Upon his entry the army commander Yahya ibn Mu'adh ibn Muslim ended his stay in the Hawf district, where he had been pacifying a rebellion that had broken out under Malik's predecessor al-Husayn ibn Jamil, and set up residence in the provincial capital of Fustat instead. After Yahya subsequently received orders to return to the caliphal court he wrote to the people of the Hawf, requesting that they present themselves to Malik in order to reach a settlement with the governor on issues on taxation. The heads of the local Yaman and Qays factions accordingly showed up for the meeting, but this proved to be a trap and they were instead seized, put in chains and sent as prisoners to the caliph.[2]