Song (Sung) dynasty the Umayyad Caliphate, complained but was unable to receive justice to his satisfaction and prepared for a military campaign Two initial forays were repulsed but a third, led by Muhammad ibn Qasim, was more successful A force of 6,000 camels, 6,000 cavalry, and accompanying infantry and baggage train was dispatched and managed first to capture the coastal town of Dehul and then defeat the troops of King Dahar in battle, after a number of travails The Arabs were assisted by the voluntary surrender of large numbers of Sindhi people and officials, whose loyalty to Dahar was very limited Muhammad ibn Qasim was able to establish control over the whole of Sind, which was subsequently integrated into the Umayyad Caliphate, where it remained during the succeeding Abbasid dynasty until central power loosened and it became possible to establish local dynasties The Abbasid governor, Hisham, who arrived in 757, undertook military expeditions against neighboring states, but there were no further territorial expansions throughout Arab rule Arab rule of Sind followed a similar pattern to that employed elsewhere, with most official posts remaining in local hands while an Arab governor administered the area with the assistance of troops who garrisoned the major towns and cities Some people converted to Islam but comparatively few, and there was little effort expended on forcing people to change their religion at that time The Arab period of rule led to the creation of a fusion of cultures that have helped to characterize subsequent Sindhi society The city of Mansura was established as the capital and its people benefited from Arab learning and knowledge See also Umayyad dynasty Further reading: Hitti, Philip History of the Arabs New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002; Lambrick, H T Sind: A General Introduction Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1975 John Walsh Sixtus IV See Rome, papacy in Renaissance Song (Sung) dynasty The Song dynasty (960–1279) was founded by Zhao Kuangyin (Chao K’uang-yin), r 960–976, and is known posthumously as Song Taizu (Song T’ai-tsu) or Grand Ancestor of Song After the fall of the Tang (T’ang) dy- 373 nasty in 907 China had been divided with the northern part ruled by a succession of short-lived regimes called the Five Dynasties of China, while southern China was divided between 10 province-sized minor ruling houses Zhao Kuangyin was an important general serving the last of the Five Dynasties, the Later Zhou He became emperor as a result of a mutiny conducted by his troops Fearful that the same soldiers and their officers could depose him as easily as they had raised him to the throne, he immediately set out to persuade the leading generals to retire on generous pensions, replacing them with junior officers loyal to him In forming his new government Taizu made the military subordinate to civilians and rotated commanders and garrisons to discourage the formation of strong bonds between them He also made the army a professional one based on long-term enlistment and fostered policies that discouraged martial pursuits According to a popular saying, “Good iron is not used to make nails; good men not become soldiers.” No military uprisings or significant domestic revolts troubled the dynasty NORTHERN SONG, 960–1127 Taizu used a combination of persuasion and military action to annex the 10 states in the south However he did not take on two border states: Liao in the northeast, ruled by nomadic people called Khitan, and Xixia (Hsi Hsia) in the northwest, ruled by seminomads called Tangut, even though they occupied territories that had been part of the Tang empire To prevent a repetition of the Song dynasty’s falling after Taizu’s death because of no able heir to take over, Taizu’s mother made him promise to make his younger brother his heir, rather than his young son, when she lay dying in 961 The younger brother, who was already a seasoned general, succeeded in 977 and reigned until 997 as Taizong (T’ang-tsung) When Taizong died the Song dynasty had been in power for almost four decades and was well established Taizong twice attempted to recover lands inside the Great Wall that Liao had seized; they totaled 16 prefectures and included an important city that is today called Beijing He failed both times In 1004 Liao and Song concluded the Treaty of Sangyuan, which defined the boundary, established frontier markets, and stipulated annual payment by Song to Liao of 100,000 ounces of silver and 200,000 bolts of silk (the amount was increased by 100,000 units each later) that Song called gifts and Liao called tribute Except for minor wars the two sides lived in peace for a century Song also fought an inconclusive war against Xixia between 1040 and 1044, which ended when Song agreed to give Xixia annual gifts of 200,000