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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..51bda94 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #63390 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63390) diff --git a/old/63390-0.txt b/old/63390-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index aa04967..0000000 --- a/old/63390-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5115 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Moslem and Frank, by Gustave Louis Strauss - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Moslem and Frank; - or, Charles Martel and the rescue of Europe - -Author: Gustave Louis Strauss - -Release Date: October 6, 2020 [EBook #63390] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOSLEM AND FRANK *** - - - - -Produced by Turgut Dincer, John Campbell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -book was produced from scanned images of public domain -material from the Google Books project.) - - - - - - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE - - Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. - - Footnote anchors are denoted by [number], and the footnotes have been - placed at the end of each chapter. - - The original text on page 111 uses a Maltese Cross, displayed as ‘✠’ - on this device, to indicate the year of that person’s death. - - Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book. - - - - -[Illustration: CHARLES MARTEL--BATTLE OF TOURS. - -_From a Picture by Steuben in the Imperial Gallery at Versailles, -James Carter, Sc._] - - - - - MOSLEM - - AND - - FRANK; - - OR, CHARLES MARTEL AND THE RESCUE OF EUROPE - FROM THE THREATENED YOKE - OF THE SARACENS. - - BEING - - VOLUME I. OF THE HISTORIC SKETCHES. - - DESIGNED FOR THE INSTRUCTION AND AMUSEMENT OF - OLD AND YOUNG. - - BY G. L. STRAUSS, PH.D. - - - In magnis voluisse sat est. - - - LONDON: - JOHN WEALE, 59, HIGH HOLBORN. - 1854. - - - - - LONDON: - BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. - - - - - PREFACE. - - “Story! bless you--I have none to tell.”--_Canning’s Knifegrinder._ - - -It is an old and trite saying: “Good wine needs no bush,” and even -the finest and most flourishing bush will fail to put either body or -flavor into the growth of a bad vintage. It is left to the reader of -this little volume to decide whether or not the author has succeeded -in producing an acceptable and readable book. - - _July 1, 1854._ - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - PART I. - - THE MOSLEMIN. - Page - CHAPTER I.--Arabia and its inhabitants.--Life and doctrine - of Mohammed 1 - - ” II.--The Khalifs from Abu Bekr to Hesham 53 - - - PART II. - - THE FRANKS. - - CHAPTER I.--The Frank Confederacy.--Clovis, the Founder of - the Frank Monarchy 89 - - ” II.--Decline of the Merovingian Princes.--The Mayors - of the Palace.--Pepin of Landen.--Pepin of - Heristal.--Charles Martel.--The Battle of - Tours 108 - - - - - PART I. - - THE MOSLEMIN. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - ARABIA AND ITS INHABITANTS.--LIFE AND DOCTRINE OF MOHAMMED. - - -The Arabian peninsula, called by the natives JESIRA-AL-ARAB, by the -Persians and Turks ARABISTAN, forms the south-westernmost part of -Asia. It is bounded on the north by Syria and the river Euphrates, on -the east by the Persian Gulf, on the south by the Indian Ocean, on -the west by the Red Sea, or Arabian Gulf. Including the north-eastern -desert, it occupies an area ten times the extent of that of Great -Britain and Ireland. The connecting link between Asia and Africa, -to which latter continent it is joined by the Isthmus of Suez, it -presents in its natural features, a faithful copy of its colossal -tropical neighbour, modified, however, by the imprint of a strongly -marked individual character, the result of its peculiar isolated -position. The attempted derivation of the name of the country from -EBER[1], the common progenitor of the Joctanites and Ismaelites--the -two races which are assumed to constitute the great bulk of the -native population of Arabia--is, at the best, but very problematical; -that from the word ARABA, the name of a district of the province -of Tehama, and which signifies a _level desert_, would seem to -rest on a safer and more rational foundation, the far greater part -of the country being indeed a dreary waste, a boundless level of -sand, destitute of rivers, intersected by naked mountains, and -barely relieved here and there by a shady grove or a green sward of -aromatic herbs. The date-palm is often the solitary representative -of vegetable life in these sterile tracts, which are scorched by -a tropical sun, and hardly ever refreshed by a grateful shower. -There are, however, some more favored districts, where the fertile -soil produces dates and other palms, tamarinds, vines, rice, sugar, -figs, tobacco, indigo, cotton, durra,[2] coffee, gum, benzoin, -frankincense, manna, balsam, aloe, myrrh, spices, &c. The high lands -in the south-west, that border on the Indian Ocean, are distinguished -in this respect, above all other parts of Arabia, by a more temperate -air, superior fertility, and comparative abundance of wood and -water. No wonder, then, that the appellation _happy_, bestowed upon -this blessed region by PTOLEMY, should have been generally adopted, -although originating in a mistranslation of the word YEMEN, the -Arabian name of this part of the peninsula, and which does not -signify happy, but is simply meant to designate the land lying, with -respect to the East, to the right of MECCA, just as AL-SHAM (Syria) -means the land to the left of that city. PTOLEMY’S division of the -country into the _sandy_, the _petraie_, and the _happy_ (_Arabia -Deserta_, _Petræa_, and _Felix_), is, however, unknown to the -Arabians themselves, who speak only of high land and low land. The -epithet _stony_, so generally applied by geographers to the petraic -division, is founded in error: PTOLEMY derived the word from PETRA, -the name of the then flourishing capital of the Nabathæans, and not -from the Greek word _petra_, a rock or stone. Ptolemy’s Arabia Petræa -forms now part of the province of HEJAZ, along the coast of the Red -Sea. YEMEN, as we have seen, occupies the south-western coast. On -the south-eastern coast lies the maritime district of OMAN; on the -Persian Gulf, the district of LAHSA: the inland space bears the name -of NEGED, or NAGED. - -Arabia is the true native country of the horse, and remains even at -the present time the seat of the purest and noblest races of that -generous animal. Asses, oxen, sheep, goats, and the swift gazelle, -are also indigenous; and so is the _camel_, the “ship of the desert,” -nature’s most precious gift in the sands of Africa and Arabia. -Monkies, pheasants, and pigeons inhabit the fertile districts. -The lion, the panther, the hyena, the jackal, lurk in the desert. -Ostriches, and pelicans are among the birds of Arabia; locusts, that -“plague of the fields,” are among its insects. The coasts abound -in fishes and tortoises; and the pearl-fishery flourishes more -especially in the Persian Gulf. - -Among the mineral products may be mentioned iron, copper, lead, -coals, asphaltum; and precious stones, as the agate, the onyx, the -carnelion, &c. Some of the ancient geographers speak also of the soil -of Arabia as being impregnated with gold; and though no mines of that -precious metal are at present known in the peninsula, who can say but -that the treasures of another California lie hidden there? - -The inhabitants of Arabia, whose present number may be estimated at -about fifteen millions, are supposed to derive their origin partly -from JOCTAN (in the Arabian language KAHTAN), one of the sons of -EBER; and partly from ISMAEL, the son of Abraham and Hagar. The -Joctanites, as the supposed original inhabitants of the country, have -been called also true Arabians; the Ismaelites, as later immigrants, -_mixed_ Arabians. The ISMAELITES are the BEDOWEENS, or BEDOUINS, -of our time, who to the present day continue to rove through the -interior and the north of Arabia, as they did in the remote times -of Job and Sesostris, depending partly on their flocks, partly -on the transit trade of the caravans, but chiefly on plunder;[3] -which latter is by these wild sons of the desert looked upon in the -light of an honorable profession rather than of a disgraceful and -criminal pursuit. They are a fine race of men, of middle size, but -well proportioned, vigorous, and active; they have regular features; -their complexion is mostly dark, rarely of a lighter tint; their eyes -sparkle with a fire and lustre unknown among us. They are brave, -temperate, generous, and hospitable; enthusiastically addicted to -eloquence and poetry. Rapine and revenge are the only dark spots in -the national character of the Bedoween. - -The JOCTANITES are the HADDHESIES, or _settled_ Arabians, who from -the earliest times have been collected into towns and villages, more -especially in the maritime districts of the peninsula, employed in -the labors of agriculture, trade, and commerce. Though the Arabian -house-dwellers cannot be said to possess all the noble qualities of -their brethren of the desert, still the description given above of -the physical and moral character of the latter applies in a great -measure equally to them; they are lively, intelligent, eloquent, -and witty; and, with all their habitual haughty demeanour, more -particularly to strangers, affable and agreeable in their manners and -conversation. - -The principal nations of Arabia mentioned by the ancients, are, -besides the SKENITES (_tent-dwellers_, or wandering tribes), the -NABATHÆANS, in Arabia Petræa (Hejaz); the THAMUDITES and MINÆANS -in Hejaz; the SABÆANS and HOMERITES, in Yemen; the HADHRAMITES, -in Hadhramaut on the southern coast; the OMANITES, DACHARENIANS, -and GERRHÆANS, in Oman and Ul-Ahsa, or Lahsa; the SARANIANS, in -Neged; and the SARACENS, an obscure tribe on the borders of Egypt, -and remarkable only from the circumstance that, perhaps from a -fallacious[4] interpretation of the meaning of the word,--viz: as -intended to indicate an Oriental situation--the application of the -name has been gradually extended, first to the inhabitants of the -Arabian peninsula generally, afterwards to all Mohammedans. - -The early history of the Arabians is shrouded in obscurity. That the -JOCTANITES were not the true original inhabitants of the country, -but simply later immigrants into it, would appear to result from the -histories of the ancient Babylonian and Assyrian empires (however so -little reliance we may feel inclined to place in these mythical and -traditional histories); for we are told that Nimrod was attended by -Arabian tribes--and in the list of the Babylonian kings we find six -Arabian princes; and, again, among the auxiliaries of Ninus we find -Arabs, under a prince named Ariæus. The HYKSOS, or Shepherd Kings, -who are said to have invaded Egypt about 2075 B.C., and to have held -sway in that country during more than 500 years, are also generally -considered to have come from Arabia. The traditional history of -Arabia mentions several kingdoms and dynasties. The two most ancient -of these, dating their origin as far back as 2000 B.C., were, 1, the -HOMERITE kingdom in Yemen, which, after a time, split into the two -states of SABA, or SHEBA, and HADHRAMAUT. About 1572 B.C., these -were re-united into one empire, which about 1075 B.C. was governed by -BALKIS, the daughter of Hodhad, and who by some historians is thought -to have been identical with the Queen of Sheba, the cotemporary of -Solomon; 2, the State in Hejaz, in which the NABATHÆANS held superior -sway. - -Protected on all sides by the seas of sand and water which encompass -the peninsula, the Arabian people--or, at all events, the great body -of the nation--had, at all times, escaped the yoke of a foreign -conqueror. King Sesostris, of Egypt, is said to have subjected some -tribes of Hejaz to his rule; but it would appear they speedily -recovered their independence. All the attempts made at different -times, by the rulers of Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, and Persia, to -subjugate the Arabian peninsula, proved either altogether abortive, -or, even where they partially succeeded, the conquest was only -transient. Thus Arabia Petræa was subjugated, for a time, to the -Assyrian sway in the eighth century B.C. by Pul, or Phul, and -Sennacherib; but in the sixth century B.C. we find it in independent -alliance with the Persian kings Cyrus and Cambyses. Alexander the -Great had formed the plan to conquer and colonise the coasts of -Arabia, and to prepare in this way the ultimate subjugation of the -entire peninsula. The genius of the Græco-Macedonian conqueror, the -immense material means of which he could dispose, and the possession -of a powerful fleet (under Nearchus) promised a successful issue -to the intended expedition: the death of Alexander (11th June, 323 -B.C.) averted the threatening danger.[5] The attempt which Antigonus -and Demetrius made upon Arabia in 312 B.C. was a failure; and the -trifling conquest achieved in 219 B.C. by Antiochus the Great, of -Syria, was speedily wrested again from him by the natives. At a -later period, the northern tribes of Arabia were engaged for a time, -with varying fortunes, in desultory feuds with the Jews under the -Maccabæans, or Makkabi.[6] The Romans also, that all-grasping nation, -cast their covetous eyes upon the flourishing state of Petræa; but -neither Scaurus nor Gabinius, neither Pompey nor Antony, nor even -Augustus, could prevail against the difficulties of the country, -and the stubborn valor of the roving tribes of the desert. Hunger, -thirst, fatigue, and disease thinned the ranks of the proud legions -more effectually still than the bow, the javelin, and the scymetar -of the Bedoween; and after a last vain attempt under Ælius Gallus, -Imperial Rome reluctantly relinquished for a time the coveted prize. -In 106 A.D., Cornelius Palma, a lieutenant of Trajan, conquered -the cities of Bostra and Petra, and subdued the Nabathæans. Trajan -made, also, some naval inroads, and carried his incursions as far as -Katif. Petra lost from this time its importance and splendor; Bostra -becoming in its stead the principal seat of the commerce of the -Euphrates and the Tigris. After the death of Trajan, the conquered -tribes shook off again the Roman yoke. The Emperor Aurelian broke, -indeed, the power of the Nabathæans in his celebrated campaign -against Zenobia, the great Queen of Palmyra, (272 and 273 A.D.), and -his triumphal car was followed by captive Arabian chiefs; but the -Nabathæan _nation_, disdaining to bend to the Roman yoke, abandoned -their homes, and fled to that great asylum of Arabian freedom, the -desert. - -At the commencement of the sixth century, (502 A.D.), the Homerite -kingdom of Yemen[7] was conquered by an Ethiopian prince, the Negus, -or King, of Abyssinia,[8] and remained subject or tributary to the -Christian princes of the latter country to the time of the conquest -of Arabia by Chosroes I. (Nushirvan) of Persia (about 574 A.D.). -Still, though Arabia was styled a Persian province, the sway of -the Sassanides over the peninsula was more nominal than real: the -tribes of the desert remained free, and even in Yemen, we find seven -Princes of the Homerites successfully asserting and maintaining the -independence of their mountains.[9] - -There is some reason to suppose that the original worship of the -Arabs was that of _one_ God; clouded and tarnished, indeed, by many -superstitious usages, and perhaps even by human sacrifices, yet -free from gross idolatry. But this primitive religion was speedily -supplanted by the adoration of the sun, the moon, and the fixed -stars; a specious superstition which substitutes for the invisible, -all-pervading, universal God, the most glorious of his creations, -and may well find its excuse in the clear sky and boundless naked -plains of Arabia, where the heavenly luminaries shine with a -brighter lustre, displaying to the mind of the untutored son of -the desert the visible image of a Deity. Intimately connected with -this still primitive faith, was the belief in the wonderful powers -and attributes of _meteoric stones_. The most renowned of these, -called Hadjar-el-Aswad, is a square-shaped black stone, kept to the -present day in Mecca in the Temple of the KAABA, and which has from -time immemorial been, and remains still, the sacred object of the -devout pilgrimages and adoration of the Arabs of all tribes. The -Kaaba is a square building, thirty-four feet high, and twenty-seven -broad; built, according to the Mohammedan tradition, by Abraham, -and repeatedly restored, in after ages, by the Amalekites, by the -Jorhamites, by Kassa, of the tribe of Koreish, &c.; and the last -time by Sultan Mustapha, in 1630. Of the original building there -remains thus at present only a small portion of wall, which is -held most sacred. A spacious portico[10] encloses the quadrangle -of the Kaaba. The holy stone, which is about four feet high, and -set in silver, is fixed in the wall, in the southern corner. The -Mohammedan tradition relates that this stone was brought to Abraham -by the Angel Gabriel, whose tears over the sinfulness of man had -changed its original white color to black! Hence Mahomet was induced -to make it the Kebla[11] of prayer, and to enjoin the pilgrimage -of the faithful to it and the Kaaba. Verily, the idolatry of the -ancient Arabs, who worshipped the divine power in the _meteoric -stone_, that had fallen from the skies in a manner miraculous to -their untutored understanding, was more natural, and even far more -rational, than the present worship of the same stone, based upon -this wretched and most absurd legend! The transmigration of souls, -the resurrection of bodies, and the invocation of departed spirits, -formed also part of the religious belief of the ancient Arabs; the -cruel practice of human sacrifices prevailed among them even up to -the time of Mohammed, in the course of time the grossest idolatry -became an important, and, in the end, a preponderating ingredient -in Arabian worship; and the sacred Kaaba was defiled by the gradual -introduction of three hundred and sixty idols of men, eagles, lions, -and antelopes; among which stood most conspicuous the most popular of -them, the statue of Hobal, fashioned of red agate by a Syrian artist, -and holding in his hand seven arrows, without heads or feathers, the -instruments and symbols of profane divination.[12] - -But, though each tribe, each family, nay every independent warrior, -might freely create new idols and new rites of his fantastic worship, -yet the nation, in every age, has bowed to the religion of Mecca, and -to the superior sanctity of the Kaaba. An annual truce of two, or, -according to some historians, four months, during which the swords -of the Arabs were sheathed, both in foreign and domestic warfare, -protected the holy pilgrimage to Mecca. The great fair held in -connection with this pilgrimage induced those to come whom religious -ardor failed to attract. This annual gathering of distant and hostile -tribes contributed greatly to harmonise and refine the wild sons -of the desert; the exchange of eloquence and poetry usual at these -periods, could only heighten the humanizing and elevating influence -of the custom. The fanaticism of the first Moslems abolished the -fair, inflicting thereby one of the many evils that came in the -train of Mohammed’s gigantic imposture. The rites which are, even in -the present day, accomplished by the devout Moslems, are still the -same they were in the days of the ancient idolators of Arabia. “At a -respectful distance from the temple, they threw off their garments; -seven times they went round the Kaaba, with quick steps, kissing each -time the holy stone with deep reverence;[13] seven times they visited -and adored the adjacent mountains; seven times they threw stones -into the valley of Mina: and the pilgrimage was completed, as at the -present hour, by a sacrifice of sheep and camels, and the burial of -their hair and nails in the consecrated ground.”[14] - -It will be readily understood that the custody of the Kaaba must -at all times have proved a most lucrative affair. No wonder, then, -that the neighbouring tribes should have hotly contended for it. -Originally the ISMAELITES held it for a long time, together with the -dominion over Mecca, which resulted from it as a natural consequence. -The JORHAMITES, a branch of the Joctanites, succeeded at last in -ousting them from it; these again were expelled by the KHUZAITES, -who promoted idolatry to a most formidable extent. In the middle of -the fifth century, an Ismaelitic tribe, that of KOREISH, wrested the -custody of the Kaaba, by fraud or force, from the Khuzaites. The -sacerdotal office was entrusted by the Koreish to COSA, of the family -of the HASHEMITES, and devolved through four lineal descents to -ABDOL MOTALLEB, the grandfather of Mohammed.[15] - -The freedom which Arabia enjoyed, promised a safe asylum to the -political and religious exiles and proscripts from the adjacent -kingdoms. The intolerance of the Magian Persians had overturned the -altars of Babylon, and compelled the votaries of Sabianism[16] to -seek a refuge in the desert. The same fate befell the Magians in -their turn, when the sword of Alexander had overthrown the Persian -monarchy. Multitudes of Jews fled into Arabia, to escape the cruel -persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, and greater numbers still -followed during the wars of Titus and Hadrian. To all these were -added, at a later period, numerous sects of Christians, fleeing -from that worst of all persecutions, that of their triumphant -co-religionists, from whom they might chance to differ in some -abstruse point of doctrine, or in some immaterial rite. Among -the persecuted sects, we may mention here more particularly the -Marcionites and the Manichæans, the Jacobites and Nestorians. The -latter two sects had gained many proselytes in Yemen, and succeeded -even in converting the princes of Hira and Gassan to their faith. -The Jews, also, had made numerous and important converts to the -Mosaic belief; and we have already seen how the intolerant zeal of a -bigoted Jewish neophyte, DUNAAN, prince of the Homerites, suddenly -interrupted the enjoyment of that absolute liberty of conscience -which the Arabian _idolaters_ had hitherto granted to all creeds and -all sects, and brought down upon Yemen an Abyssinian invasion to -avenge the wrongs of the persecuted Christians. - -It was in this country, and among this people, so strangely and -peculiarly constituted, that arose the apostle of a new faith, -destined to knead the heterogeneous and hostile elements of the -nation into one compact mass, and to hurl this with irresistible -might against the adjacent empires, and even, far beyond the limits -of the latter, against countries and nations formerly scarcely known -by name even to the Arabian merchant. - -MAHOMET, or more properly MOHAMMED or MUHAMMED, (i.e. _the very -famous_), the only son of Abdallah and Amina, was born at Mecca, on -the 20th April, 571.[17] His father, ABDALLAH, was the best beloved -of the thirteen sons of Abdol Motalleb, the son of Hashem, and chief -of the family of that name; his mother, Amina, sprang from the noble -race of the Zahrites. He had the misfortune to lose in his infancy, -his father and mother, and his grandfather. His sole inheritance -consisted in a house, an old female slave, and five camels. After the -death of his grandfather, he was taken into the house of his uncle, -Abu Taleb, who had succeeded Abdol Motalleb in the sacerdotal office. -Here he was educated to commercial pursuits; and was, at the age of -thirteen, sent with the caravan of his uncle to the fairs of Bosra, -or Bostra,[18] and Damascus, in Syria. In his twentieth year[19] he -fought in the ranks of the Koreish against some hostile tribes, and, -by his valor, gained the appellation EL AMIN, i.e., _the faithful_, -one of the five hundred and more surnames that have gradually been -given to the Prophet of Islam. In his twenty-fifth year, Cadijah, -a rich and noble widow of Mecca (according to some historians, of -Bosra), engaged him as superintendent and manager to carry on the -commercial affairs of her late husband. In this capacity he made a -second journey to the fairs of Bosra and Damascus.[20] - -Nature had bestowed upon Mohammed the gift of personal beauty. His -cotemporaries describe him as of commanding figure and majestic -aspect; he had regular and most expressive features, piercing black -eyes, an aquiline nose, and a well-formed mouth, with pearly teeth; -his cheeks were tinged with the ruddy glow of robust health.[21] Art -had imparted to his naturally black, flowing hair and beard a lighter -chestnut hue. His captivating smile, his rich and sonorous voice, -the graceful dignity of his gestures, the apparent frankness and -heartiness of his manner, gained him the favorable attention of those -whom he addressed. He possessed talents of a superior order--his -perception was quick and active, his memory capacious and retentive, -his imagination lively and daring, his judgment clear, rapid, and -decisive, his courage dauntless;--and, whatever may be our opinion -of the sincerity of his convictions, his tenacity of purpose in the -pursuit of the great object of his life, and his patient endurance, -cannot but extort our admiration. His natural eloquence was enhanced -by the use of the purest dialect of Arabia, and adorned by the charm -of a graceful elocution. - -Cadijah was a widow for the second time; she was in the fortieth year -of her age--no wonder then, that a man so bountifully endowed by -nature should speedily have gained her affection. She bestowed upon -him her hand and her fortune, and restored him thereby to the station -of his ancestors. Placed, henceforth, above the petty wants and cares -of material subsistence, Mohammed had now full leisure to indulge -his love of poetry and eloquence, and his natural predilection for -contemplation. His marriage brought him into familiar contact with -WARAKA (VERKA) BEN NAUFIL, a cousin of Cadijah. This Waraka, it would -appear, had first exchanged the adoration of the heavenly bodies for -the belief in the two principles of Zoroaster, (Ormuzd and Ahriman). -This creed not satisfying his mind, he had embraced with fervor the -monotheism of the Jews; but, disgusted with the absurdities of the -Talmudists, he had seceded to the profession of the Christian faith, -in which he had even assumed the priestly office. That he must have -been a man of some talent and learning, is evident from the fact -of his having translated the Old and New Testament from the Hebrew -into the Arabic tongue. Now this man is usually mentioned by the -historians of the time as the _pupil_ of Mohammed, and the _second -convert_ to his new doctrine; but there are strong reasons to justify -a belief that he was his _master_ and _teacher_, rather than his -_pupil_ and _convert_. - -It has been intimated already, that the history of the life of -Mohammed, up to the time when he proclaimed himself the apostle of -a new faith, is obscure and doubtful. From the scanty data, and the -conjectural and contradictory statements before us, we can only -gather one fact as pretty certain, viz: that the prophet of Islam had -enjoyed some rabbinical and priestly instruction. Now we have seen -that Mohammed was an illiterate barbarian, and not likely, therefore, -to derive from conversation with priests in foreign lands that -knowledge of the maxims, tenets, and traditions of other religious -communities, which is evidenced in the Koran and in the Sonna;[22] -whereas Waraka had actually had a practical training in the divers -beliefs of the Sabians, Magians, Jews, and Christians; and must, to -judge by his translation of the New Testament, have been tolerably -versed in the _letter_, at least, of the doctrine of Christ. From his -repeated, and apparently conscientious, changes of faith, we have, -perhaps, a right to conclude that he was a man sincerely in search of -a religion that might satisfy his mind; nor need we wonder that the -so-called “Christianity” of the seventh century should have failed -to answer his expectations on this head. It would not be too much -to say, indeed, that there existed really no “Christian” church at -that period; the multitudinous contending sects who professed the -_name_ of Christ had almost entirely forgotten his _pure doctrine_, -and, more especially, the divine principle preached by him of -universal charity and good-will to all men. The grossest idolatry -had usurped the place of the simple worship, instituted by Jesus, of -an All-wise, Almighty, and All-beneficent Being, without equal and -without similitude; a new Olympus had been imagined, peopled with a -crowd of martyrs, saints, and angels, in lieu of the ancient gods of -paganism. There were found Christian sects impious enough to invest -the wife of Joseph with the honors and attributes of a goddess;[23] -relics, and carved and painted images, were objects of the most -fervid adoration on the part of those whom the word of Christ -commanded to address their prayer to the Living God alone. - -Surely, then, we may trust that it will not be imputed to us as a -violation of the laws of probability, if we venture to assume that -Waraka, finding his religious aspirations disappointed even in the -Christian faith, conceived the idea of founding and propagating -a doctrine of his own,--a species of eclectic extract from all -other religions which he had successively professed; that, void -perhaps of personal ambition, or conscious, rather, that he did not -himself possess the most indispensable attributes and qualities of -a religious and political reformer, he cast his eyes upon Mohammed, -who, with his mind attuned to contemplation and to mystic thought, -promised to prove a docile disciple, and whose personal beauty and -grace seemed made to “persuade ere he ope’d his mouth;” and that he -chose him as his organ, as the medium through which he might give -currency to the coinage of his mind, content if the people would -receive the fruits of his religious experience and ponderings as a -new gospel, and cheerfully consenting to yield up the honors of the -paternity to him who should succeed in rearing the infant religion. - -Waraka found in Mohammed a most zealous disciple, who considerably -bettered the instructions which he received. From what we can gather -from the scanty sources of information at our command, we think -we may fix upon the year 606 A.D. as the period at which Mohammed -first became the pupil of Waraka; but it was only five years after, -in 611, that Waraka and himself had fully matured their plan to -institute a new religion. Worthily to prepare himself for the -assumption of the prophetic and apostolic office, Mohammed withdrew -this year (as he had indeed done repeatedly before), several weeks, -during the month of Ramadan, to the cave of Hera, three miles from -Mecca. On the morning of the 24th Ramadan, Mohammed appeared before -his wife, apparently greatly disturbed in mind. He called out to -her to “wrap him up, to affuse him with cold water, as his soul -was greatly troubled.” Having thus prepared her for his purpose, -by exciting at once both her conjugal solicitude and her female -curiosity, he proceeded to break to the amazed matron the great -secret of his divine mission. He told her the angel Gabriel had, -that night, appeared to him with a message from the Most High, -appointing him, Mohammed, the sixth, greatest, and last of His chosen -prophets,[24] to reveal His existence and to preach His law to the -nations of the world. The angel had brought down with him a paper -copy of the uncreated and eternal Koran, enclosed in a volume of -silk and gems, and had proposed to reveal to him successively and -at his (Mohammed’s) own discretion, the chapters and verses of that -everlasting record of the law of God. - -Islam (i.e. _devout submission to the Divine Will_) he had been -commanded by the angel to call the new faith which it was to be -henceforward his mission to preach; and which, to use the felicitous -language of Gibbon, is compounded of an eternal truth--viz., that -_there is only one God_--and of a fiction necessary to further the -ambitious designs of the self-appointed missionary of this new -gospel--viz., that _Mohammed is the apostle and prophet of God_. -Cadijah believed readily and implicitly--and no marvel either. -Mohammed, to his honor be it written, had proved a most kind and -attentive husband to the elderly matron who had raised him above the -pressure of want. He had abstained--and till her death continued -to abstain--from availing himself of the right of polygamy. He had -proved his _truth_ to her by unvarying affection. How, then, could -she possibly have doubted his word? To her grateful and loving eyes, -he must have seemed more than a mere mortal; and she may even have -deemed it by no means extraordinary that the Most High should appoint -as his organ and missionary one so pure, so good, so _perfect_, as -her husband appeared in _her_ sight. - -Cadijah’s conversion was speedily followed by the avowed declaration -of Waraka in favor of the new doctrine. The ex-priest of Christ -professed to see in Mohammed the _Paraclete_, or Comforter, -promised in the Gospel, and even ventured to support this view upon -etymological grounds of somewhat extraordinary character. The Arabic -word _Mohammed_ is synonymous with the Greek περικλῠτὸς (i.e. _very -famous_), which, by an easy change of letters, may be turned into -παράκλητος! - -The next converts to Mohammed’s new faith were, his servant ZEID, who -was positively bribed to it by the promise of freedom; his youthful -cousin ALI BEN ABU TALEB, a boy of eleven, and not likely, therefore, -to entertain any very deep religious conviction either way; and the -wealthy and universally esteemed ABDALLAH BEN OTHMAN-AL-KOREISH, -called afterwards ABU BEKR (i.e. _the father of the maiden_); most -probably from the circumstance that his daughter AYESHA, born 613, -became one of Mohammed’s wives after the death of Cadijah. By the -weight and influence of Abu Bekr, ten of the most respectable -citizens of Mecca were induced to join the creed of Islam, among whom -were Othman, who became afterwards Mohammed’s son-in-law. It had -taken three years to accomplish these fourteen private conversions; -and, guided probably by the advice of Waraka, the prophet had not yet -ventured upon a public profession and propaganda of his creed. In -the beginning of 615, however, Waraka died; and the bolder spirit of -Mohammed, freed from the restraining influence hitherto exercised by -that cautious man, aspired henceforward openly to the dignity of the -apostolic office. - -We have already seen that Mohammed had informed Cadijah, and, of -course, also his other disciples, that the chapters of the Koran were -to be communicated to him by the angel Gabriel successively, and at -his own discretion,--a master-stroke of policy evidently designed by -the crafty Waraka to afford full time for the gradual concoction of -the new creed, and worked out afterwards with such admirable skill by -his illustrious pupil; indeed, the ingenuity of this provision may be -said to be surpassed only by that of another saving maxim introduced -into the angelic revelation, viz., that any text of the Koran is -abrogated or modified by any subsequent passage,--which, of course, -at once removed the inconvenience of contradictory texts. Gabriel was -accordingly now made to descend again to Mohammed, and to command him -in the name of the Most High to throw off the reserve which he had -hitherto maintained, and to announce his mission in the open light -of day. In obedience to this pretended command, the prophet of Islam -invited forty members of the race of Hashem to a banquet. He placed -before them, it is said, a lamb and a bowl of milk, and, after the -frugal meal, addressed them as follows:--“Friends and kinsmen, I -offer you, and I alone can offer, the most precious of gifts--the -treasures of this world and of the world to come. God has commanded -me to call you to His service. Who among you will support my burthen? -Who among you will be my companion and my vizir?” A long silence of -doubt and amazement followed this extraordinary allocution; it was -broken at last by the impetuous Ali, then in the fourteenth year -of his age. “O prophet!” he cried, “I am the man: whosoever rises -against thee, I will dash out his teeth, tear out his eyes, break his -legs, rip up his belly. O prophet! I will be thy vizir over them.” -This response on the part of one so young, and the fierce threats -which it contained, excited the merriment of the assembly, which -was increased when Mohammed fervently embraced his young cousin, -and declared most seriously that he accepted his offer. Abu Taleb, -the father of Ali, was ironically exhorted to respect the superior -dignity of his son, and to take care not to provoke his potent wrath. -The prince of Mecca took the matter in a more serious light: he -advised his nephew to relinquish his design, which he characterised -as impious. “Spare your remonstrances,” replied the son of Abdallah; -“were you to place the sun on my right hand and the moon on my left, -you should not divert me from my course.” - -Braving the ridicule and the anger of the Hashemites, as well as the -more determined and malignant hostility of the family Ommiyah and -the other branches of the Koreish, Mohammed preached his doctrine -henceforward publicly, with unflinching courage and untiring zeal, -but for a long time with rather indifferent success, at least so far -as his native city was concerned. - -Mecca was the sacred city of Arabia,--the seat of the great national -temple. The annual pilgrimage of the devout Arabians to the shrines -of the Kaaba, brought wealth to the coffers of the inhabitants of the -favored city; and it was but natural, therefore, that the tribe of -Koreish, who held the lucrative office of custodians of the sacred -temple, should behold with indignation and dismay the attempt made -by one from among themselves to subvert a religion so profitable to -their interests. No wonder, then, that when Mohammed, some time after -the banquet of the Hashemites, ventured to proclaim his pretended -mission before a general assembly of the Koreish, he was received -with a perfect storm of disapprobation, and ignominiously pelted with -mud and stones. - -But the prophet of Islam was not the sort of man to be readily -diverted from his fixed purpose. The indifferent success of his -first public attempt rather increased his zeal than otherwise: in -private converse and in public discourse, he incessantly urged the -belief and worship of a sole Deity. He addressed impassioned orations -to the citizens and pilgrims gathered within the holy precincts of -the Kaaba, and the loudest clamor of his most violent antagonists -did not always succeed in silencing his potent voice; and, indeed, -after a time he had the satisfaction of beholding the gradual but -steady increase of his little congregation of Unitarians. But -the hostility of the Koreish assumed now a more decided and more -dangerous character; and, had it not been for the powerful protection -of Abu Taleb, who, though an uncompromising enemy to the attempted -innovation of his nephew, continued to bestow on the son of Abdallah -the affection of a parent, Mohammed would most probably have fallen -a sacrifice to the rage of his enemies. But even the weight and -influence of the Prince of Mecca could not always fully secure the -safety of the apostle of the new creed, and Mohammed was repeatedly -compelled to withdraw himself to various places of strength in the -town and country. The more timid of his disciples were forced to seek -in Ethiopia an asylum from the violence of religious faction. The -conversion of his uncle HAMZA, gave the new faith, most opportunely, -a powerful support in the family of Hashem; a perhaps still more -important acquisition was made in the person of the fierce and -inflexible OMAR, the PAUL of Islam. On the other hand, the branch of -Ommiyah, and the rest of the tribe of Koreish, resolved to put the -children of Hashem under a species of religious and civil interdict -of the most stringent nature, till they should consent to deliver -the person of Mohammed to the justice of the insulted gods. A decree -was passed to this effect, and was suspended in the Kaaba before the -eyes of the nation; the prophet and his most faithful followers were -besieged, and subjected to the greatest hardships. A hollow truce had -scarcely restored the appearance of concord, when the death of Abu -Taleb (621) left the prophet abandoned to the power of his enemies, -and compelled him to seek a refuge in Tayef, whither he proceeded, -attended by his faithful Zeid. His somewhat incautious attempts to -propagate his creed in that land of grapes excited against him the -indignation of the inhabitants, who pelted him with stones and drove -him back to Mecca, where he was permitted to dwell yet a little -while under the protection of an influential citizen. Three days -after the death of Abu Taleb, an equally severe loss had befallen -Mohammed--that of Cadijah, by which the ties which bound him to his -native city were greatly loosened. - -It is in this period that we may place the miraculous night of -Mohammed’s ascension to heaven. Hitherto, Mohammed had been modestly -content to place an intermediary between the Deity and himself. -Probably reflecting, however, that the Jewish creed asserted direct -and personal converse between Jehovah and Adam, Noah, Abraham, and -Moses, and that he, the greatest and last of the prophets, and whose -doctrine was to supersede all others, could not well afford to stand -inferior in this respect to his predecessors, and anxiously desirous, -moreover, to gain over the Jews, whom he wished to believe him the -promised Messiah--he put forth one of the wildest flights of fancy -that ever issued even from an Oriental brain:--A mysterious animal, -the _Borak_ (the cherub of Islam), with human face, the ears of an -elephant, the neck of a camel, the body of a horse, the tail of a -mule, and the hoofs of a bullock, conveyed him at the dead of night -from the temple of Mecca to that of Jerusalem, Gabriel and legions -of angels attended him. From the temple of Jerusalem he was carried -to the rock upon which Abraham intended to sacrifice Isaac, and -thence on the wings of Gabriel successively to the seven heavens, -where he exchanged civilities with the patriarchs, the prophets, and -the angels. He saw the heavenly Lotos tree, with the four springs -under it, flowing with water, honey, milk, and wine. Of the three -former he tasted; the last he left untouched, in obedience to his -own precepts.[25] He saw, also, the heavenly tabernacle, pitched in -a straight line above the Kaaba, and hidden by a golden veil. The -angels sang, “There is only one God, and Mohammed is the prophet -of God.” The same resounded from behind the veil, and the voice of -the Lord was heard saying, “My servants speak the words of truth; -Mohammed is indeed the most beloved of my prophets and apostles, -the most pious of my servants, the most perfect of created beings.” -Beyond this part, Mohammed alone was permitted to proceed; he passed -through seventy thousand veils of light and darkness, each of -them a thousand years thick, and with a space of a thousand years -intervening between every two of them. At last he reached the green -barrier of green light with emerald lustre; he passed the veil of -the Divine unity, and approached within two bow-shots of the throne -of the Almighty, where he prostrated himself and adored. The hand -of the Lord touched his shoulder, which made a sensation of cold -come over him that pierced him to the heart. God commanded him now -to impose upon his disciples the daily obligation of fifty prayers; -which Mohammed would appear to have looked upon as an intolerable -burthen, since he pleaded hard for an alleviation of it.[26] By his -supplications he succeeded to reduce it, step by step, at last to -the number of five, viz., one prayer at daybreak, one at noon, one -in the afternoon, one in the evening, and one at the first watch -of the night; but from these five obligatory prayers there was to -be no dispensation of business or pleasure, of time or place. In -this most important conversation, the Lord enjoined or sanctioned, -also, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the bestowal of a certain -percentage of the property or revenue of a believer for the relief -of the indigent and unfortunate, and the thirty days fast during the -month of Ramadan. Then was given to Mohammed, with one drop from the -throne, all wisdom, science, and knowledge of the ages past and the -time to come; and the angelic choirs recited the two articles of -belief, “There is only one God, and Mohammed is the apostle of God.” -Mohammed was then finally dismissed; he again descended to Jerusalem, -remounted the Borak, and returned to Mecca, having thus performed in -the tenth part of a night the journey of many thousand years. Verily, -in this precious tale we do not know which to admire most,--whether -the audacity of the impostor who could concoct, or the gross -credulity of the people who could believe it! Indeed, many endeavours -have been made by some of the more rational of the Mohammedan doctors -to deny that the prophet of Islam ever ventured to palm off this -extravagant story upon his followers; and it has been attempted to -make it appear that the narration of it relates to a mere dream or -vision. These apologists overlook, however, the important fact that -this pretended vision was put forward with all the authority of a -divine revelation. Mohammed himself encouraged as much as in him lay -the belief in the actual occurrence of the fact; which, with the -Sonnites, indeed, is an article of faith, the pious AL JANNABI, among -others, declaring that to deny this nocturnal journey of the prophet -is to disbelieve the Koran. - -ABU SOPHIAN, the chief of the branch of Ommiyah, and the mortal -foe of the line of Hashem, had succeeded to the principality of -the republic of Mecca. This man resolved to bring the long-pending -contest between the Koreish and the self-appointed apostle of the -new creed to a speedy and decisive issue. He convened an assembly of -the Koreishites and their allies, in which the death of Mohammed was -resolved. To baffle the vengeance of the Hashemites, it was agreed -that the guilt of his blood should be divided among the several -tribes. A spy (duly converted afterwards into an angel by the crafty -prophet) revealed the odious plot to Mohammed, who resolved on -flight as the only means of escape from the malice of his enemies. -In the night of the 13th September, 622,[27] Mohammed, accompanied -by his friend Abu Bekr, escaped silently from his house, whilst the -assassins, who were watching at the door, were deceived by the figure -of Ali, who, covered with the green vestment of the apostle, reposed -on the bed, securing thus, at the risk of his own life, the safe -retreat of his illustrious and beloved cousin. When the deception -practised upon them was at length revealed, the Koreishites dismissed -the heroic youth unharmed. - -Mohammed and the companion of his flight took refuge first in the -cave of Thor, about three miles from Mecca. Three days they remained -concealed there, receiving every evening from the son and daughter of -Abu Bekr a supply of food, and intelligence of the movements of their -enemies. The Koreish explored every hiding-place in the neighbourhood -of the city, with the exception of the cave in which the fugitives -were hidden, and which the pious Moslem doctors would have us believe -was protected from their scrutiny by the providential deceit of a -spider’s web and a pigeon’s nest. When the first rigor of the pursuit -had somewhat abated, the fugitives left the protection of their cave, -and mounted their camels to pursue their flight to YATHREB, called -afterwards MEDINA, or MEDINA AL NABI (i.e. _city of the prophet_). -On the road, they were overtaken by the emissaries of the Koreish, -who were, however, diverted from their murderous purpose by the -eloquent appeals of the prophet: indeed it is stated by the Arabian -historians that one of his pursuers passed over to him with seventy -followers, and attended him to Medina. - -The city of Yathreb was inhabited chiefly by the tribes of -the CHAREGITES and the AWSITES, and by two colonies of Jews, -of a sacerdotal race, and who had introduced among their Arab -fellow-citizens a taste for science and religion, which had gained -Medina the name of the City of the Book. Now whether it might be -that, owing to this circumstance, the preaching of Mohammed had made -a deeper impression upon the pilgrims and merchants from Medina than -upon his own fellow-citizens in Mecca; or that the Yathrebites, -who were envious of the flourishing commerce of the latter city, -would gladly avail themselves of the opportunity afforded by the -bigoted zeal of the Koreish to attract to their own city the exiled -disciples of Mohammed, and in fine perhaps that illustrious man -himself--certain it is that at an early period of Mohammed’s mission, -some of the noblest citizens of Medina, in a pilgrimage to the Kaaba, -had been converted by his preaching, and had upon their return home -diffused among their fellow-citizens the belief of God and his -prophet. The Charegites and Awsites had hitherto lived in perpetual -feud, interrupted only by temporary truces, which were broken on the -slightest provocation. By the exhortations of these missionaries, the -two tribes were henceforth united in faith and love. Ten Charegites -and two Awsites were despatched to Mecca, where they held a secret -and nocturnal interview with Mohammed on a hill in the suburbs; -they protested for themselves and in the name of their wives, their -children, and their absent brethren, an inviolable attachment to -the person and doctrine of the prophet. At a later period, shortly -before Mohammed’s forced departure from Mecca, seventy-three men and -two women of Medina came to Mecca, and held a solemn conference with -Mohammed, his kinsmen, and his disciples, on the same spot where -the interview with the first embassy had taken place. They promised -the prophet in the name of their city that should he be compelled -to leave Mecca, they would receive him as their prince, and would -place their lives and fortunes at his service for the defence and -propagation of the new faith preached by him. Mohammed on his part -promised never to abandon his new allies, even though the Koreish -should repent and should recall him; he declared their blood to be -as his blood, their ruin as his ruin, their friends as his friends, -their foes as his foes; should they fall in his service, Paradise -was to be their reward. A solemn league and covenant was made there -and then between the two parties; this was ratified by the people of -Medina, who, with the exception of the Jews, unanimously embraced the -profession of Islam. - -It was accordingly to Medina that the exiled prophet directed his -steps. After a rapid though perilous journey along the sea-coast, -he reached Medina sixteen days after his flight from Mecca. He was -received with acclamations of loyalty and devotion; his disciples -who at various times had fled from Mecca, gathered round his person. -To eradicate the seeds of jealousy that might spring up between -the Moslems of his native city, and his new allies of Medina, he -judiciously established a holy brotherhood between his principal -followers, coupling always a MOHAGERIAN, or fugitive of Mecca, with -an ANSAR, or auxiliary of Medina. It so falling out that Ali found -himself without a peer, the prophet declared himself the companion -and brother of the noble youth. - -Mohammed assumed now the exercise of the regal and sacerdotal office. -He acquired by purchase a small piece of ground, on which he built a -house and a mosque. The loyalty and devotion of his followers, and -the unhesitating compliance and obedience which his decrees met with -on the part of the inhabitants of Medina, convinced him that he was -indeed the absolute prince and ruler of that city. But with this -conviction the range of his ambition widened, he resolved to extend -his creed and his power over all the tribes of Arabia, and even -beyond the limits of his native land. He now threw off the cloak of -toleration in which he had so carefully enfolded himself at Mecca. -_There_ he had asserted the liberty of conscience, and disclaimed -the use of religious violence; _here_, at Medina, he preached a war -of extermination against whomsoever should continue in idolatry.[28] -The commands and precepts, which Gabriel was now made to transmit -to him, breathed a fierce and sanguinary spirit; the creed of Islam -was to be propagated henceforth by the sword, and the unbelieving -nations of the earth were to be pursued without mercy. To excite in -his followers a spirit of martial ardor, he proclaimed the superior -sanctity of the sword. “In the shade of the crossing scymitars -Paradise is prefigured,” says Mohammed; “the sword is the key of -heaven and of hell: a drop of blood shed in the cause of God, a night -spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting or prayer. -Whosoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven: at the day of -judgment his wounds shall be resplendent as rubies, and odoriferous -as musk; and the loss of his limbs shall be supplied by the wings -of angels and cherubim.” Paradise was the glorious reward of the -faithful who fell in battle, and death might thus actually become -an object of hope and desire rather than of dread. Moreover, as the -Koran inculcates also, in the most absolute sense, the tenets of fate -and predestination, it would be little use for the devout Moslem to -shirk his military duties through fear of being wounded or killed -in battle, since his preordained fate would be sure to overtake -him, even in his bed. And as Paradise was the portion of the fallen -hero, so wealth and beauty rewarded the warrior who had escaped the -dangers of the fight: the apostle gave his followers the license -of embracing the female captives as their wives or concubines; he -regulated by a law, divine, of course, like all the rest of his -laws and precepts, the distribution of the spoil taken in battle, -or in a conquered place: the whole was faithfully collected in one -common mass, one-fifth of it was reserved for the prophet himself -(doubtless, for pious and charitable uses), the remainder was shared -among the soldiers, the shares of the slain devolving to their widows -and orphans: a horseman received double the share of a foot-soldier. - -From the first months of his reign, he prepared for the holy warfare -against Jews, Christians, and idolators. At the beginning of the -year 623, his white banner was displayed before the gates of Medina. -Faithful to the national character, he, the holy prophet of a creed -which the nations of the world were invited to look upon as divine, -went forth at the head of his pious followers, the future denizens -of a Paradise which in his extravagant Oriental fancy he had placed -beyond the seventh heaven, to waylay the peaceful merchant, and to -rob and maim, or murder him, in the name and for the glory of the -Most High. - -So he went forth at the head of three hundred and thirteen Moslems, -to intercept the return of the great caravan from Syria to Mecca, a -caravan of a thousand camels, led by Abu Sophian, with only thirty -or forty followers. But the Koreish, alarmed for the safety of their -merchandise and their provisions, hastened to the rescue. One hundred -horse, and eight hundred and fifty foot, advanced from Mecca to about -three stations from Medina. Here, in the fertile and famous vale -of Beder, they met the band of the prophet. The disproportion of -numbers was great; in Mohammed’s ranks were found only two horsemen: -informed by his scouts that the caravan was approaching from the one, -the Koreish from the other side, Mohammed had hesitated whether to -seize upon an easy prey, or to venture on an encounter with vastly -superior forces; but the reflection, that a success gained under -disadvantageous circumstances, would, with an impulsive people like -the Arabs, go far to prove his divine mission, and would embolden his -adherents and discourage his enemies, he resolved to give battle. -With Abu Bekr by his side, he took his station on a kind of throne or -pulpit. The white veil of Ayesha, and two black banners, were borne -before his host. “Courage, my children,” he exclaimed, “close your -ranks; discharge your arrows, and the day is your own.” Perceiving, -however, that the Moslems fainted in their onset, and were hard -pressed by the superior numbers of the Koreish, he betook himself -with a loud voice to pray the succour of Gabriel and a _legion_ of -angels.[29] He then started from his throne, mounted his horse, -and, casting a handful of sand into the air, exclaiming, “Let their -faces be covered with confusion,” dashed against the hostile ranks. -The Arabs were a most superstitious people; their fancy beheld the -angelic warriors, or rather _felt_ their presence; the thunder of -Mohammed’s voice revived the drooping spirits of his followers; -whilst it carried confusion into the ranks of his enemies. The -Koreish turned and fled. Seventy of the bravest were slain, and -seventy captives fell into the hands of the victorious prophet, who -had two of them put to death as a trifling instalment of the debt of -revenge which he meant to exact from his foes and revilers. The other -sixty-eight were restored for a ransom of four thousand drachms of -silver. From the field of Beder, Mohammed started in pursuit of Abu -Sophian’s caravan, which, despite of the swiftness of its flight, -and the skill of its guides, was overtaken and captured. A booty of -100,000 drachms of silver rewarded the pious robbers. But this great -success had well nigh proved fatal to Mohammed and his creed, and -to the city of refuge. The fierce resentment of Abu Sophian and of -the Koreish, brought into the field against Mohammed a body of three -thousand men, among whom were seven hundred armed with cuirasses, -and two hundred on horseback; three thousand camels attended the -march of this host. Abu Sophian advanced to within six miles of the -north of Medina, where he encountered the prophet at the head of -nine hundred and fifty followers, on Mount Ohud, (A.D. 624). The -Koreish advanced in the form of a crescent. The right wing of the -cavalry was led by Kaled, the fiercest and most redoubtable of the -Arab warriors. Mohammed had made his dispositions with considerable -skill; his troops were successful at first, and broke the centre of -the enemy; but their eagerness to seize upon the spoils threw their -ranks into disorder, and speedily deprived them of the advantage -gained. Kaled, with his cavalry, attacked them in the flank and rear; -Mohammed was wounded in the face with a javelin, and two of his teeth -were shattered with a stone; Kaled exclaimed, with a loud voice, that -the lying prophet was slain; and the followers of Islam, who looked -in vain for the appearance of Gabriel and his angelic legion, to -avenge the fall of “The beloved of God,” trembled and fled; still, in -the midst of tumult and dismay, was heard the thunder of Mohammed’s -voice, denouncing the impious tribe of the Koreish, as the murderers -of God’s apostle, and calling down upon them the vengeance of heaven. -Some of the most devoted followers of the prophet gathered bravely -around him, and conveyed him to a place of safety. Seventy of the -bravest defenders of Islam lay dead on the field, among them HAMZA, -one of Mohammed’s uncles. The inhuman females of Mecca, who had -accompanied the expedition, mangled their bodies, and the fierce -HENDA, Abu Sophian’s wife, tasted the entrails of Hamza, with the -relish of a cannibal. But Mohammed was not discouraged: his wounds -had hardly been dressed, when the convenient Gabriel revealed to him -that (for some unexplained cause) the powers of darkness had been -permitted to prevail against him this once, and that Satan himself -had fought in the ranks of the Koreish; he was, however, exhorted to -persevere in his propaganda, and was assured of ultimate success. He -rallied his troops, and even as early as the next day he led them -forth again to battle; on this occasion the fight was, however, only -of a desultory character, no great harm being done on either side. -Still the result of it was, that the Koreish, having experienced the -desperate valor of the Moslems, and more particularly of Ali and -Omar, despaired of carrying Medina with their present forces, and -retired to Mecca. But in the ensuing year (A.D. 625) Abu Sophian, -having formed a league between the Koreish and several tribes of the -desert, led a well-appointed host of ten thousand warriors against -Medina. The number of the Mussulmans, however, had also considerably -increased, and Mohammed’s army of three thousand men, awaited the -attack of their foes, securely encamped before the city, and -protected by a ditch and some field-works, which had been constructed -under the guidance and superintendence of a Persian engineer. A -general engagement being prudently declined by the prophet, the -hostilities were confined to a number of single combats, in which -Ali more especially signalised his formidable strength and prowess. -Twenty days passed away in this desultory warfare, the apostle of God -having, meanwhile, recourse to every artifice that his crafty mind -could devise, to sow disunion in the camp of his enemies. A tempest -of wind, rain, and hail, which overturned the tents of the besiegers, -and which was, of course, duly claimed as a direct interposition of -God in favor of his prophet, put the finishing stroke to the success -of this insidious policy: the Koreish, deserted by their allies, were -compelled to retire, and to relinquish, henceforth, the attempt to -overcome Mohammed by force of arms. This last attack upon Medina is -variously named from the _nations_ which marched under Abu Sophian’s -banner, and from the _ditch_ which protected the Mussulman camp. - -During the earlier period of his mission, Mohammed had shown -considerable leaning towards the Jews; he had selected Jerusalem for -the _Kebla_ of prayer, and had endeavoured to form most of his tenets -and precepts upon the model of the Mosaic ordinances. Indeed, there -can be no doubt, but that it was for a time the great end and object -of his ambition to be accepted by the Jews as their promised Messiah; -nor can it be denied, that a deep political idea lay at the bottom of -this desire. Had he succeeded in persuading the Jews to believe in -his Messiahship, his apostolic course among the Arabs would have run -much smoother, and many of the so-called Christian sects might have -been readily gained over to his _mixtum compositum_, which might, -indeed, be called a creed of creeds in the literal acceptation of the -words. - -But the imposture was too shallow to take with so clear-sighted a -people as the Jews unquestionably were: the pretended Messiah was -repudiated by them with disdain, and the hostility of the Koreish -against the son of Abdallah, was, in some degree, fomented and fanned -by the Jews of Mecca. Hence the implacable and unrelenting hatred -with which Mohammed pursued the unfortunate Israelites to the -last moment of his life. That he changed the kebla of prayer from -Jerusalem to Mecca, and that in his nocturnal journey to Heaven, he -beheld the divine tabernacle in a straight line above the latter -city, instead of Zion, where he undoubtedly originally intended to -behold it,--could, at the most, provoke a smile of contempt and -derision; but the appalling cruelties which he indicted, both upon -individuals and upon entire tribes of the doomed nation, must fill -the mind of the impartial explorer of history with deep indignation -against the man who could _so_ avenge his offended vanity. His -first exploit in this direction, was the expulsion of the KAINOKA -tribe from Medina, where they had hitherto been permitted to dwell -in peace, by the large toleration of the _Idolators_. The prophet -of Islam seized the occasion of an accidental tumult, in which the -Kainoka had taken part, to place before them the alternative of -embracing his religion, or contending with him in battle. A _brave_ -challenge this, to the unfortunate Jews, to do battle with him, -and which displayed in the fullest, though certainly not in the -most favorable light, the _magnanimous_ disposition of the son of -Abdallah, that has been so highly extolled by some historians. Still, -even with the fearful odds of number and martial spirit against them, -the feeble and unwarlike Israelites preferred the unequal contest to -apostacy from the faith of their fathers. It was decided in fifteen -days, of course with the total overthrow and capture of the whole -tribe; and, had it not been that the Charegites, mindful of the -friendship which once existed between them and their humble allies, -the Kainoka, warmly interceded on behalf of the wretched captives, -the prophet of God would have slain every one of them. As it was, -they were despoiled of their homes and property; and driven forth, -to the number of seven hundred men, with their wives and children, -to seek a refuge on the confines of Syria, to which quarter the -blessings of the new creed had not yet extended. The NADHIRITES were -the next to feel the weight of his arm. In their case, indeed, some -provocation had been given, as they had conspired to assassinate the -prophet in a friendly interview. Protected by the walls of their -castle (situated about three miles from Medina), they fought with -such boldness and resolution, that Mohammed was fain to grant them an -honorable capitulation. - -The war of the nations interrupted for a time Mohammed’s operations -against the Jews; but even on the day that the confederated nations -had abandoned the siege of Medina, he marched against the tribe of -KORAIDHA. A campaign of twenty-five days sufficed to compel their -surrender at discretion. They fondly believed that their old allies -of Medina would, by their intercession, preserve them at least from -the extreme measure of Mohammed’s wrath;--vain hope: fanaticism -had made rapid progress among the Ansars. A venerable elder of -the Charegite tribe, to whose judgment they referred their case, -pronounced the penalty of death against them for their hostility to -Islam. To the number of seven hundred they were led in chains to -the market-place of Medina, where a grave had been dug to receive -them; into this they were forced to descend, and the apostle of God -indulged his vengeful mind with the sight of their slaughter and -burial.... Verily, verily, the blackest and most atrocious of crimes -are committed in the name of God. A few years after the extirpation -of the Koraidha, Mohammed marched, at the head of two hundred horse, -and fourteen hundred foot, against the ancient city of CHAIBAR, the -seat of the Jewish power in Arabia. Chaibar was protected by eight -strong castles, which were successively reduced by the Moslems in -sixteen weeks, not, however, without considerable loss on the part of -the conquerors. After the fall of the castles, the city was forced to -surrender (628). The inhabitants had their lives granted to them, and -permission to dwell in the land, on condition that they should pay -to the prophet, an annual tribute of the one-half of their revenue. -But the chief of Chaibar was subjected to the most cruel tortures, -to force from him a confession of his hidden treasures; and when the -100,000 pieces of gold, which had been concealed, were delivered -up at last, he and several of the most notable of his people were -mercilessly butchered in cold blood. It was in this campaign against -Chaibar that Mohammed bestowed upon Ali, the surname of the “Lion -of God,” gained by the slaughter of 150 Hebrews, who are stated to -have fallen by the irresistible scymitar of Abu Taleb’s illustrious -son.[30] - -The Jewess ASMA had offended the dignity of the prophet by some -satirical strictures on his private life; he bribed a miserable blind -Jew, named OMEIR, to assassinate her. This wretched tool murdered -the ill-fated woman in her chamber, and nailed her body to the -floor; having some misgivings of conscience, he accosted the prophet -next morning while at prayer, and asked him whether God might not, -perhaps, punish the crime perpetrated? whereupon the pious apostle -bade him to be of good cheer, as the killing of a Jew, even if not -at all times a meritorious act, was, at least, a matter of perfect -indifference to the Ruler of the Universe! In the same way he deputed -assassins to slay the learned Jew, ESHREF; in the name of God he -sent them on their bloody errand! The venerable ABU AAS was murdered -in his sleep at his bidding: the poor old man had reached his -hundredth year, and might safely have been permitted to die in peace, -but considerations of the kind weighed but little with the son of -Abdallah; an insult to his apostolic dignity could only be washed off -in the blood of the offender. But why sully our pages with the long -list of private and public murders perpetrated by the command, or at -the instigation of, this precious pretender to a divine mission, ... -sufficient has been stated to illustrate the cruel and sanguinary -disposition of the man. - -Mohammed had left Mecca most reluctantly, and only when flight alone -could preserve his life from the swords of his then all-powerful -enemies. The thought to revisit as a conqueror, the city and the -holy temple of the Kaaba, was ever present to his mind. When the -Jews, by their disdainful rejection of his advances, had turned his -friendship into implacable hatred, he changed the kebla of prayer -from Jerusalem to Mecca, clearly indicating thereby, that, whatever -might be the merits of Medina, the holy city of the Kaaba stood still -foremost in his affections. As soon as he had firmly established -his empire over Medina, and some powerful tribes of the desert, and -had destroyed or expelled the Jewish tribes of the Kainoka, the -Nadhirites, and the Koraidha,[31] he projected a scheme for the -conquest of Mecca, (towards the end of 627). Conscious that his -power was not yet sufficiently great to prevail by force of arms, he -craftily disguised his expedition against the city of his birth, in -the form of a peaceful and pious pilgrimage. Seventy camels, chosen -and bedecked for sacrifice, preceded the van of his host of 1400 -picked men. The captives who fell into his hands, in his advance to -the territory of the sacred city, were dismissed without ransom, to -carry to the Koreish the solemn assurance of his peaceful intentions. -All that the good man wanted, was to be permitted to enter the city, -with his 1400 armed followers, to sacrifice the camels which he -had brought with him for the purpose, and to perform the customary -seven circumambulations round the Kaaba. Of course, had the Koreish -conceded these points, the rest would have been a task of easy -accomplishment. But the Koreish had had opportunities sufficient to -know the crafty tongue and the false heart of the son of Abdallah. -They encountered him, therefore, in the plain, within a day’s journey -of the city, with such numbers and with such resolution, that he was -fain to abandon his purpose for the time, and even to consent to the -conclusion of a ten years’ truce, with the Koreish and their allies. -In the treaty drawn up to that effect,[32] he, the infallible -prophet of God, the favored mortal raised by the Divine will to an -equality with the cherubim and seraphim in the heavenly hierarchy, -the trusted leader who had solemnly promised his believing followers, -a triumphal entry into the stronghold of the most formidable and -most dreaded of the enemies of Islam,--was obliged even to waive -the title of Apostle of God, and to figure as plain Mohammed Abul -Kasem. Still the Koreish granted him, for the ensuing year, the -privilege of entering the city unarmed and as a friend, and of -remaining three days to accomplish the rites of the pilgrimage--a -fatal mistake on their part, and which they might have foreseen one -so crafty as Mohammed would turn to excellent account. For the time -being, however, the authority of the pretended prophet of God was -considerably shaken, and some of the newly converted Bedoween tribes -showed symptoms of disaffection. The successful campaign against -Chaibar revived the faith and courage of his followers, and restored -the wavering loyalty of the wandering tribes. - -After the conquest of Chaibar, Mohammed sent six embassies with -letters to the neighbouring princes, calling upon them to embrace -the religion of Islam: the seal of the letter bore the inscription, -“Mohammed, the Apostle of God.” The Greek emperor, HERACLIUS, -returning in triumph from the Persian war, received and entertained -one of these ambassadors with great urbanity at Emesa. KOBAD II., -of Persia (SIROES)[33] tore the letter, and dismissed the envoy -with ignominy. MOKAWKAS, the Byzantine governor of Memphis, a born -Egyptian, and a Jacobite or Monophysite[34] in religion; and who, in -the disorder of the Persian war, had aspired to independence, and -thereby exposed himself to the resentment of Heraclius, declined, -indeed, the proposal of a new religion, but accompanied his refusal -with flattering compliments and with gifts; among other, two Coptic -damsels, one of whom, Mary, became the favorite concubine of the -prophet, to whom she bore a son, Ibrahim, who died, however, at the -tender age of fifteen months. The King of Abyssinia also returned a -polite answer. But HARIS, governor of Damascus, threatened war upon -the presumptuous Arabian; and AMRU, prince of Gassan, a vassal of the -Byzantine emperor, put the envoy to death, for which outrage Mohammed -sent afterwards an army into Syria, with what results we shall see -hereafter. - -According to the stipulations of the treaty of Hodaibeh, Mohammed was -permitted to perform, towards the end of 628, at the head of a body -of pious pilgrims, his three days’ devotion in the Kaaba; the Koreish -retiring, meanwhile, to the hills. After the customary sacrifice, -he evacuated the city on the fourth day; but in this short space of -time, he had succeeded in sowing the seeds of division between the -hostile chiefs, and to gain over to his cause KALED and AMROU, or -AMRU, the future conquerors of Syria and Egypt. The interdiction of -wine, and of dice and lotteries, falls in this period. - -It was after the return from this pilgrimage, that he sent an army -of 3000 Moslems against Amru, prince of Gassan, and the Greeks. The -army was led by ZEID, Mohammed’s freedman and one of his earliest -disciples. At Muta, three days’ journey from Jerusalem, they met the -Gassanides and the Greeks: a fierce and bloody battle ensued; Zeid -fell fighting in the foremost ranks; the holy banner, which escaped -from his relaxing grasp, was seized by JAAFAR, the leader appointed -by Mohammed to succeed Zeid, in the event of the decease of the -latter. Jaafar’s right hand was severed from his body by the sword -of a Roman soldier; he shifted the standard to the left hand: this -met the same fate; he embraced the holy banner with the bleeding -stumps, and thus upheld it, till the tide of life ebbed away from -fifty wounds. The vacant place was as worthily filled by ABDALLAH, -the second successor appointed by the prophet in case of accident. -He also fell, transfixed by the lance of a Roman. The battle was -lost, the flower of the Moslem host annihilated, and the ambitions -dreams of empire were dispelled at the very time when they seemed -to promise fairest,--had not KALED, the recent convert of Mecca, at -this critical juncture, rescued the falling standard, and assumed the -command, with the same bravery as his predecessors, but with still -greater prowess, and with greater success. Nine swords were broken -in his hand; and every enemy that dared to approach him, was made to -bite the dust by his invincible arm. Night put an end to the contest: -in the nocturnal council of the camp, Kaled was chosen, or rather -confirmed, leader of the gallant band of warriors, who had survived -the carnage of the day. Death had been fearfully busy in the ranks of -the Moslems; and the Greeks, though awed by the valor of Kaled, had -still an immense superiority of number in their favor. Kaled wisely -resolved, therefore, to save the wreck of his forces by a skilful -retreat. His admirable combinations, and the dread inspired by his -prowess, rescued the host of the faithful believers of Islam from -all but certain destruction; and the well-earned gratitude of the -prophet bestowed upon the hero of Muta, the glorious appellation of -the “Sword of God,” a name destined after to ring many a time and oft -as the knell of doom in the ears of the affrighted Christians. - -Mohammed had never ceased to meditate the conquest of Mecca, and his -power was now, indeed, sufficiently great and solid to promise an -easy accomplishment of this, the darling object of his ambition; but -the ten years’ truce seemed an obstacle which it would not be easy to -surmount. Notwithstanding, however, he silently prepared the means -to carry his plans against the city of his birth into execution, -should a favorable opportunity offer. The reverse which his forces -had suffered at Muta, impelled the Koreish to furnish him with -the desired pretext; they attacked one of the tribes confederated -with Mohammed. Ten thousand soldiers were speedily gathered round -the banner of the prophet, and led by him against the offending -city. A rapid and secret march brought them almost within sight of -Mecca, before the Koreish had the least notion of their approach. -Unprepared as they were, it would have been sheer madness to contend -against the overwhelming forces which now encompassed the city of -the Kaaba: they resolved therefore to throw themselves upon the -clemency of their triumphant exile. On the 11th of January, 630, -the haughty chief of the house of Ommiyah presented the keys of the -city; and confessed, under the scymitar of Omar, that the son of -Abdallah was the apostle of the true God. The patriotic attachment -which Mohammed unquestionably bore the city of his birth, and -political considerations of a high order, stayed the avenging hand -of the victorious outcast. Kaled had, indeed, slain twenty-eight of -the inhabitants, ere the potent command of the prophet to spare the -vanquished, could restrain his ruthless arm; but Mohammed blamed -the cruelty of his lieutenant, and, though he proscribed eleven men -and six women, few only were put to death by him. Among these was -ABDOLUSA, who, after having embraced the faith of Islam, had relapsed -into idolatry. ABDALLAH, once the secretary of Mohammed, and who -had been employed by him to note down the fragmentary revelations -imparted by Gabriel, had a narrow escape. The clear-sighted man had -seen through the shallow imposture palmed upon the people by the -pretended apostle; and he had imprudently boasted, that he also might -claim the name and rank of a prophet, considering that he had it in -his power to change, or to suppress, the holy revelations dictated to -him by Mohammed. To escape the vengeance of his offended master, he -had fled to Mecca, where he had, however, still continued to provoke -his resentment by exposing and ridiculing his ignorance. When Mecca -was taken, Abdallah fell prostrate at the feet of Mohammed, and -implored his pardon. Othman, Abdallah’s foster-brother, entreated the -prophet to spare the life of the humble penitent, a request which was -at last most reluctantly granted, Mohammed declaring that he had so -long hesitated, to allow time for some zealous disciple to strike the -kneeling apostate dead at his feet.[35] The poet, HUIRES, paid the -penalty of his satires on the Apostle of God: but SOHEIR more wisely -purchased, not only forgiveness, but a rich reward in the bargain, -by one of the grossest and most extravagant pieces of adulation that -ever proceeded even from an Oriental pen. - -The Koreish and the other inhabitants of Mecca, professed the -religion of Islam, and acknowledged the temporal and spiritual -supremacy of the prophet. The 360 idols of the Kaaba were -ignominiously broken; Mohammed assisting with his own hands, in the -work of destruction, nay, even lending his august shoulders for Ali -to mount upon, to accomplish the overthrow of some idols placed a -little above ordinary reach. This meritorious feat was performed on -a Friday; which day was, therefore, henceforward appointed by the -prophet as the holy day of Islam. - -But it was by no means the intention of Mohammed to despoil the -city of his birth, of the lucrative trade in religion to which it -had hitherto been mainly indebted for its pre-eminence among the -cities of Arabia. The people of Mecca were agreeably disappointed, -when they beheld the Prophet of God solemnly consecrating again the -purified Kaaba, and performing the customary circumambulations and -sacrifices as of old. They were readily reconciled to the belief in a -sole Deity, since their astute townsman assigned a local habitation -on earth to the idea of the God whom he commanded them and the -nations of the world to worship, and placed this habitation within -the walls of their own city. Even the black stone was not forgotten -by the crafty politician: his reverential touch cleansed it from the -pollution of ages of idolatry, and restored it to the pristine purity -and holiness of Gabriel’s celestial gift to Abraham; and to crown -all, he still heightened the sanctity of the holy city, by enacting -a perpetual law that no unbeliever should ever dare to set his foot -within its sacred precincts. - -The conquest of Mecca secured Mohammed the allegiance of many of -the Bedoween tribes, who, troubling themselves but little about -religious opinions and controversies, readily gave their adhesion -to the cause which the gods seemed to prosper. But some of the most -important tribes of Hejaz, and more especially the people of Tayef, -persisted in their idolatry, and a great confederacy was formed -among them to break the power of Mohammed. The prophet resolved to -meet the threatening danger; he collected a host of 12,000 men, -well-armed and well-appointed; the confederates had not one-half the -number to oppose him. But the skilful tactics of the pagans, and the -overweening confidence of the Mussulmans, brought the apostle and -his new faith to the verge of ruin. Having incautiously descended -into the valley of HONAIN, the Moslems were suddenly attacked on all -sides by the archers and slingers of the enemy, who occupied the -heights; the ranks of the faithful were thrown into confusion by -the unexpected and fierce onset of the foe; and the stoutest hearts -among them quailed, when they saw themselves caught as in a net. -The Koreish secretly rejoiced at the impending destruction of their -conquerors, and even prepared to go over to the enemy. All seemed -lost;--despairing of victory, the prophet, seeking a glorious death, -urged his white mule against the wall of spears that encompassed -him: his faithful followers dragged him back, and covered him with -their persons from the thrusts and darts aimed at his breast. Three -of these devoted followers fell dead at his feet;--but the moment of -weak despair was past, and soon the thunder of his voice was heard -again, reanimating the sinking courage of the Moslems, and striking -terror into the hearts of the idolators. The Koreish forgot their -treacherous intentions; the flying Mussulmans returned from all -sides to the holy standard; and the attacks of the enemy were now -everywhere vigorously repulsed. Defeat was changed into victory, and -a merciless slaughter of the conquered and flying pagans, avenged -the temporary disgrace of the followers of Islam. From the field -of Honain, Mohammed marched without delay to Tayef, the centre and -stronghold of the confederacy. He laid siege to that fortress; but -the desperate valor of the inhabitants defeated all his efforts to -effect its reduction; and after twenty days spent before it, he -deemed it the wisest course to rest satisfied for the time with the -victory of Honain, and not to court the chances of an inglorious -defeat. He, therefore, raised the siege, and marched back to Mecca. -In his operations against Tayef, he gave an instance of how cheap he -held his own laws and precepts, where they happened to clash with -his interests: he ordered the extirpation of all the fruit trees in -the fertile lands round the city. - -In the division of the rich spoils of the expedition of Honain, he -acted with consummate skill. Instead of excluding the Koreish from -their share, to punish them for their ambiguous conduct during the -campaign, he bestowed double measure upon them; the most disaffected -of them all, Abu Sophian, being presented with no less than three -hundred camels and twenty ounces of silver: no wonder, then, that -that rapacious chief and his followers should have, henceforth, -become sincere adherents to so profitable a creed. The old companions -in arms of the prophet were reconciled to this manifest injustice -in the distribution of the spoil, by artful flatteries and promises -of heavenly rewards: his own share of the plunder (one-fifth) he -assigned to the soldiers.[36] - -Although he had failed to reduce Tayef, yet by the extirpation of -the fruit trees he had struck a severe blow against the people of -that city; the fortifications had been considerably injured by the -battering rams and the mining operations, so that there was ample -reason to dread the event of a renewal of the siege. The people -of Tayef resolved, therefore, to sue for peace; their deputies -endeavoured to obtain favorable conditions, and, at least, the -toleration of their ancient worship, though even only for a short -period. Mohammed would not concede them even one day; at last they -simply entreated to be excused from the obligation of prayer to the -God of Islam; in vain: Mohammed was inexorable, and Tayef at length -submitted to the harsh conditions imposed by the prophet. The idols -were broken, their temples demolished, and all the tribes of Hejaz -acknowledged the supreme rule of the son of Abdallah. The ruler -of BAHREIN, the King of OMAN, and the King of the BENI GASSAN, in -Syria, confessed the God of Mohammed, and submitted to the sway of -the prophet. Yemen also, and the rest of the peninsula, was reduced -to obedience by his victorious lieutenants, and the ambassadors who -knelt before the throne of Medina, (631, hence called the year of the -embassies), were, in the words of the Arabian proverb, “as numerous -as the dates that fall from the palm-tree in the season of ripeness.” - -Absolute master of the whole of Arabia, the son of Abdallah resolved -to subject Syria also to his sway; he solemnly declared war against -the Empire of the East, and summoned the faithful to the holy -standard. But the prospect of the difficulties and hardships of a -march through the desert, during the intolerable heat of the summer, -and, perhaps also, the recollection of Muta, discouraged the Moslems; -and the most urgent solicitations of the apostle were disregarded, -or met by more or less cogent excuses. Still the great champions of -the faith, Ali, Omar, Othman, Kaled, Amru, Abu Bekr, Abu Obeidah, -Abbas,[37] and many others, attended by trains of devoted followers, -gathered round the prophet, and enabled him thus to take the field, -at the head of ten thousand horse and twenty thousand foot.[38] After -one of the most distressing marches through the desert, the Moslem -host was compelled to halt midway near TABUC, ten days’ journey -from Medina and Damascus. The hardships endured had considerably -cooled the ardor of the faithful, and wisely declining to engage -the disciplined forces of the Eastern empire with his wearied and -dispirited followers, Mohammed contented himself with inviting -the Greek Emperor once more to embrace his religion, and retired -to Arabia; leaving a body of picked men, under the command of the -intrepid Kaled, to prosecute the war. The valor and activity of that -leader secured the submission of the tribes and cities from the -Euphrates to Ailah, at the head of the Red Sea. Mohammed returned to -Medina, where he pronounced a sentence of excommunication for fifty -days against those who had been the most disobedient to his call. He -then prepared for a great pilgrimage to Mecca, which he accomplished -in the early part of 632, attended by 60,000 Moslems.[39] In this, -his last visit to the city of his birth, he gave a great number of -laws and precepts; and, among others, the interdiction of the private -revenge of murder and other injuries. - -It has already been stated, that Mohammed’s health had been declining -ever since the campaign of Chaibar, (see page 34, note); yet such -was the strength and vigor of his constitution, that up to the time -of his last and fatal illness, he remained equal to the physical and -mental fatigues of his mission. However, soon after his return from -the last pilgrimage to Mecca, he fell ill of an inflammatory fever, -with occasional fits of delirium, which he endeavoured to combat -by frequent affusions with cold water. When he became conscious of -the fatal nature of his illness, he laid himself out to die, as -an accomplished actor, like Octavianus Augustus. Leaning on his -cousin and son-in-law, Ali,[40] and on his uncle, Abbas, or the son -of the latter, Fadl, he dragged himself to the mosque to perform -the functions of public prayer: from the pulpit he called upon his -subjects freely and boldly to state any grievance that any one of -them might have suffered at his hands, and to prefer any just claims -against his estate. A safe challenge indeed: the victims of his lust -of power and revenge were laid in their graves, and could not appear -against him _there_; nor could _they_ prefer any claim against his -estate, who had been despoiled by him or his lieutenants, in their -predatory expeditions. No wonder then that the immaculate justice and -piety of the Apostle of God, were fully attested by the silence of -the congregation in presence of this challenge,--excepting a paltry -claim of three drachms of silver, which was, of course, at once duly -settled by Mohammed, with a profusion of thanks into the bargain, -that the “creditor” had rather demanded payment in this world, than -waited to accuse him at the judgment-seat of God! - -Up to the third day before his death, he continued to perform the -function of public prayer; on that day his strength failed him, and -he deputed Abu Bekr in his place, which was afterwards skilfully -laid hold of by the latter and Ayesha, to found a claim to the -successorship in the sacerdotal and regal office, in favor of Abu -Bekr, to the prejudice of Ali. - -He then made his last dispositions, enfranchised his slaves, -(seventeen men and eleven women), had alms distributed to the poor of -Medina, and minutely directed the order of his funeral. He expressed -a desire to dictate to his secretary a new divine book, the sum -and accomplishment of all his revelations, and which, according to -Mohammed’s convenient maxim, would have superseded the authority of -the Koran, in all points in which its teachings might happen to clash -with the rules and precepts laid down in the latter. As Mohammed had -preached an eternal and immutable God, and had declared the substance -of the Koran to be uncreated and eternal, the gross absurdity of -attempting a new, revised, and amended edition of it, could not fail -to strike the more rational among his disciples. They, with Omar at -their head, firmly refused, therefore, to consent to the prophet’s -anxiously expressed wish--a curious comment on the sincerity of their -professed conviction of his divine mission, and his communings with -the messenger of heaven, and for which, their _assumed_ belief that -his mental faculties were, at the time, impaired by the effects of -illness, afforded but an indifferent apology. Be this however as it -may, the point was vehemently discussed between them and the more -devout followers of the prophet; and the dispute, which was carried -on in the chamber of the dying man, rose at last to such a pitch, -that Mohammed reluctantly desisting from his desire, was forced to -reprove the indecent vehemence of the disputants on either side. - -Even to the last moment of his life, Mohammed consistently carried -out his system of deception. He told his friends about him, that -he had received a last visit of Gabriel, who had now bidden an -everlasting farewell to the earth. In a familiar discourse, he had -once boasted of the peculiar and exclusive prerogative granted -to him, that the angel of death should respectfully solicit his -permission before he was to be allowed to take his soul. When he -felt the near approach of his dissolution, he calmly informed the -Moslem chiefs assembled round him, that the Great Destroyer had -just preferred his request, and that he, Mohammed, had granted the -permission asked! Stretched on a carpet spread upon the floor, and -with his head reclining on the lap of Ayesha, the best beloved of his -wives, he expired on the 7th day of June, 632.[41] His last words -were: “O God!... pardon my sins.... Yes, ... I come, ... among my -fellow-citizens on high.” - -His death dismayed his followers; the more fanatical among them -could not bring themselves to believe in the actual departure of his -spirit from this world. The idea of a trance, or of a resurrection -after a few days’ apparent death, found ready credence with them. -Omar, unsheathing his scymitar, threatened to strike off the heads -of the infidels who should dare to affirm that the prophet was no -more!--a curious comment upon his refusal to allow the dying prophet -to re-write the Koran. At last, Abu Bekr succeeded in making them -listen to reason: “Is it Mohammed,” he said, “or Mohammed’s God whom -you worship? Has not the apostle himself predicted that he should -experience the common fate of mortality?” This calm and rational -address had the desired effect; the death of the prophet was admitted -by all, and his body was piously interred by the hands of Ali, on the -same spot on which he expired, and which is now surrounded by the -great mosque of Medina. The story of the hanging coffin at Mecca is a -vulgar and puerile invention, not worth the trouble of refutation. - -I have been led by the superior importance and interest which attach -to the subject, to extend this chapter, perhaps, considerably beyond -the limits compatible with the nature and size of the present work; -still I cannot abstain from adding a short sketch of Mohammed’s -habits of life, and a few brief remarks on the Koran. - -In his domestic life and intercourse, Mohammed was most simple -and unassuming. The ruler of Arabia fed usually upon barley bread -and dates; water was his ordinary drink, though he delighted, and -occasionally indulged, in the taste of milk and honey; he never -drank wine. The powerful chieftain who could command the services -of thousands, did not disdain performing the menial offices of the -household: he kindled the fire, swept the floor, milked the ewes, and -mended with his own hands, his shoes and his woollen garment (the -use of silk he rejected as too effeminate); nor was it an uncommon -circumstance to see the Apostle of God barefoot. He slept on the -bare ground, or on a carpet or straw mat spread upon the floor. He -always performed, with the most rigorous strictness, the prayers -and ablutions enjoined by the Koran. With the regal and sacerdotal -office, he had assumed the reserve and austerity that befitted -his high position; yet he would occasionally unbend in the circle -of his friends, when he enchanted all around him by the graceful, -though dignified, affability of his manners, and the charms of his -conversation. He was passionately fond of fairy tales. He delighted -in perfumes and cats, which latter partiality he shared with one of -his cotemporaries, the learned Abu Horaira, who gained for himself -the surname of “the father of a cat.” His hair, beard, and eyebrows, -were the objects of his most anxious care and solicitude; he dyed -them with considerable skill, a glossy light-chesnut color. - -He was most passionately addicted to the fair sex: in the indulgence -of his amorous desires, he set his own laws at nought. The Arabians -had enjoyed, from time immemorial, an unbounded licence of polygamy; -the Koran limited the number of legitimate wives or concubines -to _four_, the prophet had _seventeen_ wives; but then, Gabriel -had descended with a special revelation, dispensing the favored -apostle from the laws which he had imposed on the nation. ZEINEB, -the beautiful wife of ZEID, his freedman and adopted son, excited -his desire. The grateful husband consented to a divorce, and the -prophet added her to the number of his wives; but as the filial -relation in which the young woman stood to Mohammed, even though -only by adoption, was likely to produce some scandal, and to -raise some scruples in the minds of the faithful, the complaisant -Gabriel descended with another verse of the Koran, appropriate to -the occasion. Again, in the case of Mary, the Egyptian slave, the -indefatigable angel was at hand to oblige the Apostle of God. Had -Mohammed liked wine, there can be no doubt, but that Gabriel would -have been ready with another verse of the Koran, to dispense the -prophet from the restriction imposed upon all other mortals. A -better proof than the nature of these successive “revelations,” so -entirely subservient to the gratification of his passions, could not -well be adduced, to show that Mohammed was not, as some good-natured -historians would fain believe him to have been, the enthusiastic dupe -of his own illusions, but simply a cool and calculating politician, -who made the institution of a new religious system the basis and -engine of his power and dominion; most probably, sincerely believing -also, that he was really conferring an immense boon upon his people. -His vengeful and sanguinary disposition, has been already fully -exposed in the narration of his life. The impartiality of history -relieves those darker touches in the picture of Mohammed’s character, -by a trait of unaffected humanity. His decree that, in the sale of -captives, mothers should never be separated from their children, may -well, as Gibbon says, moderate the censure of the historian. How -the thousands of hapless negro mothers that have had their children -ruthlessly torn from their arms in _Christian_ America, would bless -the memory of the Arabian legislator, could that humane decree of his -find force and application in the Western Hemisphere! - -The KORAN is the sacred book of Islam; the successive “revelations” -imparted to Mohammed, were diligently recorded by his disciples -on palm-leaves, skins, and the shoulder-bones of mutton; and the -fragments, or “pages,” were thrown into a domestic chest, in the -custody of one of Mohammed’s wives. In 634, these fragments were -collected and published by Abu Bekr; the sacred volume was revised -by the Khalif Othman, in 651. It consists of 114 chapters (SURATS, -_i.e._ stages or degrees), of very unequal lengths, and jumbled -together without chronological order, or systematic arrangement. -The chapters are made up of plagiarisms from the Bible, rabbinical -and apocryphal legends, religious and moral precepts, descriptions -of the joys of paradise and the torments of hell, declamations -and rhapsodies. The style is, for the most part, inflated, rarely -poetical, never sublime; yet Mohammed had the cool audacity to -rest the truth of his mission on the incomparable merit of the -Koran, as an intellectual, linguistic, and poetical performance. -He blasphemously asserted, that God alone could have penned, or -dictated, its divine contents; as no human, nor even an angelic -intelligence, could possibly have conceived anything like them!!! - -The dogmatic part of the Koran (the IMAN), comprises the two articles -of faith, viz., the belief in one God, and in his prophet Mohammed; -and the four practical duties of Islam, viz., prayer, ablutions, -fasting, and alms-giving: these duties are reduced to the level -of mere mechanical performances, without one atom of spontaneity -about them, and are looked upon by most Mohammedans as irksome -tasks, which must be accomplished, however, to secure the reward -of paradise; the formal permission granted to supply with sand the -scarcity of water, so that the prescribed lustration of the hands, -the face, and the body may be practised even in the arid desert, -shows how little capable the legislator must have been to conceive -and comprehend the true spirit and intention of his own ordinances. -The Koran pronounces--of course: is there a religion that does -not?--sentence of eternal damnation against all unbelievers; it -imagines a gradation of seven inconveniently hot places, of which the -highest and least uncomfortable is, of course, appropriated for the -exclusive use of Mohammedans who have been lacking in piety during -their mortal career; according to the less or greater gravity of -their respective offences, they are condemned to remain denizens of -this the mildest of the seven hells, for periods varying from 900 to -9000 years, after which they are admitted to the joys of paradise. -The place immediately beneath this purgatorial hell is assigned to -the Christians; the hell next to this is allotted to the Jews, -whom the prophet of Islam would indeed gladly have sent down lower, -had he dared to treat monotheists worse than idolators; the Sabians -inhabit the fourth, the Magians the fifth, the gross idolators the -sixth hell; the deepest and hottest hell is destined to receive -hypocrites in religion, and may therefore safely be assumed to be of -larger dimensions and infinitely greater capacity than the other six -together. The paradise of the Koran abounds in groves, fountains, -and rivers; the blessed Moslems who are permitted to enter its gates -will dwell in palaces of marble, eat artificial dainties and luscious -fruits presented in dishes of gold, drink rich wines,[42] dress in -robes of silk, adorned with pearls and diamonds, and have a numerous -retinue of attendants; and above all, each Moslem will enjoy the -society and possession of seventy-two Houris, or black-eyed girls, -of resplendent beauty, blooming youth, virgin purity, and exquisite -sensibility--rather a pleasant picture for a sensual people like the -Arabians. To the female sex also the gates of paradise are open; -but the privileges and enjoyments which may await the ladies of the -Mohammedan faith, are not specified in the Koran. Still, we must not -be unjust: above the vulgar joys and sensual pleasures borrowed from -this world, Mohammed places the delights of familiar conversation -with the sages, and he expressly declares that all meaner happiness -will be forgotten and despised by the saints and martyrs who shall be -permitted to behold the face of God. - -Mohammed’s assertion that the Koran was the production of the -highest intelligence, and comprised within it the knowledge of all -times, has, ever since the establishment of his creed, proved a bar -to the intellectual culture and progress of his people and of the -other nations who were induced or compelled to adopt his faith; his -interdiction to reproduce the human face and form on canvas or in -marble, or any other material, and which with singular poverty of -invention he had devised as the only possible check to idolatry, has -had the natural effect to suppress and extinguish in the Moslem -nations the love of the fine arts. True, when conquest had placed the -wealth of empires at the disposal of the sons of the Desert, many -of Mohammed’s followers could not resist the natural longing after -the treasures and enjoyments of science, art, and literature; and -indeed the republic of letters is vastly indebted to many of them -for their labors and researches in various fields of human lore, -more especially in geography, history, philosophy, medicine, natural -philosophy, chemistry, mathematics, and above all, arithmetic, -algebra, geometry, and astronomy. But then, as A. W. VON SCHLEGEL, -says, “All this was done, as it were, behind the back of the prophet, -and the votaries of art, science, and literature, among the Arabians -must, from a Koranic point of view, be regarded in the light of -free-thinkers.” - -The ritual of the faith of Islam, and the interdictions decreed by -the prophet, have been already incidentally touched upon in various -parts of this chapter; we have therefore simply to add here that the -Koran commands every faithful Moslem to visit, at feast once in his -life, the holy city of Mecca, and the Kaaba. - -One great redeeming feature of the religion of Islam was that it was -originally destitute of a priesthood, and repudiated monachism; the -_Ulemas_ were simply intended to be the expounders and interpreters -of the law. - -On Friday, the appointed day of public worship, when the faithful are -assembled in the mosque, any respectable elder may ascend the pulpit -to begin the prayer and pronounce the sermon: there is no need of a -duly appointed priest. But, unfortunately, the Ulemas and Imams of -the present day act very much in the capacity of an actual clergy: -and there is indeed no great difference between fakirs and dervishes -and Roman Catholic monks. - -The Koran contains also the civil and criminal code of the -Mussulmans; the punishments decreed in it for injuries, offences, and -crimes are mostly based upon the principle of retaliation. - -Briefly to sum up: though it must be admitted that the religion of -Islam, calmly and dispassionately examined by the light of reason, -contains, by the side of the grossest absurdities, the most palpable -falsehoods, and the veriest rubbish, much also that is true and -of sterling worth; and that it has exercised a certain civilising -influence over the barbarous nations to whom it was first preached, -yet few only will venture to deny that it lacks altogether the -higher and most essential qualities of a universal faith. Even the -basis whereon it rests, the great eternal truth of a sole Deity, is -tarnished and clouded in it by the companionship which it is forced -to bear to a miserable fiction placed by the side of it, and with -equal attributes. There are some few, strange though it may appear, -who almost regret that the victorious career of the Moslems should -have been checked by LEO THE ISAURIAN and by CHARLES MARTEL. What -would have become of Europe--what of civilisation, had the Moslems -conquered? Let the admirers of Islam look at the state of the -Mussulman nations of the present day: the fruit shows the quality of -the tree. It is also a favorite argument with historians and others, -to point to the _numbers_ of believers in Islam, and to the twelve -centuries that the Mohammedan faith has endured, as convincing proofs -of the _truth_ of that creed, or, at all events, of a preponderating -amount of truth in it. If arguments of this kind are to apply, the -Mormon faith also may claim admission among the “received” creeds; -and the names of Joe Smith and Brigham Young may be expected, in -the course of fifty years or so, to figure among the “prophets and -apostles of religion.” - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] See Genesis, x. 25. EBER signifies a nomadic shepherd, one -leading a roving pastoral life; it signifies, also, in Hebrew, -_beyond_, _yon-side_, _the other side_: hence the name HEBREW, or -EBREW, has been supposed also to be intended to designate immigrants -into Canaan or Palestine from beyond the Euphrates. - -[2] A species of millet, which compensates to some extent the -scarcity of European grains. - -[3] “The Arabian tribes are equally addicted to commerce and rapine,” -as Pliny has it. - -[4] True, in the Arabic tongue the meaning of the words, of which the -name _Saracens_ may be compounded, will bear out the signification of -an _Oriental situation_. But the _western_ position of the Saracen -tribe mentioned by Ptolemy, negatives the assumption of the Arabic -origin of the word as applied in this sense. As Gibbon sagaciously -remarks, the appellation being imposed by strangers, its meaning must -be sought, not in the Arabic, but in a foreign language. - -[5] It would even appear that the confusion consequent upon the death -of the great Macedonian, and upon the feuds and struggles for empire -among his generals, was taken advantage of by the princes in the -north of Arabia, to extend their dominion beyond the frontier of the -peninsula. From the earliest times the wandering tribes had been in -the habit, more particularly during the scarcity of winter, to extort -the dangerous license of encamping on the skirts of Mesopotamia, -Syria, and Egypt, and had often extended their incursions to the -very heart of Chaldæa, or Babylonia (Irak). They now took formal -possession of a part of the latter country (hence called to the -present day IRAK-ARABI), and established in it a new Arabian state, -the kingdom of HIRA. Tribes from Yemen emigrated to the territory of -Syria, and established the state of GASSAN, in the country north of -Damascus. We must not omit to mention, however, that some historians -place the establishment of the states of Hira and Gassan at a much -later period. - -[6] So named from Makkabi, i.e., _the hammer_; the appellation -bestowed upon Judas, the liberator of the Jews from the Syrian yoke. - -[7] DUNAAN, prince of the Homerites, had been gained over to the -Mosaic faith by the Jewish exiles who had found an asylum in Yemen. -The new proselyte carried on a most vigorous persecution of the -Christians in his dominions, and more particularly in the city of -Negra, or Nag’ran, (situated between Saana and Mecca). The Christian -king of Abyssinia, who preferred an hereditary claim to the crown of -Yemen, as a descendant of BALKIS, Queen of Sheba, came to the rescue -of his oppressed fellow-believers, and speedily deprived the Jewish -proselyte of crown and life. He allied himself also with the Emperor -Justinian for the overthrow of the Persian power; but he failed -in his subsequent enterprise, and found himself incapable even of -defending his Arabian conquests, which were wrested from him by the -revolt and usurpation of ABRAHAH, once the slave of a Roman merchant -of Adulis. The payment of a slight tribute alone acknowledged the -supremacy of the Ethiopian prince. After a long and prosperous reign, -the power of Abrahah was overthrown before the gates of Mecca, by -Abdul Motalleb, the grandfather of Mohammed; and his children were -finally despoiled by Chosroes Nushirvan, of Persia. - -[8] The Axumites, or Abyssinians, were, most probably, originally a -colony of Arabs who had settled in Africa. - -[9] The same independence from the yoke of a foreign ruler is still -preserved to the present day by the Arabians. The Sultan of Turkey -exercises but a nominal sovereignty over Hedjaz and Neged; and the -rise and exploits of that formidable sect of religious reformers, -the WAHABYS, during the latter half of the last and in the present -century, indicate sufficiently that it may only require the -appearance of a great man among the Arabs, or the occurrence of some -great event, to unite the wild sons of the desert once more into a -mighty nation that may make its influence felt in the destinies of -the world. Had not Egypt’s great ruler, Mehemet Ali, and his warlike -son Ibrahim, stemmed for a time the progress, and crippled the power -of the Wahabys, who knows but that the champion of Greek orthodoxy -might have found his present ambitious projects opposed by a fiercer -and more formidable antagonist than the effete race of Osman? - -[10] Called MEDJID-EL-HARAM, i.e., the holy Mosch. - -[11] A visible point of the horizon. - -[12] Gibbon. - -[13] The constant repetition of this act of pious devotion by so many -myriads of pilgrims has had the effect of rendering the surface of -the stone quite uneven. - -[14] Gibbon. - -[15] It was in the time when Abdol Motalleb held the sacerdotal -office that Mecca was invested by an army of Africans, under the -command of the Christian usurper of Yemen, Abrahah, the nominal -vassal of the Abyssinian Negus. The valor of the Koreishites, or -perhaps the want of provisions, compelled the investing host to -a disgraceful retreat, and broke the power of the Abyssinians so -effectually that the kingdom of Yemen became soon after an easy prey -to the victorious arms of the great Chosroes of Persia. Had the -_Christian_ Abrahah prevailed, the early feeble efforts of Mohammed -to propagate his new doctrine would certainly have been crushed in -the bud, and the fate of the world would have been changed. - -[16] Sabianism, though also based upon the adoration of the heavenly -bodies, must not be confounded with the primitive and simple faith of -the Arabians in the sun, the moon, and the stars; it was of a much -more complex and recondite nature. - -[17] Some historians assign the year 569, others 570 (10th November), -as the date of Mahomet’s birth. The date given in the text is, -however, supported by the greater weight of historic authorities. - -[18] This Syrian city has been most strangely confounded by -many historians with Bassora, or Basra, on the Shat-el-Arab, in -Irak-Arabi. The latter city was only founded in 636, A.D., by -the Khalif Omar, which makes the mistake the more glaring and -inexplicable. - -[19] Some historians make Mohammed at the age of fourteen fight in -defence of the Kaaba, which a hostile tribe threatened to snatch from -the custody of the Koreish. They relate, also, how, at a later period -of his life, when the Kaaba, having been tumbled down by a formidable -torrent of rain, was rebuilding, the honor of fixing the sacred black -stone in the wall devolved upon him; and they endeavour to trace a -kind of causal connection between these incidents in the earlier -life of Mohammed and the religious bias of his later years. But the -_facts_ relied upon here partake too much of the nature of _fiction_, -to make these speculative notions of much moment. Before his marriage -with Cadijah, Mohammed was in a humble and dependent position; and -from the time of his marriage up to when he took upon himself the -apostolic office, he was simply a wealthy but obscure citizen. - -[20] Here, again, historians have sent Mohammed on a great many -journeys through Syria, Irak-Arabi, and to the adjoining provinces of -Persia and the Eastern Empire. They make him visit the courts, the -camps, and the temples of the East, and hold converse with princes, -bishops, and priests, more particularly with the Christian monks -Bahira, Sergius, and Nestor. An attentive study of the historic -sources at our command, and a careful examination of the life and -writings of Mohammed, tend to negative altogether the truth of these -pretended journeys and visits, which look very much like fictions got -up by imaginative historians to supply some plausible explanation of -the origin of Mohammed’s pretended mission--an explanation which may -be found much nearer home, as I shall endeavour to show in the text. -Here I will simply add that Mohammed, with all his talent, genius, -and eloquence, was, like the immense majority of his fellow-citizens, -an illiterate barbarian, who had not even been taught to read and -write, and was totally unacquainted with any but his native tongue, -and not likely, therefore, to profit much from converse with other -nations. - -[21] The assertion that Mohammed was subject to epileptic fits is -a base invention of the Greeks, who would seem to _impute_ that -morbid affection to the apostle of a novel creed as a stain upon -his moral character deserving the reprobation and abhorrence of -the Christian world. Surely, these malignant bigots might have -reflected that if Mohammed had really been afflicted with that dread -disorder, Christian charity ought to have commanded them to pity his -misfortune, rather than rejoice over it or pretend to regard it in -the light of a sign of Divine wrath. - -[22] _Sonna_, custom or rule; the _oral law_ of the Mohammedans,--or, -more correctly speaking, of the four orthodox sects of the -Sonnites--a collection of 7275 traditions of the sayings and doings -of Mohammed, made about 200 years after the Hegira, by Al Bochari, -who selected them from a mass of three hundred thousand reports of a -more doubtful or spurious character. - -[23] The so-called MARIANITES are even stated to have attempted the -introduction of a heretical trinity into the church, by substituting -the Virgin for the Holy Ghost. - -[24] The five preceding prophets were, in due gradation, Adam, Noah, -Abraham, Moses, and Christus. - -[25] The interdiction of wine appeared, however, at a much later -period, (628). - -[26] By the advice of Moses, it is somewhat inconsistently asserted -considering that the founder of the Jewish creed, not being -permitted, according to the tradition of the nocturnal journey, -to proceed beyond the seventh heaven (if even so far, his proper -appointed mansion being the sixth heaven) must have been, on the most -moderate calculation, at 140,000,000 years’ distance from the throne -of God. - -[27] This flight of the prophet, called the HEJIRA, (i.e., -_emigration_,) was deemed afterwards of such importance that it was -instituted by Omar, the second Khalif, as the starting-point of the -Mohammedan era, which was, however, made to commence about two months -before, on the first day of that Arabian year, which coincides with -July 16th, 622, A.D. - -[28] The conquered Christians were granted the security of their -persons, the freedom of their trade, the property of their goods, and -the toleration of their worship. For the treatment which the Jews met -with at Mohammed’s hands, see the text. - -[29] Whether 1000, 3000, or 9000, the commentators of the Koran -cannot agree. Considering that there were only 1000 Koreish in the -field, of whom no more than seventy were slain, it would appear -that Mohammed must either have entertained a most exalted idea of -the valor of his former fellow-citizens, or rather a humble one of -angelic prowess. - -[30] It was at the time of the expedition against Chaibar that -Mohammed prohibited the eating of pork, and of the flesh of the ass, -and also the cutting down of fruit-trees, more especially of palms. -“Revere your aunt, the palm-tree,” says the Koran, “for it is made of -the remainder of the clay of which Adam was formed.” Here in Chaibar, -a Jewish female, named Zainab, avenged the cruelties inflicted by -Mohammed upon her nation, by administering a slow poison to the -pretended apostle, whose prophetic knowledge was in this instance -lamentably at fault. To the effects of this poison he himself -attributed the gradual decline of his health from this time, and his -increasing infirmities; and both Abulfeda and Al Jannabi, zealous -votaries of Islam though they are, frankly admit the humiliating -fact. The hatred which he bore to the Jews, did not, however, prevent -his adding to the number of his wives the fair Jewess Shafiya, who, -upon the capitulation of Chaibar, was presented to him as worthy his -acceptance. - -[31] The final campaign against Chaibar took place several months -after the first attempt upon Mecca; but for the sake of connection it -has been given in the text a little out of its chronological order. - -[32] Known as the treaty of Hodaibeh. - -[33] Chosroes II., who is mentioned in most histories as the monarch -who received the envoys of Mohammed, had been murdered by his son -Siroes, on the 28th February, 628, and could not therefore well have -received the ambassador of Mohammed, who started at a later period of -the year. - -[34] The sect of the _Monophysites_ asserted one incarnate nature -in Christ; the name of Jacobites, by which they are mostly known, -is derived from Jacobus Baradæus, Bishop of Edessa, who revived the -expiring faction of the Monophysites (about 530). - -[35] Some historians dispose of Abdallah on this occasion by the -scymitar of BESCHR, and assign to the Abdallah who in 647 invaded -North Africa, a different origin (some assert the latter to have been -the son of the martyr Jaafar who fell in the battle of Muta). - -[36] Mohammed’s vices were of a regal cast; avarice, the beggar’s -vice, yet which so often sullies crowned heads, was not among his -failings. - -[37] One of the uncles of the prophet, whose vigorous arm and -immensely powerful voice had done good service to the cause in the -fight of Honain. - -[38] Even this number reads very much like Oriental exaggeration, and -may safely be reduced by the half. - -[39] Some writers say 90,000, others, 110,000; others, 114,000; some -raise the number even to 130, 140, or 150,000; but then due allowance -must be made for Oriental exaggeration; I think the number given in -the text may be considered to come tolerably near the mark. - -[40] Ali was married to Fatima, the only one of Mohammed’s children -who survived the prophet. - -[41] Some historians give the 6th, others the 8th, and others the -17th of June, as the last day of Mohammed’s life. - -[42] Rather a curious comment on the interdiction of wine in this -world. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE KHALIFS[43] FROM ABU BEKR TO HASHEM (OR HESHAM). - - -After the death of the prophet, his companions convened an assembly -to deliberate on the choice of his successor, as Mohammed had -abstained from expressing any explicit command or wish in this -respect. Several competitors presented themselves, of whom Ali, Abu -Bekr, and Omar were the most important. The illustrious son of Abu -Taleb seemed indeed to combine in his own person every possible claim -to the vacant throne of Arabia; he was chief, in his own right, -of the family of Hashem, and hereditary prince of the city, and -custodian of the Temple, of Mecca; the husband of Fatima, Mohammed’s -favorite and only surviving daughter, might reasonably claim for -himself and his two sons the inheritance of the prophet, who had -always delighted in calling him his vizir and vicegerent; his valor -and prowess had shone conspicuous in many a hard-fought battle; and -even his enemies could not impeach the purity of his private life. -But it so happened that Ali had drawn upon himself the implacable -hatred of Ayesha: the conduct of this lady had, on one occasion, been -rather _indiscreet_, to use the very mildest term, and Ali had urged -his cousin to punish the frail fair. Mohammed was indeed inclined -to jealousy, but the youth, beauty, and spirit of the daughter of -Abu Bekr had established her empire over her husband’s affections so -firmly that he rejected the clearest evidence of her faithlessness, -inflicted a severe chastisement upon her accusers, and reproved Ali -for his officiousness. Ayesha never forgave Ali the part he had -played in this delicate affair, and the enmity she bore him was -still heightened by her jealousy of Fatima, to whom she grudged the -prophet’s paternal affection. Mohammed would most probably have -named Ali his successor--and against the explicit nomination of the -prophet, no voice would have dared a protest--but the artful daughter -of Abu Bekr besieged his bed of sickness; and, turning the ascendant -she had acquired over the uxorious man to excellent account, obtained -from him that on the third day before his death, when he was no -longer able to proceed to the mosque, he deputed Abu Bekr in his -place to perform the function of public prayer, instead of charging -Ali with that most honorable and important duty. After the death of -Mohammed, she boldly asserted that he had “appointed” her father -his successor in the royal and sacerdotal office. The Koreish, and -more especially the branch of Ommiyah, the old enemies of the line -of Hashem, eagerly espoused the cause of Abu Bekr. The Ansars of -Medina, and a few of the Mohagerians of Mecca voted for Ali; the -crafty Omar was watching the event; a rash proposal made by one of -Ali’s supporters to let each party choose their own Khalif, and to -divide the empire between them, brought the matter to an abrupt -termination. Omar, discerning the danger which threatened the rising -Saracen empire, if this proposal were acted upon, renounced his own -pretensions; and, setting the regular forms of an election at naught, -hailed Abu Bekr as the first Khalif. The people acquiesced, and -Mecca, Medina, and most of the provinces of Arabia, acknowledged Abu -Bekr as commander of the Faithful. The Hashemites, however, remained -true to their chief, and Ali resisted for six months the cajoleries -of the Khalif and the threats of Omar. But the death of his beloved -Fatima subdued his haughty spirit, and he consented at length to -submit to Abu Bekr’s rule. Strange enough, when Ali had made his -submission, the old man offered to resign in his favor; an offer -which was prudently declined. - -During the later part of Mohammed’s life, several other prophets had -arisen in various parts of Arabia, and among them one of some note, -and of no mean skill in the apostolic trade. His name was MOSEILAMA; -the powerful tribe of Hanifa, in the city of Yamanah, in Neged, -listened to his voice. Confident in his power, he coolly offered -Mohammed a partition of the earth between them. The prophet of Islam -treated the offer with disdain; but after his death, several tribes, -who had unwillingly embraced his creed, seceded to the standard -of the new prophet, who speedily became a formidable rival to the -Khalif. Mohammed’s uncle Abbas and the fierce Kaled were dispatched -against him by Abu Bekr; but though forty thousand Moslems followed -their banner, the first action against Moseilama ended in the defeat -of Abbas and Kaled, and the former of the two generals was severely -wounded with a javelin. This defeat was, however, fearfully avenged -by Kaled; ten thousand infidels were made to bite the dust, and -the same javelin that had pierced Abbas, was sent, a messenger of -death, to Moseilama’s heart, by the hand of an Ethiopian slave. The -submission of the revolted tribes speedily followed, and the dread -name of the _Sword of God_ was in itself sufficient to disarm all the -other rebels who had risen in various parts of the peninsula. - -The victorious Kaled was now sent to the banks of the Euphrates, -where he reduced the cities of Anbar and Hira (A.D. 632), and, having -slain the last of the Mondars of the Arabian colony of Hira, and -sent his son a captive to Medina, prepared to invade the Persian -empire; but in the midst of his triumphant career, he was recalled -and sent into Syria, to take the command of the army there, and, -in conjunction with Abu Obeidah, to effect the reduction of that -province of the Greek empire. Bosra, a strong city situated four -days’ journey from Damascus, fell by his valor and by the treachery -of the Greek governor ROMANUS. Damascus was besieged (633); and an -army of 70,000 Greeks, who came to the relief of the hard-pressed -city, under the command of WERDAN, was totally defeated and dispersed -by 45,000 Moslems under Kaled, Amru, and Abu Obeidah, at AIZNADIN -(13th July, 633). Still Damascus resisted stoutly for many months, -sustained chiefly by the valor of a noble Greek named THOMAS. At -length, however, the courage of the besieged gave way, and they -surrendered to the mild Abu Obeidah (most probably in August, 634), -who granted them personal safety, and free possession of their lands -and houses, and to such of them as should prefer exile to the Moslem -rule, the permission to depart with as much of their effects as they -could carry away with them. But the fierce and cruel Kaled refused to -ratify these terms of his fellow-commander: he slaughtered thousands -of the unfortunate Damascenes; and, though he consented at last to -abide by the terms of the capitulation, he only gave three days -respite to the band of voluntary exiles who left Damascus under the -leadership of the valiant Thomas. At the expiration of this term, he -set out in pursuit at the head of four thousand horsemen; a miserable -renegade, named JONAS, acted as guide. The hapless fugitives were -overtaken, and ruthlessly cut down to the last being of either sex, -with the solitary exception of the widow of the brave Thomas, who was -sent by Kaled to carry a message of defiance to the throne of the -Cæsars. - -Meanwhile the aged Abu Bekr, after a short reign of two years, -had been gathered to his fathers; Ayesha’s influence and Omar’s -craft had once more defeated Ali’s claims to the vacant throne; -and Omar had gained the object of his ambition (24th July, 634). -The new Khalif[44] proved himself worthy of this exalted position; -his justice, his wisdom, his moderation, and his frugality form, -even to the present day, among the _Sonnites_, the theme of the -most enthusiastic praise; though by the _Shiites_ his memory is -as bitterly reviled, and the appellation _Shitan Omar_, which the -Persians so liberally bestow upon the second Khalif, shows the sense -which they entertain of his machinations against the illustrious Ali. -The son of Abu Taleb, however, submitted to Abu Bekr’s choice, and -was comforted for the loss of empire by the most flattering marks -of esteem and confidence on the part of the new commander of the -Faithful. - -One of the first acts of Omar’s reign was to remove Kaled from the -command of the Syrian army, under pretext of excessive cruelty, -and of rashness in the pursuit of the Damascene exiles, but in -reality because the Khalif bore a personal enmity to his invincible -lieutenant. This made, however, practically, no difference in -the conduct of the war; Kaled could command and obey with equal -readiness, and Abu Obeidah was modest and sensible enough to guide -himself in all important operations by the advice of his former -chief. After the reduction of Damascus, the Arabs laid siege to -Heliopolis (Baalbec) and Emesa, and speedily compelled these -important cities to surrender (635). Heraclius made one last great -effort to free Syria from these most unwelcome visitors; he sent -four-score thousand veteran soldiers by sea and land to Antioch and -Cæsarea; this host was considerably increased by the remains of the -Syrian army, and by new levies in Syria and Palestine, and joined -also by 60,000 Christian Arabs under the banner of JABALAH,[45] the -last of the Gassanide princes. Upon Kaled’s prudent advice, Abu -Obeidah resolved to retire to the skirts of Palestine and Arabia, and -there to await the attack of the enemy. In the vicinity of Bosra, -on the banks of the obscure river Yermuk (Hieromax), a fierce and -bloody encounter took place, in which the Greek forces were totally -routed (636); their Gassanide allies had already previously met with -the same fate at the hands of the intrepid Kaled. After the victory -of Yermuk, Abu Obeidah resolved to invest JERUSALEM (or ÆLIA, as the -Romans called it); he first sent MOAWIYAH, Abu Sophian’s son, with -the van of five thousand Arabs, to try a surprise; and this failing, -he appeared himself, ten days after, with the whole army. - -After having endured four months the hardships of a siege, the -garrison and people of the holy city offered to capitulate; but they -demanded as a guarantee for the articles of security, that the Khalif -should ratify them in person. Ali advised the Khalif to comply with -this rather unusual demand; and Omar set out from Medina, mounted on -a red camel, which carried, besides his person, a bag of corn, a bag -of dates, a wooden dish, and a leathern bottle of water! Jerusalem -immediately surrendered (637), and the Khalif returned promptly to -Medina in the same simple manner in which he had come. The conquest -of Syria was achieved the year after (638) by Abu Obeidah and Kaled, -who reduced Antioch, Aleppo, Tripoli, Tyre, Acca (St. Jean d’Acre), -Cæsarea, Ascelon, Hierapolis, and many other cities and strong -places. Abu Obeidah died 639, of a fatal disease which carried off -twenty-five thousand of the conquerors of Syria; the hero Kaled, the -_Sword of God_, survived his fellow-commander about three years. The -government of the conquered province was entrusted by Omar to the -hands of Moawiyah, the chief of the family Ommiyah, and who became -afterwards the founder of the Ommiade dynasty. - -After Kaled’s recall from the Persian frontier, the war against the -empire of the Magians was carried on languidly for several years. -In 636, however, Omar sent a new commander, SAID, with considerable -reinforcements to the army on the Euphrates. After the murder of -Chosroes II. and Cobad II., in 628, eight kings of Persia had -followed each other in rapid succession, in the short space of three -years. At last, a woman, ARZEMA, seized upon the throne; but, in 632, -she was deposed, and the tiara transferred from her head to that -of the grandson of Chosroes, YEZDEGERD (III.), a boy of fifteen. A -dying effort was now made by the Persians to drive back the Saracen -invaders. An army of 120,000 men, with 30,000 regulars among them, -was collected under RUSTAM, who, urged on by his youthful and -inexperienced monarch, sought the Moslems in the plains of CADESIA, -where Said had pitched his camp. The Mussulman forces numbered only -30,000; the fight was protracted for three whole days; it was bloody -and obstinate in the extreme; the Saracens lost one clear fourth of -their number; the fall of Rustam, on the third day, decided the fate -of the battle and of Persia (636). The standard of the Sassanides -(a leathern apron of a blacksmith, covered with a profusion of -precious gems) fell into the hands of the conquerors. The province -of Irak submitted to the Khalif, who secured his conquest by the -foundation of the city of BASRA, or BASSORA, on the Shat-el-Arab -(_i.e._, the river of the Arabs), which is formed by the junction -of the Euphrates and Tigris. The Moslems crossed the latter river, -and took and sacked MADAYN, or CTESIPHON, the capital of the Persian -empire; immense treasures fell here into their hands, more than -sufficient indeed to enrich the whole host of naked Arabians beyond -their most sanguine expectations. Many splendid works of art were -destroyed by the ruthless hands of the ignorant sons of the desert. -In one of the apartments of the white palace of Chosroes Nushirvan, -was found a magnificent carpet of silk, with the picture of a garden -embroidered on it in gold and precious stones, imitating the natural -colors of the flowers, fruits, and shrubs depicted; Said preserved -this splendid piece of workmanship, and sent it to the commander of -the Faithful; but the precious gift found little favor in the sight -of Omar; that cynical gentleman quietly ordered the picture to be -destroyed, and divided the materials among his brethren of Medina: -the intrinsic value of these materials may be conjectured from the -fact, that Ali’s share alone was sold for twenty thousand drachms -of silver. A new city, CUFA, was founded on the western side of -the lower Euphrates, and the seat of government was removed to it -from the despoiled Madayn. One Persian province after the other was -compelled to submit to the Moslem sway; at Jalula, Yezdegerd nobly -contended once more for the empire of his ancestors; in vain! the -fanaticism of the Arabs proved stronger than the despair of the -Persians. Said had been recalled, and FIRUZAN sent in his place; -the courage of the Persian nation was not yet thoroughly subdued; -150,000 Persians attacked the Moslem host at NEHAVEND, about 230 -miles south of Hamadan; but though Firuzan had only 30,000 Mussulmans -to oppose to the overwhelming numbers of the Persians, and though the -latter fought with true bravery, fate had decreed the downfall of -the monarchy of the Sassanides: the Arabians gained “the victory of -victories,” and the hapless Yezdegerd, worthy of a better fate, like -Darius Codomannus, yielded up all hope of empire (642).[46] After -the victory of Nehavend, the cities of Hamadan, Ispahan, Estachar -(Persepolis), and many more, were readily reduced, and the conquest -of Persia was achieved. - -Whilst Persia was thus being added to the new Saracen empire, another -province was snatched from the feeble emperor of Byzantium. Omar -had cast his eyes upon Egypt. With only 4000 Arabs, the valiant -AMRU invaded that country, in June, 638; after a siege of thirty -days, he took possession of Farmah, or Pelusium, the key of Egypt. -The reduction of Babylon, on the Eastern bank of the Nile, opposite -Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt, took Amru seven months, -although he had received a reinforcement of 4000 men. On the spot -where Amru’s army had pitched their tents during the siege of -Babylon, a new city arose, which forms now part of an extensive -suburb of Cairo, or AL CAHIRA, _i.e._, the victorious, founded by -the Fatimite Khalifs (MOEZ), in 970. Notwithstanding the capture -of Babylon and Memphis, Amru would probably have been compelled -to relinquish his attempt to conquer Egypt, had not the Jacobite -(Monophysite) Copts under Mokawkas, who would have preferred the -devil’s rule to that of their Melchite[47] tyrants, joined the -invaders heart and soul. Under _their_ guidance, and with _their_ -aid, Amru, who had, meanwhile, been considerably reinforced from -Syria, marched from Memphis to ALEXANDRIA; which latter city was, -after a series of preliminary combats, at last closely invested on -the land side. As the sea remained open, Heraclius might have saved -the great provision store of Byzantium, had he acted with the least -energy; but the feeble old man contented himself with _praying_ -for the relief of the besieged city, and thought, perhaps, he had -enlisted God on his side by appointing a _priest_ (the patriarch -CYRUS), to the præfecture of Egypt, and the conduct of the war. -No wonder then that, notwithstanding a truly gallant defence by -the inhabitants, the city was, after a siege of fourteen months, -at length compelled to surrender (22nd of December, 640). Omar’s -commands preserved Alexandria from the horrors of pillage. The story -of the burning of the Alexandrian library by order of Omar, is -absolutely void of foundation; the honor of the first invention of -this calumnious lie belongs (of course) to a Christian historian, -ABULPHARAGIUS, primate of the Jacobites, who wrote 600 years after -the event: but a crowd of historians have since faithfully copied it, -even to its most extravagantly absurd details.[48] - -With the reduction of Alexandria, the conquest of Egypt was achieved, -Amru carrying his victorious arms even beyond the boundaries of -that country as far as Tripoli. To facilitate the communication -between Egypt and Arabia, Omar constructed a canal from the Nile to -the Red Sea. Omar, the now mighty ruler of a most extensive empire, -was revolving new plans of conquest, when the dagger of FIRUZ, a -Persian slave, who had been personally aggrieved by the Khalif, cut -short his thread of life--and saved the world from subjugation; for -what nation or empire could, at that time, have long or successfully -withstood the impetuous tide, which, in the short space of ten -years, had engulphed Syria, Persia, and Egypt; and was full vigorous -enough to sweep over the whole earth, had but the master-mind which -had hitherto with rare wisdom directed its enormous material force, -continued to breathe an intelligent will into it. Omar died in -November, 644: urged to name his successor, he had refused to do -so, but had devolved the task of choosing a new Khalif, on Ali and -five others of the most respectable companions of the prophet. The -illustrious son of Abu Taleb might now, indeed, have ascended the -vacant throne, had he deigned to promise a servile conformity, not -only to the Koran and tradition, but also to the “sayings and doings” -of his predecessors, Abu Bekr and Omar. This demand his proud spirit -rejected with disdain. OTHMAN, also a son-in-law of the prophet, -and who had been his secretary, accepted the government with these -restrictions. The new Khalif was but little made to sustain the -weight of the Saracen empire. He was a weak and vacillating old man, -and led entirely by unworthy favorites, more particularly by his -secretary, MERVAN; he was arrogant and overbearing withal, and in -the space of a few brief years, he excited the dissatisfaction and -indignation of even the most loyally disposed among his subjects. At -last the universal discontent was gathering to a head. Resolved no -longer to submit to the exactions of the wretched favorites on whom -the Khalif had conferred power and station, the tribes rose in arms. -From Cufa, from Bassora, from Egypt, from the Desert, they marched on -Medina: they encamped about a league from the city, and dispatched a -haughty summons to their sovereign to redress their grievances, or -to give place to a more worthy prince. Othman promised reformation, -and Ali’s generous intercession might have succeeded in healing -the breach between the Khalif and his angry subjects; but Mervan’s -perfidy, and the deep intrigues of the artful Ayesha, defeated all -chances of reconciliation between the prince and the people. In -vain Othman ascended the pulpit, publicly and solemnly to entreat -Allah’s and the people’s forgiveness for his misrule; he was pelted -with stones, and carried home half dead. The insurgents besieged him -six weeks in his palace, intercepting his water and provisions. The -helpless old man had to endure the grief of seeing himself forsaken -and betrayed by those on whom his misplaced favor had bestowed wealth -and power. Abandoning all hope, he calmly expected the approach of -death: a desperate band of fanatical Charegites, with Mohammed, -Ayesha’s brother, at their head, made their way into his palace. They -found him seated, with the Koran in his lap; but neither the sacred -book, nor his venerable aspect, could disarm the assassins. Othman -fell, pierced with many wounds, 18th June, 655, in the eighty-second -year of his age. - -During the reign of Othman, the island of Cyprus was conquered by -Moawiyah, in 647, and the island of Rhodes, in 654; from the latter -island, the Saracens carried off the massy trunk and the huge -fragments of the celebrated colossal statue of Apollo, which had -been overthrown about 800 years before by an earthquake. The large -and once populous country of Chorasan, the kingdom of the ancient -Bactrians, was also “annexed” to the Saracen empire, during the reign -of Othman. In 647, ABDALLAH[49] and ZOBEIR were sent with 40,000 -Moslems to attempt the conquest of Africa. They advanced to the walls -of Tripoli, and endeavoured to carry that maritime city by assault; -they were, however, repulsed, and the approach of a numerous army -under the Greek præfect Gregory, compelled them to raise the siege. -By Zobeir’s skill and valor, the Arabs gained a complete and decisive -victory over the hostile forces, the præfect himself being slain by -the hand of Zobeir. The opulent city of Sufetula, situated 150 miles -to the south of Carthage, fell into the hands of the victorious -Arabs. Abdallah prudently rested content with the advantages gained; -he accepted the offer of submission and tribute made on all sides by -the provincials, and retreated to the confines of Egypt (648). - -Ali had made a perhaps somewhat lukewarm effort to effect a -reconciliation between Othman and his insurgent subjects. When -matters had proceeded to extremities, he had sent his two sons, -HASSAN and HOSEIN, to the rescue of the besieged Khalif; and Hassan, -the eldest of his sons, had, indeed, been wounded in the defence of -that unfortunate prince. Still Ali had not been very energetic in -his opposition to the rebels; and it is not uncharitable to suppose, -that the death of Othman caused him no very bitter grief. Five days -after the murder of the aged Khalif, Ali was proclaimed his successor -by acclamation. The illustrious son of Abu Taleb was, indeed, a poet -and a hero, but a most indifferent statesman. TELHA and the valiant -ZOBEIR, two of the most powerful of the Arabian chiefs, who had had a -hand in Othman’s overthrow and death, and whose doubtful allegiance -Ali ought to have secured by rich gifts and greater promises, saw -themselves treated with studied coldness by the new Khalif, of whom -they had vainly solicited the government of Irak, as the reward of -their services. This impolitic conduct of Ali made them inclined -to lend a willing ear to the advice and suggestions of the artful -Ayesha, to raise the standard of revolt against Ali, and to charge -_him_ with the perpetration of the very crime which _she_ had -instigated, and _they_ had lent their aid to execute! The two chiefs, -and the widow of the prophet, escaped from Medina to Mecca, and -from thence to Bassora; the unblushing woman, whose own brother had -actually headed the assassins, had the almost incredible effrontery -to send Othman’s bloody shirt to the governor of Syria, Moawiyah, -Ali’s hereditary foe, and to call upon him to avenge Othman’s blood -upon his murderer--_Ali!_ The son of Abu Sophian was perfectly aware -of the true circumstances of the case; but it suited his ambitious -projects to _appear_ to believe the infamous accusation against the -august chief of the line of Hashem, the more so as Ali had expressed -his intention to remove the head of the house of Ommiyah from the -government of Syria. Moawiyah, therefore, exposed the bloody shirt -of Othman in the principal mosque of Damascus, and denouncing Ali as -the instigator of the sacrilegious deed, called upon the Faithful to -rise and avenge the death of the holy martyr, whose lawful successor -in the Khalifate he declared himself to be, in obedience, as he -pretended, to the express command of the dying Othman. The appeal was -numerously responded to, and the ruler of Syria saw himself speedily -at the head of a formidable army; his friend, AMRU, whom Ali had -removed from the government of Egypt, espoused his cause. Telha and -Zobeir seized upon Irak; 50,000 Moslems marched under their banner. -At the head of 20,000 of his loyal Arabs, and 9,000 auxiliaries of -Cufa, the Lion of God went to encounter his enemies. Under the walls -of Bassora (2nd and 3rd November, 656) was fought the first battle of -this civil war, which, destroying in internecine strife the flower of -the nation of the desert, may well be said to have saved the world -from the yoke of Islam; for had Ali been sole and undisputed master -of the Saracen empire, even the fire of Callinicus[50] would have -proved no effectual protection against the then irresistible tide -of Moslem conquest, and, mayhap, the Isaurian might have indulged -his iconoclastic propensities at the head of a congenial host of -image-haters; nor would the west of Europe have escaped, and the -champion of the cross, the _Hammer_ of Christ, might, perchance, have -figured in history as the _Ilderim_ of Islam. - -The rebels were totally defeated; Telha and Zobeir, with 10,000 of -their host, were slain; and Ayesha, who, seated in a litter perched -on the back of a camel,[51] had braved the dangers of the field, -animating the troops by her presence, and cheering them on with her -voice, fell a captive into the hands of the man whom, with implacable -hatred, she had pursued so many years, and whom she had so grievously -injured; but the generous Ali disdained warring with women. -Mohammed’s widow was treated with every respect due to her rank, and -speedily dismissed to her proper station at the tomb of the prophet. -The victorious Khalif, having in vain offered the most favorable -terms of accommodation to Moawiyah and Amru, took the field against -them at the head of 70,000 men, in the spring of 657. The plain of -SIFFIN, on the western bank of the Euphrates, formed the field of -ninety actions or skirmishes, in a desultory warfare of one hundred -and ten days. The forces of the Ommiyah chief, are said to have -amounted to more than 120,000 men; among them many of the veterans of -the Persian, Syrian, and Egyptian campaigns; 45,000 of that gallant -band paid with their lives for the ambition of their chief; 25,000 -of Ali’s brave and loyal followers lay slain by their side--a rare -crop of blossoms for the garden of the destroyer. The Lion of God -was everywhere foremost in the fight; his ponderous two-edged sword, -wielded with irresistible force, made fearful havoc in the hostile -ranks; every time he smote a rebel, he shouted his war-cry “Allah -Akbar!”[52] and the Arabian and Persian historians tell us with all -gravity, that “in the tumult of a nocturnal battle, that tremendous -exclamation was heard no less than four hundred times.” Making all -due allowance for Oriental exaggeration, and striking one nought off -the account, enough still remains to make the feat a most respectable -achievement indeed. - -The magnanimous Ali had proposed to settle the dispute between him -and Moawiyah by single combat; but to encounter so formidable a -champion would truly have been sheer madness on the part of the -prince of Damascus; he therefore declined the Khalif’s courteous -invitation. The chief of the line of Ommiyah was not so redoubtable -a warrior as Ali, but he was a much better politician than the true -and lawful commander of the Faithful; clearly foreseeing that the -decision of the sword must in the end inevitably turn against him, -he devised a stratagem to discomfit his dreaded antagonist, which -being based upon a crafty appeal to the reverential and superstitious -feelings of Ali’s followers, might reasonably be expected to have -a fair chance of success. The Khalif had resolved to terminate the -long-pending struggle by a decisive battle; the troops were in -presence, and the fight was on the point of being engaged, when a -solemn appeal to the books of the Koran, which Moawiyah exposed on -the foremost lances, made a considerable portion of Ali’s forces -pause in their onset; emissaries of the prince of Damascus had long -been busy in the unsuspecting Ali’s ranks; his refusal to hold the -tradition, and the sayings and acts of Abu Bekr and Omar as equally -binding with the precepts of the Koran, was regarded by many of -his own followers as rank heresy; and so it occurred that at the -very time when victory seemed secure in his grasp, the Khalif saw -himself suddenly abandoned by the greater half of his forces, and -even compelled by the vile rabble to submit his indefeasible right -to a so-called “arbitration;” Moawiyah being permitted to appoint -his friend and fellow-rebel, Amru, as arbiter on _his_ part, whilst -Ali was forced by the treacherous crew around him to name MUSA, the -cadi of Cufa, a mixture in equal parts of stupidity and conceit, to -act on his behalf. The result was such as might have been foreseen; -the decision was in favor of Moawiyah. Ali indignantly refused to be -bound by it, as it was but too patent that the whole “arbitration” -had been a disgraceful juggle from the beginning. But he was -abandoned by a great many of his former adherents, and compelled -to retreat to Cufa. Still he nobly carried on the struggle against -the vastly superior forces of his enemies, and though Amru snatched -Egypt from him, though Persia and Yemen were subdued or seduced by -his crafty rival of Damascus, the final issue of the struggle might -yet have been in his favor, had he not been foully murdered by a -Charegite,[53] who with two other fanatics had agreed to give peace -to their troubled country by the removal of Ali, Moawiyah, and Amru. -Each of the three assassins chose his victim, poisoned his dagger, -and secretly repaired to the scene of action; but the stroke was -fatal only to the lawful Khalif, though the prince of Damascus also -was dangerously hurt, and the deputy of the viceroy of Egypt paid -with his life for the honor of being mistaken for the illustrious -Amru (661).[54] The dying Ali mercifully commanded his children to -dispatch his murderer by a single stroke. His eldest son, HASSAN, was -indeed saluted Khalif, by the party who had faithfully adhered to the -banner of the Lion of God, but he was prevailed upon by Moawiyah to -resign his pretensions, and the son of Abu Sophian was acknowledged -the lawful commander of the Faithful; and Ali’s name was ordered to -be cursed from the pulpit.[55] - -The rule of the new Khalif was marked, upon the whole, by wisdom -and moderation. Moawiyah disdained the simplicity of manners which -had distinguished his predecessors; he dressed in costly silks, -surrounded himself with a brilliant court, kept eunuchs for the -guard of his harem, and set the prophet’s precepts at naught in the -matter of wine-drinking. He would indeed shrink from no crime where -his political interests were or seemed concerned; and the poisoning -of Hassan, who had fondly, but foolishly, hoped that the son of -Abu Sophian would forget that the title of Khalif had graced his -name for however so short a period of time, and the base murders of -Kaled’s son, Abderrahman, and of the bold-spoken Hadjir Ben Hadad, -who had dared publicly to protest against the cursing of Ali’s -name and memory, are by no means the only blots on the reputation -of the founder of the Ommiade dynasty; but he was not cruel and -blood-thirsty from mere wantonness of disposition, and, as princes -go, he was altogether rather a favorable sample of the class than -otherwise. - -The first acts of his reign were to put down the rebellious -Charegites, and to quell an insurrection of the people of Bassora. -The three first Khalifs had resided at Medina; political and -strategic considerations had induced Ali to transfer the seat of -his government to Cufa. Moawiyah made Damascus his capital, partly -because Syria was the stronghold of his power, and partly--and this -was unquestionably the principal reason--because his residence at -Medina would have materially interfered with the accomplishment -of the project nearest and dearest to his heart; viz., to change -the elective monarchy to an hereditary kingdom. When he had firmly -established his throne, he prepared a powerful expedition by sea and -land against Constantinople (668); he entrusted the chief command -to the veteran SOPHIAN, and sent his own son Yezid to encourage the -troops by his presence and example. But though the supineness of the -Greeks permitted them to invest the city of the Cæsars by sea and -land, the Saracens met with a more vigorous resistance than they had -anticipated; the solid and lofty walls of Byzantium, energetically -defended by a numerous and well-disciplined army, and by a people -aroused for a time to deeds of heroic devotion, by the danger which -threatened to overthrow the last bulwark of their nationality and -their religion, and the prodigious effect of the fire of Callinicus, -defeated all attempts to carry the city by assault; and the Arabs, -finding it a much easier task to plunder the European and Asiatic -coasts of the Propontis, carried on the operations of the siege more -and more languidly, till, at last, having kept the sea from April -to September, they retreated, on the approach of winter, to the -isle of Cyzicus, about eighty miles from the capital. However, they -renewed the attempt six successive summers, until the enormous losses -which they had suffered by fire and sword, and by the mischances of -shipwreck and disease, compelled them finally to abandon the bootless -enterprise (675). This failure dimmed for a time the glory of the -Saracen arms, whilst it seemed to restore the former prestige of the -Roman name. The destruction of his fleets, and the annihilation of -his armies, had subdued the proud spirit of Moawiyah; the aged Khalif -had the mortification of seeing himself insulted in his city and -palace of Damascus by the warlike Maronites, or Mardaites, of Mount -Lebanon; and he felt desirous of ending his days in tranquillity and -repose: he consented therefore to a peace, or truce, of thirty years -with the emperor Constantine IV. Pogonatus, in which he indeed was -permitted to retain possession of the north-western part of Asia -Minor, the island of Cyprus, and the isles of the Greek Archipelago, -but in which the majesty of the commander of the Faithful was wofully -degraded, by the stipulation of an annual tribute to the Court of -Byzantium of three thousand pieces of gold, fifty slaves, and fifty -horses of a noble breed (677). - -Moawiyah’s arms were more successful in other quarters. His -lieutenant, OBEIDAH, invaded the territories of the Turks, in -673, and made considerable conquests in Central Asia; and a large -portion of North Africa was added to the Saracen empire by AKBAH, -who conquered Tripoli and Barca, founded the city of Cairoan, about -fifty miles south of Carthage,[56] in 671, and advanced to the verge -of the Atlantic and the Great Desert. But the universal defection of -the Africans and Greeks, whom he had conquered, recalled him from the -shores of the Atlantic, where he was already meditating a descent on -Spain. Surrounded on all sides by hostile multitudes, and despairing -of succour, the gallant Akbah, and his small force of brave men, had -no other resource left them but to die an honorable death,--they -fell to the last man. ZUHEIR, sent with a new army, avenged the fate -of his predecessor; he vanquished the natives in many battles, but -was himself overthrown in the end by a powerful army, sent from -Constantinople to the relief of Carthage which he was besieging. - -Moawiyah died on the 6th April, 680. Ten years before his death he -had seen his aspiring wishes crowned by the proclamation of his son, -YEZID, as presumptive heir of the Saracen empire.[57] True, there -had been some murmurs of discontent, and it had even required an -armed demonstration against the holy cities of Mecca and Medina to -enforce submission to the will of the Khalif: but Moawiyah’s vigor -and address had triumphed over every obstacle. Accordingly, after -the father’s death, the son was acknowledged as Khalif in every -province of the vast empire; with some partial exceptions, indeed, in -Arabia proper, and more particularly in Mecca and Medina. But Yezid -had inherited none of his father’s qualities; he was a dissolute -voluptuarian, and of a most tyrannical disposition withal. In the -short time of a few months, the discontent of his subjects had risen -to a threatening height; more especially in Arabia proper, and in -the province of Irak, People’s eyes began to turn towards HOSEIN, -the younger and only surviving son of Ali and Fatima, and head of -the line of Hashem. Hosein had served with distinction in the siege -of Constantinople; he had inherited some of his father’s spirit, -and had disdainfully refused to acknowledge Yezid’s title. He was -invited by a large body of the discontented in Irak, to come and -place himself at their head; against the advice of his wife and many -of his friends, he resolved to obey the call, and set out with a -small retinue, consisting, chiefly of women and children. When he -reached the confines of Irak, OBEIDOLLAH, the watchful and energetic -governor of Cufa, had already crushed the insurrection in the bud. -In the plains of Kerbela, Hosein found himself surrounded on all -sides by a body of five thousand horse. Unconditional surrender or -death was the only alternative offered to him; he chose the latter, -and, after deeds of the most heroic valor, his generous band of -devoted adherents were all slain, basely butchered from afar with -arrows by their cowardly assailants: he, alone, still survived, -though bleeding from many a wound. He seated himself at the door of -his tent, enfolding his youngest son and his nephew, two beautiful -children, in his arms; they were slain there, and their warm -life-blood overflowed the hands of the hapless man. With a cry of -grief and despair, he started up and threw himself in the midst of -the foe. The soldiers fell back on every side, and, for a time, none -dared to lay hands on the grandson of the prophet; but, at last, one -of their leaders, the remorseless SHAMER, urged them to the attack, -and the heroic Hosein was slain, with three-and-thirty strokes of -lances and swords. The dead body was trampled under foot by the -inhuman wretches, and the severed head carried to the castle of Cufa, -and thence forwarded to Damascus, that Yezid might look upon it and -sleep in peace. An expedition was sent against the holy cities, -which, after Hosein’s death, had acknowledged for _their_ Khalif, -ABDALLAH,[58] the son of the valiant Zobeir. Medina was taken, and -the sisters and children of Hosein and Hassan were sent in chains to -the throne of Damascus. Yezid was urged by his advisers to bury his -fears for ever in the grave of the race of Ali and Fatima. Now, had -Yezid been one of the _Christian_ Cæsars of Byzantium, who “thought -it no very great harm” to slay even their own kindred, or to deprive -them of sight, or mutilate them in some other way, if undisputed -empire could but be secured thereby, no doubt the advice would have -been followed to the letter: but the grandson of the wild Henda was -not altogether without some of the better feelings of human nature, -and the _Saracen_ Khalif had no convenient “patriarch,” or bishop, at -hand to lull his troublesome conscience by the mockery of priestly -absolution. The mourning family were honorably dismissed to Medina, -and Yezid even strove to console them for the irreparable losses they -had suffered at his father’s and his own hands. - -The partial successes of Yezid’s generals against Abdallah did not -prevent that indefatigable warrior from seizing upon Yemen, and -establishing his power in Egypt. After a troubled reign of three -years, Yezid died (683); and a few months after his death, his son -and successor, MOAWIYAH II., preferred voluntary abdication to the -desperate struggle which he foresaw it would cost to oust Abdallah -from his usurped position. For a time, complete anarchy ensued: -Obeidollah, the governor of Irak, attempted to found a new empire -and a new dynasty, in Bassora, but he was ignominiously expelled -by the people; and the provinces of Irak, Yemen, Hejaz, and Egypt, -acknowledged the name and sovereignty of Abdallah. Even in Syria, a -creature of Abdallah’s, DEHAC, was, for a time, obeyed as vicegerent. -At last, however, MERVAN, of the line of Ommiyah, was saluted Khalif -in Damascus (684), on condition, however, as he bound himself by -oath, to name Kaled, Yezid’s younger son, his successor. Mervan -speedily succeeded in subjecting Syria and Egypt to his sway. The -people of Chorasan, where the Hashemites had gained considerable -ascendancy, renounced their allegiance to the empire, proclaimed -their independence, and elected the noble SALEM their king. SOLIMAN, -the son of Zarad, excited a formidable insurrection in Arabia Proper, -and in part of Syria, and proclaimed the deposition of both rival -Khalifs; but he was defeated by Obeidollah. Mervan, forgetful of his -oath, proclaimed his son, ABD-EL-MALEK, his successor; he fell by -the dagger of his offended kinsman, Kaled (685). But Abd-el-Malek -made good his claim to the succession, and set diligently about -to strengthen his position in the provinces which his father had -wrested from Abdallah’s grasp. In Abd-el-Malek the latter found an -antagonist worthy of himself, both in valor and wile. The actual -struggle between the two rivals was, however, postponed for a season -by the appearance of a third party on the scene,--MOKHTAR, another -inspired prophet, and whose chances of establishing _another_ new -creed seemed, for a time, to promise rather fair; in fact, the city -of Cufa, and part of the province of Irak, had acknowledged his -divine mission, when Abdallah’s good sword proved him an impostor -(686). The Greeks had, meanwhile, taken advantage of the distress -and fears of the house of Ommiyah, but in their own paltry and -pettifogging way; for instead of boldly drawing the sword to wrest -Asia Minor, Palestine, and Syria from the enfeebled grasp of the -divided Saracens, they were content with obtaining from Abd-el-Malek -a considerable increase of the tribute. - -Abd-el-Malek, relieved thus from his apprehensions of a war with -the Eastern empire, could now turn his undivided attention to the -impending struggle with the rival Khalif of Mecca. After five years’ -fierce and doubtful contest, Abdallah was at length defeated in a -decisive battle, and compelled to take refuge in Mecca; here he -defended himself for seven months against Abd-el-Malek’s vastly -superior forces. At last, in a general assault, the valiant son of -Zobeir was slain; his fall decided that of the city, and the Saracen -empire was thus again united under one ruler (692). As soon as -Abd-el-Malek saw himself sole and undisputed Khalif, he threw off -the badge of servitude to the Eastern empire, which the internal -dissensions and troubles of the preceding years had compelled him to -submit to. He discontinued the payment of the stipulated tribute, and -even wrested another province, Armenia, from the feeble hands of the -Byzantine Cæsars. - -HASSAN, the governor of Egypt, was charged with the task to reconquer -the north of Africa. That brave and skilful commander, after having -subdued the provinces of the interior, carried his victorious arms -to the sea-coast, and took, by a sudden assault, the fortifications -of Carthage, the metropolis of Africa (697). However, the unexpected -arrival of a powerful Greek fleet, with a numerous and well-appointed -army[59] on board, compelled the Arabian general to evacuate his -recent conquest, and to retire to Cairoan. But Abd-el-Malek had -resolved to annex North Africa to his dominions at any cost; he -prepared therefore during the winter a powerful armament by sea and -land, and in spring, 698, Hassan appeared once more before Carthage, -and compelled the præfect and patrician John, who commanded the Greek -forces, to evacuate the city; soon after, he defeated him again in -the neighbourhood of Utica, and a precipitate embarkation alone -saved the remains of the Byzantine army from absolute annihilation. -Carthage was reduced to a heap of ruins. But Hassan had soon to -encounter a more formidable enemy: a prophetess arose among the -MOORS, or BERBERS, of the interior, and boldly challenged the Arabian -invaders to make good their claim to the land which they had fondly -deemed subdued with the expulsion of the Greeks. CAHINA was the name -of this extraordinary woman, who seemed to have discovered the secret -of breathing into her people a spirit of enthusiasm superior even -to the fanaticism of the Moslems. In a single day Africa was lost -again to the Saracens, and the humbled Hassan retired to the confines -of Egypt, where he expected, five years, the promised succour of -the Khalif. But Queen Cahina’s order to destroy the cities, and to -cut down the fruit-trees, filled the Christian population of the -coast with apprehension and anger; and when Hassan at last made his -reappearance in the province, he was hailed, even by the most zealous -Catholics, as a deliverer and saviour. The royal prophetess boldly -accepted battle; but she was slain, and her army was put to the -rout (705). Still the spirit of resistance survived, and Hassan’s -successor, the aged but fiery MUSA BEN NASSIR, had to quell a new -insurrection of the Moorish tribes. He and his two sons, ABDALLAH and -ABDELAZIZ, succeeded so well, however, that not only did the Berbers -submit to the Khalif, but they even embraced the religion of Islam, -and became henceforth as one people with their Arabian conquerors. - -Abd-el-Malek was the first Khalif to establish a national mint, both -for silver and gold coin (695); the gold coins were imitations of -the Roman gold denar, with an inscription proclaiming the unity of -the God of Mohammed; the Arabs called these gold coins, _dinars_; -their value was about eight shillings sterling. It would appear they -struck also double, and half, dinars. The silver coin might represent -a value of fivepence or sixpence English money. Abd-el-Malek died in -705. He was succeeded by his son WALID, a prince who, indeed, did not -inherit the activity, vigor, and decision of his father; but was, on -the other hand, free also from the cruelty and the low avarice that -stained the character of Abd-el-Malek. Walid loved and encouraged -arts and sciences, and more especially architecture: he built the -splendid mosque of the Ommiades at Damascus, at an expense of half -a million sterling; he rebuilt also Mohammed’s mosque at Medina, -on a larger and more magnificent scale. He had the good fortune to -be served by clever ministers and great generals, whose energy, -valor, and enterprise amply made up for the personal indolence -and inactivity of the Khalif, and imparted a glory to his reign, -rivalling that of Omar’s. One of his lieutenants, CATIBAH (_the camel -driver_), added to the Saracen empire the spacious regions between -the Oxus, the Jaxartes, and the Caspian sea, with the rich and -populous commercial cities Carizme, Bochara, and Samarcand (707-710). -From Samarcand, the victorious general sent his master a daughter of -PHIROUZ, or FIRUZ, the son of the unfortunate Yezdegerd, the last of -the Sassanide rulers of Persia, who became Walid’s wife. Mohammed, -one of Catibah’s colleagues, displayed the banner of Islam on the -opposite banks of the Indus (712); and in the same year, Fargana, -the residence of the Chagan of the Turks, was taken by Catibah, -who advanced as far as Cashgar, where he received an embassy from -the Emperor of China. Walid’s brother, MOSLEMAH, one of the most -redoubtable of the Mussulman warriors known to history, defeated -the Chazars in the Caucasus, and annexed Galatia and other parts -of Asia Minor to the empire of his brother (710). But the greatest -and most glorious conquest was that of Spain. As early as the time -of Othman, the Arabs had cast a longing eye upon the fair land of -_Handalusia_,[60] and their piratical squadrons had more than once -ravaged the Spanish coast. The Gothic king, WAMBA, had defeated one -of their expeditionary corps in 675. Since that time no further -attempt had been made on the kingdom of the Visigoths; but the -latter, beholding with apprehension the establishment of the Arabian -power in North Africa, had, in 697, aided the Byzantine emperor in -the attempted relief of Carthage. The king of Spain possessed on the -African coast the fortress of CEUTA (_Septa_ or _Septum_), one of -the columns of Hercules, which is divided by a narrow strait from -the opposite pillar or point on the European coast. This fortress -was held at the beginning of the eighth century by the Gothic Count -JULIAN, brother-in-law of OPPAS, archbishop of Toledo and Seville, -whose brother, WITIZA, was then king of Spain. In 709, Musa made an -attempt to reduce Ceuta, and subdue the small portion of Mauritania -which was still wanting to the conquest of North Africa; but he was -repulsed by Count Julian with considerable loss, and would most -probably have relinquished his project upon Spain, had not internal -dissensions among the Gothic magnates unexpectedly opened to him a -fair prospect of success. King Witiza had attempted to reform the -truly appalling licentiousness of the Spanish clergy, and to curb -the overgrown power of the nobility; but lacking both the crafty -wile of the eleventh Louis of France, and the strong despotic will -of the Tudors of England, his well-meant efforts simply led to his -own deposition (710), which he survived only a few months. The clergy -and nobility elected a king after their own heart, in the person of -RODERIC, a grandson of King RECCASWINTH (or Receswinth[61]). The two -sons of Witiza, and their uncle Oppas, conspired to overthrow the -new monarch, who, it would appear, had been indiscreet enough to -express his intention of removing Count Julian from his Andalusian -and Mauritanian commands, the moment he should think himself -sufficiently powerful to give due force to his royal decrees.[62] -The threatened count was readily induced to join the party of the -conspirators; but dreading lest the force which they could bring -into the field, should prove unavailing against the monarch’s power, -he, who had hitherto been the staunchest defender of his country, did -not hesitate to betray her to the Saracen foe, and to open wide the -portals that had been entrusted to his honor and patriotism to guard. -He and his fellow-conspirators endeavored to soothe the misgivings of -conscience with Musa’s deceptive assurance, that he did not intend to -establish himself in Spain, but would rest content with a share of -the spoil. - -As soon as Musa had obtained Walid’s sanction to the contemplated -enterprise, he sent off an expedition of only four vessels, with -five hundred men on board, to explore the coast of the coveted land. -TARIF ABU ZARA, the commander of this force, landed on the opposite -side of the strait, and marched eighteen miles into the interior, -to the castle and town of the traitor Count of Ceuta[63] (July -710). His glowing report of the wealth of the country, decided Musa -to send over a more powerful expedition under the command of his -freedman, TARIK BEN ZAYAD. The miserable Julian supplied the means of -transport. Five thousand Arabs and seven thousand Moors landed at the -European pillar of Hercules, Mount Calpe, which became, henceforth, -the Mountain of Tarik--_Gebel al Tarik_, a name corrupted afterwards -into the present appellation of Gibraltar (April, 711). Here Tarik -formed a strongly entrenched camp, and gathered around him the -friends of Julian, and also many Jews who were fired with the most -deadly hatred against their Christian persecutors, that had, for more -than a century, oppressed and hunted down this doomed people with a -malignity such as religious fanaticism alone can excite and sustain. -Counts EDECO and THEODEMIR, who had been commanded by the king to -expel the intruders, were defeated with great slaughter; and a -seasonable reinforcement from Africa swelled Tarik’s ranks to above -30,000 men. Roderic, conscious at last of the magnitude of the danger -that threatened to overwhelm his throne and his people, gathered the -flower of the Gothic nation around him, and marched at the head of -100,000 men to encounter the foreign invaders. In the neighbourhood -of Cadiz, at Xeres de la Frontera, on the Guadelete, the hostile -armies met. Three days were spent in desultory, though bloody -fighting; on the fourth day, the actual battle commenced. When night -spread her sable wings, and bade the slaughter cease for a while, -more than half of the Saracen forces lay stretched dead on the ground -they had come to conquer; and had not the vile defection of the -most reverend father in God, the Archbishop of Toledo, and his two -nephews, to whom Roderic’s generous or foolish (it may be read both -ways) confidence had entrusted the most important post, broken the -ranks of the Christians, the severed head of Musa’s freedman might -have graced the battlements of Toledo. As it was, it took three days -to scatter the remains of the Gothic army; and many a Saracen, and -many a Christian traitor to his country, had to bite the dust before -Tarik could pen his laconic “Praise be to Allah!--we have conquered.” -(July 19-26, 711). The hapless king of the Goths was either slain in -the fight or drowned in the waters of the Guadalquivir. The field -of Xeres decided the fate of the Gothic monarchy; nearly the whole -of Spain submitted to Tarik with such extraordinary rapidity, that -the good old Musa, envious of his freedman’s success and fame, bade -him arrest his victorious course, until he himself should arrive to -gather the last and fairest fruits of the victory. Tarik, however, -added Cordova and Toledo, the capital of the Gothic kingdom, to the -list of his conquests, and advanced as far as the Bay of Biscay, -where the failure of land at last compelled him to stop. Here he -received an angry and imperious summons from his jealous chief; who -had, meanwhile, himself crossed over from Africa, at the head of ten -thousand Arabs and eight thousand Moors, and had taken Seville, and -was besieging Merida. The latter city, though valiantly defended, -was at last compelled to surrender. Midway between Merida and -Toledo, Tarik met his chief, who received him with cold and stately -formality, and demanded a strict account of the treasures of the -conquered kingdom. The unfortunate lieutenant speedily found that -Musa would not readily forgive his presumption of subduing Spain in -the absence of his general: he saw himself ignominiously deprived of -his command, and thrown into prison; and Musa carried his resentment -so far, that he ordered the conqueror of Spain to be publicly -scourged. Walid’s imperative commands compelled Musa to restore Tarik -to his position; and the valiant man, who had been so ungenerously -and unworthily treated by the jealous old chief, assisted him with -his accustomed zeal, in achieving the conquest of the still unsubdued -parts of the peninsula. At the end of 712, all resistance had ceased -on the part of the Christians, with the exception of the valiant -prince THEODEMIR, who defended himself several months longer in -Orihuela, and obtained, at last, most favorable terms from Musa’s -son, Abdelaziz, (5th April, 713); and the invincible PELAGIUS, or -PELAYO, and PETRUS, who, in the Asturian, Gallician, and Biscayan -vallies, laid the foundation of a new Christian empire in Spain; -destined, after a time, to renew the struggle and ultimately to expel -the foreign invaders. - -MUSA was a very old man--but though the coloring of his beard, and -other little expedients of art, might fail to obliterate the physical -ravages wrought by eighty-eight years of life, and by the fatigues -and privations of fifty campaigns[64]--yet the vigor of his mind, -and the youthful ardor that fired his breast, remained unimpaired: -and, like that marvellous old man of a later period, great DANDOLO, -the approach of ninety found him revolving enterprises of stupendous -magnitude; aye, no less than the conquest of Gaul, Italy, Germany, -and the Greek empire. He was preparing to pass the Pyrenees,[65] -and bid the kingdom of the Franks cease to exist, when an imperious -command from Damascus, called both him and Tarik thither, to render -an account of their proceedings to the commander of the faithful. -Tarik obeyed; Musa delayed complying with the Khalif’s summons, until -a second and still more peremptory message left the old chief no -other alternative but obedience or open rebellion: and, as his own -loyalty, or that of his troops, put the latter out of question, he -set at once diligently about preparing for his return to Damascus. -He confided the government of Spain to his son, ABDELAZIZ; that of -Africa, to his son, ABDALLAH. Taking with him immense treasures in -gold and silver, and, among others, the famous emerald table of -Solomon, encircled with pearls and gems--a spoil of the Romans from -the east, and which, it would appear, had fallen into the hands of -Alaric, in the sack of Rome[66] (410, A.D.); and attended by thirty -Gothic princes, 400 nobles, and 18,000 male and female captives of -humbler degree, he set out from Ceuta on his way to Damascus. At -Tiberias, in Palestine, he received a private message from SULEIMAN, -or SOLIMAN, the brother and presumptive heir of Walid, informing him -that the Khalif was dying, and commanding him, as he valued Soliman’s -friendship, to reserve his triumphal entry into Damascus for the -inauguration of the new reign. - -Musa, who might deem Soliman’s anger less dangerous than the -resentment of the Khalif should he recover, disregarded the -injunction, and pursued his march to Damascus, where he arrived just -in time to afford the dying Walid the gratification of beholding -the spoils of Africa and of Spain,[67] soon after which, the most -powerful of the Khalifs bowed his head to the stroke of the mighty -master of kings and emperors (October, 714). His successor, SOLIMAN, -was an able and energetic prince, but of a despotic and ruthless -disposition. Musa was arraigned at the judgment seat of the new -Khalif, for abuse of power and disobedience to orders. The unworthy -treatment which the victor of Xeres had suffered at the hands of his -jealous chief, was avenged by a similar indignity inflicted upon the -latter: the veteran commander was publicly scourged, and then kept -waiting a whole day before the palace gate, till the “_mercy_” of -Soliman accorded him a sentence of exile to Mecca. He was, moreover, -adjudged to pay to the public treasury, a fine of 200,000 pieces of -gold. Afraid lest the sons of the despoiled and insulted old man, -should attempt to avenge the injuries of their father, the worthy -son of Abd-el-Malek secretly dispatched to Africa and Spain, decrees -commanding the extermination of Musa’s family; and, by a refinement -of cruelty worthy of a Caligula, Caracalla, or Justinian II., he -had the head of Abdelaziz presented to the bereaved father, with an -insulting question, whether he knew the features of the rebel? “I -know his features,” exclaimed the hapless old man, in a paroxysm of -grief and indignation; “he was loyal and true. May the same fate -overtake the base authors of his death!” -- -- -- Musa’s death, a -few weeks after, of the anguish of a broken heart, spared Soliman an -additional crime. The victor of Xeres fared but little better than -his ancient commander; though, indeed, he was not made to expiate -by death, imprisonment, or exile, the great services which he had -rendered his country. CATIBAH, who had every reason to dread a -similar fate as Musa’s and Tarik’s, rose in arms against the jealous -tyrant of Damascus, and had the good fortune to meet with a glorious -death on the battle field. - -Soliman resolved to render his reign famous by the overthrow of the -Greek empire, and the conquest of Constantinople. His preparations, -both by land and sea, were made on a gigantic scale. His brother, -the redoubtable MOSLEMAH, invaded Asia Minor at the head of 70,000 -foot and 50,000 horse, with an immense train of camels, (716). The -city of Tyana fell into the hands of the Moslems, and Amorium was -closely besieged by them. The troops in Amorium were commanded at -the time by General LEO, a native of Isauria. The original name of -this remarkable man, was KONON; his father had come over from Asia -Minor to Thrace, and had settled as a grazier there. He must have -acquired considerable wealth in that lucrative business, since he -could afford a gift of 500 sheep to the Imperial camp, to procure -for his son admission into the guards of Justinian. The personal -strength of the young soldier, and his dexterity in all martial -exercises attracted the notice of the emperor, who speedily advanced -him to the higher grades of military rank. Anastasius II. confided -to him the command of the Anatolian legions, and it was in this -capacity that he defended Amorium against the Saracens. One of those -sudden revolutions so frequent in the Byzantine court, compelled -Anastasius to hand over the sceptre to an obscure officer of the -revenue, who assumed the name of Theodosius III. General Leo refused -to acknowledge the new emperor, and managed so skilfully, that -not only did the troops under his command invest _him_ with the -imperial purple, but the Arabs, it would appear, accorded him and -his army free and undisturbed departure from Amorium. He marched -upon Constantinople, and Theodosius seeing himself in danger of -being abandoned by the very troops who had so recently exalted him, -willingly resigned to the hands of the general and emperor of the -Oriental troops, the sceptre which, moreover, he had accepted with -extreme reluctance only. He was permitted to retire with his son -to the shelter of a monastery, where he had ample time to paint -golden letters, an occupation which marvellously suited the natural -indolence of his disposition. - -LEO, third of the name, who figures in history usually as the -_Isaurian_, or the _Iconoclast_, was fully aware of the intention of -the Arabs to attempt the reduction of Constantinople; he, therefore, -made every preparation which military experience could suggest, -or engineering skill devise, to give them a fitting reception. In -July, 717, after the reduction of Pergamus, Moslemah transported -his army from Asia to Europe, across the Hellespont or Dardanelles, -at the most narrow part of the passage (from Abydos to Sestos); and -thence, wheeling his troops round Gallipoli, Heraclea, and the other -Thracian cities of the Propontis, or Sea of Marmara, he invested -Constantinople on the land side. An offer made by the Greeks, to -purchase the withdrawal of the besieging forces by the payment of a -piece of gold for each inhabitant of the city, was contemptuously -rejected; and Moslemah pushed on the operations of the siege with the -greatest vigor, but without any corresponding success, the Isaurian -repelling every attack with a bravery and determination, such as the -Saracens had but little expected to see displayed by the apparently -effete Greeks. Moslemah’s hopes were swelled high, however, by the -arrival of the navies of Syria and Egypt, to the number of 1800 -vessels,[68] with 50,000 men on board. The Saracen commander fixed a -night for a general assault by land and sea, and proudly boasted that -by the morning the city should be his. When that morning came, the -Greek fire had done its work; and scarce a vestige remained of the -proud fleet, or of those who had manned it; and ten thousand Arabs -and Persians slain, bore witness how fiercely Moslemah had assaulted -the defences of Byzantium, and how bravely and vigorously the -Isaurian and his gallant troops had repulsed the hostile multitudes. -From this check, Moslemah essayed in vain to recover: he became soon -painfully conscious that the conviction of invincibility, which had -hitherto so materially contributed to the great successes of the -Saracen arms, was, if not altogether destroyed, at least considerably -shaken. His assaults were now repulsed with apparent ease almost, -and all his attempts at surprises were defeated by the ever watchful -Isaurian. One hope still remained to restore the ancient supremacy -of the Moslem arms: Khalif Soliman had gathered a formidable host -of Arabians, Persians, and Turks, and was preparing to lead them -to his brother’s assistance. The eyes of both the besiegers and -the besieged were anxiously turned towards the Khalif’s camp near -Chalcis (or Kinnisrin) in Syria; and Leo was endeavoring, by gifts -and promises, to attract an army of Bulgarians from the Danube to pit -them against the Saracens; and thus, perchance, to free the Byzantine -empire from all danger, by the mutual destruction of its Barbarian -foes. But it so happened that the Commander of the Faithful could -not command his appetite; a meal of two scores or so of eggs, and -a matter of six or seven pounds of figs, followed up by a dessert -of marrow and sugar, proved too much for even his well-seasoned -stomach; he paid with his life the penalty of his gluttony (717). -He had appointed his cousin, OMAR BEN ABDELAZIZ, to succeed him in -the khalifate. Omar, second of the name, was a most estimable man, -but a very indifferent prince; much fitter, indeed, to be the head -of a monastery of ascetics, than of a powerful empire. The first act -of his reign was to order the cessation of the Syrian armaments, -which might have been a wise measure, had it been accompanied by the -recall of Moslemah and his forces from the siege of Constantinople. -His neglect of the latter measure entailed upon the unfortunate -natives of the sultry climes of Egypt and Arabia, the unspeakable -hardships of a most severe winter, passed in a frozen camp. In spring -(718), he made an effort to relieve their wants, and to fill up the -gaps which cold, famine, and disease had made in the ranks of the -besieging army. Two numerous fleets were sent on this errand, one -from Alexandria, the other from the ports of Africa. They succeeded, -indeed, in landing the stores and reinforcements, but they found it -as vain to contend against the Greek fire, as the armada which, the -year before, had so proudly threatened to erase the Roman name from -among the nations. Meanwhile, the Bulgarians had been bribed into an -alliance with the Greek emperor, and these savage auxiliaries proved -formidable antagonists to the exhausted and half-starved Asiatics. -Still the intrepid Moslemah was not dismayed, and although he was -compelled to relinquish all further attempts upon the defences of the -city, he defeated, on his part, all attacks made on his camp: until, -at length, Khalif Omar sent him the welcome order to raise the siege, -(August, 718). The retreat of the Arabian forces was effected without -delay or molestation; but of the fleet, tempests destroyed what the -fire of Callinicus had spared, and of 700 vessels that had proudly -sailed forth, five only returned to the port of Alexandria, to tell -the sad tale of the disastrous loss of their companions. Byzantium -was saved, and the victorious Isaurian found himself at liberty to -prepare for his meditated warfare against canvas, wood, brass, and -marble. - -The good and pious Omar distinguished his reign chiefly by the -abolition or “repeal” of the curse against Ali and his adherents -which had for nearly sixty years been daily pronounced from the -pulpits (719). By this act of simple justice, and by his somewhat -hasty and incautious attempts to reform the fearful abuses which had -crept into the administration of the empire under his predecessors, -he excited the determined hostility of his own family, and of the -Vizirs and high officers of state. A dose of poison removed him -(720). His successor, YEZID II., had none of his virtues, but most -of the vices of his other predecessors of the line of Ommiyah. It -was in the reign of this prince, and in that of his successor, that -the family Hashem, in two of its branches, viz. the ALIDES, or -FATIMITES, i.e. the descendants of Ali and Fatima, and the ABASSIDES, -that is the descendants of Abbas, the uncle of the prophet, began to -urge their claims to the throne of the Khalifa. Indeed, Mohammed, -the great grandson of Abbas, was secretly acknowledged as the true -commander of the Faithful, by a considerable body of the inhabitants -of Chorasan, and his son IBRAHIM was even enabled to hoist the black -flag of the Abassides[69] in that province; the gloomy banner was -triumphantly borne onward by ABU MOSLEM, the intrepid and invincible -champion of the Abassides, the _King-maker_ of the East, but, who -was fated at last, like the English King-maker, to experience the -usual gratitude of princes. From the Indus to the Euphrates, the -East was convulsed by the fearful struggle between the white and the -black factions, and the fairest provinces of Asia were deluged with -blood to void the ancient quarrel between Ommiyah and Hashem, and to -decide which of two equally vile races of despots had the _better -right_ to trample on God’s fair creation. The struggle terminated for -a time in 750, with the overthrow and almost total extirpation of the -Ommiades--but of this hereafter. - -YEZID died in 722 or 723, of grief for the death of a favorite -concubine. He was succeeded by his brother HESHAM, a prince not -altogether destitute of good qualities. Hesham had to contend against -the Fatimite ZEID, the grandson of Hassan, who was, however, speedily -overcome, and had to pay with his life the penalty of his ambition. -The struggle against the more successful Abassides has been mentioned -in the preceding paragraph. - -After Musa’s departure from Spain, and the murder of his son -Abdelaziz, AJUB was proclaimed by the Arabian and Moorish troops, -governor of the Spanish peninsula; he fixed his residence at Cordova. -Under him and his more immediate successors numerous colonies came -over to Spain from various parts of the Saracen dominions in Asia and -Africa; of these the royal legion of Damascus was planted at Cordova; -that of Emesa at Seville; that of Chalcis at Jaen; that of Palestine -at Algezire and Medina Sidonia. The Egyptian bands were permitted to -share with the original conquerors their establishments of Murcia -and Lisbon. The immigrants from Yemen and Persia were located round -Toledo, and in the inland country; and ten thousand horsemen of Syria -and Irak, the children of the purest and most noble Arabian tribes, -settled in the fertile seats of Grenada.[70] - -AJUB’S successor in the government of Spain, EL HORR BEN ABDERRAHMAN -resolved to annex to the dominions under his sway the Gallic -province of Septimania or Languedoc, of which the eastern part, -with Narbonne and Carcassone, was still remaining in the hands of -the Visigoths; the western part, Aquitaine and Thoulouse having -been severed from the Gothic kingdom in 508, by Clovis. But he was -defeated and driven back by the Christians; in consequence of the -ill-success of his operations, the Khalif removed him from the -command, and named EL ZAMA governor in his stead. That bold and -skilful general speedily succeeded in reducing the whole of the -Narbonnese province (720); whence he marched into Aquitaine, and -laid siege to Thoulouse. Here he found a more formidable foe to -encounter--the FRANKS, who were ultimately to check the further -advance of Islam and its followers into the fairest provinces of -Europe. The history of that nation, and of its successful leader -against the Saracen invaders, forms the subject of the second part of -this volume. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[43] _Khalifet Resul Allah_, i.e. lieutenant, or representative of -the prophet of God. - -[44] Omar was the first to assume the additional title of _Emir al -Mumenin_, i.e. prince, or commander, of the faithful. - -[45] Jabalah had embraced the religion of Islam. On the occasion of -the pilgrimage to Mecca, the irascible prince had dealt an Arabian, -who had accidentally trod on the skirt of his long robe, a severe -blow with his fist, which broke the bridge of the nose of the -assaulted man. The Khalif Omar having demanded satisfaction for the -aggrieved Moslem, and threatened the proud Gassanide chief with the -application of the lex talionis, Jabalah, feeling highly indignant -at the notion, fled, and returned to the profession of the Christian -faith. - -[46] Yezdegerd fled finally to the territory of Tergana, on the -Jaxartes. In an attempt which he made in 651, to invade his lost -empire at the head of some Turkish tribes, he met his death, it would -appear, at the hands of his barbarian allies. One of the daughters of -Yezdegerd married Hassan, the son of Ali, and the other, Mohammed, -the son of Abu Bekr. - -[47] The Nestorians and Jacobites bestowed on the self-styled -Catholics of the Greek and Roman church, the name of _Melchites_, -or _Royalists_, to mark that their faith, instead of resting on the -basis of Scripture, reason, or tradition, had been established solely -by the power of a temporal monarch. - -[48] “Six months,” the Worthy Jacobite says, “the 4000 baths of the -city were heated with the volumes of paper and parchment.” These -volumes must have been bulky indeed, and must have contained a -surprising amount of latent heat, considering that, even admitting -the library to have existed at the time, and conceding to it the -largest number of volumes claimed by the most extravagant writers, -viz., 720,000, one single volume per day must have sufficed to heat -a public bath! Verily, verily, history is made the most inexact -of all sciences. The flames which Cæsar was compelled to kindle -in his defence, in the Bruchion (the Belgravia or Tyburnia of the -city of Alexander); the havoc and depredation committed by the -Alexandrian mob during the troubles of the _shoes_ (so called from -the circumstance that these terrible troubles, which are said to -have lasted above twelve years [from 261 to 273 A.D.], were first -occasioned by a dispute between a soldier and a townsman about a pair -of shoes); and the destruction inflicted on the Bruchion by Aurelian, -in 273, cannot have left much behind of that portion of the splendid -library of the Ptolemies which was kept in the museum. And the other -portion of it, which was kept in the Temple of Serapis, to which -latter place it is most probable the celebrated Pergamese library, -presented by Marcus Antonius to Cleopatra, had also been sent, was -totally destroyed in 389, in the reign of Theodosius I., by a bigoted -Christian mob, under the leadership of the Archbishop Theophilus, a -much more ignorant and brutal zealot than either Omar or Amru. - -[49] Othman’s foster-brother, the same whom Mohammed had so -reluctantly pardoned after the taking of Mecca. He was renowned as -the boldest and most dexterous horseman of Arabia. - -[50] Callinicus was either a native of Heliopolis, in Syria, or of -Egypt. This clever chemist had been for a while in the service of the -Khalif; but, offended at the slight estimation in which his science -was held by the ignorant sons of the desert, he went over to the -emperor, and placed in the hands of the Christians that marvellous -and mysterious agent, the _Greek fire_, which afterwards repeatedly -saved Constantinople from falling into the hands of its barbarian -besiegers. It is certainly a curious coincidence, that, at a later -period of history, Sultan Mohammed II. was most materially assisted -in the reduction of the city of the Cæsars, by another man of -science, the Hungarian URBAN, who, having been almost starved in the -Greek service, had deserted to the Moslems, for whom he cast cannons -of enormous size and weight of metal. - -[51] The victory of Bassora is therefore usually called the Day of -the Camel; seventy men who successively held the bridle of the camel -which carried Ayesha’s litter, were all either killed or more or less -severely wounded. - -[52] That is, “God is great,” or “God is victorious.” - -[53] Abder-Rahman. - -[54] January; according to some historians, Midsummer, 660; others -place the event in August, 661. - -[55] But many of the tribes revered the name and memory of Ali. His -refusal to be bound by the tradition, or Sonna, became a kind of -religious creed, and a wide and deep gulf was opened between two -rival sects, the _Sonnites_, or believers in the tradition, and the -_Schiites_, or sectaries, who reject the tradition, regard Ali as the -_Vicar of God_, and his three predecessors as execrable usurpers. The -religious discord of the friends and enemies of Ali may be said to be -actually maintained still to the present day in the immortal hatred -of the Schiite Persians, and the Sonnite Turks. The twelve Imams, -or pontiffs, of the Persian church are Ali, Hassan, Hosein, and the -lineal descendants of Hosein to the ninth generation. The curse -against Ali and his adherents was abolished by Omar II., in 719. - -[56] The ruins of the ancient city of Carthage are about ten miles -east of Tunis. - -[57] At least in Syria and Irak. - -[58] One of the most remarkable men of the period; he was said to -unite the fierceness of the lion with the subtlety of the fox; his -eventful life would furnish ample material for ten historic romances. - -[59] It would appear, from Leo Africanus, that a considerable body of -Goths formed part of the army of relief. - -[60] Handalusia signifies, in Arabic, the country of the West; -and the Arabs applied the name not only to the modern province -of Andalusia, but to the whole peninsula of Spain. The attempted -derivation of the name of Andalusia from the Vandals (Vandalusia) -is most improbable. LEMBKE travels still farther out of the way of -all rational probability, by assigning the etymological paternity -of the name to _Andalos_, whom the Arabians number among Noah’s -grandchildren. - -[61] 649-672. - -[62] This would certainly seem to have been the true cause of -Julian’s defection; the story of the seduction or violation of his -daughter Florinda (surnamed _la Cava_, i.e., the wicked), lacks all -true historic foundation. _Mariana_, the Jesuit historian, to whom we -are chiefly indebted for this pretty tale, was too apt to draw on his -lively imagination, where historical evidence failed him. - -[63] The place on which the Arabs landed is marked to the present day -by the name of their chief Tarif (Tarifa); on the coast they bestowed -the name of the Green Island (_Algesiras_ or _Algezire_). - -[64] Musa had fought in Syria; he had assisted Moawiyah in the -reduction of Cyprus (648), and had held the government of that -island; he had subsequently been governor of Irak, and after this, -governor of Egypt; Sardinia, Majorca, and Minorca, also had felt his -presence. - -[65] Though some historians lead Musa (in 712) into the Narbonnese -Gaul, there are strong reasons to reject this as an erroneous -supposition; it is more than doubtful whether the old chief ever -passed the Pyrenees. - -[66] The statement made by some historians, that _Ætius_ presented -this table as a gift to _Torismund_, after the victory of Chalons -(451), seems to rest on a very slender foundation; and so, I am -inclined to think, do the 365 feet of gems and massive gold so -liberally bestowed upon the table by Oriental writers. Another -tradition substitutes, as the gift of the Roman patrician, the famous -Missorium, or great golden dish for the service of the communion -table, which is stated to have weighed 500 pounds, and to have been -adorned with a profusion of gems. - -[67] Some historians make Musa arrive _after_ the death of Walid; -and some place the latter event a year later (715). The records of -the period of the early Khalifs are so confused and contradictory -that it is by no means easy always to ascertain the correct date of -an event; the difficulty is considerably increased by the error into -which some historians have fallen, of confounding the lunar year of -the Mohammedans with the solar year of the Julian era. The common -lunar year of the Hegira has 354 days; but the Mohammedans count, -in a cyclus of 30 years, 11 leap years of 355 days (the 2nd, 5th, -7th, 10th, 13th, 16th, 18th, 21st, 24th, 25th and 29th years of the -cyclus). - -[68] Of small size, of course. - -[69] In the separation of parties, the _green_ color was adopted -by the Alides, or Fatimites, the _black_ color by the Abassides, -and the _white_ color by the Ommiades; these colors were displayed -respectively by the several parties, not only in their standards but -also in their garments and turbans. - -[70] Gibbon. - - - - - PART II. - - THE FRANKS. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - THE FRANK CONFEDERACY.--CLOVIS, THE FOUNDER OF THE FRANK MONARCHY. - - -A great deal of labor and ingenuity has been wasted in futile -endeavors to trace the origin of a _distinct_ Frank nation; however, -after exhausting every possible means of research, and every probable -and improbable suggestion of fancy, the most rational writers are -now agreed in looking upon the supposed existence of a distinct -FRANK nation as a myth,[71] and in believing that the name of -_Franks_ or _Freemen_ was assumed, most probably about the middle -of the third century after Christ, by a _league of several Germanic -nations_, of whom the most important were the SIGAMBRIANS and the -CATTI. The former constituted, with the BRUCTERI, the CHAMAVIANS, -the CHATTUARII, and perhaps also part of the BATAVIANS, the _lower_ -branch of the confederacy; towards the end of the third century their -settlements extended along the eastern bank of the Rhine, from the -Lippe down to the mouth of the great German river; they occupied -also the island of the Batavians, and the land between the Rhine and -Meuse, and down to the Scheld. From the settlement of the Sigambrians -on the _Yssel_ or _Sala_, this branch of the confederacy received -the name of the _Salian_[72] Franks. The CATTI, the AMBSIVARIANS, -and some other tribes, (including perhaps even the HERMUNDURI, or -THURINGIANS?) constituted the _upper_ branch of the confederacy. - -The upper Franks extended their settlements from the lands between -the Mein and Lippe gradually along both banks of the Rhine, from -Mayence to Cologne; and, although repeatedly driven back by the -Romans, they ultimately retained possession of the left bank of the -river; whence they were also called _Riparian_ or _Ripuarian_ Franks -(from the Latin _ripa_, bank, shore). - -The Franks repeatedly invaded Gaul, more particularly in the reigns -of Valerian[73] (253-260), and of Gallienus (260-268); and though -the Romans boast of numerous victories achieved at the time against -them, under the leadership of Posthumus, the general of Valerian, -but who afterwards usurped the empire in Gaul,[74] yet it is certain -that the Franks not only carried their devastations from the Rhine -to the foot of the Pyrenees, but numbers of them actually crossed -these mountains, and ravaged Spain during twelve years; when they had -exhausted that unfortunate country, they seized on some vessels in -the ports of Spain, and crossed over to the coast of Africa, where -their sudden appearance created the utmost consternation. The Emperor -Probus defeated the Franks in 277, and transported a colony of them -to the sea-coast of Pontus, where he established them with a view -of strengthening the frontier against the inroads of the Alani. But -impelled by their unconquerable love of country and freedom, they -seized on a number of vessels in one of the harbors of the Euxine, -sailed boldly through the Bosphorus and the Hellespont, and, cruising -along the coast of the Mediterranean, made frequent descents upon -the coasts of Asia, Greece, and Africa, and actually took and sacked -the opulent city of Syracuse, in the island of Sicily; whence they -proceeded to the Columns of Hercules, where they made their way into -the Atlantic, and coasting round Spain and Gaul, reached the British -Channel, sailed through it, and landed ultimately in safety, and -richly laden with spoil, on the Batavian shore. - -In 287, the Menapian CARAUSIUS, who usurped the imperial purple in -Britain, granted to the Franks the island of the Batavians, and the -land between Meuse and Scheld. CONSTANTIUS (293), and CONSTANTINE -(313), expelled them from these provinces; the Ripuarians also felt -the heavy hand of Constantine, and of his son CRISPUS; the latter -expelled them for a time from the left bank of the Rhine. But Julian -found both the Salians and the Ripuarians in their old places; and, -though successful against both (357 and 358), contented himself with -the partial expulsion of the Ripuarians and the Chamavians, leaving -the Sigambrians in quiet possession of the island of the Batavians, -and the extensive district of Brabant, which they had occupied, on -condition that they should henceforth hold themselves subjects and -auxiliaries of the Roman empire. However, the expelled tribes soon -made their reappearance on the banks of the Rhine, and, at the end of -the fourth century, the Franks had regained complete possession of -their old quarters. - -Stilicho, the great minister and general of the contemptible -Honorius, made it one of the first acts of his administration to -secure the alliance of the warlike Franks against the enemies of -Rome (395). He succeeded so well, it would appear, that the Franks -actually handed over to the discretion of his justice, one of their -kings or dukes,[75] Marcomir, who was accused of having violated the -faith of treaties; the accused prince was exiled to Tuscany, his -brother SUNNO, who attempted to avenge the insult which he deemed -had been put upon the nation by this degradation of the dignity of -one of its chiefs, met with a harsher fate at the hands of his own -countrymen: he was slain by them; and the princes whom Stilicho had -appointed, were cheerfully acknowledged. The fact that Stilicho -himself was of German (Vandalian) extraction, may account in some -degree for this extraordinary subserviency of the Franks to the will -and wishes of the master of the Western Empire. On this occasion, the -Franks had engaged to protect the province of Gaul against invasion -from the side of Germany. An opportunity of proving their sincerity -and fidelity to Rome, or perhaps rather to the great minister who -had made the treaty of alliance with them, offered in the year 406, -when the confederated nations of the VANDALS, the ALANI, the SUEVI, -and the BURGUNDIANS, were moving in a body to the Rhine with the -intention of invading Gaul; and most honestly and valiantly indeed -did the Franks acquit themselves of the duty undertaken by them. It -so happened that the Vandals were the first to make their appearance -on the bank of the river; proudly relying on their numbers they -attempted to force the passage, without awaiting the coming up of -the other confederated nations. They paid the penalty of their -rashness; twenty thousand of them were slain, among them their king, -GODIGISCLUS; and the opportune arrival of the ALANI, whose squadrons -trampled down the infantry of the Franks, alone saved the nation of -the Vandals from total destruction. Attacked by the combined forces -of the confederates, the Franks were at last compelled to give way. -On the 31st December, 406, the Suevi, the Alani, the Vandals, and the -Burgundians, crossed the frozen Rhine without further opposition, and -thus entered the defenceless provinces of Gaul, where the Burgundians -formed a lasting settlement, the other nations of the confederacy -proceeding subsequently further on to Spain and Lusitania. - -History leaves us in the dark as to the period when the Franks first -submitted to the sway of _hereditary_ princes; but this much seems -certain, that it must have been long before the time of Pharamond; -and also that their long-haired kings[76] did not derive the name of -_Merovingians_, from Meroveus, the grandson of Pharamond, but either -from some more ancient Meroveus; or perhaps from _Merve_, the name -which the Meuse receives after its union with the Waal (an arm of the -Rhine); or from the same name of a castle near Dortrecht, supposed to -have been the family seat of the Frankian kings. - -It would appear that PHARAMOND, the son of Marcomir, was elevated -on the buckler,[77] about 410, and that his son CLODION succeeded -him in 428. It is somewhat doubtful whether these two kings held -sway over the Ripuarians as well as over the Salians, or even over -all the nations which constituted the league of the latter. Clodion -had his residence at _Dispargum_ (Duisborch?[78]), in Brabant, -somewhere between Louvain and Brussels. Soon after his accession, -this prince invaded Belgic Gaul, took Tournay and Cambray, and -advanced as far as the river Somme. He was surprised and defeated in -the plains of Artois, by ÆTIUS, the general of the Western empire -(430); but that astute politician deemed it the wiser course to -secure the friendship of the powerful leader of the warlike Franks, -and therefore conceded to him free possession of the conquered -province. _Clodion_ died about 448 (450?) He left two sons who -disputed his succession. All we can gather from the very confused and -contradictory accounts of this period, is that the younger of the two -sons, whose name is not mentioned, was raised on the buckler by the -Ripuarian, the elder, MERVEY or MEROVEUS,[79] by the Salian Franks; -and that the former joined ATTILA in his invasion of Gaul, and fought -on the side of the Huns in the great battle of Chalons (451); whilst -Meroveus, with his Salians joined the standard of Ætius, and combated -on the side of the Romans and Visigoths. Mervey’s son, CHILDERIC, -offended the Franks by his excesses and his arbitrary proceedings: -he was deposed by them, and was compelled to seek a refuge at the -court of the King of the Thuringians, BISINUS or BASINUS. The -Franks having thus disposed of their king, proceeded to bestow the -royal dignity upon ÆGIDIUS, the Roman master-general of Gaul, who, -after the compelled abdication and the most suspicious death of the -Emperor MAJORIAN, in 461, had refused to acknowledge the successor -forced upon the acceptance of the Roman Senate by the all-powerful -Patrician RICIMER, the instigator of Majorian’s fall, and had -assumed the sovereignty over the _remnant_ of the Gallic province -which still obeyed the Roman sway. However, a few years after, the -Franks, who found the Roman system of taxation more oppressive and -objectionable than any act of Childeric’s, recalled that prince, -and, under his guidance, expelled the “tax-gatherers” (465). Ægidius -acquiesced with a good grace in a change which he had not the power -to oppose. Childeric had been most hospitably entertained by King -BISINUS; but the _hospitality_ extended to him by the wife of that -monarch, Queen BASINA, was, by all accounts, still more _liberal_ -than that shown to the interesting guest by her worthy husband. -After Childeric’s restoration, Basina left her husband, and rejoined -her lover: the fruit of this voluntary union was CLOVIS, who, at -the age of fifteen, succeeded, by his father’s death, to the rule -of that portion of the Salian territory, over which Childeric had -held sway, and which was confined to the island of the Batavians, -with the ancient dioceses of Tournay and Arras; for the custom of -the Franks to divide the treasures and territories of a deceased -duke or king equally among his sons, had had the natural effect -to split the kingdom of Pharamond into several parts independent -of each other. CLOVIS combined with an insatiable ambition, all -the qualities requisite to satisfy that all-absorbing passion. His -personal bravery was controlled and directed by cool and consummate -prudence. He wielded the _francisca_ (the battle-axe of the Franks) -with formidable strength and skill; and he did not hesitate, when -occasion required, to make his own soldiers feel the weight of -his arm and the precision of his aim. He subjected the barbarians -whom he commanded to the strict rules of a severe discipline which -he enforced with unbending rigor. A crafty and astute politician, -he was endowed with the most essential requisites for success, -_patience_ and _perseverance_. In the pursuit and accomplishment of -his ambitious designs, he trampled on every law of God and nature: no -feeling of pity ever stayed, no fear of retribution ever restrained, -his murderous hands. He was indeed the worthy progenitor of a line of -princes fit to take the proudest place among the highest aristocracy -of crime, to put to the blush the _Neros_, the _Caligulas_, the -_Domitians_, the _Caracallas_, the _Elagabalus_ of imperial Rome, and -to rank with the _Bourbons_, the _Hapsburgs_ and the _Tudors_. At the -age of twenty, he made war upon SYAGRIUS, the son of Ægidius, who had -inherited from his father the city and diocese of Soissons, and whose -sway was acknowledged also by the cities and territories of Rheims, -Troyes, Beauvais and Amiens. In alliance with his cousin RAGNACHAR, -King of the Franks of Cambray, and some other Merovingian princes, -he defeated Syagrius at Soissons, and reduced in the brief space of -a few months the remnant of the Roman dominion in Gaul, and which -had survived ten years the extinction of the Western empire (486). -Syagrius fled to Thoulouse, where he flattered himself to find a safe -asylum; but in vain: ALARIC II., the son of the great EURIC, was a -minor, and the men who governed the kingdom of the Visigoths in his -name, were but too readily intimidated by the threats of Clovis, and -pusillanimously delivered up the hapless fugitive to certain death. A -few years after (491), Clovis enlarged his dominions towards the east -by the ample diocese of Tongres. In 498, he married the Burgundian -princess CLOTILDA, who, in the midst of an Arian court, had been -educated in the Nicean faith.[80] Clotilda’s endeavors to convert her -husband to Christianity were not very successful at first, though he -consented to the baptism of his first-born son; the sudden death of -the infant, which the ignorant and superstitious Pagan was inclined -to attribute to the anger of his gods, had well-nigh proved fatal to -any further attempt at conversion; still the beauty and blandishments -of the pious queen succeeded at last in overcoming the scruples and -apprehensions of her husband, and gaining his consent to a repetition -of the experiment: this time the infant survived, and Clovis began -to listen with greater favor to the exhortations of his Christian -spouse. - -In the year 496, the Alemanni,[81] who occupied both banks of the -Rhine, from the source of that river to its conflux with the Mein and -the Moselle, and had spread themselves over the modern provinces of -Alsace and Lorraine, invaded the territories of SIGEBERT, the king of -the Ripuarian Franks, who had his seat at Cologne. Sigebert, unable -to resist the invaders single-handed, invoked the powerful aid of his -cousin, Clovis, and the latter hastened at once to the rescue. He -encountered the invaders in the plain of TOLBIAC (_Zülpich_), about -twenty-four miles from Cologne. A fierce battle ensued. For several -hours it raged with unabated fury, without any decided advantage -being gained by either party; at length the Franks gave way, and the -Alemanni raised shouts of victory. Clovis saw his dream of power and -ambition rapidly fading away; in his extremity he invoked the God -of Clotilda and the Christians, to grant him the victory over his -enemies, which service he vowed duly to acknowledge, by consenting -to be baptised.[82] Resolved, however, to do his share also towards -the achievement of the victory which he was imploring the Christian -Lord of Hosts to vouchsafe him, he rallied his discomfited troops, -and placing himself at their head, led them on again to the attack, -and by his valor and conduct, succeeded in restoring the battle. The -franciscas, and the heavy swords of the Franks, made fearful havoc -in the hostile ranks; the king, and many of the most valiant chiefs -of the Alemanni, were slain, and ere evening the power of one of -the fiercest and most warlike nations of Germany, was annihilated. -Pursued by the victorious Franks into the heart of their forests, the -Alemanni were forced to submit to the yoke of the conqueror; some -of their tribes fled to the territory of the Gothic king of Italy, -THEODORIC, who assigned them settlements in Rhætia, and interceded, -with his brother-in-law,[83] in favor of the conquered nation. - -In his distress, Clovis had vowed to adore the God of the Christians, -if He would succour him; the danger past, and the victory achieved, -the perfidious Frank would gladly have made light of his vow, but -for the incessant importunities of Clotilda, and of Remigius, the -Catholic bishop of Rheims. On the day of Christmas in the same year, -(496), Clovis was baptised in the Cathedral of Rheims with 3000 of -his warlike subjects; and the remainder of the Salians speedily -followed the example. As the kings of the Goths, Burgundians, and -Vandals were Arians, and even the Greek emperor, Anastasius, was not -quite free from the taint of heresy; the Bishop of Rome, ANASTASIUS -II., overjoyed at the conversion of the powerful king of the Franks -to the Nicean faith, hailed the neophyte as the “_Most Christian -King_.” - -The conversion of Clovis to the Catholic faith stood him in excellent -need in his schemes of further aggrandisement. His arms were -henceforward supported by the favor and zeal of the Catholic clergy, -more especially in the discontented cities of Gaul, under the sway of -the Arian kings of the Visigoths and the Burgundians. The Armoricans, -or Bretons, in the north-western provinces of Gaul, who had hitherto -bravely and successfully resisted all attempts of the _Pagan_ chief -to conquer them, were now gradually induced to submit to an equal and -honorable union with a Christian people, governed by a _Catholic_ -king (497-500); and the remnants of the Roman troops (most of them -of barbarian extraction), also acknowledged the sway of Clovis, -on condition of their being permitted to retain their arms, their -ensigns, and their peculiar dress and institutions. - -Clotilda had never ceased to urge her husband to make war upon -her uncle Gundobald, the murderer of her father. Her other uncle, -GODEGESIL, had been permitted by his rapacious brother to retain the -dependent principality of Geneva. But fearful lest Gundobald should -treat him in the end the same as he had his other brothers, he lent -a willing ear to the suggestions of his niece, and the tempting -offers of the Frankish king, and entered into a secret compact with -the latter to betray and abandon the cause of his brother on the -first favorable opportunity. Hereupon Clovis declared war against -the King of Burgundy, and invaded his territories: in the year 500 -or 501, the armies of the Franks and the Burgundians met between -Langres and Dijon. The treacherous desertion, at the decisive moment, -of Godegesil and the troops of Geneva, saved Clovis from defeat. -Apprehensive of the disaffection of the Gauls, Gundobald abandoned -the castle of Dijon, and the important cities of Lyons and Vienna, -to the king of the Franks, and continued his flight till he had -reached Avignon; but here he made a stand, and defended the city -with such skill and vigor, that Clovis ultimately consented to a -treaty of peace, which made the king of Burgundy tributary to him, -and stipulated the cession of the province of Vienna to Godegesil, -as a reward for his treachery. A garrison of 5000 Franks was left -at Vienna, to secure the somewhat doubtful allegiance of Godegesil, -and also to protect the latter against the vengeance of his offended -brother. But Gundobald, unscrupulous and truculent though he was -in the pursuit of his grasping policy, was yet not lacking wisdom. -As soon as the conclusion of the peace with Clovis had restored -to him the remnant of his kingdom, he applied himself to gain the -affections of his Roman and Gallic subjects, by the promulgation of -a code of wise and impartial laws[84] (502), and to conciliate the -Catholic prelates by artful promises of his approaching conversion -from the errors of the Arian heresy. Having strengthened his -position, moreover, by alliances with the kings of the Ostrogoths -and Visigoths, he suddenly invaded the territories which Clovis had -compelled him to cede to his brother, and surprised Vienna and its -Frankish garrison ere his brother was even fully aware of his hostile -intentions. Godegesil sought refuge in a church; but the protection -of the holy precincts availed him nought; he was struck down dead at -the altar by his remorseless brother. The provinces of Geneva and -Vienna were re-united to the Burgundian kingdom; the captive Franks -were sent to the king of the Visigoths, who settled them in the -territory of Thoulouse. Clovis, who could now no longer rely upon the -assistance of a traitor in the camp of Gundobald, deemed it the wiser -course to submit to the altered state of affairs, and to content -himself with the alliance and the promised military service of the -King of Burgundy. - -Already before the Burgundian war, Clovis had cast his covetous -eyes upon the fair provinces of the south of Gaul, which were -held by ALARIC II., the King of the Visigoths. Here, also, the -disaffection of the Catholic Gauls and Romans promised the best -chances of success. Some paltry border-squabble was eagerly laid -hold of by Clovis to pick a quarrel with the King of the Visigoths, -and war seemed at the time inevitable between the two nations; when -Theodoric, Alaric’s father-in-law,[85] interposed his good offices, -and succeeded, by a well-timed threat of an armed intervention, -in restraining the aggressive spirit of the Frankish King, (498). -A personal interview was proposed between Clovis and Alaric: it -was held on the border of the two states, in a small island of the -Loire, near Amboise. The two kings met in right royal fashion: they -embraced, feasted together, indulged in a profusion of protestations -of mutual regard and brotherly affection, and parted full of -smiles--and mutual hatred and distrust. - -Had Alaric pursued the same wise course as Gundobald, he might have -found in the affection of the people under his sway, a safe shield -against Frank aggression. But, unfortunately, the Arian could not -forbear from inflicting upon his dissenting subjects, those petty -acts of tyranny in which dominant sects delight, and which are always -sure to create a deeper and more lasting disaffection than any act -of political oppression. The Catholic clergy in Aquitaine laid -their complaints against their Arian sovereign, before the Catholic -King of the Franks; and besought the latter to come to the aid of -his co-religionists, and free them from the yoke of their Gothic -tyrants. Clovis eagerly seized the pretext. In a general assembly -of the Frankish chiefs and the Catholic prelates held at Paris, he -declared his intention not to permit the Arian heretics to retain -possession any longer of the fairest portion of Gaul. Alaric did his -best to prepare for the coming struggle; the army which he collected -was much more numerous, indeed, than the military power which -Clovis could bring against him; but, unfortunately, a long peace -had enervated the descendants of the once so formidable warriors of -the first Alaric. They were unable to sustain the fierce shock of -the Franks, who totally overthrew and routed them in the battle of -Vouglé, near Poitiers, in 507. Alaric himself fell by the hand of his -rival; Angoulême, Bordeaux, Thoulouse, submitted to the conqueror, -and the whole of Aquitaine acknowledged his sway, (508); and he -would have succeeded in driving the Visigoths beyond the Pyrenean -mountains, had not the King of Italy thrown the shield of his power -over the discomfited nation. The Franks and their Burgundian allies -were besieging Arles and Carcassone, when the valiant HIBBAS, -Theodoric’s general, appeared on the scene with a powerful and -well-appointed army of Ostrogoths. He defeated the victors of Vouglé, -and compelled the ambitious King of the Franks to raise the siege -of the two cities, and to lend a willing ear to proposals of an -advantageous peace. He then overthrew and slew the bastard GESALIC, -who had usurped the throne of the Visigoths, to the exclusion of -Alaric’s infant son, AMALARIC. The latter was now proclaimed King -of Spain and Septimania, under the guardianship of his grandfather, -Theodoric: Clovis being permitted to retain possession of the land -from the Cevennes and the Garonne to the Loire, whilst the Provence -was annexed to the dominions of the King of Italy, who thus did not -disdain despoiling his own grandson of one of the finest provinces of -his kingdom. - -The Emperor Anastasius, overjoyed at the humiliation inflicted by -Clovis upon the Goths, bestowed upon the King of the Franks the -dignity and ensigns of the Roman consulship! (510); which, though -in reality a mere empty title, yet invested that monarch, in the -eyes of his Roman and Gallic subjects, with the prestige of Imperial -authority. - -Clovis seeing himself thus in undisputed possession of the greater -part of Gaul, thought the time had come to unite the several Frankish -tribes into one nation, under his sceptre. But, knowing full well -that his Franks would not follow him in an open war against his own -kindred of the race of Pharamond, he coolly planned the assassination -of the whole family. SIGEBERT, the king of the Ripuarians, had proved -himself a most faithful ally of his Salian cousin; and in the last -campaign against the Visigoths, he had sent to his aid a powerful -contingent of his Ripuarians, under the command of his own son, -CHLODERIC. Clovis excited the ambition and cupidity of the latter, -and succeeded in persuading him to murder his own father; when the -horrid deed was perpetrated, the wretched son, intent upon securing -the powerful support of the Salian king, offered him part of the -treasures of the murdered man. The “fair cousin” sent him word to -keep his treasures, and simply to show them to his ambassadors, -that he, Clovis, might rejoice in the prosperity of his cousin; -but, when the assassin of his father had lifted up the heavy lid -of one of the boxes, and was bending down to take out some of the -precious articles which it held, he was slain in his turn by one of -the _ambassadors_ of Clovis. That most Christian king afterwards -solemnly protested to the Ripuarians that Chloderic, the assassin of -his father, had fallen by the hand of some unknown avenger, and that -he, Clovis, was innocent of the death of either of them. “Surely,” -he exclaimed, with well affected horror and indignation, “no one -would dare to deem _me_ guilty of that most horrible of all crimes, -the murder of my own kindred!” The Ripuarians believed him, and -acknowledged him their king, by raising him on a shield. The next -victims were CHARARIC, the king of the Morinic Franks, in Belgium, -and his son. Chararic, had refused his aid to Clovis, in the campaign -against Syagrius; the fact had, indeed, occurred rather long ago, but -still it answered the purpose of the unscrupulous son of Childeric. -Chararic and his son, having fallen into his hands by the grossest -treachery, were despoiled of their treasures and their long hair, and -ordained priests. When the son, endeavoring to console his father, -could not refrain from indignant invectives against the author of -their misery, the pious king of the Salians calmly ordered both -of them to be slain, as they had “dared to rebel against the will -of the Most High!” There remained still the family of the Cambray -princes, consisting of three brothers, viz., RAGNACHAR, RICHAR, and -RIGNOMER. The pretext in their case was that they still continued -Pagans. Clovis bribed some of the chiefs of the tribe with _spurious_ -gold; they fell unawares upon Ragnachar and Richar, bound them, and -delivered them into the hands of their “loving cousin.” Addressing -the hapless Ragnachar, that monstrous villain exclaimed, “How dare -you bring disgrace upon our noble family, by submitting to the -indignity of bonds!” and, with a blow of his battle-axe, he spared -the wretched captive the trouble of a reply; then turning to the -brother of the butchered man, “Hadst thou defended thy brother,” he -cried, “they could not have bound him;” and an instant after, the -blood and brains of the brothers had mingled their kindred streams -on the weapon of the most Christian king. When the wretches who had -betrayed their princes into the hands, of the assassin, came to -complain that the price of their treachery had been paid in _base -coin_, he told them, traitors deserved no better reward, and bade -them be gone, lest he should feel tempted to avenge upon them the -blood of his murdered relations. - -Rignomer was disposed of by private assassination, and Clovis might -now exclaim: “At last I am king of the Franks.” The worthy bishop -of Tours, the chronicler of this, and some of the following reigns -of the Merovingians, whilst coolly relating these horrid crimes of -his hero, piously informs us that success in all his undertakings -was vouchsafed to Clovis by the Most High, and that his enemies -were delivered up into his hands, _because he walked with a sincere -heart in the ways of the Lord, and did that which was right in his -sight_!![86] What a pity that this godly monarch was not permitted to -walk a little longer in the ways of the Lord: an additional score or -so of murders would surely have achieved canonisation for him. But -the most orthodox and most Christian king was suddenly called away -from the scene of his glorious exploits; at the very time when he was -revolving mighty schemes of further aggrandisement, and planning, -as preliminary step, the assassination of Gundobald, the king of -Burgundy, and of Theudes, the regent of Spain, (511). His four sons -divided his kingdom between them; THEODORIC, (Thierry) the eldest, -received the Eastern part, _Austrasia_,[87] (Francia orientalis), -and also part of Champagne, and the conquests of Clovis south of the -Loire; he established the seat of his government at Metz; CLODOMIR’S -seat was at Orleans; CLOTAIRE’S at Soissons; CHILDEBERT’S at Paris; -the share of the latter was called _Neustria_ or _Neustrasia_ -(Francia occidentalis), a name which was afterwards used to designate -the whole of the territories occupied by the Franks between the -mouths of the Rhine and the Loire, the Meuse, and the sea. - -It is not my intention to smear my pages with the blood and mire -of the lives and acts of the Merovingian princes. We will content -ourselves here with a brief glance at the principal events and -incidents connected with the progress of the Frank empire during the -two hundred years that intervene between the death of Clovis and the -accession of Charles, afterwards surnamed _Martel_, as Mayor of the -Palace. - -In the year 523, the three sons of Clotilda, invited by their -unforgiving mother, invaded Burgundy, and attacked the son and -successor of Gundobald, SIGISMOND, whose conversion to the Catholic -faith has gained him, in the lying annals penned by the clerical -historians of the period, the name of a saint and a martyr, though -he had imbrued his hands in the blood of his own son, an innocent -youth whom he had basely sacrificed to the pride of his second -wife! Sigismond lost a battle and fell soon after into the hands -of the sons of Clotilda, who carried him to Orleans, and had him -buried alive together with his wife and two of his children--an -excellent proof that they had not _degenerated_. Sigismond’s -brother, GONDEMAR, defeated the invaders in the battle of Vienna, -where Clodomir fell. This gave Gondemar a few years’ respite, as -the two brothers, Clotaire and Childebert, were busy sharing the -inheritance of Clodomir.[88] But, in 534, the brothers invaded -Burgundy again; when Gondemar lost his crown and his liberty, and -the fair Burgundian provinces became the patrimony of the Merovingian -princes. In the year 530, Theodoric and Clotaire conquered and -annexed the territories of the Thuringians, thus extending their -dominion to the banks of the Unstrut. Rhætia and Provence also fell -into the hands of the successors of Clovis. Theudobald, the grandson -and second successor of Theodoric, or Thierry, died in 554; as he -left no heir, Clotaire and Childebert shared his dominions between -them; Childebert’s death, in 558, without male heirs, left Clotaire -in sole and undisputed possession of the Frankish empire, which now -extended from the Atlantic and the Pyrenees to the Unstrut. After -having added to the list of his crimes the murder of his son Chramus, -and also of the wife and the two daughters of the latter, King -Clotaire died in 560. His kingdom was again divided between his four -sons, CHARIBERT, GUNTRAM, SIGEBERT, and CHILPERIC; the eldest of the -brothers, Charibert, died in 567. As he left no heir, his territories -were divided between the three surviving brothers. But Chilperic was -dissatisfied with his share, and this led to a series of civil wars, -which terminated only in 613, when Clotaire II., the son of Chilperic -and Fredegonda, re-united in his hands the entire empire of the -Franks. - -It would be difficult to crowd a greater number of more appalling -and atrocious crimes, within the short space of half a century, -than were committed by the Merovingians, from the time of the death -of Charibert up to the re-union of the empire under Clotaire II.; -the names of Chilperic, of Fredegonda,[89] of Brunehilda,[90] of -Theuderic,[91] and last, though not least, of the monster Clotaire -(second of the name) deserve, indeed, prominent places in the great -criminal calendar of the world’s history. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[71] Still we must not omit to state that the lays of ancient -Germany, and the old Chronicles of the country, exhibit singular -agreement in the reproduction of the popular tradition which makes -the _nation of the Franks_ come from Troy. However, after all, this -makes no great difference, as even the most strenuous believers in -the existence of a distinct nation of Franks, fully admit that as -early as the third century (the time when the name of the Franks -first appears in history) that name included _several_ Germanic -nations. By some the Thuringians are given as a _branch_ of the Frank -nation. - -[72] Some, however, derive the name from the Old German word -_saljan_, i.e. to grant, in reference to part of the territory -occupied by the Salian Franks having been _granted_ to them by the -Romans (by CARAUSIUS, in 287, confirmed at a later period by JULIAN -the Apostate). LEO derives the name from the Celtic word, _Sal_, i.e. -the sea. - -[73] Valerian was taken prisoner by SAPOR, King of Persia, in 260, -who is said to have treated the fallen emperor with the greatest -indignity. Valerian died in captivity. - -[74] He was one of the _nineteen_ usurpers who rose against Gallienus -in the several provinces of the empire. The writers of the Augustan -history have magnified the number to _thirty_. - -[75] History names PHARAMOND as the first _King_ of the Franks; -the author of the _Gesta Francorum_ makes that prince the son of -Marcomir, the king mentioned in the text; and there appears to be -little doubt indeed, but that the Franks had established the right -of hereditary succession somewhat before the time of Clodion, the -reputed son of Pharamond. - -[76] The fashion of long hair was among the Franks for a time, the -somewhat exclusive privilege of the royal family; the members of -which wore their locks hanging down in flowing ringlets on their back -and shoulders; while the rest of the nation were obliged to shave the -hind part of the head, and to comb the hair over the forehead. - -[77] Elevation on a buckler was the ceremony by which the Franks -invested their chosen leader with military command. - -[78] According to some historians and geographers, Duisburg, on the -right bank of the Rhine. - -[79] Most historians make Meroveus, the _younger_ of the two sons -of Clodion; and, after his father’s death, they send him to Rome -to implore the protection of Ætius. Now, it is next to impossible -that the _beardless youth_, whom Priscus states to have seen at Rome -(about 449 or 450), could have been Meroveus, since the _son_ of that -prince, CHILDERIC, was within ten years after exiled by the Franks -on account of his excesses and his despotic sway. The young man whom -Priscus saw was most probably Childeric, who may have been sent to -Rome by his father, Meroveus, to renew the alliance which Clodion had -made with Ætius. - -[80] The kingdom of the Burgundians, which had been established in -407 (see page 93), was divided, in 470, among the four sons of king -GONDERIC; HILPERIC, or CHILPERIC, the father of Clotilda, fixed his -residence at Geneva; GUNDOBALD at Lyons; GODEGESIL at Besançon, -and GODEMAR at Vienne (in Dauphiné). A war broke out between the -brothers, in which Gundobald conquered and took prisoner Hilperic -and Godemar; the latter committed suicide; the former was put to -death by his inhuman brother Gundobald, and his wife and his two sons -shared his fate; his two daughters were spared, and one of them, -Clotilda, was brought up at the court of Lyons; and, as chance would -have it, in the _Catholic_ faith, though Gundobald himself, like most -of the Christian princes of the time, professed the Arian doctrine, -Gundobald would gladly have refused Clovis the hand of his niece, -had he dared to brave the anger of the powerful Frankish chief. -Clotilda, on her part, was overjoyed at the prospect of an alliance -with a King, whose ambition might be turned to good account for the -pursuit of her own vengeful projects against the murderer of her -father; with a pagan, whose conversion to the Nicean creed would gain -her beloved Catholic church a formidable champion against the hated -Arian heretics. Gundobald had scarcely parted with his niece, and her -father’s treasures, when the pious princess displayed her Christian -spirit, by ordering her Frankish escort to burn down the Burgundian -villages through which they were passing, and when she saw the flames -rising, and heard the despairing cries of the unfortunates who were -thus being deprived of their homes, she lifted up her voice, and -praised the God of Athanasius--the _holy_ Chlotildis! - -[81] The Alemanni were also, like the Franks, a league of several -Germanic nations, among whom the Teneteri, the Usipetes, and most -probably a portion of the Suevi, were the most important. The -favorite etymology of the name, _Allemanni_ or _All-Men_, as meant -to denote at once the various lineage, and the common bravery of -the component members of the league, is a little fanciful perhaps, -yet not more so, or rather not quite so much so, as some other -etymologies of the name indulged in by the learned. - -[82] The invocation as given by Gregory of Tours, is rather _naïve_. -Jesu Christe, quem Chlotildis prædicat esse filium Dei vivi, qui -dare auxilium laborantibus, victoriamque in te sperantibus tribuere -diceris, tuæ opis gloriam devotus efflagito: ut si mihi victoriam -super hos hostes indulseris, et expertus fuero illam virtutem, quam -de te populus tuo nomine dicatus probasse se prædicat, credam tibi et -in nomine tuo baptizer. _Invocavi enim deos meos, sed ut experior, -elongati sunt ab auxilio meo: unde credo eos nullius potestatis, qui -tibi obedientibus non succurrunt._ A pretty plain hint: no victory, -no belief, no baptism! - -[83] Theodoric had lately married ALBOFLEDA (Audofleda, or -Andefleda), the sister of Clovis. - -[84] _Lex Gudebalda_--“_La loy Gombette_.”--Drawn up by AREDIUS. - -[85] Alaric was married to Theodoric’s daughter THEUDOGOTHA, or -THEODICHUSA. - -[86] Prosternabat enim quotidie Deus hostes ejus sub manu ipsius, -et augebat regnum ejus, _eo quod ambularet recto corde coram eo, et -faceret, quæ placita erant in oculis ejus_. Gregor. Hist. lib. II., -cap. 40. - -[87] Austrasia comprised the old Salian possessions in Belgium, and -the territories of the Ripuarians and the Alemanni. - -[88] Clodomir had left three sons, who were brought up by their -grandmother, Clotilda. The two brothers having got possession of two -of their nephews, calmly resolved to kill them. Clotaire sheathed -his dagger in the breast of one of them, the other embraced the -knees of his uncle Childebert, and besought him to spare his life. -The tears of the innocent child moved even the harsh Childebert -to pity; he entreated his brother to spare him; but that monster -remained deaf to all prayers, and threatened even to make Childebert -share the fate of the helpless boy, should he continue any longer to -withhold him from his murderous hands: Childebert thereupon pushed -back the poor innocent, and Clotaire’s dagger speedily sent him to -rejoin his brother (532). The third of the children of Clodomir was, -indeed, saved from his uncle’s clutches; but he deemed it necessary -afterwards to embrace the ecclesiastical profession, in order to -secure his safety. - -[89] Fredegonda was first Chilperic’s concubine, subsequently, -after the murder of Galsuintha, his wife. After a career of blood -and crime, of which history affords but few parallels, she died in -579, at the height of prosperity and power, tranquilly in her bed, -properly shriven, of course, and with a promise of paradise. Had the -female monster been but a little more liberal to the _Church_, who -knows but the Calendar of the Saints might contain an additional name. - -[90] Brunehilda was the daughter of Athanagild, King of Spain, -and the wife of Sigebert, King of Austrasia. She was in every -respect a worthy pendant to Fredegonda; but her final fate was very -different from that of her more fortunate rival, whom she survived -about sixteen years. In the year 613, she fell into the hands of -Fredegonda’s son, Clotaire, who inflicted upon the aged woman the -most horrible tortures, and had her finally tied, with one arm -and one leg, to the tail of a wild horse, and thus dragged along -over a stony road until death took mercy upon her. And all these -people _professed_ the religion of Christ, and were surrounded by -numbers of _most pious_ bishops! but then, the _Church_ has always -been indulgent to those who could and would remember her with rich -endowments. Moreover, many of the bishops of that period were -themselves such monstrous villains that little or no remonstrance -could be expected from _them_ against any royal crime, however so -atrocious.--To give one instance out of many: a bishop of Clermont, -wishing to compel a priest of his diocese to cede to him a small -estate held by the latter, and which he refused to part with, had the -unfortunate man shut up in a coffin, with a decaying corpse, and the -coffin placed in the vault of the church! - -[91] Theuderic, or Thierry, was the younger son of Sigebert’s son -Childebert; he murdered his elder brother, Theudebert, and the infant -son of the latter, Meroveus (612). He died a year after, and two of -his own boys, Sigebert and Corbus, met the same fate at the hands of -Clotaire. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - DECLINE OF THE MEROVINGIAN PRINCES.--THE MAYORS OF THE PALACE.--PEPIN - OF LANDEN.--PEPIN OF HERISTAL.--CHARLES MARTEL.--THE BATTLE OF TOURS. - - -When the Roman empire had ceased to exist, the Frankish kings had, -in imitation of the Roman rulers, begun to surround themselves -with a court, and a great many high officers, and charges had been -created, among the most important of which may be mentioned the -office of Lord High Chancellor (archicancellarius, referendarius); -Lord High Chamberlain, or High Treasurer (thesaurarius, camerarius); -Master of the royal stables (marescalchus); Lord Justice (comes -palatii); Steward of the royal household (senescalchus); and more -particularly that of Mayor of the palace (præfectus palatii, or -major-domus, or comes domûs regiæ). The functions of the latter -officer had originally been confined to the general superintendence -of the palace, and the administration of the royal domains; but had -speedily been extended also to the command of the household troops. -In the course of the domestic wars between the Merovingian princes, -the mayors of the palace had gradually acquired a power and influence -second only to that of the king; so that, after the assassination of -Sigebert, in 575, GOGO, the then mayor of the palace of Austrasia, -had actually been named regent during the minority of Sigebert’s son, -Childebert. So powerful indeed had these domestic officers grown, -that Clotaire II. was positively forced to bind himself by oath to -WARNACHAR, the mayor of the palace of Burgundy, to leave him for his -life in undisturbed possession of his office; he was obliged also to -acknowledge the learned and valiant ARNULF, the Austrasian, mayor -of the palace, and subsequently--when that officer embraced the -ecclesiastical profession, and became Bishop of Metz--the energetic -Pepin of Landen,[92] as his representative with sovereign powers in -Austrasia. Even when Clotaire had ceded the kingdom of Austrasia to -his son DAGOBERT (622), Pepin continued to exercise almost unlimited -sway in that part of the Frankish empire. After Clotaire’s death, -in 623, Dagobert succeeded also to the Neustrian kingdom; and in -631, after his brother Charibert’s death,[93] who had held some -of the south-western provinces, he became sole king of France. He -died in 638; he was a compound of sensuality and indolence; still -his character and life were not stained with the horrible crimes -perpetrated by his predecessors, and more particularly by his own -father; he was the last of the descendants of Clovis, who exhibited -even the faintest spark of that fierce and energetic spirit which -made the founder of the Frank monarchy, however so abhorrent as a -_man_, yet _respectable_, and even _great_, as a _king_. Dagobert -built and richly endowed the Church of St. Denys, which gained him -the surname “The Great,” from a grateful clergy; but history has -refused to register the ill-deserved epithet. Pepin of Landen died a -year after his king (689). His son, _Grimoald_, deemed the power of -his family already so firmly established, that, taking advantage of -the tender age of Dagobert’s sons, Sigebert (second of the name in -the list of the Merovingian kings), and Clovis (II.), he attempted to -deprive them of their father’s succession, and to place his own son -(Childebert) on the throne; both father and son paid with their lives -the failure of the ambitious plan. But the overthrow of Grimoald led -simply to a change of persons; the power of the mayors of the palace -remained undiminished, and from this time forward, the Merovingian -kings were mere ciphers. “They ascended the throne without power, and -sunk into the grave without a name.” (Gibbon.) Sigebert died in 650; -his brother Clovis six years after. One of the sons of the latter, -Clotaire (III.), succeeded to the Neustrian, another, Childeric -(II.), to the Austrasian part of the empire. After Clotaire’s death, -in 670, the third brother, Theodoric, or Thierry (III.), was for a -short time king of Neustria; but he was speedily dispossessed by his -brother Childeric (or to speak more correctly, _his_ mayor of the -palace was compelled to give way to Childeric’s mayor of the palace). -Childeric was murdered in 673; when Thierry was reinstated in -Neustria, Austrasia being given to Dagobert (II.), a son of Sigebert -II., but who had hitherto been kept out of his inheritance. - -After the death of Dagobert in 678, the Austrasians refused to submit -to Thierry, the King of Neustria and Burgundy, or rather to his -haughty mayor of the palace, EBROIN. PEPIN D’HERISTAL, the grandson -of Pepin of Landen, and his cousin, MARTIN, were at the head of the -insurgent Austrasian nobility. Martin fell into the hands of Ebroin, -and was killed. Ebroin himself was soon after assassinated, (682). -His successor, GISELMAR, defeated Pepin at Namur, but the Austrasian -notwithstanding maintained his position. The Neustrian nobility, -discontented with the rule of Giselmar’s successor, BERTHAR or -BERCHAR, ultimately called Pepin to their aid. - -Berthar, and his puppet, Thierry, were defeated by the Austrasian -ruler in the famous battle of Testry, near Peronne and St. Quentin, -in 687. Berthar was slain as he fled from the field of battle: and -although the _name_ of king was left to Thierry, he was compelled -to acknowledge Pepin as _sole_, _perpetual_, and _hereditary_ Mayor -of the Palace, in the three kingdoms of Neustria, Austrasia, and -Burgundy, under the style and title of Duke and Prince of the Franks, -(Dux et Princeps Francorum). Pepin was now, to all intents and -purposes, the actual ruler of the Frankish empire--king in all but -the name. The nominal sovereigns had, henceforth, a residence[94] -assigned them, which they dared not even quit without the sanction -of their master; nay, even the paltry consolation of the pomp and -glitter of royalty was not vouchsafed them--except once a year in -the month of March,[95] when the royal puppet was conducted in state -in the old Frankish fashion, in a waggon drawn by two oxen, to the -great annual assembly of the nation; to give audience to foreign -ambassadors, or to receive plaints and petitions--and to place his -organ of speech, for a time, at the disposal of the Mayor of the -Palace, and give utterance to the replies or decisions of the real -ruler of France. The assembly over, the “King” was reconducted to -his residence or prison, where a feeble retinue and a strong guard -insulted the fallen majesty of the house of Clovis. It would even -appear, that the civil list assigned to the “King,” was only a -precarious grant, and that the nominal master of three kingdoms, -was often left without the means of defraying the expenses of his -_humble_ household.[96] The epithet of the “_do-nothing kings_,” (les -rois fainéans) has been felicitously applied to the last princes of -the Merovingian line. Besides Thierry III, (✠621), three of them -lived in the reign of Pepin of Heristal, viz: Clovis III, (✠695); -Childebert III, (✠711); and Dagobert III., all of them minors. - -Pepin was an able and energetic ruler; he restored in some measure -the respect of the law. Liberal rewards secured him the allegiance -of the nobility; munificent endowments to churches and monasteries, -and the aid and encouragement which he gave to the Christian -missionaries, who were endeavoring to convert the heathen Germans, -gained him the favor and support of the clergy: his good sword put -down the discontented; and last, though certainly not least, he -deserved the grateful affection of the people by alleviating their -burthens, and by protecting them, in some measure, against the -despotic oppression of the nobility. The expulsion of some Christian -missionaries from Friesland, gave Pepin a pretext for endeavoring to -subject the Frisons to the Frankish sway. He invaded Friesland in -689, and defeated the Frison duke, or prince, Radbodus, at Dorestadt, -or Dorsted; in consequence of which defeat, the latter was compelled -to cede West Friesland to the Duke of the Franks; but all attempts to -obtain the conversion of Radbodus[97] to Christianity failed. - -In 697, a new war broke out between the Duke of the Franks and the -Prince of the Frisons,[98] in which the latter is stated to have been -again defeated, and compelled to acknowledge, by the payment of an -annual tribute, the supremacy of the Franks. It is added, also, that -he gave his daughter in marriage to Pepin’s son Grimoald. - -Pepin of Heristal made also several expeditions, though, it would -appear, with indifferent success only, against the Alemanni, the -Thuringians, and the Bojoarii, or Bavarians, who had taken advantage -of the internal dissensions and disorder of the Frankish empire, to -shake off the yoke of their masters. - -In the beginning of the year 714, Pepin fell seriously ill, at -his estate Jopila, on the Meuse. He sent for his only surviving -(legitimate) son, GRIMOALD, whom he had made (after the death of his -friend Nordbert) major domûs in Neustria, and (after the death of -DROGO, another of his sons) Duke of Burgundy and Champagne, and whom -he intended to name his successor in the government of the entire -monarchy. But on his way to his father, Grimoald was assassinated at -Liège, in the church of St. Lambert, by a Frison; at the instigation, -it would appear, of some discontented nobles. He left an illegitimate -infant son, Theudoald, or Theudebaud. Pepin was unfortunately -persuaded by his wife, the ambitious PLECTRUDIS[99], who expected -to wield the government during the minority of her little grandson, -to name this infant his successor, instead of either of his own two -illegitimate sons (Charles and Childebrand)[100], and of whom the -latter, more especially, possessed his father’s great qualities, and -that amount of physical and intellectual vigor indispensable to keep -together and to rule over an empire composed of such heterogeneous -and antagonistic elements, as the Frankish. Soon after this fatal -step, which, we may safely assume the love of his country and of his -glory, would never have permitted the aged ruler to take, had not his -faculties been greatly impaired at the time by long illness and by -the bitter grief of his son’s death, Pepin of Heristal died on the -16th of December, 714. - -He had scarcely departed life when Plectrudis, who dreaded the -aspiring genius of Charles, had the latter seized, and confined -in the city of Cologne. She now deemed herself in safe possession -of the government; but she was soon awakened from her ambitious -dream. The Neustrians were indignant that they should thus be handed -over to the sway of a child and to the rule of a woman: they could -bear _infant-kings_, indeed, but they refused to put up with an -_infant mayor of the palace_. They, therefore, made RAGANFRIED, a -powerful Neustrian noble, their mayor of the palace, and prepared -to resist by force of arms, any attempt which Plectrudis might -make to compel their submission. The widow of Pepin showed indeed -that, if she had had the ambition to seize the sceptre, she had -also the spirit to wield, and the requisite energy to defend it. -She collected a powerful army, and sent the puppet-King Dagobert -(III.), and his infant minister Theudebaud, with it against, what she -was pleased to call, the Neustrian rebels. But the fortune of war -declared against her: the Austrasian forces were totally routed by -Raganfried, and “King” Dagobert fell into the hands of the Neustrian -mayor of the palace. The infant on whose tiny shoulders Pepin’s -ill-judged partiality, or uxoriousness, had thrown the burthen of -three kingdoms, died soon after this reverse (715). Radbodus took -advantage of the position of affairs, to re-annex West Friesland -to his dominions; and, in conjunction with the Saxons, invaded the -Frankish territories from the north east, whilst the Merovingian -princes of Aquitaine ravaged them in the south west; the Alemanni and -the Bavarians threw off the Frankish yoke, and resumed their ancient -independence. Matters were looking dark indeed for the house of the -Pepins, and though Mistress Plectrudis most gallantly braved the -storm, her utmost efforts could have availed but little against such -a multitude of foes, had not Pepin’s son, Charles, meanwhile found -his way out of the prison to which the ambition of his father’s widow -had confined him. - -CHARLES, who was destined afterwards to play so important a part in -history, was, at this time, about 25 years of age (he was born in -690). Nature had been most bountiful to him: tall even among the tall -nation of the Franks, of a most commanding figure, and of a compact -and beautifully symmetrical frame, he might be said to present in -his physical conformation a compound of Hercules and Antinöus; his -features were regular and expressive, and the lightning glance of -his large blue eyes reflected, as in a mirror, the energy of his -mind and the vigor of his intellect. He possessed enormous bodily -strength combined with surprising agility. The remembrance of his -great father, and his own manly beauty and grace, gained him the -hearts of the Austrasians; and he soon found himself at the head -of a formidable body of troops, with which he proceeded first to -attack the Frisons, but with rather indifferent success, it would -appear, as, we find Radbodus and his Frisons soon after laying siege -to Cologne, in conjunction with the Neustrians under Raganfried. -Plectrudis, however, purchased the retreat of the besieging forces; -and the Frisons and Neustrians having separated again, Charles fell -upon the latter at Ambleva. But, although he exhibited all the -qualities of a great general, and that the fearful execution which -his heavy sword did in the hostile ranks struck terror into the foe, -and made ever after his war-cry “Here Charles and his sword,” ring -as the prelude of inevitable defeat on the affrighted ears of his -enemies: yet the superiority of numbers was too great on the side -of Raganfried, and the battle terminated at last rather in favor of -the Neustrians than otherwise (716). Soon after his capture by the -Neustrians, Dagobert had passed from his royal prison to the grave -(715), and another unlucky scion of the race of Pharamond, the Monk -Daniel, had been dragged from the repose of his cloistral cell, to -figure, as Chilperic II., in the line of the “titular” kings of -France. Charles would have acquiesced in the arrangement, had not -Raganfried steadily refused to acknowledge him as Duke of Austrasia; -he determined, therefore, to appeal once more to the decision -of arms. A fierce and sanguinary battle was fought between the -Austrasians and the Neustrians, at Vincy, between Arras and Cambray -(21st of March, 717): and this time, Charles’ valor and generalship -were rewarded with a brilliant and decisive victory, which made him -master of the country up to Paris. But, wisely declining to pursue -his conquests in this quarter, and to court perhaps the chance of -a defeat far away from his resources, he led his victorious army -swiftly back to the Rhine, and compelled Plectrudis to give up to -him the city of Cologne, and his paternal treasures; which latter he -turned to excellent account in increasing the number and efficiency -of his forces. Plectrudis took refuge in Bavaria. - -Though the Merovingian princes had lost all real power in the state, -yet there still attached to the name of the family a prestige in the -eyes of the nation, which rendered the continued existence of “Kings” -chosen from among the descendants of Clovis, a matter of political -necessity. Charles wisely resolved therefore, to put himself in this -respect on equal terms with Raganfried; and he accordingly invested -with the insignia of a sham royalty another scion of the long-haired -line, yclept Clotaire, fourth of that name. An expedition against -the Saxons, to chastise them for their predatory incursions into the -Frankish territories, was eminently successful, and the son of Pepin -displayed his victorious banner on the Weser (718); but receiving -information that Raganfried had made an alliance against him with -the valiant EUDES, Duke of Aquitaine (of Merovingian descent), and -dreading lest the united power of the two might prove too strong -for him, he resolved to attack the former before a junction of the -allied forces could be effected, and accordingly led his army with -his accustomed celerity from the banks of the Weser to the banks of -the Seine. After totally routing Raganfried at Soissons (719), he -compelled Paris to surrender. The wretched Chilperic[101] sought -refuge with his ally, Eudes. Charles marched on to the Loire, and -was preparing to carry his arms into Aquitaine, when the death of -Clotaire led to an arrangement with Chilperic, who, acknowledging -Charles as major domûs in the three kingdoms, was permitted to -continue in the enjoyment of his fictitious royalty. In the same -year still (719), Charles was delivered by death from another of his -opponents, Radbodus, the brave duke of the Frisons. He promptly took -advantage of this event to re-annex West Friesland to the Frankish -dependencies, and to induct Bishop Willibrod into his see of Utrecht, -from which Radbodus had kept him excluded. - -In the year 720, Chilperic was gathered to his fathers; Charles -replaced him by a child of the Merovingian race, taken from the -monastery of Lala (Thierry IV.) In 721 Charles crossed the Rhine at -the head of a powerful army, to subject the Alemanni, the Bavarians, -and the Thuringians again to the Frankish sway. As he saw in the -conversion of these stubborn nations to Christianity one of the -most efficient means to secure their allegiance in future, he had -himself attended by Winifried,[102] and other missionaries, who, -now that they were supported by the arms of the Frankish chief, were -brilliantly successful in their missionary labors, in some of the -very places among others, where they had on former occasions been -treated with derision and contumely, or whence they had been forcibly -expelled. - -In 722, Charles drove the Saxons from the Hassian (Hessian) district -which they had invaded; but when he followed them into their own -country, with the intention of subjecting them altogether to his -sway, he experienced such determined resistance that he wisely -resolved to leave them alone. In 725, he compelled the Suabians and -Alemanni, and their duke, LANTFRIED, to acknowledge his sovereignty. - -Since 553, after the extinction of the Gothic kingdom of Italy, the -Agilolfingian dukes of Bavaria “enjoyed” the “protection”[103] of the -Frankish kings; although, whenever the dissensions among the members -of that amiable family, or the contentions among the mayors of the -palace, afforded a fitting opportunity, the Bavarians invariably -took occasion to “thank” them for their protection, and to decline -further favors. But the persuasive force of Pepin of Heristal, and -of his son Charles, fully succeeded in the end in restoring the -amicable relations between the two nations, to the old footing. Duke -Theodo II., a most pious prince, who greatly favored and furthered -the extension of Christianity in his dominions, committed the -capital blunder so common at the time (and so natural withal)--to -divide his dominions between his three sons, Theodoald (Theudebaud), -Theudebert, and Grimoald. Theudebaud had married Pilitrudis, the fair -daughter of Plectrudis; he died in 716, and his brother Grimoald -deemed it no harm to marry the beautiful widow of the departed; but -Saint Corbinian happened to think very differently; and his zealous -exhortations, and the fearful picture which he drew of the pains -and penalties that awaited him who should have committed, what -the holy man was pleased to call, “incest,”[104] frightened poor -Duke Grimoald into giving his consent to a divorce from his dearly -beloved wife. Mistress Pilitrudis, however, was by no means pleased -with the pusillanimous conduct of her second husband; and the exile -of the meddlesome ecclesiastic speedily showed him, that a woman -offended may prove more than a match _even_ for a priest and a saint. -Theudebert also died (724), leaving behind a son, named HUGIBERT, and -a daughter, named GUNTRUDIS, and who was married to LIUTPRAND, King -of the Lombards. After his second brother’s death, Grimoald seized -upon his dominions to the prejudice of his nephew. Hugibert, finding -all his remonstrances disregarded, claimed the intercession of the -Duke of the Franks, in his capacity as Protector of Bavaria. Charles -accepted the offer of mediator between the contending parties; and -called upon Grimoald to deliver up to Hugibert the provinces which he -was unjustly withholding from him. Grimoald refusing, Charles entered -Bavaria at the head of his army, and the Bavarian duke was defeated -and slain in the first battle (725). Hugibert now succeeded to the -government of all Bavaria,[105] with the exception, however, of a -large slice of the Northern provinces, which he ceded to Charles in -reward of his services.[106] The unfortunate Pilitrudis was despoiled -by the “magnanimous” victor of all she possessed, except a mule, or -donkey, to carry her to Pavia to her relations. A new irruption of -the Saxons, called Charles again to the Weser; he defeated and drove -back the invaders (729). Whilst he was thus occupied on the Saxon -frontier, the Suabians and Alemanni took advantage of his absence, -to throw off once more the yoke of the Franks. Charles confounded -them, however, by the rapidity of his movements; he appeared on the -Mein before they were well aware that he had left the banks of the -Weser. The battle which ensued, terminated in the total defeat of the -“rebels;” Duke Lantfried was slain, and the humbled nation submitted -to the rule of the conqueror (730). - -We are now approaching the most important and most interesting -period in the life and career of Charles, viz., his encounter with -the Saracens; we will, therefore, resume here the thread of the -history of the Moslem invasion, broken off at page 88, where we -left the Saracen general, El Zama, laying siege to Thoulouse. A -branch of the Merovingian family, descended from Clotaire’s (II.) -younger son Charibert (631), had established the independent[107] -duchy of Aquitaine in the south of France. At the time of the Arab -invasion, EUDES (Eudo, or Odo), an able and energetic prince, was -Duke of Aquitaine. This prince, seeing his capital threatened by the -Moslems, collected a numerous army of Gascons, Goths, and Franks, and -marched bravely to the rescue. He attacked the Arabs under the walls -of Thoulouse, and succeeded in inflicting on them a most disastrous -defeat (721). El Zama fell in the battle, and the discomfited Moslems -were saved from total destruction only by the prudence and valor -of ABDALRAHMAN BEN ABDALLAH (Abderrahman, or Abderame), a veteran -officer, whom they had elected by acclamation in the place of their -late general. - -The Khalif, however, did not ratify the choice of the army, but named -ANBESA to the government of Spain. The new governor advanced again -into Aquitaine in 725; he took Carcassone by storm, and penetrated -as far as Burgundy; but the valiant Eudes succeeded ultimately in -driving him back, and also in defeating several subsequent attempts -of the Arabs to gain possession of Aquitaine. - -In the year 730, the Khalif Hesham, yielding to the wishes of the -people and the army of Spain, restored Abdalrahman to the government -of that part of the Arab dominions. That daring and ambitious -commander proposed to subject to his sway, not only Aquitaine, but -the entire Frank empire; and collected a formidable host to carry his -resolve into execution. But, at the very threshold of his enterprise, -he met with an obstacle which, though he indeed triumphantly overcame -it, yet cannot be denied to have exercised a powerful adverse -influence upon its final issue. This was the rebellion of OTHMAN, -or MUNUZA, a Moorish chief, who, as governor of Cerdagne, held the -most important passes of the Pyrenees. The fortune of war had placed -the beauteous daughter of Eudes in the hands of Munuza; and the -political Duke of Aquitaine, justly appreciating the advantages of -an alliance with the man who might be said to hold the keys of his -house, had willingly consented to accept the African misbeliever for -his son-in-law. The skill, rapidity, and decision, of Abdalrahman’s -movements undoubtedly disconcerted the strategic combinations of -the two allies, and Munuza was overcome and slain, ere Eudes could -hasten to his assistance; the head of the rebel, and the daughter of -the Duke of Aquitaine, were sent to Damascus. But much precious time -was consumed, and a great number of combatants were lost, in this -unexpected prelude to the invasion of France. However, immediately -after the overthrow of Munuza, Abdalrahman advanced rapidly to the -Rhone, crossed that river, and laid siege to Arles; Eudes attempted -to relieve the beleaguered city, but his army was totally routed, and -Arles fell into the hands of the invaders (731). Abdalrahman speedily -conquered the greater part of Aquitaine, and advanced to Bordeaux. -The intrepid Eudes met him once more, at the head of a numerous army; -but neither the valor and skill of the Christian leader nor the -bravery of his troops could save them from a most disastrous defeat. -Bordeaux fell, and the Saracens overran the fairest provinces of -France (732). Charles, who would most probably have remained deaf to -the most urgent entreaties of Eudes, whom he regarded in the light -of a rival, comprehended the necessity of a speedy and vigorous -action, from the moment that he saw his own dominions threatened. -He, therefore, rapidly collected his faithful Austrasians and the -auxiliary contingents of the Alemanni, the Thuringians, and the -Bavarians; and ordered the Neustrian and Burgundian nobles to join -him with their followers; and although many of the _Burgundian_ -nobles hung back, yet a most powerful host of the nations of Germany -and Gaul gathered under the banner of the Christian leader, who was -joined also by Eudes and the remains of the Aquitanian army. In the -centre of France, between Tours and Poitiers, the Franks and the -Moslems met, in the month of October, 732. Six days were spent in -desultory warfare, and many a gallant heart had ceased to beat, ere -as the red sun of the seventh day rose, the day on which it was to -be decided whether mosque or cathedral should prevail in Europe. The -battle raged fiercely from noon till eventide; the fiery sons of the -South fought with tenfold their accustomed valor, and Abdalrahman -emulated the glory of Kaled “the Sword of God.” The Germans stood -firm as rocks, and fought as heroes; and the heavy battle-axe of -Charles, wielded with irresistible strength, spread death and -dismay in the Arabian ranks; the mighty strokes which the Christian -hero dealt with that formidable weapon, gained him the epithet of -_Martel_, the _Hammer_. Eudes, burning with the resentment of former -defeats, strove to rival the prowess of his ally. Still, for many -hours, the balance hung equipoised. The life-blood of thousands of -Christians and thousands of Moslems, that had ere just raced so -fiercely through its channels, mingled in sluggish streams on the -ground. Evening set in, and still the contest raged with unabated -fury; the Orientals had, indeed, repeatedly been forced to give -way to the superior weight and strength of the Germans but their -heroic chief had as often rallied them and led them on again to death -and glory. At length, a German spear struck him to death: his fall -decided the fate of the battle; the Saracens, disheartened by the -loss of their great commander, retired to their camp. There was no -leader left among them of sufficient renown and authority to replace -the fallen hero; despairing of their ability to renew the fight next -day with the slightest chance of success, they resolved upon a hasty -retreat; and taking with them the richest and most portable portion -of their spoil, they abandoned their camp in the middle of the night. - -Next morning, when Charles was marshalling forth his troops to -renew the contest, his spies both surprised and rejoiced him with -the welcome intelligence that the enemy were in full retreat to the -south. The victory gained was decisive and final: the torrent of -Arabian conquest was rolled back; and Europe was rescued from the -threatened yoke of the Saracens. But the losses of the Christians -also had been very great, and Charles wisely declined incurring -with his sadly diminished forces, the possible mischances of a -pursuit.[108] - -Leaving to Eudes the task of reconquering his own land from the -flying foe, Charles proceeded now to call the Burgundian nobles -to account for their hesitation and lukewarmness in his cause. To -secure their future allegiance, he placed officers of his into -the Burgundian cities and castles; to little purpose, however, it -would appear, as their presence did not prevent the discontented -Burgundian nobles, a few years after, from calling in the Saracens, -and actually delivering the city of Avignon into the hands of JUSSUF -BEN ABDALRAHMAN, the Arabian governor of Narbonne (735). - -In 734, Charles defeated Poppo, the Duke of the Frisons, and regained -the western part of Friesland. In 735, Duke Eudes died, and as his -two sons, HUNOLD and HATTO, quarrelled about the succession, Charles -proffered his “armed mediation,” and settled the dispute finally by -naming Hunold Duke of Aquitaine, after having exacted and obtained -from that prince an oath of allegiance, not to the nominal king of -the Franks, but to himself personally, and to his two sons of his -first marriage, Carloman and Pepin. In 736, Charles had to repel -another invasion of the Saxons, which prevented him from proceeding -to Burgundy against the disaffected nobles and their allies, the -Arabs; he sent, however, his brother Childebrand. In 737, he came -himself; he speedily reduced Avignon, and expelled the Arabs from the -Burgundian territory; the nobility and clergy, who had treasonably -conspired against him with the enemy, or had acted in a hostile -manner to him, he deprived of their possessions, bishoprics, &c., -which he bestowed upon his friends and followers.[109] In 738 he -advanced into Septimania, and laid siege to Narbonne. He totally -defeated Omar Ben Kaled, the Arabian general, who was marching to the -relief of the beleaguered city; but the governor of Narbonne defended -the place so valiantly and successfully, that the Franks were -compelled to raise the siege. However, though Septimania remained -in the hands of the Arabs till 755, when Pepin, the son of Charles -Martel, recovered it, an effectual and final check had been put to -their further advance into France. - -In 737, King Thierry died; but so firmly was the power of Charles -Martel established now, that he could safely neglect to name a -successor to the dead “monarch;” nay, in 741, he actually proceeded -before a general assembly of the nobility and the army, to divide his -dominions between his two sons of his first marriage (with Rotrudis), -bestowing Austrasia, with Suabia and Thuringia, upon the elder, -Carloman; Neustria, Burgundy, and Provence, upon the younger, Pepin. -His son Grypho, whom Suanehilda had borne him, he excluded at first -from all participation in his succession; subsequently he assigned -him also a portion, which, after his death, led to the oppression and -imprisonment of the youth by his elder brothers. In the same year -(741) Charles was, on his return from a kind of pilgrimage to St. -Denys, seized with a violent fever, of which he died at Carisiacum, -or Quiercy, on the Oise, on the 22nd October. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[92] Pepin of Landen was the son of Carloman, a Frank noble of -Brabant. Pepin’s daughter, Begga, was married to Arnulf’s son, -Ansgesil; from this marriage sprang Pepin d’Heristal, the father of -Charles Martel. - -[93] However, two natural sons of Charibert founded, after the death -of the latter, the semi-independent duchy of Aquitaine, in a more -restricted sense, with the capital, Thoulouse. - -[94] Mamaccæ (Mommarques) on the Oise between Compiègne and Noyon. - -[95] Pepin of Heristal restored the annual national assembly of the -Franks, which had fallen in desuetude since the days of Ebroin; when -the younger Pepin, the son of Charles Martel, finally added the _name -of King_ to the exercise of the royal power which he wielded, he -changed the month of meeting from March to May; the _Campus Martius_ -became accordingly a _Campus Majus_. - -[96] Nam et opes et potentia regni penes palatii præfectos, qui -Majores Domûs dicebantur, et _ad quos summa imperii pertinebat_, -tenebantur; neque regi aliud relinquebatur quam ut regis tantum -nomine contentus, speciem dominantis effingeret, legatos audiret, -eisque abeuntibus _responsa, quæ erat edoctus vel etiam_ JUSSUS, _ex -sua velut potestate redderet_; cum præter inutile regis nomen et -_præcarium vitæ stipendium_, quod ei præfectus aulæ, prout videbatur, -exhibebat, nihil aliud proprium possideret.--Einhardi, (Eginhart,) -Vita Caroli Magni; Pertz, Monumenta Germaniæ Historica, Tomus II., p. -444. - -[97] At one time, it would appear, the Frison prince was on the point -of consenting to his baptism; he had already placed one foot in -the baptismal font, when it occurred to him to ask the officiating -bishop (Wolfram, of Sens), “where his ancestors were gone to?” “To -Hell,” was the unhesitating reply of the bigoted priest; whereupon -the honest heathen exclaimed: “Then I will rather be damned with them -than saved without them,” and withdrew his foot. - -[98] Perhaps in some measure in consequence of the consecration of -the missionary WILLIBROD, as bishop of Utrecht (696)? - -[99] Of the race of the Bojoarian Agilolfingians. - -[100] ALPAIS, or ALPHEIDA, was the mother of these two sons. - -[101] Raganfried had most likely perished on his flight. - -[102] Better known as Boniface, the Apostle of the Germans. He was -sent by Charles to Rome to obtain the episcopal ordination, that -he might be able to act with greater ecclesiastical authority in -the newly converted districts; on the 30th November, 723, Pope -Gregory II. (715-731) ordained him bishop, after he had given in -his “profession of faith,” which was approved of by Gregory as -strictly orthodox. The pope furnished him then with letters and -credentials to Christian princes and ecclesiastics, and to the -heathen princes and nations of Germany, and also with faithful -copies of the ordinances, creed, ritual, and regulations of the -Romish Church; and the Christian missionary was thus converted into -the Popish legate. By his base monkish truckling to the authority -of Rome this narrow-minded zealot, who sought in idle formalities -and ceremonies the _spirit_ of the word of Christ, which he was -totally unable to conceive and comprehend, turned the new Christian -church in Germany into a dependence of the Papal see, and thus -prepared ages of bloodshed and misery for that devoted country. He -carried his “submissiveness” to Rome so far that he actually asked -instructions in that quarter as to whether, on which part of the -body, and with which finger he might, or was to, make the sign of -the cross during the delivery of his sermons. No wonder, indeed, his -“mission” succeeded only when backed by the sword. He was murdered by -the Frisons, in 755. Apart from his narrow-minded bigotry, he was an -estimable man, full of honest and disinterested zeal. - -[103] The ingenuity displayed by man in the invention of specious -terms to disguise the plain and simple fact of the domination of one -being or nation over another, is truly marvellous. - -[104] What a blessing a Primate like St. Corbinian would have been to -that tender-conscienced casuist, Henry VIII. of England. - -[105] Of course, under Frankish protection. - -[106] Or as the dower of SUANEHILDA, Theudebaud’s daughter of a -former marriage, whom Charles espoused on this occasion. - -[107] Virtually independent. - -[108] The idle and incredibly extravagant tale told by Paul -Warnefried and Anastasius of 350,000 or 375,000 Arabs slain in this -battle, to 1500 Christians, has been faithfully copied by most -historians. One should think a moment’s reflection would suffice to -show the absolute impossibility of these numbers. Where on earth -was a governor of Spain, a recent conquest of the Saracens, to find -the 450,000 men (for 100,000 are stated to have escaped) to lead -into France; and where was he to find, in a thinly populated region, -such as that country was in the time of Charles Martel, the means of -subsistence for such a host? His chief of the commissariat must have -been a rare genius indeed. And as to the number of _fifteen hundred_ -Christians slain, this looks very much like the “one man killed and -four men slightly wounded,” to “one thousand of the enemy slain,” of -some of our modern bulletins. Striking off a nought from the number -of the Saracens, and adding one to that of the Christians may bring -us somewhat nearer the truth. - -[109] Charles Martel was not over-nice, it would appear, in the -bestowal of ecclesiastical preferments and estates; it mattered very -little indeed to him whether the recipient was a priest or a layman, -or even whether he could read and write. He also laid his impious -hands repeatedly upon the revenues of the church, and applied them -to the necessities of the state, or to pay his soldiers. No wonder -then that a sainted bishop of the times, EUCHERIUS, of Orleans, -should have been indulged with a pleasant vision of the body and soul -of the wicked prince burning in the deepest abyss of hell--rather -scurvy treatment, though, on the part of a Christian clergy, of a -prince who, whatever might be his foibles as a man, and his vices as -a king--(and it must be admitted, he had a goodly share of them)--had -yet the merit of being the saviour of Christendom. (A synod held -at Quiercy, in 858, had the calm impudence to communicate this -interesting and flattering statement, accompanied by some others of -the same stamp, to Lewis, King of Germany, grandson of Charlemagne!) - - - END OF VOL. I. - - - LONDON: - BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE - - Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been - corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within - the text and consultation of external sources. - - Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, - and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. - - Pg 11: ‘same fate befel’ replaced by ‘same fate befell’. - Pg 16: ‘attuned to comtemplation’ replaced by - ‘attuned to contemplation’. - Pg 39: ‘granted, Mahommed’ replaced by ‘granted, Mohammed’. - Pg 54: ‘let each party chose’ replaced by ‘let each party choose’. - Pg 58: ‘recal from the Persian’ replaced by ‘recall from the Persian’. - Pg 59: ‘Musulmans to oppose’ replaced by ‘Mussulmans to oppose’. - Pg 59: ‘decreed the downfal’ replaced by ‘decreed the downfall’. - Pg 74: ‘But Abd-eb-Malek had’ replaced by ‘But Abd-el-Malek had’. - Pg 85: ‘by the recal of’ replaced by ‘by the recall of’. - Pg 104: ‘CHLODOMIR’S seat’ replaced by ‘CLODOMIR’S seat’. - Pg 124: ‘the beleagured city’ replaced by ‘the beleaguered city’. - - Footnote 88: ‘children of Coldomir’ replaced by ‘children of Clodomir’. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Moslem and Frank, by Gustave Louis Strauss - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOSLEM AND FRANK *** - -***** This file should be named 63390-0.txt or 63390-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/3/9/63390/ - -Produced by Turgut Dincer, John Campbell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -book was produced from scanned images of public domain -material from the Google Books project.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Moslem and Frank; - or, Charles Martel and the rescue of Europe - -Author: Gustave Louis Strauss - -Release Date: October 6, 2020 [EBook #63390] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOSLEM AND FRANK *** - - - - -Produced by Turgut Dincer, John Campbell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -book was produced from scanned images of public domain -material from the Google Books project.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - -<div class="transnote"> -<p><strong>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE</strong></p> - -<p>Footnote anchors are denoted by <span class="fnanchor">[number]</span>, and the footnotes have been -placed at the end of each chapter.</p> - -<p>The original text on <a href="#maltese">page 111</a> uses a Maltese Cross, displayed as ‘✠’ on this device, to indicate the -year of that person’s death.</p> - -<p>Some minor changes to the text are noted at the <a href="#TN">end of the book.</a></p> -</div> - - -<div class="pg-brk figcenter illowp97" id="cover" style="max-width: 75em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Original cover" /> -</div> - - -<div class="pg-brk figcenter illowp97" id="frontispiece" style="max-width: 75em;"> - <img class="p4 w100" src="images/frontispiece.jpg" alt="" /> - <div class="caption">CHARLES MARTEL—BATTLE OF TOURS.<br /> -<span class="fs80"><em>From a Picture by Steuben in the Imperial Gallery at Versailles, James Carter, Sc.</em></span></div> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - -<h1><span class="lsp2">MOSLEM</span><br /> -<span class="fs40">AND</span><br /> -FRANK;</h1> - -<p class="pfs90">OR, CHARLES MARTEL AND THE RESCUE OF EUROPE<br /> -FROM THE THREATENED YOKE<br /> -OF THE SARACENS.</p> - -<p class="p2 pfs60">BEING</p> - -<p class="p2 pfs100">VOLUME I. OF THE HISTORIC SKETCHES.</p> - -<p class="p2 pfs80">DESIGNED FOR THE INSTRUCTION AND AMUSEMENT OF -OLD AND YOUNG.</p> - -<p class="p2 pfs120 smcap">By G. L. STRAUSS, Ph.D.</p> - -<p class="p4 pfs60">In magnis voluisse sat est.</p> - -<p class="p3 pfs100">LONDON:<br /> -JOHN WEALE, 59, HIGH HOLBORN.<br /> -1854.</p> - - -<hr class="chap pg-brk" /> - - -<p class="p6 pfs70">LONDON:<br /> -BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.</p> - - -<hr class="p6 chap" /> - -<div class="p6 chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE.</h2> -</div> - -<hr class="r30" /> - -<p class="pfs80">“Story! bless you—I have none to tell.”—<cite>Canning’s Knifegrinder.</cite></p> - -<hr class="r30a" /> - -<p class="lht">It is an old and trite saying: “Good wine needs no -bush,” and even the finest and most flourishing bush will -fail to put either body or flavor into the growth of a bad -vintage. It is left to the reader of this little volume to -decide whether or not the author has succeeded in producing -an acceptable and readable book.</p> - -<p class="fs80"><em>July 1, 1854.</em></p> - - -<hr class="p4 chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowe4"> - <img class="w100" src="images/sep.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<table class="p2 autotable fs80" width="95%" summary=""> -<tr> -<td class="tdc fs150" colspan="3">PART I.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc fs120" colspan="3">THE MOSLEMIN.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdl"></td> -<td class="tdl"></td> -<td class="tdr fs80">Page</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt nowrap">CHAPTER I.—</td> -<td class="tdl">Arabia and its inhabitants.—Life and doctrine of Mohammed</td> -<td class="tdrb">1</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt nowrap">” II.—</td> -<td class="tdl">The Khalifs from Abu Bekr to Hesham</td> -<td class="tdrb">53</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc" colspan="3"><ins><hr class="r20" /></ins></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc fs150" colspan="3">PART II.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdc fs120" colspan="3">THE FRANKS.</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt nowrap">CHAPTER I.—</td> -<td class="tdl">The Frank Confederacy.—Clovis, the Founder of the Frank Monarchy</td> -<td class="tdrb">89</td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdrt nowrap">” II.—</td> -<td class="tdl">Decline of the Merovingian Princes.—The Mayors of the Palace.—Pepin of Landen.—Pepin of - Heristal.—Charles Martel.—The Battle of Tours</td> -<td class="tdrb">108</td> -</tr> -</table> - - -<hr class="p4 chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[Pg 1]</span><br /></p> -</div> - -<h2 class="p4 nobreak fs180" id="PART_I">PART I.<br /> - -<span class="fs80">THE MOSLEMIN.</span></h2> - -<hr class="r20a" /> -<hr class="r20a" /> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</h3> - -<div class="figcenter illowe4"> - <img class="w100" src="images/sep.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<p class="pfs70">ARABIA AND ITS INHABITANTS.—LIFE AND DOCTRINE -OF MOHAMMED.</p> - - -<p>The Arabian peninsula, called by the natives <span class="smcap">Jesira-al-Arab</span>, -by the Persians and Turks <span class="smcap">Arabistan</span>, forms the -south-westernmost part of Asia. It is bounded on the -north by Syria and the river Euphrates, on the east by the -Persian Gulf, on the south by the Indian Ocean, on the -west by the Red Sea, or Arabian Gulf. Including the -north-eastern desert, it occupies an area ten times the extent -of that of Great Britain and Ireland. The connecting link -between Asia and Africa, to which latter continent it is -joined by the Isthmus of Suez, it presents in its natural -features, a faithful copy of its colossal tropical neighbour, -modified, however, by the imprint of a strongly marked -individual character, the result of its peculiar isolated position. -The attempted derivation of the name of the country -from <span class="smcap">Eber</span><a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>, the common progenitor of the Joctanites and -Ismaelites—the two races which are assumed to constitute -the great bulk of the native population of Arabia—is, at the -best, but very problematical; that from the word <span class="smcap">Araba</span>, the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[2]</span> -name of a district of the province of Tehama, and which -signifies a <em>level desert</em>, would seem to rest on a safer and -more rational foundation, the far greater part of the country -being indeed a dreary waste, a boundless level of sand, -destitute of rivers, intersected by naked mountains, and -barely relieved here and there by a shady grove or a green -sward of aromatic herbs. The date-palm is often the -solitary representative of vegetable life in these sterile tracts, -which are scorched by a tropical sun, and hardly ever refreshed -by a grateful shower. There are, however, some more -favored districts, where the fertile soil produces dates and -other palms, tamarinds, vines, rice, sugar, figs, tobacco, -indigo, cotton, durra,<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> coffee, gum, benzoin, frankincense, -manna, balsam, aloe, myrrh, spices, &c. The high lands in -the south-west, that border on the Indian Ocean, are -distinguished in this respect, above all other parts of -Arabia, by a more temperate air, superior fertility, and comparative -abundance of wood and water. No wonder, then, -that the appellation <em>happy</em>, bestowed upon this blessed -region by <span class="smcap">Ptolemy</span>, should have been generally adopted, -although originating in a mistranslation of the word <span class="smcap">Yemen</span>, -the Arabian name of this part of the peninsula, and which -does not signify happy, but is simply meant to designate the -land lying, with respect to the East, to the right of <span class="smcap">Mecca</span>, -just as <span class="smcap">Al-Sham</span> (Syria) means the land to the left of that -city. <span class="smcap">Ptolemy’s</span> division of the country into the <em>sandy</em>, the -<em>petraie</em>, and the <em>happy</em> (<em>Arabia Deserta</em>, <em>Petræa</em>, and <em>Felix</em>), -is, however, unknown to the Arabians themselves, who speak -only of high land and low land. The epithet <em>stony</em>, so -generally applied by geographers to the petraic division, is -founded in error: <span class="smcap">Ptolemy</span> derived the word from <span class="smcap">Petra</span>, -the name of the then flourishing capital of the Nabathæans, -and not from the Greek word <em>petra</em>, a rock or stone. -Ptolemy’s Arabia Petræa forms now part of the province of -<span class="smcap">Hejaz</span>, along the coast of the Red Sea. <span class="smcap">Yemen</span>, as we -have seen, occupies the south-western coast. On the south-eastern -coast lies the maritime district of <span class="smcap">Oman</span>; on the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[3]</span> -Persian Gulf, the district of <span class="smcap">Lahsa</span>: the inland space bears -the name of <span class="smcap">Neged</span>, or <span class="smcap">Naged</span>.</p> - -<p>Arabia is the true native country of the horse, and remains -even at the present time the seat of the purest and noblest -races of that generous animal. Asses, oxen, sheep, goats, -and the swift gazelle, are also indigenous; and so is the -<em>camel</em>, the “ship of the desert,” nature’s most precious gift -in the sands of Africa and Arabia. Monkies, pheasants, -and pigeons inhabit the fertile districts. The lion, the -panther, the hyena, the jackal, lurk in the desert. Ostriches, -and pelicans are among the birds of Arabia; locusts, that -“plague of the fields,” are among its insects. The coasts -abound in fishes and tortoises; and the pearl-fishery -flourishes more especially in the Persian Gulf.</p> - -<p>Among the mineral products may be mentioned iron, -copper, lead, coals, asphaltum; and precious stones, as the -agate, the onyx, the carnelion, &c. Some of the ancient -geographers speak also of the soil of Arabia as being -impregnated with gold; and though no mines of that -precious metal are at present known in the peninsula, who -can say but that the treasures of another California lie -hidden there?</p> - -<p>The inhabitants of Arabia, whose present number may be -estimated at about fifteen millions, are supposed to derive -their origin partly from <span class="smcap">Joctan</span> (in the Arabian language -<span class="smcap">Kahtan</span>), one of the sons of <span class="smcap">Eber</span>; and partly from <span class="smcap">Ismael</span>, -the son of Abraham and Hagar. The Joctanites, as the -supposed original inhabitants of the country, have been -called also true Arabians; the Ismaelites, as later immigrants, -<em>mixed</em> Arabians. The <span class="smcap">Ismaelites</span> are the <span class="smcap">Bedoweens</span>, or -<span class="smcap">Bedouins</span>, of our time, who to the present day continue to -rove through the interior and the north of Arabia, as they -did in the remote times of Job and Sesostris, depending -partly on their flocks, partly on the transit trade of the -caravans, but chiefly on plunder;<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> which latter is by these -wild sons of the desert looked upon in the light of an -honorable profession rather than of a disgraceful and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[4]</span> -criminal pursuit. They are a fine race of men, of middle -size, but well proportioned, vigorous, and active; they have -regular features; their complexion is mostly dark, rarely of -a lighter tint; their eyes sparkle with a fire and lustre -unknown among us. They are brave, temperate, generous, -and hospitable; enthusiastically addicted to eloquence and -poetry. Rapine and revenge are the only dark spots in the -national character of the Bedoween.</p> - -<p>The <span class="smcap">Joctanites</span> are the <span class="smcap">Haddhesies</span>, or <em>settled</em> Arabians, -who from the earliest times have been collected into towns -and villages, more especially in the maritime districts of the -peninsula, employed in the labors of agriculture, trade, and -commerce. Though the Arabian house-dwellers cannot be -said to possess all the noble qualities of their brethren of -the desert, still the description given above of the physical -and moral character of the latter applies in a great measure -equally to them; they are lively, intelligent, eloquent, and -witty; and, with all their habitual haughty demeanour, more -particularly to strangers, affable and agreeable in their -manners and conversation.</p> - -<p>The principal nations of Arabia mentioned by the ancients, -are, besides the <span class="smcap">Skenites</span> (<em>tent-dwellers</em>, or wandering -tribes), the <span class="smcap">Nabathæans</span>, in Arabia Petræa (Hejaz); the -<span class="smcap">Thamudites</span> and <span class="smcap">Minæans</span> in Hejaz; the <span class="smcap">Sabæans</span> and -<span class="smcap">Homerites</span>, in Yemen; the <span class="smcap">Hadhramites</span>, in Hadhramaut -on the southern coast; the <span class="smcap">Omanites</span>, <span class="smcap">Dacharenians</span>, and -<span class="smcap">Gerrhæans</span>, in Oman and Ul-Ahsa, or Lahsa; the <span class="smcap">Saranians</span>, -in Neged; and the <span class="smcap">Saracens</span>, an obscure tribe on -the borders of Egypt, and remarkable only from the circumstance -that, perhaps from a fallacious<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> interpretation of the -meaning of the word,—viz: as intended to indicate an -Oriental situation—the application of the name has been -gradually extended, first to the inhabitants of the Arabian -peninsula generally, afterwards to all Mohammedans.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span></p> - -<p>The early history of the Arabians is shrouded in obscurity. -That the <span class="smcap">Joctanites</span> were not the true original -inhabitants of the country, but simply later immigrants into -it, would appear to result from the histories of the ancient -Babylonian and Assyrian empires (however so little reliance -we may feel inclined to place in these mythical and -traditional histories); for we are told that Nimrod was -attended by Arabian tribes—and in the list of the Babylonian -kings we find six Arabian princes; and, again, among the -auxiliaries of Ninus we find Arabs, under a prince named -Ariæus. The <span class="smcap">Hyksos</span>, or Shepherd Kings, who are said to -have invaded Egypt about 2075 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span>, and to have held sway -in that country during more than 500 years, are also generally -considered to have come from Arabia. The traditional -history of Arabia mentions several kingdoms and dynasties. -The two most ancient of these, dating their origin as far -back as 2000 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span>, were, 1, the <span class="smcap">Homerite</span> kingdom in Yemen, -which, after a time, split into the two states of <span class="smcap">Saba</span>, or -<span class="smcap">Sheba</span>, and <span class="smcap">Hadhramaut</span>. About 1572 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span>, these were -re-united into one empire, which about 1075 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> was -governed by <span class="smcap">Balkis</span>, the daughter of Hodhad, and who by -some historians is thought to have been identical with the -Queen of Sheba, the cotemporary of Solomon; 2, the State -in Hejaz, in which the <span class="smcap">Nabathæans</span> held superior sway.</p> - -<p>Protected on all sides by the seas of sand and water which -encompass the peninsula, the Arabian people—or, at all events, -the great body of the nation—had, at all times, escaped the -yoke of a foreign conqueror. King Sesostris, of Egypt, is -said to have subjected some tribes of Hejaz to his rule; but -it would appear they speedily recovered their independence. -All the attempts made at different times, by the rulers of -Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, and Persia, to subjugate the -Arabian peninsula, proved either altogether abortive, or, -even where they partially succeeded, the conquest was only -transient. Thus Arabia Petræa was subjugated, for a time, -to the Assyrian sway in the eighth century <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> by Pul, or -Phul, and Sennacherib; but in the sixth century <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> we -find it in independent alliance with the Persian kings -Cyrus and Cambyses. Alexander the Great had formed the -plan to conquer and colonise the coasts of Arabia, and to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span> -prepare in this way the ultimate subjugation of the entire -peninsula. The genius of the Græco-Macedonian conqueror, -the immense material means of which he could dispose, and -the possession of a powerful fleet (under Nearchus) promised -a successful issue to the intended expedition: the death of -Alexander (11th June, 323 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span>) averted the threatening -danger.<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> The attempt which Antigonus and Demetrius -made upon Arabia in 312 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> was a failure; and the trifling -conquest achieved in 219 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> by Antiochus the Great, -of Syria, was speedily wrested again from him by the -natives. At a later period, the northern tribes of Arabia -were engaged for a time, with varying fortunes, in desultory -feuds with the Jews under the Maccabæans, or Makkabi.<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> -The Romans also, that all-grasping nation, cast their covetous -eyes upon the flourishing state of Petræa; but neither -Scaurus nor Gabinius, neither Pompey nor Antony, nor -even Augustus, could prevail against the difficulties of the -country, and the stubborn valor of the roving tribes of the -desert. Hunger, thirst, fatigue, and disease thinned the -ranks of the proud legions more effectually still than the -bow, the javelin, and the scymetar of the Bedoween; and -after a last vain attempt under Ælius Gallus, Imperial Rome -reluctantly relinquished for a time the coveted prize. In -106 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, Cornelius Palma, a lieutenant of Trajan, conquered<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span> -the cities of Bostra and Petra, and subdued the Nabathæans. -Trajan made, also, some naval inroads, and carried his -incursions as far as Katif. Petra lost from this time its -importance and splendor; Bostra becoming in its stead -the principal seat of the commerce of the Euphrates and -the Tigris. After the death of Trajan, the conquered tribes -shook off again the Roman yoke. The Emperor Aurelian -broke, indeed, the power of the Nabathæans in his celebrated -campaign against Zenobia, the great Queen of Palmyra, -(272 and 273 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>), and his triumphal car was followed by -captive Arabian chiefs; but the Nabathæan <em>nation</em>, disdaining -to bend to the Roman yoke, abandoned their homes, and fled -to that great asylum of Arabian freedom, the desert.</p> - -<p>At the commencement of the sixth century, (502 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>), -the Homerite kingdom of Yemen<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> was conquered by an -Ethiopian prince, the Negus, or King, of Abyssinia,<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> and -remained subject or tributary to the Christian princes of -the latter country to the time of the conquest of Arabia by -Chosroes I. (Nushirvan) of Persia (about 574 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>). Still, -though Arabia was styled a Persian province, the sway of -the Sassanides over the peninsula was more nominal than -real: the tribes of the desert remained free, and even in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span> -Yemen, we find seven Princes of the Homerites successfully -asserting and maintaining the independence of their mountains.<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> - -<p>There is some reason to suppose that the original worship -of the Arabs was that of <em>one</em> God; clouded and tarnished, -indeed, by many superstitious usages, and perhaps even by -human sacrifices, yet free from gross idolatry. But this -primitive religion was speedily supplanted by the adoration -of the sun, the moon, and the fixed stars; a specious superstition -which substitutes for the invisible, all-pervading, -universal God, the most glorious of his creations, and may -well find its excuse in the clear sky and boundless naked -plains of Arabia, where the heavenly luminaries shine with -a brighter lustre, displaying to the mind of the untutored -son of the desert the visible image of a Deity. Intimately -connected with this still primitive faith, was the belief in -the wonderful powers and attributes of <em>meteoric stones</em>. -The most renowned of these, called Hadjar-el-Aswad, is a -square-shaped black stone, kept to the present day in Mecca -in the Temple of the <span class="smcap">Kaaba</span>, and which has from time -immemorial been, and remains still, the sacred object of -the devout pilgrimages and adoration of the Arabs of -all tribes. The Kaaba is a square building, thirty-four -feet high, and twenty-seven broad; built, according -to the Mohammedan tradition, by Abraham, and repeatedly -restored, in after ages, by the Amalekites, by the Jorhamites, -by Kassa, of the tribe of Koreish, &c.; and the last<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span> -time by Sultan Mustapha, in 1630. Of the original -building there remains thus at present only a small portion -of wall, which is held most sacred. A spacious portico<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> -encloses the quadrangle of the Kaaba. The holy stone, -which is about four feet high, and set in silver, is fixed in -the wall, in the southern corner. The Mohammedan tradition -relates that this stone was brought to Abraham by the -Angel Gabriel, whose tears over the sinfulness of man had -changed its original white color to black! Hence Mahomet -was induced to make it the Kebla<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> of prayer, and to enjoin -the pilgrimage of the faithful to it and the Kaaba. Verily, -the idolatry of the ancient Arabs, who worshipped the divine -power in the <em>meteoric stone</em>, that had fallen from the skies in -a manner miraculous to their untutored understanding, was -more natural, and even far more rational, than the present -worship of the same stone, based upon this wretched and -most absurd legend! The transmigration of souls, the -resurrection of bodies, and the invocation of departed -spirits, formed also part of the religious belief of the -ancient Arabs; the cruel practice of human sacrifices -prevailed among them even up to the time of Mohammed, -in the course of time the grossest idolatry became an -important, and, in the end, a preponderating ingredient in -Arabian worship; and the sacred Kaaba was defiled by the -gradual introduction of three hundred and sixty idols of -men, eagles, lions, and antelopes; among which stood most -conspicuous the most popular of them, the statue of Hobal, -fashioned of red agate by a Syrian artist, and holding in his -hand seven arrows, without heads or feathers, the instruments -and symbols of profane divination.<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p> - -<p>But, though each tribe, each family, nay every independent -warrior, might freely create new idols and new rites of his fantastic -worship, yet the nation, in every age, has bowed to the -religion of Mecca, and to the superior sanctity of the Kaaba. -An annual truce of two, or, according to some historians, -four months, during which the swords of the Arabs were -sheathed, both in foreign and domestic warfare, protected<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span> -the holy pilgrimage to Mecca. The great fair held in connection -with this pilgrimage induced those to come whom -religious ardor failed to attract. This annual gathering of -distant and hostile tribes contributed greatly to harmonise -and refine the wild sons of the desert; the exchange of -eloquence and poetry usual at these periods, could only -heighten the humanizing and elevating influence of the -custom. The fanaticism of the first Moslems abolished the -fair, inflicting thereby one of the many evils that came in the -train of Mohammed’s gigantic imposture. The rites which -are, even in the present day, accomplished by the devout -Moslems, are still the same they were in the days of the -ancient idolators of Arabia. “At a respectful distance from -the temple, they threw off their garments; seven times they -went round the Kaaba, with quick steps, kissing each time -the holy stone with deep reverence;<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> seven times they visited -and adored the adjacent mountains; seven times they threw -stones into the valley of Mina: and the pilgrimage was -completed, as at the present hour, by a sacrifice of sheep -and camels, and the burial of their hair and nails in the -consecrated ground.”<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p> - -<p>It will be readily understood that the custody of the -Kaaba must at all times have proved a most lucrative affair. -No wonder, then, that the neighbouring tribes should have -hotly contended for it. Originally the <span class="smcap">Ismaelites</span> held -it for a long time, together with the dominion over Mecca, -which resulted from it as a natural consequence. The -<span class="smcap">Jorhamites</span>, a branch of the Joctanites, succeeded at last -in ousting them from it; these again were expelled by the -<span class="smcap">Khuzaites</span>, who promoted idolatry to a most formidable -extent. In the middle of the fifth century, an Ismaelitic -tribe, that of <span class="smcap">Koreish</span>, wrested the custody of the Kaaba, -by fraud or force, from the Khuzaites. The sacerdotal -office was entrusted by the Koreish to <span class="smcap">Cosa</span>, of the -family of the <span class="smcap">Hashemites</span>, and devolved through four<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span> -lineal descents to <span class="smcap">Abdol Motalleb</span>, the grandfather of -Mohammed.<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p> - -<p>The freedom which Arabia enjoyed, promised a safe -asylum to the political and religious exiles and proscripts -from the adjacent kingdoms. The intolerance of the -Magian Persians had overturned the altars of Babylon, -and compelled the votaries of Sabianism<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> to seek a refuge -in the desert. The <ins class="corr" id="tn-11" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'same fate befel'"> -same fate befell</ins> the Magians in their -turn, when the sword of Alexander had overthrown the -Persian monarchy. Multitudes of Jews fled into Arabia, -to escape the cruel persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, -and greater numbers still followed during the wars of Titus -and Hadrian. To all these were added, at a later period, -numerous sects of Christians, fleeing from that worst of all -persecutions, that of their triumphant co-religionists, from -whom they might chance to differ in some abstruse point -of doctrine, or in some immaterial rite. Among the -persecuted sects, we may mention here more particularly -the Marcionites and the Manichæans, the Jacobites and -Nestorians. The latter two sects had gained many proselytes -in Yemen, and succeeded even in converting the -princes of Hira and Gassan to their faith. The Jews, also, -had made numerous and important converts to the Mosaic -belief; and we have already seen how the intolerant zeal -of a bigoted Jewish neophyte, <span class="smcap">Dunaan</span>, prince of the -Homerites, suddenly interrupted the enjoyment of that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span> -absolute liberty of conscience which the Arabian <em>idolaters</em> -had hitherto granted to all creeds and all sects, and brought -down upon Yemen an Abyssinian invasion to avenge the -wrongs of the persecuted Christians.</p> - -<p>It was in this country, and among this people, so strangely -and peculiarly constituted, that arose the apostle of a new faith, -destined to knead the heterogeneous and hostile elements of -the nation into one compact mass, and to hurl this with -irresistible might against the adjacent empires, and even, -far beyond the limits of the latter, against countries and -nations formerly scarcely known by name even to the -Arabian merchant.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mahomet</span>, or more properly <span class="smcap">Mohammed</span> or <span class="smcap">Muhammed</span>, -(i.e. <em>the very famous</em>), the only son of Abdallah and Amina, -was born at Mecca, on the 20th April, 571.<a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> His father, -<span class="smcap">Abdallah</span>, was the best beloved of the thirteen sons of -Abdol Motalleb, the son of Hashem, and chief of the family -of that name; his mother, Amina, sprang from the noble -race of the Zahrites. He had the misfortune to lose in his -infancy, his father and mother, and his grandfather. His -sole inheritance consisted in a house, an old female slave, -and five camels. After the death of his grandfather, he -was taken into the house of his uncle, Abu Taleb, who had -succeeded Abdol Motalleb in the sacerdotal office. Here -he was educated to commercial pursuits; and was, at the -age of thirteen, sent with the caravan of his uncle to the -fairs of Bosra, or Bostra,<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> and Damascus, in Syria. In his -twentieth year<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> he fought in the ranks of the Koreish<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span> -against some hostile tribes, and, by his valor, gained the -appellation <span class="smcap">El Amin</span>, i.e., <em>the faithful</em>, one of the five hundred -and more surnames that have gradually been given to -the Prophet of Islam. In his twenty-fifth year, Cadijah, a -rich and noble widow of Mecca (according to some historians, -of Bosra), engaged him as superintendent and manager to -carry on the commercial affairs of her late husband. In -this capacity he made a second journey to the fairs of Bosra -and Damascus.<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a></p> - -<p>Nature had bestowed upon Mohammed the gift of -personal beauty. His cotemporaries describe him as of -commanding figure and majestic aspect; he had regular and -most expressive features, piercing black eyes, an aquiline -nose, and a well-formed mouth, with pearly teeth; his -cheeks were tinged with the ruddy glow of robust health.<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span> -Art had imparted to his naturally black, flowing hair -and beard a lighter chestnut hue. His captivating smile, -his rich and sonorous voice, the graceful dignity of his -gestures, the apparent frankness and heartiness of his -manner, gained him the favorable attention of those whom -he addressed. He possessed talents of a superior order—his -perception was quick and active, his memory capacious -and retentive, his imagination lively and daring, his judgment -clear, rapid, and decisive, his courage dauntless;—and, -whatever may be our opinion of the sincerity of his -convictions, his tenacity of purpose in the pursuit of the -great object of his life, and his patient endurance, cannot -but extort our admiration. His natural eloquence was -enhanced by the use of the purest dialect of Arabia, and -adorned by the charm of a graceful elocution.</p> - -<p>Cadijah was a widow for the second time; she was in the -fortieth year of her age—no wonder then, that a man so -bountifully endowed by nature should speedily have gained -her affection. She bestowed upon him her hand and her -fortune, and restored him thereby to the station of his -ancestors. Placed, henceforth, above the petty wants and -cares of material subsistence, Mohammed had now full -leisure to indulge his love of poetry and eloquence, and his -natural predilection for contemplation. His marriage -brought him into familiar contact with <span class="smcap">Waraka (Verka) -Ben Naufil</span>, a cousin of Cadijah. This Waraka, it would -appear, had first exchanged the adoration of the heavenly -bodies for the belief in the two principles of Zoroaster, -(Ormuzd and Ahriman). This creed not satisfying his mind, -he had embraced with fervor the monotheism of the Jews; -but, disgusted with the absurdities of the Talmudists, he had -seceded to the profession of the Christian faith, in which he -had even assumed the priestly office. That he must have -been a man of some talent and learning, is evident from the -fact of his having translated the Old and New Testament -from the Hebrew into the Arabic tongue. Now this man<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span> -is usually mentioned by the historians of the time as the -<em>pupil</em> of Mohammed, and the <em>second convert</em> to his new -doctrine; but there are strong reasons to justify a belief -that he was his <em>master</em> and <em>teacher</em>, rather than his <em>pupil</em> and -<em>convert</em>.</p> - -<p>It has been intimated already, that the history of the life -of Mohammed, up to the time when he proclaimed himself -the apostle of a new faith, is obscure and doubtful. From -the scanty data, and the conjectural and contradictory -statements before us, we can only gather one fact as pretty -certain, viz: that the prophet of Islam had enjoyed some -rabbinical and priestly instruction. Now we have seen that -Mohammed was an illiterate barbarian, and not likely, -therefore, to derive from conversation with priests in foreign -lands that knowledge of the maxims, tenets, and traditions -of other religious communities, which is evidenced in the -Koran and in the Sonna;<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> whereas Waraka had actually -had a practical training in the divers beliefs of the Sabians, -Magians, Jews, and Christians; and must, to judge by his -translation of the New Testament, have been tolerably -versed in the <em>letter</em>, at least, of the doctrine of Christ. -From his repeated, and apparently conscientious, changes -of faith, we have, perhaps, a right to conclude that he was -a man sincerely in search of a religion that might satisfy -his mind; nor need we wonder that the so-called “Christianity” -of the seventh century should have failed to answer -his expectations on this head. It would not be too much -to say, indeed, that there existed really no “Christian” -church at that period; the multitudinous contending sects -who professed the <em>name</em> of Christ had almost entirely forgotten -his <em>pure doctrine</em>, and, more especially, the divine -principle preached by him of universal charity and good-will -to all men. The grossest idolatry had usurped the place of -the simple worship, instituted by Jesus, of an All-wise,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span> -Almighty, and All-beneficent Being, without equal and -without similitude; a new Olympus had been imagined, -peopled with a crowd of martyrs, saints, and angels, in lieu -of the ancient gods of paganism. There were found Christian -sects impious enough to invest the wife of Joseph with the -honors and attributes of a goddess;<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> relics, and carved and -painted images, were objects of the most fervid adoration on -the part of those whom the word of Christ commanded to -address their prayer to the Living God alone.</p> - -<p>Surely, then, we may trust that it will not be imputed to -us as a violation of the laws of probability, if we venture to -assume that Waraka, finding his religious aspirations disappointed -even in the Christian faith, conceived the idea of -founding and propagating a doctrine of his own,—a species of -eclectic extract from all other religions which he had -successively professed; that, void perhaps of personal ambition, -or conscious, rather, that he did not himself possess the -most indispensable attributes and qualities of a religious and -political reformer, he cast his eyes upon Mohammed, who, -with his mind <ins class="corr" id="tn-16" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'attuned to comtemplation'"> -attuned to contemplation</ins> and to mystic -thought, promised to prove a docile disciple, and whose -personal beauty and grace seemed made to “persuade ere he -ope’d his mouth;” and that he chose him as his organ, as -the medium through which he might give currency to the -coinage of his mind, content if the people would receive the -fruits of his religious experience and ponderings as a new -gospel, and cheerfully consenting to yield up the honors of -the paternity to him who should succeed in rearing the infant -religion.</p> - -<p>Waraka found in Mohammed a most zealous disciple, who -considerably bettered the instructions which he received. -From what we can gather from the scanty sources of information -at our command, we think we may fix upon the -year 606 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> as the period at which Mohammed first became -the pupil of Waraka; but it was only five years after, in -611, that Waraka and himself had fully matured their plan<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span> -to institute a new religion. Worthily to prepare himself -for the assumption of the prophetic and apostolic office, -Mohammed withdrew this year (as he had indeed done -repeatedly before), several weeks, during the month of Ramadan, -to the cave of Hera, three miles from Mecca. On the -morning of the 24th Ramadan, Mohammed appeared before -his wife, apparently greatly disturbed in mind. He called -out to her to “wrap him up, to affuse him with cold water, -as his soul was greatly troubled.” Having thus prepared -her for his purpose, by exciting at once both her conjugal -solicitude and her female curiosity, he proceeded to break to -the amazed matron the great secret of his divine mission. -He told her the angel Gabriel had, that night, appeared to -him with a message from the Most High, appointing him, -Mohammed, the sixth, greatest, and last of His chosen -prophets,<a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> to reveal His existence and to preach His law to -the nations of the world. The angel had brought down -with him a paper copy of the uncreated and eternal Koran, -enclosed in a volume of silk and gems, and had proposed to -reveal to him successively and at his (Mohammed’s) own -discretion, the chapters and verses of that everlasting -record of the law of God.</p> - -<p>Islam (i.e. <em>devout submission to the Divine Will</em>) he had -been commanded by the angel to call the new faith which it -was to be henceforward his mission to preach; and which, -to use the felicitous language of Gibbon, is compounded of -an eternal truth—viz., that <em>there is only one God</em>—and of a -fiction necessary to further the ambitious designs of the -self-appointed missionary of this new gospel—viz., that -<em>Mohammed is the apostle and prophet of God</em>. Cadijah -believed readily and implicitly—and no marvel either. -Mohammed, to his honor be it written, had proved a most -kind and attentive husband to the elderly matron who had -raised him above the pressure of want. He had abstained—and -till her death continued to abstain—from availing -himself of the right of polygamy. He had proved his <em>truth</em> -to her by unvarying affection. How, then, could she possibly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span> -have doubted his word? To her grateful and loving eyes, -he must have seemed more than a mere mortal; and she -may even have deemed it by no means extraordinary that -the Most High should appoint as his organ and missionary -one so pure, so good, so <em>perfect</em>, as her husband appeared in -<em>her</em> sight.</p> - -<p>Cadijah’s conversion was speedily followed by the avowed -declaration of Waraka in favor of the new doctrine. The -ex-priest of Christ professed to see in Mohammed the -<em>Paraclete</em>, or Comforter, promised in the Gospel, and even -ventured to support this view upon etymological grounds -of somewhat extraordinary character. The Arabic word -<em>Mohammed</em> is synonymous with the Greek περικλῠτὸς (i.e. -<em>very famous</em>), which, by an easy change of letters, may be -turned into παράκλητος!</p> - -<p>The next converts to Mohammed’s new faith were, his -servant <span class="smcap">Zeid</span>, who was positively bribed to it by the promise -of freedom; his youthful cousin <span class="smcap">Ali Ben Abu Taleb</span>, a -boy of eleven, and not likely, therefore, to entertain any very -deep religious conviction either way; and the wealthy and -universally esteemed <span class="smcap">Abdallah Ben Othman-al-Koreish</span>, -called afterwards <span class="smcap">Abu Bekr</span> (i.e. <em>the father of the maiden</em>); -most probably from the circumstance that his daughter -<span class="smcap">Ayesha</span>, born 613, became one of Mohammed’s wives after -the death of Cadijah. By the weight and influence of Abu -Bekr, ten of the most respectable citizens of Mecca were -induced to join the creed of Islam, among whom were -Othman, who became afterwards Mohammed’s son-in-law. -It had taken three years to accomplish these fourteen private -conversions; and, guided probably by the advice of Waraka, -the prophet had not yet ventured upon a public profession -and propaganda of his creed. In the beginning of 615, however, -Waraka died; and the bolder spirit of Mohammed, freed -from the restraining influence hitherto exercised by that -cautious man, aspired henceforward openly to the dignity -of the apostolic office.</p> - -<p>We have already seen that Mohammed had informed -Cadijah, and, of course, also his other disciples, that the -chapters of the Koran were to be communicated to him by -the angel Gabriel successively, and at his own discretion,—a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span> -master-stroke of policy evidently designed by the crafty -Waraka to afford full time for the gradual concoction of the -new creed, and worked out afterwards with such admirable -skill by his illustrious pupil; indeed, the ingenuity of this -provision may be said to be surpassed only by that of another -saving maxim introduced into the angelic revelation, viz., -that any text of the Koran is abrogated or modified by any -subsequent passage,—which, of course, at once removed the -inconvenience of contradictory texts. Gabriel was accordingly -now made to descend again to Mohammed, and to -command him in the name of the Most High to throw off the -reserve which he had hitherto maintained, and to announce -his mission in the open light of day. In obedience to this -pretended command, the prophet of Islam invited forty -members of the race of Hashem to a banquet. He placed -before them, it is said, a lamb and a bowl of milk, and, after -the frugal meal, addressed them as follows:—“Friends and -kinsmen, I offer you, and I alone can offer, the most precious -of gifts—the treasures of this world and of the world to come. -God has commanded me to call you to His service. Who -among you will support my burthen? Who among you will -be my companion and my vizir?” A long silence of doubt -and amazement followed this extraordinary allocution; it -was broken at last by the impetuous Ali, then in the fourteenth -year of his age. “O prophet!” he cried, “I am the -man: whosoever rises against thee, I will dash out his teeth, -tear out his eyes, break his legs, rip up his belly. O prophet! -I will be thy vizir over them.” This response on the part of -one so young, and the fierce threats which it contained, -excited the merriment of the assembly, which was increased -when Mohammed fervently embraced his young cousin, -and declared most seriously that he accepted his offer. Abu -Taleb, the father of Ali, was ironically exhorted to respect -the superior dignity of his son, and to take care not to -provoke his potent wrath. The prince of Mecca took the -matter in a more serious light: he advised his nephew to -relinquish his design, which he characterised as impious. -“Spare your remonstrances,” replied the son of Abdallah; -“were you to place the sun on my right hand and the moon -on my left, you should not divert me from my course.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span></p> - -<p>Braving the ridicule and the anger of the Hashemites, as -well as the more determined and malignant hostility of the -family Ommiyah and the other branches of the Koreish, -Mohammed preached his doctrine henceforward publicly, -with unflinching courage and untiring zeal, but for a long -time with rather indifferent success, at least so far as his -native city was concerned.</p> - -<p>Mecca was the sacred city of Arabia,—the seat of the great -national temple. The annual pilgrimage of the devout -Arabians to the shrines of the Kaaba, brought wealth to the -coffers of the inhabitants of the favored city; and it was but -natural, therefore, that the tribe of Koreish, who held the -lucrative office of custodians of the sacred temple, should -behold with indignation and dismay the attempt made by -one from among themselves to subvert a religion so profitable -to their interests. No wonder, then, that when -Mohammed, some time after the banquet of the Hashemites, -ventured to proclaim his pretended mission before a general -assembly of the Koreish, he was received with a perfect -storm of disapprobation, and ignominiously pelted with mud -and stones.</p> - -<p>But the prophet of Islam was not the sort of man to be -readily diverted from his fixed purpose. The indifferent -success of his first public attempt rather increased his zeal -than otherwise: in private converse and in public discourse, -he incessantly urged the belief and worship of a sole Deity. -He addressed impassioned orations to the citizens and pilgrims -gathered within the holy precincts of the Kaaba, and -the loudest clamor of his most violent antagonists did not -always succeed in silencing his potent voice; and, indeed, -after a time he had the satisfaction of beholding the gradual -but steady increase of his little congregation of Unitarians. -But the hostility of the Koreish assumed now a more decided -and more dangerous character; and, had it not been for the -powerful protection of Abu Taleb, who, though an uncompromising -enemy to the attempted innovation of his nephew, -continued to bestow on the son of Abdallah the affection of a -parent, Mohammed would most probably have fallen a sacrifice -to the rage of his enemies. But even the weight and influence -of the Prince of Mecca could not always fully secure<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span> -the safety of the apostle of the new creed, and Mohammed -was repeatedly compelled to withdraw himself to various -places of strength in the town and country. The more timid -of his disciples were forced to seek in Ethiopia an asylum -from the violence of religious faction. The conversion of -his uncle <span class="smcap">Hamza</span>, gave the new faith, most opportunely, a -powerful support in the family of Hashem; a perhaps still -more important acquisition was made in the person of the -fierce and inflexible <span class="smcap">Omar</span>, the <span class="smcap">Paul</span> of Islam. On the other -hand, the branch of Ommiyah, and the rest of the tribe of -Koreish, resolved to put the children of Hashem under a -species of religious and civil interdict of the most stringent -nature, till they should consent to deliver the person of -Mohammed to the justice of the insulted gods. A decree -was passed to this effect, and was suspended in the Kaaba -before the eyes of the nation; the prophet and his most -faithful followers were besieged, and subjected to the greatest -hardships. A hollow truce had scarcely restored the appearance -of concord, when the death of Abu Taleb (621) left -the prophet abandoned to the power of his enemies, and -compelled him to seek a refuge in Tayef, whither he proceeded, -attended by his faithful Zeid. His somewhat -incautious attempts to propagate his creed in that land of -grapes excited against him the indignation of the inhabitants, -who pelted him with stones and drove him back to -Mecca, where he was permitted to dwell yet a little while -under the protection of an influential citizen. Three days -after the death of Abu Taleb, an equally severe loss had -befallen Mohammed—that of Cadijah, by which the ties -which bound him to his native city were greatly loosened.</p> - -<p>It is in this period that we may place the miraculous night -of Mohammed’s ascension to heaven. Hitherto, Mohammed -had been modestly content to place an intermediary -between the Deity and himself. Probably reflecting, however, -that the Jewish creed asserted direct and personal -converse between Jehovah and Adam, Noah, Abraham, and -Moses, and that he, the greatest and last of the prophets, -and whose doctrine was to supersede all others, could not -well afford to stand inferior in this respect to his predecessors, -and anxiously desirous, moreover, to gain over the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span> -Jews, whom he wished to believe him the promised Messiah—he -put forth one of the wildest flights of fancy that ever -issued even from an Oriental brain:—A mysterious animal, -the <em>Borak</em> (the cherub of Islam), with human face, the ears -of an elephant, the neck of a camel, the body of a horse, the -tail of a mule, and the hoofs of a bullock, conveyed him at -the dead of night from the temple of Mecca to that of Jerusalem, -Gabriel and legions of angels attended him. From -the temple of Jerusalem he was carried to the rock upon -which Abraham intended to sacrifice Isaac, and thence on -the wings of Gabriel successively to the seven heavens, where -he exchanged civilities with the patriarchs, the prophets, and -the angels. He saw the heavenly Lotos tree, with the four -springs under it, flowing with water, honey, milk, and wine. -Of the three former he tasted; the last he left untouched, in -obedience to his own precepts.<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> He saw, also, the heavenly -tabernacle, pitched in a straight line above the Kaaba, and -hidden by a golden veil. The angels sang, “There is only -one God, and Mohammed is the prophet of God.” The -same resounded from behind the veil, and the voice of the -Lord was heard saying, “My servants speak the words of -truth; Mohammed is indeed the most beloved of my prophets -and apostles, the most pious of my servants, the most perfect -of created beings.” Beyond this part, Mohammed alone was -permitted to proceed; he passed through seventy thousand -veils of light and darkness, each of them a thousand years -thick, and with a space of a thousand years intervening -between every two of them. At last he reached the green -barrier of green light with emerald lustre; he passed the veil -of the Divine unity, and approached within two bow-shots of -the throne of the Almighty, where he prostrated himself and -adored. The hand of the Lord touched his shoulder, which -made a sensation of cold come over him that pierced him to -the heart. God commanded him now to impose upon his disciples -the daily obligation of fifty prayers; which Mohammed -would appear to have looked upon as an intolerable burthen, -since he pleaded hard for an alleviation of it.<a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> By his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span> -supplications he succeeded to reduce it, step by step, at last to -the number of five, viz., one prayer at daybreak, one at noon, -one in the afternoon, one in the evening, and one at the first -watch of the night; but from these five obligatory prayers -there was to be no dispensation of business or pleasure, of -time or place. In this most important conversation, the -Lord enjoined or sanctioned, also, the annual pilgrimage to -Mecca, the bestowal of a certain percentage of the property -or revenue of a believer for the relief of the indigent and -unfortunate, and the thirty days fast during the month of -Ramadan. Then was given to Mohammed, with one drop -from the throne, all wisdom, science, and knowledge of the -ages past and the time to come; and the angelic choirs recited -the two articles of belief, “There is only one God, and -Mohammed is the apostle of God.” Mohammed was then -finally dismissed; he again descended to Jerusalem, remounted -the Borak, and returned to Mecca, having thus performed in -the tenth part of a night the journey of many thousand years. -Verily, in this precious tale we do not know which to admire -most,—whether the audacity of the impostor who could concoct, -or the gross credulity of the people who could believe it! -Indeed, many endeavours have been made by some of the -more rational of the Mohammedan doctors to deny that the -prophet of Islam ever ventured to palm off this extravagant -story upon his followers; and it has been attempted to make -it appear that the narration of it relates to a mere dream or -vision. These apologists overlook, however, the important -fact that this pretended vision was put forward with all the -authority of a divine revelation. Mohammed himself encouraged -as much as in him lay the belief in the actual occurrence -of the fact; which, with the Sonnites, indeed, is an -article of faith, the pious <span class="smcap">Al Jannabi</span>, among others, -declaring that to deny this nocturnal journey of the prophet -is to disbelieve the Koran.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Abu Sophian</span>, the chief of the branch of Ommiyah, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span> -the mortal foe of the line of Hashem, had succeeded to the -principality of the republic of Mecca. This man resolved -to bring the long-pending contest between the Koreish and -the self-appointed apostle of the new creed to a speedy and -decisive issue. He convened an assembly of the Koreishites -and their allies, in which the death of Mohammed was -resolved. To baffle the vengeance of the Hashemites, it was -agreed that the guilt of his blood should be divided among -the several tribes. A spy (duly converted afterwards into -an angel by the crafty prophet) revealed the odious plot to -Mohammed, who resolved on flight as the only means of -escape from the malice of his enemies. In the night of the -13th September, 622,<a id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> Mohammed, accompanied by his friend -Abu Bekr, escaped silently from his house, whilst the assassins, -who were watching at the door, were deceived by the -figure of Ali, who, covered with the green vestment of the -apostle, reposed on the bed, securing thus, at the risk of his -own life, the safe retreat of his illustrious and beloved -cousin. When the deception practised upon them was at -length revealed, the Koreishites dismissed the heroic youth -unharmed.</p> - -<p>Mohammed and the companion of his flight took refuge -first in the cave of Thor, about three miles from Mecca. -Three days they remained concealed there, receiving every -evening from the son and daughter of Abu Bekr a supply of -food, and intelligence of the movements of their enemies. -The Koreish explored every hiding-place in the neighbourhood -of the city, with the exception of the cave in which the -fugitives were hidden, and which the pious Moslem doctors -would have us believe was protected from their scrutiny by -the providential deceit of a spider’s web and a pigeon’s nest. -When the first rigor of the pursuit had somewhat abated, -the fugitives left the protection of their cave, and mounted -their camels to pursue their flight to <span class="smcap">Yathreb</span>, called afterwards -<span class="smcap">Medina</span>, or <span class="smcap">Medina al Nabi</span> (i.e. <em>city of the prophet</em>).<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span> -On the road, they were overtaken by the emissaries -of the Koreish, who were, however, diverted from their -murderous purpose by the eloquent appeals of the prophet: -indeed it is stated by the Arabian historians that one of his -pursuers passed over to him with seventy followers, and -attended him to Medina.</p> - -<p>The city of Yathreb was inhabited chiefly by the tribes of -the <span class="smcap">Charegites</span> and the <span class="smcap">Awsites</span>, and by two colonies of -Jews, of a sacerdotal race, and who had introduced among -their Arab fellow-citizens a taste for science and religion, -which had gained Medina the name of the City of the Book. -Now whether it might be that, owing to this circumstance, the -preaching of Mohammed had made a deeper impression upon -the pilgrims and merchants from Medina than upon his own -fellow-citizens in Mecca; or that the Yathrebites, who were -envious of the flourishing commerce of the latter city, would -gladly avail themselves of the opportunity afforded by the -bigoted zeal of the Koreish to attract to their own city the -exiled disciples of Mohammed, and in fine perhaps that illustrious -man himself—certain it is that at an early period of -Mohammed’s mission, some of the noblest citizens of Medina, -in a pilgrimage to the Kaaba, had been converted by his -preaching, and had upon their return home diffused among -their fellow-citizens the belief of God and his prophet. The -Charegites and Awsites had hitherto lived in perpetual feud, -interrupted only by temporary truces, which were broken on -the slightest provocation. By the exhortations of these -missionaries, the two tribes were henceforth united in faith -and love. Ten Charegites and two Awsites were despatched -to Mecca, where they held a secret and nocturnal interview -with Mohammed on a hill in the suburbs; they protested -for themselves and in the name of their wives, their children, -and their absent brethren, an inviolable attachment to the -person and doctrine of the prophet. At a later period, -shortly before Mohammed’s forced departure from Mecca, -seventy-three men and two women of Medina came to Mecca, -and held a solemn conference with Mohammed, his kinsmen, -and his disciples, on the same spot where the interview with -the first embassy had taken place. They promised the -prophet in the name of their city that should he be com<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span>pelled -to leave Mecca, they would receive him as their prince, -and would place their lives and fortunes at his service for -the defence and propagation of the new faith preached by -him. Mohammed on his part promised never to abandon -his new allies, even though the Koreish should repent and -should recall him; he declared their blood to be as his blood, -their ruin as his ruin, their friends as his friends, their foes -as his foes; should they fall in his service, Paradise was to -be their reward. A solemn league and covenant was made -there and then between the two parties; this was ratified -by the people of Medina, who, with the exception of the -Jews, unanimously embraced the profession of Islam.</p> - -<p>It was accordingly to Medina that the exiled prophet -directed his steps. After a rapid though perilous journey -along the sea-coast, he reached Medina sixteen days after his -flight from Mecca. He was received with acclamations of -loyalty and devotion; his disciples who at various times had -fled from Mecca, gathered round his person. To eradicate -the seeds of jealousy that might spring up between the -Moslems of his native city, and his new allies of Medina, -he judiciously established a holy brotherhood between his -principal followers, coupling always a <span class="smcap">Mohagerian</span>, or -fugitive of Mecca, with an <span class="smcap">Ansar</span>, or auxiliary of Medina. -It so falling out that Ali found himself without a peer, the -prophet declared himself the companion and brother of the -noble youth.</p> - -<p>Mohammed assumed now the exercise of the regal and -sacerdotal office. He acquired by purchase a small piece of -ground, on which he built a house and a mosque. The -loyalty and devotion of his followers, and the unhesitating -compliance and obedience which his decrees met with on the -part of the inhabitants of Medina, convinced him that he -was indeed the absolute prince and ruler of that city. But -with this conviction the range of his ambition widened, he -resolved to extend his creed and his power over all the -tribes of Arabia, and even beyond the limits of his native -land. He now threw off the cloak of toleration in which -he had so carefully enfolded himself at Mecca. <em>There</em> he -had asserted the liberty of conscience, and disclaimed the -use of religious violence; <em>here</em>, at Medina, he preached a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span> -war of extermination against whomsoever should continue -in idolatry.<a id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> The commands and precepts, which Gabriel -was now made to transmit to him, breathed a fierce and -sanguinary spirit; the creed of Islam was to be propagated -henceforth by the sword, and the unbelieving nations of the -earth were to be pursued without mercy. To excite in his -followers a spirit of martial ardor, he proclaimed the -superior sanctity of the sword. “In the shade of the -crossing scymitars Paradise is prefigured,” says Mohammed; -“the sword is the key of heaven and of hell: a drop of blood -shed in the cause of God, a night spent in arms, is of more -avail than two months of fasting or prayer. Whosoever -falls in battle, his sins are forgiven: at the day of judgment -his wounds shall be resplendent as rubies, and odoriferous -as musk; and the loss of his limbs shall be supplied by the -wings of angels and cherubim.” Paradise was the glorious -reward of the faithful who fell in battle, and death might -thus actually become an object of hope and desire rather -than of dread. Moreover, as the Koran inculcates also, in -the most absolute sense, the tenets of fate and predestination, -it would be little use for the devout Moslem to shirk -his military duties through fear of being wounded or killed -in battle, since his preordained fate would be sure to -overtake him, even in his bed. And as Paradise was the -portion of the fallen hero, so wealth and beauty rewarded -the warrior who had escaped the dangers of the fight: the -apostle gave his followers the license of embracing the -female captives as their wives or concubines; he regulated -by a law, divine, of course, like all the rest of his laws and -precepts, the distribution of the spoil taken in battle, or in -a conquered place: the whole was faithfully collected in one -common mass, one-fifth of it was reserved for the prophet -himself (doubtless, for pious and charitable uses), the -remainder was shared among the soldiers, the shares of the -slain devolving to their widows and orphans: a horseman -received double the share of a foot-soldier.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span></p> - -<p>From the first months of his reign, he prepared for the -holy warfare against Jews, Christians, and idolators. At the -beginning of the year 623, his white banner was displayed -before the gates of Medina. Faithful to the national -character, he, the holy prophet of a creed which the nations -of the world were invited to look upon as divine, went -forth at the head of his pious followers, the future denizens -of a Paradise which in his extravagant Oriental fancy he -had placed beyond the seventh heaven, to waylay the -peaceful merchant, and to rob and maim, or murder him, in -the name and for the glory of the Most High.</p> - -<p>So he went forth at the head of three hundred and -thirteen Moslems, to intercept the return of the great -caravan from Syria to Mecca, a caravan of a thousand -camels, led by Abu Sophian, with only thirty or forty -followers. But the Koreish, alarmed for the safety of their -merchandise and their provisions, hastened to the rescue. -One hundred horse, and eight hundred and fifty foot, -advanced from Mecca to about three stations from Medina. -Here, in the fertile and famous vale of Beder, they met the -band of the prophet. The disproportion of numbers was -great; in Mohammed’s ranks were found only two horsemen: -informed by his scouts that the caravan was -approaching from the one, the Koreish from the other side, -Mohammed had hesitated whether to seize upon an easy -prey, or to venture on an encounter with vastly superior -forces; but the reflection, that a success gained under -disadvantageous circumstances, would, with an impulsive -people like the Arabs, go far to prove his divine mission, -and would embolden his adherents and discourage his -enemies, he resolved to give battle. With Abu Bekr by his -side, he took his station on a kind of throne or pulpit. The -white veil of Ayesha, and two black banners, were borne -before his host. “Courage, my children,” he exclaimed, -“close your ranks; discharge your arrows, and the day is -your own.” Perceiving, however, that the Moslems fainted -in their onset, and were hard pressed by the superior -numbers of the Koreish, he betook himself with a loud -voice to pray the succour of Gabriel and a <em>legion</em> of angels.<a id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span> -He then started from his throne, mounted his horse, and, -casting a handful of sand into the air, exclaiming, “Let -their faces be covered with confusion,” dashed against -the hostile ranks. The Arabs were a most superstitious -people; their fancy beheld the angelic warriors, or rather -<em>felt</em> their presence; the thunder of Mohammed’s voice -revived the drooping spirits of his followers; whilst it -carried confusion into the ranks of his enemies. The -Koreish turned and fled. Seventy of the bravest were -slain, and seventy captives fell into the hands of the -victorious prophet, who had two of them put to death as a -trifling instalment of the debt of revenge which he meant -to exact from his foes and revilers. The other sixty-eight -were restored for a ransom of four thousand drachms of -silver. From the field of Beder, Mohammed started in -pursuit of Abu Sophian’s caravan, which, despite of the -swiftness of its flight, and the skill of its guides, was overtaken -and captured. A booty of 100,000 drachms of silver -rewarded the pious robbers. But this great success had -well nigh proved fatal to Mohammed and his creed, and to -the city of refuge. The fierce resentment of Abu Sophian -and of the Koreish, brought into the field against -Mohammed a body of three thousand men, among whom -were seven hundred armed with cuirasses, and two hundred -on horseback; three thousand camels attended the march of -this host. Abu Sophian advanced to within six miles of the -north of Medina, where he encountered the prophet at the -head of nine hundred and fifty followers, on Mount Ohud, -(<span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 624). The Koreish advanced in the form of a crescent. -The right wing of the cavalry was led by Kaled, the fiercest -and most redoubtable of the Arab warriors. Mohammed -had made his dispositions with considerable skill; his troops -were successful at first, and broke the centre of the enemy; -but their eagerness to seize upon the spoils threw their<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span> -ranks into disorder, and speedily deprived them of the -advantage gained. Kaled, with his cavalry, attacked them -in the flank and rear; Mohammed was wounded in the face -with a javelin, and two of his teeth were shattered with a -stone; Kaled exclaimed, with a loud voice, that the lying -prophet was slain; and the followers of Islam, who looked -in vain for the appearance of Gabriel and his angelic legion, -to avenge the fall of “The beloved of God,” trembled and -fled; still, in the midst of tumult and dismay, was heard -the thunder of Mohammed’s voice, denouncing the impious -tribe of the Koreish, as the murderers of God’s apostle, -and calling down upon them the vengeance of heaven. -Some of the most devoted followers of the prophet gathered -bravely around him, and conveyed him to a place of safety. -Seventy of the bravest defenders of Islam lay dead on the -field, among them <span class="smcap">Hamza</span>, one of Mohammed’s uncles. -The inhuman females of Mecca, who had accompanied the -expedition, mangled their bodies, and the fierce <span class="smcap">Henda</span>, -Abu Sophian’s wife, tasted the entrails of Hamza, with the -relish of a cannibal. But Mohammed was not discouraged: -his wounds had hardly been dressed, when the convenient -Gabriel revealed to him that (for some unexplained cause) -the powers of darkness had been permitted to prevail against -him this once, and that Satan himself had fought in the -ranks of the Koreish; he was, however, exhorted to -persevere in his propaganda, and was assured of ultimate -success. He rallied his troops, and even as early as the -next day he led them forth again to battle; on this occasion -the fight was, however, only of a desultory character, no -great harm being done on either side. Still the result of it -was, that the Koreish, having experienced the desperate -valor of the Moslems, and more particularly of Ali and -Omar, despaired of carrying Medina with their present -forces, and retired to Mecca. But in the ensuing year -(<span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 625) Abu Sophian, having formed a league between the -Koreish and several tribes of the desert, led a well-appointed -host of ten thousand warriors against Medina. The number -of the Mussulmans, however, had also considerably increased, -and Mohammed’s army of three thousand men, awaited -the attack of their foes, securely encamped before the city,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span> -and protected by a ditch and some field-works, which had -been constructed under the guidance and superintendence -of a Persian engineer. A general engagement being prudently -declined by the prophet, the hostilities were confined -to a number of single combats, in which Ali more especially -signalised his formidable strength and prowess. Twenty days -passed away in this desultory warfare, the apostle of God -having, meanwhile, recourse to every artifice that his crafty -mind could devise, to sow disunion in the camp of his -enemies. A tempest of wind, rain, and hail, which overturned -the tents of the besiegers, and which was, of course, -duly claimed as a direct interposition of God in favor of his -prophet, put the finishing stroke to the success of this -insidious policy: the Koreish, deserted by their allies, were -compelled to retire, and to relinquish, henceforth, the -attempt to overcome Mohammed by force of arms. This -last attack upon Medina is variously named from the <em>nations</em> -which marched under Abu Sophian’s banner, and from the -<em>ditch</em> which protected the Mussulman camp.</p> - -<p id="jews">During the earlier period of his mission, Mohammed had -shown considerable leaning towards the Jews; he had -selected Jerusalem for the <em>Kebla</em> of prayer, and had endeavoured -to form most of his tenets and precepts upon the -model of the Mosaic ordinances. Indeed, there can be no -doubt, but that it was for a time the great end and object -of his ambition to be accepted by the Jews as their promised -Messiah; nor can it be denied, that a deep political idea -lay at the bottom of this desire. Had he succeeded in -persuading the Jews to believe in his Messiahship, his -apostolic course among the Arabs would have run much -smoother, and many of the so-called Christian sects might -have been readily gained over to his <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">mixtum compositum</i>, -which might, indeed, be called a creed of creeds in the literal -acceptation of the words.</p> - -<p>But the imposture was too shallow to take with so clear-sighted -a people as the Jews unquestionably were: the -pretended Messiah was repudiated by them with disdain, -and the hostility of the Koreish against the son of Abdallah, -was, in some degree, fomented and fanned by the Jews of -Mecca. Hence the implacable and unrelenting hatred with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span> -which Mohammed pursued the unfortunate Israelites to the -last moment of his life. That he changed the kebla of -prayer from Jerusalem to Mecca, and that in his nocturnal -journey to Heaven, he beheld the divine tabernacle in a -straight line above the latter city, instead of Zion, where he -undoubtedly originally intended to behold it,—could, at the -most, provoke a smile of contempt and derision; but the -appalling cruelties which he indicted, both upon individuals -and upon entire tribes of the doomed nation, must fill the -mind of the impartial explorer of history with deep indignation -against the man who could <em>so</em> avenge his offended -vanity. His first exploit in this direction, was the expulsion -of the <span class="smcap">Kainoka</span> tribe from Medina, where they had hitherto -been permitted to dwell in peace, by the large toleration of -the <em>Idolators</em>. The prophet of Islam seized the occasion of -an accidental tumult, in which the Kainoka had taken part, -to place before them the alternative of embracing his religion, -or contending with him in battle. A <em>brave</em> challenge -this, to the unfortunate Jews, to do battle with him, and -which displayed in the fullest, though certainly not in the -most favorable light, the <em>magnanimous</em> disposition of the -son of Abdallah, that has been so highly extolled by -some historians. Still, even with the fearful odds of -number and martial spirit against them, the feeble and -unwarlike Israelites preferred the unequal contest to apostacy -from the faith of their fathers. It was decided in fifteen -days, of course with the total overthrow and capture of the -whole tribe; and, had it not been that the Charegites, -mindful of the friendship which once existed between them -and their humble allies, the Kainoka, warmly interceded on -behalf of the wretched captives, the prophet of God would -have slain every one of them. As it was, they were -despoiled of their homes and property; and driven forth, to -the number of seven hundred men, with their wives and -children, to seek a refuge on the confines of Syria, to which -quarter the blessings of the new creed had not yet extended. -The <span class="smcap">Nadhirites</span> were the next to feel the weight of his arm. -In their case, indeed, some provocation had been given, as -they had conspired to assassinate the prophet in a friendly -interview. Protected by the walls of their castle (situated<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span> -about three miles from Medina), they fought with such -boldness and resolution, that Mohammed was fain to grant -them an honorable capitulation.</p> - -<p>The war of the nations interrupted for a time Mohammed’s -operations against the Jews; but even on the day -that the confederated nations had abandoned the siege of -Medina, he marched against the tribe of <span class="smcap">Koraidha</span>. A -campaign of twenty-five days sufficed to compel their surrender -at discretion. They fondly believed that their old -allies of Medina would, by their intercession, preserve them -at least from the extreme measure of Mohammed’s wrath;—vain -hope: fanaticism had made rapid progress among -the Ansars. A venerable elder of the Charegite tribe, to -whose judgment they referred their case, pronounced the -penalty of death against them for their hostility to Islam. -To the number of seven hundred they were led in chains to -the market-place of Medina, where a grave had been dug to -receive them; into this they were forced to descend, and -the apostle of God indulged his vengeful mind with the -sight of their slaughter and burial.... Verily, -verily, the blackest and most atrocious of crimes are -committed in the name of God. A few years after the -extirpation of the Koraidha, Mohammed marched, at the -head of two hundred horse, and fourteen hundred foot, -against the ancient city of <span class="smcap">Chaibar</span>, the seat of the Jewish -power in Arabia. Chaibar was protected by eight strong -castles, which were successively reduced by the Moslems in -sixteen weeks, not, however, without considerable loss on -the part of the conquerors. After the fall of the castles, the -city was forced to surrender (628). The inhabitants had their -lives granted to them, and permission to dwell in the land, -on condition that they should pay to the prophet, an annual -tribute of the one-half of their revenue. But the chief of -Chaibar was subjected to the most cruel tortures, to force -from him a confession of his hidden treasures; and when the -100,000 pieces of gold, which had been concealed, were -delivered up at last, he and several of the most notable of -his people were mercilessly butchered in cold blood. It was -in this campaign against Chaibar that Mohammed bestowed -upon Ali, the surname of the “Lion of God,” gained by<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span> -the slaughter of 150 Hebrews, who are stated to have fallen -by the irresistible scymitar of Abu Taleb’s illustrious son.<a id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p> - -<p>The Jewess <span class="smcap">Asma</span> had offended the dignity of the prophet -by some satirical strictures on his private life; he bribed a -miserable blind Jew, named <span class="smcap">Omeir</span>, to assassinate her. -This wretched tool murdered the ill-fated woman in her -chamber, and nailed her body to the floor; having some -misgivings of conscience, he accosted the prophet next -morning while at prayer, and asked him whether God might -not, perhaps, punish the crime perpetrated? whereupon the -pious apostle bade him to be of good cheer, as the killing of -a Jew, even if not at all times a meritorious act, was, at -least, a matter of perfect indifference to the Ruler of the -Universe! In the same way he deputed assassins to slay -the learned Jew, <span class="smcap">Eshref</span>; in the name of God he sent -them on their bloody errand! The venerable <span class="smcap">Abu Aas</span> was -murdered in his sleep at his bidding: the poor old man had -reached his hundredth year, and might safely have been -permitted to die in peace, but considerations of the kind -weighed but little with the son of Abdallah; an insult to -his apostolic dignity could only be washed off in the blood -of the offender. But why sully our pages with the long list -of private and public murders perpetrated by the command, -or at the instigation of, this precious pretender to a divine -mission, ... sufficient has been stated to illustrate the -cruel and sanguinary disposition of the man.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span></p> - -<p>Mohammed had left Mecca most reluctantly, and only -when flight alone could preserve his life from the swords of -his then all-powerful enemies. The thought to revisit as a -conqueror, the city and the holy temple of the Kaaba, was -ever present to his mind. When the Jews, by their disdainful -rejection of his advances, had turned his friendship -into implacable hatred, he changed the kebla of prayer from -Jerusalem to Mecca, clearly indicating thereby, that, whatever -might be the merits of Medina, the holy city of the -Kaaba stood still foremost in his affections. As soon as -he had firmly established his empire over Medina, and some -powerful tribes of the desert, and had destroyed or expelled -the Jewish tribes of the Kainoka, the Nadhirites, and the -Koraidha,<a id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> he projected a scheme for the conquest of Mecca, -(towards the end of 627). Conscious that his power was -not yet sufficiently great to prevail by force of arms, he -craftily disguised his expedition against the city of his birth, -in the form of a peaceful and pious pilgrimage. Seventy -camels, chosen and bedecked for sacrifice, preceded the van -of his host of 1400 picked men. The captives who fell into -his hands, in his advance to the territory of the sacred city, -were dismissed without ransom, to carry to the Koreish the -solemn assurance of his peaceful intentions. All that the -good man wanted, was to be permitted to enter the city, -with his 1400 armed followers, to sacrifice the camels which -he had brought with him for the purpose, and to perform -the customary seven circumambulations round the Kaaba. -Of course, had the Koreish conceded these points, the rest -would have been a task of easy accomplishment. But the -Koreish had had opportunities sufficient to know the crafty -tongue and the false heart of the son of Abdallah. They -encountered him, therefore, in the plain, within a day’s -journey of the city, with such numbers and with such resolution, -that he was fain to abandon his purpose for the time, -and even to consent to the conclusion of a ten years’ truce, -with the Koreish and their allies. In the treaty drawn up<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span> -to that effect,<a id="FNanchor_32" href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> he, the infallible prophet of God, the favored -mortal raised by the Divine will to an equality with the -cherubim and seraphim in the heavenly hierarchy, the -trusted leader who had solemnly promised his believing -followers, a triumphal entry into the stronghold of the most -formidable and most dreaded of the enemies of Islam,—was -obliged even to waive the title of Apostle of God, and to figure -as plain Mohammed Abul Kasem. Still the Koreish granted -him, for the ensuing year, the privilege of entering the city -unarmed and as a friend, and of remaining three days to -accomplish the rites of the pilgrimage—a fatal mistake on -their part, and which they might have foreseen one so crafty -as Mohammed would turn to excellent account. For the -time being, however, the authority of the pretended prophet -of God was considerably shaken, and some of the newly -converted Bedoween tribes showed symptoms of disaffection. -The successful campaign against Chaibar revived the faith -and courage of his followers, and restored the wavering -loyalty of the wandering tribes.</p> - -<p>After the conquest of Chaibar, Mohammed sent six embassies -with letters to the neighbouring princes, calling -upon them to embrace the religion of Islam: the seal of the -letter bore the inscription, “Mohammed, the Apostle of -God.” The Greek emperor, <span class="smcap">Heraclius</span>, returning in -triumph from the Persian war, received and entertained one -of these ambassadors with great urbanity at Emesa. <span class="smcap">Kobad -II.</span>, of Persia (<span class="smcap">Siroes</span>)<a id="FNanchor_33" href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> tore the letter, and dismissed the -envoy with ignominy. <span class="smcap">Mokawkas</span>, the Byzantine governor -of Memphis, a born Egyptian, and a Jacobite or Monophysite<a id="FNanchor_34" href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> -in religion; and who, in the disorder of the Persian<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span> -war, had aspired to independence, and thereby exposed -himself to the resentment of Heraclius, declined, indeed, -the proposal of a new religion, but accompanied his refusal -with flattering compliments and with gifts; among other, -two Coptic damsels, one of whom, Mary, became the favorite -concubine of the prophet, to whom she bore a son, Ibrahim, -who died, however, at the tender age of fifteen months. The -King of Abyssinia also returned a polite answer. But -<span class="smcap">Haris</span>, governor of Damascus, threatened war upon the -presumptuous Arabian; and <span class="smcap">Amru</span>, prince of Gassan, a -vassal of the Byzantine emperor, put the envoy to death, -for which outrage Mohammed sent afterwards an army into -Syria, with what results we shall see hereafter.</p> - -<p>According to the stipulations of the treaty of Hodaibeh, -Mohammed was permitted to perform, towards the end of -628, at the head of a body of pious pilgrims, his three days’ -devotion in the Kaaba; the Koreish retiring, meanwhile, to -the hills. After the customary sacrifice, he evacuated the -city on the fourth day; but in this short space of time, he -had succeeded in sowing the seeds of division between the -hostile chiefs, and to gain over to his cause <span class="smcap">Kaled</span> and -<span class="smcap">Amrou</span>, or <span class="smcap">Amru</span>, the future conquerors of Syria and Egypt. -The interdiction of wine, and of dice and lotteries, falls in -this period.</p> - -<p>It was after the return from this pilgrimage, that he sent -an army of 3000 Moslems against Amru, prince of Gassan, -and the Greeks. The army was led by <span class="smcap">Zeid</span>, Mohammed’s -freedman and one of his earliest disciples. At Muta, three -days’ journey from Jerusalem, they met the Gassanides and -the Greeks: a fierce and bloody battle ensued; Zeid fell -fighting in the foremost ranks; the holy banner, which -escaped from his relaxing grasp, was seized by <span class="smcap">Jaafar</span>, the -leader appointed by Mohammed to succeed Zeid, in the -event of the decease of the latter. Jaafar’s right hand was -severed from his body by the sword of a Roman soldier; he -shifted the standard to the left hand: this met the same fate; -he embraced the holy banner with the bleeding stumps, and -thus upheld it, till the tide of life ebbed away from fifty -wounds. The vacant place was as worthily filled by -<span class="smcap">Abdallah</span>, the second successor appointed by the prophet<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span> -in case of accident. He also fell, transfixed by the lance of -a Roman. The battle was lost, the flower of the Moslem -host annihilated, and the ambitions dreams of empire were -dispelled at the very time when they seemed to promise fairest,—had -not <span class="smcap">Kaled</span>, the recent convert of Mecca, at this -critical juncture, rescued the falling standard, and assumed -the command, with the same bravery as his predecessors, but -with still greater prowess, and with greater success. Nine -swords were broken in his hand; and every enemy that -dared to approach him, was made to bite the dust by his -invincible arm. Night put an end to the contest: in the -nocturnal council of the camp, Kaled was chosen, or rather -confirmed, leader of the gallant band of warriors, who had -survived the carnage of the day. Death had been fearfully -busy in the ranks of the Moslems; and the Greeks, though -awed by the valor of Kaled, had still an immense superiority -of number in their favor. Kaled wisely resolved, therefore, -to save the wreck of his forces by a skilful retreat. His -admirable combinations, and the dread inspired by his -prowess, rescued the host of the faithful believers of Islam -from all but certain destruction; and the well-earned gratitude -of the prophet bestowed upon the hero of Muta, the -glorious appellation of the “Sword of God,” a name destined -after to ring many a time and oft as the knell of doom in -the ears of the affrighted Christians.</p> - -<p>Mohammed had never ceased to meditate the conquest of -Mecca, and his power was now, indeed, sufficiently great -and solid to promise an easy accomplishment of this, the -darling object of his ambition; but the ten years’ truce -seemed an obstacle which it would not be easy to surmount. -Notwithstanding, however, he silently prepared the means -to carry his plans against the city of his birth into execution, -should a favorable opportunity offer. The reverse -which his forces had suffered at Muta, impelled the Koreish -to furnish him with the desired pretext; they attacked one -of the tribes confederated with Mohammed. Ten thousand -soldiers were speedily gathered round the banner of the -prophet, and led by him against the offending city. A rapid -and secret march brought them almost within sight of Mecca, -before the Koreish had the least notion of their approach.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span> -Unprepared as they were, it would have been sheer madness -to contend against the overwhelming forces which now -encompassed the city of the Kaaba: they resolved therefore to -throw themselves upon the clemency of their triumphant exile. -On the 11th of January, 630, the haughty chief of the house -of Ommiyah presented the keys of the city; and confessed, -under the scymitar of Omar, that the son of Abdallah was -the apostle of the true God. The patriotic attachment which -Mohammed unquestionably bore the city of his birth, and -political considerations of a high order, stayed the avenging -hand of the victorious outcast. Kaled had, indeed, slain -twenty-eight of the inhabitants, ere the potent command of -the prophet to spare the vanquished, could restrain his ruthless -arm; but Mohammed blamed the cruelty of his lieutenant, -and, though he proscribed eleven men and six women, -few only were put to death by him. Among these was -<span class="smcap">Abdolusa</span>, who, after having embraced the faith of Islam, -had relapsed into idolatry. <span class="smcap">Abdallah</span>, once the secretary -of Mohammed, and who had been employed by him to -note down the fragmentary revelations imparted by Gabriel, -had a narrow escape. The clear-sighted man had seen through -the shallow imposture palmed upon the people by the pretended -apostle; and he had imprudently boasted, that he -also might claim the name and rank of a prophet, considering -that he had it in his power to change, or to suppress, -the holy revelations dictated to him by Mohammed. To -escape the vengeance of his offended master, he had fled to -Mecca, where he had, however, still continued to provoke -his resentment by exposing and ridiculing his ignorance. -When Mecca was taken, Abdallah fell prostrate at the feet -of Mohammed, and implored his pardon. Othman, Abdallah’s -foster-brother, entreated the prophet to spare the life of the -humble penitent, a request which was at last most reluctantly -<ins class="corr" id="tn-39" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'granted, Mahommed'"> -granted, Mohammed</ins> declaring that he had so long hesitated, -to allow time for some zealous disciple to strike the kneeling -apostate dead at his feet.<a id="FNanchor_35" href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> The poet, <span class="smcap">Huires</span>, paid the -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span> -penalty of his satires on the Apostle of God: but <span class="smcap">Soheir</span> -more wisely purchased, not only forgiveness, but a rich -reward in the bargain, by one of the grossest and most -extravagant pieces of adulation that ever proceeded even -from an Oriental pen.</p> - -<p>The Koreish and the other inhabitants of Mecca, professed -the religion of Islam, and acknowledged the temporal and -spiritual supremacy of the prophet. The 360 idols of the -Kaaba were ignominiously broken; Mohammed assisting -with his own hands, in the work of destruction, nay, even -lending his august shoulders for Ali to mount upon, to -accomplish the overthrow of some idols placed a little above -ordinary reach. This meritorious feat was performed on a -Friday; which day was, therefore, henceforward appointed -by the prophet as the holy day of Islam.</p> - -<p>But it was by no means the intention of Mohammed to -despoil the city of his birth, of the lucrative trade in religion -to which it had hitherto been mainly indebted for its pre-eminence -among the cities of Arabia. The people of Mecca -were agreeably disappointed, when they beheld the Prophet -of God solemnly consecrating again the purified Kaaba, and -performing the customary circumambulations and sacrifices -as of old. They were readily reconciled to the belief in a -sole Deity, since their astute townsman assigned a local -habitation on earth to the idea of the God whom he -commanded them and the nations of the world to worship, -and placed this habitation within the walls of their own city. -Even the black stone was not forgotten by the crafty politician: -his reverential touch cleansed it from the pollution of -ages of idolatry, and restored it to the pristine purity and -holiness of Gabriel’s celestial gift to Abraham; and to crown -all, he still heightened the sanctity of the holy city, by -enacting a perpetual law that no unbeliever should ever -dare to set his foot within its sacred precincts.</p> - -<p>The conquest of Mecca secured Mohammed the allegiance -of many of the Bedoween tribes, who, troubling themselves -but little about religious opinions and controversies, readily -gave their adhesion to the cause which the gods seemed to -prosper. But some of the most important tribes of Hejaz, -and more especially the people of Tayef, persisted in their<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span> -idolatry, and a great confederacy was formed among them to -break the power of Mohammed. The prophet resolved to meet -the threatening danger; he collected a host of 12,000 men, -well-armed and well-appointed; the confederates had not one-half -the number to oppose him. But the skilful tactics of -the pagans, and the overweening confidence of the Mussulmans, -brought the apostle and his new faith to the verge of -ruin. Having incautiously descended into the valley of -<span class="smcap">Honain</span>, the Moslems were suddenly attacked on all sides -by the archers and slingers of the enemy, who occupied -the heights; the ranks of the faithful were thrown into -confusion by the unexpected and fierce onset of the foe; and -the stoutest hearts among them quailed, when they saw -themselves caught as in a net. The Koreish secretly rejoiced -at the impending destruction of their conquerors, and even -prepared to go over to the enemy. All seemed lost;—despairing -of victory, the prophet, seeking a glorious death, urged -his white mule against the wall of spears that encompassed -him: his faithful followers dragged him back, and covered -him with their persons from the thrusts and darts aimed at -his breast. Three of these devoted followers fell dead at -his feet;—but the moment of weak despair was past, and -soon the thunder of his voice was heard again, reanimating -the sinking courage of the Moslems, and striking terror into -the hearts of the idolators. The Koreish forgot their treacherous -intentions; the flying Mussulmans returned from all -sides to the holy standard; and the attacks of the enemy -were now everywhere vigorously repulsed. Defeat was -changed into victory, and a merciless slaughter of the -conquered and flying pagans, avenged the temporary disgrace -of the followers of Islam. From the field of Honain, -Mohammed marched without delay to Tayef, the centre and -stronghold of the confederacy. He laid siege to that fortress; -but the desperate valor of the inhabitants defeated all his -efforts to effect its reduction; and after twenty days spent -before it, he deemed it the wisest course to rest satisfied -for the time with the victory of Honain, and not to court -the chances of an inglorious defeat. He, therefore, raised -the siege, and marched back to Mecca. In his operations -against Tayef, he gave an instance of how cheap he held his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span> -own laws and precepts, where they happened to clash with -his interests: he ordered the extirpation of all the fruit trees -in the fertile lands round the city.</p> - -<p>In the division of the rich spoils of the expedition of -Honain, he acted with consummate skill. Instead of -excluding the Koreish from their share, to punish them for -their ambiguous conduct during the campaign, he bestowed -double measure upon them; the most disaffected of them all, -Abu Sophian, being presented with no less than three hundred -camels and twenty ounces of silver: no wonder, then, -that that rapacious chief and his followers should have, -henceforth, become sincere adherents to so profitable a -creed. The old companions in arms of the prophet were -reconciled to this manifest injustice in the distribution of -the spoil, by artful flatteries and promises of heavenly -rewards: his own share of the plunder (one-fifth) he assigned -to the soldiers.<a id="FNanchor_36" href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a></p> - -<p>Although he had failed to reduce Tayef, yet by the extirpation -of the fruit trees he had struck a severe blow against -the people of that city; the fortifications had been considerably -injured by the battering rams and the mining operations, -so that there was ample reason to dread the event of a -renewal of the siege. The people of Tayef resolved, therefore, -to sue for peace; their deputies endeavoured to obtain -favorable conditions, and, at least, the toleration of their -ancient worship, though even only for a short period. -Mohammed would not concede them even one day; at last -they simply entreated to be excused from the obligation of -prayer to the God of Islam; in vain: Mohammed was inexorable, -and Tayef at length submitted to the harsh conditions -imposed by the prophet. The idols were broken, their -temples demolished, and all the tribes of Hejaz acknowledged -the supreme rule of the son of Abdallah. The ruler of -<span class="smcap">Bahrein</span>, the King of <span class="smcap">Oman</span>, and the King of the <span class="smcap">Beni -Gassan</span>, in Syria, confessed the God of Mohammed, and -submitted to the sway of the prophet. Yemen also, and -the rest of the peninsula, was reduced to obedience by his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span> -victorious lieutenants, and the ambassadors who knelt before -the throne of Medina, (631, hence called the year of the -embassies), were, in the words of the Arabian proverb, “as -numerous as the dates that fall from the palm-tree in the -season of ripeness.”</p> - -<p>Absolute master of the whole of Arabia, the son of -Abdallah resolved to subject Syria also to his sway; he -solemnly declared war against the Empire of the East, and -summoned the faithful to the holy standard. But the prospect -of the difficulties and hardships of a march through the -desert, during the intolerable heat of the summer, and, perhaps -also, the recollection of Muta, discouraged the Moslems; -and the most urgent solicitations of the apostle were disregarded, -or met by more or less cogent excuses. Still the -great champions of the faith, Ali, Omar, Othman, Kaled, -Amru, Abu Bekr, Abu Obeidah, Abbas,<a id="FNanchor_37" href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> and many others, -attended by trains of devoted followers, gathered round the -prophet, and enabled him thus to take the field, at the head -of ten thousand horse and twenty thousand foot.<a id="FNanchor_38" href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> After -one of the most distressing marches through the desert, the -Moslem host was compelled to halt midway near <span class="smcap">Tabuc</span>, -ten days’ journey from Medina and Damascus. The hardships -endured had considerably cooled the ardor of the -faithful, and wisely declining to engage the disciplined forces -of the Eastern empire with his wearied and dispirited -followers, Mohammed contented himself with inviting the -Greek Emperor once more to embrace his religion, and -retired to Arabia; leaving a body of picked men, under the -command of the intrepid Kaled, to prosecute the war. -The valor and activity of that leader secured the submission -of the tribes and cities from the Euphrates to Ailah, at the -head of the Red Sea. Mohammed returned to Medina, -where he pronounced a sentence of excommunication for -fifty days against those who had been the most disobedient<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span> -to his call. He then prepared for a great pilgrimage to -Mecca, which he accomplished in the early part of 632, -attended by 60,000 Moslems.<a id="FNanchor_39" href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> In this, his last visit to the -city of his birth, he gave a great number of laws and precepts; -and, among others, the interdiction of the private -revenge of murder and other injuries.</p> - -<p>It has already been stated, that Mohammed’s health -had been declining ever since the campaign of Chaibar, -(see <a href="#Footnote_30">page 34, note</a>); yet such was the strength and -vigor of his constitution, that up to the time of his last -and fatal illness, he remained equal to the physical and -mental fatigues of his mission. However, soon after his -return from the last pilgrimage to Mecca, he fell ill of an -inflammatory fever, with occasional fits of delirium, which -he endeavoured to combat by frequent affusions with cold -water. When he became conscious of the fatal nature of -his illness, he laid himself out to die, as an accomplished -actor, like Octavianus Augustus. Leaning on his cousin -and son-in-law, Ali,<a id="FNanchor_40" href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> and on his uncle, Abbas, or the son of -the latter, Fadl, he dragged himself to the mosque to perform -the functions of public prayer: from the pulpit he called upon -his subjects freely and boldly to state any grievance that any -one of them might have suffered at his hands, and to prefer -any just claims against his estate. A safe challenge indeed: -the victims of his lust of power and revenge were laid in -their graves, and could not appear against him <em>there</em>; nor -could <em>they</em> prefer any claim against his estate, who had -been despoiled by him or his lieutenants, in their predatory -expeditions. No wonder then that the immaculate justice -and piety of the Apostle of God, were fully attested by the -silence of the congregation in presence of this challenge,—excepting -a paltry claim of three drachms of silver, which was, -of course, at once duly settled by Mohammed, with a profusion -of thanks into the bargain, that the “creditor” had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span> -rather demanded payment in this world, than waited to -accuse him at the judgment-seat of God!</p> - -<p>Up to the third day before his death, he continued to -perform the function of public prayer; on that day his -strength failed him, and he deputed Abu Bekr in his place, -which was afterwards skilfully laid hold of by the latter and -Ayesha, to found a claim to the successorship in the sacerdotal -and regal office, in favor of Abu Bekr, to the prejudice -of Ali.</p> - -<p>He then made his last dispositions, enfranchised his -slaves, (seventeen men and eleven women), had alms distributed -to the poor of Medina, and minutely directed the -order of his funeral. He expressed a desire to dictate to -his secretary a new divine book, the sum and accomplishment -of all his revelations, and which, according to -Mohammed’s convenient maxim, would have superseded -the authority of the Koran, in all points in which its teachings -might happen to clash with the rules and precepts laid -down in the latter. As Mohammed had preached an eternal -and immutable God, and had declared the substance of the -Koran to be uncreated and eternal, the gross absurdity of -attempting a new, revised, and amended edition of it, could -not fail to strike the more rational among his disciples. -They, with Omar at their head, firmly refused, therefore, to -consent to the prophet’s anxiously expressed wish—a curious -comment on the sincerity of their professed conviction of -his divine mission, and his communings with the messenger -of heaven, and for which, their <em>assumed</em> belief that his -mental faculties were, at the time, impaired by the effects -of illness, afforded but an indifferent apology. Be this -however as it may, the point was vehemently discussed -between them and the more devout followers of the prophet; -and the dispute, which was carried on in the chamber of the -dying man, rose at last to such a pitch, that Mohammed -reluctantly desisting from his desire, was forced to -reprove the indecent vehemence of the disputants on -either side.</p> - -<p>Even to the last moment of his life, Mohammed consistently -carried out his system of deception. He told his -friends about him, that he had received a last visit of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span> -Gabriel, who had now bidden an everlasting farewell to the -earth. In a familiar discourse, he had once boasted of the -peculiar and exclusive prerogative granted to him, that the -angel of death should respectfully solicit his permission -before he was to be allowed to take his soul. When he felt -the near approach of his dissolution, he calmly informed the -Moslem chiefs assembled round him, that the Great -Destroyer had just preferred his request, and that he, -Mohammed, had granted the permission asked! Stretched -on a carpet spread upon the floor, and with his head reclining -on the lap of Ayesha, the best beloved of his wives, he -expired on the 7th day of June, 632.<a id="FNanchor_41" href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> His last words were: -“O God!... pardon my sins.... Yes, ... I -come, ... among my fellow-citizens on high.”</p> - -<p>His death dismayed his followers; the more fanatical -among them could not bring themselves to believe in the -actual departure of his spirit from this world. The idea of -a trance, or of a resurrection after a few days’ apparent -death, found ready credence with them. Omar, unsheathing -his scymitar, threatened to strike off the heads of the -infidels who should dare to affirm that the prophet was -no more!—a curious comment upon his refusal to allow -the dying prophet to re-write the Koran. At last, Abu -Bekr succeeded in making them listen to reason: “Is it -Mohammed,” he said, “or Mohammed’s God whom you -worship? Has not the apostle himself predicted that he -should experience the common fate of mortality?” This -calm and rational address had the desired effect; the death -of the prophet was admitted by all, and his body was -piously interred by the hands of Ali, on the same spot on -which he expired, and which is now surrounded by the great -mosque of Medina. The story of the hanging coffin at Mecca -is a vulgar and puerile invention, not worth the trouble of -refutation.</p> - -<p>I have been led by the superior importance and interest -which attach to the subject, to extend this chapter, perhaps, -considerably beyond the limits compatible with the nature<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span> -and size of the present work; still I cannot abstain from -adding a short sketch of Mohammed’s habits of life, and a -few brief remarks on the Koran.</p> - -<p>In his domestic life and intercourse, Mohammed was most -simple and unassuming. The ruler of Arabia fed usually -upon barley bread and dates; water was his ordinary -drink, though he delighted, and occasionally indulged, in -the taste of milk and honey; he never drank wine. The -powerful chieftain who could command the services of -thousands, did not disdain performing the menial offices of -the household: he kindled the fire, swept the floor, milked -the ewes, and mended with his own hands, his shoes and his -woollen garment (the use of silk he rejected as too effeminate); -nor was it an uncommon circumstance to see the -Apostle of God barefoot. He slept on the bare ground, or -on a carpet or straw mat spread upon the floor. He always -performed, with the most rigorous strictness, the prayers -and ablutions enjoined by the Koran. With the regal and -sacerdotal office, he had assumed the reserve and austerity -that befitted his high position; yet he would occasionally -unbend in the circle of his friends, when he enchanted all -around him by the graceful, though dignified, affability of -his manners, and the charms of his conversation. He was -passionately fond of fairy tales. He delighted in perfumes -and cats, which latter partiality he shared with one of his -cotemporaries, the learned Abu Horaira, who gained for -himself the surname of “the father of a cat.” His hair, -beard, and eyebrows, were the objects of his most anxious -care and solicitude; he dyed them with considerable skill, -a glossy light-chesnut color.</p> - -<p>He was most passionately addicted to the fair sex: in the -indulgence of his amorous desires, he set his own laws at -nought. The Arabians had enjoyed, from time immemorial, -an unbounded licence of polygamy; the Koran limited the -number of legitimate wives or concubines to <em>four</em>, the -prophet had <em>seventeen</em> wives; but then, Gabriel had descended -with a special revelation, dispensing the favored -apostle from the laws which he had imposed on the nation. -<span class="smcap">Zeineb</span>, the beautiful wife of <span class="smcap">Zeid</span>, his freedman and adopted -son, excited his desire. The grateful husband consented to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span> -a divorce, and the prophet added her to the number of his -wives; but as the filial relation in which the young woman -stood to Mohammed, even though only by adoption, was -likely to produce some scandal, and to raise some scruples -in the minds of the faithful, the complaisant Gabriel -descended with another verse of the Koran, appropriate to -the occasion. Again, in the case of Mary, the Egyptian -slave, the indefatigable angel was at hand to oblige the -Apostle of God. Had Mohammed liked wine, there can be -no doubt, but that Gabriel would have been ready with -another verse of the Koran, to dispense the prophet from -the restriction imposed upon all other mortals. A better -proof than the nature of these successive “revelations,” so -entirely subservient to the gratification of his passions, -could not well be adduced, to show that Mohammed was -not, as some good-natured historians would fain believe him -to have been, the enthusiastic dupe of his own illusions, but -simply a cool and calculating politician, who made the institution -of a new religious system the basis and engine of his -power and dominion; most probably, sincerely believing -also, that he was really conferring an immense boon upon -his people. His vengeful and sanguinary disposition, has -been already fully exposed in the narration of his life. The -impartiality of history relieves those darker touches in the -picture of Mohammed’s character, by a trait of unaffected -humanity. His decree that, in the sale of captives, mothers -should never be separated from their children, may well, as -Gibbon says, moderate the censure of the historian. How -the thousands of hapless negro mothers that have had their -children ruthlessly torn from their arms in <em>Christian</em> -America, would bless the memory of the Arabian legislator, -could that humane decree of his find force and application -in the Western Hemisphere!</p> - -<p>The <span class="smcap">Koran</span> is the sacred book of Islam; the successive -“revelations” imparted to Mohammed, were diligently -recorded by his disciples on palm-leaves, skins, and the -shoulder-bones of mutton; and the fragments, or “pages,” -were thrown into a domestic chest, in the custody of one of -Mohammed’s wives. In 634, these fragments were collected -and published by Abu Bekr; the sacred volume was revised<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span> -by the Khalif Othman, in 651. It consists of 114 chapters -(<span class="smcap">Surats</span>, <em>i.e.</em> stages or degrees), of very unequal lengths, -and jumbled together without chronological order, or -systematic arrangement. The chapters are made up of -plagiarisms from the Bible, rabbinical and apocryphal -legends, religious and moral precepts, descriptions of the -joys of paradise and the torments of hell, declamations and -rhapsodies. The style is, for the most part, inflated, rarely -poetical, never sublime; yet Mohammed had the cool -audacity to rest the truth of his mission on the incomparable -merit of the Koran, as an intellectual, linguistic, and poetical -performance. He blasphemously asserted, that God alone -could have penned, or dictated, its divine contents; as no -human, nor even an angelic intelligence, could possibly have -conceived anything like them!!!</p> - -<p>The dogmatic part of the Koran (the <span class="smcap">Iman</span>), comprises -the two articles of faith, viz., the belief in one God, and in -his prophet Mohammed; and the four practical duties of -Islam, viz., prayer, ablutions, fasting, and alms-giving: these -duties are reduced to the level of mere mechanical performances, -without one atom of spontaneity about them, and are -looked upon by most Mohammedans as irksome tasks, which -must be accomplished, however, to secure the reward of -paradise; the formal permission granted to supply with sand -the scarcity of water, so that the prescribed lustration of the -hands, the face, and the body may be practised even in the -arid desert, shows how little capable the legislator must have -been to conceive and comprehend the true spirit and intention -of his own ordinances. The Koran pronounces—of -course: is there a religion that does not?—sentence of eternal -damnation against all unbelievers; it imagines a gradation -of seven inconveniently hot places, of which the highest and -least uncomfortable is, of course, appropriated for the exclusive -use of Mohammedans who have been lacking in piety -during their mortal career; according to the less or greater -gravity of their respective offences, they are condemned to -remain denizens of this the mildest of the seven hells, for -periods varying from 900 to 9000 years, after which they are -admitted to the joys of paradise. The place immediately -beneath this purgatorial hell is assigned to the Christians;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span> -the hell next to this is allotted to the Jews, whom the -prophet of Islam would indeed gladly have sent down lower, -had he dared to treat monotheists worse than idolators; the -Sabians inhabit the fourth, the Magians the fifth, the gross -idolators the sixth hell; the deepest and hottest hell is destined -to receive hypocrites in religion, and may therefore -safely be assumed to be of larger dimensions and infinitely -greater capacity than the other six together. The paradise -of the Koran abounds in groves, fountains, and rivers; the -blessed Moslems who are permitted to enter its gates will -dwell in palaces of marble, eat artificial dainties and luscious -fruits presented in dishes of gold, drink rich wines,<a id="FNanchor_42" href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> dress in -robes of silk, adorned with pearls and diamonds, and have a -numerous retinue of attendants; and above all, each Moslem -will enjoy the society and possession of seventy-two Houris, -or black-eyed girls, of resplendent beauty, blooming youth, -virgin purity, and exquisite sensibility—rather a pleasant -picture for a sensual people like the Arabians. To the -female sex also the gates of paradise are open; but the privileges -and enjoyments which may await the ladies of the -Mohammedan faith, are not specified in the Koran. Still, -we must not be unjust: above the vulgar joys and sensual -pleasures borrowed from this world, Mohammed places the -delights of familiar conversation with the sages, and he -expressly declares that all meaner happiness will be forgotten -and despised by the saints and martyrs who shall be permitted -to behold the face of God.</p> - -<p>Mohammed’s assertion that the Koran was the production -of the highest intelligence, and comprised within it the -knowledge of all times, has, ever since the establishment of -his creed, proved a bar to the intellectual culture and -progress of his people and of the other nations who were -induced or compelled to adopt his faith; his interdiction to -reproduce the human face and form on canvas or in marble, -or any other material, and which with singular poverty of -invention he had devised as the only possible check to idolatry, -has had the natural effect to suppress and extinguish in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span> -the Moslem nations the love of the fine arts. True, when -conquest had placed the wealth of empires at the disposal -of the sons of the Desert, many of Mohammed’s followers -could not resist the natural longing after the treasures and -enjoyments of science, art, and literature; and indeed -the republic of letters is vastly indebted to many of them -for their labors and researches in various fields of human -lore, more especially in geography, history, philosophy, -medicine, natural philosophy, chemistry, mathematics, and -above all, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and astronomy. -But then, as <span class="smcap">A. W. von Schlegel</span>, says, “All this was done, -as it were, behind the back of the prophet, and the votaries -of art, science, and literature, among the Arabians must, -from a Koranic point of view, be regarded in the light of -free-thinkers.”</p> - -<p>The ritual of the faith of Islam, and the interdictions -decreed by the prophet, have been already incidentally -touched upon in various parts of this chapter; we have -therefore simply to add here that the Koran commands -every faithful Moslem to visit, at feast once in his life, the -holy city of Mecca, and the Kaaba.</p> - -<p>One great redeeming feature of the religion of Islam was -that it was originally destitute of a priesthood, and repudiated -monachism; the <em>Ulemas</em> were simply intended to -be the expounders and interpreters of the law.</p> - -<p>On Friday, the appointed day of public worship, when the -faithful are assembled in the mosque, any respectable elder -may ascend the pulpit to begin the prayer and pronounce -the sermon: there is no need of a duly appointed priest. -But, unfortunately, the Ulemas and Imams of the present -day act very much in the capacity of an actual clergy: and -there is indeed no great difference between fakirs and -dervishes and Roman Catholic monks.</p> - -<p>The Koran contains also the civil and criminal code of the -Mussulmans; the punishments decreed in it for injuries, -offences, and crimes are mostly based upon the principle of -retaliation.</p> - -<p>Briefly to sum up: though it must be admitted that the -religion of Islam, calmly and dispassionately examined by -the light of reason, contains, by the side of the grossest<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span> -absurdities, the most palpable falsehoods, and the veriest -rubbish, much also that is true and of sterling worth; and -that it has exercised a certain civilising influence over the -barbarous nations to whom it was first preached, yet few -only will venture to deny that it lacks altogether the -higher and most essential qualities of a universal faith. -Even the basis whereon it rests, the great eternal truth of a -sole Deity, is tarnished and clouded in it by the companionship -which it is forced to bear to a miserable fiction placed -by the side of it, and with equal attributes. There are -some few, strange though it may appear, who almost regret -that the victorious career of the Moslems should have been -checked by <span class="smcap">Leo the Isaurian</span> and by <span class="smcap">Charles Martel</span>. -What would have become of Europe—what of civilisation, -had the Moslems conquered? Let the admirers of Islam -look at the state of the Mussulman nations of the present -day: the fruit shows the quality of the tree. It is also a -favorite argument with historians and others, to point to -the <em>numbers</em> of believers in Islam, and to the twelve -centuries that the Mohammedan faith has endured, as -convincing proofs of the <em>truth</em> of that creed, or, at all events, -of a preponderating amount of truth in it. If arguments of -this kind are to apply, the Mormon faith also may claim -admission among the “received” creeds; and the names of -Joe Smith and Brigham Young may be expected, in the -course of fifty years or so, to figure among the “prophets -and apostles of religion.”</p> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> See Genesis, x. 25. <span class="smcap">Eber</span> signifies a nomadic shepherd, one -leading a roving pastoral life; it signifies, also, in Hebrew, <em>beyond</em>, <em>yon-side</em>, -<em>the other side</em>: hence the name <span class="smcap">Hebrew</span>, or <span class="smcap">Ebrew</span>, has been supposed -also to be intended to designate immigrants into Canaan or -Palestine from beyond the Euphrates.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> A species of millet, which compensates to some extent the scarcity -of European grains.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> “The Arabian tribes are equally addicted to commerce and -rapine,” as Pliny has it.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[4]</a> True, in the Arabic tongue the meaning of the words, of which -the name <em>Saracens</em> may be compounded, will bear out the signification -of an <em>Oriental situation</em>. But the <em>western</em> position of the Saracen tribe -mentioned by Ptolemy, negatives the assumption of the Arabic origin of -the word as applied in this sense. As Gibbon sagaciously remarks, -the appellation being imposed by strangers, its meaning must be -sought, not in the Arabic, but in a foreign language.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">[5]</a> It would even appear that the confusion consequent upon the -death of the great Macedonian, and upon the feuds and struggles for -empire among his generals, was taken advantage of by the princes in -the north of Arabia, to extend their dominion beyond the frontier of -the peninsula. From the earliest times the wandering tribes had been in -the habit, more particularly during the scarcity of winter, to extort the -dangerous license of encamping on the skirts of Mesopotamia, Syria, -and Egypt, and had often extended their incursions to the very heart -of Chaldæa, or Babylonia (Irak). They now took formal possession of -a part of the latter country (hence called to the present day <span class="smcap">Irak-Arabi</span>), -and established in it a new Arabian state, the kingdom of -<span class="smcap">Hira</span>. Tribes from Yemen emigrated to the territory of Syria, and -established the state of <span class="smcap">Gassan</span>, in the country north of Damascus. -We must not omit to mention, however, that some historians place -the establishment of the states of Hira and Gassan at a much later -period.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">[6]</a> So named from Makkabi, i.e., <em>the hammer</em>; the appellation bestowed -upon Judas, the liberator of the Jews from the Syrian yoke.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">[7]</a> <span class="smcap">Dunaan</span>, prince of the Homerites, had been gained over to the -Mosaic faith by the Jewish exiles who had found an asylum in Yemen. -The new proselyte carried on a most vigorous persecution of the -Christians in his dominions, and more particularly in the city of -Negra, or Nag’ran, (situated between Saana and Mecca). The Christian -king of Abyssinia, who preferred an hereditary claim to the crown of -Yemen, as a descendant of <span class="smcap">Balkis</span>, Queen of Sheba, came to the rescue -of his oppressed fellow-believers, and speedily deprived the Jewish proselyte -of crown and life. He allied himself also with the Emperor -Justinian for the overthrow of the Persian power; but he failed in his -subsequent enterprise, and found himself incapable even of defending -his Arabian conquests, which were wrested from him by the revolt -and usurpation of <span class="smcap">Abrahah</span>, once the slave of a Roman merchant of -Adulis. The payment of a slight tribute alone acknowledged the -supremacy of the Ethiopian prince. After a long and prosperous -reign, the power of Abrahah was overthrown before the gates of Mecca, -by Abdul Motalleb, the grandfather of Mohammed; and his children -were finally despoiled by Chosroes Nushirvan, of Persia.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">[8]</a> The Axumites, or Abyssinians, were, most probably, originally a -colony of Arabs who had settled in Africa.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">[9]</a> The same independence from the yoke of a foreign ruler is still -preserved to the present day by the Arabians. The Sultan of Turkey -exercises but a nominal sovereignty over Hedjaz and Neged; and the -rise and exploits of that formidable sect of religious reformers, the -<span class="smcap">Wahabys</span>, during the latter half of the last and in the present century, -indicate sufficiently that it may only require the appearance of a great -man among the Arabs, or the occurrence of some great event, to unite -the wild sons of the desert once more into a mighty nation that may -make its influence felt in the destinies of the world. Had not Egypt’s -great ruler, Mehemet Ali, and his warlike son Ibrahim, stemmed for -a time the progress, and crippled the power of the Wahabys, who -knows but that the champion of Greek orthodoxy might have found -his present ambitious projects opposed by a fiercer and more formidable -antagonist than the effete race of Osman?</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">[10]</a> Called <span class="smcap">Medjid-el-Haram</span>, i.e., the holy Mosch.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="label">[11]</a> A visible point of the horizon.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="label">[12]</a> Gibbon.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="label">[13]</a> The constant repetition of this act of pious devotion by so many -myriads of pilgrims has had the effect of rendering the surface of the -stone quite uneven.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="label">[14]</a> Gibbon.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="label">[15]</a> It was in the time when Abdol Motalleb held the sacerdotal office -that Mecca was invested by an army of Africans, under the command -of the Christian usurper of Yemen, Abrahah, the nominal vassal of the -Abyssinian Negus. The valor of the Koreishites, or perhaps the want -of provisions, compelled the investing host to a disgraceful retreat, and -broke the power of the Abyssinians so effectually that the kingdom of -Yemen became soon after an easy prey to the victorious arms of the -great Chosroes of Persia. Had the <em>Christian</em> Abrahah prevailed, the early -feeble efforts of Mohammed to propagate his new doctrine would certainly -have been crushed in the bud, and the fate of the world would -have been changed.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="label">[16]</a> Sabianism, though also based upon the adoration of the heavenly -bodies, must not be confounded with the primitive and simple faith of -the Arabians in the sun, the moon, and the stars; it was of a much -more complex and recondite nature.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="label">[17]</a> Some historians assign the year 569, others 570 (10th November), -as the date of Mahomet’s birth. The date given in the text is, however, -supported by the greater weight of historic authorities.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="label">[18]</a> This Syrian city has been most strangely confounded by many -historians with Bassora, or Basra, on the Shat-el-Arab, in Irak-Arabi. -The latter city was only founded in 636, <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, by the Khalif Omar, -which makes the mistake the more glaring and inexplicable.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="label">[19]</a> Some historians make Mohammed at the age of fourteen fight in -defence of the Kaaba, which a hostile tribe threatened to snatch from -the custody of the Koreish. They relate, also, how, at a later period -of his life, when the Kaaba, having been tumbled down by a formidable -torrent of rain, was rebuilding, the honor of fixing the sacred black -stone in the wall devolved upon him; and they endeavour to trace a -kind of causal connection between these incidents in the earlier life of -Mohammed and the religious bias of his later years. But the <em>facts</em> -relied upon here partake too much of the nature of <em>fiction</em>, to make -these speculative notions of much moment. Before his marriage with -Cadijah, Mohammed was in a humble and dependent position; and -from the time of his marriage up to when he took upon himself the -apostolic office, he was simply a wealthy but obscure citizen.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="label">[20]</a> Here, again, historians have sent Mohammed on a great many -journeys through Syria, Irak-Arabi, and to the adjoining provinces of -Persia and the Eastern Empire. They make him visit the courts, the -camps, and the temples of the East, and hold converse with princes, -bishops, and priests, more particularly with the Christian monks -Bahira, Sergius, and Nestor. An attentive study of the historic sources -at our command, and a careful examination of the life and writings of -Mohammed, tend to negative altogether the truth of these pretended -journeys and visits, which look very much like fictions got up by -imaginative historians to supply some plausible explanation of the -origin of Mohammed’s pretended mission—an explanation which may -be found much nearer home, as I shall endeavour to show in the text. -Here I will simply add that Mohammed, with all his talent, genius, -and eloquence, was, like the immense majority of his fellow-citizens, -an illiterate barbarian, who had not even been taught to read and write, -and was totally unacquainted with any but his native tongue, and -not likely, therefore, to profit much from converse with other nations.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="label">[21]</a> The assertion that Mohammed was subject to epileptic fits is a -base invention of the Greeks, who would seem to <em>impute</em> that morbid -affection to the apostle of a novel creed as a stain upon his moral -character deserving the reprobation and abhorrence of the Christian -world. Surely, these malignant bigots might have reflected that if -Mohammed had really been afflicted with that dread disorder, Christian -charity ought to have commanded them to pity his misfortune, rather -than rejoice over it or pretend to regard it in the light of a sign of -Divine wrath.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="label">[22]</a> <em>Sonna</em>, custom or rule; the <em>oral law</em> of the Mohammedans,—or, more -correctly speaking, of the four orthodox sects of the Sonnites—a -collection of 7275 traditions of the sayings and doings of Mohammed, made -about 200 years after the Hegira, by Al Bochari, who selected them -from a mass of three hundred thousand reports of a more doubtful or -spurious character.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="label">[23]</a> The so-called <span class="smcap">Marianites</span> are even stated to have attempted the -introduction of a heretical trinity into the church, by substituting the -Virgin for the Holy Ghost.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="label">[24]</a> The five preceding prophets were, in due gradation, Adam, Noah, -Abraham, Moses, and Christus.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="label">[25]</a> The interdiction of wine appeared, however, at a much later period, -(628).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="label">[26]</a> By the advice of Moses, it is somewhat inconsistently asserted -considering that the founder of the Jewish creed, not being permitted, -according to the tradition of the nocturnal journey, to proceed beyond -the seventh heaven (if even so far, his proper appointed mansion being -the sixth heaven) must have been, on the most moderate calculation, -at 140,000,000 years’ distance from the throne of God.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="label">[27]</a> This flight of the prophet, called the <span class="smcap">Hejira</span>, (i.e., <em>emigration</em>,) was -deemed afterwards of such importance that it was instituted by Omar, -the second Khalif, as the starting-point of the Mohammedan era, which -was, however, made to commence about two months before, on the -first day of that Arabian year, which coincides with July 16th, 622, <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span></p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28" class="label">[28]</a> The conquered Christians were granted the security of their -persons, the freedom of their trade, the property of their goods, and -the toleration of their worship. For the treatment which the Jews -met with at Mohammed’s hands, see <a href="#jews">the text</a>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29" class="label">[29]</a> Whether 1000, 3000, or 9000, the commentators of the Koran cannot -agree. Considering that there were only 1000 Koreish in the field, -of whom no more than seventy were slain, it would appear that -Mohammed must either have entertained a most exalted idea of the -valor of his former fellow-citizens, or rather a humble one of angelic -prowess.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30" class="label">[30]</a> It was at the time of the expedition against Chaibar that -Mohammed prohibited the eating of pork, and of the flesh of the ass, and -also the cutting down of fruit-trees, more especially of palms. “Revere -your aunt, the palm-tree,” says the Koran, “for it is made of the -remainder of the clay of which Adam was formed.” Here in Chaibar, -a Jewish female, named Zainab, avenged the cruelties inflicted by -Mohammed upon her nation, by administering a slow poison to the -pretended apostle, whose prophetic knowledge was in this instance -lamentably at fault. To the effects of this poison he himself attributed -the gradual decline of his health from this time, and his increasing -infirmities; and both Abulfeda and Al Jannabi, zealous votaries of Islam -though they are, frankly admit the humiliating fact. The hatred which -he bore to the Jews, did not, however, prevent his adding to the number -of his wives the fair Jewess Shafiya, who, upon the capitulation of -Chaibar, was presented to him as worthy his acceptance.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31" class="label">[31]</a> The final campaign against Chaibar took place several months after -the first attempt upon Mecca; but for the sake of connection it has -been given in the text a little out of its chronological order.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_32" href="#FNanchor_32" class="label">[32]</a> Known as the treaty of Hodaibeh.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_33" href="#FNanchor_33" class="label">[33]</a> Chosroes II., who is mentioned in most histories as the monarch -who received the envoys of Mohammed, had been murdered by his -son Siroes, on the 28th February, 628, and could not therefore well -have received the ambassador of Mohammed, who started at a later -period of the year.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_34" href="#FNanchor_34" class="label">[34]</a> The sect of the <em>Monophysites</em> asserted one incarnate nature in -Christ; the name of Jacobites, by which they are mostly known, is -derived from Jacobus Baradæus, Bishop of Edessa, who revived the -expiring faction of the Monophysites (about 530).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_35" href="#FNanchor_35" class="label">[35]</a> Some historians dispose of Abdallah on this occasion by the -scymitar of <span class="smcap">Beschr</span>, and assign to the Abdallah who in 647 invaded -North Africa, a different origin (some assert the latter to have been -the son of the martyr Jaafar who fell in the battle of Muta).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_36" href="#FNanchor_36" class="label">[36]</a> Mohammed’s vices were of a regal cast; avarice, the beggar’s vice, -yet which so often sullies crowned heads, was not among his failings.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_37" href="#FNanchor_37" class="label">[37]</a> One of the uncles of the prophet, whose vigorous arm and -immensely powerful voice had done good service to the cause in the -fight of Honain.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_38" href="#FNanchor_38" class="label">[38]</a> Even this number reads very much like Oriental exaggeration, -and may safely be reduced by the half.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_39" href="#FNanchor_39" class="label">[39]</a> Some writers say 90,000, others, 110,000; others, 114,000; some -raise the number even to 130, 140, or 150,000; but then due allowance -must be made for Oriental exaggeration; I think the number given -in the text may be considered to come tolerably near the mark.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_40" href="#FNanchor_40" class="label">[40]</a> Ali was married to Fatima, the only one of Mohammed’s children -who survived the prophet.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_41" href="#FNanchor_41" class="label">[41]</a> Some historians give the 6th, others the 8th, and others the 17th -of June, as the last day of Mohammed’s life.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_42" href="#FNanchor_42" class="label">[42]</a> Rather a curious comment on the interdiction of wine in this -world.</p> - -</div> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span><br /></p> - -<h3 class="p4" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</h3> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowe4"> - <img class="w100" src="images/sep.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<p class="pfs70">THE KHALIFS<a id="FNanchor_43" href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> FROM ABU BEKR TO HASHEM (OR HESHAM).</p> - - -<p>After the death of the prophet, his companions convened -an assembly to deliberate on the choice of his successor, as -Mohammed had abstained from expressing any explicit -command or wish in this respect. Several competitors -presented themselves, of whom Ali, Abu Bekr, and Omar -were the most important. The illustrious son of Abu -Taleb seemed indeed to combine in his own person every -possible claim to the vacant throne of Arabia; he was -chief, in his own right, of the family of Hashem, and -hereditary prince of the city, and custodian of the Temple, -of Mecca; the husband of Fatima, Mohammed’s favorite -and only surviving daughter, might reasonably claim for -himself and his two sons the inheritance of the prophet, who -had always delighted in calling him his vizir and vicegerent; -his valor and prowess had shone conspicuous in many a -hard-fought battle; and even his enemies could not impeach -the purity of his private life. But it so happened that Ali -had drawn upon himself the implacable hatred of Ayesha: -the conduct of this lady had, on one occasion, been rather -<em>indiscreet</em>, to use the very mildest term, and Ali had urged -his cousin to punish the frail fair. Mohammed was -indeed inclined to jealousy, but the youth, beauty, and -spirit of the daughter of Abu Bekr had established her -empire over her husband’s affections so firmly that he -rejected the clearest evidence of her faithlessness, inflicted -a severe chastisement upon her accusers, and reproved Ali -for his officiousness. Ayesha never forgave Ali the part he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span> -had played in this delicate affair, and the enmity she bore -him was still heightened by her jealousy of Fatima, to whom -she grudged the prophet’s paternal affection. Mohammed -would most probably have named Ali his successor—and -against the explicit nomination of the prophet, no voice -would have dared a protest—but the artful daughter of -Abu Bekr besieged his bed of sickness; and, turning the -ascendant she had acquired over the uxorious man to -excellent account, obtained from him that on the third day -before his death, when he was no longer able to proceed to -the mosque, he deputed Abu Bekr in his place to perform -the function of public prayer, instead of charging Ali with -that most honorable and important duty. After the death -of Mohammed, she boldly asserted that he had “appointed” -her father his successor in the royal and sacerdotal office. -The Koreish, and more especially the branch of Ommiyah, -the old enemies of the line of Hashem, eagerly espoused the -cause of Abu Bekr. The Ansars of Medina, and a few of -the Mohagerians of Mecca voted for Ali; the crafty Omar -was watching the event; a rash proposal made by one of -Ali’s supporters to <ins class="corr" id="tn-54" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'let each party chose'"> -let each party choose</ins> their own Khalif, -and to divide the empire between them, brought the matter -to an abrupt termination. Omar, discerning the danger -which threatened the rising Saracen empire, if this proposal -were acted upon, renounced his own pretensions; and, setting -the regular forms of an election at naught, hailed Abu Bekr -as the first Khalif. The people acquiesced, and Mecca, -Medina, and most of the provinces of Arabia, acknowledged -Abu Bekr as commander of the Faithful. The Hashemites, -however, remained true to their chief, and Ali resisted for -six months the cajoleries of the Khalif and the threats of -Omar. But the death of his beloved Fatima subdued his -haughty spirit, and he consented at length to submit to -Abu Bekr’s rule. Strange enough, when Ali had made his -submission, the old man offered to resign in his favor; an -offer which was prudently declined.</p> - -<p>During the later part of Mohammed’s life, several other -prophets had arisen in various parts of Arabia, and among -them one of some note, and of no mean skill in the apostolic -trade. His name was <span class="smcap">Moseilama</span>; the powerful tribe of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span> -Hanifa, in the city of Yamanah, in Neged, listened to his -voice. Confident in his power, he coolly offered Mohammed -a partition of the earth between them. The prophet of -Islam treated the offer with disdain; but after his death, -several tribes, who had unwillingly embraced his creed, -seceded to the standard of the new prophet, who speedily -became a formidable rival to the Khalif. Mohammed’s uncle -Abbas and the fierce Kaled were dispatched against him by -Abu Bekr; but though forty thousand Moslems followed -their banner, the first action against Moseilama ended in -the defeat of Abbas and Kaled, and the former of the two -generals was severely wounded with a javelin. This defeat -was, however, fearfully avenged by Kaled; ten thousand -infidels were made to bite the dust, and the same javelin -that had pierced Abbas, was sent, a messenger of death, to -Moseilama’s heart, by the hand of an Ethiopian slave. The -submission of the revolted tribes speedily followed, and the -dread name of the <em>Sword of God</em> was in itself sufficient to -disarm all the other rebels who had risen in various parts -of the peninsula.</p> - -<p>The victorious Kaled was now sent to the banks of the -Euphrates, where he reduced the cities of Anbar and Hira -(<span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 632), and, having slain the last of the Mondars of the -Arabian colony of Hira, and sent his son a captive to Medina, -prepared to invade the Persian empire; but in the midst of -his triumphant career, he was recalled and sent into Syria, -to take the command of the army there, and, in conjunction -with Abu Obeidah, to effect the reduction of that province -of the Greek empire. Bosra, a strong city situated four -days’ journey from Damascus, fell by his valor and by the -treachery of the Greek governor <span class="smcap">Romanus</span>. Damascus -was besieged (633); and an army of 70,000 Greeks, who -came to the relief of the hard-pressed city, under the -command of <span class="smcap">Werdan</span>, was totally defeated and dispersed -by 45,000 Moslems under Kaled, Amru, and Abu Obeidah, -at <span class="smcap">Aiznadin</span> (13th July, 633). Still Damascus resisted -stoutly for many months, sustained chiefly by the valor -of a noble Greek named <span class="smcap">Thomas</span>. At length, however, the -courage of the besieged gave way, and they surrendered to -the mild Abu Obeidah (most probably in August, 634), who<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span> -granted them personal safety, and free possession of their -lands and houses, and to such of them as should prefer -exile to the Moslem rule, the permission to depart with -as much of their effects as they could carry away with them. -But the fierce and cruel Kaled refused to ratify these terms -of his fellow-commander: he slaughtered thousands of the -unfortunate Damascenes; and, though he consented at last -to abide by the terms of the capitulation, he only gave three -days respite to the band of voluntary exiles who left -Damascus under the leadership of the valiant Thomas. At -the expiration of this term, he set out in pursuit at the head -of four thousand horsemen; a miserable renegade, named -<span class="smcap">Jonas</span>, acted as guide. The hapless fugitives were overtaken, -and ruthlessly cut down to the last being of either -sex, with the solitary exception of the widow of the brave -Thomas, who was sent by Kaled to carry a message of -defiance to the throne of the Cæsars.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the aged Abu Bekr, after a short reign of -two years, had been gathered to his fathers; Ayesha’s -influence and Omar’s craft had once more defeated Ali’s -claims to the vacant throne; and Omar had gained the -object of his ambition (24th July, 634). The new Khalif<a id="FNanchor_44" href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> -proved himself worthy of this exalted position; his justice, -his wisdom, his moderation, and his frugality form, even to -the present day, among the <em>Sonnites</em>, the theme of the most -enthusiastic praise; though by the <em>Shiites</em> his memory is as -bitterly reviled, and the appellation <em>Shitan Omar</em>, which the -Persians so liberally bestow upon the second Khalif, shows -the sense which they entertain of his machinations against -the illustrious Ali. The son of Abu Taleb, however, -submitted to Abu Bekr’s choice, and was comforted for the -loss of empire by the most flattering marks of esteem and -confidence on the part of the new commander of the -Faithful.</p> - -<p>One of the first acts of Omar’s reign was to remove Kaled -from the command of the Syrian army, under pretext of -excessive cruelty, and of rashness in the pursuit of the -Damascene exiles, but in reality because the Khalif bore a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span> -personal enmity to his invincible lieutenant. This made, -however, practically, no difference in the conduct of the -war; Kaled could command and obey with equal readiness, -and Abu Obeidah was modest and sensible enough to guide -himself in all important operations by the advice of his -former chief. After the reduction of Damascus, the Arabs -laid siege to Heliopolis (Baalbec) and Emesa, and speedily -compelled these important cities to surrender (635). -Heraclius made one last great effort to free Syria from -these most unwelcome visitors; he sent four-score thousand -veteran soldiers by sea and land to Antioch and Cæsarea; -this host was considerably increased by the remains of the -Syrian army, and by new levies in Syria and Palestine, and -joined also by 60,000 Christian Arabs under the banner of -<span class="smcap">Jabalah</span>,<a id="FNanchor_45" href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> the last of the Gassanide princes. Upon Kaled’s -prudent advice, Abu Obeidah resolved to retire to the skirts -of Palestine and Arabia, and there to await the attack of the -enemy. In the vicinity of Bosra, on the banks of the -obscure river Yermuk (Hieromax), a fierce and bloody -encounter took place, in which the Greek forces were -totally routed (636); their Gassanide allies had already -previously met with the same fate at the hands of the -intrepid Kaled. After the victory of Yermuk, Abu Obeidah -resolved to invest <span class="smcap">Jerusalem</span> (or <span class="smcap">Ælia</span>, as the Romans -called it); he first sent <span class="smcap">Moawiyah</span>, Abu Sophian’s son, -with the van of five thousand Arabs, to try a surprise; and -this failing, he appeared himself, ten days after, with the -whole army.</p> - -<p>After having endured four months the hardships of a -siege, the garrison and people of the holy city offered to -capitulate; but they demanded as a guarantee for the -articles of security, that the Khalif should ratify them in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span> -person. Ali advised the Khalif to comply with this rather -unusual demand; and Omar set out from Medina, mounted -on a red camel, which carried, besides his person, a bag of -corn, a bag of dates, a wooden dish, and a leathern bottle -of water! Jerusalem immediately surrendered (637), and -the Khalif returned promptly to Medina in the same simple -manner in which he had come. The conquest of Syria was -achieved the year after (638) by Abu Obeidah and Kaled, -who reduced Antioch, Aleppo, Tripoli, Tyre, Acca (St. Jean -d’Acre), Cæsarea, Ascelon, Hierapolis, and many other -cities and strong places. Abu Obeidah died 639, of a fatal -disease which carried off twenty-five thousand of the conquerors -of Syria; the hero Kaled, the <em>Sword of God</em>, survived -his fellow-commander about three years. The government -of the conquered province was entrusted by Omar to the -hands of Moawiyah, the chief of the family Ommiyah, -and who became afterwards the founder of the Ommiade -dynasty.</p> - -<p>After Kaled’s <ins class="corr" id="tn-58" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'recal from the Persian'"> -recall from the Persian</ins> frontier, the war -against the empire of the Magians was carried on languidly -for several years. In 636, however, Omar sent a new commander, -<span class="smcap">Said</span>, with considerable reinforcements to the army -on the Euphrates. After the murder of Chosroes II. and -Cobad II., in 628, eight kings of Persia had followed each -other in rapid succession, in the short space of three years. -At last, a woman, <span class="smcap">Arzema</span>, seized upon the throne; but, in -632, she was deposed, and the tiara transferred from her -head to that of the grandson of Chosroes, <span class="smcap">Yezdegerd</span> (III.), -a boy of fifteen. A dying effort was now made by the -Persians to drive back the Saracen invaders. An army -of 120,000 men, with 30,000 regulars among them, was -collected under <span class="smcap">Rustam</span>, who, urged on by his youthful -and inexperienced monarch, sought the Moslems in the -plains of <span class="smcap">Cadesia</span>, where Said had pitched his camp. The -Mussulman forces numbered only 30,000; the fight was -protracted for three whole days; it was bloody and obstinate -in the extreme; the Saracens lost one clear fourth of their -number; the fall of Rustam, on the third day, decided the -fate of the battle and of Persia (636). The standard of the -Sassanides (a leathern apron of a blacksmith, covered with<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span> -a profusion of precious gems) fell into the hands of the -conquerors. The province of Irak submitted to the Khalif, -who secured his conquest by the foundation of the city of -<span class="smcap">Basra</span>, or <span class="smcap">Bassora</span>, on the Shat-el-Arab (<em>i.e.</em>, the river -of the Arabs), which is formed by the junction of the -Euphrates and Tigris. The Moslems crossed the latter -river, and took and sacked <span class="smcap">Madayn</span>, or <span class="smcap">Ctesiphon</span>, the -capital of the Persian empire; immense treasures fell here -into their hands, more than sufficient indeed to enrich the -whole host of naked Arabians beyond their most sanguine -expectations. Many splendid works of art were destroyed -by the ruthless hands of the ignorant sons of the desert. -In one of the apartments of the white palace of Chosroes -Nushirvan, was found a magnificent carpet of silk, with the -picture of a garden embroidered on it in gold and precious -stones, imitating the natural colors of the flowers, fruits, -and shrubs depicted; Said preserved this splendid piece of -workmanship, and sent it to the commander of the Faithful; -but the precious gift found little favor in the sight of -Omar; that cynical gentleman quietly ordered the picture -to be destroyed, and divided the materials among his brethren -of Medina: the intrinsic value of these materials may be -conjectured from the fact, that Ali’s share alone was sold -for twenty thousand drachms of silver. A new city, <span class="smcap">Cufa</span>, -was founded on the western side of the lower Euphrates, -and the seat of government was removed to it from the -despoiled Madayn. One Persian province after the other -was compelled to submit to the Moslem sway; at Jalula, -Yezdegerd nobly contended once more for the empire of his -ancestors; in vain! the fanaticism of the Arabs proved -stronger than the despair of the Persians. Said had been -recalled, and <span class="smcap">Firuzan</span> sent in his place; the courage of the -Persian nation was not yet thoroughly subdued; 150,000 -Persians attacked the Moslem host at <span class="smcap">Nehavend</span>, about -230 miles south of Hamadan; but though Firuzan had only -30,000 <ins class="corr" id="tn-59" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'Musulmans to oppose'"> -Mussulmans to oppose</ins> to the overwhelming numbers -of the Persians, and though the latter fought with true -bravery, fate had <ins class="corr" id="tn-59a" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'decreed the downfal'"> -decreed the downfall</ins> of the monarchy -of the Sassanides: the Arabians gained “the victory of -victories,” and the hapless Yezdegerd, worthy of a better<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span> -fate, like Darius Codomannus, yielded up all hope of empire -(642).<a id="FNanchor_46" href="#Footnote_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> After the victory of Nehavend, the cities of -Hamadan, Ispahan, Estachar (Persepolis), and many more, -were readily reduced, and the conquest of Persia was -achieved.</p> - -<p>Whilst Persia was thus being added to the new Saracen -empire, another province was snatched from the feeble -emperor of Byzantium. Omar had cast his eyes upon -Egypt. With only 4000 Arabs, the valiant <span class="smcap">Amru</span> invaded -that country, in June, 638; after a siege of thirty days, he -took possession of Farmah, or Pelusium, the key of Egypt. -The reduction of Babylon, on the Eastern bank of the Nile, -opposite Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt, took Amru -seven months, although he had received a reinforcement of -4000 men. On the spot where Amru’s army had pitched -their tents during the siege of Babylon, a new city arose, -which forms now part of an extensive suburb of Cairo, or -<span class="smcap">Al Cahira</span>, <em>i.e.</em>, the victorious, founded by the Fatimite -Khalifs (<span class="smcap">Moez</span>), in 970. Notwithstanding the capture of -Babylon and Memphis, Amru would probably have been -compelled to relinquish his attempt to conquer Egypt, had -not the Jacobite (Monophysite) Copts under Mokawkas, -who would have preferred the devil’s rule to that of their -Melchite<a id="FNanchor_47" href="#Footnote_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> tyrants, joined the invaders heart and soul. Under -<em>their</em> guidance, and with <em>their</em> aid, Amru, who had, meanwhile, -been considerably reinforced from Syria, marched -from Memphis to <span class="smcap">Alexandria</span>; which latter city was, after -a series of preliminary combats, at last closely invested on -the land side. As the sea remained open, Heraclius might -have saved the great provision store of Byzantium, had he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span> -acted with the least energy; but the feeble old man contented -himself with <em>praying</em> for the relief of the besieged -city, and thought, perhaps, he had enlisted God on his side -by appointing a <em>priest</em> (the patriarch <span class="smcap">Cyrus</span>), to the præfecture -of Egypt, and the conduct of the war. No wonder then -that, notwithstanding a truly gallant defence by the inhabitants, -the city was, after a siege of fourteen months, at -length compelled to surrender (22nd of December, 640). -Omar’s commands preserved Alexandria from the horrors of -pillage. The story of the burning of the Alexandrian -library by order of Omar, is absolutely void of foundation; -the honor of the first invention of this calumnious lie -belongs (of course) to a Christian historian, <span class="smcap">Abulpharagius</span>, -primate of the Jacobites, who wrote 600 years after the -event: but a crowd of historians have since faithfully copied -it, even to its most extravagantly absurd details.<a id="FNanchor_48" href="#Footnote_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a></p> - -<p>With the reduction of Alexandria, the conquest of Egypt -was achieved, Amru carrying his victorious arms even -beyond the boundaries of that country as far as Tripoli.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span> -To facilitate the communication between Egypt and Arabia, -Omar constructed a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea. -Omar, the now mighty ruler of a most extensive empire, -was revolving new plans of conquest, when the dagger of -<span class="smcap">Firuz</span>, a Persian slave, who had been personally aggrieved -by the Khalif, cut short his thread of life—and saved the -world from subjugation; for what nation or empire could, -at that time, have long or successfully withstood the impetuous -tide, which, in the short space of ten years, had -engulphed Syria, Persia, and Egypt; and was full vigorous -enough to sweep over the whole earth, had but the master-mind -which had hitherto with rare wisdom directed its -enormous material force, continued to breathe an intelligent -will into it. Omar died in November, 644: urged to name -his successor, he had refused to do so, but had devolved -the task of choosing a new Khalif, on Ali and five others of -the most respectable companions of the prophet. The -illustrious son of Abu Taleb might now, indeed, have -ascended the vacant throne, had he deigned to promise a -servile conformity, not only to the Koran and tradition, but -also to the “sayings and doings” of his predecessors, Abu -Bekr and Omar. This demand his proud spirit rejected -with disdain. <span class="smcap">Othman</span>, also a son-in-law of the prophet, -and who had been his secretary, accepted the government -with these restrictions. The new Khalif was but little made -to sustain the weight of the Saracen empire. He was a -weak and vacillating old man, and led entirely by unworthy -favorites, more particularly by his secretary, <span class="smcap">Mervan</span>; he -was arrogant and overbearing withal, and in the space of a -few brief years, he excited the dissatisfaction and indignation -of even the most loyally disposed among his subjects. At -last the universal discontent was gathering to a head. -Resolved no longer to submit to the exactions of the -wretched favorites on whom the Khalif had conferred power -and station, the tribes rose in arms. From Cufa, from -Bassora, from Egypt, from the Desert, they marched on -Medina: they encamped about a league from the city, -and dispatched a haughty summons to their sovereign to -redress their grievances, or to give place to a more worthy -prince. Othman promised reformation, and Ali’s generous<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span> -intercession might have succeeded in healing the breach -between the Khalif and his angry subjects; but Mervan’s -perfidy, and the deep intrigues of the artful Ayesha, defeated -all chances of reconciliation between the prince and the people. -In vain Othman ascended the pulpit, publicly and solemnly -to entreat Allah’s and the people’s forgiveness for his misrule; -he was pelted with stones, and carried home half dead. -The insurgents besieged him six weeks in his palace, intercepting -his water and provisions. The helpless old man had -to endure the grief of seeing himself forsaken and betrayed -by those on whom his misplaced favor had bestowed wealth -and power. Abandoning all hope, he calmly expected the -approach of death: a desperate band of fanatical Charegites, -with Mohammed, Ayesha’s brother, at their head, made their -way into his palace. They found him seated, with the Koran -in his lap; but neither the sacred book, nor his venerable -aspect, could disarm the assassins. Othman fell, pierced -with many wounds, 18th June, 655, in the eighty-second -year of his age.</p> - -<p>During the reign of Othman, the island of Cyprus was -conquered by Moawiyah, in 647, and the island of Rhodes, -in 654; from the latter island, the Saracens carried off the -massy trunk and the huge fragments of the celebrated colossal -statue of Apollo, which had been overthrown about 800 -years before by an earthquake. The large and once populous -country of Chorasan, the kingdom of the ancient Bactrians, -was also “annexed” to the Saracen empire, during the reign -of Othman. In 647, <span class="smcap">Abdallah</span><a id="FNanchor_49" href="#Footnote_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a> and <span class="smcap">Zobeir</span> were sent with -40,000 Moslems to attempt the conquest of Africa. They -advanced to the walls of Tripoli, and endeavoured to carry -that maritime city by assault; they were, however, repulsed, -and the approach of a numerous army under the Greek -præfect Gregory, compelled them to raise the siege. By -Zobeir’s skill and valor, the Arabs gained a complete and -decisive victory over the hostile forces, the præfect himself -being slain by the hand of Zobeir. The opulent city of -Sufetula, situated 150 miles to the south of Carthage, fell<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span> -into the hands of the victorious Arabs. Abdallah prudently -rested content with the advantages gained; he accepted the -offer of submission and tribute made on all sides by the -provincials, and retreated to the confines of Egypt (648).</p> - -<p>Ali had made a perhaps somewhat lukewarm effort to -effect a reconciliation between Othman and his insurgent -subjects. When matters had proceeded to extremities, -he had sent his two sons, <span class="smcap">Hassan</span> and <span class="smcap">Hosein</span>, to the -rescue of the besieged Khalif; and Hassan, the eldest -of his sons, had, indeed, been wounded in the defence of -that unfortunate prince. Still Ali had not been very -energetic in his opposition to the rebels; and it is not -uncharitable to suppose, that the death of Othman caused -him no very bitter grief. Five days after the murder of the -aged Khalif, Ali was proclaimed his successor by acclamation. -The illustrious son of Abu Taleb was, indeed, a poet and a -hero, but a most indifferent statesman. <span class="smcap">Telha</span> and the -valiant <span class="smcap">Zobeir</span>, two of the most powerful of the Arabian -chiefs, who had had a hand in Othman’s overthrow and -death, and whose doubtful allegiance Ali ought to have -secured by rich gifts and greater promises, saw themselves -treated with studied coldness by the new Khalif, of whom -they had vainly solicited the government of Irak, as the -reward of their services. This impolitic conduct of Ali made -them inclined to lend a willing ear to the advice and suggestions -of the artful Ayesha, to raise the standard of revolt -against Ali, and to charge <em>him</em> with the perpetration of the -very crime which <em>she</em> had instigated, and <em>they</em> had lent their -aid to execute! The two chiefs, and the widow of the -prophet, escaped from Medina to Mecca, and from thence -to Bassora; the unblushing woman, whose own brother had -actually headed the assassins, had the almost incredible -effrontery to send Othman’s bloody shirt to the governor of -Syria, Moawiyah, Ali’s hereditary foe, and to call upon -him to avenge Othman’s blood upon his murderer—<em>Ali!</em> -The son of Abu Sophian was perfectly aware of the true -circumstances of the case; but it suited his ambitious -projects to <em>appear</em> to believe the infamous accusation against -the august chief of the line of Hashem, the more so as Ali -had expressed his intention to remove the head of the house<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span> -of Ommiyah from the government of Syria. Moawiyah, -therefore, exposed the bloody shirt of Othman in the principal -mosque of Damascus, and denouncing Ali as the -instigator of the sacrilegious deed, called upon the Faithful -to rise and avenge the death of the holy martyr, whose -lawful successor in the Khalifate he declared himself to be, -in obedience, as he pretended, to the express command of -the dying Othman. The appeal was numerously responded -to, and the ruler of Syria saw himself speedily at the head -of a formidable army; his friend, <span class="smcap">Amru</span>, whom Ali had -removed from the government of Egypt, espoused his cause. -Telha and Zobeir seized upon Irak; 50,000 Moslems -marched under their banner. At the head of 20,000 of his -loyal Arabs, and 9,000 auxiliaries of Cufa, the Lion of God -went to encounter his enemies. Under the walls of Bassora -(2nd and 3rd November, 656) was fought the first battle of -this civil war, which, destroying in internecine strife the -flower of the nation of the desert, may well be said to have -saved the world from the yoke of Islam; for had Ali been sole -and undisputed master of the Saracen empire, even the fire -of Callinicus<a id="FNanchor_50" href="#Footnote_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a> would have proved no effectual protection -against the then irresistible tide of Moslem conquest, and, -mayhap, the Isaurian might have indulged his iconoclastic -propensities at the head of a congenial host of image-haters; -nor would the west of Europe have escaped, and the champion -of the cross, the <em>Hammer</em> of Christ, might, perchance, -have figured in history as the <em>Ilderim</em> of Islam.</p> - -<p>The rebels were totally defeated; Telha and Zobeir, with -10,000 of their host, were slain; and Ayesha, who, seated<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span> -in a litter perched on the back of a camel,<a id="FNanchor_51" href="#Footnote_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a> had braved the -dangers of the field, animating the troops by her presence, -and cheering them on with her voice, fell a captive into the -hands of the man whom, with implacable hatred, she had -pursued so many years, and whom she had so grievously -injured; but the generous Ali disdained warring with -women. Mohammed’s widow was treated with every -respect due to her rank, and speedily dismissed to her -proper station at the tomb of the prophet. The victorious -Khalif, having in vain offered the most favorable terms of -accommodation to Moawiyah and Amru, took the field -against them at the head of 70,000 men, in the spring of -657. The plain of <span class="smcap">Siffin</span>, on the western bank of the -Euphrates, formed the field of ninety actions or skirmishes, -in a desultory warfare of one hundred and ten days. The -forces of the Ommiyah chief, are said to have amounted to -more than 120,000 men; among them many of the veterans -of the Persian, Syrian, and Egyptian campaigns; 45,000 of -that gallant band paid with their lives for the ambition of -their chief; 25,000 of Ali’s brave and loyal followers lay -slain by their side—a rare crop of blossoms for the garden of -the destroyer. The Lion of God was everywhere foremost -in the fight; his ponderous two-edged sword, wielded with -irresistible force, made fearful havoc in the hostile ranks; -every time he smote a rebel, he shouted his war-cry “Allah -Akbar!”<a id="FNanchor_52" href="#Footnote_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a> and the Arabian and Persian historians tell us -with all gravity, that “in the tumult of a nocturnal battle, -that tremendous exclamation was heard no less than four -hundred times.” Making all due allowance for Oriental -exaggeration, and striking one nought off the account, -enough still remains to make the feat a most respectable -achievement indeed.</p> - -<p>The magnanimous Ali had proposed to settle the dispute -between him and Moawiyah by single combat; but to -encounter so formidable a champion would truly have been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span> -sheer madness on the part of the prince of Damascus; he -therefore declined the Khalif’s courteous invitation. The -chief of the line of Ommiyah was not so redoubtable a -warrior as Ali, but he was a much better politician than the -true and lawful commander of the Faithful; clearly foreseeing -that the decision of the sword must in the end -inevitably turn against him, he devised a stratagem to -discomfit his dreaded antagonist, which being based upon a -crafty appeal to the reverential and superstitious feelings of -Ali’s followers, might reasonably be expected to have a fair -chance of success. The Khalif had resolved to terminate -the long-pending struggle by a decisive battle; the troops -were in presence, and the fight was on the point of being -engaged, when a solemn appeal to the books of the Koran, -which Moawiyah exposed on the foremost lances, made a -considerable portion of Ali’s forces pause in their onset; -emissaries of the prince of Damascus had long been busy -in the unsuspecting Ali’s ranks; his refusal to hold the -tradition, and the sayings and acts of Abu Bekr and Omar -as equally binding with the precepts of the Koran, was -regarded by many of his own followers as rank heresy; and -so it occurred that at the very time when victory seemed -secure in his grasp, the Khalif saw himself suddenly abandoned -by the greater half of his forces, and even compelled by -the vile rabble to submit his indefeasible right to a so-called -“arbitration;” Moawiyah being permitted to appoint his -friend and fellow-rebel, Amru, as arbiter on <em>his</em> part, whilst -Ali was forced by the treacherous crew around him to name -<span class="smcap">Musa</span>, the cadi of Cufa, a mixture in equal parts of stupidity -and conceit, to act on his behalf. The result was such as -might have been foreseen; the decision was in favor of -Moawiyah. Ali indignantly refused to be bound by it, as -it was but too patent that the whole “arbitration” had -been a disgraceful juggle from the beginning. But he was -abandoned by a great many of his former adherents, and -compelled to retreat to Cufa. Still he nobly carried on the -struggle against the vastly superior forces of his enemies, -and though Amru snatched Egypt from him, though Persia -and Yemen were subdued or seduced by his crafty rival of -Damascus, the final issue of the struggle might yet have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span> -been in his favor, had he not been foully murdered by a -Charegite,<a id="FNanchor_53" href="#Footnote_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a> who with two other fanatics had agreed to give -peace to their troubled country by the removal of Ali, -Moawiyah, and Amru. Each of the three assassins chose -his victim, poisoned his dagger, and secretly repaired to the -scene of action; but the stroke was fatal only to the lawful -Khalif, though the prince of Damascus also was dangerously -hurt, and the deputy of the viceroy of Egypt paid with his -life for the honor of being mistaken for the illustrious -Amru (661).<a id="FNanchor_54" href="#Footnote_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> The dying Ali mercifully commanded his -children to dispatch his murderer by a single stroke. His -eldest son, <span class="smcap">Hassan</span>, was indeed saluted Khalif, by the party -who had faithfully adhered to the banner of the Lion of -God, but he was prevailed upon by Moawiyah to resign his -pretensions, and the son of Abu Sophian was acknowledged -the lawful commander of the Faithful; and Ali’s name was -ordered to be cursed from the pulpit.<a id="FNanchor_55" href="#Footnote_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a></p> - -<p>The rule of the new Khalif was marked, upon the whole, -by wisdom and moderation. Moawiyah disdained the -simplicity of manners which had distinguished his predecessors; -he dressed in costly silks, surrounded himself -with a brilliant court, kept eunuchs for the guard of his -harem, and set the prophet’s precepts at naught in the -matter of wine-drinking. He would indeed shrink from no -crime where his political interests were or seemed concerned; -and the poisoning of Hassan, who had fondly, but foolishly,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span> -hoped that the son of Abu Sophian would forget that the -title of Khalif had graced his name for however so short -a period of time, and the base murders of Kaled’s son, -Abderrahman, and of the bold-spoken Hadjir Ben Hadad, -who had dared publicly to protest against the cursing of -Ali’s name and memory, are by no means the only blots on -the reputation of the founder of the Ommiade dynasty; but -he was not cruel and blood-thirsty from mere wantonness -of disposition, and, as princes go, he was altogether rather -a favorable sample of the class than otherwise.</p> - -<p>The first acts of his reign were to put down the rebellious -Charegites, and to quell an insurrection of the people of -Bassora. The three first Khalifs had resided at Medina; -political and strategic considerations had induced Ali to -transfer the seat of his government to Cufa. Moawiyah -made Damascus his capital, partly because Syria was the -stronghold of his power, and partly—and this was unquestionably -the principal reason—because his residence at -Medina would have materially interfered with the accomplishment -of the project nearest and dearest to his heart; -viz., to change the elective monarchy to an hereditary -kingdom. When he had firmly established his throne, he -prepared a powerful expedition by sea and land against -Constantinople (668); he entrusted the chief command to -the veteran <span class="smcap">Sophian</span>, and sent his own son Yezid to encourage -the troops by his presence and example. But though -the supineness of the Greeks permitted them to invest the -city of the Cæsars by sea and land, the Saracens met with a -more vigorous resistance than they had anticipated; the -solid and lofty walls of Byzantium, energetically defended -by a numerous and well-disciplined army, and by a people -aroused for a time to deeds of heroic devotion, by the danger -which threatened to overthrow the last bulwark of their -nationality and their religion, and the prodigious effect of -the fire of Callinicus, defeated all attempts to carry the city -by assault; and the Arabs, finding it a much easier task to -plunder the European and Asiatic coasts of the Propontis, -carried on the operations of the siege more and more -languidly, till, at last, having kept the sea from April to -September, they retreated, on the approach of winter, to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span> -the isle of Cyzicus, about eighty miles from the capital. -However, they renewed the attempt six successive summers, -until the enormous losses which they had suffered by fire -and sword, and by the mischances of shipwreck and disease, -compelled them finally to abandon the bootless enterprise -(675). This failure dimmed for a time the glory of the -Saracen arms, whilst it seemed to restore the former -prestige of the Roman name. The destruction of his fleets, -and the annihilation of his armies, had subdued the proud -spirit of Moawiyah; the aged Khalif had the mortification -of seeing himself insulted in his city and palace of Damascus -by the warlike Maronites, or Mardaites, of Mount Lebanon; -and he felt desirous of ending his days in tranquillity and -repose: he consented therefore to a peace, or truce, of thirty -years with the emperor Constantine IV. Pogonatus, in -which he indeed was permitted to retain possession of the -north-western part of Asia Minor, the island of Cyprus, -and the isles of the Greek Archipelago, but in which the -majesty of the commander of the Faithful was wofully -degraded, by the stipulation of an annual tribute to the -Court of Byzantium of three thousand pieces of gold, fifty -slaves, and fifty horses of a noble breed (677).</p> - -<p>Moawiyah’s arms were more successful in other quarters. -His lieutenant, <span class="smcap">Obeidah</span>, invaded the territories of the -Turks, in 673, and made considerable conquests in Central -Asia; and a large portion of North Africa was added -to the Saracen empire by <span class="smcap">Akbah</span>, who conquered Tripoli -and Barca, founded the city of Cairoan, about fifty miles -south of Carthage,<a id="FNanchor_56" href="#Footnote_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a> in 671, and advanced to the verge of the -Atlantic and the Great Desert. But the universal defection -of the Africans and Greeks, whom he had conquered, -recalled him from the shores of the Atlantic, where he was -already meditating a descent on Spain. Surrounded on all -sides by hostile multitudes, and despairing of succour, the -gallant Akbah, and his small force of brave men, had no -other resource left them but to die an honorable death,—they -fell to the last man. <span class="smcap">Zuheir</span>, sent with a new army, -avenged the fate of his predecessor; he vanquished the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span> -natives in many battles, but was himself overthrown in the -end by a powerful army, sent from Constantinople to the -relief of Carthage which he was besieging.</p> - -<p>Moawiyah died on the 6th April, 680. Ten years before -his death he had seen his aspiring wishes crowned by the -proclamation of his son, <span class="smcap">Yezid</span>, as presumptive heir of the -Saracen empire.<a id="FNanchor_57" href="#Footnote_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a> True, there had been some murmurs of -discontent, and it had even required an armed demonstration -against the holy cities of Mecca and Medina to enforce -submission to the will of the Khalif: but Moawiyah’s -vigor and address had triumphed over every obstacle. -Accordingly, after the father’s death, the son was acknowledged -as Khalif in every province of the vast empire; with -some partial exceptions, indeed, in Arabia proper, and more -particularly in Mecca and Medina. But Yezid had inherited -none of his father’s qualities; he was a dissolute voluptuarian, -and of a most tyrannical disposition withal. In the short -time of a few months, the discontent of his subjects had -risen to a threatening height; more especially in Arabia -proper, and in the province of Irak, People’s eyes began to -turn towards <span class="smcap">Hosein</span>, the younger and only surviving son of -Ali and Fatima, and head of the line of Hashem. Hosein -had served with distinction in the siege of Constantinople; -he had inherited some of his father’s spirit, and had disdainfully -refused to acknowledge Yezid’s title. He was invited -by a large body of the discontented in Irak, to come and -place himself at their head; against the advice of his wife -and many of his friends, he resolved to obey the call, and -set out with a small retinue, consisting, chiefly of women -and children. When he reached the confines of Irak, -<span class="smcap">Obeidollah</span>, the watchful and energetic governor of Cufa, -had already crushed the insurrection in the bud. In the -plains of Kerbela, Hosein found himself surrounded on all -sides by a body of five thousand horse. Unconditional -surrender or death was the only alternative offered to him; -he chose the latter, and, after deeds of the most heroic -valor, his generous band of devoted adherents were -all slain, basely butchered from afar with arrows by their<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span> -cowardly assailants: he, alone, still survived, though bleeding -from many a wound. He seated himself at the door of his -tent, enfolding his youngest son and his nephew, two beautiful -children, in his arms; they were slain there, and their -warm life-blood overflowed the hands of the hapless man. -With a cry of grief and despair, he started up and threw -himself in the midst of the foe. The soldiers fell back on -every side, and, for a time, none dared to lay hands on the -grandson of the prophet; but, at last, one of their leaders, -the remorseless <span class="smcap">Shamer</span>, urged them to the attack, and the -heroic Hosein was slain, with three-and-thirty strokes of -lances and swords. The dead body was trampled under foot -by the inhuman wretches, and the severed head carried to -the castle of Cufa, and thence forwarded to Damascus, that -Yezid might look upon it and sleep in peace. An expedition -was sent against the holy cities, which, after Hosein’s death, -had acknowledged for <em>their</em> Khalif, <span class="smcap">Abdallah</span>,<a id="FNanchor_58" href="#Footnote_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a> the son of -the valiant Zobeir. Medina was taken, and the sisters and -children of Hosein and Hassan were sent in chains to the -throne of Damascus. Yezid was urged by his advisers to -bury his fears for ever in the grave of the race of Ali and -Fatima. Now, had Yezid been one of the <em>Christian</em> Cæsars -of Byzantium, who “thought it no very great harm” to slay -even their own kindred, or to deprive them of sight, or -mutilate them in some other way, if undisputed empire could -but be secured thereby, no doubt the advice would have been -followed to the letter: but the grandson of the wild Henda was -not altogether without some of the better feelings of human -nature, and the <em>Saracen</em> Khalif had no convenient “patriarch,” -or bishop, at hand to lull his troublesome conscience -by the mockery of priestly absolution. The mourning -family were honorably dismissed to Medina, and Yezid even -strove to console them for the irreparable losses they had -suffered at his father’s and his own hands.</p> - -<p>The partial successes of Yezid’s generals against Abdallah -did not prevent that indefatigable warrior from seizing upon<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span> -Yemen, and establishing his power in Egypt. After a -troubled reign of three years, Yezid died (683); and a few -months after his death, his son and successor, <span class="smcap">Moawiyah II.</span>, -preferred voluntary abdication to the desperate struggle -which he foresaw it would cost to oust Abdallah from his -usurped position. For a time, complete anarchy ensued: -Obeidollah, the governor of Irak, attempted to found a new -empire and a new dynasty, in Bassora, but he was ignominiously -expelled by the people; and the provinces of Irak, -Yemen, Hejaz, and Egypt, acknowledged the name and -sovereignty of Abdallah. Even in Syria, a creature of -Abdallah’s, <span class="smcap">Dehac</span>, was, for a time, obeyed as vicegerent. -At last, however, <span class="smcap">Mervan</span>, of the line of Ommiyah, was -saluted Khalif in Damascus (684), on condition, however, -as he bound himself by oath, to name Kaled, Yezid’s younger -son, his successor. Mervan speedily succeeded in subjecting -Syria and Egypt to his sway. The people of Chorasan, -where the Hashemites had gained considerable ascendancy, -renounced their allegiance to the empire, proclaimed their -independence, and elected the noble <span class="smcap">Salem</span> their king. -<span class="smcap">Soliman</span>, the son of Zarad, excited a formidable insurrection -in Arabia Proper, and in part of Syria, and proclaimed the -deposition of both rival Khalifs; but he was defeated by -Obeidollah. Mervan, forgetful of his oath, proclaimed his -son, <span class="smcap">Abd-el-Malek</span>, his successor; he fell by the dagger of -his offended kinsman, Kaled (685). But Abd-el-Malek -made good his claim to the succession, and set diligently -about to strengthen his position in the provinces which his -father had wrested from Abdallah’s grasp. In Abd-el-Malek -the latter found an antagonist worthy of himself, both in -valor and wile. The actual struggle between the two rivals -was, however, postponed for a season by the appearance of -a third party on the scene,—<span class="smcap">Mokhtar</span>, another inspired -prophet, and whose chances of establishing <em>another</em> new -creed seemed, for a time, to promise rather fair; in fact, the -city of Cufa, and part of the province of Irak, had acknowledged -his divine mission, when Abdallah’s good sword -proved him an impostor (686). The Greeks had, meanwhile, -taken advantage of the distress and fears of the house of -Ommiyah, but in their own paltry and pettifogging way;<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span> -for instead of boldly drawing the sword to wrest Asia Minor, -Palestine, and Syria from the enfeebled grasp of the divided -Saracens, they were content with obtaining from Abd-el-Malek -a considerable increase of the tribute.</p> - -<p>Abd-el-Malek, relieved thus from his apprehensions of a -war with the Eastern empire, could now turn his undivided -attention to the impending struggle with the rival Khalif -of Mecca. After five years’ fierce and doubtful contest, -Abdallah was at length defeated in a decisive battle, and -compelled to take refuge in Mecca; here he defended himself -for seven months against Abd-el-Malek’s vastly superior -forces. At last, in a general assault, the valiant son of -Zobeir was slain; his fall decided that of the city, and the -Saracen empire was thus again united under one ruler -(692). As soon as Abd-el-Malek saw himself sole and -undisputed Khalif, he threw off the badge of servitude to -the Eastern empire, which the internal dissensions and -troubles of the preceding years had compelled him to submit -to. He discontinued the payment of the stipulated tribute, -and even wrested another province, Armenia, from the feeble -hands of the Byzantine Cæsars.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Hassan</span>, the governor of Egypt, was charged with the -task to reconquer the north of Africa. That brave and -skilful commander, after having subdued the provinces of -the interior, carried his victorious arms to the sea-coast, -and took, by a sudden assault, the fortifications of -Carthage, the metropolis of Africa (697). However, the -unexpected arrival of a powerful Greek fleet, with a -numerous and well-appointed army<a id="FNanchor_59" href="#Footnote_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a> on board, compelled -the Arabian general to evacuate his recent conquest, and to -retire to Cairoan. <ins class="corr" id="tn-74" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'But Abd-eb-Malek had'"> -But Abd-el-Malek had</ins> resolved to annex -North Africa to his dominions at any cost; he prepared -therefore during the winter a powerful armament by sea and -land, and in spring, 698, Hassan appeared once more before -Carthage, and compelled the præfect and patrician John, -who commanded the Greek forces, to evacuate the city; -soon after, he defeated him again in the neighbourhood<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span> -of Utica, and a precipitate embarkation alone saved the -remains of the Byzantine army from absolute annihilation. -Carthage was reduced to a heap of ruins. But Hassan had -soon to encounter a more formidable enemy: a prophetess -arose among the <span class="smcap">Moors</span>, or <span class="smcap">Berbers</span>, of the interior, and -boldly challenged the Arabian invaders to make good -their claim to the land which they had fondly deemed -subdued with the expulsion of the Greeks. <span class="smcap">Cahina</span> was -the name of this extraordinary woman, who seemed to have -discovered the secret of breathing into her people a spirit -of enthusiasm superior even to the fanaticism of the -Moslems. In a single day Africa was lost again to the -Saracens, and the humbled Hassan retired to the confines -of Egypt, where he expected, five years, the promised -succour of the Khalif. But Queen Cahina’s order to -destroy the cities, and to cut down the fruit-trees, filled the -Christian population of the coast with apprehension and -anger; and when Hassan at last made his reappearance in -the province, he was hailed, even by the most zealous -Catholics, as a deliverer and saviour. The royal prophetess -boldly accepted battle; but she was slain, and her army -was put to the rout (705). Still the spirit of resistance -survived, and Hassan’s successor, the aged but fiery <span class="smcap">Musa -Ben Nassir</span>, had to quell a new insurrection of the Moorish -tribes. He and his two sons, <span class="smcap">Abdallah</span> and <span class="smcap">Abdelaziz</span>, -succeeded so well, however, that not only did the Berbers -submit to the Khalif, but they even embraced the religion -of Islam, and became henceforth as one people with their -Arabian conquerors.</p> - -<p>Abd-el-Malek was the first Khalif to establish a -national mint, both for silver and gold coin (695); the gold -coins were imitations of the Roman gold denar, with an -inscription proclaiming the unity of the God of Mohammed; -the Arabs called these gold coins, <em>dinars</em>; their value was -about eight shillings sterling. It would appear they struck -also double, and half, dinars. The silver coin might represent -a value of fivepence or sixpence English money. -Abd-el-Malek died in 705. He was succeeded by his son -<span class="smcap">Walid</span>, a prince who, indeed, did not inherit the activity, -vigor, and decision of his father; but was, on the other<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span> -hand, free also from the cruelty and the low avarice that -stained the character of Abd-el-Malek. Walid loved and -encouraged arts and sciences, and more especially architecture: -he built the splendid mosque of the Ommiades at -Damascus, at an expense of half a million sterling; he -rebuilt also Mohammed’s mosque at Medina, on a larger -and more magnificent scale. He had the good fortune to -be served by clever ministers and great generals, whose -energy, valor, and enterprise amply made up for the personal -indolence and inactivity of the Khalif, and imparted a glory -to his reign, rivalling that of Omar’s. One of his lieutenants, -<span class="smcap">Catibah</span> (<em>the camel driver</em>), added to the Saracen empire -the spacious regions between the Oxus, the Jaxartes, and -the Caspian sea, with the rich and populous commercial -cities Carizme, Bochara, and Samarcand (707-710). From -Samarcand, the victorious general sent his master a daughter -of <span class="smcap">Phirouz</span>, or <span class="smcap">Firuz</span>, the son of the unfortunate Yezdegerd, -the last of the Sassanide rulers of Persia, who became -Walid’s wife. Mohammed, one of Catibah’s colleagues, -displayed the banner of Islam on the opposite banks of the -Indus (712); and in the same year, Fargana, the residence of -the Chagan of the Turks, was taken by Catibah, who advanced -as far as Cashgar, where he received an embassy from the -Emperor of China. Walid’s brother, <span class="smcap">Moslemah</span>, one of the -most redoubtable of the Mussulman warriors known to history, -defeated the Chazars in the Caucasus, and annexed Galatia -and other parts of Asia Minor to the empire of his brother -(710). But the greatest and most glorious conquest was -that of Spain. As early as the time of Othman, the Arabs -had cast a longing eye upon the fair land of <em>Handalusia</em>,<a id="FNanchor_60" href="#Footnote_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a> -and their piratical squadrons had more than once ravaged -the Spanish coast. The Gothic king, <span class="smcap">Wamba</span>, had defeated -one of their expeditionary corps in 675. Since that time no<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span> -further attempt had been made on the kingdom of the -Visigoths; but the latter, beholding with apprehension -the establishment of the Arabian power in North Africa, -had, in 697, aided the Byzantine emperor in the attempted -relief of Carthage. The king of Spain possessed on the -African coast the fortress of <span class="smcap">Ceuta</span> (<em>Septa</em> or <em>Septum</em>), one -of the columns of Hercules, which is divided by a narrow -strait from the opposite pillar or point on the European -coast. This fortress was held at the beginning of the eighth -century by the Gothic Count <span class="smcap">Julian</span>, brother-in-law of -<span class="smcap">Oppas</span>, archbishop of Toledo and Seville, whose brother, -<span class="smcap">Witiza</span>, was then king of Spain. In 709, Musa made an -attempt to reduce Ceuta, and subdue the small portion of -Mauritania which was still wanting to the conquest of North -Africa; but he was repulsed by Count Julian with considerable -loss, and would most probably have relinquished -his project upon Spain, had not internal dissensions among -the Gothic magnates unexpectedly opened to him a fair -prospect of success. King Witiza had attempted to -reform the truly appalling licentiousness of the Spanish -clergy, and to curb the overgrown power of the nobility; -but lacking both the crafty wile of the eleventh Louis of -France, and the strong despotic will of the Tudors of -England, his well-meant efforts simply led to his own -deposition (710), which he survived only a few months. -The clergy and nobility elected a king after their own heart, -in the person of <span class="smcap">Roderic</span>, a grandson of King <span class="smcap">Reccaswinth</span> -(or Receswinth<a id="FNanchor_61" href="#Footnote_61" class="fnanchor">[61]</a>). The two sons of Witiza, and -their uncle Oppas, conspired to overthrow the new -monarch, who, it would appear, had been indiscreet enough -to express his intention of removing Count Julian from his -Andalusian and Mauritanian commands, the moment he -should think himself sufficiently powerful to give due force -to his royal decrees.<a id="FNanchor_62" href="#Footnote_62" class="fnanchor">[62]</a> The threatened count was readily -induced to join the party of the conspirators; but dreading<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span> -lest the force which they could bring into the field, should -prove unavailing against the monarch’s power, he, who had -hitherto been the staunchest defender of his country, did -not hesitate to betray her to the Saracen foe, and to open -wide the portals that had been entrusted to his honor and -patriotism to guard. He and his fellow-conspirators endeavored -to soothe the misgivings of conscience with Musa’s -deceptive assurance, that he did not intend to establish -himself in Spain, but would rest content with a share of the -spoil.</p> - -<p>As soon as Musa had obtained Walid’s sanction to the -contemplated enterprise, he sent off an expedition of only -four vessels, with five hundred men on board, to explore the -coast of the coveted land. <span class="smcap">Tarif Abu Zara</span>, the commander -of this force, landed on the opposite side of the -strait, and marched eighteen miles into the interior, to the -castle and town of the traitor Count of Ceuta<a id="FNanchor_63" href="#Footnote_63" class="fnanchor">[63]</a> (July 710). -His glowing report of the wealth of the country, decided -Musa to send over a more powerful expedition under the -command of his freedman, <span class="smcap">Tarik Ben Zayad</span>. The miserable -Julian supplied the means of transport. Five thousand -Arabs and seven thousand Moors landed at the European -pillar of Hercules, Mount Calpe, which became, henceforth, -the Mountain of Tarik—<em>Gebel al Tarik</em>, a name corrupted -afterwards into the present appellation of Gibraltar (April, -711). Here Tarik formed a strongly entrenched camp, and -gathered around him the friends of Julian, and also many -Jews who were fired with the most deadly hatred against -their Christian persecutors, that had, for more than a century, -oppressed and hunted down this doomed people with -a malignity such as religious fanaticism alone can excite -and sustain. Counts <span class="smcap">Edeco</span> and <span class="smcap">Theodemir</span>, who had been -commanded by the king to expel the intruders, were defeated -with great slaughter; and a seasonable reinforcement from<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span> -Africa swelled Tarik’s ranks to above 30,000 men. Roderic, -conscious at last of the magnitude of the danger that -threatened to overwhelm his throne and his people, gathered -the flower of the Gothic nation around him, and marched -at the head of 100,000 men to encounter the foreign invaders. -In the neighbourhood of Cadiz, at Xeres de la -Frontera, on the Guadelete, the hostile armies met. Three -days were spent in desultory, though bloody fighting; on -the fourth day, the actual battle commenced. When night -spread her sable wings, and bade the slaughter cease for a -while, more than half of the Saracen forces lay stretched -dead on the ground they had come to conquer; and had not -the vile defection of the most reverend father in God, the -Archbishop of Toledo, and his two nephews, to whom -Roderic’s generous or foolish (it may be read both ways) -confidence had entrusted the most important post, broken -the ranks of the Christians, the severed head of Musa’s -freedman might have graced the battlements of Toledo. As -it was, it took three days to scatter the remains of the -Gothic army; and many a Saracen, and many a Christian -traitor to his country, had to bite the dust before Tarik could -pen his laconic “Praise be to Allah!—we have conquered.” -(July 19-26, 711). The hapless king of the Goths was -either slain in the fight or drowned in the waters of the -Guadalquivir. The field of Xeres decided the fate of the -Gothic monarchy; nearly the whole of Spain submitted to -Tarik with such extraordinary rapidity, that the good old -Musa, envious of his freedman’s success and fame, bade him -arrest his victorious course, until he himself should arrive -to gather the last and fairest fruits of the victory. Tarik, -however, added Cordova and Toledo, the capital of the -Gothic kingdom, to the list of his conquests, and advanced -as far as the Bay of Biscay, where the failure of land at last -compelled him to stop. Here he received an angry and -imperious summons from his jealous chief; who had, meanwhile, -himself crossed over from Africa, at the head of ten -thousand Arabs and eight thousand Moors, and had taken -Seville, and was besieging Merida. The latter city, though -valiantly defended, was at last compelled to surrender. -Midway between Merida and Toledo, Tarik met his chief,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span> -who received him with cold and stately formality, and -demanded a strict account of the treasures of the conquered -kingdom. The unfortunate lieutenant speedily found that -Musa would not readily forgive his presumption of subduing -Spain in the absence of his general: he saw himself ignominiously -deprived of his command, and thrown into prison; -and Musa carried his resentment so far, that he ordered the -conqueror of Spain to be publicly scourged. Walid’s imperative -commands compelled Musa to restore Tarik to his -position; and the valiant man, who had been so ungenerously -and unworthily treated by the jealous old chief, assisted -him with his accustomed zeal, in achieving the conquest -of the still unsubdued parts of the peninsula. At the end -of 712, all resistance had ceased on the part of the Christians, -with the exception of the valiant prince <span class="smcap">Theodemir</span>, -who defended himself several months longer in Orihuela, -and obtained, at last, most favorable terms from Musa’s -son, Abdelaziz, (5th April, 713); and the invincible -<span class="smcap">Pelagius</span>, or <span class="smcap">Pelayo</span>, and <span class="smcap">Petrus</span>, who, in the Asturian, -Gallician, and Biscayan vallies, laid the foundation of a new -Christian empire in Spain; destined, after a time, to renew -the struggle and ultimately to expel the foreign invaders.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Musa</span> was a very old man—but though the coloring of -his beard, and other little expedients of art, might fail to -obliterate the physical ravages wrought by eighty-eight -years of life, and by the fatigues and privations of fifty -campaigns<a id="FNanchor_64" href="#Footnote_64" class="fnanchor">[64]</a>—yet the vigor of his mind, and the youthful -ardor that fired his breast, remained unimpaired: and, like -that marvellous old man of a later period, great <span class="smcap">Dandolo</span>, -the approach of ninety found him revolving enterprises of -stupendous magnitude; aye, no less than the conquest of -Gaul, Italy, Germany, and the Greek empire. He was -preparing to pass the Pyrenees,<a id="FNanchor_65" href="#Footnote_65" class="fnanchor">[65]</a> and bid the kingdom of -the Franks cease to exist, when an imperious command<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span> -from Damascus, called both him and Tarik thither, to render -an account of their proceedings to the commander of the -faithful. Tarik obeyed; Musa delayed complying with the -Khalif’s summons, until a second and still more peremptory -message left the old chief no other alternative but obedience -or open rebellion: and, as his own loyalty, or that of his -troops, put the latter out of question, he set at once diligently -about preparing for his return to Damascus. He -confided the government of Spain to his son, <span class="smcap">Abdelaziz</span>; -that of Africa, to his son, <span class="smcap">Abdallah</span>. Taking with him -immense treasures in gold and silver, and, among others, -the famous emerald table of Solomon, encircled with pearls -and gems—a spoil of the Romans from the east, and -which, it would appear, had fallen into the hands of Alaric, -in the sack of Rome<a id="FNanchor_66" href="#Footnote_66" class="fnanchor">[66]</a> (410, <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>); and attended by thirty -Gothic princes, 400 nobles, and 18,000 male and female -captives of humbler degree, he set out from Ceuta on his way -to Damascus. At Tiberias, in Palestine, he received a private -message from <span class="smcap">Suleiman</span>, or <span class="smcap">Soliman</span>, the brother and -presumptive heir of Walid, informing him that the Khalif -was dying, and commanding him, as he valued Soliman’s -friendship, to reserve his triumphal entry into Damascus -for the inauguration of the new reign.</p> - -<p>Musa, who might deem Soliman’s anger less dangerous -than the resentment of the Khalif should he recover, disregarded -the injunction, and pursued his march to Damascus, -where he arrived just in time to afford the dying Walid the -gratification of beholding the spoils of Africa and of Spain,<a id="FNanchor_67" href="#Footnote_67" class="fnanchor">[67]</a><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span> -soon after which, the most powerful of the Khalifs bowed -his head to the stroke of the mighty master of kings and -emperors (October, 714). His successor, <span class="smcap">Soliman</span>, was an -able and energetic prince, but of a despotic and ruthless -disposition. Musa was arraigned at the judgment seat of -the new Khalif, for abuse of power and disobedience to -orders. The unworthy treatment which the victor of Xeres -had suffered at the hands of his jealous chief, was avenged -by a similar indignity inflicted upon the latter: the veteran -commander was publicly scourged, and then kept waiting -a whole day before the palace gate, till the “<em>mercy</em>” of -Soliman accorded him a sentence of exile to Mecca. He -was, moreover, adjudged to pay to the public treasury, a fine -of 200,000 pieces of gold. Afraid lest the sons of the -despoiled and insulted old man, should attempt to avenge -the injuries of their father, the worthy son of Abd-el-Malek -secretly dispatched to Africa and Spain, decrees commanding -the extermination of Musa’s family; and, by a refinement -of cruelty worthy of a Caligula, Caracalla, or Justinian II., -he had the head of Abdelaziz presented to the bereaved -father, with an insulting question, whether he knew the -features of the rebel? “I know his features,” exclaimed -the hapless old man, in a paroxysm of grief and indignation; -“he was loyal and true. May the same fate overtake the -base authors of his death!” — — — Musa’s death, a few -weeks after, of the anguish of a broken heart, spared Soliman -an additional crime. The victor of Xeres fared but little -better than his ancient commander; though, indeed, he was -not made to expiate by death, imprisonment, or exile, the -great services which he had rendered his country. <span class="smcap">Catibah</span>, -who had every reason to dread a similar fate as Musa’s and -Tarik’s, rose in arms against the jealous tyrant of Damascus, -and had the good fortune to meet with a glorious death on -the battle field.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span></p> - -<p>Soliman resolved to render his reign famous by the -overthrow of the Greek empire, and the conquest of -Constantinople. His preparations, both by land and sea, -were made on a gigantic scale. His brother, the redoubtable -<span class="smcap">Moslemah</span>, invaded Asia Minor at the head of 70,000 -foot and 50,000 horse, with an immense train of camels, -(716). The city of Tyana fell into the hands of the -Moslems, and Amorium was closely besieged by them. The -troops in Amorium were commanded at the time by General -<span class="smcap">Leo</span>, a native of Isauria. The original name of this -remarkable man, was <span class="smcap">Konon</span>; his father had come over -from Asia Minor to Thrace, and had settled as a grazier -there. He must have acquired considerable wealth in that -lucrative business, since he could afford a gift of 500 sheep -to the Imperial camp, to procure for his son admission into -the guards of Justinian. The personal strength of the -young soldier, and his dexterity in all martial exercises -attracted the notice of the emperor, who speedily advanced -him to the higher grades of military rank. Anastasius II. -confided to him the command of the Anatolian legions, and -it was in this capacity that he defended Amorium against -the Saracens. One of those sudden revolutions so frequent -in the Byzantine court, compelled Anastasius to hand over -the sceptre to an obscure officer of the revenue, who -assumed the name of Theodosius III. General Leo refused -to acknowledge the new emperor, and managed so skilfully, -that not only did the troops under his command invest <em>him</em> -with the imperial purple, but the Arabs, it would appear, -accorded him and his army free and undisturbed departure -from Amorium. He marched upon Constantinople, and -Theodosius seeing himself in danger of being abandoned by -the very troops who had so recently exalted him, willingly -resigned to the hands of the general and emperor of the -Oriental troops, the sceptre which, moreover, he had accepted -with extreme reluctance only. He was permitted to retire -with his son to the shelter of a monastery, where he had -ample time to paint golden letters, an occupation which -marvellously suited the natural indolence of his disposition.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Leo</span>, third of the name, who figures in history usually as -the <em>Isaurian</em>, or the <em>Iconoclast</em>, was fully aware of the intention<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span> -of the Arabs to attempt the reduction of Constantinople; -he, therefore, made every preparation which military experience -could suggest, or engineering skill devise, to give -them a fitting reception. In July, 717, after the reduction -of Pergamus, Moslemah transported his army from Asia to -Europe, across the Hellespont or Dardanelles, at the most -narrow part of the passage (from Abydos to Sestos); and -thence, wheeling his troops round Gallipoli, Heraclea, and -the other Thracian cities of the Propontis, or Sea of Marmara, -he invested Constantinople on the land side. An offer made -by the Greeks, to purchase the withdrawal of the besieging -forces by the payment of a piece of gold for each inhabitant -of the city, was contemptuously rejected; and Moslemah -pushed on the operations of the siege with the greatest -vigor, but without any corresponding success, the Isaurian -repelling every attack with a bravery and determination, -such as the Saracens had but little expected to see displayed -by the apparently effete Greeks. Moslemah’s hopes were -swelled high, however, by the arrival of the navies of Syria -and Egypt, to the number of 1800 vessels,<a id="FNanchor_68" href="#Footnote_68" class="fnanchor">[68]</a> with 50,000 -men on board. The Saracen commander fixed a night for -a general assault by land and sea, and proudly boasted that -by the morning the city should be his. When that morning -came, the Greek fire had done its work; and scarce a vestige -remained of the proud fleet, or of those who had manned it; -and ten thousand Arabs and Persians slain, bore witness -how fiercely Moslemah had assaulted the defences of -Byzantium, and how bravely and vigorously the Isaurian -and his gallant troops had repulsed the hostile multitudes. -From this check, Moslemah essayed in vain to recover: he -became soon painfully conscious that the conviction of invincibility, -which had hitherto so materially contributed to the -great successes of the Saracen arms, was, if not altogether -destroyed, at least considerably shaken. His assaults were -now repulsed with apparent ease almost, and all his attempts -at surprises were defeated by the ever watchful Isaurian. -One hope still remained to restore the ancient supremacy of -the Moslem arms: Khalif Soliman had gathered a formidable<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span> -host of Arabians, Persians, and Turks, and was preparing -to lead them to his brother’s assistance. The eyes of both -the besiegers and the besieged were anxiously turned towards -the Khalif’s camp near Chalcis (or Kinnisrin) in Syria; -and Leo was endeavoring, by gifts and promises, to attract -an army of Bulgarians from the Danube to pit them against -the Saracens; and thus, perchance, to free the Byzantine -empire from all danger, by the mutual destruction of its -Barbarian foes. But it so happened that the Commander -of the Faithful could not command his appetite; a meal of -two scores or so of eggs, and a matter of six or seven pounds -of figs, followed up by a dessert of marrow and sugar, proved -too much for even his well-seasoned stomach; he paid with -his life the penalty of his gluttony (717). He had appointed -his cousin, <span class="smcap">Omar Ben Abdelaziz</span>, to succeed him in the -khalifate. Omar, second of the name, was a most estimable -man, but a very indifferent prince; much fitter, indeed, to -be the head of a monastery of ascetics, than of a powerful -empire. The first act of his reign was to order the cessation -of the Syrian armaments, which might have been a wise -measure, had it been accompanied <ins class="corr" id="tn-85" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'by the recal of'"> -by the recall of</ins> Moslemah -and his forces from the siege of Constantinople. His neglect -of the latter measure entailed upon the unfortunate natives -of the sultry climes of Egypt and Arabia, the unspeakable -hardships of a most severe winter, passed in a frozen camp. -In spring (718), he made an effort to relieve their wants, -and to fill up the gaps which cold, famine, and disease had -made in the ranks of the besieging army. Two numerous -fleets were sent on this errand, one from Alexandria, the -other from the ports of Africa. They succeeded, indeed, in -landing the stores and reinforcements, but they found it as -vain to contend against the Greek fire, as the armada which, -the year before, had so proudly threatened to erase the -Roman name from among the nations. Meanwhile, the -Bulgarians had been bribed into an alliance with the Greek -emperor, and these savage auxiliaries proved formidable -antagonists to the exhausted and half-starved Asiatics. -Still the intrepid Moslemah was not dismayed, and although -he was compelled to relinquish all further attempts upon the -defences of the city, he defeated, on his part, all attacks<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span> -made on his camp: until, at length, Khalif Omar sent him -the welcome order to raise the siege, (August, 718). The -retreat of the Arabian forces was effected without delay or -molestation; but of the fleet, tempests destroyed what the -fire of Callinicus had spared, and of 700 vessels that had -proudly sailed forth, five only returned to the port of Alexandria, -to tell the sad tale of the disastrous loss of their -companions. Byzantium was saved, and the victorious -Isaurian found himself at liberty to prepare for his meditated -warfare against canvas, wood, brass, and marble.</p> - -<p>The good and pious Omar distinguished his reign chiefly -by the abolition or “repeal” of the curse against Ali and -his adherents which had for nearly sixty years been daily -pronounced from the pulpits (719). By this act of simple -justice, and by his somewhat hasty and incautious attempts -to reform the fearful abuses which had crept into the -administration of the empire under his predecessors, he -excited the determined hostility of his own family, and of -the Vizirs and high officers of state. A dose of poison -removed him (720). His successor, <span class="smcap">Yezid II.</span>, had none -of his virtues, but most of the vices of his other predecessors -of the line of Ommiyah. It was in the reign of -this prince, and in that of his successor, that the family -Hashem, in two of its branches, viz. the <span class="smcap">Alides</span>, or -<span class="smcap">Fatimites</span>, i.e. the descendants of Ali and Fatima, and -the <span class="smcap">Abassides</span>, that is the descendants of Abbas, the uncle -of the prophet, began to urge their claims to the throne of -the Khalifa. Indeed, Mohammed, the great grandson of -Abbas, was secretly acknowledged as the true commander -of the Faithful, by a considerable body of the inhabitants -of Chorasan, and his son <span class="smcap">Ibrahim</span> was even enabled to -hoist the black flag of the Abassides<a id="FNanchor_69" href="#Footnote_69" class="fnanchor">[69]</a> in that province; the -gloomy banner was triumphantly borne onward by <span class="smcap">Abu -Moslem</span>, the intrepid and invincible champion of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span> -Abassides, the <em>King-maker</em> of the East, but, who was fated -at last, like the English King-maker, to experience the -usual gratitude of princes. From the Indus to the -Euphrates, the East was convulsed by the fearful struggle -between the white and the black factions, and the fairest -provinces of Asia were deluged with blood to void the -ancient quarrel between Ommiyah and Hashem, and to -decide which of two equally vile races of despots had -the <em>better right</em> to trample on God’s fair creation. The -struggle terminated for a time in 750, with the overthrow -and almost total extirpation of the Ommiades—but of this -hereafter.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Yezid</span> died in 722 or 723, of grief for the death of a -favorite concubine. He was succeeded by his brother -<span class="smcap">Hesham</span>, a prince not altogether destitute of good qualities. -Hesham had to contend against the Fatimite <span class="smcap">Zeid</span>, the -grandson of Hassan, who was, however, speedily overcome, -and had to pay with his life the penalty of his ambition. -The struggle against the more successful Abassides has been -mentioned in the preceding paragraph.</p> - -<p>After Musa’s departure from Spain, and the murder of -his son Abdelaziz, <span class="smcap">Ajub</span> was proclaimed by the Arabian -and Moorish troops, governor of the Spanish peninsula; -he fixed his residence at Cordova. Under him and his -more immediate successors numerous colonies came over to -Spain from various parts of the Saracen dominions in Asia -and Africa; of these the royal legion of Damascus was -planted at Cordova; that of Emesa at Seville; that of -Chalcis at Jaen; that of Palestine at Algezire and Medina -Sidonia. The Egyptian bands were permitted to share with -the original conquerors their establishments of Murcia and -Lisbon. The immigrants from Yemen and Persia were -located round Toledo, and in the inland country; and ten -thousand horsemen of Syria and Irak, the children of the -purest and most noble Arabian tribes, settled in the fertile -seats of Grenada.<a id="FNanchor_70" href="#Footnote_70" class="fnanchor">[70]</a></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Ajub’s</span> successor in the government of Spain, <span class="smcap">El Horr -Ben Abderrahman</span> resolved to annex to the dominions<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span> -under his sway the Gallic province of Septimania or -Languedoc, of which the eastern part, with Narbonne and -Carcassone, was still remaining in the hands of the -Visigoths; the western part, Aquitaine and Thoulouse having -been severed from the Gothic kingdom in 508, by Clovis. -But he was defeated and driven back by the Christians; in -consequence of the ill-success of his operations, the Khalif -removed him from the command, and named <span class="smcap">El Zama</span> -governor in his stead. That bold and skilful general -speedily succeeded in reducing the whole of the Narbonnese -province (720); whence he marched into Aquitaine, and laid -siege to Thoulouse. Here he found a more formidable foe -to encounter—the <span class="smcap">Franks</span>, who were ultimately to check -the further advance of Islam and its followers into the -fairest provinces of Europe. The history of that nation, -and of its successful leader against the Saracen invaders, -forms the subject of the second part of this volume.</p> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_43" href="#FNanchor_43" class="label">[43]</a> <em>Khalifet Resul Allah</em>, i.e. lieutenant, or representative of the -prophet of God.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_44" href="#FNanchor_44" class="label">[44]</a> Omar was the first to assume the additional title of <em>Emir al -Mumenin</em>, i.e. prince, or commander, of the faithful.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_45" href="#FNanchor_45" class="label">[45]</a> Jabalah had embraced the religion of Islam. On the occasion of -the pilgrimage to Mecca, the irascible prince had dealt an Arabian, -who had accidentally trod on the skirt of his long robe, a severe blow -with his fist, which broke the bridge of the nose of the assaulted -man. The Khalif Omar having demanded satisfaction for the aggrieved -Moslem, and threatened the proud Gassanide chief with the application -of the lex talionis, Jabalah, feeling highly indignant at the -notion, fled, and returned to the profession of the Christian faith.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_46" href="#FNanchor_46" class="label">[46]</a> Yezdegerd fled finally to the territory of Tergana, on the Jaxartes. -In an attempt which he made in 651, to invade his lost empire at the -head of some Turkish tribes, he met his death, it would appear, at the -hands of his barbarian allies. One of the daughters of Yezdegerd -married Hassan, the son of Ali, and the other, Mohammed, the son of -Abu Bekr.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_47" href="#FNanchor_47" class="label">[47]</a> The Nestorians and Jacobites bestowed on the self-styled -Catholics of the Greek and Roman church, the name of <em>Melchites</em>, or -<em>Royalists</em>, to mark that their faith, instead of resting on the basis of -Scripture, reason, or tradition, had been established solely by the power -of a temporal monarch.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_48" href="#FNanchor_48" class="label">[48]</a> “Six months,” the Worthy Jacobite says, “the 4000 baths of the -city were heated with the volumes of paper and parchment.” These -volumes must have been bulky indeed, and must have contained a surprising -amount of latent heat, considering that, even admitting the -library to have existed at the time, and conceding to it the largest -number of volumes claimed by the most extravagant writers, viz., -720,000, one single volume per day must have sufficed to heat a public -bath! Verily, verily, history is made the most inexact of all sciences. -The flames which Cæsar was compelled to kindle in his defence, in the -Bruchion (the Belgravia or Tyburnia of the city of Alexander); the -havoc and depredation committed by the Alexandrian mob during the -troubles of the <em>shoes</em> (so called from the circumstance that these -terrible troubles, which are said to have lasted above twelve years -[from 261 to 273 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>], were first occasioned by a dispute between a -soldier and a townsman about a pair of shoes); and the destruction -inflicted on the Bruchion by Aurelian, in 273, cannot have left much -behind of that portion of the splendid library of the Ptolemies which -was kept in the museum. And the other portion of it, which was -kept in the Temple of Serapis, to which latter place it is most probable -the celebrated Pergamese library, presented by Marcus Antonius to -Cleopatra, had also been sent, was totally destroyed in 389, in the -reign of Theodosius I., by a bigoted Christian mob, under the leadership -of the Archbishop Theophilus, a much more ignorant and brutal -zealot than either Omar or Amru.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_49" href="#FNanchor_49" class="label">[49]</a> Othman’s foster-brother, the same whom Mohammed had so -reluctantly pardoned after the taking of Mecca. He was renowned -as the boldest and most dexterous horseman of Arabia.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_50" href="#FNanchor_50" class="label">[50]</a> Callinicus was either a native of Heliopolis, in Syria, or of Egypt. -This clever chemist had been for a while in the service of the Khalif; -but, offended at the slight estimation in which his science was held by -the ignorant sons of the desert, he went over to the emperor, and placed -in the hands of the Christians that marvellous and mysterious agent, -the <em>Greek fire</em>, which afterwards repeatedly saved Constantinople from -falling into the hands of its barbarian besiegers. It is certainly a curious -coincidence, that, at a later period of history, Sultan Mohammed II. -was most materially assisted in the reduction of the city of the Cæsars, -by another man of science, the Hungarian <span class="smcap">Urban</span>, who, having been -almost starved in the Greek service, had deserted to the Moslems, for -whom he cast cannons of enormous size and weight of metal.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_51" href="#FNanchor_51" class="label">[51]</a> The victory of Bassora is therefore usually called the Day of the -Camel; seventy men who successively held the bridle of the camel -which carried Ayesha’s litter, were all either killed or more or less -severely wounded.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_52" href="#FNanchor_52" class="label">[52]</a> That is, “God is great,” or “God is victorious.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_53" href="#FNanchor_53" class="label">[53]</a> Abder-Rahman.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_54" href="#FNanchor_54" class="label">[54]</a> January; according to some historians, Midsummer, 660; others -place the event in August, 661.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_55" href="#FNanchor_55" class="label">[55]</a> But many of the tribes revered the name and memory of Ali. -His refusal to be bound by the tradition, or Sonna, became a kind of -religious creed, and a wide and deep gulf was opened between two -rival sects, the <em>Sonnites</em>, or believers in the tradition, and the <em>Schiites</em>, -or sectaries, who reject the tradition, regard Ali as the <em>Vicar of God</em>, -and his three predecessors as execrable usurpers. The religious discord -of the friends and enemies of Ali may be said to be actually maintained -still to the present day in the immortal hatred of the Schiite Persians, -and the Sonnite Turks. The twelve Imams, or pontiffs, of the Persian -church are Ali, Hassan, Hosein, and the lineal descendants of Hosein -to the ninth generation. The curse against Ali and his adherents was -abolished by Omar II., in 719.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_56" href="#FNanchor_56" class="label">[56]</a> The ruins of the ancient city of Carthage are about ten miles east -of Tunis.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_57" href="#FNanchor_57" class="label">[57]</a> At least in Syria and Irak.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_58" href="#FNanchor_58" class="label">[58]</a> One of the most remarkable men of the period; he was said to -unite the fierceness of the lion with the subtlety of the fox; his eventful -life would furnish ample material for ten historic romances.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_59" href="#FNanchor_59" class="label">[59]</a> It would appear, from Leo Africanus, that a considerable body of -Goths formed part of the army of relief.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_60" href="#FNanchor_60" class="label">[60]</a> Handalusia signifies, in Arabic, the country of the West; and the -Arabs applied the name not only to the modern province of Andalusia, -but to the whole peninsula of Spain. The attempted derivation of the -name of Andalusia from the Vandals (Vandalusia) is most improbable. -<span class="smcap">Lembke</span> travels still farther out of the way of all rational probability, -by assigning the etymological paternity of the name to <em>Andalos</em>, whom -the Arabians number among Noah’s grandchildren.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_61" href="#FNanchor_61" class="label">[61]</a> 649-672.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_62" href="#FNanchor_62" class="label">[62]</a> This would certainly seem to have been the true cause of Julian’s -defection; the story of the seduction or violation of his daughter -Florinda (surnamed <em>la Cava</em>, i.e., the wicked), lacks all true historic -foundation. <em>Mariana</em>, the Jesuit historian, to whom we are chiefly -indebted for this pretty tale, was too apt to draw on his lively -imagination, where historical evidence failed him.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_63" href="#FNanchor_63" class="label">[63]</a> The place on which the Arabs landed is marked to the present -day by the name of their chief Tarif (Tarifa); on the coast they -bestowed the name of the Green Island (<em>Algesiras</em> or <em>Algezire</em>).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_64" href="#FNanchor_64" class="label">[64]</a> Musa had fought in Syria; he had assisted Moawiyah in the -reduction of Cyprus (648), and had held the government of that -island; he had subsequently been governor of Irak, and after this, -governor of Egypt; Sardinia, Majorca, and Minorca, also had felt his -presence.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_65" href="#FNanchor_65" class="label">[65]</a> Though some historians lead Musa (in 712) into the Narbonnese -Gaul, there are strong reasons to reject this as an erroneous supposition; -it is more than doubtful whether the old chief ever passed the Pyrenees.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_66" href="#FNanchor_66" class="label">[66]</a> The statement made by some historians, that <em>Ætius</em> presented this -table as a gift to <em>Torismund</em>, after the victory of Chalons (451), seems to -rest on a very slender foundation; and so, I am inclined to think, do -the 365 feet of gems and massive gold so liberally bestowed upon the -table by Oriental writers. Another tradition substitutes, as the gift of -the Roman patrician, the famous Missorium, or great golden dish for -the service of the communion table, which is stated to have weighed -500 pounds, and to have been adorned with a profusion of gems.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_67" href="#FNanchor_67" class="label">[67]</a> Some historians make Musa arrive <em>after</em> the death of Walid; and -some place the latter event a year later (715). The records of the -period of the early Khalifs are so confused and contradictory that it is -by no means easy always to ascertain the correct date of an event; the -difficulty is considerably increased by the error into which some -historians have fallen, of confounding the lunar year of the Mohammedans -with the solar year of the Julian era. The common lunar -year of the Hegira has 354 days; but the Mohammedans count, in a -cyclus of 30 years, 11 leap years of 355 days (the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 10th, -13th, 16th, 18th, 21st, 24th, 25th and 29th years of the cyclus).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_68" href="#FNanchor_68" class="label">[68]</a> Of small size, of course.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_69" href="#FNanchor_69" class="label">[69]</a> In the separation of parties, the <em>green</em> color was adopted by the -Alides, or Fatimites, the <em>black</em> color by the Abassides, and the <em>white</em> -color by the Ommiades; these colors were displayed respectively -by the several parties, not only in their standards but also in their -garments and turbans.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_70" href="#FNanchor_70" class="label">[70]</a> Gibbon.</p> - -</div> -</div> - - -<hr class="p4 chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span><br /></p> -</div> - -<h2 class="p4 nobreak fs180" id="PART_II">PART II.<br /> - -<span class="fs80">THE FRANKS.</span></h2> - -<hr class="r30a" /> -<hr class="r30a" /> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_Ia">CHAPTER I.</h3> - -<div class="figcenter illowe4" id="sep"> - <img class="w100" src="images/sep.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<p class="pfs70">THE FRANK CONFEDERACY.—CLOVIS, THE FOUNDER -OF THE FRANK MONARCHY.</p> - - -<p>A great deal of labor and ingenuity has been wasted in -futile endeavors to trace the origin of a <em>distinct</em> Frank -nation; however, after exhausting every possible means of -research, and every probable and improbable suggestion -of fancy, the most rational writers are now agreed in looking -upon the supposed existence of a distinct <span class="smcap">Frank</span> nation as -a myth,<a id="FNanchor_71" href="#Footnote_71" class="fnanchor">[71]</a> and in believing that the name of <em>Franks</em> or <em>Freemen</em> -was assumed, most probably about the middle of the -third century after Christ, by a <em>league of several Germanic -nations</em>, of whom the most important were the <span class="smcap">Sigambrians</span> -and the <span class="smcap">Catti</span>. The former constituted, with the <span class="smcap">Bructeri</span>, -the <span class="smcap">Chamavians</span>, the <span class="smcap">Chattuarii</span>, and perhaps also part -of the <span class="smcap">Batavians</span>, the <em>lower</em> branch of the confederacy; -towards the end of the third century their settlements -extended along the eastern bank of the Rhine, from -the Lippe down to the mouth of the great German river; -they occupied also the island of the Batavians, and the -land between the Rhine and Meuse, and down to the -Scheld. From the settlement of the Sigambrians on the -<em>Yssel</em> or <em>Sala</em>, this branch of the confederacy received the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span> -name of the <em>Salian</em><a id="FNanchor_72" href="#Footnote_72" class="fnanchor">[72]</a> Franks. The <span class="smcap">Catti</span>, the <span class="smcap">Ambsivarians</span>, -and some other tribes, (including perhaps even -the <span class="smcap">Hermunduri</span>, or <span class="smcap">Thuringians</span>?) constituted the -<em>upper</em> branch of the confederacy.</p> - -<p>The upper Franks extended their settlements from the -lands between the Mein and Lippe gradually along both -banks of the Rhine, from Mayence to Cologne; and, -although repeatedly driven back by the Romans, they -ultimately retained possession of the left bank of the river; -whence they were also called <em>Riparian</em> or <em>Ripuarian</em> Franks -(from the Latin <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ripa</i>, bank, shore).</p> - -<p>The Franks repeatedly invaded Gaul, more particularly -in the reigns of Valerian<a id="FNanchor_73" href="#Footnote_73" class="fnanchor">[73]</a> (253-260), and of Gallienus -(260-268); and though the Romans boast of numerous -victories achieved at the time against them, under the -leadership of Posthumus, the general of Valerian, but -who afterwards usurped the empire in Gaul,<a id="FNanchor_74" href="#Footnote_74" class="fnanchor">[74]</a> yet it is -certain that the Franks not only carried their devastations -from the Rhine to the foot of the Pyrenees, but numbers of -them actually crossed these mountains, and ravaged Spain -during twelve years; when they had exhausted that -unfortunate country, they seized on some vessels in the -ports of Spain, and crossed over to the coast of Africa,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span> -where their sudden appearance created the utmost consternation. -The Emperor Probus defeated the Franks in 277, -and transported a colony of them to the sea-coast of Pontus, -where he established them with a view of strengthening the -frontier against the inroads of the Alani. But impelled by -their unconquerable love of country and freedom, they -seized on a number of vessels in one of the harbors of the -Euxine, sailed boldly through the Bosphorus and the -Hellespont, and, cruising along the coast of the -Mediterranean, made frequent descents upon the coasts of -Asia, Greece, and Africa, and actually took and sacked the -opulent city of Syracuse, in the island of Sicily; whence -they proceeded to the Columns of Hercules, where they -made their way into the Atlantic, and coasting round Spain -and Gaul, reached the British Channel, sailed through it, -and landed ultimately in safety, and richly laden with spoil, -on the Batavian shore.</p> - -<p>In 287, the Menapian <span class="smcap">Carausius</span>, who usurped the imperial -purple in Britain, granted to the Franks the island of the -Batavians, and the land between Meuse and Scheld. -<span class="smcap">Constantius</span> (293), and <span class="smcap">Constantine</span> (313), expelled them -from these provinces; the Ripuarians also felt the heavy -hand of Constantine, and of his son <span class="smcap">Crispus</span>; the latter -expelled them for a time from the left bank of the Rhine. -But Julian found both the Salians and the Ripuarians in -their old places; and, though successful against both (357 -and 358), contented himself with the partial expulsion -of the Ripuarians and the Chamavians, leaving the -Sigambrians in quiet possession of the island of the -Batavians, and the extensive district of Brabant, which -they had occupied, on condition that they should henceforth -hold themselves subjects and auxiliaries of the Roman -empire. However, the expelled tribes soon made their -reappearance on the banks of the Rhine, and, at the end of -the fourth century, the Franks had regained complete -possession of their old quarters.</p> - -<p>Stilicho, the great minister and general of the contemptible -Honorius, made it one of the first acts of his administration -to secure the alliance of the warlike Franks against -the enemies of Rome (395). He succeeded so well, it<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span> -would appear, that the Franks actually handed over to the -discretion of his justice, one of their kings or dukes,<a id="FNanchor_75" href="#Footnote_75" class="fnanchor">[75]</a> -Marcomir, who was accused of having violated the faith of -treaties; the accused prince was exiled to Tuscany, his -brother <span class="smcap">Sunno</span>, who attempted to avenge the insult which -he deemed had been put upon the nation by this -degradation of the dignity of one of its chiefs, met with a -harsher fate at the hands of his own countrymen: he was -slain by them; and the princes whom Stilicho had -appointed, were cheerfully acknowledged. The fact that -Stilicho himself was of German (Vandalian) extraction, -may account in some degree for this extraordinary -subserviency of the Franks to the will and wishes of the -master of the Western Empire. On this occasion, the -Franks had engaged to protect the province of Gaul against -invasion from the side of Germany. An opportunity of -proving their sincerity and fidelity to Rome, or perhaps -rather to the great minister who had made the treaty of -alliance with them, offered in the year 406, when the confederated -nations of the <span class="smcap">Vandals</span>, the <span class="smcap">Alani</span>, the <span class="smcap">Suevi</span>, and -the <span class="smcap">Burgundians</span>, were moving in a body to the Rhine with -the intention of invading Gaul; and most honestly and -valiantly indeed did the Franks acquit themselves of the -duty undertaken by them. It so happened that the Vandals -were the first to make their appearance on the bank of the -river; proudly relying on their numbers they attempted to -force the passage, without awaiting the coming up of the -other confederated nations. They paid the penalty of their -rashness; twenty thousand of them were slain, among -them their king, <span class="smcap">Godigisclus</span>; and the opportune arrival of -the <span class="smcap">Alani</span>, whose squadrons trampled down the infantry of -the Franks, alone saved the nation of the Vandals from -total destruction. Attacked by the combined forces of the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span> -confederates, the Franks were at last compelled to give way. -On the 31st December, 406, the Suevi, the Alani, the -Vandals, and the Burgundians, crossed the frozen Rhine -without further opposition, and thus entered the defenceless -provinces of Gaul, where the Burgundians formed a lasting -settlement, the other nations of the confederacy proceeding -subsequently further on to Spain and Lusitania.</p> - -<p>History leaves us in the dark as to the period when the -Franks first submitted to the sway of <em>hereditary</em> princes; -but this much seems certain, that it must have been long -before the time of Pharamond; and also that their long-haired -kings<a id="FNanchor_76" href="#Footnote_76" class="fnanchor">[76]</a> did not derive the name of <em>Merovingians</em>, -from Meroveus, the grandson of Pharamond, but either from -some more ancient Meroveus; or perhaps from <em>Merve</em>, the -name which the Meuse receives after its union with the -Waal (an arm of the Rhine); or from the same name of a -castle near Dortrecht, supposed to have been the family seat -of the Frankian kings.</p> - -<p>It would appear that <span class="smcap">Pharamond</span>, the son of Marcomir, -was elevated on the buckler,<a id="FNanchor_77" href="#Footnote_77" class="fnanchor">[77]</a> about 410, and that his son -<span class="smcap">Clodion</span> succeeded him in 428. It is somewhat doubtful -whether these two kings held sway over the Ripuarians as -well as over the Salians, or even over all the nations which -constituted the league of the latter. Clodion had his -residence at <em>Dispargum</em> (Duisborch?<a id="FNanchor_78" href="#Footnote_78" class="fnanchor">[78]</a>), in Brabant, somewhere -between Louvain and Brussels. Soon after his -accession, this prince invaded Belgic Gaul, took Tournay -and Cambray, and advanced as far as the river Somme. He -was surprised and defeated in the plains of Artois, by -<span class="smcap">Ætius</span>, the general of the Western empire (430); but -that astute politician deemed it the wiser course to secure<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span> -the friendship of the powerful leader of the warlike Franks, -and therefore conceded to him free possession of the -conquered province. <em>Clodion</em> died about 448 (450?) He -left two sons who disputed his succession. All we can -gather from the very confused and contradictory accounts of -this period, is that the younger of the two sons, whose -name is not mentioned, was raised on the buckler by the -Ripuarian, the elder, <span class="smcap">Mervey</span> or <span class="smcap">Meroveus</span>,<a id="FNanchor_79" href="#Footnote_79" class="fnanchor">[79]</a> by the -Salian Franks; and that the former joined <span class="smcap">Attila</span> in his -invasion of Gaul, and fought on the side of the Huns in the -great battle of Chalons (451); whilst Meroveus, with his -Salians joined the standard of Ætius, and combated on -the side of the Romans and Visigoths. Mervey’s son, -<span class="smcap">Childeric</span>, offended the Franks by his excesses and his -arbitrary proceedings: he was deposed by them, and was -compelled to seek a refuge at the court of the King of the -Thuringians, <span class="smcap">Bisinus</span> or <span class="smcap">Basinus</span>. The Franks having -thus disposed of their king, proceeded to bestow the royal -dignity upon <span class="smcap">Ægidius</span>, the Roman master-general of Gaul, -who, after the compelled abdication and the most suspicious -death of the Emperor <span class="smcap">Majorian</span>, in 461, had refused to -acknowledge the successor forced upon the acceptance of -the Roman Senate by the all-powerful Patrician <span class="smcap">Ricimer</span>, -the instigator of Majorian’s fall, and had assumed the -sovereignty over the <em>remnant</em> of the Gallic province which -still obeyed the Roman sway. However, a few years after, -the Franks, who found the Roman system of taxation more -oppressive and objectionable than any act of Childeric’s, -recalled that prince, and, under his guidance, expelled the -“tax-gatherers” (465). Ægidius acquiesced with a good<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span> -grace in a change which he had not the power to oppose. -Childeric had been most hospitably entertained by King -<span class="smcap">Bisinus</span>; but the <em>hospitality</em> extended to him by the wife -of that monarch, Queen <span class="smcap">Basina</span>, was, by all accounts, still -more <em>liberal</em> than that shown to the interesting guest by -her worthy husband. After Childeric’s restoration, Basina -left her husband, and rejoined her lover: the fruit of this -voluntary union was <span class="smcap">Clovis</span>, who, at the age of fifteen, -succeeded, by his father’s death, to the rule of that portion -of the Salian territory, over which Childeric had held sway, -and which was confined to the island of the Batavians, with -the ancient dioceses of Tournay and Arras; for the custom -of the Franks to divide the treasures and territories of a -deceased duke or king equally among his sons, had had the -natural effect to split the kingdom of Pharamond into several -parts independent of each other. <span class="smcap">Clovis</span> combined with an -insatiable ambition, all the qualities requisite to satisfy that -all-absorbing passion. His personal bravery was controlled -and directed by cool and consummate prudence. He wielded -the <em>francisca</em> (the battle-axe of the Franks) with formidable -strength and skill; and he did not hesitate, when occasion -required, to make his own soldiers feel the weight of his -arm and the precision of his aim. He subjected the -barbarians whom he commanded to the strict rules of a -severe discipline which he enforced with unbending rigor. -A crafty and astute politician, he was endowed with the -most essential requisites for success, <em>patience</em> and <em>perseverance</em>. -In the pursuit and accomplishment of his -ambitious designs, he trampled on every law of God and -nature: no feeling of pity ever stayed, no fear of retribution -ever restrained, his murderous hands. He was indeed -the worthy progenitor of a line of princes fit to take the -proudest place among the highest aristocracy of crime, to -put to the blush the <em>Neros</em>, the <em>Caligulas</em>, the <em>Domitians</em>, -the <em>Caracallas</em>, the <em>Elagabalus</em> of imperial Rome, and to -rank with the <em>Bourbons</em>, the <em>Hapsburgs</em> and the <em>Tudors</em>. -At the age of twenty, he made war upon <span class="smcap">Syagrius</span>, the -son of Ægidius, who had inherited from his father the city -and diocese of Soissons, and whose sway was acknowledged -also by the cities and territories of Rheims, Troyes,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span> -Beauvais and Amiens. In alliance with his cousin -<span class="smcap">Ragnachar</span>, King of the Franks of Cambray, and some -other Merovingian princes, he defeated Syagrius at Soissons, -and reduced in the brief space of a few months the remnant -of the Roman dominion in Gaul, and which had survived -ten years the extinction of the Western empire (486). -Syagrius fled to Thoulouse, where he flattered himself to -find a safe asylum; but in vain: <span class="smcap">Alaric II.</span>, the son of -the great <span class="smcap">Euric</span>, was a minor, and the men who governed -the kingdom of the Visigoths in his name, were but too -readily intimidated by the threats of Clovis, and pusillanimously -delivered up the hapless fugitive to certain death. -A few years after (491), Clovis enlarged his dominions -towards the east by the ample diocese of Tongres. In -498, he married the Burgundian princess <span class="smcap">Clotilda</span>, who, -in the midst of an Arian court, had been educated in the -Nicean faith.<a id="FNanchor_80" href="#Footnote_80" class="fnanchor">[80]</a> Clotilda’s endeavors to convert her -husband to Christianity were not very successful at first, -though he consented to the baptism of his first-born son; -the sudden death of the infant, which the ignorant and -superstitious Pagan was inclined to attribute to the anger of -his gods, had well-nigh proved fatal to any further attempt -at conversion; still the beauty and blandishments of the -pious queen succeeded at last in overcoming the scruples -and apprehensions of her husband, and gaining his consent -to a repetition of the experiment: this time the infant -survived, and Clovis began to listen with greater favor to -the exhortations of his Christian spouse.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span></p> - -<p>In the year 496, the Alemanni,<a id="FNanchor_81" href="#Footnote_81" class="fnanchor">[81]</a> who occupied both -banks of the Rhine, from the source of that river to its -conflux with the Mein and the Moselle, and had spread -themselves over the modern provinces of Alsace and -Lorraine, invaded the territories of <span class="smcap">Sigebert</span>, the king of -the Ripuarian Franks, who had his seat at Cologne. Sigebert, -unable to resist the invaders single-handed, invoked -the powerful aid of his cousin, Clovis, and the latter hastened -at once to the rescue. He encountered the invaders in -the plain of <span class="smcap">Tolbiac</span> (<em>Zülpich</em>), about twenty-four miles -from Cologne. A fierce battle ensued. For several hours -it raged with unabated fury, without any decided advantage -being gained by either party; at length the Franks gave -way, and the Alemanni raised shouts of victory. Clovis -saw his dream of power and ambition rapidly fading away; -in his extremity he invoked the God of Clotilda and the -Christians, to grant him the victory over his enemies, which -service he vowed duly to acknowledge, by consenting to be -baptised.<a id="FNanchor_82" href="#Footnote_82" class="fnanchor">[82]</a> Resolved, however, to do his share also towards<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span> -the achievement of the victory which he was imploring the -Christian Lord of Hosts to vouchsafe him, he rallied his discomfited -troops, and placing himself at their head, led them -on again to the attack, and by his valor and conduct, -succeeded in restoring the battle. The franciscas, and the -heavy swords of the Franks, made fearful havoc in the -hostile ranks; the king, and many of the most valiant chiefs -of the Alemanni, were slain, and ere evening the power of -one of the fiercest and most warlike nations of Germany, -was annihilated. Pursued by the victorious Franks into -the heart of their forests, the Alemanni were forced to -submit to the yoke of the conqueror; some of their -tribes fled to the territory of the Gothic king of Italy, -<span class="smcap">Theodoric</span>, who assigned them settlements in Rhætia, -and interceded, with his brother-in-law,<a id="FNanchor_83" href="#Footnote_83" class="fnanchor">[83]</a> in favor of the -conquered nation.</p> - -<p>In his distress, Clovis had vowed to adore the God of -the Christians, if He would succour him; the danger past, -and the victory achieved, the perfidious Frank would gladly -have made light of his vow, but for the incessant importunities -of Clotilda, and of Remigius, the Catholic bishop -of Rheims. On the day of Christmas in the same year, -(496), Clovis was baptised in the Cathedral of Rheims with -3000 of his warlike subjects; and the remainder of the -Salians speedily followed the example. As the kings of the -Goths, Burgundians, and Vandals were Arians, and even -the Greek emperor, Anastasius, was not quite free from -the taint of heresy; the Bishop of Rome, <span class="smcap">Anastasius II.</span>, -overjoyed at the conversion of the powerful king of the -Franks to the Nicean faith, hailed the neophyte as the -“<em>Most Christian King</em>.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span></p> - -<p>The conversion of Clovis to the Catholic faith stood him -in excellent need in his schemes of further aggrandisement. -His arms were henceforward supported by the favor -and zeal of the Catholic clergy, more especially in the -discontented cities of Gaul, under the sway of the Arian -kings of the Visigoths and the Burgundians. The -Armoricans, or Bretons, in the north-western provinces of -Gaul, who had hitherto bravely and successfully resisted all -attempts of the <em>Pagan</em> chief to conquer them, were now -gradually induced to submit to an equal and honorable -union with a Christian people, governed by a <em>Catholic</em> king -(497-500); and the remnants of the Roman troops (most -of them of barbarian extraction), also acknowledged the -sway of Clovis, on condition of their being permitted to -retain their arms, their ensigns, and their peculiar dress -and institutions.</p> - -<p>Clotilda had never ceased to urge her husband to make -war upon her uncle Gundobald, the murderer of her father. -Her other uncle, <span class="smcap">Godegesil</span>, had been permitted by his -rapacious brother to retain the dependent principality of -Geneva. But fearful lest Gundobald should treat him in -the end the same as he had his other brothers, he lent a -willing ear to the suggestions of his niece, and the tempting -offers of the Frankish king, and entered into a secret -compact with the latter to betray and abandon the cause -of his brother on the first favorable opportunity. Hereupon -Clovis declared war against the King of Burgundy, and -invaded his territories: in the year 500 or 501, the armies -of the Franks and the Burgundians met between Langres -and Dijon. The treacherous desertion, at the decisive -moment, of Godegesil and the troops of Geneva, saved -Clovis from defeat. Apprehensive of the disaffection of the -Gauls, Gundobald abandoned the castle of Dijon, and the -important cities of Lyons and Vienna, to the king of the -Franks, and continued his flight till he had reached -Avignon; but here he made a stand, and defended the city -with such skill and vigor, that Clovis ultimately consented -to a treaty of peace, which made the king of Burgundy -tributary to him, and stipulated the cession of the province -of Vienna to Godegesil, as a reward for his treachery. A<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span> -garrison of 5000 Franks was left at Vienna, to secure the -somewhat doubtful allegiance of Godegesil, and also to -protect the latter against the vengeance of his offended -brother. But Gundobald, unscrupulous and truculent -though he was in the pursuit of his grasping policy, -was yet not lacking wisdom. As soon as the conclusion of -the peace with Clovis had restored to him the remnant of -his kingdom, he applied himself to gain the affections of his -Roman and Gallic subjects, by the promulgation of a code of -wise and impartial laws<a id="FNanchor_84" href="#Footnote_84" class="fnanchor">[84]</a> (502), and to conciliate the Catholic -prelates by artful promises of his approaching conversion -from the errors of the Arian heresy. Having strengthened -his position, moreover, by alliances with the kings of the -Ostrogoths and Visigoths, he suddenly invaded the territories -which Clovis had compelled him to cede to his -brother, and surprised Vienna and its Frankish garrison -ere his brother was even fully aware of his hostile intentions. -Godegesil sought refuge in a church; but the -protection of the holy precincts availed him nought; he was -struck down dead at the altar by his remorseless brother. -The provinces of Geneva and Vienna were re-united to the -Burgundian kingdom; the captive Franks were sent to the -king of the Visigoths, who settled them in the territory of -Thoulouse. Clovis, who could now no longer rely upon the -assistance of a traitor in the camp of Gundobald, deemed it -the wiser course to submit to the altered state of affairs, -and to content himself with the alliance and the promised -military service of the King of Burgundy.</p> - -<p>Already before the Burgundian war, Clovis had cast his -covetous eyes upon the fair provinces of the south of Gaul, -which were held by <span class="smcap">Alaric II.</span>, the King of the Visigoths. -Here, also, the disaffection of the Catholic Gauls and -Romans promised the best chances of success. Some paltry -border-squabble was eagerly laid hold of by Clovis to pick a -quarrel with the King of the Visigoths, and war seemed at -the time inevitable between the two nations; when Theodoric, -Alaric’s father-in-law,<a id="FNanchor_85" href="#Footnote_85" class="fnanchor">[85]</a> interposed his good offices, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span> -succeeded, by a well-timed threat of an armed intervention, -in restraining the aggressive spirit of the Frankish King, -(498). A personal interview was proposed between Clovis -and Alaric: it was held on the border of the two states, in -a small island of the Loire, near Amboise. The two kings -met in right royal fashion: they embraced, feasted together, -indulged in a profusion of protestations of mutual regard -and brotherly affection, and parted full of smiles—and -mutual hatred and distrust.</p> - -<p>Had Alaric pursued the same wise course as Gundobald, -he might have found in the affection of the people under his -sway, a safe shield against Frank aggression. But, unfortunately, -the Arian could not forbear from inflicting upon -his dissenting subjects, those petty acts of tyranny in which -dominant sects delight, and which are always sure to create -a deeper and more lasting disaffection than any act of political -oppression. The Catholic clergy in Aquitaine laid their -complaints against their Arian sovereign, before the Catholic -King of the Franks; and besought the latter to come to the -aid of his co-religionists, and free them from the yoke of -their Gothic tyrants. Clovis eagerly seized the pretext. -In a general assembly of the Frankish chiefs and the -Catholic prelates held at Paris, he declared his intention not -to permit the Arian heretics to retain possession any longer -of the fairest portion of Gaul. Alaric did his best to prepare -for the coming struggle; the army which he collected was -much more numerous, indeed, than the military power which -Clovis could bring against him; but, unfortunately, a long -peace had enervated the descendants of the once so formidable -warriors of the first Alaric. They were unable to -sustain the fierce shock of the Franks, who totally overthrew -and routed them in the battle of Vouglé, near Poitiers, in -507. Alaric himself fell by the hand of his rival; Angoulême, -Bordeaux, Thoulouse, submitted to the conqueror, and the -whole of Aquitaine acknowledged his sway, (508); and he -would have succeeded in driving the Visigoths beyond the -Pyrenean mountains, had not the King of Italy thrown the -shield of his power over the discomfited nation. The Franks -and their Burgundian allies were besieging Arles and -Carcassone, when the valiant <span class="smcap">Hibbas</span>, Theodoric’s general,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span> -appeared on the scene with a powerful and well-appointed -army of Ostrogoths. He defeated the victors of Vouglé, -and compelled the ambitious King of the Franks to raise -the siege of the two cities, and to lend a willing ear to -proposals of an advantageous peace. He then overthrew -and slew the bastard <span class="smcap">Gesalic</span>, who had usurped the throne -of the Visigoths, to the exclusion of Alaric’s infant son, -<span class="smcap">Amalaric</span>. The latter was now proclaimed King of Spain -and Septimania, under the guardianship of his grandfather, -Theodoric: Clovis being permitted to retain possession of -the land from the Cevennes and the Garonne to the Loire, -whilst the Provence was annexed to the dominions of the -King of Italy, who thus did not disdain despoiling his own -grandson of one of the finest provinces of his kingdom.</p> - -<p>The Emperor Anastasius, overjoyed at the humiliation -inflicted by Clovis upon the Goths, bestowed upon the King -of the Franks the dignity and ensigns of the Roman consulship! -(510); which, though in reality a mere empty title, -yet invested that monarch, in the eyes of his Roman and -Gallic subjects, with the prestige of Imperial authority.</p> - -<p>Clovis seeing himself thus in undisputed possession of the -greater part of Gaul, thought the time had come to unite the -several Frankish tribes into one nation, under his sceptre. -But, knowing full well that his Franks would not follow -him in an open war against his own kindred of the race of -Pharamond, he coolly planned the assassination of the -whole family. <span class="smcap">Sigebert</span>, the king of the Ripuarians, had -proved himself a most faithful ally of his Salian cousin; -and in the last campaign against the Visigoths, he had sent -to his aid a powerful contingent of his Ripuarians, under -the command of his own son, <span class="smcap">Chloderic</span>. Clovis excited -the ambition and cupidity of the latter, and succeeded in -persuading him to murder his own father; when the horrid -deed was perpetrated, the wretched son, intent upon -securing the powerful support of the Salian king, offered -him part of the treasures of the murdered man. The “fair -cousin” sent him word to keep his treasures, and simply to -show them to his ambassadors, that he, Clovis, might rejoice -in the prosperity of his cousin; but, when the assassin of -his father had lifted up the heavy lid of one of the boxes,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span> -and was bending down to take out some of the precious -articles which it held, he was slain in his turn by one of -the <em>ambassadors</em> of Clovis. That most Christian king -afterwards solemnly protested to the Ripuarians that -Chloderic, the assassin of his father, had fallen by the hand -of some unknown avenger, and that he, Clovis, was innocent -of the death of either of them. “Surely,” he exclaimed, -with well affected horror and indignation, “no one would -dare to deem <em>me</em> guilty of that most horrible of all crimes, -the murder of my own kindred!” The Ripuarians believed -him, and acknowledged him their king, by raising him on a -shield. The next victims were <span class="smcap">Chararic</span>, the king of the -Morinic Franks, in Belgium, and his son. Chararic, had -refused his aid to Clovis, in the campaign against Syagrius; -the fact had, indeed, occurred rather long ago, but still it -answered the purpose of the unscrupulous son of Childeric. -Chararic and his son, having fallen into his hands by the -grossest treachery, were despoiled of their treasures and -their long hair, and ordained priests. When the son, -endeavoring to console his father, could not refrain from -indignant invectives against the author of their misery, the -pious king of the Salians calmly ordered both of them to -be slain, as they had “dared to rebel against the will of the -Most High!” There remained still the family of the -Cambray princes, consisting of three brothers, viz., -<span class="smcap">Ragnachar</span>, <span class="smcap">Richar</span>, and <span class="smcap">Rignomer</span>. The pretext in -their case was that they still continued Pagans. Clovis -bribed some of the chiefs of the tribe with <em>spurious</em> gold; -they fell unawares upon Ragnachar and Richar, bound -them, and delivered them into the hands of their “loving -cousin.” Addressing the hapless Ragnachar, that monstrous -villain exclaimed, “How dare you bring disgrace upon our -noble family, by submitting to the indignity of bonds!” -and, with a blow of his battle-axe, he spared the wretched -captive the trouble of a reply; then turning to the brother -of the butchered man, “Hadst thou defended thy brother,” -he cried, “they could not have bound him;” and an instant -after, the blood and brains of the brothers had mingled their -kindred streams on the weapon of the most Christian king. -When the wretches who had betrayed their princes into the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span> -hands, of the assassin, came to complain that the price of -their treachery had been paid in <em>base coin</em>, he told them, -traitors deserved no better reward, and bade them be gone, -lest he should feel tempted to avenge upon them the blood -of his murdered relations.</p> - -<p>Rignomer was disposed of by private assassination, and -Clovis might now exclaim: “At last I am king of the -Franks.” The worthy bishop of Tours, the chronicler of -this, and some of the following reigns of the Merovingians, -whilst coolly relating these horrid crimes of his hero, -piously informs us that success in all his undertakings -was vouchsafed to Clovis by the Most High, and that his -enemies were delivered up into his hands, <em>because he walked -with a sincere heart in the ways of the Lord, and did that -which was right in his sight</em>!!<a id="FNanchor_86" href="#Footnote_86" class="fnanchor">[86]</a> What a pity that this -godly monarch was not permitted to walk a little longer in -the ways of the Lord: an additional score or so of murders -would surely have achieved canonisation for him. But the -most orthodox and most Christian king was suddenly called -away from the scene of his glorious exploits; at the very -time when he was revolving mighty schemes of further -aggrandisement, and planning, as preliminary step, the -assassination of Gundobald, the king of Burgundy, and of -Theudes, the regent of Spain, (511). His four sons divided -his kingdom between them; <span class="smcap">Theodoric</span>, (Thierry) the eldest, -received the Eastern part, <em>Austrasia</em>,<a id="FNanchor_87" href="#Footnote_87" class="fnanchor">[87]</a> (Francia orientalis), -and also part of Champagne, and the conquests of Clovis -south of the Loire; he established the seat of his government -at Metz; <ins class="corr" id="tn-104" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'Chlodomir’s seat'"> -<span class="smcap">Clodomir’s</span> seat</ins> was at Orleans; <span class="smcap">Clotaire’s</span> -at Soissons; <span class="smcap">Childebert’s</span> at Paris; the share of the latter -was called <em>Neustria</em> or <em>Neustrasia</em> (Francia occidentalis), a -name which was afterwards used to designate the whole of -the territories occupied by the Franks between the mouths -of the Rhine and the Loire, the Meuse, and the sea.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span></p> - -<p>It is not my intention to smear my pages with the blood -and mire of the lives and acts of the Merovingian princes. -We will content ourselves here with a brief glance at the -principal events and incidents connected with the progress -of the Frank empire during the two hundred years that -intervene between the death of Clovis and the accession of -Charles, afterwards surnamed <em>Martel</em>, as Mayor of the -Palace.</p> - -<p>In the year 523, the three sons of Clotilda, invited by -their unforgiving mother, invaded Burgundy, and attacked -the son and successor of Gundobald, <span class="smcap">Sigismond</span>, whose -conversion to the Catholic faith has gained him, in the -lying annals penned by the clerical historians of the period, -the name of a saint and a martyr, though he had imbrued -his hands in the blood of his own son, an innocent youth -whom he had basely sacrificed to the pride of his second -wife! Sigismond lost a battle and fell soon after into the -hands of the sons of Clotilda, who carried him to Orleans, -and had him buried alive together with his wife and two of -his children—an excellent proof that they had not <em>degenerated</em>. -Sigismond’s brother, <span class="smcap">Gondemar</span>, defeated the -invaders in the battle of Vienna, where Clodomir fell. This -gave Gondemar a few years’ respite, as the two brothers, -Clotaire and Childebert, were busy sharing the inheritance -of Clodomir.<a id="FNanchor_88" href="#Footnote_88" class="fnanchor">[88]</a> But, in 534, the brothers invaded Burgundy -again; when Gondemar lost his crown and his liberty, and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span> -the fair Burgundian provinces became the patrimony of the -Merovingian princes. In the year 530, Theodoric and -Clotaire conquered and annexed the territories of the -Thuringians, thus extending their dominion to the banks of -the Unstrut. Rhætia and Provence also fell into the hands -of the successors of Clovis. Theudobald, the grandson and -second successor of Theodoric, or Thierry, died in 554; as -he left no heir, Clotaire and Childebert shared his dominions -between them; Childebert’s death, in 558, without male -heirs, left Clotaire in sole and undisputed possession of the -Frankish empire, which now extended from the Atlantic -and the Pyrenees to the Unstrut. After having added to -the list of his crimes the murder of his son Chramus, and -also of the wife and the two daughters of the latter, King -Clotaire died in 560. His kingdom was again divided -between his four sons, <span class="smcap">Charibert</span>, <span class="smcap">Guntram</span>, <span class="smcap">Sigebert</span>, -and <span class="smcap">Chilperic</span>; the eldest of the brothers, Charibert, died -in 567. As he left no heir, his territories were divided -between the three surviving brothers. But Chilperic was -dissatisfied with his share, and this led to a series of civil -wars, which terminated only in 613, when Clotaire II., the -son of Chilperic and Fredegonda, re-united in his hands -the entire empire of the Franks.</p> - -<p>It would be difficult to crowd a greater number of -more appalling and atrocious crimes, within the short -space of half a century, than were committed by the -Merovingians, from the time of the death of Charibert up -to the re-union of the empire under Clotaire II.; the -names of Chilperic, of Fredegonda,<a id="FNanchor_89" href="#Footnote_89" class="fnanchor">[89]</a> of Brunehilda,<a id="FNanchor_90" href="#Footnote_90" class="fnanchor">[90]</a> of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span> -Theuderic,<a id="FNanchor_91" href="#Footnote_91" class="fnanchor">[91]</a> and last, though not least, of the monster -Clotaire (second of the name) deserve, indeed, prominent -places in the great criminal calendar of the world’s history.</p> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_71" href="#FNanchor_71" class="label">[71]</a> Still we must not omit to state that the lays of ancient Germany, -and the old Chronicles of the country, exhibit singular agreement in -the reproduction of the popular tradition which makes the <em>nation of -the Franks</em> come from Troy. However, after all, this makes no great -difference, as even the most strenuous believers in the existence of a -distinct nation of Franks, fully admit that as early as the third -century (the time when the name of the Franks first appears in history) -that name included <em>several</em> Germanic nations. By some the Thuringians -are given as a <em>branch</em> of the Frank nation.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_72" href="#FNanchor_72" class="label">[72]</a> Some, however, derive the name from the Old German word -<em>saljan</em>, i.e. to grant, in reference to part of the territory occupied by -the Salian Franks having been <em>granted</em> to them by the Romans (by -<span class="smcap">Carausius</span>, in 287, confirmed at a later period by <span class="smcap">Julian</span> the Apostate). -<span class="smcap">Leo</span> derives the name from the Celtic word, <em>Sal</em>, i.e. the sea.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_73" href="#FNanchor_73" class="label">[73]</a> Valerian was taken prisoner by <span class="smcap">Sapor</span>, King of Persia, in 260, who -is said to have treated the fallen emperor with the greatest indignity. -Valerian died in captivity.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_74" href="#FNanchor_74" class="label">[74]</a> He was one of the <em>nineteen</em> usurpers who rose against Gallienus -in the several provinces of the empire. The writers of the Augustan -history have magnified the number to <em>thirty</em>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_75" href="#FNanchor_75" class="label">[75]</a> History names <span class="smcap">Pharamond</span> as the first <em>King</em> of the Franks; the -author of the <cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Gesta Francorum</cite> makes that prince the son of Marcomir, -the king mentioned in the text; and there appears to be little doubt -indeed, but that the Franks had established the right of hereditary -succession somewhat before the time of Clodion, the reputed son of -Pharamond.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_76" href="#FNanchor_76" class="label">[76]</a> The fashion of long hair was among the Franks for a time, the -somewhat exclusive privilege of the royal family; the members of which -wore their locks hanging down in flowing ringlets on their back and -shoulders; while the rest of the nation were obliged to shave the hind -part of the head, and to comb the hair over the forehead.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_77" href="#FNanchor_77" class="label">[77]</a> Elevation on a buckler was the ceremony by which the Franks -invested their chosen leader with military command.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_78" href="#FNanchor_78" class="label">[78]</a> According to some historians and geographers, Duisburg, on the -right bank of the Rhine.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_79" href="#FNanchor_79" class="label">[79]</a> Most historians make Meroveus, the <em>younger</em> of the two sons of -Clodion; and, after his father’s death, they send him to Rome to -implore the protection of Ætius. Now, it is next to impossible that -the <em>beardless youth</em>, whom Priscus states to have seen at Rome (about -449 or 450), could have been Meroveus, since the <em>son</em> of that prince, -<span class="smcap">Childeric</span>, was within ten years after exiled by the Franks on account -of his excesses and his despotic sway. The young man whom Priscus -saw was most probably Childeric, who may have been sent to Rome by -his father, Meroveus, to renew the alliance which Clodion had made -with Ætius.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_80" href="#FNanchor_80" class="label">[80]</a> The kingdom of the Burgundians, which had been established in -407 (see <a href="#Page_93">page 93</a>), was divided, in 470, among the four sons of king -<span class="smcap">Gonderic</span>; <span class="smcap">Hilperic</span>, or <span class="smcap">Chilperic</span>, the father of Clotilda, fixed his -residence at Geneva; <span class="smcap">Gundobald</span> at Lyons; <span class="smcap">Godegesil</span> at Besançon, -and <span class="smcap">Godemar</span> at Vienne (in Dauphiné). A war broke out between the -brothers, in which Gundobald conquered and took prisoner Hilperic and -Godemar; the latter committed suicide; the former was put to death by -his inhuman brother Gundobald, and his wife and his two sons shared -his fate; his two daughters were spared, and one of them, Clotilda, was -brought up at the court of Lyons; and, as chance would have it, in -the <em>Catholic</em> faith, though Gundobald himself, like most of the Christian -princes of the time, professed the Arian doctrine, Gundobald would -gladly have refused Clovis the hand of his niece, had he dared to brave -the anger of the powerful Frankish chief. Clotilda, on her part, was -overjoyed at the prospect of an alliance with a King, whose ambition -might be turned to good account for the pursuit of her own vengeful -projects against the murderer of her father; with a pagan, whose -conversion to the Nicean creed would gain her beloved Catholic church -a formidable champion against the hated Arian heretics. Gundobald -had scarcely parted with his niece, and her father’s treasures, when the -pious princess displayed her Christian spirit, by ordering her Frankish -escort to burn down the Burgundian villages through which they were -passing, and when she saw the flames rising, and heard the despairing -cries of the unfortunates who were thus being deprived of their homes, -she lifted up her voice, and praised the God of Athanasius—the <em>holy</em> -Chlotildis!</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_81" href="#FNanchor_81" class="label">[81]</a> The Alemanni were also, like the Franks, a league of several -Germanic nations, among whom the Teneteri, the Usipetes, and most -probably a portion of the Suevi, were the most important. The -favorite etymology of the name, <em>Allemanni</em> or <em>All-Men</em>, as meant to -denote at once the various lineage, and the common bravery of the -component members of the league, is a little fanciful perhaps, yet not -more so, or rather not quite so much so, as some other etymologies of -the name indulged in by the learned.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_82" href="#FNanchor_82" class="label">[82]</a> The invocation as given by Gregory of Tours, is rather <em>naïve</em>. <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Jesu -Christe, quem Chlotildis prædicat esse filium Dei vivi, qui dare auxilium -laborantibus, victoriamque in te sperantibus tribuere diceris, tuæ -opis gloriam devotus efflagito: ut si mihi victoriam super hos hostes -indulseris, et expertus fuero illam virtutem, quam de te populus tuo -nomine dicatus probasse se prædicat, credam tibi et in nomine tuo -baptizer. <em>Invocavi enim deos meos, sed ut experior, elongati sunt ab -auxilio meo: unde credo eos nullius potestatis, qui tibi obedientibus non -succurrunt.</em></span> A pretty plain hint: no victory, no belief, no baptism!</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_83" href="#FNanchor_83" class="label">[83]</a> Theodoric had lately married <span class="smcap">Albofleda</span> (Audofleda, or Andefleda), -the sister of Clovis.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_84" href="#FNanchor_84" class="label">[84]</a> <cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Lex Gudebalda</cite>—“<cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">La loy Gombette</cite>.”—Drawn up by <span class="smcap">Aredius</span>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_85" href="#FNanchor_85" class="label">[85]</a> Alaric was married to Theodoric’s daughter <span class="smcap">Theudogotha</span>, or -<span class="smcap">Theodichusa</span>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_86" href="#FNanchor_86" class="label">[86]</a> <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Prosternabat enim quotidie Deus hostes ejus sub manu ipsius, et -augebat regnum ejus, <em>eo quod ambularet recto corde coram eo, et faceret, -quæ placita erant in oculis ejus</em></span>. Gregor. Hist. lib. II., cap. 40.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_87" href="#FNanchor_87" class="label">[87]</a> Austrasia comprised the old Salian possessions in Belgium, and -the territories of the Ripuarians and the Alemanni.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_88" href="#FNanchor_88" class="label">[88]</a> Clodomir had left three sons, who were brought up by their -grandmother, Clotilda. The two brothers having got possession of -two of their nephews, calmly resolved to kill them. Clotaire sheathed -his dagger in the breast of one of them, the other embraced the knees -of his uncle Childebert, and besought him to spare his life. The -tears of the innocent child moved even the harsh Childebert to -pity; he entreated his brother to spare him; but that monster -remained deaf to all prayers, and threatened even to make Childebert -share the fate of the helpless boy, should he continue any longer to -withhold him from his murderous hands: Childebert thereupon pushed -back the poor innocent, and Clotaire’s dagger speedily sent him to -rejoin his brother (532). The third of the <ins class="corr" id="fn-88" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'children of Coldomir'"> -children of Clodomir</ins> was, indeed, saved from his uncle’s clutches; but he deemed it necessary -afterwards to embrace the ecclesiastical profession, in order to secure -his safety.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_89" href="#FNanchor_89" class="label">[89]</a> Fredegonda was first Chilperic’s concubine, subsequently, after the -murder of Galsuintha, his wife. After a career of blood and crime, of -which history affords but few parallels, she died in 579, at the height -of prosperity and power, tranquilly in her bed, properly shriven, of -course, and with a promise of paradise. Had the female monster been -but a little more liberal to the <em>Church</em>, who knows but the Calendar of -the Saints might contain an additional name.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_90" href="#FNanchor_90" class="label">[90]</a> Brunehilda was the daughter of Athanagild, King of Spain, and -the wife of Sigebert, King of Austrasia. She was in every respect a -worthy pendant to Fredegonda; but her final fate was very different -from that of her more fortunate rival, whom she survived about sixteen -years. In the year 613, she fell into the hands of Fredegonda’s son, -Clotaire, who inflicted upon the aged woman the most horrible tortures, -and had her finally tied, with one arm and one leg, to the tail of a wild -horse, and thus dragged along over a stony road until death took mercy -upon her. And all these people <em>professed</em> the religion of Christ, and were -surrounded by numbers of <em>most pious</em> bishops! but then, the <em>Church</em> -has always been indulgent to those who could and would remember -her with rich endowments. Moreover, many of the bishops of that -period were themselves such monstrous villains that little or no remonstrance -could be expected from <em>them</em> against any royal crime, however -so atrocious.—To give one instance out of many: a bishop of Clermont, -wishing to compel a priest of his diocese to cede to him a small estate -held by the latter, and which he refused to part with, had the unfortunate -man shut up in a coffin, with a decaying corpse, and the -coffin placed in the vault of the church!</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_91" href="#FNanchor_91" class="label">[91]</a> Theuderic, or Thierry, was the younger son of Sigebert’s son -Childebert; he murdered his elder brother, Theudebert, and the infant -son of the latter, Meroveus (612). He died a year after, and two of his -own boys, Sigebert and Corbus, met the same fate at the hands of -Clotaire.</p> - -</div> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span><br /></p> - -<h3 class="p4" id="CHAPTER_IIa">CHAPTER II.</h3> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowe4"> - <img class="w100" src="images/sep.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<p class="pfs70">DECLINE OF THE MEROVINGIAN PRINCES.—THE MAYORS -OF THE PALACE.—PEPIN OF LANDEN.—PEPIN OF HERISTAL.—CHARLES -MARTEL.—THE BATTLE OF TOURS.</p> - - -<p>When the Roman empire had ceased to exist, the -Frankish kings had, in imitation of the Roman rulers, -begun to surround themselves with a court, and a great -many high officers, and charges had been created, among -the most important of which may be mentioned the office -of Lord High Chancellor (archicancellarius, referendarius); -Lord High Chamberlain, or High Treasurer (thesaurarius, -camerarius); Master of the royal stables (marescalchus); -Lord Justice (comes palatii); Steward of the royal -household (senescalchus); and more particularly that of -Mayor of the palace (præfectus palatii, or major-domus, -or comes domûs regiæ). The functions of the latter officer -had originally been confined to the general superintendence -of the palace, and the administration of the royal domains; -but had speedily been extended also to the command of the -household troops. In the course of the domestic wars -between the Merovingian princes, the mayors of the palace -had gradually acquired a power and influence second only -to that of the king; so that, after the assassination of -Sigebert, in 575, <span class="smcap">Gogo</span>, the then mayor of the palace of -Austrasia, had actually been named regent during the -minority of Sigebert’s son, Childebert. So powerful indeed -had these domestic officers grown, that Clotaire II. was -positively forced to bind himself by oath to <span class="smcap">Warnachar</span>, -the mayor of the palace of Burgundy, to leave him for his -life in undisturbed possession of his office; he was obliged -also to acknowledge the learned and valiant <span class="smcap">Arnulf</span>, the -Austrasian, mayor of the palace, and subsequently—when<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span> -that officer embraced the ecclesiastical profession, and became -Bishop of Metz—the energetic Pepin of Landen,<a id="FNanchor_92" href="#Footnote_92" class="fnanchor">[92]</a> as his -representative with sovereign powers in Austrasia. Even -when Clotaire had ceded the kingdom of Austrasia to his son -<span class="smcap">Dagobert</span> (622), Pepin continued to exercise almost unlimited -sway in that part of the Frankish empire. After -Clotaire’s death, in 623, Dagobert succeeded also to the -Neustrian kingdom; and in 631, after his brother Charibert’s -death,<a id="FNanchor_93" href="#Footnote_93" class="fnanchor">[93]</a> who had held some of the south-western provinces, he -became sole king of France. He died in 638; he was a compound -of sensuality and indolence; still his character and life -were not stained with the horrible crimes perpetrated by his -predecessors, and more particularly by his own father; he -was the last of the descendants of Clovis, who exhibited -even the faintest spark of that fierce and energetic spirit -which made the founder of the Frank monarchy, however -so abhorrent as a <em>man</em>, yet <em>respectable</em>, and even <em>great</em>, as a -<em>king</em>. Dagobert built and richly endowed the Church of -St. Denys, which gained him the surname “The Great,” -from a grateful clergy; but history has refused to register -the ill-deserved epithet. Pepin of Landen died a year after -his king (689). His son, <em>Grimoald</em>, deemed the power of -his family already so firmly established, that, taking advantage -of the tender age of Dagobert’s sons, Sigebert (second -of the name in the list of the Merovingian kings), and Clovis -(II.), he attempted to deprive them of their father’s -succession, and to place his own son (Childebert) on the -throne; both father and son paid with their lives the failure -of the ambitious plan. But the overthrow of Grimoald -led simply to a change of persons; the power of the mayors -of the palace remained undiminished, and from this time -forward, the Merovingian kings were mere ciphers. “They -ascended the throne without power, and sunk into the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span> -grave without a name.” (Gibbon.) Sigebert died in 650; -his brother Clovis six years after. One of the sons of the -latter, Clotaire (III.), succeeded to the Neustrian, another, -Childeric (II.), to the Austrasian part of the empire. After -Clotaire’s death, in 670, the third brother, Theodoric, or -Thierry (III.), was for a short time king of Neustria; but -he was speedily dispossessed by his brother Childeric (or -to speak more correctly, <em>his</em> mayor of the palace was -compelled to give way to Childeric’s mayor of the palace). -Childeric was murdered in 673; when Thierry was reinstated -in Neustria, Austrasia being given to Dagobert -(II.), a son of Sigebert II., but who had hitherto been -kept out of his inheritance.</p> - -<p>After the death of Dagobert in 678, the Austrasians -refused to submit to Thierry, the King of Neustria and -Burgundy, or rather to his haughty mayor of the palace, -<span class="smcap">Ebroin</span>. <span class="smcap">Pepin d’Heristal</span>, the grandson of Pepin of -Landen, and his cousin, <span class="smcap">Martin</span>, were at the head of the -insurgent Austrasian nobility. Martin fell into the hands -of Ebroin, and was killed. Ebroin himself was soon after -assassinated, (682). His successor, <span class="smcap">Giselmar</span>, defeated -Pepin at Namur, but the Austrasian notwithstanding maintained -his position. The Neustrian nobility, discontented -with the rule of Giselmar’s successor, <span class="smcap">Berthar</span> or <span class="smcap">Berchar</span>, -ultimately called Pepin to their aid.</p> - -<p>Berthar, and his puppet, Thierry, were defeated by the -Austrasian ruler in the famous battle of Testry, near Peronne -and St. Quentin, in 687. Berthar was slain as he fled -from the field of battle: and although the <em>name</em> of king was -left to Thierry, he was compelled to acknowledge Pepin as -<em>sole</em>, <em>perpetual</em>, and <em>hereditary</em> Mayor of the Palace, in the -three kingdoms of Neustria, Austrasia, and Burgundy, -under the style and title of Duke and Prince of the Franks, -(<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Dux et Princeps Francorum</span>). Pepin was now, to all -intents and purposes, the actual ruler of the Frankish -empire—king in all but the name. The nominal sovereigns -had, henceforth, a residence<a id="FNanchor_94" href="#Footnote_94" class="fnanchor">[94]</a> assigned them, which they dared<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span> -not even quit without the sanction of their master; nay, even -the paltry consolation of the pomp and glitter of royalty was -not vouchsafed them—except once a year in the month of -March,<a id="FNanchor_95" href="#Footnote_95" class="fnanchor">[95]</a> when the royal puppet was conducted in state in -the old Frankish fashion, in a waggon drawn by two oxen, -to the great annual assembly of the nation; to give audience -to foreign ambassadors, or to receive plaints and petitions—and -to place his organ of speech, for a time, at the disposal -of the Mayor of the Palace, and give utterance to the replies -or decisions of the real ruler of France. -<a id="maltese"></a> The assembly over, -the “King” was reconducted to his residence or prison, -where a feeble retinue and a strong guard insulted the fallen -majesty of the house of Clovis. It would even appear, that -the civil list assigned to the “King,” was only a precarious -grant, and that the nominal master of three kingdoms, was -often left without the means of defraying the expenses of -his <em>humble</em> household.<a id="FNanchor_96" href="#Footnote_96" class="fnanchor">[96]</a> The epithet of the “<em>do-nothing -kings</em>,” (<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">les rois fainéans</span>) has been felicitously applied to -the last princes of the Merovingian line. Besides Thierry -III, (✠621), three of them lived in the reign of Pepin of -Heristal, viz: Clovis III, (✠695); Childebert III, -(✠711); and Dagobert III., all of them minors.</p> - -<p>Pepin was an able and energetic ruler; he restored in some -measure the respect of the law. Liberal rewards secured -him the allegiance of the nobility; munificent endowments -to churches and monasteries, and the aid and encouragement -which he gave to the Christian missionaries, who were<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span> -endeavoring to convert the heathen Germans, gained him -the favor and support of the clergy: his good sword put -down the discontented; and last, though certainly not least, -he deserved the grateful affection of the people by alleviating -their burthens, and by protecting them, in some measure, -against the despotic oppression of the nobility. The expulsion -of some Christian missionaries from Friesland, gave -Pepin a pretext for endeavoring to subject the Frisons to -the Frankish sway. He invaded Friesland in 689, and -defeated the Frison duke, or prince, Radbodus, at Dorestadt, -or Dorsted; in consequence of which defeat, the latter was -compelled to cede West Friesland to the Duke of the Franks; -but all attempts to obtain the conversion of Radbodus<a id="FNanchor_97" href="#Footnote_97" class="fnanchor">[97]</a> to -Christianity failed.</p> - -<p>In 697, a new war broke out between the Duke of the -Franks and the Prince of the Frisons,<a id="FNanchor_98" href="#Footnote_98" class="fnanchor">[98]</a> in which the latter -is stated to have been again defeated, and compelled to -acknowledge, by the payment of an annual tribute, the -supremacy of the Franks. It is added, also, that he gave -his daughter in marriage to Pepin’s son Grimoald.</p> - -<p>Pepin of Heristal made also several expeditions, though, -it would appear, with indifferent success only, against the -Alemanni, the Thuringians, and the Bojoarii, or Bavarians, -who had taken advantage of the internal dissensions and -disorder of the Frankish empire, to shake off the yoke of -their masters.</p> - -<p>In the beginning of the year 714, Pepin fell seriously ill, -at his estate Jopila, on the Meuse. He sent for his only -surviving (legitimate) son, <span class="smcap">Grimoald</span>, whom he had made -(after the death of his friend Nordbert) major domûs in -Neustria, and (after the death of <span class="smcap">Drogo</span>, another of his<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span> -sons) Duke of Burgundy and Champagne, and whom he -intended to name his successor in the government of the -entire monarchy. But on his way to his father, Grimoald was -assassinated at Liège, in the church of St. Lambert, by -a Frison; at the instigation, it would appear, of some -discontented nobles. He left an illegitimate infant son, -Theudoald, or Theudebaud. Pepin was unfortunately -persuaded by his wife, the ambitious <span class="smcap">Plectrudis</span><a id="FNanchor_99" href="#Footnote_99" class="fnanchor">[99]</a>, who -expected to wield the government during the minority of -her little grandson, to name this infant his successor, -instead of either of his own two illegitimate sons (Charles -and Childebrand)<a id="FNanchor_100" href="#Footnote_100" class="fnanchor">[100]</a>, and of whom the latter, more especially, -possessed his father’s great qualities, and that amount of -physical and intellectual vigor indispensable to keep -together and to rule over an empire composed of such -heterogeneous and antagonistic elements, as the Frankish. -Soon after this fatal step, which, we may safely assume -the love of his country and of his glory, would never have -permitted the aged ruler to take, had not his faculties been -greatly impaired at the time by long illness and by the -bitter grief of his son’s death, Pepin of Heristal died on -the 16th of December, 714.</p> - -<p>He had scarcely departed life when Plectrudis, who -dreaded the aspiring genius of Charles, had the latter seized, -and confined in the city of Cologne. She now deemed herself -in safe possession of the government; but she was soon -awakened from her ambitious dream. The Neustrians were -indignant that they should thus be handed over to the sway -of a child and to the rule of a woman: they could bear -<em>infant-kings</em>, indeed, but they refused to put up with -an <em>infant mayor of the palace</em>. They, therefore, made -<span class="smcap">Raganfried</span>, a powerful Neustrian noble, their mayor of -the palace, and prepared to resist by force of arms, any -attempt which Plectrudis might make to compel their -submission. The widow of Pepin showed indeed that, if -she had had the ambition to seize the sceptre, she had also -the spirit to wield, and the requisite energy to defend it.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span> -She collected a powerful army, and sent the puppet-King -Dagobert (III.), and his infant minister Theudebaud, with -it against, what she was pleased to call, the Neustrian -rebels. But the fortune of war declared against her: the -Austrasian forces were totally routed by Raganfried, and -“King” Dagobert fell into the hands of the Neustrian -mayor of the palace. The infant on whose tiny shoulders -Pepin’s ill-judged partiality, or uxoriousness, had thrown -the burthen of three kingdoms, died soon after this -reverse (715). Radbodus took advantage of the position of -affairs, to re-annex West Friesland to his dominions; and, -in conjunction with the Saxons, invaded the Frankish territories -from the north east, whilst the Merovingian princes -of Aquitaine ravaged them in the south west; the -Alemanni and the Bavarians threw off the Frankish yoke, -and resumed their ancient independence. Matters were -looking dark indeed for the house of the Pepins, and -though Mistress Plectrudis most gallantly braved the -storm, her utmost efforts could have availed but little -against such a multitude of foes, had not Pepin’s son, -Charles, meanwhile found his way out of the prison to -which the ambition of his father’s widow had confined -him.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Charles</span>, who was destined afterwards to play so important -a part in history, was, at this time, about 25 years -of age (he was born in 690). Nature had been most -bountiful to him: tall even among the tall nation of the -Franks, of a most commanding figure, and of a compact and -beautifully symmetrical frame, he might be said to present -in his physical conformation a compound of Hercules and -Antinöus; his features were regular and expressive, and the -lightning glance of his large blue eyes reflected, as in a -mirror, the energy of his mind and the vigor of his -intellect. He possessed enormous bodily strength combined -with surprising agility. The remembrance of his great -father, and his own manly beauty and grace, gained him the -hearts of the Austrasians; and he soon found himself at -the head of a formidable body of troops, with which he -proceeded first to attack the Frisons, but with rather -indifferent success, it would appear, as, we find Radbodus<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span> -and his Frisons soon after laying siege to Cologne, -in conjunction with the Neustrians under Raganfried. -Plectrudis, however, purchased the retreat of the besieging -forces; and the Frisons and Neustrians having separated -again, Charles fell upon the latter at Ambleva. But, -although he exhibited all the qualities of a great general, -and that the fearful execution which his heavy sword did -in the hostile ranks struck terror into the foe, and made -ever after his war-cry “Here Charles and his sword,” ring -as the prelude of inevitable defeat on the affrighted ears of -his enemies: yet the superiority of numbers was too -great on the side of Raganfried, and the battle terminated -at last rather in favor of the Neustrians than otherwise -(716). Soon after his capture by the Neustrians, Dagobert -had passed from his royal prison to the grave (715), and -another unlucky scion of the race of Pharamond, the Monk -Daniel, had been dragged from the repose of his cloistral -cell, to figure, as Chilperic II., in the line of the “titular” -kings of France. Charles would have acquiesced in the -arrangement, had not Raganfried steadily refused to -acknowledge him as Duke of Austrasia; he determined, -therefore, to appeal once more to the decision of arms. A -fierce and sanguinary battle was fought between the -Austrasians and the Neustrians, at Vincy, between Arras -and Cambray (21st of March, 717): and this time, Charles’ -valor and generalship were rewarded with a brilliant and -decisive victory, which made him master of the country up -to Paris. But, wisely declining to pursue his conquests in -this quarter, and to court perhaps the chance of a defeat far -away from his resources, he led his victorious army swiftly -back to the Rhine, and compelled Plectrudis to give up to -him the city of Cologne, and his paternal treasures; which -latter he turned to excellent account in increasing the -number and efficiency of his forces. Plectrudis took refuge -in Bavaria.</p> - -<p>Though the Merovingian princes had lost all real power -in the state, yet there still attached to the name of the -family a prestige in the eyes of the nation, which rendered -the continued existence of “Kings” chosen from among the -descendants of Clovis, a matter of political necessity.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span> -Charles wisely resolved therefore, to put himself in this -respect on equal terms with Raganfried; and he accordingly -invested with the insignia of a sham royalty another scion -of the long-haired line, yclept Clotaire, fourth of that name. -An expedition against the Saxons, to chastise them for -their predatory incursions into the Frankish territories, was -eminently successful, and the son of Pepin displayed his -victorious banner on the Weser (718); but receiving information -that Raganfried had made an alliance against him -with the valiant <span class="smcap">Eudes</span>, Duke of Aquitaine (of Merovingian -descent), and dreading lest the united power of the two -might prove too strong for him, he resolved to attack -the former before a junction of the allied forces could be -effected, and accordingly led his army with his accustomed -celerity from the banks of the Weser to the banks of the -Seine. After totally routing Raganfried at Soissons (719), -he compelled Paris to surrender. The wretched Chilperic<a id="FNanchor_101" href="#Footnote_101" class="fnanchor">[101]</a> -sought refuge with his ally, Eudes. Charles marched on to -the Loire, and was preparing to carry his arms into -Aquitaine, when the death of Clotaire led to an arrangement -with Chilperic, who, acknowledging Charles as major domûs -in the three kingdoms, was permitted to continue in the -enjoyment of his fictitious royalty. In the same year still -(719), Charles was delivered by death from another of his -opponents, Radbodus, the brave duke of the Frisons. -He promptly took advantage of this event to re-annex -West Friesland to the Frankish dependencies, and to induct -Bishop Willibrod into his see of Utrecht, from which -Radbodus had kept him excluded.</p> - -<p>In the year 720, Chilperic was gathered to his fathers; -Charles replaced him by a child of the Merovingian race, -taken from the monastery of Lala (Thierry IV.) In 721 -Charles crossed the Rhine at the head of a powerful -army, to subject the Alemanni, the Bavarians, and the -Thuringians again to the Frankish sway. As he saw in the -conversion of these stubborn nations to Christianity one -of the most efficient means to secure their allegiance in -future, he had himself attended by Winifried,<a id="FNanchor_102" href="#Footnote_102" class="fnanchor">[102]</a> and other<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span> -missionaries, who, now that they were supported by the -arms of the Frankish chief, were brilliantly successful in -their missionary labors, in some of the very places among -others, where they had on former occasions been treated -with derision and contumely, or whence they had been -forcibly expelled.</p> - -<p>In 722, Charles drove the Saxons from the Hassian -(Hessian) district which they had invaded; but when he -followed them into their own country, with the intention of -subjecting them altogether to his sway, he experienced such -determined resistance that he wisely resolved to leave them -alone. In 725, he compelled the Suabians and Alemanni, -and their duke, <span class="smcap">Lantfried</span>, to acknowledge his sovereignty.</p> - -<p>Since 553, after the extinction of the Gothic kingdom of -Italy, the Agilolfingian dukes of Bavaria “enjoyed” the -“protection”<a id="FNanchor_103" href="#Footnote_103" class="fnanchor">[103]</a> of the Frankish kings; although, whenever -the dissensions among the members of that amiable -family, or the contentions among the mayors of the palace,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span> -afforded a fitting opportunity, the Bavarians invariably took -occasion to “thank” them for their protection, and to -decline further favors. But the persuasive force of Pepin -of Heristal, and of his son Charles, fully succeeded in the -end in restoring the amicable relations between the two -nations, to the old footing. Duke Theodo II., a most pious -prince, who greatly favored and furthered the extension of -Christianity in his dominions, committed the capital blunder -so common at the time (and so natural withal)—to divide his -dominions between his three sons, Theodoald (Theudebaud), -Theudebert, and Grimoald. Theudebaud had married Pilitrudis, -the fair daughter of Plectrudis; he died in 716, and -his brother Grimoald deemed it no harm to marry the -beautiful widow of the departed; but Saint Corbinian -happened to think very differently; and his zealous exhortations, -and the fearful picture which he drew of the pains -and penalties that awaited him who should have committed, -what the holy man was pleased to call, “incest,”<a id="FNanchor_104" href="#Footnote_104" class="fnanchor">[104]</a> frightened -poor Duke Grimoald into giving his consent to a divorce from -his dearly beloved wife. Mistress Pilitrudis, however, was -by no means pleased with the pusillanimous conduct of her -second husband; and the exile of the meddlesome ecclesiastic -speedily showed him, that a woman offended may prove -more than a match <em>even</em> for a priest and a saint. Theudebert -also died (724), leaving behind a son, named <span class="smcap">Hugibert</span>, -and a daughter, named <span class="smcap">Guntrudis</span>, and who was married -to <span class="smcap">Liutprand</span>, King of the Lombards. After his second -brother’s death, Grimoald seized upon his dominions to the -prejudice of his nephew. Hugibert, finding all his remonstrances -disregarded, claimed the intercession of the Duke -of the Franks, in his capacity as Protector of Bavaria. -Charles accepted the offer of mediator between the contending -parties; and called upon Grimoald to deliver up to -Hugibert the provinces which he was unjustly withholding -from him. Grimoald refusing, Charles entered Bavaria -at the head of his army, and the Bavarian duke was -defeated and slain in the first battle (725). Hugibert<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span> -now succeeded to the government of all Bavaria,<a id="FNanchor_105" href="#Footnote_105" class="fnanchor">[105]</a> with -the exception, however, of a large slice of the Northern -provinces, which he ceded to Charles in reward of his -services.<a id="FNanchor_106" href="#Footnote_106" class="fnanchor">[106]</a> The unfortunate Pilitrudis was despoiled by the -“magnanimous” victor of all she possessed, except a mule, -or donkey, to carry her to Pavia to her relations. A new -irruption of the Saxons, called Charles again to the Weser; -he defeated and drove back the invaders (729). Whilst he -was thus occupied on the Saxon frontier, the Suabians and -Alemanni took advantage of his absence, to throw off once -more the yoke of the Franks. Charles confounded them, -however, by the rapidity of his movements; he appeared on -the Mein before they were well aware that he had left the -banks of the Weser. The battle which ensued, terminated -in the total defeat of the “rebels;” Duke Lantfried was -slain, and the humbled nation submitted to the rule of the -conqueror (730).</p> - -<p>We are now approaching the most important and most -interesting period in the life and career of Charles, viz., his -encounter with the Saracens; we will, therefore, resume -here the thread of the history of the Moslem invasion, -broken off at <a href="#Page_88">page 88</a>, where we left the Saracen general, El -Zama, laying siege to Thoulouse. A branch of the Merovingian -family, descended from Clotaire’s (II.) younger son -Charibert (631), had established the independent<a id="FNanchor_107" href="#Footnote_107" class="fnanchor">[107]</a> duchy of -Aquitaine in the south of France. At the time of the Arab -invasion, <span class="smcap">Eudes</span> (Eudo, or Odo), an able and energetic -prince, was Duke of Aquitaine. This prince, seeing his -capital threatened by the Moslems, collected a numerous -army of Gascons, Goths, and Franks, and marched bravely -to the rescue. He attacked the Arabs under the walls of -Thoulouse, and succeeded in inflicting on them a most -disastrous defeat (721). El Zama fell in the battle, and the -discomfited Moslems were saved from total destruction -only by the prudence and valor of <span class="smcap">Abdalrahman Ben -Abdallah</span> (Abderrahman, or Abderame), a veteran officer,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span> -whom they had elected by acclamation in the place of their -late general.</p> - -<p>The Khalif, however, did not ratify the choice of the -army, but named <span class="smcap">Anbesa</span> to the government of Spain. -The new governor advanced again into Aquitaine in 725; he -took Carcassone by storm, and penetrated as far as Burgundy; -but the valiant Eudes succeeded ultimately in driving him -back, and also in defeating several subsequent attempts of the -Arabs to gain possession of Aquitaine.</p> - -<p>In the year 730, the Khalif Hesham, yielding to the -wishes of the people and the army of Spain, restored -Abdalrahman to the government of that part of the Arab -dominions. That daring and ambitious commander proposed -to subject to his sway, not only Aquitaine, but the entire -Frank empire; and collected a formidable host to carry his -resolve into execution. But, at the very threshold of his -enterprise, he met with an obstacle which, though he indeed -triumphantly overcame it, yet cannot be denied to have -exercised a powerful adverse influence upon its final issue. -This was the rebellion of <span class="smcap">Othman</span>, or <span class="smcap">Munuza</span>, a Moorish -chief, who, as governor of Cerdagne, held the most important -passes of the Pyrenees. The fortune of war had placed the -beauteous daughter of Eudes in the hands of Munuza; and -the political Duke of Aquitaine, justly appreciating the -advantages of an alliance with the man who might be said -to hold the keys of his house, had willingly consented to -accept the African misbeliever for his son-in-law. The -skill, rapidity, and decision, of Abdalrahman’s movements -undoubtedly disconcerted the strategic combinations of the -two allies, and Munuza was overcome and slain, ere Eudes -could hasten to his assistance; the head of the rebel, -and the daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine, were sent to -Damascus. But much precious time was consumed, and a -great number of combatants were lost, in this unexpected -prelude to the invasion of France. However, immediately -after the overthrow of Munuza, Abdalrahman advanced -rapidly to the Rhone, crossed that river, and laid siege to -Arles; Eudes attempted to relieve the beleaguered city, but -his army was totally routed, and Arles fell into the hands of -the invaders (731). Abdalrahman speedily conquered the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span> -greater part of Aquitaine, and advanced to Bordeaux. The -intrepid Eudes met him once more, at the head of a numerous -army; but neither the valor and skill of the Christian leader -nor the bravery of his troops could save them from a most -disastrous defeat. Bordeaux fell, and the Saracens overran -the fairest provinces of France (732). Charles, who would -most probably have remained deaf to the most urgent -entreaties of Eudes, whom he regarded in the light of a -rival, comprehended the necessity of a speedy and vigorous -action, from the moment that he saw his own dominions -threatened. He, therefore, rapidly collected his faithful -Austrasians and the auxiliary contingents of the Alemanni, -the Thuringians, and the Bavarians; and ordered the -Neustrian and Burgundian nobles to join him with their -followers; and although many of the <em>Burgundian</em> nobles -hung back, yet a most powerful host of the nations of -Germany and Gaul gathered under the banner of the -Christian leader, who was joined also by Eudes and the -remains of the Aquitanian army. In the centre of France, -between Tours and Poitiers, the Franks and the Moslems -met, in the month of October, 732. Six days were spent in -desultory warfare, and many a gallant heart had ceased to -beat, ere as the red sun of the seventh day rose, the day on -which it was to be decided whether mosque or cathedral -should prevail in Europe. The battle raged fiercely from -noon till eventide; the fiery sons of the South fought -with tenfold their accustomed valor, and Abdalrahman -emulated the glory of Kaled “the Sword of God.” The -Germans stood firm as rocks, and fought as heroes; and the -heavy battle-axe of Charles, wielded with irresistible -strength, spread death and dismay in the Arabian ranks; -the mighty strokes which the Christian hero dealt with that -formidable weapon, gained him the epithet of <em>Martel</em>, the -<em>Hammer</em>. Eudes, burning with the resentment of former -defeats, strove to rival the prowess of his ally. Still, for -many hours, the balance hung equipoised. The life-blood -of thousands of Christians and thousands of Moslems, that -had ere just raced so fiercely through its channels, mingled -in sluggish streams on the ground. Evening set in, and -still the contest raged with unabated fury; the Orientals<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span> -had, indeed, repeatedly been forced to give way to the -superior weight and strength of the Germans but their -heroic chief had as often rallied them and led them on again -to death and glory. At length, a German spear struck him -to death: his fall decided the fate of the battle; the -Saracens, disheartened by the loss of their great commander, -retired to their camp. There was no leader left among -them of sufficient renown and authority to replace the -fallen hero; despairing of their ability to renew the fight -next day with the slightest chance of success, they resolved -upon a hasty retreat; and taking with them the richest -and most portable portion of their spoil, they abandoned -their camp in the middle of the night.</p> - -<p>Next morning, when Charles was marshalling forth his -troops to renew the contest, his spies both surprised and -rejoiced him with the welcome intelligence that the enemy -were in full retreat to the south. The victory gained was -decisive and final: the torrent of Arabian conquest was rolled -back; and Europe was rescued from the threatened yoke of -the Saracens. But the losses of the Christians also had been -very great, and Charles wisely declined incurring with his -sadly diminished forces, the possible mischances of a pursuit.<a id="FNanchor_108" href="#Footnote_108" class="fnanchor">[108]</a></p> - -<p>Leaving to Eudes the task of reconquering his own land -from the flying foe, Charles proceeded now to call the -Burgundian nobles to account for their hesitation and lukewarmness -in his cause. To secure their future allegiance,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span> -he placed officers of his into the Burgundian cities and -castles; to little purpose, however, it would appear, as their -presence did not prevent the discontented Burgundian -nobles, a few years after, from calling in the Saracens, and -actually delivering the city of Avignon into the hands of -<span class="smcap">Jussuf Ben Abdalrahman</span>, the Arabian governor of -Narbonne (735).</p> - -<p>In 734, Charles defeated Poppo, the Duke of the Frisons, -and regained the western part of Friesland. In 735, Duke -Eudes died, and as his two sons, <span class="smcap">Hunold</span> and <span class="smcap">Hatto</span>, -quarrelled about the succession, Charles proffered his -“armed mediation,” and settled the dispute finally by -naming Hunold Duke of Aquitaine, after having exacted and -obtained from that prince an oath of allegiance, not to the -nominal king of the Franks, but to himself personally, and -to his two sons of his first marriage, Carloman and Pepin. -In 736, Charles had to repel another invasion of the -Saxons, which prevented him from proceeding to Burgundy -against the disaffected nobles and their allies, the Arabs; -he sent, however, his brother Childebrand. In 737, he -came himself; he speedily reduced Avignon, and expelled -the Arabs from the Burgundian territory; the nobility and -clergy, who had treasonably conspired against him with the -enemy, or had acted in a hostile manner to him, he -deprived of their possessions, bishoprics, &c., which he -bestowed upon his friends and followers.<a id="FNanchor_109" href="#Footnote_109" class="fnanchor">[109]</a> In 738 he -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span> -advanced into Septimania, and laid siege to Narbonne. -He totally defeated Omar Ben Kaled, the Arabian general, -who was marching to the relief of <ins class="corr" id="tn-124" title="Transcriber’s Note—Original text: 'the beleagured city'"> -the beleaguered city</ins>; but the governor of Narbonne defended the place so valiantly -and successfully, that the Franks were compelled to raise -the siege. However, though Septimania remained in the -hands of the Arabs till 755, when Pepin, the son of Charles -Martel, recovered it, an effectual and final check had been -put to their further advance into France.</p> - -<p>In 737, King Thierry died; but so firmly was the power -of Charles Martel established now, that he could safely -neglect to name a successor to the dead “monarch;” nay, -in 741, he actually proceeded before a general assembly of -the nobility and the army, to divide his dominions between -his two sons of his first marriage (with Rotrudis), bestowing -Austrasia, with Suabia and Thuringia, upon the elder, -Carloman; Neustria, Burgundy, and Provence, upon the -younger, Pepin. His son Grypho, whom Suanehilda had -borne him, he excluded at first from all participation in his -succession; subsequently he assigned him also a portion, -which, after his death, led to the oppression and imprisonment -of the youth by his elder brothers. In the same year -(741) Charles was, on his return from a kind of pilgrimage -to St. Denys, seized with a violent fever, of which he died -at Carisiacum, or Quiercy, on the Oise, on the 22nd -October.</p> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_92" href="#FNanchor_92" class="label">[92]</a> Pepin of Landen was the son of Carloman, a Frank noble of -Brabant. Pepin’s daughter, Begga, was married to Arnulf’s son, -Ansgesil; from this marriage sprang Pepin d’Heristal, the father of -Charles Martel.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_93" href="#FNanchor_93" class="label">[93]</a> However, two natural sons of Charibert founded, after the death -of the latter, the semi-independent duchy of Aquitaine, in a more -restricted sense, with the capital, Thoulouse.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_94" href="#FNanchor_94" class="label">[94]</a> Mamaccæ (Mommarques) on the Oise between Compiègne and -Noyon.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_95" href="#FNanchor_95" class="label">[95]</a> Pepin of Heristal restored the annual national assembly of the -Franks, which had fallen in desuetude since the days of Ebroin; when -the younger Pepin, the son of Charles Martel, finally added the <em>name -of King</em> to the exercise of the royal power which he wielded, he -changed the month of meeting from March to May; the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Campus -Martius</i> became accordingly a <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Campus Majus</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_96" href="#FNanchor_96" class="label">[96]</a> <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Nam et opes et potentia regni penes palatii præfectos, qui Majores -Domûs dicebantur, et <em>ad quos summa imperii pertinebat</em>, tenebantur; -neque regi aliud relinquebatur quam ut regis tantum nomine contentus, -speciem dominantis effingeret, legatos audiret, eisque abeuntibus -<em>responsa, quæ erat edoctus vel etiam</em> <span class="allsmcap">JUSSUS</span>, <em>ex sua velut potestate redderet</em>; -cum præter inutile regis nomen et <em>præcarium vitæ stipendium</em>, quod ei -præfectus aulæ, prout videbatur, exhibebat, nihil aliud proprium possideret.—Einhardi, -(Eginhart,) Vita Caroli Magni; Pertz, Monumenta -Germaniæ Historica,</span> Tomus II., p. 444.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_97" href="#FNanchor_97" class="label">[97]</a> At one time, it would appear, the Frison prince was on the point -of consenting to his baptism; he had already placed one foot in the -baptismal font, when it occurred to him to ask the officiating bishop -(Wolfram, of Sens), “where his ancestors were gone to?” “To Hell,” -was the unhesitating reply of the bigoted priest; whereupon the honest -heathen exclaimed: “Then I will rather be damned with them than -saved without them,” and withdrew his foot.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_98" href="#FNanchor_98" class="label">[98]</a> Perhaps in some measure in consequence of the consecration of -the missionary <span class="smcap">Willibrod</span>, as bishop of Utrecht (696)?</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_99" href="#FNanchor_99" class="label">[99]</a> Of the race of the Bojoarian Agilolfingians.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_100" href="#FNanchor_100" class="label">[100]</a> <span class="smcap">Alpais</span>, or <span class="smcap">Alpheida</span>, was the mother of these two sons.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_101" href="#FNanchor_101" class="label">[101]</a> Raganfried had most likely perished on his flight.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_102" href="#FNanchor_102" class="label">[102]</a> Better known as Boniface, the Apostle of the Germans. He was -sent by Charles to Rome to obtain the episcopal ordination, that he -might be able to act with greater ecclesiastical authority in the newly -converted districts; on the 30th November, 723, Pope Gregory II. -(715-731) ordained him bishop, after he had given in his “profession -of faith,” which was approved of by Gregory as strictly orthodox. The -pope furnished him then with letters and credentials to Christian -princes and ecclesiastics, and to the heathen princes and nations of -Germany, and also with faithful copies of the ordinances, creed, ritual, -and regulations of the Romish Church; and the Christian missionary -was thus converted into the Popish legate. By his base monkish -truckling to the authority of Rome this narrow-minded zealot, who -sought in idle formalities and ceremonies the <em>spirit</em> of the word of -Christ, which he was totally unable to conceive and comprehend, turned -the new Christian church in Germany into a dependence of the Papal -see, and thus prepared ages of bloodshed and misery for that devoted -country. He carried his “submissiveness” to Rome so far that he -actually asked instructions in that quarter as to whether, on which -part of the body, and with which finger he might, or was to, make the -sign of the cross during the delivery of his sermons. No wonder, -indeed, his “mission” succeeded only when backed by the sword. He -was murdered by the Frisons, in 755. Apart from his narrow-minded -bigotry, he was an estimable man, full of honest and disinterested zeal.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_103" href="#FNanchor_103" class="label">[103]</a> The ingenuity displayed by man in the invention of specious -terms to disguise the plain and simple fact of the domination of one -being or nation over another, is truly marvellous.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_104" href="#FNanchor_104" class="label">[104]</a> What a blessing a Primate like St. Corbinian would have been to -that tender-conscienced casuist, Henry VIII. of England.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_105" href="#FNanchor_105" class="label">[105]</a> Of course, under Frankish protection.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_106" href="#FNanchor_106" class="label">[106]</a> Or as the dower of <span class="smcap">Suanehilda</span>, Theudebaud’s daughter of a -former marriage, whom Charles espoused on this occasion.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_107" href="#FNanchor_107" class="label">[107]</a> Virtually independent.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_108" href="#FNanchor_108" class="label">[108]</a> The idle and incredibly extravagant tale told by Paul Warnefried -and Anastasius of 350,000 or 375,000 Arabs slain in this battle, to -1500 Christians, has been faithfully copied by most historians. One -should think a moment’s reflection would suffice to show the -absolute impossibility of these numbers. Where on earth was a -governor of Spain, a recent conquest of the Saracens, to find the -450,000 men (for 100,000 are stated to have escaped) to lead into -France; and where was he to find, in a thinly populated region, such -as that country was in the time of Charles Martel, the means of -subsistence for such a host? His chief of the commissariat must have -been a rare genius indeed. And as to the number of <em>fifteen hundred</em> -Christians slain, this looks very much like the “one man killed and -four men slightly wounded,” to “one thousand of the enemy slain,” -of some of our modern bulletins. Striking off a nought from the -number of the Saracens, and adding one to that of the Christians may -bring us somewhat nearer the truth.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_109" href="#FNanchor_109" class="label">[109]</a> Charles Martel was not over-nice, it would appear, in the bestowal -of ecclesiastical preferments and estates; it mattered very little indeed -to him whether the recipient was a priest or a layman, or even whether -he could read and write. He also laid his impious hands repeatedly -upon the revenues of the church, and applied them to the necessities -of the state, or to pay his soldiers. No wonder then that a sainted -bishop of the times, <span class="smcap">Eucherius</span>, of Orleans, should have been indulged -with a pleasant vision of the body and soul of the wicked prince -burning in the deepest abyss of hell—rather scurvy treatment, -though, on the part of a Christian clergy, of a prince who, whatever -might be his foibles as a man, and his vices as a king—(and it must be -admitted, he had a goodly share of them)—had yet the merit of being -the saviour of Christendom. (A synod held at Quiercy, in 858, had the -calm impudence to communicate this interesting and flattering statement, -accompanied by some others of the same stamp, to Lewis, King -of Germany, grandson of Charlemagne!)</p> - -</div> -</div> - - -<p class="p4 pfs80">END OF VOL. I.</p> - -<p class="p4 pfs60">LONDON:<br /> -BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.</p> - - -<div class="p4 transnote pg-brk"> -<a name="TN" id="TN"></a> -<p><strong>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE</strong></p> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been -corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within -the text and consultation of external sources.</p> - -<p>Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, -and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.</p> - -<p> -<a href="#tn-11">Pg 11</a>: ‘same fate befel’ replaced by ‘same fate befell’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-16">Pg 16</a>: ‘attuned to comtemplation’ replaced by ‘attuned to contemplation’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-39">Pg 39</a>: ‘granted, Mahommed’ replaced by ‘granted, Mohammed’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-54">Pg 54</a>: ‘let each party chose’ replaced by ‘let each party choose’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-58">Pg 58</a>: ‘recal from the Persian’ replaced by ‘recall from the Persian’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-59">Pg 59</a>: ‘Musulmans to oppose’ replaced by ‘Mussulmans to oppose’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-59a">Pg 59</a>: ‘decreed the downfal’ replaced by ‘decreed the downfall’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-74">Pg 74</a>: ‘But Abd-eb-Malek had’ replaced by ‘But Abd-el-Malek had’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-85">Pg 85</a>: ‘by the recal of’ replaced by ‘by the recall of’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-104">Pg 104</a>: ‘<span class="smcap">Chlodomir’s</span> seat’ replaced by ‘<span class="smcap">Clodomir’s</span> seat’.<br /> -<a href="#tn-124">Pg 124</a>: ‘the beleagured city’ replaced by ‘the beleaguered city’.<br /> -<br /> -<a href="#fn-88">Footnote 88</a>: ‘children of Coldomir’ replaced by ‘children of Clodomir’.<br /> -</p> -</div> - - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Moslem and Frank, by Gustave Louis Strauss - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOSLEM AND FRANK *** - -***** This file should be named 63390-h.htm or 63390-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/3/9/63390/ - -Produced by Turgut Dincer, John Campbell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This -book was produced from scanned images of public domain -material from the Google Books project.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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