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Signals and Communication Technology

Shanzhi Chen
Yan Shi
Bo Hu
Ming Ai

Mobility
Management
Principle, Technology and Applications
Signals and Communication Technology
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/4748
Shanzhi Chen Yan Shi Bo Hu
• •

Ming Ai

Mobility Management
Principle, Technology and Applications

123
Shanzhi Chen Bo Hu
China Academy of Telecommunication Beijing University of Posts
Technology and Telecommunications
Beijing Beijing
China China

Yan Shi Ming Ai


Beijing University of Posts China Academy of Telecommunication
and Telecommunications Technology
Beijing Beijing
China China

ISSN 1860-4862 ISSN 1860-4870 (electronic)


Signals and Communication Technology
ISBN 978-3-662-52724-5 ISBN 978-3-662-52726-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-52726-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016941286

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016


This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar
methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from
the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or
for any errors or omissions that may have been made.

Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature


The registered company is Springer-Verlag GmbH Berlin Heidelberg
To my parents, my wife Yali Gao and my son
Bob Junzhe Chen with loves and gratitude

—Shanzhi Chen

To my parents and family for their loves, and


to my teachers for their guidance

—Yan Shi

To my parents and my wife Lin Si

—Bo Hu

To my parents, my wife and my son

—Ming Ai
Preface

Mobility management is the technology aiming to provide communication and


service continuity for mobile objects (i.e., users, machines, and services). It origi-
nated from the cellular system as one feature in the specific network and developed
continually as a general capability of networks in the following network evolution
stages such as Internet, mobile Internet, non-infrastructure network, and Internet of
Things (IoT). When prospecting the future mobility-driven network (MDN), it is
envisioned that mobility plays an increasing role in communications and services,
including mobility of humans in traditional mobile communications, mobility of
machines in machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, mobility of contents in
data-centric networks, mobility of service providers in new emerging applications,
and mobility of computing resources in mobile cloud computing. The mobility as
the inherent capability is used for implementing communications, networking, and
applications. The mobility supporting will be one of the focuses going through the
future network architecture developments and the essential technology research.
This book is based upon years of academic and industrial experiences in
mobility management of the authors. It is the first book treating mobility man-
agement as an individual technology with systematic and insight view. The text has
been prepared to provide fundamental concepts of technical principles and design
philosophies yet avoiding discussions in protocol details.
The mobility management reference models proposed by authors are used in the
book as the main track, offering multi-dimensional investigation and horizontal
comparison of typical technologies. The model is used to explain profound theories
in simple ways and simple languages, making it an excellent reference for the
researchers, engineers, and students working in related areas.
This book covers major principles, technologies, and applications of mobility
management technology. Chapters of the book are structured into three main parts.
Part I: Fundamental Concepts and Principles (Chaps. 1–4)
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the background, evolution, definitions, and
classifications of mobility management, with brief introduction to standardization
activities.

vii
viii Preface

Chapter 2 presents reference models of the mobility management technology,


including the protocol reference model identifying the critical control functions and
network reference model abstracting the function entities. Typical mobility man-
agement technologies are analyzed accordingly.
Chapter 3 provides extensive discussions on technologies supporting different
mobility objectives and highlights the technical principles rather than protocol
details. This chapter is particularly useful for quickly understanding these
technologies.
Chapter 4 discusses the applications of some mathematical theories in mobility
management researches including mobility modeling, performance analysis, and
algorithm design.
Part II: Classical Technologies and Applications (Chaps. 5–8)
Chapter 5 introduces the mobility management technology in the cellular
communication system as the classical technology at the data link layer. Major
network entities and control functions are abstracted and analyzed according to the
reference models introduced in this book, especially the design principles in
location management and handover control.
Chapter 6 selects Mobile IP (MIP) as the typical mobility management tech-
nology at the network layer. Extensive discussions on critical control functions in
MIP are offered based on the reference models introduced in the book. Network
mobility support capability of MIP is also discussed.
Chapter 7 takes the mobile Stream Control Transmission Protocol (mSCTP) as a
typical protocol providing mobility support at the transport layer. Based on the
introduction to existing schemes with explanations using their technical principles,
mSCTP is introduced with in-depth analyses on the critical control functions.
Chapter 8 introduces the mobility support technology at the application layer,
where Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is taken as the typical protocol example.
The control functions and its capabilities to support various mobility objectives are
presented.
Part III: Future Requirements, Challenges, and Directions (Chap. 9)
Chapter 9 starts with analyses of the technical requirements of specific scenarios.
Based on those requirements, the methodology-related challenges are derived and
the research trends are presented.

Beijing, China Shanzhi Chen


June 2016 Yan Shi
Bo Hu
Ming Ai
Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express sincere gratitude to several industry reviewers at


Datang Telecom Technology & Industry Group, who offered helpful suggestions
based on their rich research results and engineering experiences. We benefit greatly
from valuable suggestions provided by Li Xu, Jian Zhao, Hucheng Wang, and
Fangli Xu for mobility management technologies at data link layer (Chap. 5). The
authors sincerely appreciate Yanfei Zhou and Yunjing Hou for their valuable inputs
to Chap. 6.
We are also pleased to acknowledge the helps from graduate students of BUPT,
who have helped us greatly in preparing related materials. Zhenxiang Gao,
Changkai Lu, Li Li, Qingyun Xin, Xiaojuan Zhou, Xuemei Zhu, and Bin Chen
surveyed the papers about applying mathematical theories in mobility management
(Chap. 4). Yao Zhang, Huan Wang, and Ning Li prepared materials for mobility
management technologies at the data link layer (Chap. 5) and the network layer
(Chap. 6). Jianli Pan collected references for mobility management technologies at
the application layer (Chap. 8).
Special thanks go to Prof. Jinhu Lyu and his doctoral student Shaolin Tan at the
Institute of Mathematics and Systems Science in Chinese Academy of Sciences for
their comprehensive review and valuable suggestions about applying mathematical
theories in mobility management (Chap. 4).
Finally, it is a pleasure to acknowledge Lu Yang, Huijie Guo and Springer, who
helped us to bring this book to you.

ix
Contents

Part I Fundamental Concepts and Principles


1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1 Background and Evolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1.1 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1.2 Research Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.1.3 Evolution Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2 Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.2.1 Mobility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.2.2 Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.2.3 Related Terminologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.3 Standardization Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.3.1 3GPP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.3.2 IETF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.3.3 ITU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
1.3.4 IEEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
1.3.5 ETSI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1.3.6 WFA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1.3.7 WBA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1.4 Motivation and Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2 Mobility Management Reference Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.1 Protocol Reference Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.1.1 Data Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.1.2 Control Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.1.3 Management Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.2 Network Reference Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.2.1 Mobility Management Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.2.2 Access Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.2.3 Domain Mobility Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.2.4 Mobility Management Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

xi
xii Contents

2.3 Critical Control Functions in Mobility Management . . . . . . . . . . . 39


2.3.1 Security Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.3.2 Location Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
2.3.3 Handover Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.3.4 Interoperability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.4 Analysis of Typical Mobility Management Technologies . . . . . . . 56
2.4.1 Data Link Layer: Mobility Management in Cellular
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
2.4.2 Network Layer: MIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
2.4.3 Transport Layer: MSCTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
2.4.4 Application Layer: SIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3 Mobility Objects and Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.1 Terminal Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.1.1 Host-Based Mobility Versus Network-Based Mobility . . . . 63
3.1.2 Horizontal Handover Versus Vertical Handover . . . . . . . . 66
3.1.3 Traditional Mobility Management Versus ID/Locator
Separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 73
3.2 Personal Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 74
3.2.1 Mobile Agent-Based Schemes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 75
3.2.2 Unified Mobility Management Database-Based
Schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
3.3 Service Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
3.3.1 Service Mobility at the Terminal Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
3.3.2 Service Mobility at the Provider Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3.4 Network Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
3.4.1 Network Mobility Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
3.4.2 Technical Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
3.4.3 Routing Optimization in Network Mobility. . . . . . . . . . . . 82
3.4.4 Applications of Network Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
4 Application of Mathematical Theories in Mobility Management. . . . 91
4.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
4.2 Probability and Statistics Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
4.2.1 Using Classical Distributions as Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . 92
4.2.2 Defining the Probabilities of Classical Events
for Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 93
4.2.3 Use of the Bayes’ Multi-criteria Decision Making
for Handover Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
4.3 Stochastic Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
4.3.1 Modeling of Incoming Call Arrival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
4.3.2 Mobility Modeling and Prediction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
4.3.3 Location Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Contents xiii

4.4 Markov Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101


4.4.1 Performance Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
4.4.2 Vertical Handover Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
4.5 Queuing Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
4.5.1 Queuing Strategies in Channel Allocation. . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
4.5.2 Delay Performance Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
4.6 Multi-criteria Decision Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
4.6.1 Simple Weighted Sum-Based Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
4.6.2 Decision Function-Based Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
4.6.3 AHP-Based Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
4.6.4 TOPSIS-Based Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
4.7 Fuzzy Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
4.7.1 Handover Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
4.7.2 Location Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Part II Classical Technologies and Applications


5 Mobility Management at Link Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
5.1 Overview of Typical Wireless Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
5.1.1 Cellular System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
5.1.2 WLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
5.1.3 Satellite Communication Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
5.2 Overview of Network Architecture and Mobility Management
in Cellular Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
5.2.1 Network Architecture Evolution of Cellular Systems . . . . . 128
5.2.2 Mobility Management Models of GSM/UMTS/LTE
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
5.3 Mobility Management Within Radio Access Networks . . . . . . . . . 143
5.3.1 Mobility Management in the Idle Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.3.2 Mobility Management in the Connected Mode . . . . . . . . . 145
5.4 Location Management from Core Network Aspect. . . . . . . . . . . . 151
5.4.1 General Ideas of Location Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
5.4.2 Idle-Mode Signaling Reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
5.4.3 Typical Location Management Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
5.5 Handover Control from Core Network Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
5.5.1 Handover Control Within CS Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
5.5.2 Handover Control Within PS Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
5.5.3 Handover Control for CSFB and SRVCC. . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
5.6 Security Mechanism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
5.6.1 Security Mechanisms in GSM, UMTS, and LTE. . . . . . . . 179
5.6.2 Security Mechanisms and Mobility Management
Interactions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
xiv Contents

5.7 Interworking and Convergence Between WLAN


and Cellular Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
5.7.1 The Loose Coupling and Tight Coupling
Interworking Architectures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
5.7.2 I-WLAN Interworking Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
5.7.3 EPC-Centric Interworking Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
6 Mobility Management at Network Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
6.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
6.2 Mobility Management Solutions at Network Layer . . . . . . . . . . . 202
6.2.1 Host-Based Mobility Management for Host Mobility . . . . . 202
6.2.2 Network-Based Mobility Management
for Host Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
6.2.3 Network Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
6.2.4 IP Flow Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
6.3 Key Control Technologies for Mobility Management
at Network Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
6.3.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
6.3.2 Location Management and Its Optimizations. . . . . . . . . . . 221
6.3.3 Handover Control and Its Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
6.3.4 Security Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
7 Mobility Management at Transport Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
7.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
7.2 Transport-Layer Mobility Support Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
7.2.1 Gateway-Based Mobility Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
7.2.2 Connection Migration Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
7.2.3 Transport-Layer Handover Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
7.2.4 Complete Mobility Management Schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
7.2.5 Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
7.3 Typical Protocol: mSCTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
7.3.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
7.3.2 Location Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
7.3.3 Handover Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
7.3.4 Security Mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
8 Mobility Management at Application Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
8.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
8.2 Typical Protocol: SIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
8.2.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
8.2.2 Location Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
8.2.3 Handover Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
8.2.4 Security Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Contents xv

8.3 High-Level Mobility Support of SIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277


8.3.1 Personal Mobility Support of SIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
8.3.2 Service Mobility Support of SIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
8.4 Applications of Mobility Support of SIP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
8.4.1 SIP-Based Mobility Support in Vehicular Networks. . . . . . 279
8.4.2 SIP-Based Mobility Support in Satellite
Communication Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Part III Future Requirements, Challenges and Directions


9 Requirements, Challenges, and Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
9.1 Scenario-Specific Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
9.1.1 The Application Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
9.1.2 The Terminal Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
9.1.3 The Network Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
9.2 Methodology-Related Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
9.2.1 Identifiers and Addressing in Future Internet. . . . . . . . . . . 295
9.2.2 Emerging Radio Access Network Architectures. . . . . . . . . 297
9.2.3 Mobility Management Function Structures:
Centralized Versus Distributed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
9.2.4 Mobility Patterns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
9.3 Solution Trends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
9.3.1 Design ID–Locator Architecture for Mobility . . . . . . . . . . 301
9.3.2 Mobility Management Enhancements for Emerging
Radio Access Network Architectures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
9.3.3 Distributed Dynamic Mobility Management . . . . . . . . . . . 302
9.3.4 Modeling of Mobility Patterns and Mobility
Pattern-Based Mobility Management Solutions . . . . . . . . . 303
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
About the Authors

Shanzhi Chen received his Ph.D. degree from Beijing University of Posts and
Telecommunications (BUPT), China, in 1997. He achieved his M.S. (1994) from
China Academy of Posts and Telecommunications (CAPT) and his B.E.
(1991) from Xidian University, china. He is currently the Chief Technology Officer
(CTO) for both Datang Telecom Technology & Industry Group and for China
Academy of Telecommunication Technology (CATT). He is also the director of
State Key Laboratory of Wireless Mobile Communications and the board member
of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC). He is a Guest
Professor for both BUPT and Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT).
Dr. Chen has more than 25 years of experience in the broadband communica-
tions and the wireless mobile communications, in both industry and academia. He
was a visiting researcher at the Alcatel Bell research Center in Antwerp, Belgium,
in 1996. He joined Datang Telecom Technology & Industry Group in 1994 and has
been serving as CTO since 2008. He devoted his researches and developments to
TD-LTE-advanced 4G since 2004 and made tremendous technical contributions.
He has authored/coauthored over 100 technical papers in journals and conference
proceedings, and 20 invention patents. He received 2001 and 2012 National
Awards for Science and Technology Progress, China, the 2015 National Award for
Technological Invention, China, and the 2014 Distinguished Young Scholar Award
of National Natural Science Foundation, China.
Dr. Chen is a fellow of the China Institute of Electronics (CIE), a fellow of the
China Institute of Communications (CIC), and a senior member of the IEEE. He is
the editor of the IEEE Network and the IEEE Internet of Things Journal, the guest
editor of the IEEE Wireless Communications Magazine, and the guest editor of
IEEE Communications Magazine. He is also the editor of the China
Communications and the Journal of Communication. He was a member of the
steering expert group on information technology of the 863 Hi-Tech Research and
Development Plan of China from 1999 to 2011.
His current research interests include wireless mobile communication, Internet of
Things (IoT) and vehicular network, especially network architecture and mobility
management.

xvii
xviii About the Authors

Yan Shi received her Ph.D. degree from Beijing University of Posts and
Telecommunications (BUPT) in 2007. She is currently a researcher of the State Key
Laboratory of Networking and Switching Technology at BUPT. Her current
research interests include network architecture evolution, protocol design, and
performance optimization of future networks and mobile computing, especially
mobility management technology.
Bo Hu is an associate professor at State Key Laboratory of Networking and
Switching Technology, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications
(BUPT), China, since 2006. He received his Ph.D. degree in communication and
information system from BUPT, in 2006. His research interests include future
wireless mobile communication systems and mobile-driven networking.
Ming Ai received his Ph.D. degree from Beijing University of Posts and
Telecommunications (BUPT). He is currently a senior engineer and an R&D project
manager of the China Academy of Telecommunication Technology (CATT) and
also the leading delegate of CATT for 3GPP TSG SA, TSG CT, and SA2 WG. His
research interests include wireless mobile communications and network architec-
ture, mobility management, security, Internet of Things, and standardization
activities.
Abbreviations

3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project


3GPP2 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2
AAA Authentication, authorization, and accounting
AC Access controller
AGW Access gateway
AH Authentication header
AHP Analytic hierarchy process
AKA Authentication and key agreement
ALT Automatic link transfer
AMPS Advanced Mobile Phone System
AMR Adaptive multi-rate
AN Access network
ANDSF Access Network Discovery and Selection Function
AOR Address-of-record
AP Access point
API Application programming interface
AR Access router
ARQ Automatic Repeat reQuest
AS Access stratum
ASCONF Address configuration change chunk
ASN Access service network
AU Application unit
AuC Authentication center
AuF Authentication function
B3G Beyond 3G
BARWAN Bay Area Research Wireless Access Network
BCCH Broadcast control channel
BCE Binding cache entry
BER Bit error rate
BGCF Breakout Gateway Control Function

xix
xx Abbreviations

BICC Bearer-Independent Call Control


BID Binding Identification Number
BS Base station
BSC Base station controller
BSS Base station subsystem
BSSAP Base Station System Application Part
BTS Base transceiver station
BU Binding update
C2C-CC Car2Car Communication Consortium
CA Carrier aggregation
CAC Call admission control
CAMEL Customized Applications for Mobile network Enhanced Logic
CC Call control
CCIR Consultative Committee on International Radio
CCITT Consultative Committee of International Telephone and Telegraph
CCO Cell change order
CDMA Code division multiple access
CF-SIP Cross-layer fast handoff for SIP
CH Correspondent host
CHAP Challenge handshake authentication protocol
CIP Cellular IP
CLS Core logic server
CM Connection management
CMDP Constrained Markov decision process
CMIP Common Management Information Protocol
CN Core network
CN Correspondent node
CoA Care-of address
CoMP Coordinated multipoint
CoT Care-of test
CoTI Care-of test init
CR Cognitive radio
CRS Cell-specific reference signal
CS Circuit switched
CSCF Call session control function
CSFB Circuit-switched fallback
CSG Closed subscriber group
CT2 Cordless Telecommunications 2
CWND Congestion window
DAD Duplicate address detection
DAR Dynamic address reconfiguration
D-CCP Destination call control point
DCH Dedicated channel
DDNS Dynamic domain name system
DECT Digital European Cordless Telecommunications
Abbreviations xxi

DHAAD Dynamic Home Agent Address Discovery


DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
DHT Distributed hash table
DL Downlink
DMM Distributed mobility management
DMO Direct mode operation
DNS Domain name system
DRM Digital rights management
DRR Domain root router
DRX Discontinuous reception
DS Distribution system
DSMIP Dual-Stack Mobile IP
DSMIPv6 Dual-Stack Mobile IPv6
DVB-T Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial
EAP-AKA Extensible Authentication Protocol for UMTS Authentication and
Key Agreement
EAP-SIM Extensible Authentication Protocol for GSM Subscriber Identity
Module
E-DCH Enhanced DCH
e-ICIC enhanced inter-cell interference coordination
EID Endpoint identifier
EIR Equipment identity register
eMBMS enhanced MBMS
EMM Evolved Packet System Mobility Management
eNodeB Evolved Node B
ENRP Endpoint Handlespace Redundancy Protocol
EPC Evolved Packet Core
ePDG Evolved PDG
EPS Evolved Packet System
E-RAB Evolved Radio Access Bearer
ESM Evolved Packet System Session Management
ESP Encapsulating Security Payload
ESS Extended service set
ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute
E-UTRA Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access
E-UTRAN Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network
FA Foreign agent
FACH Forward access channel
FBack Fast Binding acknowledgement
FBU Fast Binding Update
FBWA Fixed broadband wireless access
FCAPS Fault, configuration, accounting, performance, and security
FCFS first come, first served
FDD Frequency-division duplexing
FDMA Frequency division multiple access
xxii Abbreviations

FEC Forward error correction


FID Flow identifier
FIFO First-in first-out
FMC Fixed mobile convergence
FMIP Fast MIP
FMIPv6 Fast handover MIPv6
GCoA Global CoA
GEO Geosynchronous Earth orbit
GERAN GSM/EDGE Radio Access Network
GFA Gateway foreign agent
GGSN Gateway GPRS support node
GK Gatekeeper
GMM GPRS mobility management
GMSC Gateway MSC
GPRS General packet radio service
GPS Global Positioning System
GRA Grey relational analysis
GSLs Ground-to-satellite links
GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
GSS GPRS Subsystem
GTP GPRS Tunneling Protocol
GUTI Global Unique Temporary Identity
HA Home agent
HAck Handover Acknowledge
HAWAII Handover Aware Wireless Access Internet Infrastructure
HBM Host-based mobility
HCN Hyper-cellular network
HDB Home database
H(e)NB Home eNode B
HetNet Heterogeneous radio network
HE Home environment
HF handoff factor
HHO Hard handover
HI Host identity
HI Handover initiate
HIP Host Identity Protocol
HiperLAN High-performance radio local area network
HIT Host identity tag
HLF Home location function
HLR Home location register
HMAC Hash message authentication code
HMIPv6 Hierarchical Mobile IPv6
HNP Home network prefix
HoA Home address
HoL head-of-the-line
Abbreviations xxiii

HON Handover number


HoT Home test
HoTI Home test init
HPLMN Home Public Land Mobile Network
HRPD High-rate packet data
HSDPA High-speed downlink packet access
HS-DSCH High-speed downlink shared channel
HSPA High-speed packet access
HSS Home subscriber server
HTP Hop-To-Paging
HTR Handover transaction requests
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol
IBSS Infrastructure basic service set
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization
ICMP Internet Control Message Protocol
ICN Information-centric network
ICT Information and Communications Technologies
ID Identification
IDC In-device coexistence
iDEN Integrated Digital Enhanced Network
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IETF Internet Engineering Task Force
IGMP Internet Group Management Protocol
IHAP Inter Home Agent Protocol
IKE Internet Key Exchange
IKEv2 Internet Key Exchange Version 2
IMEI International mobile equipment identifier
IMS IP multimedia subsystem
IMSI International mobile subscriber identity
IMS-MGW IMS-Media Gateway
IMT International Mobile Telecommunications
IP Internet Protocol
IPCP Internet Protocol Control Protocol
IPMS IP mobility management selection
IPsec Internet Protocol security
IRTF-RRG Internet Research Task Force Routing Research Group
ISL Inter-satellite link
ISMP Inter-system mobility policy
ISR Idle-mode signaling reduction
ISRP Inter-system routing policy
IST Information society technologies
IT Information technology
I-TCP Indirect TCP
ITS Intelligent transport system
ITU International Telecommunication Union
xxiv Abbreviations

ITU-D ITU Development Sector


ITU-R ITU Radiocommunication Sector
ITU-T ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector
IVAN Intra-Vehicular Area Network
IWF Interworking function
I-WLAN Intelligent WLAN
IWS Interworking solution
IWU Interworking units
Kbm binding management Key
LA Location area
LAI Location area identifier
LBS Location-based service
LCA Least common ancestor
LCoA on-link CoA
LCoA Local care-of address
LCS Location services
LEO Low Earth orbit
LFN Local fixed node
LFNs Local fixed nodes
LGW Local gateway
LIPA Local IP access
LISP Locator/ID separation protocol
LLC Logical Link Control
LMA Local Mobility Anchor
LMDS Local Multipoint Distribution Services
LMN Local mobile node
LMSD Legacy mobile station domain
LPN Low power node
LSS Location service server
LTE Long-Term Evolution
LTE-A Long-Term-Evolution-Advanced
M2M Machine-to-machine
MAC Media access control
MAG Mobile Access Gateway
MAHO Mobile-assisted handover
MANET Mobile ad hoc network
MAP Mobility anchor point
MAP Mobile Application Part
MAPCON Multiple-Access Public data network Connection
MBLMS Movement-based location management scheme
MBMS Multimedia broadcast/multicast service
MBPS Measure-based priority scheme
MC Mobile client
MCDM Multi-criteria decision making
MCHO Mobile-controlled handover
Abbreviations xxv

MCNA Mobile controlled network assisted


MDC Multi-description coding
MDP Markov decision process
MDT Minimization of drive tests
ME Mobile equipment
MEO Medium Earth orbit
MExE Mobile Execution Environment
MEXT Mobility Extensions for IPv6
MF Mobility function
MFIFO Modified first-in first-out
MGCF Media gateway control function
MGW Media gateway
MH Mobile host
MIB Management information base
MIB/SIB Master information block/system information block
MICS Media independent command service
MIES Media independent event service
MIF Multiple interfaces
MIH Media independent handover
MIHF MIH function
MIHU MIH user
MIIS Media independent information service
MIMO Multiple-input multiple-output
MIP Mobile Internet Protocol
MIP-RR MIPv4 Region Registration
MIPSHOP MIPv6 Signaling and Handoff Optimization
MIPv4 Mobile IPv4
MIPv6 Mobile IPv6
MLD Multicast listener discovery
MM Mobility management
MMAC Multimedia mobile access communication
mMAG moving MAG
MMD Multimedia Domain
MME Mobility Management Entity
MMSP Mobile Multimedia Streaming Protocol
MN Mobile node
MNG Mobile Network Gateway
MNN Mobile network node
MNP Mobile network prefix
MO Management Object
MOBIKE IKEv2 Mobility and Multihoming Protocol
MOCCA Mobile communication architecture
MONAMI6 Mobile Nodes and Multiple Interfaces in IPv6
MR Mobile router
MR Mobile relay
xxvi Abbreviations

MRFC Multimedia Resource Function Controller


MRFP Multimedia Resource Function Processor
MRs Mobile routers
MS Mobile station
MS Mobile server
MSA Mobility security association
MSC Mobile Switching Center
mSCTP mobile Stream Control Transmission Protocol
MSN Mobile social network
MSR Mobility support router
MSS Mobile satellite system
MSS Mobile satellite service
MT Mobile terminal
MTC Machine-type communications
M-TCP Mobile TCP
MTX Mobile telephone exchange
M-UDP Mobile user datagram protocol
MultiMob Multicast mobility
NAI Network Access Identifier
NAR New access router
NAS Non-access stratum
NAT Network address translator
NBM Network-based mobility
NCHO Network-controlled handover
NCMA Network controlled mobile assisted
NCoA New CoA
NEMO Network mobility
NEMO BSP Network mobility basic support protocol
NETEXT Network-based mobility extensions
NETLMM Network-based localized mobility management
NGI Next-generation Internet
NGN Next-generation networks
NIMTC Network improvements for MTC
N-MAG New MAG
NMT Nordic Mobile Telephone
NPoA Network point of access
NPS Non-prioritized scheme
NSS Network subsystem
NTR New transaction requests
oAR old access router
OBP Onboard processing
OBU Onboard unit
OCEAN Onboard Communication, Entertainment, and Information
OFDM Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing
OLSR Optimized Link State Routing Protocol
Abbreviations xxvii

OSA Open Service Access


OSI Open Systems Interconnection
P2P Peer-to-peer
PA Paging agent
PA Paging area
PACS Personal Access Communications System
PAN Personal area network
PBA Proxy Binding Acknowledgement
PBU Proxy Binding Update
PCF Packet control function
PCO Protocol Configuration Option
PCoA Previous CoA
P-CSCF Proxy Call Session Control Function
PDA Personal digital assistant
PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol
PDG Packet Data Gateway
PDLS Protocol-dependent logic server
PDN Packet data network
PDN GW Packet data network gateway
PDP Packet Data Protocol
PDSN Packet Data Serving Node
P-GW PDN gateway
PHS Public hotspot
PLMN Public land mobile network
PL-PMIPv6 Packet lossless PMIPv6
p-MAG previously attached MAG
PMIPv6 Proxy Mobile IPv6
PPP Point-to-Point Protocol
PR Preemptive resume
ProSe Proximity-based services
PrRtAdv Proxy Router Advertisement
PS Packet switched
PS domain Packet-wwitched domain
PSE Personal service environment
PS HO Packet-switched handover
PSK Phase-shift keying
PSTN Public wwitched telephone network
P-TMSI Packet Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity
QAM Quadrature amplitude modulation
QI Quality indicator
QoE Quality of experience
QoS Quality of service
QPS Queuing priority scheme
R2CP Radial reception control protocol
RA Routing area
xxviii Abbreviations

RA registration area
RA Router advertisement
RACH Random access channel
RADIUS Remote Authentication Dial In User Service
RAI RA identity
RAN Radio access network
RANAP Radio Access Network Application Protocol
RAND Randomly generated number
RAS Registration, admission, and status
RAT Radio access technology
RAU Routing area update
RCoA Regional CoA
RCP Reception control protocol
RCS Reserved channel scheme
RFC Request For Comments
RIM RAN Information Management
RLC Radio link control
RLOCs Routing locators
RNC Radio network controller
RPGM Reference point group mobility
RRC Radio resource control
RRP Return routability procedure
RSerPool Reliable server pooling
RSS Received signal strength
RSS Radio signal strength
RSSI Received signal strength indicator
RSU Road-side unit
RTO Retransmission timeout
RTP Real-time transport protocol
RTT Radio transmission technology
RTT Round-trip time
S/MIME Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions
SA Security association
SACK Selective acknowledgment
SAE System architecture evolution
SAG Satellite access gateway
SAMP Scalable application layer mobility protocol
SAP Service access point
SATSIX Satellite-based communications systems within IPv6 networks
SCH Supplemental Channel
SCTP Stream Control Transmission Protocol
SD Safety distance
SDN Software-defined networking
SDO Standards Development Organization
SDP Session description protocol
Abbreviations xxix

SG Study Group
SGSN Serving GPRS support node
S-GW Serving Gateway
SHIM6 Site Multihoming by IPv6 Intermediation
SHO Soft handoff
SIB System information block
SIGMA Seamless IP diversity-based generalized mobility architecture
SIM Subscriber identity module
SIP Session Initiation Protocol
SIPIHO SIP Intelligent Handover
SIPTO Selective IP Traffic Offload
SM Session management
SMDP Semi-Markov decision process
SMLC Serving Mobile Location Center
SMS Short message service
SMSoSG SMS over SG
SMVN Service Mobility Virtual Network
SN Service network
SNDCP Sub-network Dependent Convergence Protocol
SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol
SoLoMo Social, local, and mobile
SON Self-optimizing network
SRES Signed result
SRNS Serving radio network subsystem
SRP Service Roaming Protocol
SRP Selective Repeat Protocol
SRS Subrating scheme
SRVCC Single Radio Voice Call Continuity
SS7 Signaling System NO.7
S-SCTP Secure-SCTP
SSID Service set ID
SSM Supplementary service management
STA Station
SVC Scalable video coding
TA Tracking area
TACS Total Access Communication System
T-ADS Terminating access domain selection
TAG Terrestrial access gateway
TAL Tracking area list
TAU Tracking area update
TBLMS Time-based location management scheme
TCP Transmission Control Protocol
TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol layered
architecture
TCP-R TCP redirection
xxx Abbreviations

TDD Time-division duplexing


TDMA Time division multiple access
TD-SCDMA Time division-synchronous code division multiple access
TEID Tunnel endpoint ID
TETRA Terrestrial Trunked Radio
TeleMIP Telecommunications-Enhanced MIP
TISPAN Telecommunications and Internet converged Services and
Protocols for Advanced Networking
TLMR Top-level mobile router
TLS Transport layer security
TMA TeleMIP Mobile Agent
TMSI Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity
TOPSIS Technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution
T-PDU Tunnel Protocol Data Unit
TV Television
TWAG Trusted WLAN (wireless local area network) gateway
TWAN Trusted WLAN (wireless local area network)
UA User agent
UAC User agent client
UAS User agent server
UDP User Datagram Protocol
UE User equipment
UICC Universal Integrated Circuit Card
UMTS Universal mobile telecommunications system
UNA Unsolicited Neighbor Advertisement
URI Uniform resource identifier
USAT Universal Subscriber Identity Module Application Toolkit
USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module
UTRA Universal Terrestrial Radio Access
UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network
VANET Vehicular ad hoc network
VDB Visiting database
VHE Virtual home environment
VIP Virtual Internet Protocol
VLF Visitor location function
VLR Visitor location register
VMN Visiting mobile node
VoIP Voice over IP
VPN Virtual private network
WAG WLAN Access Gateway
WAN Wide area network
W-APN Wireless access point name
WBA Wireless Broadband Alliance
WCDMA Wideband CDMA
WEI Word error indicator
Abbreviations xxxi

WFA Wi-Fi Alliance


WG Working group
WIDE Widely integrated distributed environment
WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
WLAN Wireless local area network
WLL Wireless local loop
WM Wireless medium
WMAN Wireless metropolitan area network
WPAN Wireless personal area network
WRIX Wireless Roaming Intermediary eXchange
WRIX-d WRIX-Data Clearing
WRIX-f WRIX-Financial Settlement
WRIX-i WRIX-Interconnect
WSN Wireless sensor network
WWAN Wireless wide area network
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Thus, even at Medîna, sedition spread,
and from thence messages reached the Aly expostulates with
provinces that the sword would soon be Othmân.
needed there at home, rather than in foreign parts. So general was
the contagion that but few are named as having escaped it.[469]
Moved by the leading citizens, Aly repaired to Othmân and said:
—‘The people bid me expostulate with thee. Yet what can I say to
thee—son-in-law as thou wast of the Prophet and his bosom friend—
that thou already knowest not as well as I? The way lieth plain and
wide before thee; but thine eyes are blinded that thou canst not see
it. If blood be once shed, it will not cease to flow until the Day of
Judgment. Right will be blotted out, and treason rage like the
foaming waves of the sea.’ Othmân complained, and not without
reason, of the unfriendly attitude assumed by Aly himself. ‘For my
own part,’ he said, ‘I have done my best; and as for the men ye
speak of, did not Omar himself appoint Moghîra to Kûfa; and if Ibn
Aámir be my kinsman, is he any the worse for that?’ ‘No,’ replied Aly;
‘but Omar kept his lieutenants in order, and when they did wrong he
punished them; whereas thou treatest them softly, because they are
thy kinsmen.’[470] ‘And Muâvia, too,’ continued the Caliph; ‘it was
Omar who appointed him to Syria.’ ‘Yes,’ answered Aly; ‘but I swear
that even Omar’s slaves did not stand so much in awe of their
master, as did Muâvia. But now he doth whatever he pleaseth, and
saith It is Othmân. And thou, knowing it all, leavest him alone!’ So
saying, Aly turned and went his way.
As Aly’s message professed to come
from the people, Othmân went straightway Othmân appeals to the
to the pulpit and addressed the multitude people.
then assembled for prayer in the Great Mosque. He reproached
them for giving vent to their tongues and following evil leaders,
whose object it was to blacken his name, exaggerate his faults, and
hide his virtues. ‘Ye blame me,’ he said, ‘for things which ye bore
cheerfully from Omar. He trampled on you, beat you about with his
whip, and abused you. And yet ye took it all patiently from him, both
in what ye liked and what ye disliked. I have been gentle with you;
bended my back unto you; withheld my tongue from reviling, and my
hand from smiting. And now ye rise up against me!’ Then, after
dwelling on the prosperity of his reign at home and abroad, and the
many benefits that had accrued to them therefrom, he ended thus:
—‘Wherefore, refrain, I beseech you, from your abuse of me and of
my governors, lest ye kindle the flames of sedition and revolt
throughout the empire.’ The appeal (we are told) was marred by his
cousin Merwân, who at its close exclaimed, ‘If ye will oppose the
Caliph, we shall soon bring it to the issue of the sword.’ ‘Be silent!’
cried Othmân, ‘and leave me with my fellows alone. Did I not tell
thee not to speak?’ So Merwân remained silent, and Othmân
descended from the pulpit. The harangue had no effect for good.
The discontent spread, and the gatherings against the Caliph
multiplied.[471]
Thus ended the eleventh year of
Othmân’s reign. Near the close of it was Close of Othmân’s eleventh
year.
held a memorable council, of which we
shall read in the following chapter. The Caliph performed the
pilgrimage as usual. He had done so every year. But this was to be
his last.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE OUTLOOK DARKENS.

A.H. XXXIV.—XXXV. A.D. 655.

The unhappy Caliph was now being


hurried on, by the rapid course of events, Contumelious treatment of
helplessly to his sad end. Abd al Rahmân, Othmân.
who, no doubt, felt a large measure of responsibility from the share
he took in the nomination of Othmân, was about this time removed
by death. But even he was dissatisfied; and one of the first open
denunciations of Othmân’s unscrupulous disregard of law—small it
might be, but significant—is attributed to him. A fine camel, having
come in with the tithes of a Bedouin tribe, was presented by the
Caliph, as a rarity, to one of his kinsfolk. Abd al Rahmân,
scandalised at the misappropriation of religious property devoted to
the poor, laid hands upon the animal, slaughtered it, and divided the
flesh among the people. The personal reverence attaching
heretofore to the ‘Successor of the Prophet of the Lord,’ gave place
to slight and disregard. Even in the streets, Othmân was greeted
with cries, demanding that he should depose Ibn Aámir and the
godless Abu Sarh, and put away from him Merwân, his chief adviser
and confidant. Nor had he any countenance or support whatever
from the people excepting his immediate kinsmen, and reliance upon
them only aggravated the clamour of the discontented.[472]
The conspirators canvassed in the
dark. They had been hitherto burrowing Othmân sends forth
carefully under ground. But now their messengers to inquire into
the feeling in the provinces.
machinations every here and there were
coming to the light, and rumours of treason began to float abroad.
The better affected classes in the great cities felt uneasy; alarm crept
over all hearts. Letters were continually received at Medîna, asking
what these ominous sounds of warning meant, and what catastrophe
was at hand. The chief men of Medîna kept coming to the Caliph’s
court for tidings; but, notwithstanding the sullen mutterings of nearing
tempest, the surface yet was still. At last, by their advice, Othmân
despatched four trusty persons one to each of the great centres,
Damascus, Kûfa, Bussorah, and Fostât, with a commission to watch
and report whether any suspicious symptoms were transpiring
anywhere.[473] Three returned saying that they discovered nothing
unusual in the aspect of affairs. The fourth, Ammâr, was looked for in
vain; he had, in fact, been tampered with and gained over by the
Egyptian faction. Thereupon Othmân despatched a royal edict to all
the provinces as follows:—At the coming pilgrimage the various
governors would, according to custom, present themselves at court;
whoever, then, had cause of complaint against them, or any other
ground of dissatisfaction, should come forward on that occasion and
substantiate the same, when wrong would be redressed; or else it
behoved them to withdraw the baseless calumnies which were
troubling men’s minds. Proclamation was made accordingly. The
plaintive appeal was understood; and the people in many places
when they heard it wept, and invoked mercy on their Caliph.
The governors repaired to Medîna at
the time appointed, but no malcontent Conference of Governors at
came forward to make complaint. Medîna. 655.
a.h. XXXIV. a.d.

Questioned by Othmân, his lieutenants


knew not of any grievance, real and substantial. To the outward eye,
everything was calm; and even the royal messengers sent to make
inquisition had returned without laying hand on anything amiss. But
all knew of the cancerous sore in the body politic, and of its
spreading rapidly. The wretched Caliph invoked their pity and their
counsel. But they could offer nothing of which he might lay hold. One
advised that the conspirators should be arrested and the ringleaders
put to death; another that the stipends should be forfeited of all
disloyal men; a third that the unquiet spirits amongst the people
should be diverted by some fresh campaign; others that the
governors should amend their ways. Othmân was bewildered; one
thing only he declared, that to measures of severity he never would
assent; the single remedy he could approve was the sending of fresh
expeditions to foreign parts.[474]
Nothing was settled to avert the crisis,
and the governors departed as they came. Othmân declines help from
When Muâvia made ready to leave, he Muâvia.
once more warned Othmân of his danger, and entreated that he
would retire with him to Syria, where a loyal people were ready to
rally round him. But the Caliph answered: ‘Even to save my life I will
not quit the land wherein the Prophet sojourned, nor the city wherein
his sacred person resteth.’ ‘Then let me send an army to stand by
thee.’ ‘Nay, that I will not,’ responded Othmân firmly; ‘I never will put
force on those who dwell around the Prophet’s home, by quartering
bands of armed men upon them.’ ‘In that case,’ replied Muâvia, ‘I
see nought but destruction awaiting thee.’ ‘Then the Lord be my
defence,’ exclaimed the aged Caliph, ‘and that sufficeth for me.’[475]
‘Fare thee well!’ said Muâvia, and he departed, to see his face no
more.
As he took the road to Syria, Muâvia
passed by a group of the Coreish, amongst Muâvia retires, warning the
whom were Aly and Zobeir. He stayed for a Coreish.
moment to drop a warning word into their ears. They were drifting
back, he said, into the anarchy of ‘the days of Ignorance’ before
Islam. The Lord was a strong Avenger of the weak and injured ones.
‘To you’—and these were his last words—‘to you I commit this
helpless aged man. Help him, and it will be the better for you. Fare
ye well.’ And so saying he passed on his way. The company
remained some time in silence. At last Aly spoke: ‘It will be best done
as he hath said.’ ‘By the Lord!’ added Zobeir, ‘there never lay a
burden heavier on thy breast, nor yet on ours, than this burden of
Othmân’s to-day.’
CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE PLOT RIPENS. CONSPIRATORS ATTACK MEDINA. DEATH
OF OTHMAN.

A.H. XXXV. A.D. 656.

The plot was now rapidly coming to a


head, and a plan of action had been Plot to surprise Medîna. End
already fixed. While the lieutenants of the of a.h. XXXIV. Summer of
a.d. 655.
Caliph were absent from their posts on the
occasion just described, the conspirators were to issue from Kûfa,
Bussorah, and Fostât, so as to converge upon Medîna in combined
and menacing force. There, in answer to the Caliph’s challenge, they
would present an endless roll of complaints, and cry loudly for
redress, reform, and the removal of their governors. If the request
were denied, they would demand the abdication of Othmân, and, in
the last resort, enforce their demand at the point of the sword. But as
to a successor they were not agreed. Kûfa was for Zobeir; Bussorah
was for Talha; Egypt’s favourite was Aly.
The scheme, being immature, at first
miscarried. But months later, in the middle The conspirators set out for
Medîna. Shawwâl, XXXV.
of the following year, it was revived and April, a.d. 656.
preparations made in secret for giving it
effect. Under the pretext of visiting Mecca, and there performing the
Lesser Pilgrimage, the concerted movement at last took place, two
or three months before the annual pilgrimage.[476] Abu Sarh, the
Governor of Egypt, on learning of the treasonable design, at once
despatched a messenger to apprise Othmân. In reply he was
ordered to pursue the rebels; he did so, but it was too late; they had
marched beyond his reach. On turning back, he found Egypt in the
hands of the traitor, son of Abu Hodzeifa,[477] and fleeing for his life,
took refuge across the border, in Palestine. Amongst the insurgent
leaders of Egypt was Mohammed, son of Abu Bekr.
On receiving the intelligence that the
insurgents were marching on Medîna, The insurgents encamp near
Othmân ascended the pulpit of the Great Medîna; but retire.
Mosque and made known to the citizens the real object of attack. ‘It
is against myself,’ he said; ‘soon they will look back with a longing
eye to this my Caliphate, and wish that each day of the same had
been a year in length, because of the tumult and bloodshed, anarchy
and ungodliness, that will flood the land.’ The rebels were not long in
making their appearance, and they pitched three camps, the men of
Kûfa, Bussorah, and Egypt, each encamping separately, in the
neighbourhood of Medîna.[478] The citizens put on their armour, a
thing unheard of since the days of the Apostasy in the reign of Abu
Bekr, and prepared for resistance. The insurgents, foiled thus far,
sent deputies to the widows of Mahomet, and the chief men of the
city. ‘We come,’ they said, ‘to visit the Prophet’s home and resting-
place, and to ask that certain of the governors be deposed. Give us
leave to enter.’ But leave was not granted. Then the insurgent bands
despatched each a deputation to its respective candidate. Aly
stormed at the messengers sent to him as soon as they appeared,
and called them rebels accursed of the Prophet; and the others met
with no better reception at the hands of Talha and Zobeir. Unable to
gain over the citizens, without whose consent their object was out of
reach, the rebel leaders declared themselves satisfied with a
promise from the Caliph of reform, and, breaking up their camp,
retired in the order in which they came. They made as if each
company was taking its way home again, but really with the
concerted plan of returning shortly, when they expected to find the
city less prepared to resist.[479] The citizens cast aside their armour,
rejoicing in the apparent deliverance from a pressing danger; and for
some days things went on as before, Othmân leading the prayers.
Suddenly, the three bands reappeared at the city gates. A party
headed by Aly went forth to ask the reason. The strangers pointed to
a document attested by the Caliph’s seal;
this, they said, had been taken from a They return with document
servant of Othmân’s whom they caught bearing the Caliph’s seal.
hastening on the road to Egypt; and it contained orders that the
insurgents were to be seized and imprisoned, some tortured, and
some put to death. Aly, suspecting collusion, asked how the
discovery made by the Egyptian company on the road to Fostât had
become so promptly known to the others marching in quite a
different direction, to Kûfa and Bussorah, as to bring them all back
together? ‘Speak of it as ye will,’ they said, ‘here is the writing, and
here the Caliph’s seal.’ Aly repaired to Othmân, who denied all
knowledge of the document; but, with the view of clearing up the
matter, consented to receive a deputation of the rebel leaders.
Introduced by Aly, they made no obeisance to the Caliph, but with
defiant attitude approached and recounted their grievances. They
had retired with the promise of redress;
but, instead of redress, here was the Angry altercation with the
Caliph’s own servant whom they had Caliph.
caught posting onward to Egypt with the treacherous document now
produced. Othmân swore solemnly that he knew nothing of it. ‘Then
say who it was that wrote this order.’ ‘I know not,’ said the aged
Caliph. ‘But it was passed off as thine; thy servant carried it; see,
here is thy seal, and yet thou wast not privy to it!’ Again Othmân
affirmed that it was even so.[480] ‘Either thou speakest truth,’ they
cried in accents loud and rude, ‘or thou art a liar. Either way, thou art
unworthy of the Caliphate. We dare not leave the sceptre in the
hands of one who is either a knave or a fool too weak to govern
others. Resign, for the Lord hath deposed thee!’ Othmân made
answer:—‘The garment wherewith the Lord hath girded me I will in
no wise put off; but any evil ye complain of, that I am ready to put
away from me.’ It was all too late, they cried; he had often made, and
as often broken, the promise to amend; they could no longer put any
trust in him; now they would fight until he abdicated, or else was
slain. ‘Death,’ said Othmân, gathering himself up, with the firmness
and dignity which marked his last days—‘Death I prefer; as for
fighting, I have said it already, my people shall not fight; had that
been my desire, I had summoned legions to my side.’ The altercation
becoming loud and violent, Aly arose and departed to his home. The
conspirators also retired to their fellows; but they had now secured
what they wanted, a footing in the city. They joined in the ranks of
worshippers at the daily prayers in the Great Mosque, cast dust in
the face of Othmân as he officiated, and threatened the citizens to
make them keep away. The fatal crisis was hurrying on.
On the Friday following this scene,
when the prayers were done, Othmân Tumult in the Mosque;
ascended the pulpit. He first appealed to Othmân struck down.
the better sense of the citizens, who (he knew), however cowed by
the threats of the rebels, condemned their lawless attitude. Then
turning to the conspirators themselves, who had been taking part in
the service, he continued, ‘Ye are aware that the men of Medîna hold
you to be accursed at the mouth of the Prophet, for that ye have
risen up against his Caliph and Vicegerent. Wherefore wipe out now
your evil deeds by repentance, and by good deeds atone for the
same.’ One and another of the loyal citizens arose earnestly to
confirm the Caliph’s words and plead his cause; but they were
silenced and violently set down.[481] A tumult arose. The men of
Medîna were driven from the Mosque and its court, by showers of
stones. One of these struck Othmân, who fell from the pulpit to the
ground, and was carried to his house adjoining in a swoon. He soon
recovered, and for some days was still able to preside at the daily
prayers. But at last the insolence and violence of the insurgents,
rising beyond bounds, forced him to keep to his house, and a virtual
blockade ensued. But a body-guard of armed retainers, supported by
certain of the citizens, succeeded for the present in keeping the
entrance safe.
From the day of the first tumult, Aly,
Zobeir, and Talha (the three named by the Attitude of Aly, Zobeir, and
rebels as candidates for the Caliphate) Talha.
each sent a son to join the loyal and gallant band planted at the
palace door. But they did little more; and, in fact, throughout the
painful episode, they kept themselves altogether in the background.
After the uproar and Othmân’s swoon, they came along with others
to inquire how he fared. But no sooner did they enter, than Merwân
and other kinsmen tending the Caliph, cried out against Aly as the
prime author of the disaster, which would recoil, they said (and said
truly) upon his own head. Thereupon Aly arose in wrath, and, with
the rest, retired home. It was, in truth, a cruel and dastardly
desertion, and in the end bore bitter fruit for one and all. It was not
only a crime, but a fatal mistake. Alarm at the defiant rising against
constituted authority, and loyalty to the throne, equally demanded
bold and uncompromising measures. The truth was outspoken by
one of the Companions at the time. ‘Ye Coreish,’ he said, ‘there hath
been till now a strong and fenced door betwixt you and the Arabs;
wherefore do ye now break down the same?’[482]
So soon as the conspirators had shown
their true colours, Othmân despatched an Othmân closely besieged,
holds parley with Aly, Zobeir,
urgent summons to Syria and Bussorah for and Talha.
help. Muâvia, who had long foreseen the
dire necessity, was ready with a strong force which, as well as a
similar column sent by Ibn Aámir from Bussorah, hurried to their
master’s rescue. But the march was long, and the difficulty was for
Othmân to hold out until these columns reached. The insurgents had
entire possession of the Mosque and of the approaches to the
palace; and, in the height of insolence, their leader now took the
Caliph’s place at public prayers.[483] There were no troops at
Medîna, and Othmân was dependent on the little force that barely
sufficed to guard the palace entrance. It was composed of train-band
slaves, some eighteen near kinsmen, and other citizens including (as
we have said) the sons of Aly, Zobeir, and Talha. Apprehending, from
the ferocity with which the attack began now to be pressed, that the
end might not be far, Othmân sent to tell Aly, Zobeir, and Talha that
he wished to see them once more. They came and waited without
the palace, but within reach of hearing. The Caliph, from the flat roof
of his house, bade them to sit down; and so for the moment they all
sat down, both foes and friends, together. ‘My fellow citizens!’ cried
Othmân with a loud voice, ‘I have prayed to the Lord for you, that
when I am taken, he may set the Caliphate aright.’ After this, he
made mention of his previous life, and how the Lord had made
choice of him to be the Successor of his Prophet, and Commander
of the Faithful. ‘And now,’ said he, ‘ye have risen up to slay the
Lord’s elect. Have a care, ye men! (and here he addressed the
besiegers); the taking of life is lawful but for three things, Apostasy,
Murder, and Adultery. Taking my life without such cause, ye but
suspend the sword over your own necks. Sedition and bloodshed
shall not depart for ever from your midst.’ They gave him audience
thus far, and then cried out that there was yet a fourth just cause of
death, namely the quenching of truth by iniquity, and of right by
violence; and that for his ungodliness and tyranny he must abdicate
or be slain. For a moment Othmân was silent. Then calmly rising, he
bade the citizens go back to their homes; and himself, with but faint
hopes of relief, turned to re-enter his dreary abode.[484]
The blockade had now lasted several
weeks, when a mounted messenger The blockade pressed.
reached the city with tidings that succour Sufferings from thirst.
was on its way.[485] But this, coming to the knowledge of the Caliph’s
enemies, only made them redouble their efforts. They now closed
every approach, allowing neither outlet nor ingress to a single soul.
Water could be introduced by stealth only at night, and, there being
no well within the palace, the little garrison suffered the extremities of
thirst. On the appeal of Othmân, Aly interposed, and expostulated
with the besiegers. ‘They were treating their Caliph,’ he told them,
‘more cruelly than they would treat Greek or Persian captives in the
field. Even Infidels did not deny water to a thirsty enemy.’ But they
were deaf to his entreaty. Omm Habîba, the Prophet’s widow, and
sister of Muâvia, touched with pity, sought herself, with Aly’s aid, to
carry water upon her mule through the rebel lines into the palace; but
neither her sex nor rank, nor her relation to the Prophet, was
safeguard enough to prevent her being roughly handled. They cut
her bridle with their swords, so that she nearly fell to the ground, and
then drove her rudely back. The better part of the inhabitants were
shocked at the violence and inhumanity of the rebels; but none had
the courage to oppose them. Sick at heart, most kept to their
houses; while others, alarmed for themselves, as well as to avoid the
cruel spectacle, quitted Medîna. It is hard to believe that, even in the
defenceless state of the city, Aly, Zobeir, and Talha, the great heroes
of Islam, could not, had they really wished it, have raised an effective
opposition to the lawless work of these heartless regicides. History
cannot acquit them, if not of actual collusion with the insurgents, at
least of cold-blooded indifference to their Caliph’s fate.[486]
The solemnities of the Káaba worship
were now at hand, and Othmân, still Annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
mindful of his obligation as head of Islam Dzul Hijj, a.h. XXXV. June,
a.d. 656.
to provide for their due observance, once
more ascended the palace roof. From thence he called the son of
Abbâs, one of the faithful party guarding the entrance, to come near,
and bade him assume the leadership of the band of pilgrims
proceeding from Medîna;—a duty which, much against his will, as
taking him away from the defence, he undertook at the Caliph’s
repeated command. Ayesha joined the party. She is accused of
having formerly stirred up the people against Othmân. Now, at any
rate, this impulsive lady not only shook herself free from the
insurgents, but, in order to detach her brother Mohammed, son of
Abu Bekr, also from their company, she besought him to accompany
her to Mecca. But he refused.[487]
The approach of relief at last goaded
the rebels to extremities, and they resolved The palace stormed. 18 Dzul
Hijj. June 17.
on a final and murderous attack. A violent
onset was made from all quarters, and the forlorn band of defenders
(including still the sons of Aly, Zobeir, and Talha), unable longer to
hold their ground, retired at Othmân’s command, but not without
difficulty, within the palace gate, which they closed and barred. In
doing this they covered their retreat with a discharge of archery, and
one of the rebels was killed thereby. Infuriated at their comrade’s
death, the insurgents rushed at the gate, battered it with stones, and
finding it too strong, sat down to burn it. Meanwhile others, swarming
in crowds from the roof of an adjoining building, gained an easier
access, and, rushing along the corridor, attacked the guard still
congregated within the palace gate. One was slain, Merwân was left
half dead, and the rest were overpowered.[488] Othmân had retired
by himself into an inner chamber of the women’s apartments; and,
seated there awaiting his fate, read from the Corân, spread open on
his knees. Three ruffians, sent to fulfil the bloody work, rushed in one
after another upon him thus engaged. Awed by his calm demeanour,
his pious words and mild appeal, each one returned as he went. ‘It
would be murder,’ they said, ‘to lay hands upon him thus.’
Mohammed, son of Abu Bekr, in his hate and rage, had no such
scruples. He ran in, seized him by the beard, and cried, ‘The Lord
abase thee, thou old dotard!’ ‘Let my beard go,’ said Othmân, calmly;
‘I am no dotard, but the aged Caliph, whom they call Othmân.’ Then,
in answer to a further torrent of abuse, the old man proceeded, ‘Son
of my brother! Thy father would not have served me so. The Lord
help me! To Him I flee for refuge from thee.’ The appeal touched
even the unworthy son of Abu Bekr, and he too retired. The
insurgent leaders, on this, crowded in
themselves, smote the Caliph with their And Othmân slain.
swords, and trampled on the Corân he had
been reading from. Severely wounded, he yet had strength enough
to stretch forth his aged arms, gather up the leaves, and press them
to his bosom, while the blood flowed forth upon the sacred text.[489]
Thus attacked, the faithful Nâila cast herself upon her wounded lord,
and, endeavouring to shield him, received a sword-cut which
severed some of the fingers from her hand, and they fell upon the
ground. The band of slaves attempted his defence. One of them
slew Sudân, the leader, but was immediately himself cut down and
killed. Further effort was in vain. They plunged their weapons into the
Caliph’s body, and he fell lifeless to the ground. The infuriated mob
now had their way. A scene of riot followed. They stabbed the
corpse, and leaped savagely upon it; and they were proceeding to
cut off the head, when the women screamed, beating their breasts
and faces, and the savage crew desisted. The palace was gutted;
and even Nâila, all wounded and bloody, was stripped of her veil.
Just then the cry was raised, ‘To the Treasury!’ and suddenly all
departed.[490]
As soon as they had left, the palace
gate was barred, and thus for three days Burial of Othmân.
the dead bodies of Othmân, Moghîra, and
the slave, lay in silence within. Then Zobeir ibn Motím, and Hakîm
ibn Hizâm (Khadîja’s nephew), chief men of the Coreish, obtained
leave of Aly to bury the Caliph’s body.[491] In the dusk of evening, the
funeral procession, including Zobeir, Hasan son of Aly, and the
kinsmen of Othmân, wended their way to the burying-ground of
Backî, outside the city. Death had not softened the rebels’ hearts,
and they pelted the bier with stones. Not in the graveyard itself, but
in a field adjoining, the body, with a hurried service, was committed
to the dust. In after years the field was added by Merwân to the main
burying-ground—a spot consecrated by the remains of the heroes of
Ohod, and many names famous in the early days of Islam; and there
the Beni Omeyya long buried their dead around the grave of their
murdered kinsman.[492]
Thus, at the age of eighty-two, died
Othmân, after a reign of twelve years. The His character.
misfortunes amongst which he sank bring
out so sharply the failings of his character that further delineation is
hardly needed. Narrow, weak, and vacillating, he had yet a kindly
nature which might have made him, in less troublous times, a
favourite of the people. Such, indeed, for a season he was at the
beginning of his Caliphate. But afterwards he fell on evil days. The
struggle between the Coreish and the rest of the Arabs was hurrying
on the nation to an internecine war. The only possible safety was for
the class still dominant to have opposed a strong and united front to
their adversaries. By his vacillation, selfishness, and nepotism,
Othmân broke up into embittered factions the aristocracy of Mecca,
and threw this last chance away.
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE ELECTION OF ALY.

End of A.H. XXXV. June, A.D. 656.

On the Caliph’s death, his kinsfolk, and


such as had taken an active part in his Revulsion of feeling.
defence, retired from the scene. The city
was horror-struck. They had hardly anticipated, and could now with
difficulty realise, the tragical end. Many who had favoured, and some
who had even joined, the rebels, started back, now that the deed
was done. The nearer relatives of the murdered Caliph fled to Mecca
and elsewhere, with vows of vengeance. A citizen of Medîna,
wrapping carefully up the severed fingers of Nâila in the blood-
stained shirt of Othmân—meet symbols of revenge—carried them off
to Damascus and laid them at Muâvia’s feet.
For several days anarchy reigned at the
capital of Islam. There was neither Caliph Aly elected Caliph, 24 Dzul
nor any settled government. The regicides Hijj, 656.
a.h. XXXV. 23 June, a.d.

had the entire mastery of the city. Amongst


them the Egyptians were foremost in those first days of terror; and
public prayers (mark of supreme authority) were conducted in the
Great Mosque by their leader. Of the citizens, few ventured forth. At
last, on the fifth day, the rebels insisted that, before they quitted
Medîna, the citizens should exercise their right, elect a Caliph, and
restore the empire to its normal state. Shrinking, no doubt, from the
seething elements which Othmân’s successor would have at once to
face, Aly at first held back, and offered to swear allegiance to either
Talha or Zobeir. But in the end, pressed by the threats of the
regicides and the entreaties of his friends, he yielded, and so, six
days after the fatal tragedy, he publicly bound himself to rule
‘according to the Book of the Lord,’ and was saluted Caliph. Zobeir
and Talha were themselves the first to take the oath. They asserted
afterwards that they swore unwillingly, driven to do so through fear of
the conspirators. The traditions here are so divergent that it is hardly
possible to say how far this was true, or a mere afterthought.[493]
Talha’s arm had been disabled by the wound he received when
defending Mahomet on the battle-field; unhappy auguries were now
drawn from his withered hand being the first to strike the hand of Aly
in taking the oath of fealty. The mass of the people followed. There
were exceptions; for Aly was lenient, and, from a praise-worthy
delicacy, would not press the immediate adherents of the late Caliph
to swear allegiance.[494] The insurgents, having themselves done
homage to Aly, took their leave and departed to tell the tale at Kûfa,
Bussorah, and Fostât.
No bed of roses was strewn for Aly.
Both at home and abroad rough and He declines to punish the
regicides.
anxious work was before him. To the
standing contention between the Arabs and the Coreish was now
added the cry, which was soon to rend Islam, of vengeance on the
regicides. Further, the red-handed treason enacted at Medîna had
loosened the bonds of society. Constituted authority was set at
naught. Bands of Bedouins, scenting from afar the approach of
anarchy and the chance of plunder, hung about the city. They were
bidden to depart; but encouraged by the servile population, which,
broken loose during the insurrection, still kept aloof from their
masters, they refused.[495] Aly was pressed on many sides, by those
who held him bound by his accession-oath, to vindicate the majesty
of the Divine law, and to punish the wicked men who had imbrued
their hands in the blood of Othmân. Even Talha and Zobeir,
awakening too late to the portentous nature of the crime enacted
before their eyes and hardly against their will, urged this. ‘My
brothers,’ replied Aly, ‘I am not indifferent to what ye say. But I am
helpless. These wild Bedouins and rampant slaves will have their
way. What is this but an outburst of Paganism long suppressed—a
return, for the moment, of “the days of Ignorance,” a work of Satan?
Just now they are beyond my power. Let us wait; and the Lord will
guide us.’ This waiting, hesitating mood was the bane of Aly’s life.
He loved ease; and though sometimes obstinate and self-willed, his
ordinary principle was that things left to themselves would mend.
The Coreish were anxious and
alarmed. The revolt, under the veil of The Coreish alarmed.
discontent at the ungodly rule of Othmân,
was now (they said) taking a far wider range. The Bedouins were
becoming impatient of the control of the Coreishite aristocracy; and
that which had happened to the Beni Omeyya—now forced to fly
Medîna—might happen at any moment to the whole body of the
Coreish. Yet Aly, though professing to denounce the attack of the
regicides as high treason, took no steps to punish it, but temporised.
A prompt and vigorous pursuit of the traitors would no doubt have
been joined in, heart and soul, by Muâvia and by the whole nobility
of Islam. But Aly preferred to let the vessel drift, and so it was drawn
rapidly into the vortex of rebellion.
The next matter which pressed for
immediate settlement was the Aly seeks to supersede
confirmation, or otherwise the Muâvia in Syria.
supersession, of the various governors of provinces and cities; and
here Aly, turning a deaf ear to his friends, proved himself wayward
and precipitate. When Ibn Abbâs returned from the pilgrimage at
Mecca (to the presidency at which he had been deputed by the late
Caliph), he found that Moghîra had been wisely urging Aly to retain
the governors generally in their posts, till, at the least, the people
throughout the empire had recognised his succession to the throne.
But Aly had flatly refused.[496] Ibn Abbâs now pressed the same
view: ‘At any rate,’ he said, ‘retain Muâvia; there is a special reason
for it; Omar, and not Othmân, placed him there; and all Syria
followeth after him.’ The advice, coming from so near and
distinguished a kinsman of his own, deserved the consideration of
Aly. But he answered sharply, ‘Nay; I shall not confirm him even for a
single day.’ ‘If thou depose him,’ reasoned his friend, ‘the Syrians will
question thine election: and, worse, they may accuse thee of the
blood of Othmân, and, as one man, rise up against thee. Confirm
him in his government, and they care not who is Caliph. When thou
art firmly seated, depose him if thou wilt. It will be easy with thee
then.’ ‘Never,’ answered Aly, ‘he shall have nought but the sword
from me.’ ‘Thou art brave,’ Ibn Abbâs replied, ‘but innocent of the

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