[6] Barely four days after Ibn al-Furat's deposition, on 11 August 923, some 1,700 Qarmatians under Abu Tahir attacked Basra during the night.

[9] The Qarmatians massacred unarmed abbasid soldier pillaged the city unmolested for 17 days, carrying off much booty, and many captives to be sold as slaves, including many women and children.

[10] Rather than reacting to the Qarmatian threat, Ibn al-Furat was more concerned with securing his own position at court, exiling or torturing and killing many of his potential rivals.

[11] In March 924, however, the Qarmatians attacked the Hajj caravan making its way back from Mecca to Baghdad, overcame its escort, and took many of the pilgrims captive.

[14] The Qarmatians continued attacking Hajj caravans over the following years, before setting out to a invasion of Iraq itself in 927, which at one point threatened Baghdad itself and ranged as far as Upper Mesopotamia.