no more. The age of the prophets is over. When every nation dwelt in isolation, barely speaking even to their neighbours, then every nation needed a revelation of her own. Now, when diplomats and traders travel the whole world, carrying goods and ideas from east to west, from north to south, God has delivered his final testament, his message for all peoples and all time.

  “Muhammad, peace be upon him, came to perfect and complete the law of God. The Quran, dictated to him by the angel Jibril, has existed throughout eternity, and will guide humanity until the end of the world. It replaces all previous holy books, even those that were true revelations in their day, like the Tawrat and the Injil. In the same way Muhammad is the Seal of the Prophets, the last and greatest of their line.

  “So, mighty bek, you will see that you can follow the teachings of Musa, and of Isa, and of Muhammad as well; for they are one and the same. There is only one God, and all that the angel requires of you is submission to His will.”

  The candle flickered out just as Abu Yusuf uttered his final words. He nodded a brief bow to his listeners and stepped back. The bek rose once more as servants hurried to light the second candle.

  “My thanks, qadi. Your learning and wisdom are rightly renowned. Next, I ask the spokesman for Christianity to make his case.”

  Theodore of Stoudios hurried forward, keen to make the most of his allotted time. For the first time I observed how young he was. Instead of a senior churchman, all of whom were busy at home scheming for their own personal advancement, the Romans had nominated an ambitious junior on his way to a glittering career in politics. He cleared his throat.

  “Mighty bek, you have heard the qadi speak. He is indeed a man of learning, his erudition only outweighed by his eloquence. However, his arguments against Christianity are based on a fundamental error. And when that error is exposed, it shatters not only the qadi’s argument, but the whole foundation of Islam.

  “The qadi has called us polytheists, suggesting that we worship three gods, not one. In this he fails to understand the doctrine of the Trinity. Christians worship one God, eternal, omnipotent and indivisible. God is of one substance, one essence, yet He also is three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Holy Spirit; yet the Father is God, and the Son is God, and so too is the Holy Spirit. Such is the subtle miracle of the Trinity.

  “A man of learning such as the qadi would surely know this. Yet he chooses to dishonour his hosts by deceiving you, and slandering us with false accusations. Why would this man, this good and godly man, do such a foul thing? In the answer to that question, you will find the reason why you must reject his religion.

  “The qadi must say that we believe in three Gods, because the Quran says that we do. And the qadi considers the Quran to be perfect and complete, the unadulterated word of God. Therefore if the Quran’s description of Christian doctrine does not accord with what we in fact profess, then he must accept what is written in the Quran. It does not matter to him how many times we tell him that the Three are One, he cannot listen or admit his error, without admitting that his own
beliefs are mistaken.

  “And his falsehoods do not end there. The qadi identifies the Holy Spirit with the angel Jibril, which we do not; then by extension implies that we worship the angel as a God, which we do not. But in doing so he evades the question of how the Quran really describes the Trinity. The fifth Sura talks of Christians regarding Isa and his mother as two gods beside God. It is clear that the author of this book imagines Maryam to be the third person of the Trinity. You must decide for yourself whether such a book is the work of God himself, of a spirit sent by Him, or of a fallible man.

  “Their message, then, is demonstrably flawed. But what of their messenger? Evidently, he was a great warrior and leader. He united the tribes of Arabia, and founded an empire that has conquered half the world. But was he a man of God? I will tell you a story, and let you judge. It is the tale of the Banu Qurayza.

  “The Banu Qurayza were a Jewish tribe of Madinah. They were allies of Muhammad, but betrayed him at the Battle of the Trench. Their treachery is not in doubt, although they never actually left their camp during the battle, let alone took up arms against Muslims. However the punishment they received, simply for negotiating with the enemy, was terrible.

  “Muhammad and his companions besieged their stronghold, and the Banu Qurayza surrendered. They agreed that their fate would be decided by a chief of a related tribe, the Banu Aws. They did not know, though, that the man chosen, Sa’d ibn Mu’adh, had fought at Muhammad’s side during the battle and sustained a wound, of which he would later die. From his deathbed Sa’d pronounced sentence: the men of the Banu Qurayza were to be killed, and the women and children sold into slavery.

  “Muhammad approved of the decision, saying that it was like the judgement of God. So the Muslims dug a deep trench in the marketplace, near to where the prisoners were held. Then the Jews were led out, a few at a time, and beheaded, and their bodies thrown into the trench.

  “The prophet executed some of the prisoners in person, and his cousin Ali also helped with the task. Most of the killing however was carried out by the Banu Aws, so that they would not be able to deny their responsibility later. All day long the slaughter went on, and the corpses piled up in the trench. Adolescent boys had their private parts examined; those who had grown hair were decapitated, those who had not were sold as slaves. By evening some seven hundred men lay dead, and the Banu Qurayza were no more. Muhammad picked out one of their women for himself, and took a fifth of their wealth as his share of the booty.

  “This story is not a source of shame for Muslims, but is celebrated in the thirty-third sura of the Quran. It is taken by their lawyers as a model of how to deal with allies who break their word. Mighty bek, you will know that Christian kings and emperors have on occasion perpetrated such massacres, sometimes even in the name of Christ. However Christ himself practised only humility and gentleness. He healed the sick, fed the poor and raised the dead. Who will you choose, mighty bek, to lead you to salvation: the man who gave his own life, so that all mankind might live for ever? Or the man who killed untold numbers of others, many in cold blood, while enjoying ever greater wealth, power and carnal pleasure?”

  It seemed that Theodore had more to say, but at that moment the second candle guttered and died. This was a signal for a shocked babble to break out among the spectators massed around the valley. One of the scribes behind me could not contain his indignation, and was complaining loud enough for the bek to hear.

  “This is a travesty! Must we listen to his lies, and have no chance of rebuttal? He has completely misrepresented the meaning of the Holy Quran. This was no defence of Christianity, simply an outrageous attack on Islam! He didn’t even mention Judaism! This disputation is a sham. Nobody who truly sought God would do so by means of such a facile game…”

  As his rant continued I became aware that the servants were struggling to light the third candle. A raw wind had whipped up and was swirling around the valley, frustrating all efforts to ignite the wick. Slowly the excitement in the crowd was replaced by amusement, the servants’ efforts met by ironic cheers and groans.

  Bhulan realised that his ritual was becoming an object of ridicule. He came forward smiling calmly.

  “It seems that God wishes me to meditate on what we have heard, before we go any further. We will assemble again tomorrow, when the rabbi will speak — and I will make my decision.”

  His departure, though unhurried, was as efficient and rapid as his arrival. The onlookers, too, began to drift away. The scribe who had been complaining glared furiously at Theodore, but Abu Yusuf made a calming gesture.

  “Enough. Whatever the outcome of this debate, it is God’s will. Do not demean yourself by matching insult with insult.”

  We filed slowly down the steps. At the bottom, Ilig seized my shoulder.

  “Take me to your friend the rabbi.”

  “But — Abu Yusuf said — ”

  Ilig moved so that his face was uncomfortably close to mine.

  “Who would you rather answer to? The qadi, or me?”

  “Abu Lu’lu’ah is dead.”

  “And do you not want to avenge him?”

  I could not look into his blue eyes, and dropped my gaze.

  “Good. The qadi may resign himself to the will of God. My purpose is to execute the will of Ja’far al-Barmaki.”

  This struck me as an unusually eloquent phrase for the taciturn Khazar. I wondered whether his heavy accent masked a fluency in Arabic which he preferred to conceal. We slipped away from our party in the confusion as we left the valley, and hurried after ha-Sangari.

  We caught up with him a couple of streets further north. He turned as we approached, gazing at me sympathetically.

  “I am sorry about your friend.”

  “How do you know about that?”

  The rabbi was unperturbed by Ilig’s aggression.

  “A weeping man leading a horse with a bloody corpse slung across it will excite comment, even in a wild town like Atil. What happened?”

  I was embarrassed to admit to him how easily I had been fooled.

  “The Romans paid off a local to lead me into a trap, on the pretext that they had already kidnapped the shaman. I interrogated one of the assassins, though, and he told me that the abduction is planned for tonight. The shaman is still in Khazaran.”

  “In Khazaran? Now that might present a problem…”

  VII

  He led us to the shore, by a shred of black beach. Atil-Khazaran is sited where the Atil river flows into the Qazvin Sea. It is a flat, monotonous land of reeds and marshes, but the water is fresh, unlike the salty stretches to the south. A short distance away a pontoon bridge formed a slender link to the island of Khazaran.

  “Impressive, is it not?”

  I studied the triangular walls of the khagan’s enclosure, constructed of baked brick to the height of two men. I supposed they were impressive enough if you had spent your life in a land of tents; but for one who had seen the City of Peace, or the gargantuan fortifications of Merv in Khorasan, they elicited little awe. I feigned interest.

  “Why three walls?”

  Ha-Sangari laughed.

  “Do you not know the story we tell, of the origin of the Khazars?”

  I shrugged. He was clearly going to tell me anyway.

  “We say that the father of the Turkic people was a man called Togarmah. He was the last of his tribe, a clan so feared by their enemies that they were all murdered in a foul act of treachery. All, that is, except the boy Togarmah, a mere infant, who was mutilated and thrown into a swamp.

  “There he was found by a she-wolf, who rescued him, licked his wounds and fed him with her own milk. When he came to maturity he fell in love with the wolf. They mated, and she bore him ten sons, born in a cave, and they were named Uygur, Tiros, and Avar, Oguz, Bisal and Tarna, Kozar, Sanar, Bulgar and Savir. Kozar was the seventh son, a flame haired strutting horseman, most beloved of the sky god. He himself fathered twin boys, called Gog and Magog.

  “Go
g and Magog were giants, fearsome cannibals with pointed fangs like their grandmother the wolf. They and their kin terrorised the lands between the seas, until the day a warrior appeared, wearing golden armour and followed by an army of millions. The warrior was al-Iskander the Great, on his journey of conquest to the ends of the earth.

  “Al-Iskander realised he could never defeat the cannibal clan, even with his countless legions, so instead he ordered his men to pile up stones across the lands between the seas. So numerous were they, and so diligent in following his orders, that they constructed an entire mountain range, that today we call the Caucasus. And so the sons of Gog and Magog were trapped between three walls, the sea of Kazvim, the Black Sea and the mountains.”

  A long, uncomfortable silence followed, until he added:

  “Or perhaps it is just the shape of the island.”

  I tried to bring him back to the matter at hand.

  “You said there might be a problem, if the shaman is in Khazaran?”

  The rabbi’s face grew serious.

  “You must understand the nature of this place. Atil-Khazaran is not a single settlement, but a marriage of two cities. Atil is the husband, a hustling, fleshy merchant, dealing with the outside world and bringing home the provisions. Khazaran sits on her island, behind her walls, secretive and intense, laying down the rules. It is a fortress, a palace and a sacred precinct. It is also forbidden ground to all but pure bred White Khazars. The punishment for trespassing is death.”

  “I see. That may, indeed, be a problem. I cannot cross the water, then scale a sheer wall, while remaining undetected. Do you know of a White Khazar who could be bribed or persuaded to help me gain entrance to Khazaran?”