Having securely established his position in Syria, Abdulmalik relied on his dependable governor al Hajjaj to keep the Iraqis in line. Ruling them with an iron fist unsurprisingly led to more rebellions than calm, and despite the many thwarted movements we discussed last time it seems like the East remained a diffident and dangerous land. Our sources have a lot to say about Iraq and the lands to its East during Abdulmalik’s reign.