Vfifo pRNEu UN^veRs,JT^ ubrary 3 1924 074 466 70 All books are subject to recall after two weeks Olin/Kroch Library DATE DUE •^""TOTT 9^ass^ O-^' = GAYLORD PRINTED IN U.S.A. Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924074466701 ANNALS OF THE BAELY CALIPHATE FEOM ORIGINAL SOURCES SIE WILLIAM MUIE, KC.SL LL.D. D.C.L. AUTHOR OP ' THE LIFE OF MAHOMET ' WITR A MAP LONDON SMITH, ELDER, & CO., 15 WATEELOO PLACE 1883 \_All rights^ reserved'^ PBEFACE. This work is a continuation of the ' Life of Mahomet.' Taking up the thread from his death and burial, it tells the story of the spread of the Kehgion which he founded, and seeks to trace the special causes — na- tional, tribal, and spiritual — which moulded the Faith, created its expansive power, and guided its onward progress. The object is, in short, to float the bark of Islam over the rapids and deVious currents of its early course until, becoming more or less subject to ordinary human influences, it emerges on the great stream of time. I have, therefore, given the first four Caliphates in full detail ; I have endeavoured to explain the ascendency of the Omeyyad house ; and then, briefly ghowing how the Abbassidb dynasty rose upon its ruins, my purpose being ended, I close the book. Thereafter the history of Islam spreads itself out into the history of the world. The materials for the work wiU be understood by the reader as he goes along. They are purely Arabian. Christian authorities there are absolutely none to speak of. We depend entirely upon Mahometan tra- dition ; and that in a form very different from what we have been accustomed to in the Life of Mahomet. VI PREFACE. The substance of tradition becomes, after the Prophet's death, more of a general outhne; altogether want- ing (excepting some of the special episodes) in that profuse detail with which the life of Mahomet is overlaid. Such as it is, however, the story can be worked out broadly with consistency, and the progress of the Moslem arms and faith, as a whole, depicted truth- fully. The great treasury of tradition on whicli the historian must draw is the Annals of Tabaki, happily styled by Gibbon the Livy of the Arabians, who flourished in the third century of the Hegira. Unfortunately his work has hitherto been accessible to me, in its original form, only as far as tlie great battle of Cfidesiya, in the fourteenth year of the Hegira — that is, three years after the Prophet's deatli.^ The materials, however, so laboriously col- lected by Tabari, have been copiously used by later writers, especially by Ibn al AtiiIr (d. a.ii. 630), whose History has been mainly followed in tliese Annals, from the point at which Tabari, as at present avail- able, ends. I have not neglected other soiirces, such, as BblAdzori (3rd cent.) and Ibn KiialdOn, a later writer. In all essential points I believe that the picture which I have endeavoured to draw of the rise and spread of tlie Faitli may be accepted with confidence. I liave received much help from the invaluable ' Mauuscripts of tho wliolo -work have, however, been proourod, and ure now being published on the Continent, but not in time to he available for this work. Tliey will serve hereafter to correct, perhaps, some of tlio doubtful pointy of tlio liistory on which, from the scantiness of tho material, I may Imve gone astray. PREFACE. Vll work of Dk. Weil/ wliose literary acumen and candour are equalled only by liis marvellous industry and research. I have also freely made use of M. Caussin de Perceval's admirable Essai sur I'Histoire des Arabes ; but it unfortunately ends with the CaUphate of Omar. On the general condition of early Mussulman society I have found the scholarly volumes of H. von Keembr most valuable.^ I have followed the same system of rendering names as in the ' Life of Mahomet ' (adopted mainly from Caussin de Perceval), excepting in such received forms as Bussorah, Mecca, &c. ; namely : j:^ is represented by th. ^ is represented by dh. 77 yy ty y, J- Ij )) 17 » '*'• Z. " " „ kh. ^ by a sbarp accent, as d, 6. c ia represented by gh. t> » " „ dz. J „ „ „ c or ck 3 !, „ „ z. '~-^ » II 11 k. In quoting from the ' Life of Mahomet,' I refer to the Second Edition in one volume, unless the First Edition in four volumes is specified. I am indebted for the map which illustrates the campaigns, to Mr. Trelawney Saunders, whose close acquaintance with the geography of Syria and Chalda3a peculiarly qualifies him to identify many of the sites, routes, &c. The reader must remember that the Mussulman ' Geschichte der Chalifen, 3 vols., Mannheim, 1846-1851. ' Culturgeschichte dcs Orients unter den Chalifen, Wien, 1875. Vlll PEEHACE. year is a purely lunar one, being eleven days shorter than ours, so that passing through the solar cycle it gains a year in about every thirty-three years. At the death of Mahomet, in the eleventh year ■of the Hegira, Moharram (the first month of the Arabian year) began on the 29th of March, so that the corresponding months of the European calendar fell at that period as in the following table : Arabian Months. Moharram, a.h. XI. Safar . Eabi I. Eabi II. Jumad I. Jumild II. Eftjab Shdban' Ramadhan (Ramzan) ShawwM Dzul Cdda Dzul Hijj Corresponding Months. April, A.D. 632. May „ June ,, July August „ September „ October „ November „ December „ January, a.d. 633. February „ March To keep the notation distinct, I have ordinarily marked the years of the Hegira by Eoman numerals. W. M. November 1882. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. FiLSS ELECTION OF ABtT BEKB .... 1 A.H. XI. A.D. 632. CHAPTER II. EXPEDITION OF OSAKA TO IICE STRIAN BORDER . . 8 A.H. XI. A.D. 632. CHAPTER III. MEDINA THREATENED. A.H. XI. June and July, A.D. 632. Attack on Medina repulsed 11 / CHAPTER IV. RETURN OF OSAMA — EXPEDITIONS FORMED A8AINSI THE APOSTATE TEIDES THBOUGHODT ARABIA. A.H. XI. Sept.-Oct. A.D. 632. Abu Bekr discomfits the rebels at Rabadza — Expeditions to reclaim the apostate tribes 16 CHAPTER V. CAMPAIGN OF KHAIIB AGAINST THE FALSE PROPHET TOLEIHA. A.H. XI. Nov. A.D. 632. Kbalid's expedition against Toleiha — Khalid defeats Toleiha — 0mm Siml discomfited by Khalid — Abu Bekr burns a freebooter alive 20 X CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. STOET OF MAIIK IBN NOWBIRA. A.H. XI. A.D. 632. FAGK Malik ibn Noweira joins Sajali the Prophetess — Is put to death — Khalid marries hia widow 30 CHAPTER VII. BATTLE OF YEMAMA. End of A.H. XI. Beoinnino of 633 A.D. The False Prophet Moseilama — ^Battle of Yemama — The ' Garden of Death' 38 CHAPTER VIII. CAMPAIGN AaAINSI THE BEBELS IN THE EAST AND SOUTH OP AEABIA. A.H. XI. A.D. 632-3. Bahrein reduced — Reduction of Oman and Mahra — Rebellion in Yemen — Reduction of Yemen — Reduction of Hadhramaut — Authority re-established in the South 47 CHAPTER IX. ENROLMENT OP THE BEDOITIN TRIBES POR WAR BEYOND AEABIA. Arabia aroused by the war-cry from without — All slaves of Arab blood set free — Death of Fatima 60 CHAPTER X. CAMPAIGN OP KHALID IN lEAC. A.H. XU. A.D. 633. State of Persia — Mesopotamia and the Syrian Desert — Irac Araby described — Khalid's Tictories over the Persians — The River of Blood — Hira capitulates — Hira remains Christian — Khalid's administration in Mc — Ehalid takes Anbar and Ain Tamar — Duma stomied by Khalid— Expeditions against Bedouins in Mc — Khalid's pilgrimage incognito to Mecca 66 CONTENTS. II CHAPTER XI. CAMPAIGN IN SIKIA — BATTLE OF WACUSA ON THB TEEMUK. A.H. Xin. A.D. 634. PAGE Defeat of Khalid ibn Said in Syria — Reinforcements sent to Syria — Roman army opposes tlie Moslems on the Yermuk— Indecisive skirmishing with Romans — Khalid transferred to Syria — Khalid's journey across the Desert — Roman and Moslem armies compared — Khalid takes command — Great battle of Wacusa on the Yermuk — Roman army totally defeated 92 CHAPTER XII. EVENTS IN IBAC — MOTHANNA AND THE PERSIANS — NEED OF EEINFOROEMENTS. Moharram— JumAd, A.II. XIII. March— August, A.D. 634. Mothanna asks Abu Bekr for reinforcements 112 CHAPTER XIII. SICKNESS AND DEATH OF ABU BEKR. Jumad n., A.H. XIII. August, A.D. 634. Abu Belcr visits Mecca on pUgrimage — Abu Bekr appoints Omar his successor — Death and burial of Abu Bekr — Character of Abu Bekr . . ' 115 CHAPTER XIV. ACCESSION OF OMAB — REINFORCEMENTS FOR lEAC — CAMPATQN THERE UNDER ABU OBEID AND MOTHANNA. Jumad II., A.H. XIII.— Moharram, A.H. XIV. August, A.D. 634— March, A.D. 630. Omar raises a new levy for Irac— Rustem sends a Persian army against Abu Obeid— Battle of the Bridge— Moslems routed— Fresh levies ordered to Irac — Motbanna's victory at Boweib— Character of Mothanna . '. . . ... 125 Xll COKTKNTS. CHAPTER XV. CAMrAIGN IN BTEIA — TAKING OF DAMASCUS — BATTLTl 01? FIHL. A.E. XIV. A.D. 036. PAa Syi'ia east of the Jordan — Khillld deposed : Abu Obeida succeeds him — Siege of Damascus — Storm and capitulation of Damascus — Cathedral of St. John the Baptist — Battle of Fihl — Progress of Moslem conquest on tlie .Jordan 141 CHAPTER XVI. ^ TEZDESIKD STTCCBEDS TO THE THEONB OF PEKSIA BATTLE OF CADE8ITA. A.H. XIV. A.D. 636. Yezdegird, King of Persia — Sod, coranmnder-in-cliief in Irac — Death of Mothanna — Sad encamps at Oiidesiya — Rustem advances on Cadesiya — Rustem crosses the river by a dam — Battle of Cudesiy a. First day — Attack of the elephants — Second and tliird days — Night of Clangour — Defeat of Persians — Omar receives tidings of the victory ]65 CHAPTER XVII. EVENTS FOLLOWING THE BATTLE OF CADESIYA — CAPTUEB OF MEDAIN. A.H. XV., XVI. A.D. 636-7. Advance upon Medain — Western suburb of Medain taken — Capture of Medain — Eich spoil of Medain 178 CHAPTER XVIII. BATTLE OP JALOLA — EEDTTCTION OF MESOPOTAMIA — XITFA AND BUSSORAH FOUNDED. A.H. XVI. A.D. 637. Great booty taken at Jalflla— Operations in Mesopotamia and the Delta of the Euphrates— Knfa and Bussorah— Land settled with native cultivators— Factious spirit at Knfa and Bussorah . . 187 CONTENTS. xm CHAPTER XIX. 0AMPAI9N IN NORTHBKN STKIA. A.H. XV. A.D. 636. FAQK Nortliorn Syria reduced — Heraoliua retires to Constantinople — Story of Jabala, Prince of tlie Beni Qliassiln 108 CHAPTER XX. OOlfftTJBST OF PAIBSIINE. A.H. XV. A.D. 636. Invasion of Palestine — Jerusalem capitulates to Omar — Omar visits Jerusalem — Causes facilitating conquest of Syria — Humiliation of Jews and Ckristians — ' Ordinance of Omar ' . . . . 206 CHAPTER XXI. Risirra is nobthbrn steia. A.H. XVn. A.D. 638. Byzantine attack on Northern Syria — Campaign in Asia Minor — Klialid brought to trial — ^KhaUd dies in neglect .... 216 CHAPTER XXII. BXPTTLSION OP JBWS AND OHEISTIANS FROM ARABIA — THE CIVU IIBT OF OMAR — SLAVES OF ARAB BLOOD MADE FREE. A.H. XIV., XV. A.D. 635, 636. Expulsion of Christians from Najran, and "of Jews from Kheibar — Dewan, or Civil List, of Omar — Omar perpetuates military organi- sation — The Coran, how compiled 223 CHAPTER XXIII. FAMINE AND PLAGTTE. A.H. XVni. A.D. 639. Omar visits Syria after the Plague— Muavia, Governor of Syria . 232 XIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIV. CONOTBST OP EGYPT. A.H. XX. A.D. 641. PAQE Alexandria taken — Fostat founded — Canal from the Nile to the Red Sea — Second siege of Alexandria 239 CHAPTER XXV. ADVANCE ON THE BOUTDERN BOEDER OP PERSIA — HORMTJZAN TAKEN PRISONER. A.H. XVI.— XX. A.D. 637-641. Unsuccessful attack on Persepolis — Capture of R^m Hormuz, Tostar, and Sua — Hormuzdn sent prisoner to Medina — Embraces Islam . 249 CHAPTER XXVI. CONaUEBT OF PERSIA. A.H. XXI., XXII. A.D. 642, 643. Yezdegird attacks the Moslems — Battle of Nehfi,vend — Persian pro- vinces reduced — Miracle at the siege of Darahgird . . . 26.5 CHAPTER XXVII. THE LATER TEARS OP OMAR's REIGN — DOMESTIC EVENTS. A.H. XVII.-XXin. A.D. 638-644. Grand Square formed around the Kdaba — Moghlra arraigned for adultery — Abu Mflsa, Governor of Bussorah — Moghira, Governor of Kufa — Deterioration of social life — Luxury, intemperance, and dissipation — Simplicity of Omar's life — Death of Abu Sofiiln and other ' Companions ' 2C2 CHAPTER XXVIII. DEATH OP OMAR. A.H. XXIII. A.D, 644. Omar stabbed by a Persian slave — Omar appoints Electors — Death of Omar — Character and reign of Omar 278 CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER XXIX. ELECTION OP OTHMAS. DzuL Hiij, a:E. XXm.— Mohabeam, A.H. XXIX. NOTEJIBEK, A.D. 644. rAGB The six Electors — CJonclave of the Electors — Othman elected Caliph — Ilonuuzan slain by Omar's son ... ... 286 CHAPTER XXX. CAUPHATE OP OTHHAS eEITERAl KEVIEW". A.H. XXIV.— XXXV. AJ). 645-656. Causes of Othman's unpopvilarity — Persia, Syria, Asia Minor, and Armenia — Conquests in Northern Afiica — Naval victory off Alexandria 294 CHAPTER XXXI. DOMESTIC ETEHTS DUKOre TTTR r.AT.TPTTATB OF OTKUAir. TTTH GBOTVIirS TrNPOPTTLASITT. Change of governors at Eufa— Change of governors at Bussorah — Eevision of Coran — Story of Abu Dzarr Ghifary — ^Unlawful amusements checked — Othman's increasing unpopularity — Oth- man marries Naila 303 CHAPTER XXXIT. DASGEROUS PACTIOlf AT KUFA — GROWIlfe DISAPPECIIOIT. AJa. XXXIL— XXXrV^. AJ). 653-655. Emeute at Ku& — Said expelled from Eu& — Aly expostulates with Othman — Othman appeals to the people 316 CHAPTER XXXm. TITR 0irEL00£ DA&KKNS. AM. XXXI7., XXXV. AD. 655. Complainants invited to come forward — Conferwice of governors at Medina ....... ... 324- XVI CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXIV. THE PLOT EIPEN3 — CONSPIRATORS ATTACK MEDINA — DEATH OP OTHMAN. A.H. XXXV. A.D. 656. FAOB Conspirators attack Medina — Altercation of conspirators witli Otliman — Tumult in tlie Great Mosque — Othm&n besieged in his palace — The blockade — Death of Othman — Burial of Othman 329 CHAPTER XXXV, THE ELECTION 01? ALTf. End of A.H. XXXV. June, A.D. 656. Aly will not punish the regicides — Aly appoints new governors — Mnilvia's defiant attitude 842 CHAPTER XXXVI. REBELLION AT BTTSSOBAH. A.H. XXXVI. A.D. 656. Ayesha at Mecca — Rebellion of Ayesha, Zobeir, and Talha — Rebel army marches from Mecca to Biissorah — Pursued by Aly — Ayesha's alarm — Zobeir and Talha occupy Bussorah . . , 351 CHAPTER XXXVII. BATTLE OP THE CAMEL. JuMAD II., A.H. XXXVI. Decembeb, A.D. 656. Aly advances on Bussorah — Negotiations with Zobeir and Talha — Regicides bring on engagement — Battle of the Camel — The in- surgents defeated — Ayesha retires to Medina .... 369 CHAPTER XXXVIII. ALT TRANBFEP>8 HIS SEAT OP SOVERNMENT TO ZTTPA. APPAIES Uf EGYPT. A.H. XXXVI. A.D. 656, 657. Cays, Governor of Egypt, deposed— Mohammed son of Abu Bekr appointed Governor of Egypt — Amru joins Muavia — Muuvia and Aly 309 CONTENTS. xvii CHAPTER XXYTX BATTLE OF BrPFUf. A.H. XXXVI., XXXVn. AJ). 657. PAe£ AI7 marches against Muavia— Fighting at Siffin— Battle of Sifl^n— Oombat closed by reference to arbitration — ^The armies break up 87C CHAPTER XL. THE KHAKETITES, OR THEOCEATIO PAOTIOIT, BEBEt A0AIN8I ALT 888 A.H. XXXVI. A.D. 657. CHAPTER XLI. DEOISION OP THE ITlIPrRES. A.H. XXXVn. A.D. 658. The Umpires meet — The deciBion deposing Aly .... 391 CHAPTER XLII. THE KHAEEJITE8, OE THEOCEATIO SBPAEATI8T8, DEFEATED AT NEHEWAW. A.H. XXXVII. A.D. 668. Hostile attitude of Kharejites — Second campaign against Syria pro- jected — Army diverted by Kh&rejites — Elhslrejites defeated . 396 CHAPTER XLIII. REVOLT OF Eaypi. A.H. XXXVni. A.D. 658. Aly abandons the war on Syria — Aly loses Egypt .... 401 CHAPTER XLIV. THE EEMADTDEE OF ALX's REISI?. A.H. XXXVm.— XL. A.D. 668-660. Kharejite fimeutes — Syrian expeditions against Aly — Troubles of Aly — Peace between Aly and Muavia 404 XViii CONTENTS. CHAPTER XL7. ASSASSllfrATION OF AIT. A.H. XL. A.D. 661. PAGE Oonapiracy against Aly, Muavia, and Amru — Muavia and Amru escape — Assassination of Aly — Character of Aly . . . 411 CHAPTER XLVI. HASAN SUCCEEDS ALY. — ABDICATES IN I'AVpTJR OP MUAVIA. A.H. XL., XLL A.D. 661. Hasan abdicates the Caliphate — Muavia sole Caliph . . . 418 CHAPTER XLVII. SOME BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICES. A.H. XL.— L. Amru, Moghira, and Ziad — Muilvia acknowledges ZiSd as his brother . 422 CHAPTER XLVIII. TEZID PEOOtAnrBD HBIB APPARENT — HEREDITARI NOMINATION BECOMES A PRECEDENT. A.H. LVI. A.D. 676. Precedents of succession — Yezid declared Heir Apparent — Precedent for future successions 427 CHAPTER XLIX. TEZID AND THE TRAGEDY AT KERBALA. A.H. LXL A.D. 680. Yezid succeeds to the Caliphate — Hosein sets out for Kufa — Hosein stopped at Kerbala — The tragedy of Kerbala— Death of Hosein — ' The Moharram ' 433 CONTENTS. XIX CHAPTER L. THE OMBYTAD AlfD ABBA8SIDE DYNASTIES, AND CONCLUSION. PAGE Rebellion of Ibn Zobeir, Mukhtar, and Kharejites — A.bd al Malik and Welid— Omeyyad dynasty — Abbasaide dynasty — The Abbassides — Al Mamnn — The Motazilites — Golden Age under Abbassides — Fall of the Caliphate — Early influences which still survive — Soonnies and Shiyas — Islam stationary — Causes of decadence — Conclusion . . 443 Index ... ... .... 461 Errata Page 72, line \4,/or Hatim, son of Adl, read Adi, son o£ H.atim. Page 241, line 16, /or Eh&lid read Amru. ANNALS OF THE EAELY CALIPHATE. CHAPTEE I. ELECTION OF ABU BEKR. A.H. XI. A.D. 632. At eventide of a summer day in the eleventh year of the Death of Hegira, three chief ' Companions ' of Mahomet might be seen ^^^^i f. issuing in haste from the Great Mosque at Medina, where, ^■'•- ^•' close by in the chamber of Ayesha, his favourite wife, the a.d. 632. Prophet of Arabia lay dead.' They were Abu Bekr, Omar, and Abu Obeida. I will first describe each briefly, and then explain the object of their errand. Abu Bekk, now threescore years of age, was somewhat Ann short in stature, of a spare frame, rounded back, and stooping gait. His face was thin, complexion smooth and fair, nose aquiline and sharp, with other features delicate ; the fore- head high ; the eyes deep-seated and far apart ; the veins well marked. His scanty hair and beard, now for many years white, was dyed red. The countenance was still in old age ' The date ordinarily given as that of the Prophet's death is the 12th Eabi I. See note p. 280, Life of Mahomet, toI. iv. For the term ' Companion,' technically used to signify all who had a personal acquaintance with the Prophet, sec ibid. p. 664. The era of the Hegira was established by Omar, five or six years after the Prophet's death. The first Moharram of the first year of the Hegira cor- responds with 19th April, a.h. 622. The real hegira, or flight of Mahomet from Mecca, took place two months later (June 20). See ibid. p. Hi, and (7. de Perceval, vol.. iii. p. 17. B 2 ABU BEKH. CHAP. i. handsome ; and the expression mild, but wise and resolute. To him faith in the Prophet had become a second nature, and, now that his Master was gone, the disciple lived but to fulfil his will. It was this that nerved a disposition naturally soft and yielding, and made Abu Bekr, the True,' of all the followers of Mahomet, the firmest and most resolute. Omae. Omar, fifteen years younger, differed both iu frame and temperament. Broad-shouldered and tall, he towered above the crowd. Though somewhat dark in complexion, the face was fresh and ruddy. He Vas now bald ; and his beard was dyed like his friend's. His stride was long, and his presence commanding. Naturally hasty and passionate, he would twist his moustache when angry and drawit downwards to his mouth. But time had mellowed temper ; and, beneath an imperious manner, he was bland and courteous. Their attachment to Mahomet had, on these two friends, an effect exactly opposite. That which braced the soft nature of Abu Bekr served to abate the vehemence of Omar. Both stood in a like relation to the Prophet, each having given a daughter to him in marriage ; Haphsa, Omar's daughter, was one of Mahomet's favourite wives ; but Ayesha, the child of Abu Bekr, was queen in his affections to the end. Anu On these two men at this moment hung the future of Obeiba. Islam. The third, who now accompanied them, Abu Obeida, was between them in age. He was thin, tall, and sinewy ; bald, and with little beard. Mild, unassuming, and un warlike, he was yet destined to take a leading part in the conquest of Syria. Abu Bekr It was the afternoon of the day on which, but an hour or and Omar ^^^ before, Mahomet had breathed his last. The event had in the Great come unexpectedly at the end. Abu Bekr, thinking the °^^"*' Prophet better, had shortly before retired to his house in the suburbs of the city. Called back in haste, he entered Ayesha's chamber, and kissed the face of his departed friend, saying : > Al Siddtck; ibid. vol. ii. 102, 220. He was also caUed 'the Sighing one,' from his compassionate nature. A.H. XI. ELECTION OF ABU BEKR. 6 ' Sweet wert thoii in life ; and sweet thou art in death.' The mosque was filled with a crowd excited by the voice of Omar, who wildly proclaimed that the Prophet was not dead, but in a trance ; and that, like Moses, he would surely return to them again. Abu Bekr, issuing from the chamber (which opened directly from tlie court of the mosque), put his friend aside with these memorable words : — Whoso wor- shippeth Mahomet, let him know that Mahomet is dead indeed ; but whoso worshippeth God, let him, know that God liveth and dieth not. He added passages from the Goran, in which the Prophet had said that he would die ; and Omar, hearing them as if he had never heard them before, was speechless. The multitude quieted down before the solemn words of Abu Bekr. But just then a messenger hurried up with the report that the citizens of Medina — the AnsIk, had Men of assembled to choose for themselves a chief. The mdhient would was critical. The unity of the faith was at stake. A divided gj^^jgf *£ power would fall to pieces, and all might be lost. The their o-vyn. mantle of the Prophet must fall upon one successor, and on one alone. The sovereignty of Islam demanded an undivided Caliphate; and Arabia would acknowledge no master but from amongst the Coreish. The die must be cast, and at once. Such, no doubt, were the thoughts which occurred Stormy to Omar and Abu Bekr on receiving intelligence of the the hall of elective conclave; and so, alarmed at the danger, they l^^^^^^^g hastened to the spot, accompanied by Abu Obeida, if haply they might nip it in the bud. On the way they met two friendly citizens coming from the assembly, who warned them of the risk they ran ; but, notwithstanding, they hurried on. The men of Medina meanwhile, gathered in one of their rude halls, were bent upon an independent course. ' We have sheltered this nest of strangers,' they cried. ' It is by our good swords they have been able to plant the Faith. The Chief of Medina shall be from amongst om'selves.' And they had already fixed their choice on Sad ibn Obada, leader B 2 4 ABU BEKE. CHAP. I. of the Beni Khazraj, one of ' the Twelve ' at ' the Pledge of Acaba,' who, sick of a fever, lay covered up at the further end of the hall. At this moment the three Companions entered but just in time, for had the Citizens elected Sdd and pledged their troth to him, Medina might have been irretrievably com- promised. Omar, with his native vehemence, was about to speak, when Abu Bekr bade him to be silent, and anticipated him, as Omar used in after days to say, with the same argu- ments he himself had thought of, and even better. ' Every word,' said Abu Bekr, calmly and firmly, ' which the Citizens had uttered in their own praise was true, but in noble birth and influence the Coreish were paramount, and to none but them would Arabia yield obedience.' ' Then,' cried the men of Medina, ' let there be one chief from amongst you and one from amongst us.' ' Away with you !' exclaimed Omar ; ' two cannot stand together ' ; and even Sfi.d from beneath his covering muttered that to divide the power would weaken it. High words ensued. Hobab, on the side of S^d, cried out, ' Hear him not ! Attend to me, for I am the well- rubbed PalTn-stem.^ If they refuse, expel them from the city. I am the Eoaring Lion of the desert, and will devour them up.' ' The Lord destroy thee ! ' cried Omar ; and Hobab returned the words. The altercation gaining in heat and bitterness, Abu Bekr saw that it must be stopped at any risk ; so stepping forward he said : ' Ye see these two ' — and he pointed to Omar and Abu Obeida — ' Choose ye now which- ever of them ye will, and salute him as your Chief.' 'Nay,' cried both at once, ' Thou hast.4lready, at the Prophet's bid- ding, led the prayers; thou art our .Chief. Stretch forth thine hand.' He did so, and they struck their hand on his in token of allegiance.^ Others began to follow their ex- ' MoHning a palm-tnink left for the beasts to come and rub themselves upon ; a metaphor for a person much resorted to for counsel. Hob/lb was the chief whom Mahomet employed to reconnoitre the enemy at Bedr. 2 The Arabian mode of swearing fealty. The chief held out his hand, and the people one by one struck their hand flat upon it as they passed. A.H. XI. ELECTION OF ABU BEER. 5 ample. ' Wilt thou cut thine own kinsman's throat ? ' cried Hobab to a Khazrajite about to take the pledge. ' Not so,' he answered; 'I only yield the right to whom the right is due.' Whilst they yet hesitated, the Beni Aus, jealous of the rival tribe and of Sad its nominee, spake among themselves : ' If this man be chosen, the rule will be for ever with the Beni Khazraj. Let us salute Abu Bekr as Abu Bokr our Chief.'* The example once set, group after group ad- caHph. vanced to place their hand on that of Abu Bekr, tiU none was left but SM, who still lay covered in the corner. Acknowledged thus by the men of Medina, there could be no doubt of Abu Bekr's acceptance by the Coreish and all the Refugees.* He was one of themselves, and the Prophet, by appointing him to take his place, when laid aside, at the daily prayers, had in a manner indicated liim as his vicegerent. And so homage was done on all sides to Abu Bekr. He was saluted as the ' Caliph,' or ' Successor of the Prophet.' The night was occupied in preparing the dead for sepul- I5niiiii of ture. The body was washed and laid out, and the grave dug rrophet. in Ayesha's apartment, where Mahomet had breathed his last. On the morrow the citizens, men, women, and children, thronged the chamber' to look once more upon their Prophet's face. And then the body was reverently committed to the dust. The funeral being over, and the court of the Great AbuBeki-'s Mosque still crowded with the mourners, Abu Bekr ascended address, the pulpit, and, sitting down, was saluted, as Caliph by accla- mation. Then he arose, and said : ' people ! Now I am Chief over you, albeit not the best amongst you. If I do well, support me; if ill, then set me right. Follow the true, wherein is faithfulness ; eschew the false, wherein is ' ItiviU be remembered that the native population of Medina was divided into the Aus and Khazraj, and Sad belonged to the latter. Enmity and fighting had long prevailed between them before Mahomet's arrival {lAfe of Mahomet, p. 1 1 9). ' The followers of Mahomet were divided into the Muh&jerin, or Eefugees from Mecca and elsewhere ; and the Ansar or Helpers, the citizens of Medina {Ibid. p. 189). 6 ABU BEKR. CHAP. 1. treachery. The weaker amongst you shall be as the stronger with me, until that I shall have redressed his wrong ; and the stronger shall be as the weaker, until, if the Lord will, I shall have taken from him that which he hath wrested. Leave not off to fight in the ways of the Lord ; whosoever leaveth off, him verily shall the Lord abase. Obey me wherein I obey the Lord and his Prophet ; when I disobey, then obey me not. Now, arise to prayer, and the Lord be with you ! ' The assembly stood up for prayer, and Abu Bekr, for the first time as Caliph, filled the place of Mahomet. Saeid and still was of opinion that he should be withdrawn from Omar. his command. He persevered in pressing this view upon Abu Bekr, who would reply, ' Omar, hold thy peace ! Ke- frain thy tongue from Khalid. He gave an order, and the order was misunderstood.' But Omar heeded not. He neither forgave nor forgot, as in the sequel we shall see. The scandal was the greater, because Malik ibn Noweira Malik's ■i.« iri" 'J. J • 1 death com- was a ■ chief renowned for his generosity and princely memorated virtues, as well as for poetic talent. His brother, Motammim, '" ^^P^ ' ^ by his a poet likewise of no mean fame, commemorated his tragic brother. end in many touching verses. Omar loved to listen to his B 2 36 ABU BEKR. CHAP. VI. elegies; and he used to tell Motammiin that if he had himself possessed the poetic gift, he would have had no higher ambition than to mourn in such verse over the fate of his own brother Zeid, who shortly after fell at Yemama. Tlie affair The materials are too meagre to judge conclusively Btain ou whether the right in this grave matter is on the side of fame''*^^ Omar or of the Caliph, Abu Bekr, Although the hostile bias of Khalid against Malik led undoubtedly to the raid upon his tribe and the harsh treatment which followed thereupon, still, with the conflicting evidence, we may hold the deeper charge unproven. But in wedding the widow of his enemy while his blood (shed as we are to believe in misconception of his order) was fresh upon the ground, Khalid, if he gave no colour to darker suspicions, yet transgressed the proprieties even of Arab life, and justified the indictment of unbridled passion and cold-blooded self- indulgence.'' ' A full aceonnt of Milik and Motammim, with copious extracts from tlieir •poetry, wiE be found in Noldeke's Poesie der alten Araber, Hanover, 1864. Arab critics take Motammim as the model of elegiac poets, both for beauty of expression and intensity of feeling. Por twenty years he had been blind of an eye, and now he told Omar that grief for his brother's cruel fate had brought floods of tears from that eye, which all these years had been bereft of mois- ture. ' Verily this surpasseth all other grief ! ' said Omar. ' Yes,' replied Motammim, ' it would have been a different thing if my brother had died the death of thy brother Zeid upon the field of battle.' The noble mien and gene- rosity of MS,lik are painted in glowing colours. He used to kindle a great fira by his tent all night until the day broke, in the hope of attracting travellers to his hospitable home. " The darker suspicion has been preserved by tradition, both in prose and verse. See C. de Perceval, vol. iii. p. 368 ; and Kitdb al Aghdny, vol. iii. p. 355. Leila, we are told, cast herself at Khilid's feet, witli hair dishevelled and unveiled face, imploring mercy for her husband. The wretched man, noticing the admiring look which the conqueror bestowed upon his wife, cried out, ' Alae, alas ! here is the secret of my fate ! ' ' Not so,' said Kh&lid, aa he gave the sign for beheading him; 'but it is thine own apostasy.' All the same, he took the wife straightway for his own. We may dismiss the scene as unsupported by evidence. It is also inconsistent with Abu Bokr's treatment. His reproach of KhAlid was based not on the impropriety of the act itself (which he could hardly have avoided had the story been founded on fact), but on its being at variance with the ideas of the Arabs to wed on the field of battle. The example, however, was set by tlie Prophet himself, who married A.H. XI. STORY OF MALIK IBN NOWEIRA. 37 Safia the night after the battle of Kheibar, and at any rate it was not long in becoming a common practice. Following the example of Kh41id (repeated by him again shortly after), the Moslem ■warriors made no delay in the field to wed — or rather, without wedding, to treat upon the spot as servile concubines — the wives and daughters of their fallen foes. The practice also now arose of taking their own families with them in the field, and marriages were celebrated there among themselves — on one occasion, we read, on the eve of an impending battle. As. to the tenor of tradition, there are two distinct versions of the tragedy, one giving as its cause the misconception of Khilid's order, the other MAlik's own' disloyal speech. This last, taken separately, is inconsistent with the admitted fact that Kh&lid justified himself before Abu Bekr by the former. In the text I have endeavoured to combine the two narratives, M41ik had flowing locks, and (so runs the tradition) when the skulls of the prisoners were cast into the fire under the cooking-pots, his alone would not burn because of the mass of hair. The story (true or false) shows the spirit of savagery rapidly fanned by religious war. I should perhaps mention that, though tradition is proud of Kh&lid's- heroism, he is not a special favourite with Abbasside historians, as his son was afterwards a staunch supporter of the Omeyyads; 38 ABU BEKR. Campaign of Khaiid af^ainst Wosei- lama. January, A.I). 633.' Mosei- lamii's previous story. CHAPTEE VII. BATTLE OF YEMAMA. End op A.n. XI. BEaiNuiNQ op G33 A.D. But sterner work was in reserve for Khaiid. In the centre of Arabia, and right in front of his army, some marches east, lay Yemama. There resided the Beni Hanifa, a powerful branch of the great tribe Bekr ibn Wail. Partly Christian and partly heathen, the Beni Hanifa had submitted to Mahomet ; but they were now in rebellion, 40,000 strong, around their prophet Moseilama. It was against these that Khaiid next directed his steps. The beginning of Moseilama's story belongs to the life of Mahomet.^ Small in stature, and of a mean countenance, he had yet qualities which fitted him for command. He «visited Medina with a deputation from his people, and it was pretended that words had then fallen from Mahomet signifying that he would yet be a sharer with him in the prophetic office. Building thereon, Moseilama advanced his claim, and was accepted by his people as their prophet. ' I.e. Shairwal, or tyio months before the close of a.h. XI. As already .explained, the dates are arbitrarily assumed. Tho Kfttib Wlickidi places tho battle of Yemlma in a.h. XII. (which begins March 18, a.d. 633), and even ■the engagement of Boz4kha in the same year; bnt this wonld throw the cam- ipaign in Iric altogether too late. The cold -which led KhAlid to order his prisoners to be ' wrapped,' mnst have been on the approach of winter, and cor- .responds with the chronology which I have been obliged to assume on grounds admittedly vague, ' See lAfe of MaJiomet, ch, xxxii, Moseilama is a diminutive form of the adjective Moslem, and is supposed by some to be in that sense a derisive epithet. He is described as of a contemptible presence, a dark yellow com- plexion and a pug nose. A.H. XI. THE FALSE PROPHET MOSEILAMA. 39 When summoned, by Mahomet to abandon his impious pre- tensions, he sent an insolent answer claiming to divide the land. Mahomet replied in anger, and drove the ambassadors from his presence. To counteract his teaching, he deputed Eajjal, a convert from the same tribe, who had visited Medina, and there been instructed in the Goran.' On re- turning to his people, however, this man also was gained over by the pretender to espouse his claims as founded on the alleged admission of Mahomet himself. , Moseilama, we are told, deceived the people by tricks and miracles ; aped, in childish terms, the language of the Goran ; and established a system of prayers similar to those of Mahomet. In short, his religion, so far as we can tell, was but a wretched imitation of Islam.'' At the period we have now reached, he had just rid himself of Sajah, the rival prophetess, by the singular expedient of taking her to wife, and then bribing her by half the revenues of Yemama to return from whence she came. Parties of Mesopotamian horse were still about the country collecting her dues, when Khalid's approach changed the scene ; and Moseilama, marching out with a great army to meet him, pitched his camp at Acraba. Ikrima and Shorahbil were the commanders originally ikrima despatched by Abu Bekr to quell the rising at Yemama,' and reverse, both suffered at the hands of Moseilama from a hasty and un- ' Some any that ho was deputed by Abu Bekr. He could recite the whole of Sura Boer (s. ii.). KhAlid had not heard of his defectiou, and looked for him to come out and join his army. ' The tales told of him are silly. He was desired to pray, as Mahomet had done, for rain, but it only intensified the drought ; when he prayed for a blessing on young children, it made them stammer, become bald, &c. He estab- lished a sanctuary, perhaps in imitation of the K4aba, but it became a mere rendezvous for bandits. See also the ascetic doctrines ascribed to him, and the opinion of Al Kindy, the Apologist, supra, pp. 23 & 32. ' Above, p. 18. Ikrima was the son of Abu Jahl, the arch-enemy, cursed in the Corin by Mahomet, and himself an inveterate opponent, until the taking of Mecca (lAfe of Mahomet, ch. xxiv.). So completely was it all forgotten now under the new dispensation of equality and brotherhood, that he had one of the chief commands given him. 40 ABU BEKR. Kh&lid sets out for Ye- MojAa, a chief of the Beni Hanifa, taken prisoner. guarded advance. Ikrima, anxious to anticipate his fellow, hurried forward, and was driven back with loss. The de- tails (as generally the case when tradition deals with a defeat) are wanting ; but the reverse was so serious that Abu Bekr, in reply to the despatch reporting it, wrote angrily to Ikrima. ' I will not see thy face,' he said, * nor shalt thou see mine, as now thou art. Thou shalt not return hither to dishearten the people. Depart unto the uttermost coasts, and there join the armies in the east of the land, and then in the south.' So, skirting Yemama, he went forward to Oman, there to retrieve his tarnished reputation. Shorahbil, meanwhile, was directed to halt and await tbe approach of Khalid.' It was after the reverse of Ikrima that Khalid, on being summoned to Medina on the affair of Malik ibn Noweira, received the commission to attack Moseilama. In anticipa- tion of serious opposition, the Caliph promised to strengthen his army by a fresh column composed of veterans from amongst the men of Mecca and Medina. So Khalid re- turned to his camp at Bitah, and when these reinforcements came up, he marched in strength to meet the enemy. It was now that Shorahbil, whose troop formed the vanguard, hastening forward like Ikrima, met with a like reverse, and was severely handled by Khalid for his temerity. While yet a march from Acraba, Khalid surprised a mounted body of the Beni Hanifa under command of the chief Mojaa. They were returning from a raid against a neighbouring tribe, unaware of the approach of the Mussiil- man army. But they belonged to the enemy, and as such were all put to the sword, excepting Mojaa, whom Khalid ' If Ikrima and Shorahbil were despatched from Dzul Cassa at the general marshalling when Khilid marched against Toleiha, then Shorahbil must have had long to wait. But it is probable (as we have seen) that the popular tradi- tion of the simultaneous despatch of nil the columns is n fiction, and that Klidlld's expedition preceded some of the others by a considerable interval. After finishing the YemAma campaign, Shorahbil's original orders were to join Amru in his proceedings against the Beni Codhda in the north. A.H. XI. BATTLE OF YEMAMA. 41 spared, as he said, he promised to be useful on the coming eventful day, and kept chained in his teut under charge of Leila, his lately espoused wife. On the morrow, the two armies met upon the sandy plain Battle of of Acraba. The enemy rushed on with desperate bravery. Yemam" ' Fight for your loved ones ! ' cried the son of Moseilama ; ' it is the day of jealousy and vengeance ; if ye be worsted, your maidens will be ravished by the conqueror, and your wives dragged to his foul embrace ! ' So . fierce was the shock that the Moslems were driven back, and their camp uncovered. The tent of Khalid was entered by the wild Bedouins ; and, but for the chivalry of her captive, who con- jured his countrymen to spare a lady of such noble birth, Leila would have perished by their swords. ' Go, fight against men,' Mojaa cried, ' and leave this woman ; ' so they cut the tent-ropes and departed. There was danger for Islam at the moment. Defeat would have been disastrous ; indeed, the Faith could hardly have survived it. But now the spmt of the Moslems was ajoused. Khalid, knowing the rivalry between the Bedouin and the city Arabs, sepa- rated them to fight apart. On this they rallied one the other ; and the sons of the desert cried : ' Now we shall see the carnage wax hot amongst the raw levies, of the town. We will teach them how to fight ! ' Prodigies of valour were fought all round. The heroic words and deeds of the leaders, as one after another fell in the thick of battle, are dwelt on by the historian with enthusiaan. Zeid, the favourite brother of Omar,, who led the men of Mecca, singled out Eajjal, and, reproaching his apostasy, despatched him forthwith. A furious south wind,, charged with the desert sand, blew into the faces of the Moslems, and, blinding them, caused a momentary pause. Upbraiding them for their slackness, Zeid cried out : ' I shall follow them that have gone before ; not a word will I utter more, till we beat the apostates back, or I appear to clear myself before my Lord. 42 ABU BEKE. CHAP. Tii. Close your eyes and clench your teeth. Forward like men ! ' So saying, he led the charge and fell. Abu Hodzeifa, another Companion of note, calling out ' Fight for the Coran, ye Moslems, and adorn it by your deeds ! ' followed his example and shared his fate. Seeing this, Abu Hodzeifa's freedman, Salim, seized the banner from his dying master, and exclaiming, ' I were a craven bearer of the Coran if I feared for my life,' plunged into the battle and was slain.' Nor were the citizens of Medina behind their fellows. Their commander, Thabit ibn Cays, reproached them indignantly : ' Woe be to you,' he said, ' because of this backsliding. Verily, I am clear of ye, even as I am clear of these,' and he pointed to the enemy as he flung himself and perished in their midst. Animated thus, the rank and file charged furiously. Backwards and forwards swayed the line, and heavy was the carnage. But urged by Khalid's valiant arm,^ and raising the grand battle-cry ' Ya Mohammeda ! ' the Moslem arms at length prevailed. The enemy broke and began to give. ' To the garden ! ' cried Mohakkem, a brave leader of the Beni Hanifa ; ' to the garden, and close the gate ! ' Taking his stand, he guarded their retreat as they fled into an orchard surrounded by a strong wall, and Mosedlama with them. The Moslem troops, following close, ■ From the expression used, it would almost seem as if S41im carried the Cor&n on the point of hi* flag-staff. This was a common practice in after times, but the Cor4n was not yet collected. Possibly some portion may have been thus borne aloft by the leader, or the words may be metaphorical or anticipative. ' In some accounts of the battle, Kh41id is spoken of as challenging his enemy to single combat, and slaying, one after another, all M'ho came out against him. But the circumstances would hardly have admitted of this. These single combats are the conventional drapery of all the early battles, and need not always be taken as facts. Here they are specially introduced to give place to an apocryphal stoiy about Moseilama. He came forth to answer the challenge of Khillid, who, in reference to the offer made by him to Mahomet, ironically asked whether he was now prepared ' to share the Kingdom ' ; whereupon Moseilama turned aside ' to consult his dajmon." Khdlid then rushed at him, and he fled. ' Where is that now which thou didst promise us ? ' cried his followers to the prophet, but all tliat he .could reply was to bid them fight for their honour and their families. A-H. XI. BATTLE OF YEMAMA. 43 soon swarmed all- round the wall, but found no entrance anywhere. At last Beraa, one of the Twelve,' cried, ' Lift The me aloft upon the wall.' So they lifted him up. For a ^f*Dea"th. moment, as he looked on the surging mass below, the hero hesitated ; then, boldly leaping down, he beat right and left, until he reached the gate, and threw it open. Like waters pent up, his comrades rushed in ; and, as beasts of the forest snared in a trap, so wildly struggled the brave Beni Hanifa in the Oarden of Death. Hemmed in by the narrow space, and hampered by the trees, their arms useless from their very numbers, they were hewn down, and perished to a man. The carnage was fearful, for besides the slain within the walls, an equal number were killed on the field, and again an equal number in the flight.' The Moslems, too, despite The Beni their splendid victory, had cause to remember the Garden discom- of Death and the battle of Yemama, for their loss was great"'"* beyond all previous experience. Besides those killed hand slaughter to hand in the garden, great numbers fell in the battle when sides, their ranks wavered and gave way. The Kefugees from Mecca lost 3G0 men, and the Citizens of Medina 300, or nearly 700 in all ; while the slaughter amongst the Bedouins, though somewhat less, raised the gross number over 1,200, besides the woimded. And amongst them were nine and thirty chief ' Companions,' or men of note, amongst the Prophet's followers. At Medina there was hardly a house, whether of Eefugees or native Citizens, in which the voice of wailing was not heard.' Moseilama was slain by Wahshi, the same negro warrior Moseilama who, swinging a javeUn, after his savage style of warfare, ™°n5 ' The twelve Leaders at the Pledge of Acaba. Life of Mahomet, eh. vi. ' It is said that 7,000 of the enemy 'were slain on each of these occasions, but the statement is loose and, no doubt, vastly exaggerated. One tradition gives the slain in the garden alone at 10,000. ' The greater loss among the men of Mecca and Medina was ascribed by themselves to their superior gallantry, but by the Bedouins to their being raw and unused to fighting. We see already the seed of the rivalry which after- wards broke out so fatally between the Bedouins and the Coreish. 44 ABU BEKR. CHAP. 711. round his head, had on the iield of Ohod brought the sainted Hamza to the ground. After the battle Khalid carried the chief Mojaa, still in chains, over the iield to identify the dead. As they passed along the field of battle, turning the bodies over one after another, they came upon a stalvrart figure. 'Look, was this your master? ' said Khalid. ' Nay,' replied Mojaa, ' this was a nobler and a better man.' It was the corpse of the brave Mohakkem, who fell covering the retreat, slain by the hand of Abdul Rahman, the Caliph's son. Then they entered the Garden of Death. Among the heaps of the mangled dead, they stumbled on a body of in- significant mien. 'This is your man,' said Mojaa, as he turned it on its side ; ' truly ye have done for him ! ' ' Yea,' replied Kbalid, ' or rather it is he which hath done for you, that which he hath done.' Truoe with The Mussulman horse now scoured the country, and every Hanffa"' ^^^ brought in bands of prisoners. Aware that after their crushing defeat his people were incapable of resistance, Mojaa bethought him of a stratagem. He represented them as holding their forts and fastnesses in force throughout the country, and so persuaded Khalid to offer them their lives if they at once capitulated. Meanwhile, by his secret sugges- tion, the battlements were lined by every available person, even by the old men and women in armed disguise ; and Khalid's messengers returned with the answer that they would fight to the last. The army was wearied with the hard struggle, and most of them anxious, after the long cam- paign, to return to their homes; and so Khalid concluded a truce, on terms more favourable than they would have obtained but for Mojaa's artifice. When it came to light, Khalid reproached him for it ; but in the end excused him on the pleaded ground of patriotism, and stood by the treaty. No sooner was it concluded, than he received a despatch of unwonted severity from Abu Bekr, who, to strike terror into other apostate tribes, commanded that not a single adult A.11. XI. BATTLE OF YEMAMA. 45 male of the ungodly and rebellious race should be spared. Fortunately the truce forbade the bloody edict. The Beni Hanifa, like other prostrate tribes, were received back into the bosona of Islam, and a portion only of their number were retained in captivity.' "When the campaign was ended, Khalid sent a deputa- Deputa- tion of the chief survivors to Abu Bekr, who received them 5°°;°^ courteously. ' Out upon you ! ' said he ; ' how is it that this Hanifa to the Caliph, impostor led you all astray ? ' '0 CaUph ! ' .they answered, ' thou hast heard it all ; he was one whom the Lord blessed not, nor yet his people ; ' and they repeated to him some of the things he used to say. ' Good heavens ! ' exclaimed Abu Bekr, ' Beshrew you ! What kind of words are these ? There is neither sense in them for good nor yet for evil, to have beguiled you thus, but a kind of strange fatuity.' So he dismissed them to their homes.'' Among the killed we meet not a few names familiar to Many us in the annals of the Prophet's life. The carnage amongst panions' the Readers — those who had the Goran by heart — was so t^°Bif;Q great, as to suggest to Omar the first design of collecting Zeid, brother of the sacred text, ' lest any part should be lost therefrom.' At Omar. the death of his favourite brother Zeid, who had shared with him the dangers of the first battles of Islam, Omar was in- consolable. ' Thou art returned home,' he said to his son ' The terms of tho treaty, notwithstanding the alleged artifice (which reads somewhat strangely) were sufficiently severe. The Beni Hanifa agreed to give up all their armour, their silver and their gold ; but they were allowed to retain half of their slaves, and get back half of their own people taken pri- soner. KhMid had already captured in the valleys and open villages so many prisoners, that he had sent ,'500 to Abu Bekr as the royal Fifth, implying a total number of 2,500. But Omar subsequently freed all slaves of Arab blood, Selma, one of the Hanifa chiefs, sought to dissuade his people from sur- render, saying that the winter was not overpast, and that the enemy must retire. Being overruled, he fled and committed suicide. ' The sayings reported were such as these : ' croaking frog, thou neither preventest the drinker, nor yet defilest the water.' ' We shall have half the land and ye the other half; the Coreish are an overbearing folk,' But as I have said before, we have not the materials for knowing what the real teaching of Moseilama was, nor the secret of his influence. 46 ABO BEKR. CHAP. Til. Abdallah, ' safe and soimd ; and Zeid is dead. Wherefore wast not thou slain before him ? I wish not to see thy face.' 'Father!' answered Abdallah, 'he asked for martyrdom, and the Lord granted it. I strove after the same, but it was not given unto me.' Such was the spirit of these Moslem warriors. Khaiid Khalid again signalised his victory by wedding a captive MojAii's maid upon the field. ' Give me thy daughter to wife,' he (laughter, g^^^^j ^^ Mojaa, the prisoner who had so faithfully defended his bride in the hour of peril. ' Wait,' replied Mojaa ; ' be not so hasty. Thou wilt endamage thyself in the eyes of thy Chief, and me likewise.' ' Man, give me thy daughter ! ' he repeated imperiously ; so Mojaa gave her to him. When Abu Bekr heard of it, he wrote him a letter sprinkled with blood. ' By my life ! thou son of Khalid's father, thou art a pretty fellow, living thus at thine ease. Thou weddest a damsel, whilst the ground beneath the nuptial couch is yet wet with the blood of twelve hundred ! ' The reproof fell lightly upon Khalid. ' This is the worlc,' he said, as he read the epistle, ' of that left-handed fellow,' meaning Omar. The sentiment, however, was Abu Bekr's own ; but the ' Sword of the Lord ' eoidd not be spared. We shall meet Khalid next in Chaldcea, by the banks of the river Euphrates. ' The Persian paraphrase of Tabari gives a highly coloured version. Khilid, it tells us, gave his bride the dower of a million pieces out of the spoil, •while on the marriage night the Moslem warriors lay about hungry and in want. Verses handed about the camp to this effect reached Omar, and put him in a towering passion. He nearly persuaded Abu Bekr to recall KhAlid, but the Caliph, reflecting that, after so great a victory, it would discourage the army, contented himself with a reproachful letter. All this is evidently gross exaggeration, founded probably on the dislike of the Abbasside historians. A.H. XI. CAMPAIGNS IN EASTERN AND SOUTHERN ARABIA. 47 CHAPTER VIII. CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE REBELS IN THE EAST AND SOUTH OF ARABIA. A.H. XI. A.D. 632-3. Having traced Khalid's victorious career from the north to Campaigns the centre of Arabia, we shall now follow the Mussulman east and arms in their progress from Bahrein and Oman on the °°"'''' "^ ° Arabia. Persian Grulf, along the southern coast to Hadhramaut and a.h. XI. Yemen, but more briefly than before, both because the authorities themselves are brief, and also because the in- terest of the story, apart from a few instructive incidents, centres mainly in the general result, that is, the reclamation of apostate Arabia. Beyond Yemama, skirting the western shore of the Bahrein Persian Gulf from Catif to Oman, lies the long tract, desert J,T ^m. and littoral, called Hejer and Bahrein. It was chiefly occu- *•"■ ^}- A.D. 633. pied by the Beni Bekr, and other branches of the great Beni Eabia family. Mondzir, the Christian chief of Bahrein, had adopted Islam, and, in acknowledgment of the Prophet's suzerainty, entertained a Resident from Medina at his court.' He died shortly after Mahomet, and then the whole province rebelled. One tribe alone was kept loyal by Jarud, a dis- ciple taught at the feet of the Prophet, who now preached that, though Mahomet had gone the way of aU the prophets, Islam would not the less survive. Ala, the Resident, who had fled upon the outbreak, was reappointed by the Caliph, and despatched with a force to reclaim the rebellious pro- ' See the previoua history of the prorince, Life of Mahomet, ch. xxx. 48 AI!U BEKR. CHAP. Tin. vince. This was after the brilliant campaign of Khalid, and the country was sufficiently near the scene of his operations to feel its influence. As he passed along the outskirts of Yemama, the Beni Hanifa, Temim, and other tribes, anxious to prove their loyalty, sent contingents to join the column.'' Thus reinforced to double his original numbers, Ala attempted to cross the waterless zone of Dahna, lying between him and the Gulf. The army lost its way, and was overtaken by darkness in the very midst of the wilderness ; the water was all spent, no springs were known of, and they resigned them- selves to despair. With the sun would arise a scorching Tho heat, and they would all perish of thirst. But, in answer to lake. ' " their earnest cries and supplications, as morning broke, water suddenly appeared shining on the horizon. They hastened forward, and found it to be a lake. Watering their camels and horses therefrom, they drank themselves abun- dantly, and went on their journey joyfully. The marvel is, in the believers' eyes, the more extraordinary, as no spring had ever been seen in the wilderness of Dahna before, nor after the most diligent search has the miraculous lake ever been found again.' ' The mission of All must have been eonsiderahly later than that of KliAIid. We have before seen reason to believe that the various expeditions wore not, as tradition represents, despatched all at once from Dzul Cassa. ^ The Beni Hanifa, Moaeilama's tribe, was a branch of the same Beni Bekr ibn Wtlil, mentioned in the text, as also the Beni Temtm, -who to this day (such is the tenacity vrith which the Bedouins hold to their native soil) occupy the same pasture-lands. Some details are given regarding the chiefs who had remained tolerably loyal throughout. Thus Cays ibn Asim, Zibriedn, &c., who at first vacillated, though they kept aloof from Siijilli, now, as Aid drew near, came forth with the tithes which during the anarchy had been kept in deposit, and fought upon his side. We are also told of a staunch believer, ThomAma, who was able to maintain his loyalty with a party of his tribe, until AU appeared. He joined the force, but came to an untimely and ignominious end. He was presented for his bravery with the spoils taken from the person of Hotem (to be noticed below), and, wearing them on a journey, was set upon by the people as Hotom'a murderer and as such put to death. • This is the solitary expedition since the death of Mahomet around which tradition has gathered a halo of marvoUous tales. When they halted on that A.H. XI. BAHREIN REDUCED. 49 The rebellion in Bahrein had by this time assumed for- Bahrein midable dimensions. Hotem, a powerful chief, had gathered around him not only the backsliding tribes, but also the mized races of Persian and Indian parentage, who abounded on the shores of the Gulf ; ' and they had fixed upon a scion of the house of Hira as their king. The faithful remnant under Jarud, blockaded by the rebels, were nearly succumb- ing to hunger, when, to their reUef, Ala appeared. For offensive operations, however, against so great a host, the Mos- lem force was still too weak. To guard their position, they dug a deep trench in front, and for a whole month contented themselves with single combats and indecisive skirmishing. At last, one night, finding the enemy disordered and over- come with wine, they made an attack from all sides, put them to flight, and killing Hotem, took the prince of Hira prisoner.'' The discomfited force fled, and, taking ship, found refuge Jliracu- in Darin, one of the numerous islets a little way off from the descent on mainland, and the seat of a Nestorian bishopric' Thither ',f°■j^^!|" ^ tliey were pursued by Ala, and here again we are told of a miraculous interposition. No boats or means of trans- miserable night, the beasts of burden all ran off wildly -with their loads. Not one was left, and the army was near perishing of hunger as well as thirst. In the morning, they returned from all directions with their burdens, of their own accord. The lake is likened to the water that flowed from the rock in the wilderness when struck by Moses, ' Called Ebnda. The tr^iders from India settled (as they do now) along the coast from the Euphrates to Aden, and so a mongrel race sprang up. '' He bore the dynastic name of Mundzir, and, having been freed at the instance of an Arab relative, embraced Islam. He had the surname of Gharnr (deceiver), but said that he ought rather to have been called Maghr&r (deceived). The relations of these tribes on the N.B. of Arabia, with Hira and also with Persia, were close and constant. Little more than twenty years before, the Beni Bekr had beaten back the combined forces of Persia and Hira. Tim connection of the Arab tribes in this quarter with Persia corresponded witli that between the Syrian tribes and the Eoman empire. (Z-i/c of Maltomct, vol. i. p. clxxxii.) ' Por the island Ddrtn (or Dirin) see an interesting article by Sir II. KawlinsoD, on the islands of Bahrein, Boyal As. Society's Journal, vol. xii. p. 222, et seq. There were five bishops in this province, and ' the insular seu is always named Dirin.' We have here indirect evidence of the prevalence ot' the Christian faith in northern Arabia, far down the shores of the Persian Gulf. E 50 ABU BEKK. CHAP. VIII. port were anywhere at hand. Eaising, therefore, a wild invocation to the Lord of Hosts for help, the Moslems rushed into the sea and crossed the strait as it had been a shallow sandy beach. The enemy, taken by surprise on their island, were put utterly to the sword, so that not one escaped to tell the tale. A pious bard has likened the passage to that of the Israelites through the Eed Sea, and a monk is said to have been converted by the double miracle of waters breaking out in the wilderness, and waters drying up in the channel of the great deep. The spoil was prodigious,' and multitudes of women and children were taken captive. Bahrein WhUe thus engaged, Ala received material help from reclaimed 007 x- by AU. loyal followers along the coast. They secured the wavering, protected the rear from surprise, and overawed unruly tribes ever ready for plunder and rapine. Thus the whole region of Hejer, reclaimed to the faith, fell peaceably under the government of Ala.^ Amongst those who aided in this work Mothanna. vfas Mothanna, a chief of great influence over the Bekr clans, from one of which he sprang.' Following up the victory of Ala along the coast, this warrior in his progress northward reached at last the delta of the Euphrates, where he inaugu- rated a movement that was of lasting importance and which will shortly engage our attention. The campaign of Oman followed close upon that of ' Each horseman got 6,000 pieces. The tale is told yiith such extrava- gances as we are accustomed to only in the life of the Prophet, e.^. the strait ■was so broad that it took a day and a night for a ship to cross, yet not the hoof of a camel was wetted. It is remarkable that, with few exceptions, this expedition is the only one, after the death of Mahomet, regarding which such childish tales are told. ' There is a tradition that two chiefs Zibric4n and Acra obtained from Abu Bekr a patent appointing them collectors of tithe in Bahrein, on condition that they made themselves responsible for its loyalty. The document was shown to Omar, who, angry apparently because Acra had been an apostate, tore it up. Talha, who had negotiated the affair, went to Abu Bekr and asked, ' Art thou ruler, or is Omar ? ' ' Omar,' he replied, ' but obedience is due to me.' This (which illustrates the great influence of Omar with the Caliph) may have referred to a part of the Bahrein coast not under AU. ' He belonged to the Beni Shaybdn, a sub-tribe of the Beni Bekr. A.H. XI. REDUCTION OF OMAN AND MAHKA. 51 Bahrein,' Jeyfar, Prince of Oman, had a year or two before Omkn re- tendered his allegiance to Mahomet. Amru was thereupon de- by Ho J- puted to be the Prophet's Representative at his court, and the ''''" "' demand of tithes from this distant province was foregone, on •condition that they were distributed among the local poor.^ Notwithstanding this concession, Mahomet was no sooner dead than the whole province revolted. The rebellion was led by ■one Lackit, who, to swell his influence, claimed himself to be a prophet. Jeyfar fled to the mountains and ,Amru to Medina. The task of reclaiming Oman and the adjoining province of Mahra was committed by Abu Bekr to Hodzeifa and Arfaja, two converts of influence in those parts.' They were assisted by Ikrima, son of Abu Jahl, who (as we have seen) was bidden by Abu Bekr to retrieve his reputation in this distant quarter. Arrived in Oman, they effected a junction with Jeyfar, and were then sufficiently strong to re-occupy Sohar.'' An engage- ment followed at Daba. Here the Moslems, hard pressed, were Battle of near to suffering defeat, when, at the critical moment, a great body of Abd al Cays and other tribes recently reclaimed in Bahrein appeared on the field and turned the battle in their favour. The slaughter amongst the enemy was great, and their families, which they had placed in the rear to nerve their courage, fell a welcome prize into the believers' hands. The mart of Daba, enriched by Indian merchandise, yielded a magnificent booty, and Arfaja was at once deputed to Medina with the royal Fifth of slaves and plunder. Hodzeifa was left behind as governor of Oman. Ikrima, Ikrima . reduces having reached the easternmost point of Arabia, tunung now Mahra. ' No dates are given. But as the battle which follows was retrieved by reinforcements from the Beni Abd al Cays, and as that tribe was only set free by the success of AU, the operations in OmAn must necessarily have been later than those in Bahrein. ' See Life of Ma/iomet, eh. xxx. ' They belonged to the great families of Azd and Himyar, who inhabited that part of the Peninsula, and had therefore both experience and local influence. * SohAr, still a mercantile port, lies above 100 miles west of Maskat. The bazaar of Dab4 was probably near to it. K 2 "2 ABU BEKR. CHAP, viil, to the south-west, pursued his victorious course to Mahra.- His army was swelled not only by the Bahrein contingent but by fresh levies, attracted by his success, from the tribes' upon his march. IWahra was distracted at this moment by the quarrel of two rival chiefs. Espousing the cause of the weakest, who at once avowed the faith, Ikrima attacked the other and achieved a great victory. Among the spoil were 2,000 Bactrian camels and a vast supply of arms and beasts of burden. This quarter of the peninsula, including the islands along the coast, was soon completely pacified. After some time spent here in the re-establishment of order, Ikrima, with an army now of overwhelming strength, advanced, as he had been instructed, to join Mohajir in the campaign against Hadhramaut and Yemen. But before proceeding further, we must take a brief retrospect of things in the south and west of the peninsula. Order The commotion in that quarter caused by the rebellion in the of Aswad, the ' Veiled Prophet,' had hardly subsided, when TiMma *^® death of I\Iahomet threw the land into a worse confusion, and south- Mecca and Tayif, after the first excitement, remained toler- west coast. ably secure under their governors, the youthful Attab' and Othman ibn al Ads. But in the TihaTna (coast washed by the Eed Sea), as well as in the interior, misrule and violence were rife. A party of marauders from amongst the Beni Khozaa and other lawless Bedouins round about the Holy City, ready as ever for plunder and rapine, were dispersed with great slaughter by the levies of Attab. Order was maintained by a body of 500 men quartered within the sacred limits, and by small pickets throughout the districts of Mecca and Tayif. But between them and Yemen there was nothing ' AttAb had been governor ever since Mahomet appointed him on the cap- ture of Mecca. The rebela were headed by Jondob of the Mudlij tribe. Peni- tential versos, recited by tliis rebel cliief on his siilimission, have been preserved (Ta!>ari, i. p. 212). In the paucity of trustworthy tradition at this period, sudi verses are peculiarly valuable, amplifying as tliey do the mengi-o materials at our command, and giving fixed and certain points. >.H. XI. EEBELLION IN YEMEN. 53 save turmoil and alai-m. Troops of bandit horse, remnants of the false prophet's ai-my, hovered about the country to the south and west of Najran. They were headed by Arm* ibn M&dekerib, a poet of note and a chief of great local influence, before whom KhaJid ibn Said, the governor of Najran, fled for his life. On one occasion, however, Khalid, with but a small following, surprised Amr and spoiled him of his horse and the 3word Samsat, inherited from Himyar kings and famous in Ai-ab song.i The whole coast was in a ferment, and the loyal adherents of Islam were fain to flee for shelter to fastnesses in the mountains. Bands of the Beni Azd, occupying the uplands, approached the sacred territory in threatening atti- tude, but were dispei-sed by the governor of Tayif. The whole Tihama was overrun by swarming hands of the Akk and Ash&r ti'ibes, who closed the roads and barred communications with the south. Tahir, who had been placed by Mahomet over these tribes, was now commissioned ■with a force to rally tlie faithful remnant on the spot, and to clear the country of the robbers infesting it. This he did so effectually that the roads became again impassable, but now simply from the offensive multitude of carcases strewn upon them.' In Yemen peace was not so easily restored. The false ' According to another account of this a£fair, Khfilid (who had been appointed by Mahomet collector of tithes and resident witli the Beni Zobeid in tlie quarter f:outh of Mecca), attacked Amr ibn Madekerib, and having taken his sister prisoner, obtained the sword as her ransom. The sword came several years jjfterwards into the possession of the Governor of 'KiSa., who offered to give it back to Amr; to show its marvellous temper, Amr took it, and at one blow severed the pack on his mule's back in two. Then he returned it to the governor, saying that he could not retain a sword of which he had once been despoiled. Among other poetry is some by Amr himself: — ' The sword of the ajn of Diu Cayfar (aj>. 475) was mine ; its blade was tempered in the age of Ad. It hath a grooved blade which deaveth helmets, and the bodies of men, in twain.' See CaHssin de Pcrctval, vol. i. p. 117 ; also Mr. C. J. Lyall's translations from the Hamasah. Jowmal As. Soe. qf Bengal, 1S77, vol. xlvi. pp. 179, et seg. It is curious to remark how many Arab warriors were also poets of renown. ' The tradition was preserved in the name of ' the VtHains' {AihabUh) road." by which this part of the coast was long known. 54 ABU EEKR. CHAP, viu Confusion prophet Aswad (it will be recollected) was assassinated by following three of his courtiers, who, at the bidding of Mahomet, con- aimiUoTof spired with his wife against him.> These were the Arab Aswad. chief Cays ibn Abd Yaghuth, commander of his army, and the two ministers, of Persian descent, Feroze and Dadweih, who thereupon succeeded to the government at Sanaa.^ When tidings of these events reached Medina just after Mahomet's death, Abu Bekr appointed Feroze to be his lieu- tenant, with Cays and Dadweih to help him. The Arab blood of Cays rebelled against serving undei: a foreigner, and he plotted to expel the whole Persian race. The princes of Himyar, however, Dzul Kelaa and others,' would not help him, and he was obliged to call in the aid of the brigand Amr ibn Mddekerib and his marauding bands. Dadweih was treacherously slain by Amr at a feast, but Feroze escaped, and after much hardship, secured his retreat with a friendly tribe in the hills of Khaulan. For a time Cays carried all before him. The family of Feroze was taken captive, and the Persian settlers, pursued in every direction, fled to the mountains, or took ship from Aden. Feroze appealed for help to the Caliph ; but it was long before he had any troops to send. So Feroze cast about for himself, and at length, by the aid of some loyal tribes, put the troops of Cays to flight, regained possession of his family and reoccupied Sanaa.'' ' lAfe of Mahomet, chnp. xxxii. ' Yemen was, for a considerable period in the seventh century, governed by a Satrap as a dependency of Persia ; and largo numbers of Persians Ihen settled in the country. These were their descendants, and also the Ebnda of mixed parentage. (Life of Mahomet, vol. i., p. cxliv.) ' Dzul KeUa and other semi-independent Himyar chiefs occupying the neighbouring districts. Some of these remained loyal, and distinguished them- selves greatly in the Syrian campaigns. < Feroze was a poet, as ■well as a statesman ; and his verses lamenting the captivity of his family, and threatening revenge, have been preserved, (Tahari, i. p. 220.) Abd YaghHth, or servant of the idol of that name -worshipped in the south of Arabia. See Lyall's translations from the llamasah, quoted above. We hear of him afterwards, but not much of Feroze, A.H. XI, REDUCTION OF YEMEN. 55 But more effectual help to quell the disordered country MohAjir was soon at hand. On one side, Mohajir was marching "omMe- from the north. Appointed by the Prophet his lieutenant ^°" ^P""! in Hadhramaut, he had long been detained by sickness at End of Medina, and perhaps also by the inability of the Caliph to Spring,' furnish him with a following. He was the last of the *"• ''^^• commanders sent forth by Abu Bekr to reclaim the back- sliding tribes. Passing through Tayif and Najran, as late, probably, as ten or twelve months after the death of Mahomet,' he was joined on the way by various loyal tribes, and thus approached the disturbed country at the head of a substantial force. On the other side, Ikrima, with his great and ever-growing army, was advancing from the east. Hastening to meet Mohajir, he, for the present, left Hadhra- maut on his right, and passed rapidly on to Aden. Alarmed at the gathering storm. Cays ibn Abd Yaghuth and Amr ibn Mddekerib had joined their forces to oppose Mohajir. But soon quarrelling, they parted, and, according to the wont of Arab poets, abused each other in insulting verse.'' Amr, perceiving opposition to be now in vain, sought, by a strange ' As usual, no date is given. But as only now he met Ikrima, Trho had made a march of several weeks from Om&n, after the campaign in the East, the period must have been late in the year a.h. XI., if not the beginning of A.H. XII. Tabari, as I have said before, places the entire reduction of apos- tate Arabia within A..a. XI. Moh&jir was brother to 0mm Salma, one of the Prophet's wives. He was one of the malingerers who absented himself from the Tebuk campaign, and so incurred the displeasure of Mahomet. {Life of Mahomet, chap, xxviii.) But 0mm Salma, one day, washing the Prophet's head, made mention to him of her brother, and, finding the opportunity favourable, called him in. His excuse was accepted ; and the government of Hadhramaut was then and there con- ferred on him. ' The verses are quoted by Tabari, vol. i. p. 224. The Arabs, and especi- ally their poets, had the faculty of abusing one another in the grossest manner. About the same time, lampoons were bandied between Amr ibn M&dekerib and Farwa, a loyal chief of the Beoi Murdd, who maintained a constant check upon Amr's proceedings. As regards Farwa, we are told that when he first presented himself to Mahomet, he explained how his tribe and the Beni Hamd&n had an idol which each kept alternately for a year. The contested possession of this idol led in bygone time to the famous battle of Al Bazm. 56 ABU BEKR. CHAP. Till. expedient, to gain his safety. He made a night attack upon Cays, and carried him prisoner to Mohajir; but he had forgotten a safe-conduct for himself. Mohajir, therefore, seized them both, and sent them in chains to Medina. The Caliph was at first minded to put Amr to death because of the murder of Dadweih ; but he denied the crime, and there was no evidence to prove it. * Art thou not ashamed,' said Abu Bekr to him, ' that following the rebel cause, thou art ever either a fugitive or in bonds ? Hadst thou been a defender of the Faith instead, then had the Lord raised thee above thy fellows.' ' So assuredly it is,' replied the humbled chief; 'I will embrace the faith, and never again will I desert it.' So the Caliph forgave them both ; and his clemency was not abused, for we find these gallant but unscrupulous chiefs soon after fighting loyally in the Persian war. After this, Yemen was speedily reduced to order. The in Yemen, rebel horse, remnant of the false prophet's army, was pur- sued without quarter, and soon exterminated. And Mohajir, established firmly at Sanaa, ruled in security over the whole of that country, from Najran to Aden. Mohajir and Ikrima were now at leisiure to ttnm their arms against Hadhramaut, the great province which occupies the south of Arabia, east of Yemen. There Ziad, who held Mohajir's government during his protracted absence, was hard pressed. He had, at an early period, aroused the hatred of the Beni Kinda by harshness in collecting the tithe ; but, supported by the Sakun, and other tribes hostile to the Beni Kinda, he had obtained several im- portant advantages over them.' On one occasion he carried off, with great spoil, the families of a vanquished tribe. Ashath ibn Cays, chief of the Kinda, was moved by their Peace restored Rebellion in Hadhra- maut under Ashath ibn Cays. ' The Beni SaMn -were loyal throughout the rebellion, and gave protection to the faithful refugees from other tribes. Among others, MoAdz ibn Jabal, deputed by Mahomet to teach the tribes of the south the Cor&n and the tenets A.H. XI. REDUCTION OF HADHRAMAUT. 57 cries ; and, having gathered a strong force, fell upon Ziad, and rescued the captives. It is the same AshS,th who, when he tendered his homage to Mahomet, had betrothed to himself the sister of Abu Bekr.' Thus compromised he went into active rebellion, and roused the whole country against Ziad, who, surrounded by the enemy, despatched an urgent summons to Mohajir to hasten to his deliver- ance. By this time Mohajir and Ikrima, marching respectively ^"^ohdiii from Sanaa and Aden, had effected a junction at Mareb, and and were crossing the sandy desert of Sayhad, which lay between them and Hadhramaut. Learning the critical position of Ziad, Mohajir set off in haste with a flying squadron, and, joined by Ziad, fell upon Ash&th, and dis- comfited him with great slaughter. The routed enemy fled for refuge to the stronghold of Nojeir, which Mohajir immediately invested. Ikrima soon came up with the main body, when there were troops enough both to surround the city and also to ravage all the country round about, Stung by witnessing the ruin of their kindred, and pre- ferring death to dishonour, the garrison sallied forth, and fought the Moslems at every point about the fortress. After a desperate struggle, in which the approaches were filled with the dead, they were driven back. Meanwhile Abu Bekr, apprised of the obstinate resistance, sent orders to make an example of the rebels, and give no quarter. The wretched garrison, with the enemy daily increasing, and no prospect of relief, were now bereft of hope. Seeing the position desperate, the wily Ashdth made his way to Ikrima and treacherously agreed to deliver up of Islam (Life of Mahomet, chap, xxx.), took refuge with them, and mnrried a lady from amongst them. He was so enamoured of this Sakunite wife that it used to be his constant prayer that in the resurrection he and she might both be raised together. He died in the plague a.h. XVIII. ' See the account of their brilliant cavalcade and the betrothal, Life of Mahomet, chap, xxx 58 ABU BKKR. CHAP. vnt. Ashath sent prisoner to Medina and re- leased by Abu Beki". Authority re-estab- lished in the south. the fortress if nine lives were guaranteed. The Moslems entered, slew the fighting men, and took the women captive. The list of the nine to be spared was presented to MohajLr. 'Thy name is not here ! ' cried the conqueror, exultingly, to Ash&th ; for the craven traitor had forgotten, in the excitement of the moment, to enter his own name ; — ' the Lord be praised, who hath condemned thee out of thine own mouth.' So, having cast him into chains, he was about to order his execution, when Ikrima interposed and induced him, much against his will, to refer the cause to Abu Bekr. The crowd of captive women, mourning the massacre of their sons and husbands, loaded the recreant as he passed by with bitter imprecations. • Arrived at Medina, the Caliph abused him as a pusillanimous wretch who had neither the power to lead, nor yet the courage to defend, his people ; and he threatened him with death. But at last, moved by his appeal to the terms agreed upon by Ikrima, and by his protestations that he would thence- forth fight bravely for the faith, Abu Bekr not only forgave him, but allowed him to fulfil the marriage with his sister.^ Ashath remained for a while in idleness at Medina, and the Caliph was heard to say that one of the three things that he repented having done during his Caliphate was his weakness in sparing this rebel's life. But afterwards Ashdth went to the wars in S5Tia and Irac, and there redeemed his name. By these operations the rebellion in the south was crushed, and the reign of Islam completely re-established. Mohajir elected to remain in Yemen, where he shared the government with Feroze. Ziad continued to administer Hadhramaut. A curious story is told of a lady whom Ikrima married ' A thousand ■women were captured in the fortress. They called after Ash&th as be passed, 'he smelleth of burning,' i.e. he is a recreant traitor, ' Her name was 0mm Farwa. Their son Mohammed was killed fighting in the army of Musab against Mokbtir. Some verses by Ash&th lamenting the catastrophe of Nojeir have been preserved by Tabari, vol. i, p. 248. A.H. XI. AUTHORITY KE-ESTABLISHED IN THE SOUTH. 59 at Aden, and carried with him into his camp. She had Ikrima been betrothed to Mahomet, but the marriage had never lady tpHo been consummated. The soldiers murmured, and questioned j^'''^ ''.j^°, the propriety of Ikrima's marriage. Mohajir referred the «o Ma- matter to Abu Bekr, who decided that there was nothing wrong in the proceeding, as Mahomet had never fulfilled his contract with the betrothed damsel.' I should not here omit to mention the fate of two song- Two song- stresses in Yemen, who were accused, one of satirising the niutlkted Prophet, the other of ridiculing the Moslems, in their songs. f?r Profane Mohajir had the hands of both cut off, and also (to stay their singing for the future) their front teeth pidled out. The Caliph, on hearing of it, approved the punishment of the first; for, said he: 'Crime against a prophet is not as crime against a common man ; and, indeed, had the case been first referred to me, I should, as a warning to others, have directed her execution.' But he disapproved the mutilation of the other. ' She was the daughter of one Noman, who, praising her attractions to Mahomet, added, as the climax, that she never had had sickness of any kind. After a private interriew with her, Mahomet sent her back to her home in the south, saying, ' Had the Lord seen anything good in her, it had not been thus.' In the Lift of Mahomet, I rejected as apocryphal this and other accounts of the Prophet's betrothal to certain females with whom marriage was not consummated. In the present case, however, the betrothal is certainly con- firmed by the curious objection taken by the army to Ikrima's marriage on account of the inchoate relation in which she at one time stood to the Prophet ; and it is therefore possible that other betrothals which at the time appeared to me improbable may also be founded on fact. See Life of MaJtomet, chap, xxii., and Ibu CotAba, p. 18. It will be remembered that the widows of the Prophet, as ' Mothers of the Faithful,' were prohibited by the Corin from re-marrying. Ibid. p. 303. 60 ABU BEKR. CHAPTEK IX. ENROLMENT OF THE BEDOUIN TRIBES FOR WAR BEYOND ARABIA. Opposition beaten down in Arabia. Eeview of the military operations which crushed the apos- tasy. With the campaign in Hadhramaut, opposition in Arabia was at an end. A brief review may be of use before we pass on to the wars without. North, east, south, and west throughout the peninsula, the circle of victory was now complete. It began, we might say, with the avenging expedition of Osama, directed by the Prophet against the Syrian border. This was followed up, more leisurely, by the arms of Amru, who restored the prestige of Islam amongst the Codhaa and other tribes on the Eoman frontier. During Osama's absence the brave Caliph, with but a scanty following, beat back the rebel tribes which, hovering around Medina, threatened the heart of Islam. Then followed Khalid's brilliant achievements, which, beginning with the Beni Tay on the north-east, and reclaiming the apostate tribes as he moved south, ended with the bloody and decisive field of Yemama in the centre of Arabia. The flower of the Moslem troops was engaged in this great struggle, which decided the fate of Islam, then trembling in the balance ; and while it was in progress, oper- ations languished elsewhere. Subsequently, the campaign throughout the peninsula was carried on vigorously, but in many quarters with limited resources and varying fortune ; till Ikrima, sweeping down the eastern coast, joined Mohajir in the south, and stamped out the last embers of apostasy. The rebellion was totally suppressed, but the people re- A.H. XI. ARABU AROUSED BY THE WAR-CRY FROM WITHOUT. 61 mained still backward and sullen. The wild and turbulent Arabia tribes were brought back unwillingly. They chafed at the de- roused by mand of tithe and obedience to Medina. It was simply force ^^.^ ^"^ and fear that as yet attached them to the Caliph. The ques- ^"ithout. tion occurs, what would have been the fortune of Islam had no grand impulse arisen from without ? It may be difficult to say, but the prospect certainly was not encouraging. Con- victions so shallow and aspirations so low as those of the Bedouin would soon have disappeared ; and force and fear could not long have availed to hold together the repellent atoms which go to form the Arab nation. The South was jealous of the North ; the Bedouins of the desert scorned the population settled in towns and villages ; every tribe had some cause of rivalry with its neighbour ; new feuds were ever arising out of the law of blood. Even in Medina, the cradle of the faith, the Beni Aus were impatient of the Beni Khazraj, and both were jealous of the Eefugees from Mecca. The only authority recognised by a Bedouin is the authority of his tribal chief, and even that sits lightly. To him freedom is life; and dependence on a central power most hateful. The yoke of Islam (had nothing external supervened) would soon have been shaken off, and Arabia returned again to its former state. But fortunately for Islam (sadly for the interests of humanity) a new idea electrified the nation. No sooner was apostasy 'put down than, first in Chaldaea and then in Syria, collision with the Christian tribes kindled the fire of foreign war ; and forthwith the Arabs, both town and Bedouin, were riveted to Islam by a common bond — the love of rapine and the lust of spoil. That the heritage' of Islam is the world was an after- The thought. The idea (spite of much proleptic tradition) had pf°sade presented itself but dimly, if at aU, to Mahomet himself, ^^^^'['^^j'' His world was Arabia ; and for it Islam was sent. From first rather to last the call was made primarily to Arabs and to them design, alone. It is true that, some years before his death, Mahomet / 62 ABU BEKR. CHAP. IX. liad summoned certain kings and princes to confess the catholic faith of Abraham ; but the step had not in any way been followed up. Nor was it otherwise with the command to fight against idolators, Jews, and Christians : that command was announced to the Arab tribes assembled in pilgrimage at Mina ; ' it had reference only to them, and had no immediate bearing whatever on warfare beyond the bounds of the peninsula. The Prophet's dying legacy was to the same effect : — ' See,' said he, ' that there be but one faith through- out Arabia.' The seed of a universal claim, indeed, had been sown ; but that it ever germinated was due to circum- stances rather than design. Even Omar, after his r6le of splendid victories, manifested a continual dread lest his armies should proceed too far ; and, separated by some gulf or mountain range, should be cut off from succour and exposed to danger. Therefore he set barriers (as we shall see) to the ambition of his people, beyond which they should not pass. The Arabs Nevertheless, universal empire was altogether in accord as the with the spirit of the faith. ' When a people leaveth ofif to ofTe""™ fight in the ways of the Lord,' said Abu Bekr in his inaugural ■world. address (and, in saying it, struck the key-note of Islam), ' the Lord casteth off that people.' And so, when the Eubicon, the border land of Arabia, was once crossed, the horizon enlarged in ever-widening circles, till it embraced the world. Now indeed the marauding spirit of the Bedouin was in unison with the militant spirit of Islam. The cry of plunder and of conquest reverberated throughout {he land, and was answered eagerly. The movement began naturally with the tribes in the north which had been first reclaimed from their apostasy, and whose restless spirit led them over the frontier. Later on, in the second year of the Caliphate, the exodus spread to the people of the south. At first the Caliph forbade that help ' See lAfe of Mahomet, chap. xxix. A.H. XI. ALL SLAVES OF ARAB BLOOD SET FEEE. 63 should be taken from such as had backslidden. The privilege of fighting for the faith was reserved for those who had remained firm in its profession. But, step by step, as new spheres opened out, and the crj' ran through the land for fresh levies to fill up the ' martyr ' gaps, the ban was put aside, and all were welcome. Warrior after warrior, column after column, whole tribes in endless succession, with their women and children, issued forth to battle. And ever, at the mar- vellous tale of cities conquered, of booty rich beyond com- pute, of fair captives distributed on the field — 'to every man a damsel or two,' and, above all, at the sight of the royal Fifth of spoil and slaves sent to Medina — fresh tribes arose and went. Onward and still onward, like swarms from the hive, one after another they poured forth, pressed first to the north, and spread thence in great masses to the east and west. It must not, however, be overlooked that though apostasy Discredit was thus condoned, and in the blaze of victory almost for- taching to gotten, a certain discredit still clung to the backslider. His »P°^'*^y' guilt was not like that of others who had committed sins, however black, ignorantly" before conversion. The apostate, having been once enlightened, cast by his fall a deliberate slur upon Islam. And therefore no chief who had joined the great apostasy was ever promoted to a chief command. He might fight, and was welcome, in the ranks, and was even allowed to head ^mall parties of fifty or a hundred ; but to the last the post of leader was denied him. The Arab race, thus emerging from its desert-home. Slaves of . Arab blood became the aristocracy of Islam. Conquered nations, even Bet free. if they embraced the faith, fell into a lower class. The Arabs were the dominant caste wheresoever they might go, and it was only as ' clients ' of the noble race that people of other lands could share thefr privileges — crumbs, as it were, which fell from off their table. Yet great numbers of the Arabs themselves were slaves, taken prisoner during the apostasy or in previous intertribal warfare, and held in 64 ABU BEKR. CHAP. IX. captivity by their fellow-countrymen. Omar felt the incon- sistency. It was not fit that any of the noble race should remain in bondage. When, therefore, he succeeded to the Caliphate, he decreed their freedom. ' The Lord,' he said, 'hath given to us of Arab blood the victory, and great conquests without. It is not meet that any one of us, taken captive in the days of ignorance,* or in the wars against the apostate tribes, should be holden in slavery.' All slaves of Arab descent were accordingly ransomed, excepting only such bondmaids as had borne their masters children. Men who had lost wives or children now set out in search, if haply they might find and claim them. Strange tales are told of some of these disconsolate journeys. Ash&th recovered two of his wives taken captive in Nojeir. But some of the women who had been carried prisoners to Medina preferred remain- ing with their captors.^ Death of F4tima, the Prophet's daughter. Before passing on to more stirring scenes, it may be proper here to notice some domestic events occurring in the first year of Abu Bekr's Caliphate. In it Fatima, the Prophet's daughter and wife of Aly, died. She had claimed a share in her father's property. Repairing, in company with her husband, to the Caliph, she said : ' Give me the inheritance that falleth to me.' Abu Bekr inquired whether it was her portion of the household goods that she desired. ' Fadak and Kheibar,' she answered, ' and the tithe lands of Medina — my portion therein, even as thy daughters will inherit of thee when thou diest.' The Caliph answered : ' Truly thy father was better than I, and thou art better than my daughters. But the Prophet hath said, No one ' ' The days of Ignorance,' that is, the period preceding Islam. ' Two such are named by Tabari, i. p. 248. A light ransom was fixed for each Arab slave, namely seven camels and six young ones. In the case of some tribes which had suffered most severely (as the Beni Hanifa, the Beni Kinda, and the people of Om^n discomfited at Uabi), even this whs remitted. A.H. XI. DEATH OF FATIMA. 65 sluxU be my heir ; that which I leave shall be for alins. Now, therefore, the family of Mahomet shall not eat of these lands; for, by the Lord! I -will not alter a tittle of that which he hath ordained. But,' added he, 'if thou art certain that thy father gave thee this property, I will accept thy word, and fulfil his promise.' She answered that she had no evidence excepting that of 0mm Ayman, the Prophet's aged nurse, who had said that her father had given her Fadak.' So Abu Beki* maintained his decision. Fatima felt aggrieved, and was much displeased. She sur- vived but a few months,' leaving two sons, Hasan and Hosein, through whom alone the issue of Mahomet was perpetuated. Aly, who, dming her lifetime, had held aloof, began after her decease, like the rest of the chief Companions, to frequent the Caliph's comt. In this year Abu Bekr lost his son Abdallah, who died Death of from the effects of a wound received at the siege of Tayif. " ® ""' son. As supreme judge in civil causes, the Caliph nominated Omnr Omar ; but warlike operations so occupied men's minds, j„'stice. that for tlie time the office was a sinecme. The presidency at the annual Pilgrimage is always The firet carefully recorded by the annabsts of Islam. The Caliph was „„der the* too much engrossed with the commotion throughout Arabia ^zla Hi'iT to proceed himself to Mecca on the fii-st Pilgrimage of *•«■ ^l- •^ o c7 March, his reign, and he therefore commissioned Attab, governor a.d. 633.' of the holy city, to preside in his stead.' So ended the first year of the Caliphate. ' Fadak -n-as a Jewish settlement north of Medina, conquered by Mahomet at the same time as Kheibar. Portions of both were retained by Mahomet for the support of his household. (See Life of MaJumui, pp. 394 and 648.) ' According to most authorities she survived her father six months ; others say only three. ' Some say tliat Abu Bekr appointed Abd al Bahm&n to the duty. The uncertaintv on this (to the Moslem) most important point is indicative of the confusion wh'cb still prevailed, and the vagueness of tradition for the period immedi.it«ly following Mahomet's deatli. 66 ABU BEKR. Collision ■with border tribes led to conflict with Konmn and Persian empires. History of Byzantine and Persian campaigns dependent exclu- sively on Arabian sources. CHAPTER X. CAMPAIGN OF KHAUD IN IRAC. A.H. XII. A.D. 633. Chald^ea and the south of Syria belong, as well by nature as by population, to Arabia. The tribes inhabiting that region, partly heathen, at the time we write of, but chiefly Christian, formed an integral portion of the Arab race. As these resisted the Moslem columns engaged on the frontier, they were eventually supported by their respective sovereigns — the western tribes by the Byzantine empire, and the eastern by Persia. Thus through them the struggle spread, and soon brought Islam face to face in mortal conflict with the two great Powers of the east and west. The sources of our history, being purely Arabian, throw little light on the condition of the provinces to which the scene will now be transferred. With the Eoman empire, the Arabs of the peninsula had never at any time much acquaintance or concern, and the Byzantine annals of Syria are suddenly quenched by the Saracenic cataclysm. A few brief lines is all we have from them of the momentous events on which we are about to enter. Of the Eastern empire, succeeding as the Arabs did to the Sassanide dynasty, they naturally had a greater interest in the ante- cedents ; and we have, through their historians, glimpses of the anarchy that now prevailed in Persia. But even this is, at the best, fragmentary and imperfect. , It is enough, for our present purpose, to know that in neither of the two great powers had the nerve and virtue of A.II. XII. STATE OF PERSIA. 67 early days siirvived. Luxury, oppression, religious strife, Eomanand and military disaster had undermined their strength and empires at impaired their vigour. The Roman empire, extinguished in ^l^th"*''^ the west by barbarian hordes, existed only in the provinces governed by the Byzantine capital. Between the Kaiser and the Chosroes war had long prevailed ; and Syria or Mesopotamia had been the prize now of one, now of the other. By the last turn of fortune, Heraclius, in a brilliant campaign directed from the Black Sea, had routed the Persians on the field of Nineveh, and marched triumphantly a.h. vi. to the very gates of Ctesiphon (Medain). The Chosroes, with eighteen of his sons, was put to death by Siroes, who enjoyed but a few months the fruit of his parricidal crime ; and ' in the space of four years, the royal title was assumed by nine candidates, who disputed, with the sword or dagger, the fragments of an exhausted monarchy.' ' Such was the condition of Persia, its court imbecile and anarchy rampant, at the time when Abu Beki* was engaged in his struggle with the apostate tribes. Nevertheless, the Arabian armies met with a fiercer and more protracted opposition on the Persian than on the Syrian side. And the reason is that Islam aimed its blow at the very heart of Persia. Con- stantinople might remain, with Syria gone, ignobly safe. But if the Arabs gained Irac, Ctesiphon must fall into their hands. Among the chiefs who aided Ala in the reoccupation of Mothanmi Bahrein, Mothanna has been named.^ Advancing up the tjjg border shore of the Persian Gulf, he reduced Gatif, and carried his '"^^^ °^ ' ' Mo. victorious army into the delta of the Euphrates. ' Who is ■ this Mothanna ? ' asked Abu Bekr, as tidings of his success kept reaching Medina ; ' and to what tribe doth he belong ? ' Learning that he was of the Beni Bekr ibn Wail, he gave him a commission to carry forward his arms, fighting in the ' Gibbon, chap. xlvi. ' Above, p. 50. F 2 68 ABU BEKK. CHAP. x.. ways of the Lord.' The service was just such as the Arabs loved J and Mothanna's column was soon swelled to 8,000 men. But opposition gathered in front. The Christian and heathen tribes were roused ; and Abu Bekr, anticipating a struggle strongly backed by other forces in their rear, re- solved that (Khalid being now at leisure) ' the Sword of the Lord ' should be unsheathed there. Abu Bekr It was now the beginning of the twelfth year of the troops Hegira. Rebellioa had been put down in the centre of ""'I'l^. Ai'abia, and the southern tribes were also in fair way to and lyddh pacification. It was Abu Bekr's policy to turn the victorious Ir4e. arms of the restless Arabs to similar work elsewhere. He March therefore despatched two armies to the northern frontier. A..D. 633. One of these, under command of Khalid, joined by Mothanna, was to march on Obolla near the mouth of the Euphrates, and thence, driving the enemy up its western shore, to work its way towards Hira, the capital of Irac. lyadh, at the head of the other, was directed to Dumat al Jendal, which had cast off its allegiance ; and thence to pass also on to Hira. Whichever of the two first reached and captured that city was to be in command of the country.^ Kh&lid The progress of lyadh was hampered by his enemy, and Motlianna ^® ^^® ^°^S detained in the Jof, or country about Duma. m Irac. Khalid met with no such obstacle. His army, like Mo- thanna's, was swelled on its march from Yemama to Irac by large bodies of Bedouins. These were of the greater service as his numbers had been thinned not only by the carnage at Yemama, but also by the free permission, which, after their long and arduous campaign, the Caliph had given the army, ' By some accounts Mothanna appeared in person before Abu Bekr and promised to engage the local tribes in carrying the attack Into the border lands of IrAc. - Such are said to have been Abu Bekr's orders ; but tradition here pro- bably anticipates the march of events. It is very doubtful whether he had yet the city of Hira in view. The campaign widened, and the aims of Khftlid became mora definite as his victories led him onwards. A.H. XII. MESOPOTAMIA AND THE SYRIAN DESERT. 69 of furlough to their homes. Nevertheless, the expedition was so popular that when Khalid, after a flying visit to the Caliph at Medina, rejoined his camp as it neared the mouth of the Euphrates, he found himself at the head of 10,000 men ; and this besides the 8,000 of Mothanna, who hastened loyally, to place himself under the great leader's command. The country on which they had now entered was, in some The Syriiin of its features, familiar to the invading army, but in others ^esopot"'^ new and strange. From the head of the Persian Gulf to the *»">'»• Dead Sea there stretches right across the peninsula a stony wilderness, trackless and waterless. As you advance north, nature relaxes its severity; the plain, still a desert, is at certain seasons clothed with verdure, bright with flowers and instinct with the song of birds and hum of insect life. Such is the pasture-land which for several hundred miles extends from Damascus to the Tigris. Still further north, the desert features gradually disappear, and, about the latitude of Mosul, are blended with the hills and fields of Asia Minor. Athwart this vast plain, from Aleppo to Babylon, runs the river Euphrates, and the far east is bounded by the Tigris flowing under the mountain ranges of Persia. Between the two rivers lies the Jezira, or ' Island,' of Mesopotamia, full of patriarchal memories. Over this great waste there roamed (as still roam) Bedouin tribes with their flocks and herds. The greater part of. these Arabs had for centuries professed the Christian religion. Those on the Syrian side, as the Eeni Ghassan of Bostra, owed allegiance to the Koman Empire ; while on the east, like the Lakhmites of Hira, they were dependent upon Persia.' But nomad Ufe tends to fickleness of attachment and laxity of faith ; and, not infrequently, affinity with their brethren of Arabia, and the lust of plunder, led these northern Arabs, deserting now their ancient allies and their ancestral faith, to cast in their lot with the in- vading columns. ' The pre-Islamite history of these Arab races is given in the introductory chapters to the I4/e of Mahomet, vol. i. 70 ABU BEKR. CHAP. x. Chaldica The lower Euphrates — Irac Araby ' — is in striking con- deltaof the trast with the region just described. The two great rivers of iric'"'''^^' Mesopotamia, while yet more than 500 miles above the sea, Araby. draw close to one another. Below this point, the land, naturally rich, is easily supplied with water, and when irrigated is exuberantly fertile. Instead of joining where they approach, the two rivers still keep apart, and for two or tliree hundred miles, running parallel, inclose what was the memorable plain of Dura. The country (as now) was covered with long hillocks and mounds, the remains of an ancient net- work of irrigation," and also strewed with fragments of brick and pottery, remnants of the dim ages of antiquity. At the time of which we write, the face of the land was not, as it is for the most part now, a barren waste, but richly cultivated and irrigated by canals. On the Tigris, a little below the point of its drawing near the Euphrates, was Medain, ' the twin city ' (combining the sites of both Seleucia and Ctesiphon), at this time the capital of Persia. Fifty miles to the south of it a series of shapeless mounds, looking down on the ' great river ' Euphrates, marked the site of ancient Babylon, and from their summit, still to the south, might be descried the Birs Nimrud (or ' Tower of Babel ' ) rearing its weird head on the horizon of the verdant plain. Some thirty miles yet further south lay Hira, the capital of the Lakhmites and of the Arab tribes around. It stood (like its successor Kufa) upon the Badacla, a branch which issues from the right bank of the Euphrates by a channel in the live rock, sixteen miles above Babylon, cut by the hand of man, but of unknown antiquity.' Sweeping to the west of the parent river, the ' i.e. ' IrAc of the Arabs ' as distinguished from Irdo Ajemy, ' foreign ' or Persian Ir^c. ' The mounds are, no doubt, not only the remains of embankments but also of the clearances of silt, which (as we know in India) become hillocks in the course of time. ' This, as well as the main stream, is sometimes called by our historians Furdt, 01 Euphrates ; at other times by its proper name of B&dach,, and also Al Atick, the ' old ' or deserted channel ; but the streams have varied their course from age to age. A.H. XII. lEAC ARABY DESCRIBED. 71 rival stream, in its southward course, feeds many marshes, and especially the great lake called the 'Sea of Najaf; after a wide circuit it rejoins the Euphrates above its junction with the Tigris. There was in olden times another branch still further to the west, the Khandac, or ' Trench of Sapor,' which intended as a bar to Bedouin incursions, and, taking a yet wider circuit, fell into the Euphrates near OboUa, at the head of the Persian Gulf. This is now dry, but originally it carried a stream which, like the other, helped materially to widen the green belt continually narrowed and pressed in upon by the dry and sandy desert beyond. The lower delta again has features of its own. It is subject to tidal flow for fifty miles above the junction of the two rivers. Alluvial, low, and watered with ease, it is covered with a sea of corn, and has, not without reason, been called ' the garden of the world.' Besides the familiar palm, the country abounded with the fig, mulberry, and pomegranate. But the climate was close and oppressive ; the fens and marshes, always liable to in- undation, were aggravated by the neglect of dams and sluices in those days of anarchy ; ' and the Arab, used to the sandy steppes of the peninsula, gazed wonderingly at the luxuriant growth of reeds and rushes, and at buffalos driven by the pestiferous insects to hide their unwieldy bodies beneath the water, their heads alone appearing, or splashing lazily through the shallow waste of endless lagoons. All Chaldsea, from the estuary up- wards, was cultivated, as now, by Fellaheen, or Arab peasantry, and these were lorded over by Dihcans, or collectors commis- sioned by the Persian Court.^ Such was the magnificent province lying between the desert and the mountain range ' The country suffers similarly in the present day at the hands of the Turkish Government. A traveller writes regarding it : ' From the most wanton and disgraceful neglect, the Tigris and Euphrates, in the lower part of their course, are breaking from their natural beds, forming vast marshes, turning fertile lands into a wilderness,' &c. ' These seem to hare occupied a position similar to that of the rent Talookdars in Upper India 12 ABU BEKH. Khalid advances 'on the delta, and Mimmons Hormuz. Khaiid routs the army of the Pei'siims. Battle of Chains, of Persia,, the cradle of civilisation and the arts, which at- tracted the iirst crusade of the Moslem arms. The Satrap of the delta was Hormuz, a Persian prince, who (we are told), ' fighting the tribes of Arabia by land, and the Indians by sea, guarded thus the portals of the Empire.' But he was hateful to his Arab subjects, and his name for tyranny had become a byword. To him, as master of the tribes gathering in his front, Khalid addressed a letter in the haughty type of Moslem summons. ' Accetpt the faith and thou art safe, or else pay tribute, thou and thy people ; which thing if thou refwsest, thou shalt have thyself to blame. A people is already upon thee, loving death, even as thou lovest life.' Then he ordered an advance. Mothanna led the first column ; Hatim, son of Adi (the famous chief- tain of the Beni Tay), the second. Khalid brought up the rear; all three converging upon Hafir, a station on the Persian frontier by the desert border.' Startled by the strange summons, Hormuz informed the king, and set out to meet the invader with an army, the wings of which were commanded by princes of the royal house. He marched in haste, thinking to have an easy victory over the untrained tribes of the desert ; and reaching ' Beyond the general outline we must not look for much trustworthy detail at the outset of these campaigns. The narrative of them is hrief and summary, often confused and contradictory. For example, Hira is said by some to have submitted at the outset and agreed to pay tribute, which is inconsistent with the course of the narrative. The summons to Hormuz as given in the text savours too much of the set type of after days to be above suspicion ; so with the constant repetition of single combats, vrithout which the historians seem to think no Arab battle complete. There is one point of some importance. It is the call on Hormuz to pay tribute. Now, tribute was permitted by Mahomet only to ' the people of the Book,' that is, to Jews and Christians. No such immunity was allowed to the heathen, who were to be fought against to the bitter end. Zoroastrians (for such was Hormuz) should strictly have been offered no terms btit Islam. They had not, however, yet been thought of, for they were altogether beyond the limits and tribes of Arabia, Eventually, Omar ruled that having 'a Book' or Revelation, they might be admitted into the category of those to be spared on payment of tribute. But, as I have said, the summons is no doubt cast in the conventional mould of later days. A.H. xn. KHALID'S first VICTORY OVER THE PERSIANS. 73 first the encamping ground, took posaession of the springs. Mohiirram, Khalid, coming up, bade his force alight, and at once unload March, their burdens. ' Then,' said he, ' let us fight for the water *°- ^^^• forthwith ; by my life ! the springs shall be for the braver of the two.' Thereupon Hormuz challenged Khalid to single combat, and, though he treacherously posted an ambuscade, was in the encounter slain. The Moslems then rushed for- ward, and with great slaughter put the enemy to flight, and pursued them to the banks of the Euphrates. The Arabs had now a foretaste of the spoils of Persia. The share of each horseman was one thousand dirhems, besides great store of arms.' The jewelled tiara of Hormuz, symbol of his rank, and valued at a hundred thousand pieces, was sent to the Galiph with the royal Fifth .^ An elephant taken in the field was marched as part of the prize to Medina ; but hav- ing been paraded about the town, much to the wonder of the admiring citizens, was sent back as unsuitable to the place.' The action was called ' the Battle of the Chains,' for we are told that a portion of the Persian army was bound together to prevent its giving way.* The defeated army fled towards the capital, and Mothanna ' The with his horse hastened after them. Crossing the Euphrates, castle.' he came upon a fortress called ' The Lady's Castle,' held by ' Horsemen received three shares ; the foot soldiers one. This was the standing rule from the time of the Prophet. Two shares were for the horse. ' The grade of Persian nobility was marked by the costliness of the jewelled turban. ' No elephant had ever been seen before at Medina, and only one at Mecca — ' theypar of the elephant' marking the era of Abraha's attack (,Life of Mahomet, p. xxvi.). The astonishment of the women and children of Medina was un- bounded, and some inquired in childish amazement whether it was an artificial thing, or really was a work of nature. * It is also called the battle of Kitzima, a neighbouring town reduced by KhMid. This tale of soldiers being chained together, or tied with ropes, is commonly told both of Persian and Roman armies. How far it is founded on fact it is difficult to say. We must ever remember that the materials for our story are all one-sided, and that there is much ignorance of their enemies displayed by the annalists, as well as much contemptuous fiction legarding them. 74 ABU BEKU. CHAP. X. a Persian princess. Leaving his brother Moanna to besiege her, he advanced to a second fort defended by the husband. This he took by storm, and put the garrison to the sword ; which, when the lady heard of, she embraced Islam, and, forgetting her Persian lord, readily gave her hand to Mothanna's brother. Persiuns The ardour of Mothanna was near to causing a disaster. Sated When Hormuz' message reached Medain, the King despatched at Sliidzar. Carin, another prince of the first rank, to reinforce him. Midway he was met by remnants of the defeated army, which, with the two princes,were retreating to Medain.' Here their flight was stayed, and they rallied at Madzar, on the southern bank of the great canal, or branch of the Tigris which runs athwart the peninsula to the Euphrates, Carin, thus strengthened, resolved on giving battle to Mothanna, who in his adventm-ous pursuit had reached thus far. Khalid, apprised of the check, hastened to relieve his lieutenant, and arrived just in time. The field was fiercely contested ; Carin and both princes lost their lives, and a prodigious number of the enemy was either slain or drowned ; the remainder escaped in boats.'' The deep channel stopped farther advance ; but the spoil of the enemy's camp again was very great. Khalid, encamped on the bank of the canal, scoured the country on either hand, killing all the people fit for war, and taking their women captive. But the Fellaheen, or unwarlike peasants, he left unharmed. The court was now thoroughly aroused. Arab invaders, they began to say, were best met by Arabs who knew their tactics ; and to the king raised a great levy of the Beni Bekr ' It will be more convenient hereafter (dropping the Occidental forms of Ctesiphon and Seleucia) to speak of the Persian capital by its Arabic name, Med"in, '' C^rin, they say, was the last noble of the Jirst rank who took the field against the Mussulmans. The slain arc put at 30,000, besides those drowned in the cunul. Such numbers, always loose, are especially ^o in the traditions of this early period. Among the prisoners was a Christian, father of the famous jurisconsult Abul Hasan of Bussora (d. a.h. 110). Also Mdckia, afterwards the freedman of Othm&n, and Abu Zi&d, freedman of Hoghira. A.H. XII. KHALID'S VICTOHIES OVER THE PEESUNS. 75 and other loyal clans, under a famous warrior of their own. Battle of He also summoned Bahman, a veteran general, from the safari''' provinces, to command the imperial troops. The combined ^.h. XII. army, in imposing force, encamped at Walaja, on the farther a.d 633. side of the Euphrates. Leaving a detachment to guard his conquests in the lower delta, Khalid advanced with the re- mainder of his army to meet the enemy. The battle was long and obstinate, but was won by the tactics of the Moslem leader, who, when the enemy were exhausted, surprised them by two ambuscades in their rear. The discomfiture was complete. The Persians fled, and with them the Bedouins, but not until several of them had been taken prisoner. Flushed with success aaid delighted with the bounty spread around, Khalid called his troops together and addressed KhaUd's them in these stirring words : ' Ye see the riches of the land, gaining Its paths drop fatness and plenty, so that food is scattered ^j^^^ about, even as stones are in Arabia. "Were it but as a pro- vision for this present Ufe, and no holy war to wage, it were worth our while to fight for these fair fields and banish care and penury for ever.' ' KhaKd here struck a chord at which every Bedouin heart leapt for joy. Now, also, the cunning device of the Goran, with respect to the other sex, began to tell. Persian ladies, both maids and matrons, ' taken captive by the right hand,' were forthwith, without stint of number, lawful to the conquerors' embrace ; and, in the enjoyment of this privilege, they were nothing loth to execute upon the heathen ' the judgment written.' Thus religious fanaticism was kindled by martial ardour, and both riveted by incen- tives irresistible to the Arab — fight and foray, the spoil of war, and captive charms.^ • KhMid's speech is quoted by Al Kindy the Christian Apologist (Smith and Elder), p. 33. • The iddat (or interval prescribed between divorce and re-marriage, or before the cohabitation of a new master with his slave-girl) is not observed in respect of women taken captive on the field of battle. I can find no authority on the subject, but am told by those versed in the law that the only excep- tion is that of women with child, in which event cohabitation would be unlaw- 76 ABU BEKR. CHAP. X' Battle of The cup had but just touched their lips, and many a chance Safar, might yet dash it from their hand. The great family of the May,^^^" ^^^^ ^^^'^ ^^^ ^^^1 '^^^'"^ divided in the struggle, part holding A.D. 633. yf^i}^ Khalid and part with the Persian court. The bitter feel- ing between the Bedouins of Mesopotamia and the levies of Mothanna was aggravated by defeat and captivity. Smarting under the injury, the Christian tribes roused their nomad brethren on both banks of the Euphrates, and urged the Court of Persia to revenge. Just then, Ardshir the king fell sick, and Bahman was detained at court ' ; but he sent an army across the peninsula to join thfe Bedouins, who, from every side, were flocking to AUis, on the south of the Euphrates, half way between Hira and Obolla. News of this great rising forced Khalid to fall back hastily, and recross the river. Then leaving a strong detachment at Hafir to secure his rear, he boldly turned to meet the enemy. The Arab tribes first rushed to the attack, and Khalid slew their leader. Then the Persians advanced, and the Moslems were hard pressed as they had never been before. The battle was fiercely contested, and the issue at one time so doubtful as to make Khalid vow to the Lord that if he got the victory, the blood of His foes should flow in a river. At last the Persians, unable to withstand his impetuous generalship, broke and fled. To fulfil his savage oath, it was proclaimed by Khalid that no fugitive should be slain, but that all must be brought alive into the camp. For two days the country The was scoured by the Moslem horse, and a great multitude of Blood.' prisoners gathered. Then the butchery commenced in the dry bed of a canal, but the earth drank up the blood. Com- pany after company was beheaded, and still the gory flux remained. At last, on the advice of an Arab chief, Khalid had a flood-gate opened above, and the crimson tide re- ful till after delivery. In all other cases, in conformity with the precedent of the Prophet's marriage with Safta at Kheibar, the captives, whether maid or matron, are lawful to the captors' embrace upon the spot (Life of Mahomet, p. 3 9 1 ) . ' Tabari tells us that every month it was the turn of a new prince to rule as minister, and this was Bahm&n's month. A.H. XII. THE mVER OF BLOOD. 77 deemed his vow. There were flour-mills upon the spot, and Tabari tells us, with apparent satisfaction, that for three days, corn for the whole army was ground by the reddened flood. The memory of the deed was handed down in the name of the ' Elver of Blood,' by which thereafter this stream of in- famous memory was called.' When the battle was over, the army found ready spread Tho in the camp of the enemy a sumptuous repast, to which the supper on Persians, when surprised by Khalid, were about to sit down. 'f®. *f'f It was a novel experience for the simple Arabs, who handled the white fritters with childish delight, and devoured rich pancakes and other delicacies of an eastern table with avidity. JChalid ate his supper leaning on the body of a stalwart hero, 'the equal of a thousand warriors,' whom, in single combat, he had but just cut down.' Tidings of the victory, with a choice portion of the spoil, Abu Bekr a welcome earnest of the royal Fifth to follow, were at once ^l ^^e " despatched to Abu Bekr. The messenger, himself a brave victory, warrior (for the duty was an honourable one) described the heat and progress of the battle, the feats and prowess of the more distinguished heroes, the multitude of the captives (the butchery, no doubt, as well) and the riches of the spoil. The Caliph, overjoyed at his glowing tale, bestowed upon the envoy, in token of his royal favour, a beautiful damsel from amongst the captive maidens he had carried with him." ' The slain are given at the fabulous figure of 70,000. The decapitation of the captives went on for a night and a day (so we are told), and then they scoured the country for more. CacAa, one of the Arab captains, told Khilid that ' the Lord had forbidden the earth to allow human blood to flow upon its face more than the length of a man's dress,' and that it never would run in a stream until water was turned on. Blood, as we know, soon thickens and curdles of itself. There is, presumably, great exaggeration in the story, and I should willingly have put down the whole tis a fiction growing out of the name of the river ; but tl\e narrative unfortunately is in keeping with the bloodthirstiness of the Arab crusaders, and specially with the character of ' the Sword of the Lord.' The tradition about the flour-mills comes from Moghira, through one of Tabari's standing string of traditional authorities. ' She bore him children, or the circumstance would probably have been 78 ABU BEKR. The pvin- cipality of Hira. Amghisia sacked. For the moment the spirit of the enemy, both Bedouin and Persian, was broken; but the former had proved so troublesome, and occupied a position in the desert pastures from which they could so materially annoy his flank and rear and his communications with Arabia, that Khalid resolved on reducing the whole tract west of the Euphrates occupied by the Bedouins, with its capital city of Hira. The last of the Lakhmite dynasty, which had long ruled over Hira, died in prison at the Persian Court five and twenty years before ; and he was replaced by a favourite, lyas ibn Cabisa, from the Beni Tay. A few years after, a Persian army, with their allies from Hira, was signally defeated by the Beni Bekr ibn Wail on the field of Dzu Car ; and from the year 614 A.D. the city was governed by a Marzabdn, or Persian Satrap. Partly from its interests being akin to those of the Christian tribes of Mesopotamia, partly from its being a dependency of Persia, the influence of Hira was little felt in Arabia proper. But recent events had shown that even the Beni Bekr might combine with the border capital to resist the invader. To prevent the recurrence of such a danger, Khalid now directed his steps to Hira.' With this view he advanced rapidly up the western bank of the Euphrates, and surprised Amghisia, a town on the same channel as Hira, and its rival in size and wealth.^ The inhabitants, without resisting, fled, and the booty was so rich that each horseman took 1,500 dirhems. When the Fifth reached Medina, Abu Bekr was overwhelmed at the sight ; ' ye Coreish,' he exclaimed in ecstasy, ' verily your too common to merit a place in tradition. Abu Bekr was so charmed with his stalwart mien that he burst forth in a martial couplet in the envoy's praise, ' For the history of Hira up to this time, see Life of Mahoniet, vol. i. introd. chap. iii. The Lakhmite dynasty sprang from the aouthem branch of the Arabs, and, both on this account and for the reasons stated in the text, their influence did not penetrate deeply into the peninsula. * Called also Manishia. It never roooverod the calamity ; at any rate we do not hear of it again. A.H. xu. HIRA CAPITULATES. 79 lion, the lion of Islam, hath leapt upon the lion of Persia, and spoiled him of his prey. Surely the womb is exhausted. "Woman shall no more bear a second Khalid ! ' Finding boats at Amghisia, Khalid embarked his infantry Htra and baggage, and was tracking up the Badacla to Hira, when capitu- ' the flotilla grounded suddenly. Azadzuba, the Satrap of ''^'^®' Hira, had sent his son to lay open the irrigating escapes, and hence the dried-up channel and bewilderment of the Moslems.' Apprised by the boatmen of the cause, Khalid hastened with a flying squadron to the canal-head, slew the Satrap's son, and, having closed the sluices, enabled the boats again to ascend. Then the army, having disembarked and taken possession of the beautiful palaces of Khawamac and Najaf, the summer residence of the princes of Hira, encamped before the city walls.^ The Satrap, just then receiving intelhgence of the king's decease, and stunned by the death of his own son, fled across the river. The city was called upon to surrender, but, defended as it was by four citadels, resisted. The ramparts were manned, and the besiegers kept at bay by a continuous discharge of missiles. But a monastery and cloisters lay without ; and the monks and clergy, exposed to the fury of the besiegers, induced the citizens to capitulate. The chief men agreed to the terms demanded, which were embodied in a treaty. Then they brought- gifts, which Khalid accepted, and despatched, with tidings of the surrender, to Medina. Abu Bekr ratified the treaty and accepted the presents, but de- sired that their value should be deducted from the tribute. ' The escapes were opened perhaps as well to flood the country and impede the enemy's progress, as to lay the navigating channel dry. These channels hare greatly altered, so that attempt at identification would be fruitless. ■•^ The palace of Khawamac was built 200 years before, by Nomdn I., for the reception of his pupil Bahr4m Gour, heir-apparent to the throne of Persia. SinnimAr was the architect. There was a stone, so the story runs, which, if removed, the whole building would fall. The secret was known to Sinnim4r alone; and Nom4n dashed him from the top, that the secret might perish with him. (Jjife of Mahomet, vol. i. p. clxxi.) 80 ABU BEKE. CHAP. x. Terms of The men of Hira bound themselves to pay a heavy wfth^Hira. tribute yearly, to which all classes, saving religious mendi- cants, should be assessed. The Moslems, on their part, engaged to protect the city from attack. The treaty did not stand long, but it is interesting as being the first con- cluded with a principality without the peninsula.' One strange condition was insisted on. The beauty of Keramat, sister of a leading citizen, had been long proverbial, and Showeil, one of Khalid's soldiers, laid claim to her on the ground that Mahomet, hearing him extol her charms, had promised (so the story runs) that when Hira was captured, she should be his bride. Though now well stricken in years, Khalid insisted that Showeil should have her. The thing was grievous to the lady's household, but she took it lightly. ' Care not for it,' she said ; ' what will he do with an old woman like me ? The fool saw me in my youth, and hath forgotten that youth remaineth not for ever.' Showeil soon found out that it was even so, and was glad to name a ransom, which she paid at once, and then departed to her people.^ ' The treaty is given as follows : — ' This is the Treaty of Kh41id with the son of Adi, Amr son of Abd al Masih, and Iy4s ibn Cabisa, empowered in that behalf by the citizens of Hira. They shall pay, year by year, 190,000 dirhems, to be levied on clergy and laity, saving mendicants Tvho have abjured the ■world. The Mussulmans on their side shall protect the city, otherwise there ■will be no obligation to pay the tribute. If the city be disloyal in ■word or deed, the treaty shall be void.' The terms are given alike in two independent traditions ; but the rising, which shortly after swept over the land, cancelled it. ' Sho^weil ■was an old dotard. When Ker&mat said to him, ' What earest thou for an old creature like me ? ' he replied, ' I am not my mother's son if I take less for thee than a thousand dirhems.' She feigned to think it much, but paid it down. When she had gone, his companions laughed at him for askin" such a trifling sum for so distinguished a captive. He ■went to Khilid : ' I meant,' he said, ' to- ask the highest figure that there was ; but now they tell me that numbers go beyond a thousand, and that I did not ask enough. Give me, therefore, a fitting ransom.' Khftlid said : ' Thou purposedst one thing, my friend, and the Lord purposed another. I judge by what appeareth, and leave thy purposes alone.' I give the story as I find it, absurd as it appears, for the lady is said to have been fourscore years of age. The romance of early love, at any rate, was soon changed into a more sordid passion. The tale, A.H. XII. HIRA REMAINS CHHISTIAH. 81 The occupation of Hira was the first definite step in Hira, the outward movement of Islam. Here Khalid fixed his o^upied head-quarters, and remained for about a year. It was, in ^^ K.'iaiid, •' ' remains fact, the earliest Moslem capital beyond the limits of Arabia. Christian. The administration was left with the heads of the native !.„! 633. municipality, who, together with the surrounding population, were, if not friendly, at the least neutral. Khalid, indeed, expected that, being of Arab descent, and themselves long ruled by a native dynasty, the citizens of Hira would actively have joined his cause. Adi, grandson of the poet of that name, was one of the deputation which concluded the peace. ' Tell me,' said Khalid rallying him, ' whether ye be of Persian blood ? ' ' Judge by our speech : doth that betray ignoble birth ? ' ' True,' answered Khalid ; * then why do ye not join our faith, and cast in your lot with us?' 'Nay,' an- swered the Christian, ' that we shall never do ; the faith of our fathers we shall not abjure, but shall pay tribute unto you.' ' Beshrew the fools ! ' cried Khalid ; ' Unbelief is as the trackless desert, and he that treadeth it the silliest of mankind. Here two guides are offered, an Arab and a Stranger ; and of the two they choose the Stranger ! ' The flux and reflux of Eoman invasion had, no doubt, loosened their faith in Persia ; but the court of Medain was near at hand, and, though in the last stage of senility, suflSciently strong to command the allegiance of a small dependency like Hira. The permanence of Arab conquest, too, was yet uncertain ; the love of their ancestral faith was still pre- dominant; and so the city chose to remain as tributary. And several centuries later we find the inhabitants of the neighbourhood in considerable numbers still attached to the Christian faith.* thougli surrounded by marTols{«._9. Mahomet's foretelling the conquest of Hira), is, no doubt, founded on some slight substratum of fact. The lady's age must be exaggerated as trell as the simplicity of Showeil, since she was the daughter of Abd al Masih who headed the deputation from the city. ' Tradition gives with considerable zest a somewhat coarse and childish G 82 ABU BEKR. Public prayor fstablish- «1. -The Service of Victory.' Public prayer, outward symbol of the dominant faitb, ■was now established ; and the citizens might hear the cry of the Muedzzin, as, five times a day, beginning with the earliest dawn, the call to prayer resoimded from the adjacent camp. KhaUd celebrated his success in a special Sei^vic^ of victory. The occasion was memorable. Clothed in a loose flowing robe girt about the neck, he turned, when the prayers were over, to the assembly, and thus extolled their bravery: 'In the field of JMiita (where he had himself rallied the dispersed ai-my) nine swords were broken in my hand.^ But I met not there any foe to match those ye have encountered here ; and of these none more valiant than the men of AUis.' It is, however, open to remark that tlie eai-ly campaign in Irac is suiTOunded by tradition with a special halo ; for the loss here on the jNIoslem side was not great, and, judged by this unerring test, the fighting could conversation between JvMlid and the aged Abd al Masih (called Ibn Bactlla, ■ son of the bean-stalk,' from his green dress), who headed the deputation. ' Wlience comest thou ? ' asted the conqueror. ' From my mother's womb.' ■ And where art thou now ? ' 'In my clothes,' and so on. Asked what was the most won- derful tiling he had erer seen, he said, ' The road from Hira to Damascus, which was lined in my early days with villages all along, so tliat a woman could travel on it alone, taking with her a single cake ; but that time hath long passed by." His attendant carried a little bag containing a quick poison, which his master was prepared to swallow if any indignity had been shown him. KhAlid took and swallowed it, saying that no soul could dio before its time. As no ill effect followed, the chief was lost in amazement, and declared that Kh&lid must be irresistible. Marvellous tjUes of this sort are, however, very rare now. Some touching verses are recorded as sung by Ibn Backila on the fall of Hira. Here is a specimen : — Now that the Princes of the house of Unndzir nre gone, shall I over again behold the roynl hord of csmols roturuing at eve from the pi^stxmis of Klmwnrnao and Scdtr ? Now that the liorsoniGU of Nomau are juissod awny, shall I over agoiu feed tlie young elie- ooniel ou the pivstures between &[occn and Hafir ? Like a flock of goats oa a stormy day, wo aro scattered by the Benl Uojid (the invading Mosleuis), even as pieces of camels slaughtered for tile feast. Heretofore our homes were sacred, and we like the teots of a well-filled udder. Yielding tribute at the appointed times to the Chosroes, and imposts in cattle «nd gold. Alas I even ro is the chongefnl wheel (bucket) of the well of fortune. Now tlie day brightens with joy and gladuess, ond now It is dark with sorrow and grief. Masfidi speaks of the IbAdites (the Christian aborigines of Htra) as still in his time inhabiting this neighbourhood. > For the field of MAta, where Kh&lid rallied the fVagments of the Moslem army broken by the Eoman legions, see Life of Mahomet, chap, xxiii. A.H. XII. ki-ialid's administration in ieac. 83 hardly compare with that of many a well-contested field in the Prophet's time.' While the city of Hira was left in the immediate hands Summary of its chief men, summary rule was set up over the adjacent Nation set country. The Dihca/ns — great landholders and imperial "P '° ^^^, •' ° _ ^ conquered tax-gatherers — had been waiting upon fortune. Seeing now province, that, while the Court was inactive, Khalid carried everything before him, many began to tender submission and enter into engagements with the conqueror for payment of the revenue. Abu Bekr had, in his wisdom, strenuously enjoined that the Fellaheen, or occupiers of the soil, should be maintained in possession, and their rights scrupulously respected. The Persian demand remained unchanged on these, with the addition only of a light poll-tax. In other respects, terms were granted coiTCsponding with those given to Hira. Holding their ancestral faith, the people became Zimmies, or pro- tected dependents. Khalid undertook to defend them, and they on their part pledged allegiance and bound themselves to give notice if danger threatened.'' Garrisons were quar- ' The ' Service of Victory ' consisted of oiglit continuous Eakaats, or series of prostrations, with the appointed Sura of Victory. In this first campaign there is no mention of any Moslems killed. There were, no doubt, casualties among the rank and file of the Bedouin tribes, but these are taken little account of. If any ' Companion,' or leader of eminence, bad been slain, the fact would, no doubt, have been mentioned. We must remember that most of the soldiers from Medina had returned to their homes from YomAma, so that there 'may not have been many Companions present with KhAlid at this lime. With reference to KhAlid's spoooh, I should notice that it was the tendency of the Ki\fa and Dussora schools to magnify the difficulties of the conquest of Ir&c in their own interest, as enhancing their claims upon the revenues of the Savi&d, or surrounding province. In this sense there is a fragment from the Arab warrior Amr ibn CacAa : — The Lord water the ground whore lie buried the heroes of IrAo Upon the dusty plain and beneath the sandy mounds I And then he mentions in verse the various fields in which they had fallen in this first campaign from HafSr to the siege of Hira. ' These treaties were mostly abrogated by the rebellion that shortly after swept oyer the land. But some of the chieftains remained steadfast, as Sali^ba ibn NestAbft, 'the lord of Cobs Nitick.' His treaty is given verbatim by Tabari, with the witnesses, &c., copied, probably, from the original. He had to pay & tribute of 10,000 dirhems, to be contributed rateably by his people G 2 84 ABU BEKR. CHAP. x. tered in a few commanding places and the troops were organised into five moveable columns. By these the country was kept in check. In this manner Khalid held all to the south of the Euphrates, and also the lower delta, sti-etching from Hira eastward across the Great Eiver to the banks of the lower Tigris. Throughout this region none were secure from rapine but such as had entered into engagements. Fifty days' grace was allowed to bring in the revenue, and, till it was paid, hostnges wore kept ; a formal discharge was given on payment.' The tribute, as well as the booty, was distri- buted among the army ' for the strengthening of the same.' Persia Persia was meanwhile hopelessly distracted. The mas- bv'int'oniiil s^cre by Siroes and his jealous successors, of the male progeny troublos. jjgg^p i\^Q throne, had been so ruthless and complete that no heir of the royal blood could anywhere be found, and a rapid succession of feeble claimants was set up by the princesses left to form the court. Thus paralysed, the Persians could do little more than protect the capital by holding in force the Nahr Shir, an intervening stream that flowed down the peninsula." This line was threatened by Mothanna ; but Abu Bekr gave stringent orders that no advance should be made upon Medain till all was secure behind. No tidings, more- over, had as yet been received from lyadh at Duma, with whom (as before explained)' co-operation was imperative. A. It. XII. Khalid fretted at remaining thus inactive, * playing,' as he called it, ' for so many months the woman's part.' But he curbed his ardour, and contented himself with inditing two letters, in an imperious tone, one to ' the Princes of Persia,' according to each man's means, besides a tax of four dirhems per head (ap- parently a Persian tax, as it is called haraeat Chosra). The terms of these treaties were made by KhAlid, with the consent and approval of t!ts army, showing how KhAlid recognised the dominancy of tlio democratic element. ' The terms of the discharge are given by Tabari, who also mentions nine of the Moslem chiefs employed to attest the receipts. * One of the great channels drawn above Babylon from the Euphrates, which flows across the peninsula and falls into the Tigris. • P, 68. A.ii. XII. KHALID TAKES ANBAR AND AIN TAMAE. 85 the other to ' the Satraps and the people.' Towards the north and west, however, he employed his time more actively. Persian detachments were posted in Mesopotamia and Khaiid the outskirts of the desert at Anbar, Ain Tamar, and other AnWir, places, within easy distance of Hira, and against these ^"'"g^g". Khalid now directed his steps. Leaving Cacaa, a warrior of the Beni Temim, in command at Hira, he laid siege to Anbar, a fortress on the left bank of the Euphrates, some eighty miles above Babylon. The garrison, though galled by the Moslem archery, were secure behind their strong walls and the deep fosse by which it was siurrounded, until Khalid, by a stratagem, stormed an entrance. He slew the old and worn-out camels of his force, and casting their carcases into the ditch, thus forced his way across. The Persian governor sued for terms, and was allowed to retire.* Anbar and the richly-irrigated neighbourhood of Felugia* thus secured, Khalid went on to Ain Tamar, on the desert border, three ai«l Ain days west of Anbar. The Persian governor Mihran had there, besides the imperial troops, a great following of nomad tribes, and among these the Beni Taghlib, who (a strange coinci- dence) were under command of Ackka, Hodzeil, and other chiefs, the captains of the prophetess Sajah when she invaded Yemama.* These, advancing to the attack, assailed Khalid as he approached the* citadel ; but he repulsed them easily, taking Ackka prisoner with his own hand. Mihran, seeing ' His name was Shirazid, for we come now constantly on Persian names. The story is that the Moslems were .told to shoot at the et/es of the garrison. And so a thousand of the enemy had their eyes transfixed ; whence the siege was called ' The action of the Eyes.' I give the tradition as I find it — not pretending to offer an explanation— excepting that the same word stands for e^es a,nd fountains. ' Still called by that name (pi. FelAlij), meaning the district about Anbir irrigated by channels from the Euplirates. The army is said to have passed by the plain of Kerbala, which, however, is a good deal south of the position I assign to Ain Tamar (.' The Fountain of Date-palms '). » See above, p. 31. The Beni Taghlib, it will be remembered, retired into Mesopotamia with Saj4h after her marriage with Moseilama. 86 ABU BEKH. Kbalid's severity. Forty Christian students taken captiye. the rout from the ramparts, fled, and left the garrison and the fugitives to defend themselves as best they could. Eefused terms and reduced to straits, they surrendered at discretion. Khalid, angry at the persistent opposition of the Mesopotamian tribes, and also at his loss in the field (for though the victory was easy, a Companion of note and a Citizen of Medina were among the slain), was betrayed into an unwise severity which embittered the Christian Bedouins against him.' Ackka was beheaded in front of the city walls ; the garrison was then led forth, every adult male put to death, and the women, with the children, made over to the soldiers or sold into slavery. In a cloister, hard by the church, were forty youths, who, in their terror, barred the door upon the enemy. When their retreat was forced open, they gave themselves up, declaring that they were students, receiving there instruction in the Gospel. Their lives were spared, and, being of a superior class, they were distributed among the leaders. It is hard to record the fate of these youthful scholars snatched from the Nes- torian Church to be brought up as captives in the Moslem faith. But the fate, though sad, could hardly have been singular in the rough and sanguinary tide of Saracen invasion. Special prominence has, no doubt, been given to it here because Sirin, one of the youths, became the father of Mohammed, the famous Moslem doctor of Bussora, and Noseir, another, the father of Musa, the not less famous con- queror of Spain.^ ' The Companion was Omeir. He had been one of the refugees to Abys- sinia in the persecution of the Coreish, and was therefore a Tery early convert. A citizen (Ans&r) was also buried here ; it is not distinctly stated, but I infer, that he too was killed in the action. This is the first mention of anyone killed on the Moslem side in the Ir&c campaign, though, as said before, loss in the rank and file of the Bedouin levies was not of such importance as neces- sarily to require distinct notice. " Another of these youths was llemrAn, who became the Mowla, or freed- man, of Othman. When surprised in their cloister, they declared themselves to be ' hostages,' perhaps strangers from a distance, detained to complete their education there. A.H. xit. DUMA STOEMED BY KHALID. 87 While these eveots transpired in Irac, lyadh, who ought lySdh long since to have joined Khalid, was battling unsuccess- at"Dfima. fully against his foes at Duma. The Caliph, becoming anxious, sent Welid ibn Ocba (who had been deputed by Khalid to Medina in charge of royal booty) to assist him.' The enemy had got possession of the roads, and lyadh could make no head against them. * Counsel,' said Welid, as he found him in this predicament, 'is ofttimes better than numbers : send a courier for KhaUd.' The message reached just after the fcJl of Ain Tamar ; and Khalid, with no enemy to detain him in the field, replied in martial verse : Wait but a moment, my friend, And a legion shall appear ; Cohort upon cohort following With gUttering sword and spear. Starting at once with the flower of his force, he crossed the intervening desert, and made good his word.^ He was not a day too soon. Okeidar and Judi, the chiefs Duma of Duma, were supported by the Beni Kelb, a tribe which tymSlid. pastured its flocks in the neighbourhood, and also by the Beni -^J^Y'ir Bahra, from the desert west of the Euphrates ; and now the October, Beni Ghassan were pouring down from the north, imder Jabala, the Christian prince of Bostra.' The position of lyadh, thus beset, had been growing day by day more critical. The advent of Khalid changed the scene at once. His very name was a tower of strength. Okeidar had already felt his prowess, having several years before been taken by him a prisoner to Mahomet at Medina. Hearing ' Welid was the son of that Ocha who had been put to death by Mahomet after the battle of Bedr {Life of Mahomet, p. 239). We shall hear more cf him by and by. ' The distance must have been over 300 miles, besides the detonr rendered necessary by the intervening desert (the Nefud of red sand, see I^dy Blount's Pilgrimage to Nejd) ; and must have taken, C. de Perceval says, not less than ten days ; with any other than Kh&lid, I should have said a good deal more. ' Jabala VL See Life of Mahomet, vol. i. p. clzsziz. 88 ABU BEKB. CHAP. x. now that his old enemy was advancing from the east, he was much afraid ; and, failing to persuade his comrades to offer terms, he hastened forward by himself, with the view of surrendering ; but Khalid, being apprised of his approach, sent out to take him prisoner, and he was instantly beheaded.' Then, instructing lyadh to engage the Sjrrian troops on the farther side of Duma, Khalid himself attacked the enemy on the nearer, and utterly routed them, taking prisoner Judi and the Kelbite leader. The discomfited troops fled back in confusion to the fort, and when that was full, the gates were closed. lyadh was also 06 his side victorious, but Jabala effected his escape to Syria. Then the sword was drawn against the helpless crowd hemmed in between the two forces. The Beni Kelb were spared ; for Acra, a Bedouin chief, had (much to Khalid's displeasure) given them quarter as a confederate tribe ' ; but Judi was be- headed, and all the rank and file that vainly struggled round the city walls. Even to those within, the ramparts were of small avail ; the gate was battered down, and the crowded inmates put promiscuously to the sword. The women were sold to the highest bidder; and the most beautiful, the unfortunate Judi's daughter, bought by Khalid for his harem. Thus solacing himself for a little while at Duma, the conqueror sent Acra with the main body back to Hira. There they were received with outward demonstra- tions of joy; for the citizens, with timbrels, music, and cymbals, went forth, headed by Cacaa, to meet the returning army.^ ' So the ordinary narrative. But there is another account that Okeidar was sent a prisoner to Medina ; and being subsequently released by Omar, settled near Ain Tamar, at a place which, in memory of his former homo, ho named Duma. The name may have given rise to the tradition ; though, on the other hand, the execution of Okeidar is in keeping with KhAlid's sanguinary character. For his first encounter with Khalid, see lAfe of Malimtet, p. 468. ' Acra was chief of the Beni Temtm, old allies of the Beni ICelb, who otherwise would have shared the common fate, ' The demonstration was probably forced. The citizens, we are told. A.H. XII. EXPEDITIONS AGAINST BEDOUINS IN IRAC. 89 But all was not going on smoothly in Mesopotamia. Various The absence of Khalid and great part of his force encou- tXln raged the Persians and their Arab allies — specially the Beni J^^P- _ , ^ •' Sh4ban, lagbhb, smarting under the execution of Ackka — ^to resume a.h. Xll. offensive operations, Cacaa, though on the alert, was able, A.D^ess*"^' with the diminished means at his disposal, to do no more than guard the frontier and protect Anbar from a threat- ened inroad. At this news, Khalid hastened back; and, having installed lyadh in the government of Hira, de- spatched Cacaa across the Euphrates against the Persians, while he himself appointed a rendezvous at Ain Tamar to attack the Arabs, for he had vowed that he would visit the Beni Taghlib in their homes, and crush the viper in its nest. In Mesopotamia the Persians were routed and their leaders killed; while on the western border a series of brilliant and well-planned night attacks succeeded again and again in surprising the Arabs as they slept secure in their desert homes, where they were cut to pieces, and their families carried away into dishonour and captivity. Thus Khalid fulfilled his vow. Multitudes of women, many of noble birth, were distributed among the army. A portion of these, with a rich booty, were sent to Medina ; and one, the daughter of Bodeir, chief of the Beni Taghlib, killed in the slaughter, was purchased by Aly, and bore him a son and daughter.' For thcS time, the Bedouin confederacy was dispersed. murmured secretly, — ' We thought that they had passed by, like other Arab raiders ; their return is the breaking out of a fresh calamity ; ' and so, before long, they found it. ' The girl's name 'vras Sahba. Aly had recently leceived into his barem another maiden taken captive at Yem&ma ; being of the Beni Hanif a, the son, Mohammed, whom she bore to him, was called the Hani file. Thus, though he sat inactive at home, Aly took his full share of the captive ladies. He also married in this year Ominia, a granddaughter of the Prophet (being a child of Abul Aas and Zeinab) and niece of his deceased wife f Atima. I have noticed tliese expeditions very briefly, as the similarity of detail hecomes tedious. The Persian generals Zermihr and fiozaba, were attacked by Cac&a and plain before they could form a junction with the Beni Taghlib, 90 ABU BEKE. Battle of Firddh ; Persians, Bomans, and Bedouins defeated. Dzul Cada 15, A.H. XU. Jan. 21, A.D. 634. Khaiid's incognito pilgi-im- Kge. Dzul Hijj, A.H. xii. February, A.D. 634. Driving thus the enemy before him, Khalid came upon the Euphrates, and, crossing it, reached Firadh, so far advanced as to touch the frontier, within sight of a Koman post. There he rested his army on the river bank during the fast of Kamadhan, and for some weeks after.' The Syrian garrison on the western shore, uneasy at the pro- longed and threatening encampment, made common cause with the neighbouring Persian outposts, and, joined as well from the desert by Bedouin horse, advanced an imposing force to the river. They challenged Khalid to cross and give them battle. But the wary general bade them rather cross over to his side, which they did. A long and severe conflict ensued. The Moslems were victorious, and the cavalry pur- suing the fugitives, cut to pieces an incredible multitude.'' For the moment opposition was crushed both on the part of the Bedouins and the Persian troops, Khalid would willingly have attacked Medain, but the cautious policy of Abu Bekr withheld him. Besides the districts secured by treaty with the great landlords of the lower delta, Khalid had now extended his rule on both sides of the Euphrates but the fugitives joined the Bedouin camp at Modeya in the desert. There- upon, Khdlid organised three parties to coDTerge at a set time by night upon the Arab encampment, ^hich was surprised, and left covered with the dead, 'like a field of slaughtered sheep.' The chief, Hodzeil, escaped. Among the slain were two Bedouin chiefs who, having embraced Islam, held an amnesty from the Caliph. Omar took the occasion again to blame Kh&lid for his indiscriminating vengeance ; but Abu Bekr, as before, justified him ; ' for those,' he said, ' who dwell in the encampment of an enemy must take their chance with liira.' As, however, they were both said to have called aloud tho Moslem sliibboletb, their families were set free and taken care of, and blood-money paid. Omar treasured up these things against KhMid. The similar btratagem of a convergent night attack was repeatedly resorted to at Thiuia, Zomeil, and Bishr, not a soul escaping the sword but the women and children. Horeus, a famous chief of the desert, was surprised and slain while drinking his last draught of wine with his daughters, who were carried away captive. The subject is a favourite one, and the bacchanalian verses sung by Horeus in his last cups, with a swan-like anticipation of im- pending fate, are assigned to several different occasions, ' Kamadhan fell in December, a.d. 633. ' No details are given of this great battle, excepting the fabulous number of 100,000 slain. H. XII. KHALID's pilgrimage to MECCA. 91 above Anbar, and no enemy was anywhere in sight.' Things seeming thus to be quiet, Khalid formed the singular resolve — the sacred month having now come round— of making the pilgrinlage incognito, unknown even to his royal master. So, having recruited his army for ten days on the well-fought field of Firadh, he gave orders to march slowly and by easy stages back to Hira. Then, making as though he remained behind to bring up the rear-guard, he set out secretly with a small escort on his pious errand. Without a guide, he traversed the devious desert route with marvellous sagacity and speed. Having accomplished the rites of pilgrimage, he retraced his steps with like despatch, and entered Hira just as the rear-guard from Firadh was marching in. So well had he kept his secret, that the army thought he had been'all the while at Firadh, and had been journeying slowly back. Even Abu Bekr, who himself presided at the pilgrimage, was unaware of the presence of his great general. "When, after some time, the surreptitious visit came to his knowledge, he was much displeased. But the action which he took in consequence belongs to the succeeding year.' ' In the troublous times that followed, almost all the country rose and com- mitted acts of disloyalty which, with one or two exceptions, cancelled the treaties and engagements now entered into by Kh&lid with the Dihe4ns. ' According to some traditions, Abu Bekr deputed Omar to preside at the pilgrimage this year. But the general opinion is that Abu Bekr did so him- self, leaving Othmin during his absence in charge of Medina. This is the more likely, as, owing to the troubled state of the peninsula, he had been unable to go on pilgrimage the previous year. 92 ABU BEKE. CHAPTEE XI. CAMPAIGN IN SYRIA, — BATTLE OF WACUSA ON THE YERMUK. A.H. XIII. A.D. 634. KhAlid The campaign in Syria opened under the auspices of a very pMted on Shorahbil had fought under tho great Kh&lid at Yemdma, and thence aocompanied him to Ir4c. Deputed at this crisis to Medina with despatched or booty, he there obtained this command. 2 The Scriptural expressions of ' the Promised Land,' ' the Land of Blessing,' See. are applied in the Cordn to Palestine ; and it remained long the most coveted destination of the Bedouin levies. 96 ABU BEKR. CHAP, xi, implicit obedience; while he, on his part, consulted their views and wishes, not only in the set council of war, but generally on all occasions of importance. Sheikhs of re- nown, such as Abu Sofidn and Soheil, who but a few years before, had wielded at wUl the whole power of Mecca, and haughty high-bom chieftains of Nejd and Yemen, now joined with alacrity and zeal the column of anyone, how- ever young and inferior, into whose hands the Caliph was minded to present a banner of command. And the whole force, thus formed in separate detachments, held itself at the absolute disposal of the Commander of the Faithful. Abu Bekr Abu Bekr was duly sensible of the gravity of the enter- the prise on which he now embarked — nothing short, in fact, they"leavT °^ measuring swords with the Kaiser. He had thrown down Medina. the gauntlet, and in fact was waging war, at one and the same time, with the potentates of the East and of the West. The brigades for this service were pitched one after another on the outlying field of Jorf ; and, as each was ready to march, the Caliph walked a little distance (as nearly two years before he had done with Osama) by the side of the mounted leader, and gave him thus his farewell commands. ' Profession,' he would say, ' is naught without faith. The merit of a work dependeth on the purpose of the worker. The reward set forth in the Book of the Lord for such as fight in His ways, is great. Set this ever before thee and before thy men. But when thou haranguest them, be brief, for in the multitude of words the foremost word is lost in the hindermost. So striving, ye will obtain the prize, riches and glory in the present life, and in the life to come salva- tion.' Then saying ' Fare ye well,' he would retrace his steps and return to his simple home. Advance of The four battalions now gathered on the Syrian border diviai'ons. numbered 30;000, besides the reserve of 6,000 under Ikrima.' In their first advance these columns met with ' The strength of thefour columns is usually given as 27,000, some authorities A.H. XIII. ROMAN ARMY OPPOSES THE MOSLEMS. 97 Kttle to oppose them. Abu Obeida marched through the Moharram, Belcaa. The Arab settlement at Maab ' resisted, but, after March, an unsuccessful skurmish, submitted to his terms ; and he " ' then marched on to Jabia. From the south of Palestine a Eoman force advanced on the Araba below the Dead Sea ; but it was easily discomfited by Yezid, who pursued it to Dathin, and slew the patrician in command.'* The four divisions eventually took up ground in a sort of echelon, threatening the chief garrisons in the south of Syria, Abu Obeida, advancing towards Damascus, held a position the fur- thest east, near to Ikrima and the scene of the recent disaster. Next came Shorahbil, overawing the Ghor, or depressed valley of the Jordan and Tiberias. Yezid in the Belcaa, threatened Bostra; and Amru, in lower Palestine, Hebron. Each of these, at last, found himself confronted by a Eoman force. Heraclius now, at last, was thoroughly aroused. It was Heraclius but a few years before that he had gloriously repulsed the battalions Chosroes ; but after that he had relapsed into the inactivity themf°^^ of earlier years. Tidings of the invasion — a fresh irrup- tion, as it would seem, of barbarians from the south instead of from the north — awakened hira from liis lethargy. Eepairing to Hims, he gathered together an immense force, and sent it, in separate divisions, to stem the advancing tide. The largest of these, numbering (tradition tells us) 90,000 men, was commanded by his brother Theodoric' adding 3,000 rallied from KliAlid's force, and some not. Tradition represents Abu Bekr as sending them forth each to reduce a giren district in Syria— Abu Obeida, Hims; Yezid, Damascus; Shorahbil, the Jordan; Amru, Palestine. A palpable anticipation. Abu Bekr's vision -was jet bounded by the Roman army, and the issue doubtful. • Ar, or Kabbah of Moab. 2 The Dothan of Joseph's story is placed by Kobinson north of Nablfis, near the plain of Megiddo. If this be the same, Yezid must have penetrated into the centre of Palestine, -which at this early period of the campaign is not likely. But the whole account is very brief and confused. It seems, also, improbable that Abu Obeida should have advanced quite so far as Jibia, while as yet the Eoman battalions dominated the country nor'h of the YermAk. ' The names of the Koman commanders are given as Jireja (George?), H 98 ABU BEKE. The Saracen generals resolve to draw together. llomans and Moslems face each other at Wacusa on the Yermuk. Safar, A.H. XIII. April, A.D. 634. The Moslems were alarmed at the formidable array, and they consulted how to meet it. Amru urged his brother generals to gather all into one body. — ' For how,' he sent to say, ' can our scanty numbers, divided and apart, encounter these mighty hosts ? ' To this they agreed, and Abu Bekr, who had constant tidings of their progress, was of the same mind. ' Draw ye all together,' was his command, ' by the banks of the Yermuk. Ye are the Lord's host, and shall surely put the enemy to flight. Such as you shall not be discomfited by reason of the fewness of your numbers. Tens of thousands are smitten in battle because of their sins. Wherefore, do ye eschew sin. Let every man stand close by his fellow. So shall the Lord give you the victory.' Acting on this counsel, the four columns concentrated to the south of the Yermuk, near where it was crossed by the military road from Damascus. The Romans, suiting their tactics to the change, also drew together, and, under command of Theodoric, pitched their camp on the northern bank of the river. The place was singular. The Yermuk, taking its rise in the high lands of the Hauran, and fed by many affluents, is a large and swift stream. In its lower course it runs, far below the level of the plain, in a deep and rugged gorge, through which its waters, rapidly descend- ing to the Ghor, fall into the Jordan at Gadara, below the Lake of Galilee. The battle-ground was probably 30 or 40 miles above the junction. Here the stream, fetching a compass, formed on the northern bank a great plain, — the plain of WAcfrsA, bounded on three sides by a sheer pre- cipice. The remaining side was hemmed in by a ravine which nearly closed the circuit. A narrow neck was left Cnycar ibn NostAs, Darickis, and TndzAric (Theodoric). Tradition protends that Heracliua, half persuiided of the truth of Islam, was desirous to cede to the Moslems the plain of Syria up to the mountains of Asia Minor, but was hindered by the perversity of his grandees. A.H. XIII. INDECISIVE SKIRMISHING WITH ROMANS. 99 for entrance, across whicli the military road passing, formed the key of the position. The Eomans were tempted by the wide expanse of level ground, which offered room for their great camp, and was secure on every side. Advancing, therefore, from the north, they entered this plain, and spread themselves out upon it. Thereupon the Moslems crossed the river, and encamped also on the northern bank, upon another plain adjoining the neck ; thus they commanded the road, and threatened the exit of the enemy. Amru, seeing this, rejoiced and said : ' Be of good cheer, my friends ; the Eomans are shut in, and few that are shut in escape.' ' A desultory war- fare ensued without any definite result. The Eomans often formed up in force, and as often were driven back ; but the ravine was to them a strong protection, and the Arabs gained no material advantage. In such indecisive skirmishing two Rabi I. months passed away, and the armies remained still facing jiaj. ^mx one another. « ^""^- ' The way out, however, could have been only partially closed, for rein- forcements reached the Eomans without hindrance. The ravine was probably passable at some points, though, on the whole, a sufficient defence against the A rubs. ' The country is well described by Laurence Oliphant In his Land of Gilead, and the picture at p. 87 gives an admirable idea of the gorge surrounding our battlefield. ' The Yermfik,' he says, ' at this point is just sinking below the level of the plain through which it has been meandering, and in the course of tl\e next mile plunges down, a series of cascades, into the stupendous gorges through which it winds, until it ultimately falls into the Jordan below Gadara.' The grand old military road, still bearing traces of wheeled carriages, bifurcates five and twenty miles south of Damascus. The right branch leads S.W. to Palestine, crossing the Yermftk at Gadara ; the other continues to run south towards Jerash and Bostra, and so onward till it is lost in the Hajj or pilgrim- route into Arabia. The latter was the road always traversed by the Saracen armies as they marched into Syria and Palestine ; and I assume that the battle was fought at a point some 30 miles east of Gadara where this road crosses the YermAk. The same road northward leads to J4bia (Tell J4bieh) ; and JAbieh became the grand base of operations both for Syria and for Palestine ; for Pales- tine was never approached from Arabia but by this circuitous route. The Arabs, we are told, do not use the Boman road, because probably it is in so rugged and ruinous a condition. But they always use the bridges when passable ; and Mr. Oliphant tells us of an ' old Roman bridge of nine arches, one of which lias fallen and has not been repaired,' over the Yermy tradition, strange. But so much appears, that a general, Jareja by name, perhaps of Arab blood and imbued with Bedouin sympathies, was persuaded by Khalid to embrace his cause, and to promise that, at the decisive moment, he would leave the Eoman and join the Moslem side." The powers conferred on Khalid were soon put to the Moslem test, and that to good purpose. His first care was to organise r™g^edTn the army as a whole. ' The Romans,' he said, ' are a vast ''""alions. and imposing multitude, and we but few to look at. Now no disposition swelleth numbers to the eye like that of separate battalions.' So he divided the troops into forty battalions, each about a thousand strong and under a trusted forces. Ibn Khaldiin roads so ; and likewise the tradition that Omar, in eventually deposing him, appointed Abu Obeida similarly to the supreme command. If so, Khilid may have chosen not to excite jealousy by assuming the supremacy at once, but rather to have obtained it by consent. But our information is, at this early period, vague and incomplete. ' The tale is full of childish matter. The following is an outline from which the reader may draw his own conclusion. When the two armies were drawn up for battle, JAreja, riding forth from the Eoman ranks, called out to Khdlid as if challenging him to single combat. They drew so near to one another, midway between the two armies, that their horses' necks touched. Having pledged their word to each other, a conversation ensued. J4reja asked KhAlid w)iy he was (called the ' Sword of God,' and whether a sword had really boon sout down to him from heaven. KliAlid siuilod, and expounded to him the basis and practice of Islam. Tho ingenuous Eoman, convinced, forthwith reversed his shield; whereupon KliAlid, leading him away to his tent, sprinkled clean wator upon him and taught him to pray, — Jireja following him, with the prescribed prostrations and words, in two Eakaats. Meanwhile his followers, supposing that he had attacked Khalid and been decoyed away by him, advanced rapidly on the Moslem line, which at first gave way, and both sides became promiscuously engaged. Then Khilid, with J4reja now upon his side, issued forth and at the head of their troops charged the Eomans and drove them back ; JAreja fought by the side of Iih41id all day long, and in the evening was slain, dying a faithful martyr, though he had prayed but ouce. The tale is probably founded on fact, and framed so as to cover the defection of some Roman general— perhaps a Bedouin, — who, by previous arrangement, came over toKhdlid on the day of battle, with a following, perhaps, of Syrians from the Eoman camp. Jdrcja may be the Arab rendering here for Geolrge. 108 ABU BEKR. The Eoman Hrmy advances : tut is kept ill check. leader.' These he arranged so that one half formed the centre, under Abu Obeida. Ten battalions were then assigned to each wing, of which one was led by Amru and Shorahbil ; the other by Yezid, whose aged father, Abu Sofian, was bid to go from troop to troop, and rouse their ardour by martial declamation.* It was soon manifest that the Byzantine captains were preparing to deliver a general and decisive charge. Issuing from their defences, they rolled up in dense volume along both sides of the plain. A bystander, gazing at the moving field, exclaimed, ' How many the Roriians, how few the Moslems ! ' ' Nay,' cried Khalid, ' say rather " How many the Moslems, how few the Eomans " ; for, if ye count aright, numbers wax by the help of the Lord, but when He with- draweth His face, then they wane. I would that the Eomans were double the number they now appear, if I had but under me my good Arab steed ! ' — for the hoofs of his favourite bay had been worn down by the rapid marching from Irac. Still the Eomans kept rolling up in dense columns. The fate of Syria depended on the day. As the enemy drew near, Khalid called upon Ikrima, who had brought his reserve upon the field, and Cacaa with his warriors from Irac, to advance and check them. Just then a messenger rode up in haste, carrying a despatch from Medina. To the inquiry of those who flocked around, he answered : ' All is well, and reinforcements on the way.' But in Khalid's ear he whispered a secret message, and he ' Battalion or Kardfta. The number of battalions now formed is variously given at from thirty to forty. The leader of each is named ; but probably tradition has merely selected the most likely names, for in other respects there is a great want of detail in the narrative. " The person performing this duty was called Al Cass, the Declaimer. The following is a specimen of the address by which Abn Sofi4n stirred up each battalion. ' Lord I these be the champions of Arabia, the defenders of the Faith, Those yonder are the champions of Eome, the defenders of Idolatry. Lord! this is a day to be held in remembrance among Thy great days. Wherefore send down help upon Thy servants and succour them.' A.H. Xlit. GREAT BATTLE OF WACUSA ON THE YERMUK. 109 delivered a letter which, hastily glanced at, Khalid slipped into his quiver. Then, bidding the messenger keep close by him throughout the day, he rode forth to meet Jareja. The defection of this general was a calamity to the Battle of iVftCllRH. Eomans, but at the first it caused an unexpected issue. He or the had probably a troop, or escort, which followed him, as he rode ^j^" " forth towards the Arab general ; but whether or no, a *•«• XIII. Eoman battalion, mistaking his movement for a desperate a.d. 634. attack upon the enemy, advanced to his support with such an energetic charge that the Moslem front was broken and thrown into confusion. Ikrima stood firm. He who in the days of Ignorance had measured arms even with the Prophet of the Lord, should he flee before the infidel ! ' Who now,' he cried, ' will join me in the covenant of death ? ' Four hundred, with his own son, and the hero Dhirar, took the fatal pledge.' He charged, and the battalion which had created the surprise, bewildered at the treachery of Jareja, fell back. The ground now clear, Khalid ordered the whole line to move forward. The Eomans too advanced, and the charge was met on both sides with the sword. All day the battle raged. Fortune varied ; and the carnage amongst the Moslems, as well as the Eomans, was great. Ikrima's gallant company, holding their ground firm as a rock in front of Khalid's tent, bore the brunt of the day ; they were slain or disabled almost to a man. So fierce were the Arabs, that even the women joined their husbands and brothers in the field ; and Huweiria, daughter of Abu Sofian, inheriting the spirit of her mother Hind, was severely wounded in an encounter with the enemy.* ' Dliir4r is a frtvourite hero with the pseudo-Wackidy and other romancers, •who represent him as performing the most marvellous feats in the field. Ikrima's war-song was : — A noble maid, both fair and tender. Knows that her knight can well defend her. ' Abu Sofiin himself lost an eye ; it was pierced by an arrow, which was with difficulty withdrawn. There is a foolish tale that Abdallah, son of 110 ABU BEKR. CHAP. xi. The Towards evening the Eomans began to falter. Khalid, ^ctor^ quickly perceiving that their horse were declining from the infantry, launched his centre as a wedge between the two. The cavalry, with nothing behind them but the precipice, made a fierce charge for their lives ; the Moslem troops opened to let them pass, and so they gained the open country and never again appeared. The Moslems then turned right and left upon the remaining force cooped up between the ravine and the chasm ; and, as they drove all before them, the Romans on both hands ' were toppled over the bank even as a wall is toppled over.' The battle drew on into the night, but opposition was now in vain. Those that escaped the sword were hurled in a moving mass over the edge into the yawning gulf. 'One struggling would draw ten others with him, the free as well as chained.' And so, in dire confusion and dismay, the whole multitude perished. The fatal chasm YaCiTsa engulfed, we are told, 100,000 men.' Ficar, the Eoman general, and' his fellow- captains, unable to bear the sight, sat down, drew their togas around them, and, hiding their faces in despair and shame, awaited thus their fate. Its im- Morning found the Moslems in silent possession of the great plain. They flocked into the Eoman entrenchment, and Khalid took possession of Theodoric's royal tent. The camp and its rich equipage yielded a booty of 1,500 pieces to each horseman. More than this, the fearful fate of the army struck such terror into the Byzantine court and the Zolieir, tlien a boy, overheard Abu Sofi&n, who, willi a company of the Coroish, stood upon a knoll, applauding the llomans when tliey jidvanced, and crying, ' Out upon you,' when they full back, as if siding with thorn. He ran and told his father, who laughed, saying, ' It is mere spite, for we are a deal better than the Eomans.' This is a manifest anti-Omeyyad tale, for tradition is almost unanimous that Abu So(i4n, notwithstanding his age, distingi\ished himself that day by his valour and his ardour in stirring up the troops {Ihn Khdldun, p. 8.5); and indeed it would have been altogether against his interest to have done otherwise. ' The disaster, making every allowance for exaggeration, must have been ap- palling. We are told that there were driven over the precipice 80,000 ' chained ' and 40,000 free soldiers, besides those that perished by the sword. portance. A.H. XIII. ROMAN ARMY TOTALLY DEFEATED, 111 people of the land, that the fate of Syria was sealed. Un- like the Persian campaign, the opposition that remained was poor and feeble. The victory was purchased at a heavy cost. Three Heary thousand were buried on the field, besides a great multi- tude wounded; and among the fallen we read many dis- tinguished names. Of Ikrima's forlorn hope few survived. The famous Dhirar, badly wounded, recovered to signalise himself on other fields. But Ikrima and his son both sank under their wounds. In the morning, when near their end, they were carried to the royal tent of Khalid. He laid the head of the father on his breast, and of the son upon his thigh, tenderly wiped their faces and moistened their lips with water. And as they passed away, he kept fondly say- ing : ' Alas, alas ! the father and the son ; who would have thought of a martyr's death for both ! ' But Khalid was no longer in command. The messenger KhMld deposed in the field had whispered in his ear the news of Abu by Omar. Bekr's death ; and the letter which he then slipt into his quiver brought the new Caliph's order that Khalid should deliver up command into the hands of Abu Obeida.' The battle was fought in the end of August, or the Date of ^ " the battle, beginning of September, a.d. 634.^ Before narrating the sequel of this great victory, we must turn for a little to what was passing elsewhere. ' The order given by Omar is couched in terms -which would appear to imply that Khftlid was in supreme command in Syria, from -which command he ■was now deposed, and Abu Obeida substituted in his room. This is not con- sistent with the previous narrative. It is possible, indeed, to construe the order as deposing Kh41id simply from his command over his own Irftc con- tingent, and transferring it to Abu Obeida. But it is certain that Abu Obeida from this time became in permanence the Ameer, or governor-general and commander-in-chief of Syria. See Dm Klicddun, p. 86, and previous note p. 106. 2 The date is fixed by that of Abu Bekr's death (August 22); twenttf days after which we are told that the battle was fought. But the messenger bring- ing the news of the Caliph's death could hardly have taken more than half that time for so urgent a journey. We may safely, therefore, place the action about the end of August (JumM II.) ; or, rather, following other traditions, early in Eajab, that is, the beginning of September. 112 ABU BEKR CHAPTER XII. EVENTS IN IRAC — MOTHANNA AND THE PERSIANS — NEED OF REINFORCEMENTS. Molmrram— JuTnid, A.H. XIII. March— August, A.D. 634. Mothanra AFTER bidding Khalid farewell, Mothanna returned to Hira, by the and made the best disposition of his small force that he- Persians. could, SO as to strengthen his defences towards the Persian capital. That the position was not altogether secure is shown by the precaution of Khalid, just before his departure, in sending the sick and infirm with the women and chil- dren home, for the time, to Arabia. A new prince, Shahriran, had succeeded to the throne ; and he now thought to expel the invaders by sending an army under Hormiiz, 10,000 strong, against them.' Mothanna, having timely warning, immediately called in his outlying garrisons, but, with every exertion, the force brought together was dangerously small in comparison with the Persian host. The king, confident of victory, wrote to Mothanna an insulting letter that ' he was about to drive him away with an army of fowl-men and swine-herds.' Mothanna answered : ' Thou art either a braggart or a liar. If what thou sayest be true, then blessed be the Lord that hath reduced thee to such de- fenders ! ' Having despatched this reply, he advanced boldly to meet Hormuz. Leaving Hira, the little force passed under the dreary ruin of Birs Nimrud, and crossing the ' The new king is called otherwise Shahrizdn and ShahrizAz, son of Ardshir. His commander is called Hormuz Jddzoweih, A.H. XIII. MOTHANNA ASKS FOR EEINFORCEMENTS. 113 Euphrates, encamped to the north of the vast mound which marks the site of Babylon. There, some fifty miles from the capital, amid a network of canals watering the country (now a wilderness or a swamp ), he chose the hattle-ground ; Battle of and, placing his two brothers in charge of either wing, him- i.H.^ni. self at the head of the centre, awaited the attack of Hormuz. ^"""'?"' The Persian line was preceded by a war-elephant, which threw the Arab ranks into confusion, and for a while paralysed their action. Mothanna, followed by an adventurous band, surrounded the great creature, pierced it in a mortal part, and so brought it to the ground. Deprived of this adven- titious help, the enemy gave way before the fierce onslaught of the Arabs, who pursued the fugitives across the plain of Dura to the very gates of Medain, The praises of ' the hero of the elephant ' have been handed down in Arabian verse.' Shahriran did not long survive the defeat. His son, Mothannii succeeding him, was killed in a rebellion caused by his Bekrfor attempt to give Azarmidokht, a princess of the royal blood, reinforce- in marriage to a favourite minister. The princess, saved by loyal hands from the dishonour, succeeded to the throne. From a court weakened thus by continual change and treachery, there was little, it might be thought, to fear. But Mothanna had to guard a frontier of great extent, and for the task his army was far too small. The Moslem conquests stretched from the lower Tigris to the desert, and from the Persian Gulf all up the banks of the Euphrates to Anbar. The people were not with him, and the Bedouins of Mesopotamia were distinctly against him. Victories might be won, but they could not be followed up. The position, with so small a force, was clearly full of risk. Accordingly, ' The poet Farazdac (who flourished shortly after), enumerating the various families of the Beni Bekr ibn W4il, when he comes to the clan of Mothanna, describes him as ' the hero who slew the elephant at the battle of Babylon.' So also Abda, a Bedouin poet, who, being in search of his mistress, chanced to be present as a wayfarer at the battle, makes a similar reference to the slaughter of the elephant. I 114 ABU BEKR. CHAP. XII. Abu Bekr on his death-bed desires Omar to order a levy. Omar accepts thethargo. Mothanna urged upon the Caliph the pressing need of reinforcements. He also pointed out how they might be met without stint of number. ' Remove the embargo,' he wrote, ' from the apostate but now repentant tribes ; they will flock to the war, and, in this crusade against the Persians, none will be more brave or eager,' Answer being long delayed, Mothanna became anxious, and ven- tured to Medina, there to urge his suit in person.' He found Abu Bekr on his death-bed. The aged Caliph knew tnat his end was near at hand ; but his mind was clear, and, on hearing the statement of Mothanna, he at once perceived the urgency of the case. ' Call Omar to me,' he said (for he had already declared him successor) ; and when Omar came, he addressed him thus in earnest tone : — ' Command a levy for Mothanna. Tarry not. If I die, as I think, this day, wait not till the evening ; if 1 linger till night, wait not till the morning. Let not sorrow for me divert you from the service of Islam and the business of your Lord. Ye saw what I did myself when the Prophet died (and there could be no greater sorrow for mankind than that) ; truly if grief had stayed me then from girding my loins in the cause of the Lord and of his Prophet, the Faith had fared badly ; the flame of rebellion had surely kindled in the city. And, list thee, Omar ! when the Lord shall have given thee victory in Syria, then send back to Irac its army ; for they are the proper garrison thereof, and fittest to administer it.' Omar was touched by the delicacy of Jiis last words, and the allusion they contained without expressing it. ' For,' said he, ' Abu Bekr knew that it grieved me when he gave the command to Khalid ; therefore he bade me to send back his army to Irac, but forbore to name the name of Khalid.' He listened attentively to the dying Caliph's words, and promised to fulfil them. ' The delay may have been occasioned by Abu Bekr's sicknoss, or the proposal to employ the apostate Arabs in the campaign miiy have been diffi- cult to answer. A.H. xni. ABU BEKR VISITS MECCA ON PILGKIMAGE. 115 CHAPTER XIII. SICKNESS AND DEATH OF ABU BEKE. Jum4d n., A.H. XIII. August, A.D. 634. In the first year of his Caliphate, Abu Bekr was hindered by Abu Bekr the engrossing work of repressing apostasy and rebellion, over' the from being present at the yearly pilgrimage in Mecca. But pi'gr™age next year he presided at the pilgrimage himself. As the Dzul Hijj, party entered the vale of Mecca, the young men hastened to jiai-ch, tell his father, who, blind from great age, was seated at his *•"• ^"'■*- door. On his son's approach, he arose and stood up to greet him. Abu Bekr made his camel to kneel down at the threshold, and alighting, embraced his father, who was shed- ding tears of delight, and kissed him between the eyes. Attab, the governor, Soheil, and the other great men of Mecca, approached and shook the Caliph by the hand. Then they did obeisance to his father, who said : ' These be our nobles ; honour them, my son, and make much of them.' ' Make much of them,' answered Abu Bekr, ' that I do ; but (mind- ful of his Master's teaching), as for honour, there is none save that which cometh from the Lord alone.' After bathing, he went forth in pilgrim garb, to kiss the Black Stone, and encompass the Holy House. The people crowded round him ; and as they made mention of the Prophet, Abu Bekr wept. It was but two years since Mahomet had been amongst them, celebrating the same rites, and how much of danger and deliverance had come to pass in this short space ! And so they mourned his loss. At midday, he again went through the ceremonies of the K^aba ; then, sitting down I 2 116 ABU BEKR. CHAP, xiit, beneath the shadow of the Hall of Council,! he commanded the citizens that, if any had complaint to make or justice to demand, he should spealc. All were silent ; so he praised the people and their governor. Then he arose and cele- brated the midday prayer. After that he sat down again for a little, and bade them all Farewell. Then he turned to go, and departed for Medina.'' AbuBeki-'u During the summer, Abu Bekr was busied with rein- JumM II., forcements for the Syrian campaign. Born three years after Auffusi *''^® ^^'"' °f t^i*^ Elephant,' he was now over three-score years A.D. 6»4. of age ; but, simple and temperate in his habits, still hale and vigorous. In the autumn, happening to bathe in- cautiously on a cold day, he was seized with a fever, which laid him low and obliged him to make over the presidency at public prayer to Omar.'' When the illness had lasted for a fortnight, his friends, coming daily to ask after him, at last became anxious, and said : ' Shall we send for the physician ? ' ' He * hath been to me already,' answered Abu Bekr. ' And what said he ? ' ' He saith to me I am about ' The Council House (Dar ul Nad-w4) built by Cosaai. Life of Mahomet, Introduction. ' From this account it would appear that Abu Bekr did not perform the full pilgrimage to Mina and Arafdt. Some authorities make Omar to preside at this pilgrimage, others Abd al Bahmdn. Possibly Abu Bekr performed only the Omra or Lesser Pilgrimage (Ibid. p. xii.), and left Omar to fulfil the other rites. There is a curious incident quoted by an early writer as an authority to prove that Abu Bekr was himself present. Some one bit the ear of a man at the pilgrimage in play. Abu Bekr sent the case to Omar as judge, and he summoned a surgeon. Tliereupon Abu Bekr recited, as in point, a story of the Prophet, who, having made the gift of a slave to his aunt, bade lior not to brijig hiiri up as a surgeon, lest in the discharge of liis profession lie should be subject to reprisals for injuries done in surgical operations. " That is, the year in which the Viceroy of Yemen besieged Mecca. He had in his train an elephant ; and the year, a.d. 870, is therefore called ' the year of the Elephant.' 3id. p.xxvi. * There is a tradition that Abu Bekr's illness was owing to poison, given to him and to Atldb and another, wliich, being a slow but deadly drug, did not take effect till a year after. , No details are given ; the talc is evidently apocry- phal, and based on the desire (common in those early days) to give to Abu Bekr the honour of martyrdom. ' Me ning the Divine physician. A.H.xm. ABU BEKR APPOINTS OMAR HIS SUCCESSOR. 117 to do that with thee which I purpose to do.' So they understood his meaning and were silent. Aware thus that his end was not far, he made preparation fbr a successor. His choice was fixed on Omar ; but willing to fortify his own conviction by the sense of others, he first consulted Abd al Eahman, who praised Omar as the fittest man, but withal inclined to be severe. — ' Which.' responded the dying Caliph, ' is because he saw me soft and tender-hearted ; when himself the Master, he will forego much of what thou sayest. I have watched him narrowly. If I were angry with one, he would intercede in his behalf ; if over lenient, then he would be severe.' Othman, too, confirmed his choice. * What is hidden of Omar,' he said, ' is better than that which doth appear. There is not his equal amongst us all.' ' Talha, on the other hand, expostulated : ' If we have sufi'ered so much from Omar whilst thou wast yet with us to temper his severity, what will it be when thou art gone to thy Lord, there to answer for having left His people to the care of so hard a master ? ' ' Set me up,' cried the Caliph, much excited ; ' dost thou seek to frighten me ? I swear that when I meet my Lord, I will say to Him, " I have appointed as ruler over- Thy people him that is the best amongst them." ' Thereupon Abu Bekr called for Othman and dictated an Abn Bekr , . TT (• ■ 1 1 1 •! appoints ordinance appomtmg Omar his successor. He famted while Omai- his it was being written down. On recovering, he bade Othman ""*'"'""*■■• to read it over. When he had heard it all, he was satisfied, and praised the Lord ; ' for,' said he, ' I saw thee apprehen- sive lest, if in the swoon I had passed away, then the " The tradition proceeds : Abu Bekr answered, ' The Lord bless thee, Othmdn ! If I had not chosen Omar, then I had not passed thee over ; and I know not whether Omar will accept the office. As for myself, I could wish that I had never borne the burden of the Caliphate, but had been of those who departed this life in times that are past.' This would imply that Abu Bekr had thought of Othm4n as his successor in default of Omar. The conversation, however, is professedly secret and confidential. It rests solely on the authority of OthmAn himself, and we need not give too much heed to it. 118 ABU BEKR. CHAP. xiii. people had been left in doubt.' Upon this, he desired that the ordinance should be read in the hearing of the citizens, who had assembled in the court of the Great Mosque, Omar himself was present, and hushed the noise, that they might hear. Then, desiring to obtain the assent of the people, the dying Caliph bade his wife Asma raise him up to the window (for the Caliph's house looked out upon the court) ; so she bore him, in her beautifully tattooed arms, to the window, from whence, with a great effort, he called out : 'Are ye satisfied with him whom I have appointed over you? It is none of mine own kin, but Omar, son of Khattab. Verily I have done my best to choose the fittest. Wherefore, ye will obey him loyally.' The people answered with one voice, ' Yea, we will obey.' ' His death, To the end the mind of Abu Bekr remained clear and mad II., vigorous. On the last day of his life, he gave audience, as August 22 ^6 have seen, to Mothanna, and, grasping the critical state A.D. 634, Qf affairs, commanded Omar to raise, with all despatch, a levy for Irac. Dming his illness he recited these verses on the vanity of life : There is none tliat owneth herds or camels but must leave them to ■ hia heir ; And whosoever taketh spoil, one day he shall be spoiled of the same. Every traveller, wheresoe'er he wander and however far, retnmeth ; Excepting only the pathway of death, from which there is no return. • It is not stated on what day this occurred. It may have been only a day or two before his death ; for his interview with Mothanna shows that even on the last day of his life, he was able to gather up his strength. The ordinance ran in these words ; ' In the name of the Loi-d most Merci- ful ! This is the covenant of Abu Belcr, son of Abu Cohdfa, with the Moslems : ' (here ho swooned away) — ' I have appointed, as my Successor over you, Omar, son of Khattdb. I have not in anywise spared myself in this matter ; but have striven to the utmost to do the best for you.' Ibn Khaldiin adds : ' I know that he will do judgment and justice amongst you; but if he commit tyranny or injustice, verily the future is hidden from mine eyes.' Asma had been the wife of Jafar ; and again, after Abu Bekr's death, became one of Aly's numerous wives. The Arab women still tattoo their breasts and arms with elaborate and beautiful designs. The reader will remark the freedom with which women of the highest rank appeared in public even at this period, their habits partaking still of the freedom of the desert. But this was not long to last. A.H. XIII. DEATH AND BURIAL OF ABU BEKK. 119 At another time one repeated verses from a heathen poet supposed to be appropriate to the occasion. Abu Bekr was displeased, and said : ' Not so ; say rather (and he quoted from a passage of the Coran relating to death and judgment) — Then the agony of death shall come in truth. This, man, is what thou soughtest to avoid.' ' His last act was to summon Omar to his bedside, and, as his dying charge, to counsel him, which he did at great length, to temper hardness and severity with mildness and moderation. Shortly after, he sank, and feeling the agony approach, breathed his last with these words : ' Lord, make me to die a true believer. Take me to join the blessed ones on high ! ' ^ Abu Bekr died on August 22, a.d. 634, having reigned two years and three months.' His body was laid out, in ^^^, pursuance of his own wish, by the loving hands of Asma, and of Abd al Eahman, his son ; and he was wound in the same clothes in which he died ; ' for,' said he, ' new clothes befit the living, but old the mouldering body.' * The same Companions that bore the Prophet's bier bore also that of Abu Bekr ; and they laid him in the same grave, the Caliph's head resting by his Master's shoulder. Omar performed the funeral service, praying, as was customary, over the bier. The funeral procession had not far to go ; it had only to cross the area in front of th6 Great Mosque ; for, Abu Bekr died in the house appointed for him by Mahomet opposite his own, ' Sura, V. 18. Some make this to have been said in reply to Ayeeha, Tpho had been repeating the few lines just given as recited by Abu Bekr himself. ' The prayer is somewhat similar to the last words of Mahomet. See Life of Mahomet, p. 509. ' The 21st Jum4d II. He reigned two years, three months, and ten days. He died on the same day of the week (Monday) as Mahomet, and at the same age, 63 lunar years. * Abu Bekr told Asma that he wished her alone to wash his body and lay it out. On her replying that her strength was not equal to the task, he said that she might ask Abd al Bahm&n to help her. He desired to be buried in the same two garments he had on, with a new piece over them ; and when those around objected, he made use of the words in the text. 120 ABU BEKE. CHAP. XIII. and looking out, like it, upon the open court of the Sanctuary.' Ahu Bell's During the greater part of his Caliphate, he had occu- stm Te'nfo P'^^ ^^^* house. For the first six months, indeed, after atAlSiiuh. Mahomet's death, he continued to live chiefly, as he had done before, at Al Sunh, a suburb of Upper Medina. Here he inhabited a simple dwelling made of palm stems, with the family of Habiba, the wife whom he married when he came to Medina, and who was with child when he died, and bore him a daughter shortly after. Every morning he rode or walked to the Great Mosque, where Mahomet had lived and ruled, for the discharge of the business of the State, and to perform the daily prayers, Omar presiding in his absence. For the more important service of Friday, when a speech or sermon was delivered, he stayed at home to dye his hair and beard, and dress more carefully ; and so did not appear till the time of midday prayer. In this primitive home, as else- where, he preserved the severe simplicity of early life, and even fed and milked the goats of the household. At the first also he continued to maintain himself by merchandise ; but finding it interfere with the proper burdens of the State, he consented to forego all other occupation, and to receive a yearly allowance of six thousand dirhems for his household charges.^ ' It was opposite the house of Othm&n, which adjoined the apartments of Ayesha and the other ■widows of Mahomet. The cort^.ge would thus pass across the open court of the mosque. The grave was dug after the same fashion as Mahomet's (Life, p. SI 7). Talha, and Abd al Kahm4n the Caliph's son, were the two who descended to adjust the body in the grave. A curious incident illustrates the rude manners of the time. Wlien her father died, Ayesha, with her sister 0mm Farwa (Ashdth's wife), and a party of female friends, began to wail. Omar forbade it, as a work of Satan, but they persisted. Omar, on this, ordered Hishim to bring forth ' 0mm Farwa. Ayesha screamed and said, 'Who is Omar? I forbid thee my house.' But Oram Farwa was brought forth and beaten with a whip, on which the mourning women^dispersed. Tlie stDi-y is probably exaggerated ; but that it should have been preserved at all is a proof of the rough notions prevalent as to the treatment of ladies of rank and birth at this early period. * Some say 8,000 dirhems ; others, that he had no fixed allowance, but took only what suiBced for the maintenance of his family. In support of the latter statement, a tradition is given that his wife, having a longing for some A.H. XIII. CHARACTER OF ABU BEKR. 121 Finding Al Sunh at an inconvenient distance from the Rnmovos Great Mosque, where, as in the time of Mahomet, the affairs ing t^he of the kingdom continued to be transacted, he\ransferred his ^^«m residence, and with it the Treasury, thither. The Exchequer of Islam was in those days but a simple one. It needed neither guard nor office of account. The tithes were given to the poor, or spent on equipage and arms. The spoil of war, and gold and silver from the mines,' or elsewhere, were all distributed as soon as received, or on the following morning.^ All shared alike, the recent convert and the veteran, male and female, bond and free. As a claimant on the Moslem treasury, every believing Arab was his brother's equal. When urged to recognise precedence in the faith as a ground of preference, he would reply, ' That is for the Lord. He will fulfil the reward of such as have excelled, in the world to come. These gifts are but an accident of the present life.' After his death, Omar had the treasury opened ; and they found therein but a solitary golden piece, which had slipped out of the bags ; so they lifted up their voices and wept, and blessed his memory. His conscience troubled him for having taken even what he did by way of stipend from the people's money ; on his death-bed, therefore, he gave command that sweetmeats, saved up a little money for the purpose. Abu Bekr finding it out, took the whole sum and put it back into the treasury, as more than absolutely needed for the maintenance of his household. Many of these traditions are evidently exaggerated with the view of enhancing the hai-dness and thrift of Abu Bekr's life, and bis conscientious use of the public money, in contrast with the luxury and extravagance of later Caliphs. Thus we are told that at his death he desired that whatever property was found in his house should be sent to Omar, in repayment of what he had received ; there was only a camel, a cutler-slave, and a carpet worth five dirhems. They were sent to Omar with the deceased Caliph's message, whereat Omar wept, but carried out the request to the letter. All these stories, the feeding and milking of the goats, engaging iu merchandise, &c., must bo received dubiously. ' Mines were worked in the lands of the Beni Suleim. ' In the general distribution, each soul received ten dirhems the first year, and twenty the second, besides what was spent in the public service. Warm clothing was purchased from the Bedouin tribes, and distributed among the destitute in the winter. In all, they estimate that 200,000 dirhems (say 10,000/.) were received in Abu Bekr's reign — but a poor forecast of what was to come .' A woman was employed to weigh the treasure as it came in. 122 ABU BEKE. CHAP. XIII. certain lands, his private property, should be sold, and a sum equal to all that he had received refunded. In disposition Abu Bekr was singularly mild and gentle. Omar used to say that there was no man for whom the Mild and people would more readily have laid down their life. They position. ' g^vs ^'°i ^^6 sobriquet of 'the Sighing,' because of his tender-heartedness. Excepting the solitary case in which he committed a traitor-brigand to the flames, no single act of cruelty stands against him ; and for that he expressed his sorrow. It was one of the three things, he used to say, which he would wish undone. The others were, that he had par- doned Ashdth, who deserved death ; and that when he trans- ferred Khalid to Syria, he had not at the same time sent Omar to Irac. ' Then,' said he, ' I should have stretched out mine arms, both the right and the left, in the ways of the Lord.' ' Unlike his Master, he contented himself with but few wives. He had married two at Mecca before his conversion. His wives On his arrival at Medina he married the daughter of a ,>mi y. Qj^jj,en, and, later on, Asma, the widow of J&far. By all of these he left issue. There is no mention of any other wives, nor of any slave-girls in his harem.^ Of his children, he loved Ayesha the best, and, in proof of special affection, had given her a property for her own. On his death-bed, this troubled his conscientious spirit, and he said to her, ' I wish thee, my daughter, to return it, that it may be divided with the rest of the inheritance amongst you all, not forgetting the one yet unborn.' ^ His father ' The three things are variously related: e.g. that he did not himself go forth with the expeditions against the apostate tribes ; others, of wealf autho- rity, relate chiefly to the succession to the Caliphate, and some are clearly of an Alyite stamp. '' It does not, however, by any means follow that he had none. Slave-girls, as part of the harem, are rarely mentioned, unless one happened to boar issue to her master, when she became free, as his Omm walad. ' It seems he had a presentiment it would bo a girl, for he said to Ayesha ; ' Thy brothers and sinlera must all share equally.' ' What sisters ? ' she asked in surprise ; ' there is only Asma.' ' The one,' he answered, ' that Ilabtba bint Khirija is big with.' One of his sons, Abdallah, was only three years old at A.m. xiii. CHARACTER OF ABU BEKR. 123 survived him six montlis, reaching the great age of ninety- seven.' ' At his court, Abu Bekr maintained the same simple and Simplicity frugal life as Mahomet. Guards and servitors there were goncein none, nor anything approaching the pomp and circumstance ^f^sl^e''' of state. He was diligent in business. He leaned upon Omar as his counsellor, whose judgment (excepting in a few cases in which it was warped by prejudice) had so great weight with him, that he might be said to have shared in the government. Abu Bekr never spared himself, and many incidents are related of the manner in which he descended to the minutest things. Thus, he would sally forth by night to seek for any destitute or oppressed person ; and Omar found him one night inquiring into the affairs of a poor blind widow, whose case Omar himself had gone forth to look after. The department of justice was made over to Omar, but for a whole year, we are told, hardly two suitors came before him. The Seal of state bore the legend, God the best of Potentates.^ The despatches were chiefly indited by Aly; and Abu' Bekr made use also of Zeid (the amanu- ensis of the Prophet and compiler of the Goran) and of Othman, or of any other penman who happened to be at hand.' In the choice of his agents for high ofiBce or com- mand, he was absolutely free from nepotism or partiality, and was wise and discerning in his estimate of character. But he had not Omar's strength or decision ; nor was his his death ; and his mother, Coteila, was probably alive when he died. When 0mm Bum&n, Ayesha's mother, died, is nowhere stated. ' The old blind man, hearing a commotion at Mecca, asked what it might be, and being told that his son had died — ' Alas ! ' he cried, ' glory hath de- parted from us ; and who sacceedeth him ? ' They answered, Omar. ' It is well,' he replied ; ' for he was his worthy fellow.' As the Caliph's father, he inherited a sixth part of his son's estate. ' This is almost the only mention made of Aly during Abu Bekr's Caliphatp, excepting when he gives advice in the Caliph's Council, marries a new wife, or purchases some attractive bond-maid. In such a self-indulgent life, he was becoming portly and inactive. 124 ABU BEKR. Not so strong, or sternly just, as Omar. Fiiitli in Mahomet the secret of his strength. Abu Bekr's belief in Mahomet ; presump- tive evi- dence of Mahomet's own sincerity. seuse of justice so keen and stern. This is illustrated in the matter of the two Khalids. From the one — Khalid ibn Said, though warned by Omar and Alj, he hesitated to with- hold a command ; and the disaster in Syria was the conse- quence. On the other hand, by refusing to degrade Khalid, ' the Sword of God,' for injustice and cruelty and the scandal of taking to wife his victim's widow, he became indirectly responsible for his acts. Yet to this unscrupu- lous agent it is due, more than to any other, that Islam sur- vived and triumphed. But Abu Bekr was not wanting in firmness when the occasion demanded ; for example, the despatch of Osama's army, and the defence of Medina against the apostate tribes, when he stood almost alone and all around was dark, showed a boldness and steadfastness of imrpose, which, more than anything else, contributed to turn the tide of rebellion and apostasy. The secret of Abu Bekr's strength was faith in Mahomet. He would say : ' Call me not the Caliph of the Lord : I am but the Caliph of the Prophet of the Lord.' The question with him ever was. What did Mahomet command ? or. What now should he have done ? From this he never swerved one hair's-breadth. And so it was that he crushed apostasy, and laid secure the foundations of Islam. His reign was short, but, after Mahomet himself, there is no one to whom the Faith is more beholden. For this reason, and because his belief in the Prophet is itself a strong evidence of the sincerity of Mahomet himself, I have dwelt at some length upon his life and character. Had Mahomet been from the first a conscious impostor, he never could have won the faith and friendship of a man who was not only sagacious and wise, but simple and sincere. Abu Bekr had no thought of personal ag- grandisement.^ Endowed with sovereign and irresponsible power, he used it simply for the interests of Islam and the people's good. He was too shrewd to be himself deceived, and too honest himself to act the part of a deceiver. A.H. xni. OMAR RAISES A FRESH LEVY FOR IRAC. 125 CHAPTER XIV, ACCESSION OF OMAR — REINFORCEMENTS FOR IRAC — CAMPAIGN THERE UNDER ABU OBEID AND MOTHANNA. JumM II., A.H. XIII.— Moharram, A.H. XIV. August, A.D. 634— March, A.D. 636. On the morrow after Abu Bekr's death, Omar ascended the Accession pulpit, and addressed the people assembled in the Great " ™"'"^' Mosque. ' The Arabs,' he said, ' are like a rebellious camel obliged to follow its driver, and it pertaineth to the driver to see which way he leadeth the same. By the Lord of the KS,aba ! even thus will I guide you in the way that ye should go-' The first act of the new Caliph was to issue the despatch. His first with which the reader is already acquainted, deposing ''^"^'='^- Khalid. The second was, in fulfilment of Abu Bekr's dying behest, to raise a fresh levy for Mothanna. Leaving the former, we turn for the present to the latter. A new standard \^as planted in the court of the Great Presh Mosque, and urgent proclamation made that soldiers for the to'^irL^'"'* campaign in Irac were to rally round it. Then followed the "°'^?-5 ^^^ oath of fealty to Omar, which was taken by all who were in and around the city, and was not completed for three days. Meanwhile, so great a fear of Persian pomp and prowess had fallen on the people, that none responded to the military call. Seeing this, Mothanna harangued them in a stirring speech. He told them of his victories, the endless plunder, the captives, male and female, and the fruitful lands which they had already spoiled the enemy of ; ' and the Lord,' he 126 OMAE. ciiAP. XIV. added, 'waiteth but to give the rest into your hands.' Warmed by his discourse, and stung by the indignant invectives of Omar, men began at last to offer. The first who came for- ward was Abu Obeid, a citizen of Tayif ; and then numbers crowded to the standard. When they had reached a thou- sand, those around began to say to Omar : ' Now choose thee one of the chiefest among them to be Ameer — a veteran Companion of the Prophet, — Eefugee, or Citizen.' ' ' That I will not,' said Omar. ' Wherein doth the glory of the Companions consist but in this, that they were the first to rally round the Prophet ? But now ye are backward, and come not to the help of the Lord. Such as be ready for the burden, whether it be light or whether it be heavy, these have the better claim. Verily I will give the command to none but to him that first came forth.' Then turning to Abu Obeid : ' I appoint thee,' lie said, ' over this force, be- cause thou wast the first to offer ; and in eagerness for battle is the Arab^s glory.' Nevertheless, he earnestly enjoined upon him ever to take counsel with the Com- panions of the Prophet, and to associate them with him in the conduct of affairs. So the force started for Irac. At the same time Omar removed the ban against the employment of the once apostate tribes ; and bade Abu Obeid to summon to his standard all, without distinction, who since the apostasy had made a good profession. Mothanna, with a lightened heart, hastened back in advance of Abu Obeid, and returned to Hira after the absence of a month. Eustem During this period, while Mothanna was away, further Persiani'* changes were transpiring at the unhappy court of Persia. against the Prince and princess succeeded one another in the midst of invaders. bloodshed and rebellion, till at last a royal lady named Buran summoned Eastern, a general of renown, from Khorasan, and by his aid established herself as Eegent upon the throne.* ' /.e. of the MuhAjertn or Ans4r ; that is, the Coreish, on the one hand, ' and the natives of Medina on the other. * The following is an outline of the narrative, as given by the Arab A.H. XIII. EUSTEM SENDS AN ARMY AGAINST ABU OBEID. 127 Kustem was an astrologer, and knew from the conjunction of the planets the impending fate of Persia. When asked why then he had linked himself with a dootaed cause, he answered that it was the love of pomp and riches. Amidst such silly tales, of which there is no lack, we may discern the lineaments of a prince brave in the field, but proud and overweening. Such was the man whose authority Buran now proclaimed supreme. His energy was soon felt. The nobles rallied round him; the great landholders were incited to rise against the invaders, and Mesopotamia, with the Sawad and delta, speedily cast off the Moslem yoke. Two columns were despatched from Medain, one under Jaban to cross the Euphrates and advance on Hira; the other under Narsa to occupy Kaskar between the Euphrates and Tigris. The people flocked to their standard, and the position of the Moslems again became precarious. Mothanna, thus threatened, called in his forces, but they were too few to oppose the enemy ; so he abandoned Hira, historians. On Sliahrtrln'a death, after the battle of Babylon (summer of A.D. 034), Dokbt ZenAu, divughtor of Chosroes (Perwiz), for a brief period, and then Sapor, son of Shahriran, occupied the throne. The latter gave the hand of Aziirmldokht, another daughter of Chosroes, to his favourite minister Furrukhz4d. But she resented the alliance ; and, at her call, the hero SiA- waksh slew the intended husband on the marriage night, besieged the palace, and, putting Sapor to death, proclaimed Azarmidokht queen. Such was the state of things when Mothanna, in August, went to Medina. During his absence. Burin, another dauglitor of Chosroes, having great influence with the nobles, summoned the warrior Eustem from Khorasan to avenge the death of his father, Furrukhz&d, which he did most effectually — defeating the royal troops, killing Si4waksh, and putting out Aaarmidokht's eyes; and then he set BurAn upon the throne. Her regency (such was the ordinance) should con- tinue ten years, in default of any prince being discovered of the royal blood ; after which, the male line being proved extinct, the dynasty would be confirmed in the female line. Burfin then appointed Eustem her minister, with supreme powers, and the nobles rallied round him. This was just before Abu Obeid's appearance on the stage. The chronology, however, is utterly confused and uncertain. This Burin is said to have opposed Shtra (Siroes) for a year ; and, when he finally succumbed to have retained her authority as arbiter (adil) in the State. She is also said to have sent gifts to Mahomet, &c. But so much we may assume as certain that between Perwiz (a.d. 628) and Yezdogird there was an interval of four and a half years. See Weil's CItallfen, vol. i. p. 64, and Tabari, vol. ii. p. 178. 128 OMAR. Abu Obeid gains a victory over the Persians. Shaban, A.H. XIII. October, A.D. 634. and falling back on Khaf3fan, by the border of the desert, on the road to Medina, there awaited Abu Obeid. But he had to wait some time. Swelled by reinforcements from the tribes by the way, and, burdened by their families, it was a month before the army made its appearance there. After a few days' repose at Khaffan, Abu Obeid took command of the combined force, and, attacking Jaban, put him to flight. Then crossing the Euphrates, he surprised Narsa, who was strongly posted at a royal date-grove near to Kaskar, and, routing his army, took possession of his camp, with much spoil. Great store of dates fell into their hands, of a rare kind, reserved for royal use. These were distributed among the army, and became the common food of all. With the royal Fifth, a portion of them was sent to Medina : ' Behold,' wrote Abu Obeid to his Master, 'the food wherewith the Lord hath fed us, eaten heretofore only by the kings of Persia. We desired that thou shouldest see the same with thine own eyes, taste it with thine oWn lips, and prai.se the Lord for his grace and goodness in giving us royal food to eat.' Jalenus, another general, coming up too late to the help of Narsa, was also discomfited ; and the unfortunate delta, prey to alternate conquest and defeat, began again to acknowledge Moslem sway. The neighbour- ing chiefs brought in their tribute, and, in proof of loyalty, made a feast of good things for Abu Obeid. But he declined to partake of it, unless shared equally with his soldiers. A further supply of the same delicacies was therefore furnished, and the whole army sat down with him to the repast. His determination to taste none of the Persian viands but in company with the rank and file of his men redounded greatly to his popularity.' ' The Persian campaign begins now to assume greater consistency and detail ; but, partly Yrom alteration of the river beds, and partly from the sites of towns. &o., being no longer known, it is not always easy to follow the course of the campaign. Namftrick, the scene of Abu Obeid's first victory, was on the Badacla, or western branch of the Euphrates. JabAn was there A.H. xin. BATTLE OF THE BRIDGE. 129 Enraged at the defeat of his generals, Eustem assembled Bahmin a still larger force under the warrior Bahman.' To mark great amy the gravity of the crisis, the great banner al the empire, ^' qI^ -a made of panthers' skins, was unfurled,* and an array of war ai. XIII. elephants accompanied the army. Jalenus, too, was sent a.d. 63*! back to fight, under the threat that if again he fled before the enemy, he would be put to death. Before this im- posing host, the Arabian army fell back, and, re-crossing the Euphrates, took up ground on the right bank. Bahman, following, encamped at Coss Natick, on the opposite shore. The field of battle was not far from Babylon, and, being on the highway between the Capital and Hira, a bridge of boats spanned the river near the spot.' Bahman, in his pride, gave Abu Obeid the option of crossing the river unopposed, thus leaving him the choice of either bank for the impending action. Abu Obeid desired to take the offer and pass over to the other side. His advisers strongly opposed the move- ment, and sought to dissuade him from quitting their more advantageous ground. But he made it a point of honour ; and exclaiming, ' Shall we fear death more than they ? ' gave the order at once to cross. They found the ground upon the farther side confined ; and, though they were under 10,000 taken prisoner ; but the captors, not recognising his rank, ransomed him in exchange for two skilled artisans. Mothanna, discovering his quality, -vrould have put him to death for the deception, but Abu Obeid stood by the ransom. ' The faithful are one body,' he said, ' and quarter given by any one of them must be sustained by all ; it would be perfidy to put him to death.' He was therefore let go ; but being again laid hold of after the battle of the Bridge, was then executed. The second engagement took place at the royal date- preserve of Sakatia, near Kaskar (subsequently the site of W4sit). Abu Obeid, hearing that Jalenlls was on his way with supports, hurried on and gave battle to Narsa before he came up. Expeditions were then sent to Bar6- sama and the country around. • Called also Dzu H4jib. ' It was twelve cubits long and eight broad. » The common tradition is that Ibn SulAba, Chief of Hira (as a kind of neutral), constructed the bridge for both sides. The account given by BeI4d- zori is more probable, that it was a standing bridge belonging to Hira, as it would be chiefly for its use. The Moslems crossed at Marwaha, near Babylon. The action must therefore have been fought on the banks of the main river, and not on the western channel. E 130 OMAR. CHAP. XIV. Kaitle of men, there was little room to manoeuvre, and nothing but the Shabln,^* bridge to fall back upon. The imwieldy elephants, with *•"• ^^^^' their jingling bells and trappings, spread confusion among A.B. 634." the Arab cavalry. The riders, however, dismounting, went bravely at them on foot, and tried, with some success, to cut the bands of the howdas, and drive them from the field. Abu Obeid singled out the fiercest, a white elephant, with great tusks, and rushed at it, sword in hand. While vainly endeavouring to reach some vulnerable part, the huge beast caught him with its trunk, and trampled him to death. Consternation seized the ranks at the horrid spectacle. One after another the captains whom Abu Obeid had named to meet disaster, were slain,^ and the troops began to waver. Just at this moment, a soldier of the Beni Thackif,' appalled at the fate of Abu Obeid and other leaders of his elan, ran to the bridge, and crying out, Die, as your chiefs have died, or cmi- quer, cut the first boat adrift. Exit thus closed, the panic spread. The Moslems were hemmed in, and driven back upon the river." Many leaped in, but few reached the other shore of the deep swift stream.'' At this eventful moment Mothanna rushed to the front. Backed by a few heroic ' Dates now begin to bo given, but tlio chronology is still very doubtful. One authority places the battle forty days after that of Vi^acusa on the Yermuk — that is to say, seven or eight weeks afcer Abu Bekr's death. But in the interval between that' event and the present battle, there took place Abu Obeid's protracted march, the battle of Nam4rick and the expeditions following it, the gathering of Jabftn's army and its march, all which must have occu- pied at the least two months, and probably a good deal more. " A marvellous vision was seen by the wife of Abu Obeid. A man descended out of heaven, having a pitcher in his hand, out of which he gave drink first to her husband, and then, one after another, to several warriors of his tribe. She told Abu Obeid, who answered that he wished it might be a token of impending martyrdom to him and them. He then appointed each of the warriors, in turn, whom she had named, to succeed him if he fell ; and so it turned out. Abu Obeid cut at the lip of the elephant, being told (erroneously) that it was the part where a mortal blow could most easily be struck. ' The same clan as Abu Obeid's. * The depth is as much as fifteen feet, and it runs at the rate of one and a half to three knots an hour. (Rich's Travels.) The banks, however, are not so high, nor is the current so riipid, as of the Tigris. A.H. xiii. MOSLEMS ROUTED IN THE BATTLE OF THE BRIDGE. 131 spirits, among them a Christian chief of the Beni Tay,' he seized the banner, and, planting himself between the enemy and the bewildered Arabs, called out that he would hold the ground till all had passed securely. Then he chided the Thackifite for what he had done, and commanded the bridge to be restored. ' Destroy not your own selves,' he cried ; ' retire in order, and I will defend you.' While thus bravely holding the Persians at bay, the thrust of a lance imbedded several rings of his armour in a deep and dangerous wound. Heedless of the pain, he stood heroically to his ground en- deavouring to calm his panic-stricken men. But in vain. The The Moslems confusion increased, and before order could be restored, routed. a vast number had perished in the river. At last the native boatmen were made to refit the bridge, and a remnant escaped across it ; but four thousand were either swept off by the flood, left dead upon the field, or borne wounded over the bridge. Of the new levies, two thousand, stung with remorse, fled from the terrible field, away to their homes in Arabia; and Mothanna, again assuming the command, was left with only three thousand men. After the battle, Bahman was on the point of crossing the river to follow up his victory. Had he done so, it would have fared badly with Mothanna and the wounded disheartened remnants, who still held their ground on the opposite bank. But fortunately for them, just at that moment, news reached' Bahman of a revolt at Medain ; and so, relinquishing his design, he hastened, in support of his master, back to the distracted capital.* With the relics of his ' The remarkable fact of a Christian chief, Abu Zobeid, of the Beni Tay, being, not only on the Moslem side, but taking so prominent and brave a part in the defence of the broken force, is noticed both by Ibn Athir and Belid- zori. We shall see how largely Mothanna was indebted to Christian help in the next decisive battle. ^ Firuzin was the name of the insurgent. But, with the exception that the nobles sacrificed the empire to intrigue and jealousies, we are much in the dark as \a the inner history of Persia at this time. There were two parties, we are told, the Persians proper, or the national faction, which supported Piruzdn ; and the other nationalities, Bustem. But they soon coalesced. K i 132 OMAK. CHAP. XIV. Mothanna retires on Allts. Jaban taken prisoner and be- headed. How the tidings of defeat were received at Medina. army, Mothanna fell back upon Allis, farther down the river ; and there, for the time, fixing his head-quarters, bravely defended his first conquetits. The cause of Islam looked dark ; but a hero like Mothanna would not despair. Mindful of his early tactics, he sought to recruit his diminished ranks from the surrounding coasts ; so, rallying around him the tribes of kindred race, before long he re- gained a firmer footing. Jaban, unaware of the General's hasty recall to Medain, and supposing the Arabs to be in full flight before the con- quering host, followed in pursuit. He had before been taken prisoner and obtained his ransom by deceit.' Crossing now the river, he was cut off by the Arabs, and, with his column, was taken prisoner by Mothanna. The people also of Allis brought many of the stragglers into the Moslem camp. These were all beheaded. At a later period, Allis had special grace shown it for this service. Omar received with calmness the tidings of the disaster. Abu Obeid's levies kept on their flight till they reached their homes ; and when those from Medina returned there, they covered their faces with shame. The Caliph spoke comfort- ably to them. ' Verily,' he said, ' I am a defence to every believer that faceth the enemy and misfortune overtaketh him. The Lord have mercy on Abu Obeid, and be gracious unto him. Had he survived, and taken refuge from the foe on some sandy mound, I surely would have been his advocate and defender.' Muadz, reciter of the Coran, was among those who fled. Shortly after, when, in the course of recitation, he came to this verse: 'Whosoever in the field shall give his back to the enemy (excepting again to join in the battle), or shall turn aside unto another party, verily he draweth the wrath of God upon him ; his refuge shall be hell-fire— -an evil end ! ' ^ And he lifted up his voice and wept. Omar addressed him kindly: 'Weep not, •' Seo^bovo, pp. 128, 129. » Sura, viii. v. U. .A.H. XIII. FRESH LEVIES ORDERED TO IRAC. 133 Muadz,' he said, * thou hast not " turned aside unto another party "; thou hast turned aside to none but unto me.' Such was the spirit of these Moslem heroes, even in. defeat. The reverse had no other effect than to nerve the Caliph to redoubled effort ; and the cry for a levy en masse soon re- sounded over the whole peninsula. The reinforcements, in response to this new call, would, however, have been too late to help Mothanna if (fortunately for Islam) earlier succour had not reached him. For the previous call, made at the time of Abu Bekr's Numerous death, was still drawing. Levies, from all directions, were Mothanna daily coming in, eager (now that the ban against apos- '° ^'^^'^• tates was removed) at once to evince the sincerity of their repentance, and to share in the rewards of victory. Each band, as it came in, besought Omar that they might be sent to Syria.' But the late victory on the Yermuk had made him easy in that direction ; and every available man must now be despatched in haste to Irac. The Beni Bajila, a brave and numerous levy, raised under the banner of Jarir, urged that their ancestral relations were all with Syria ; but Omar was firm, and, at last, reconciled them to set out at once for Irac by the promise — singular in the history of the time — that they should have one fourth of the royal Fifth of all booty taken there.^ The fugitives also, from the army of Abu ■ The names of the Viihea now flocking to the war are, many of them familiar to the reader of the Prophet's life ; as the Beni Hantzala, Khatbam, Abd al Cays, Dhabha. The Beni Azd were 700 strong, under Axfaja. These levies are represented as the response to the present summons of Omar, now made afresh after the battle of the Bridge ; but erroneously so, for they reached Mothanna at once, and fought under bis banner within a month of that disaster. It took some time for the fresh levies to gather, as we shall see. ' The history of this contingent is interesting. Mahomet had promised Jarir that he should have a commission to gather the scattered members of the Boni Bajila into a fighting column. Jarir followed KliAlid into IrAe, and then returned to Medina, where he found Abu Bekr sick, or too much occupied to attend to his claim. But after his death, Omar, in fulfilment of the Prophet's promise, gave him letters to the various governors to search out everywhere those who, before Islam, belonged to the Bajila tribe, and still desired to be associated with it. A great rendezvous of these was accordingly 134 OMAR. CHAP. XIV. Obeid, hastened back, seeking to retrieve their honour. But far the most remarkable of the levies that now gathered under Mothanna's standard — a proof, at once of his liberality, statesmanship, and wide-spread influence — was from the Beni Namr, a Christian tribe of the northern desert, which, without detriment to their faith, threw in their lot with Mothanna, and brought a large contingent to his help.' Thus, rapidly and largely reinforced, he was soon stronger than ever, and ready for an offensive movement. These troops were massed at first well in the rear of the enemy's country, on the edge of the Arabian desert, near Khaffan. The women and children (for the practice had now become general of carrying their families with them) were placed in security at a distance behind ; some were even left with friendly citizens in Hira, although, since the last retreat, the city had been re-occupied by a Persian satrap. Mothanna had also a trusty follower in hiding there, to give him notice of what was passing. Mothanna From this spy, Mothanna now learned that, matters to meet a ^^'^i'^g been settled at the capital, a great army was in Persian motion against him.'' Sending an urgent message to Jarir, army. Kamadhan now close at hand, to hurry on, he marched forward to November Boweib, on the western branch of the Euphrates, and there, A.D. 634. close by the future site of Kufa, and on ground commanded by a bridge, he awaited the enemy. Omar bad cautioned him not again to risk his men by crossing the river before made, at a spot between the HejAz and like, whither, yielding to the per- suasion of Omar, thoy now bent their steps. There was rivalry between Jarir and Arfaja as to the command of this tribe ; bnt the levy had some grudge against Arfaja, who therefore left them and took the command of his own tribe, the Beni Azd. Arfaja is also said, by another tradition, to have led the Beni Bajila into Syria ; but that (if true) must have been a different body of men, and at a different time. ' The tradition runs: 'Among those who joined Mothanna was Anis ibn HiUl, with an im'mense following of the Beni Namr (Christians) ; for they said, We shall surely fight on the side of our ovm people.' ' Kustem and the insurgent Firuz&n had come to a compromise, and agreed, we are told, to a division of power. A.H. XIII. BATTLE OF BOWEIB. 135 victory was secure; so he suffered Mehran, the Persian commander, without question to defile his troops over the bridge.' The armies were then marshalled. s The Persians advanced in three columns, an elephant surrounded by a company of footmen, at the head of each, and all with great tumult and barbaric din. It was the fast of Kamadhan ; but a dispensation was given to the troops, and they had been strengthened by a repast. Mothanna, on his favourite charger (called, by the humour of his men, the Rebel, from its docility in action), rode along the lines, and exhorted his soldiers to quit themselves like men : ' Your valour this day will be a proverb in the mouths of all. Be still as death,' he cried ; ' and if ye speak aught one to the other, speak it in a whisper. None shall give way amongst us this day. I desire no glory for myself, but the glory of you all.' And they answered him in like words ; for he was beloved by his men.^ The word for the advance was to be the TaJcbir, ' Great The Biittle of Sow«ib. is the Lord ! ' It was to be thrice repeated ; then, on the fourth cry, the rush. But Mothanna had barely shouted the first, when the Persian myrmidons bore down in great force ; and the Beni Ijl, the nearest column, broke before them. Mothanna stroked his beard in trouble. CaUing an officer of his staff, he bade him hasten with this message to the wavering corps: 'The Ameer sendeth greeting, and saith, Te will not this day shame the Moslems T They gave ' Mehr4n is called Hamadiny, because he was a native of that province. He is said, as on the former occasion, to have given Mothanna the option of crossing by the bridge. The channel was the B4dacla, which is here described as a spill canal to pass off the surplus waters of the Euphrates when in flood, into the Jowf or sea of Najaf — the same as the western branch of the river taken off (as already described) by the cut at Musejib, above Babylon. Boweib was not far from Hira, the inhabitants of which must have been in much excitement during this and other great battles in the vicinity, on which their alternating fate depended. ' ' Mothanna was an example,' we are told, ' in word and deed. The people trusted and obeyed him both in what they liked and what they dis- jilted' a noble, single-minded commander, whose repeated supersession had no effect upon his loyalty and zeal. 136 OMAE. CHAP. XIV. answer, ' Yea, we shall not ! ' And, as the broken ranks closed up again in sharp serried line,. Mothanna smiled approvingly. The battle raged long and equally. At last, Mothanna, seeing that a desperate onset must be made, rode up to the chief of the Beni Namr, and said to him : ' Though Christian, ye are one in blood with us ; come now, and as I charge, charge ye with me.' The Persian centre quivered before the fierce onslaught, and as the dust cleared olF, it was seen to be giving way. The Moslem wings, hitherto outflanked, now took heart, and charged also. Then the Persian army fell back, and made for the bridge. But Mothanna was before them. In despair, they turned on their pursuers, and the multitude was so great that again there was a moment of danger. But the fiery zeal of the Arabs, though a handful in comparison, beat back the forlorn charge, ' The enemy,' says an eye-witness, ' driven before Arfaja, were brought up by the river, and finding no escape, re-formed, and charged upon us. One cried to the leader to move his banner back ; " My work" he answered, " is to move the banner on," So forward we drove, atid cut them up, not one reaching even to the river bank.' Mothanna reproached himself afterwards with having closed the bridge, and caused (on his own side) a useless loss of life. ' I made a grievous error,' he would say : ' follow not my example herein ; it behoveth us not to close the way against those who may be driven to turn upon us by despair.' ' The carnage was almost unparalleled even in the annals of Islam, ' 'I brought the army,' Mothanna said, ' to an evil pass by getting before the enemy and closing the bridge upon him ; but the Lord graciously warded off the danger. Beware, therefore, of following my example, for verily it was a grievous lapse. It beeometh us not to bar the escape of those who have nothing to fall back upon.' It will be observed that the compunction was not at all for any unnecessary bloodshed among the helpless enemy (an 'idea alto- gether foreign to the thoughts of, a Moslem crusader), but of gratuitous loss and risk to the Mgslems. It may have added to Mothanna's grief that in repelling this hist charge he lost his brother. The sliiin are put at 100,000. ' Years after, even in the time of the civil wars, you could not walk across the plain without stumbling on the bones strewed all around.' A.H. xiii. mothanna's \ictoey at boweib. 137 and it went on amongst the fugitives all night. A hundred warriors boasted that they heid slain each ten men to his lance ; and hence the battle of Boweib is sometimes called the field of Tens. There was no engagement of which the marks were wider or more lasting. For ages the bones of the slain bleached upon the plain ; and the men of Kufa had here, at their very door, a lasting proof at once of the prowess and the mercilessness of their forefathers in the faith. The victory is remarkable, not only for the unexampled Persian loss of life, but also as secured in great part by the valour slain by a of the Beni Namr, a Christian tribe. And yet further, the yo^uth""" most gallant feat of the day was achieved by the member of another Christian clan. A party of Beni Taghlib merchants, with a string of horses for sale, arriving just as the ranks were being dressed, threw themselves into the battle, choosing the Arab side. A youth from amongst them, darting into the very centre of the Persians, slew Mehran, and leaping on his richly caparisoned horse, rode back upon it, amidst the plaudits of the whole Moslem line, crying, as he passed in triumph : ' I am of the Beni Taghlib. I am he that hath slain Mehran.' The loss on the Moslem side was considerable. Mo- Loss on the thanna had to mourn the death of his brave brother Masud. side. As this hero was borne from the field mortally wounded, he cried : * Exalt your banners high, ye Beni Bekr.^ The Lord will exalt you, my men ; and let not my fall disturb yon ! ' Amr, the Christian chieftain, met a similar fate. And Mothanna afifectionately tended the last moments of both together — the Christian and the Moslem — an unwonted sight on these crusading fields. He performed the funeral service over his brother and the other fallen Moslems, and said in his panegyric of their heroism : ' It assuageth my grief that ' The horse and spoil of Mehran were awarded to the column in which this youth was fighting. Jarir and another had a quarrel over them. Had the youth been a Mussulman, no doubt he would hare obtained the whole as a prize. 2 His own tribe, the Beni Bekr ibu W4il. 138 OMAR. The spoil. Moslem "WOTnen defend their camp. Mesopo- tamia and delta re- gained. they stood stedfast ; that they yielded not a step ; and now they lie here the martyrs of Boweib.' The spoil was great. Immense stores of grain, as well as herds of cattle, were captured ; and, therefrom, supplies were sent to the families in their desert retreat. As Amr ibn Mddekerib rode up with these, the women, mistaking the convoy for a plundering raid, rushed out, with their wild shrill Arab scream, and began attacking them with stones and staves. Amr soon made himself known to them, and praised their courageous attitude. ' It well becometh the wives of such an army,' he said, ' thus to defend themselves.' Then he told them of the victory ; ' and lo,' he added, as he produced the stores of grain, ' the first-fruits thereof ! ' ' The country was now ravaged without let or hindrance up to Sabat, within sight of the walls of Medain. The enemy's garrisons were all driven back ; and lower Mesopo- tamia and the delta anew reoccupied. Parties also scoured the coimtry higher up. Anbar and Khanafis were again taken possession of, and many rich markets ransacked. They penetrated to Baghdad (then a mere village on the Tigris above the modern city), and even as far north as Tekrit. Great booty was gathered in these plundering expeditions. It was divided in the usual way, excepting that the Beni Bajila, who well merited the distinction, received, according to promise, a fourth of the imperial Fifth, beyond their proper share — the remaining portion being sent to Medina.* ' Amr went on with supplies to Hira, where the rest of the families were in hiding. The female defenders of their camp remind one of Layard's description of a similar occasion on which the women of an Arab encampment rushed out to repel an attack, armed with tent-poles and pitchforks. (Nineveh and Babylon, p. 168.) '' It would unnecessarily weary the reader to detail these raids at any length. Soma of them were against other and hostile branches of the very Christian tribes that had fought at the Bridge and at Boweib on the Moslem side ; some were to obtain supplies for the army, which was reduced at one time to great extremities for food ; but most were for the double purpose of striking terror into the people, and at the same time gaining plunder. On one oecasioD the Beni Eekr ransomed a great company of prisoners from the Taghlib .H. XIII. CHAEACTER OF MOTHANNA. 139 Mothanna lived but a few months after his last great Mothanna • 1 TT #-1 Buper- victoiy. He never entirely recovered from the wounds re- seded. ceived in the disastrous battle of the Bridge, and eventually succumbed under them. His merits have not been recog- nised as they deserve. That he did not belong to the • nobility of Medina was the misfortune which kept him in the background. Jarir, leader of the Beni Jadila, declined to serve under him as Ameer, or commander, in Irac, since he was a mere Bedouin chief, and not a Companion of the Prophet; and he complained accordingly to the Caliph. Omar listened to the appeal; and eventually (as we shall see) appointed another commander over both. But with that opens a new chapter in the Persian war, and before entering on it, we must revert to the course of events in Syria. The character of Mothanna, however, deserves more than Mothauna a passing notice, and as we shall hear little of him in the short remaining period of his Ufe, I may here devote a few lines to his memory. Among the generals who contributed to the triumph of Islam, he was second only to one. Inferior to Khalid in dash and brilliancy of enterprise, he did not yield to him in vigour and strategic skill. Free from the unscrupulous cruelty so often disfiguring the triumphs of that great leader, he never, like him, used victory to gratify his own ends. It was due alone to the cool and desperate stand which Mothanna made at the Bridge, that the Moslem tribe, by relinquishing their own share of the booty. One of these minor actions is called ' AnbAr the second ' ; and another ' AUis the second.' A somewhat remarkable incident shows that Omar had spies in all quar- ters, and also that he dreaded the outbreak of ancestral quarrels between the different Arab tribes. The garrison of Siffin, in Mesopotamia, composed of the Beni Namr and Taghlib, were attacked by the Beni Bekr and driven out of their stronghold, over the banks into the river. In their terror they cried out, We are drowning ! and the Beni Bekr answered, Yea, drowning for burn- ing I in allusion to an occasion in former days in which the Boni Taghlib had burned alive some of the Beni Bekr tribe. Omar, learning the circumstance from his spies, demanded what this threat — founded on a pre-Islamite feud, and therefore alien from the spirit of Islam — should mean. He was told that the threat was used, not in a spirit of retaliation, but of punishment and example, and in the interests of the faith ; and the explanation was accepted. 140 OMAK. CHAP. XIV. force was not utterly annihilated there ; while the formation so rapidly after that disaster of a fresh army, by which, with the help of Christian tribes (rare mark of Moslem liberality), a prodigious host was overthrown, and the prestige of Islam restored — showed powers of administration and generalship far beyond his fellows. The repeated supersession of Mothanna cost the Caliphate much, and at one time rendered the survival of Islam , in Irac doubtful ; but it never, in the slightest measure, affected his loyalty and devotion to Omar. The nobility of the Moslem peerage may have rendered it difficult for the Caliph to place a Bedouin chieftain of obscure origin in command of men who, as Companions, had fought under the Prophet's banner. But it is strange that no historian, jealous for the honour of the heroes of Islam, has regretted the supersession of one so distinguished, or sought to place Mothanna on the deserved pinnacle of fame, as one of the great generals of the world.' ' There is a tradition that the reason given by Omar why he set aside both Kh&lidand Mothanna was ' his fear lest their influence should become too great, and lead the people to put their trust in them instead of in the Lord of Hosts.' There may, no doubt, have been some jealousy of KhMid's induence ; but there could hardly have been any of Mothanna's. Again, Omar is said to have changed his mind both in respect of Mothanna, on learning his gallant stand at the Bridge, and in respect of Kh41id, on account of his bravery at Kinnisrin — adding that, in both, Abu Bokr had proved a better judge of character than he. Whatever foundation there may be for the tradition so far as Kh41id is concerned, it can hardly apply to Mothanna, for it was not till after the battle of the Bridge that Omar finally superseded him, by appointing Sid to the supreme command. SYEIA EAST OF THE JORDAN. 141 CHAPTEE XV. CAMPAIGN IN SYEIA. — ^TAKING OF DAMASCUS. BATTLE OF FIHL. A.H. XIV. A.D. 635. After the terrible slaughter of the Eomans at Wacusa, we The Syrian f OFCf^ S TO- left the Syrian forces reposing on the -banks of the Yermuk. pose on rhe There, for some time, they were engaged in burying the "^™"^- dead, tending the wounded, and dividing the spoil. The country around them, ' the land beyond Jordan on Syria east the east,' differed from any they had previously known, jordala. To the south was the imdulating pasture-ground of the Belcaa, and again to the north of the Yermuk the pas- tinre-lands of Jaulan.' Between these two pastoral tracts lay the hills and dales of Gilead, with their fields of wheat and barley, dotted every here and there with clumps of the shady oak, olive, aijd sycamore, and thickets of arbutus, myrtle, and oleander. It was emphatically ' a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills.' The landscape, diversified with green slopes and glens, is in season gay with carpeting of flowers and melody of birds. From heights not far north of the Yermuk, beyond the green expanse around, might be descried the blue waters of the Sea of Galilee sparkling in the west, and still farther the snow-capped peaks of the Lebanon and Hermon — a strange contrast to the endless ' The ancient Gaulonitis. 142 OMAR. CHAP. XT. sands and stony plains of the peninsula.' Not less marked was the contrast with the land of Chaldgea. There the marshy delta of the Euphrates displays an almost tropical luxuriance ; while above it the plains of Mesopotamia, with its network of canals, were covered by vast mounds, the site of cities teeming with life in the early cycles of the world, and strewn with fragments of pottery and bricks stamped with strange devices — mysterious records of bygone kingdoms. Here, on the contrary, the pride of the Byzantine empire was yet alive. From the Jordan to the desert were colonial cities founded by the Romans, boasting their churches, theatres, and forum. Even the naval contests of the naumachia might be wit- nessed in the land of Grilead. The country was populous and flourishing, inhabited by a mongrel race half Arab and half Syrian, who aspired to the privileges and aped the luxurious habits, without the chivalry and manliness, of the Eoman citizen. It was altogether a civilisation of forced and exotic growth. No sooner was the western prop removed than the people retiu-ned to their Bedouin life, true sons of the desert; the chariot and waggon were banished for the camel ; and nothing left of Roman rule but columns and peristyles, causeways and aqueducts — great masses of ruined masonry which still startle the traveller as if belonging to another world. But, at the time we write of, the age of so-called civilisation was still dominant there. Highway Such was the beautiful country, strange to the peninsular between Arab, both in its natural features and in its busy mrban life, Syria and ' j ^ Arabia, which was now traversed by the Moslem armies, and soon became the beaten highway between Syria and Arabia. After achieving the victory of Wacusa, Khalid delivered ' The landscape between the Haur&n and the Jordan is well described by Laurence Oliphant, Lani of Gilead, p. 62. See also Chesney's Euphrates Expedition (London, 1850), vol. i. pp. 612-515, where be speaks of the nightingale in these parts. A.H. XIV. KHALID DEPOSED: ABU OBEIDA SUCCEEDS HIM. 145 over to Abu Obeida the despatch from the new Caliph, Abu which (as we have related) was put iuto his hands at the succepds comnaencement of the action, and with it surrendered the ^j'jf'xiil. commission which he held from Abu Bekr.' The other ^'•P'" A.D. 634. leaders were all confirmed in their commands by Omar. The afifront put upon him by Omar did not damp the Khaiid zeal or devotion of Khalid. He placed himself forthwith at gupports the command of Abu Obeida, who published with reluctance Qbdda the order for his deposition.^ Abu Obeida knew full well the rare military genius of Khalid ; and, himself of a mild and unwarlike turn, was wise and magnanimous enough to ask, and as a rule implicitly to follow, his advice. Khalid, nobly putting aside his grievance, devoted his best energies to the cause ; and, his supersession notwithstanding, remained thus virtually the chief captain of Islam in Syria. The course of Moslem victory in Syria advanced with little let or check. In Persia the struggle was not to save a ' The effect of Omar's order depends on the n.iture of Abu Bokr's commis- sion. It is usuiilly hold that the commanders of the several columns wore ut the first independent, and that Kh&lidhelda similar position in respect of the Ir&c contingent, till on the eve of the great engagement, he persuaded the rest to come temporMily under his supreme command — a fact, of course, unknown to Omar when issuing his order of deposition. If so, Abu Obeida would, by Omar's order, have simply superseded Kh41id in taking command of the Irac troops in addition to his own. On the other hand, it is held by some that the commis- sion given by Abu Bekr to Kh41id weis that of generalissimo ; and that to this supreme command Abu Obeida succeeded, in addition to that of his own proper column and of KhAUd's. This is the more probable, since Abu Obeida was cer- tainly recognised thereafter as commander-in-chief iu Syria. It is, however, inconsistent with the story of separate commands ; but, see previous note, p. 111. Tradition is still very shifty and uncertain. According to Bel4dzori, it is even held that the order of supersession was not received till the siege of Damascus ; but this seems improbable. * It is said by some that Abu Obeida, though he received the order on the Yermiik, yet held it back till after the siege of Damascus. But this is out of the question. Had Abu Obeida not been supreme on that occasion, Damascus would not have been allowed to capitulate. It was with diSfioulty that KhAlid, even in his subordinate position, was prevented from treating the city as taken by storm, which he certainly would have done had he been supreme ; and in that case all the property, as well as the inhabitants and buildings, would have been at the mercy of the captors. 144 OMAR. CHAP. XV, Byzantine limb, but life itself. Here it was otherwise. Syria, indeed, Syriafaint- contained the holy places and all that was dearest to the learte . Byzantine people as the cradle of their faith. But, after all, it was, though fair and sacred, but an outlying province, of which a cowardly, supine, and selfish court could without vital injiu-y afford the loss. There were, accordingly, no such mortal throes in Syria as on the plains of Chaldaea. Abu Leaving a strong detachment on the Yermuk to keep viince communications open with the south, the invading army re- Damaseua. sumed its march towards Damascus. On the way, news reached them that the city had been reinforced, and also that in Palestine the scattered fragments of the defeated army had re-formed in the valley of the Jordan, thus threatening the Moslem rear. The moment was critical, and Abu Obeida wrote for orders to the Caliph. The command of Omar was to strike a dccisivo blow at Damascus. Tlie citadel of Syria gained, the rest was sure. Accordingly, a strong column under Abul Aur and other veteran leaders was sent back to hold in check the enemy on the Jordan, while the main body advanced by the military road to Damascus. Damascus. This city, founded before the days of Abraham,' enjoys the singular pre-eminence of having survived, through all the vicissitudes of dynasties and nations, the capital of Syria. The Ghuta, or great plain on which it stands, is watered by the Barada and other streams issuing from the Lebanon and adjoining mountain ranges ; and the beautiful groves and rich meadows around have given it (perhaps with a better title than the delta of the Euphrates) the name of 'the garden of the world.' An entrepdt of commerce be- tween the East and West, it has from age to age, with varying fortune, been ever rich and populous. The city wall, twenty feet high and fifteen broad, still displays in many places stones of cyclopean size, which must have been vener- ' Gen. XV. 2. ' The steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus." A.H. XIT. SIEGE OF DAMASCUS. 145 able ages even before our era. Turrets for defence are placed at stated intervals, and over the gates and at other spots there are structures to accommodate the garrison on duty. The Eastern gate still ' leads into ' the street which is called Straight,' as it did in the days when St. Paul passed through it.' The Cathedral church of St. John the Baptist rears its great dome, towering above the other buildings ; and besides it there were, at the time of the invasion, fifteen churches in Damascus and its suburbs. The city, not long before, sufiFered severely from the alternating fortunes of the Persian war ; but it had, now, in great measure, recovered its prosperity. Such was the capital of Syria, 'the Queen of Cities,' which — embedded in groves and gardens, and hemmed in (excepting towards the eastern desert) with distant but lofty mountains, some tipped with snow — now burst on the gaze of the Arab warriors. One here and there amongst them may perchance have visited it, trading to the north ; but, as a whole, the army had heard of it only by report; and in beauty, richness, and repose, fancy could hardly have ex- ceeded the scene which now lay before them. The Arab force was strong enough to invest the city. Tl;e city in vGst^fi Abu Obeida pitched his headquarters opposite the Gate of shawwdi, Jabia, on the western plain. Khalid was posted at the Deoemter Eastern entrance,^ where the gateway was strengthened by *•"■ 634. ■ The window from which St. Paul was let down, no doubt stood in one of these military structures, or casemates, upon the wall. Tradition still points out the window, 'although the wall itself has been several times rebuilt.' (Robinson's Palestine, p. 466. Damascus is described, pp. 443 et seq.) There is an admirable account of the city given by H. von Kremer, in his vol. i. ch. iv., Damascus und der Hof der Omejjaden. The Eastern gateway here mentioned is built of great masses of reddish sand- stone, well polished. The arch is rounded, and there are two portals at the sides for foot-passengers. The main archway, intended for camels, &c., is now closed. The 'Straight street,' only fifteen feet wide, still runs right across the city, from this gate to the J4bia gate, on the west. There are several other similar gateways in the great wall. ' I'or the Eastern gate invested by KhMid, see Von Kremer, p. 210. Amru sat before the B4b Tuma, to the N.E. ; Shorahbil before the B4b L 146 OMAR. CHAP. XV. the remains of an ancient temple. The other gates were similarly guarded. Battering-rams and testudos were drawn up against the walls ; but every attempt at a breach of the massive defences failed. At first the citizens, ignorant of the ardour and persistence inspired by the faith of Mahomet, regarded the attack as a desultory raid like many that had pre- ceded it, and looked for succour. The city lies two thousand feet above the sea, and the severity of the cold in spring would drive away the Arab tribes, used to a more genial climate. But months slipped by, and the host still hung obstinately around the walls. The Emperor, indeed, from Hims, attempted a diversion ; but Dzul Kelaa, posted with his Himyarite horse to the north of the city, kept them ac bay ; and Abu Obeida detached another column to cover the siege from annoyance on the side of Palestine. The summer was coming on, and no relief appeared. The Moslems, instead of retiring, pressed their attack with increasing vigour ; and the hopes of the Damascenes melted away into despair.' Storm and On a certain day, we are told, the Roman Governor made ti'mi.'^ ^' "^ ^^^^^ *° ^^^ garrison to celebrate the birth of a son.^ They A.H. XIV. ate and drank, and, relaxing into merriment, began to quit A.D. 6:j.5. their posts. Khalid knew of the expected feast, for nothing escaped his vigilance. ' He neither himself slumbered, nor suffered others to fall asleeji.' And so, reckoning upon the season of revelry, he had settled with Abu Obeida to seize it as the occasion for a general assault. The defences on Khalid's Far&dis, to the north ; and Yezld patrolled from ' the Lesser Gate to the gate Al Iloisan.' ' The length of the siege is variously given at seventy days by Tabari, and six months by WSckidy. The latter, indeed, places the capitulation in autumn, a month or two before the battle of Cadesiya, which was fought in November; but this leaves too little time for intervening events. The order of events was as follows. The city was first invested probably early in the spring ; it capitulated in the summer ; then followed the battle of l''ihl ; after which Kh&lid's contingent was sent back to IrAc, and appeared on the field of Cddcsiya just as the contest was proceeding. * He is called by some NastAs, by others BahAn. The latter is the name of the general who inflicted on Khaiid ibn Said his severe defeat. A.H. XIV. STORM AND CAPITULATION OF DAMASCUS. 147 side were by far the most formidable ; the moat was deeper there, and the walls stronger. The garrison, holding the spot to be impregnable, were less on the alert than elsewhere ; and in their negligence Khalid found his opportunity. In concert with certain daring spirits, his comrades from Irac, he planned an escalade. Ladders were got in readiness, and scaling ropes with nooses to catch the projections of the castellated wall. In the darkness preceding dawn, they stealthily crossed the moat upon inflated skins ; ' then, casting up their tackle, they caught the battlements. Cacaa, with another hero " from Irae, was the first to gain the summit. The way thus silently secured, others scaled rapidly. Eight and left they surprised the slumbering pickets by a sudden rush, and put them to the sword. The gate from within was forced open, and the appointed cry ' Allah Akbar ! ' resounded from the walls to the expectant troops without. The Eoman- soldiery, panic-struck, fled before their assailants ; and now through the gateway Khalid's column poured in, slaying and sacking all around. They had already penetrated near to the centre of the city, when their progress was brought to an unwelcome end. For on the other side a very different scene was taking place. The Governor, seeing that resistance to an assault apprehended from every quarter was hopeless, had issued from the western gate, and already tendered his submission to Abu Obeida. Terms were made upon the spot, and the capitulation signed. The gates were thrown open, and the Moslem force, unopposed, kept streaming in from the western camp. As they advanced, cries of despair and appeals to stay the carnage met the ears of Abu Obeida, who was no sooner apprised of what had transpired in the eastern quarter than he sent orders to stay the onslaught. Khalid remonstrated that the city had been fairly carried ■ Yon Kremer describes the moat surroundiog the walls as still from tea to fifteen feet in breadth. It is filled with water from the Bartwla. ' Madsrdr. 1. 2 I 148 OMAR. CHAP. XV, by assault, and was at their mercy; but in vain. Abu Obeida, juster and more clement, pointed to the treaty, and insisted that its provisions should be fulfilled. Good faith was the best as well as justest policy. The people were conciliated, and throughout Syria the capitulation of Damascus became the type of surrender.' Terms of One half of all the property, both in money and build- ti'lfn. " '*' ings, private and public, was by this capitulation surrendered to the conquerors. Besides the taxes levied under Byzantine rale, the tribute of one dinar was imposed on. every male adult who did not embrace Islam, aiid a measure of corn was taken from every field.^ In this way the Arabs gained, not only large spoil and a permanent revenue, without entirely alienating the people, and even with a show of moderation, but obtained also possession of buildings sufficient for their own accommodation and for the conduct of public business. And so this beautiful city, ' the Eye of the East/ passed from the grasp of Heraclius into the hands of the Caliph, and became ' the Eden of Islam.' The churches of Damascus shared the common fate; they were equally distributed between the Christians and ' The ordinary account is that KhAlid, hearing the merriment of the feast, stormed the city on his side, unknown to the rest of the army, and that the garrison, when overcome, hastened to conclude a capitulation with Aim Obeida on the other side. But this is incredible. When the victorious column, in possession of the eastern quarter, were pushing their way through the city, it would have been altogether too late. It is of course possible that KhAlid, knowing that the treaty was impending, sought thus to anticipate the consequences of capitulation, by which the city was lost as a prey, and its inhabitants as prisoners of war. On the other hand, some traditions ascribe the accoplanco of tlio siirrcnilor and tlio treaty to KhUlid himself. But the account 1 have given is the most probable and consistent. Later authorities tell of treachery on the part of a bishop, who, from the walls, hold converse with Khilid, and having obtained for himself terms, pointed out the place for an escalade, &c. ; also that Khdlid was supplied wilh scaling ladders by a monastery in the Ghftta'. Such tales rest generally on weak and unreliable authority ; but as regards the last, the monlu, we are told, obtained a permanent reduction of the land-tax for the service now rendered. (See BeUdzori, p. 121.) ' I'rom every jarib, or local acre. A.H. XIT.. CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. 149 the conquerors. The Cathedral church of St. John the Catheilral Baptist was treated differently. It was divided into two the Baptist parts— in one half the rites of the ancient faith were still turned into a Mosque. celebrated, and the gospel of Jesus read ; in the other half, carefully detached, the Coran was recited, and the service of Islam observed ; while from the dome the Muedzzin proclaimed daily the supremacy of the Arabian prophet.^ For seventy or eighty years the great Cathedral continued thus to blend under one roof the symbols and the practice of the two religions. That which was reasonable in the first beginnings of Islam, however, became intolerable in the rapid advance of arrogance and bigotry. One and another of the Caliphs sought, by the ofifer of large payments, to obtain surrender of the entire Cathedral ; but in vain. At last Welid, about the ninetieth year of the Hegira, took the law into his own hands, and summarily ejected the Christian worshippers. They complained against the injustice of the act, and Omar II. listened to their reclamation. But the doctors of Islam declared it impossible to restore to Christian worship a place once consecrated by the Idzan and the prayers of the Faithful ; and so at last the Christians consented to take, instead, the chiuches of the city and its suburbs which had been confiscated under the equal parti- tion of Abu Obeida. All that appeared Christian, therefore, in the style or decoration of the Cathedral church, was now removed or defaced. But this wonderful edifice retains to the present day marks of the different religion s to which it has been from time to time devoted. In the massive foundations may be ■ It has been supposed that the column of Kh41id had reached tlie Cathedral and taken possession of one half, before he -was recalled, and hence this arrange- ment. But it is not so ; the surrender of one hslf was stipulated irrespective of his attack, and (in conformity with the treaty in other matters) as a fair concession to the conquering army. Corresponding arrangements were made for the division of the churches in other cities of Syria, which capitu- lated without an assault ; but it was only in Damascus that the difficulty as h> disposing of the Cathedral occurred. 150 OMAR. CHAP. XV. traced its origin as a pagan Temple ; these are surmounted by the beautiful architecture and embellishment of Byzan- tine art; and over the great entrance may still be deciphered, clear and uninjured, the grand prophecy of the Psalmist, which yet may be realised in the worship of the Temple itself : — THY KINGDOM, O CHRIST, IS A KINGDOM OF ALL AGES; AND THY DOMINION IS FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION.' Jtuiiiatis lit All through the protracted siege of, Damascus, Abul Aur heiTi'.'i kept watch over his enemy in the Ghor, or Valley of the check by j^rijan, near to Fihl. This city, the ancient Pella, was Abul Aur ' •" at Fihl. situated on the eastern slope of the valley, six or seven Spi-ing, miles below the outlet of the Lake of Tiberias. Euins still A.D. 634. mark the site, which is 600 feet above the river bed. The gorge of the Jordan is here broad and fertile, and the stream at many places fordable. Opposite Fihl the valley of Jezreel, branching off from Esdraelon, that great battle- field of the world, issues into the Ghor. The broad open- ing is guarded on one side by the mountains of Gilboa, the scene of Saul's disaster, and on the other by the frowning eminence of Beisan, to the walls of which the Philistines ' The following is the inscription as copied by Von Kremer, who gives a minute description of this most interesting structure. It is the Soptuagint version of Psalm cxlv. 13, ■vfith the addition only of the words, Christ : — H . BACIAEIA . COT XE BACIAEIA . OANTflN . TflN AIONflN . KAI . H . AECnOTIA . COT . EN . DACH . TENEAI KAI FENEAI. BelMzori tells us that Mu&via and Abd al Malik both desired to take the portion occupied by the Christians as a church into the Mosque, and oifered them any sum they chose to ask in compensation ; but they stood by the terms of the capitulation, and refused. It was reserved for Welid I., son of Abd al Malik, to seize the building. When he summoned masons to demolish the partition-wall, they demurred, saying that whoever touched a church became an idiot. Whereupon Welid took the piek-axe into his own hand, and commenced the work of demolition. (Bolftdzori, p. 125.) I have given all the particulars I could find in the early and reliable traditions regarding the siege and cnpitulution. The tales and romances of later days are altogether without foundation. A-H. XIV. BATTLE OF FIHL. 151 fastened the body of that unfortunate monarch.' The mountain streams here run along the vallej-, rendering it when neglected sodden and swampy.* It was under the shadow of Beisan that the broken army of the Eomans took refuge, and here fresh supports from Heraclius joined them. To secure their front, they dammed the streams, and so turned the whole vale into a marsh. At first the Arabs chafed under the stratagem, for their horses were disabled on the yielding ground. But they soon learned patience, and discovered that the enemy had shut himself out from the Grhor, as well as from their attack. Himself securely posted, his rear open to reinforcements, supplied in plenty by the fertile vale of the Jordan, from which the Eomans were cut off — Abul Aur was content to wait till the summer heat should dry up the quagmire ; and meanwhile his enemy, 80,000 strong, was held in check, if not virtually blockaded.^ The summer was well advanced before the Arabs broke Abu up their camp at Damascus. They were eager to attack Heraclius at Hims; but Omar forbade them to advance, so '^.^^^ long as there was an army in their rear. Leaving, therefore, a.h, Xiv:. Yezid son of Abu Sofian, with a garrison of Yemen levies, ^ „_ Q^t^ as Governor of Damascus, Abu Obeida hastened back with ' 1 Samuel zxxi. 7, et seq. Beth-Shan became by contraction Beisan. The classical name was Scythopolis, once a noble city, the seat of a bishop and convents, and the birthplace of Cyril and Bosilides. Here Alexander Jannieus had his interview with Cleopatra ; and Pompey took it as well as Pella, on his way from Damascus to Judsea. Fella has a special interest for us, as the spot where the Christians took refuge when Titus attacked Judiea. Both cities were at the time of our history populous and flourishing. (See KobiDson's Palestine, pp. 325 et seq.) ' ' The whole plain was now so full of fountains and rivulets as to be in some places almost a marsh. (Ibid. pp. 325, 327.) ' The Roman army was so shut in, that their blockade is called ' thejimt siege in Syria ' ; the second being that of Damascus. The numbers of the enemy aro, no doubt, iis elsewhere, exiifrgerated. • Some accounts pliice the battle of Fihl at the close of a.h. XIII., and therefore prior to the siege of Damascus, in which city they say that the broken army of the Eomans took refuge. But the chronology in Tabari is clearly as 1 have given it. The sequence of events is governed by the battle of CAdeslya, whioli took place in October or November, a.u. XIV., after the Irde contingent had been dismissed from Syria. Obeida re- turns to Fihl 152 OMAR. CHAP. XV. the rest of his army to Fihl. The province of the Jordan had been given by Omar in command to Shorahbil, and to him therefore Abu Obeida now committed the cliief conduct of the campaign which lay within his jurisdiction. Khalid led the van ; Abu Obeida himself commanded one of the wings, and Amru the other; the famous warrior Dhirar directed the cavalry, and lyadh the foot.' Eetracing their steps, they took the highway to Palestine, and, recrossing the Yermulc near where it falls into the Jordan by the hot springs of 0mm Keis (or Gadara), marched down the valley of the Ghor, and encamped under Fihl.- Abul Aur, who had held the enemy in check for so long a time, was now detached on a similar duty towards Tiberias, to prevent diversion from that quarter. The main army, taking his place, sat before Beisan, and continued patiently its blockade, battle of Mistaking inaction for remissness, and themselves re- duced to straits, the Byzantine army, on a certain morning, thought to fall upon the Arabs unawares. They little knew the vigilance of Shorahbil, who night and day was on the watch ready for action. Fetching a circuit, the Romans suddenly appeared on the Moslem flank. They met a warm reception, and there ensued a battle as fierce and obstinate as any that had yet taken place. All day the llomans held their ground ; but by nightfall the impetuosity of the Arabs had its way. Sacalar, the Byzantine captain, fell, and his army broke and fled. The greater part, caught in the marsh, there met their fate; and few escaped the sword. * Thus the Lord wrought for his people,' writes the pious crusader ; ' and the morass which we thought a curse turned in His hands into a blessing.' And so the plain of Esdraelon again looked down upon another great and sanguinary conflict, which, following on the defeat of Wacusa, decided for many a long century the fate of Syria. ' It is of Dliirlr that so many marvellous tales are told iu the romaneos of WUckidy and others. A.H. XIV. PROGRESS OF MOSLEM CONQUEST ON THE JORDAN. 153 The loss of the Mussulmans was comparatively small. The booty was immense, and served to sharpen the Arab appetite for further victory. No enemy now was left in sight. Omar, therefore, Khftlid's remembering the last behest of Abu Bekr, that when the sent'bfcr Lord gave victory in Syria the contingent of Khalid should ^ ^'*°- be sent back to Irac, gave orders accordingly. Its ranks, thinned by the fighting they had undergone, were before the march made up to their former strength by transfer of volunteers from the Syrian army. Thus recruited, the contingent (under command, not now of Khalid, but of Hashim, son of Otba) recrossed the desert just in time to take part in the great battle of Cadesiya. Abu Obeida, with Khalid and other chiefs of note, returned to Damascus. Shorahbil and Amru were left to reduce to order the Province province of the Jordan. The task was easy. The fire of reiju^^ud^" patriotism had never burned brightly anywhere in Syria ; and what there might have been was now extinguished by the listless cowardice of the Byzantine Court. To the Bedouin class, weary of Eoman trammels, the prospect of an Arabian rule was far from unwelcome. Neither were the Jews and Samaritans unfavourable to the invaders ; indeed, we find them not infrequently giving aid and information to the enemy. Even the Christians cared little for the main- tenance of a government which by courtly and ecclesiastical intolerance had done its best to alienate their afifection. Beisan for some time held out ; but the garrison, when Progress paef Qj til 6 their sallies had been repeatedly repulsed with slaughter, Jordan, at last capitulated. Tiberias followed its example, and both obtained the terms of Damascus. Adzraat,' Amman, Jerash, Maab, and Bostra, all tendered their submission. And so the whole tract from the Jordan eastward to the Hauran and the desert, was brought under control, and garrisons were distributed throughout the leading towns. ' Bitliynia. 154 OMAR. CHAP. XV. a"'! '" Yezid extended similarly his authority from Damascus Central •' '' Syria. towards the desert as far as Tadmor, Westward he deputed his brother Muavia, who, meeting little opposition, reduced Sidon and Beyrut, and pushed his conquests as far north as Area.' Damascus itself, largely occupied by Arabs, quickly assumed the garb of a Moslem city. The Byzantine power and influence lingered longer on the coast ; and once and again, from seaward, they retook what the Arabs had gained. It was not, indeed, until the Mussulmans began to cope with the naval forces of the Mediterranean, that their authority was riveted along the littoral, as it had long been in the interior. Bareness The conquests of Syria have reached us, as I have tradition, before Said, in a form vague and most perfunctory. With the court of Damascus, its early local traditions almost entirely disappeared ; while those of the East preserved by the learned coteries of Kufa, Bussora, and Baghdad, alone have reached us with any fulness and accuracy. In this we may see a reason for the comparative bareness of tradition in respect of the early history of Damascus and the rest of Syria under Moslem rule. Leaving for the present Abu Obeida and Khalid to make their advance on Hims, we must return again to stirring scenes on the plains of Chaldaea. ' North of Tripoli. YEZDEGIED, KING OF PERSIA. 155 CHAPTER XVI. YEZDEGIRD SUCCEEDS TO THE THRONE OF PERSIA. — BATTLE OF CADESIYA. A.H. XIV. A.D. 635. The desperate field of Cadesiya has been described to us Profuse- with almost as profuse detail as the leading battles of the "rmlitioii the Prophet. The length and severity of the contest, its g^f^'^f"^ memorable results, and the proximity of the ground to Kufa, CMesiya. made it a favourite topic of discourse at that grand centi-e of tradition. Hence the prolixity. We shall follow the outline only of the story, avoiding the detail with which it has been overlaid. We left Mothanna, after the battle of Boweib, ravaging ye^degird at pleasure the terror-stricken coasts of Chaldsea. In the "'/'j/ers'i"^ altei'nations of war, another wave from the opposite quarter *•''• Xiil. ' ,1 D-cpmber, was about to sweep over that unhappy land. A new move- a d. 634. ment was taking place at Medain. The Persian nobles, scandalised at the "weakness of Eustem and the feeble Queen, began to cry out that he was dragging the empire down to ruin. The ladies of the court were assembled to inquire whether any king might not yet be discovered of the royal blood. At liist there was found Yezdegird, saved as a child from the massacre of Siroes, and now a youth of twenty-one.' He was placed upon the throne. Around the young King the nobles rallied loyally, and something of the old fire of the empire was rekindled. Ti-oops were ' He was the son of Shshry&r and grandson of Kesra. His moUieT iros of the house of Badnria. 156 OMAR. Mothanna forced to fall back. Dzul Odda, A.H. XIII. Janurtry, A.B. 635. Ojfiar ordora another levT en masse. Dzul Hijj. A.H. xiii. February, A.D. G35. gathered, Mesopotamia was reoceupied, and the cities as far as Hira and the desert strongly garrisoned. The inhabitants returned to their ancient allegiance ; and Mothanna, finding the whole Sawad in arms, and his diminished army unable to cope with the rising, again withdrew, and concentrated his troops behind the Euphrates. He sent an urgent message, telling of the new perils threatening him, to Omar. The danger was met bravely by the Caliph. 'I swear by the Lord,' he cried, when the tidings reached him, ' that I will smite down the princes of Persia with the sword of the princes" of Arabia.' It was clearly impossible to hold any part of -Mesopotamia or the delta of the Euphrates, so long as they were dominated close at hand by the court of Persia on the banks of the Tigris. The capital must be taken at any cost, and an army large enough gathered for the purpose. Orders, more stringent even than those before, went forth (as we have already seen) for a new and universal levy. ' Hasten to me,' he wrote in all directions, ' hasten speedily ! ' And forthwith Arabia resounded again with the call to arms. The troops from the south were to gather before the Caliph at Medina ; those nearer to Syria, the demand being urgent and time precious, were to march straight to Mothanna. This much arranged, Omar set out on the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. On his return, he repaired to the rendezvous at Jorf, where the contingents as they came in were marshalled. In a council of war, it was debated whether the Caliph, as he proposed, and as the people wished, should in person lead the army to Irac. The chief ' Companions ' were against it.' Defeat, if Omar were on the field of battle, might be fatal ; but seated at Medina, even under the worst disaster, he could launch column after column on the enemy. Omar yielded ; and, whatever may have been his real intention, Such as Aly, Tallia, Zobeir, and Abd al EalimAn. A.H. XIV. SAD, COMMANDER IN CHIEF IN lEAC. 157 the show of readiness to bear the heat and burden of the day imparted a new impiilse of enthusiasm to the army. Who now should be the leader of this great army in Sad ap- Irac ? Mothanna and Jarir, already there, were but Bedouin com- chieftains. None but a peer could take command of the JJ.^^ ""'" Companions and Nobles of the land now flocking to the field. The matter was being discussed in an assembly, when at the moment there came a despatch from Sdd son of Abu Wackkas, the Caliph's lieutenant with the Beni Hawazin, reporting the levy of a thousand good lances from that tribe. ' Here is the man ! ' cried those around. ' Who ? ' asked the Caliph. • None but the Ravening Lion,''^ was the answer ; ' Sdd, the son of Malik.' The choice was sealed by accla- mation; and so, Omar immediately summoned Sdd. Con- verted at Mecca while yet a boy, the new Ameer of Irac was now forty years of age. He is known as ' the first who drew blood in Islam,' and was a noted archer in the Prophet's wars. He took rank also as the nephew of Mahomet's mother. Short and dark, with large head and shaggy hair, S5,d was brave, but not well-favoured. The Caliph gave him such advice as the momentous issues of the campaign de- manded, and warned him not to trust to his extraction. ' The Lord,' he said, ' looketh to merit and good works, not to birth ; for in His sight all men are equal.' ^ Thus ad- monished, Sad set out for Irac, with 4,000 men, the first- fruits of the new levy. As a rule, they marched now with their women and children. As the levies kept .coming in, Omar sent them on, ' A play upon the name Sad, or ' lion.' His ordinary patronymic was ibn Abu Wackk4s. (For his early history, see Life of Mahomet, pp. 63, 68.) When Mahomet got excited in battle, he used a form of adjuration to Sad, which he is said never to have addressed to any other ; — ' By the life of myfatlicr and mother, shoot, Sad.' Sad died a.d. 55, worth 250,000 dirhems. • Tradition puts into Omar's mouth a set speech ; but it has evidently been framed for the occasion. We are also told that in the levies which defiled before Omar were the (future) murderer of OthmAn, and also the assassin of Aly ; and that Omar was observed to shrink back as they passed — a touch of the proleptic and marvellous, now rare in the matter-of-fact narratives of this period. 158 OMAE. CHAP. xvr. Sid one after another, to join Sdd. The numbers swelling rapidly to Irke and embraced the chivalry of Arabia. Toleiha, the quondam encamps prophet, now an exemplary believer, and Amr ibn Mddekerib, border of went in command of their respective tribes, the Beni Asad and Zobeid; and Omar wrote that each chief was himself worth a thousand men. Al Ash5,th, also, head of the Beni Kinda, the apostate rebel of the south, now joined the army with a column of his tribe from Yemen.' Indeed, Omar, we are told, " left not a single person of any note or dignity in the land, whether warrior, poet, orator, or chieftain, nor any man possessed of horse or weapons, but he sent him off to Irac' Thus reinforced, Sfi,d found himself at the head of 20,000 men ; and when the column ordered back from Syria returned, the numbers were over 30,000 — by far the largest force yet mustered by the Arabs on the plains of Chaldsea.'' The troops now marching on Irac, and those that had been commanded by Mothanna, drew all together at Sheraf, on the borders of the desert, fifteen or twenty miles to the south of Ilira. Death of Before Sad reached the rendezvous, Mothanna had Mothanna. passed away. Omar entirely approved his having withdrawn A.H. XIV from Mesopotamia, to the right bank of the Euphrates, A.D. 635. and there rallied the Bedouin tribes along the lower ' Repentant rebel chiefs could thus lead their own tribes, though they could not take a general command, or the command of a column comprising 'Com- panions' in its ranks. Each of these leaders had an allowance of 2,000 dirhems. Amr ibn Madekerib, who was a great gourmand, said to Omar : ' A thousand for this side (slapping one side of his stomach), and a thousand for that (slapping the other) ; but what for this ? ' (slapping the middle). Omar laughed, and gave him 600 more, at the same time exclaiming (in admiration of his stalwart frame), ' Praised be the Lord who hath created such a one as Amr! ' ■' The stfttonionts as to the numbers in tlio diflfcront columns vary. After the battle of the Bridge, most of the recruits irom Medina (Omar's first levy) had fled, and left Mothanna alone with the Bedouin contingents, mainly from the Bekr and Eabia tribes, belonging to the N.E. of Arabia. lie was then reinforced, by Omar's command, with now levies from the northern tribes of the Beni Tay, CodhAa, Bajila, &c. ; and could thus show, at the battle of Boweib, a rank and file of some 8,000 men. Then Sid brought 8,000 more, and fresh contingents kept trooping up from Yemen and the south ; so that, with the Syrian levies, which arrived during the battle of Cadesiya, he had in all 30,000 men. A.H. XIV. DEATH OF MOTHANNA. 159 waters skirting the desert.' This was all the more neces- sary, as the court of Persia was then endeavouring to detach the great tribe of the Beni Bekr ibn Wail by an appeal to their ancient alliance with the house of Hira. Moanna, brother of Mothanna, had just returned from a mission to this (his own) tribe, and had succeeded in frustrating the attempt. Bearing intelligence of this success, as well as the melancholy tidings of his brother's death, he went out to meet Sid on his march. He communicated also his brother's dying message to the new commander, advising that the Arabs should hold to their ground on the confines of the desert. ' Fight there the enemy ' were the last words of Mothanna ; — ' Ye will be the victors ; and, even if worsted, ye will still have the friendly and familiar desert wastes behind : there the Persians cannot enter, and from thence ye will again return to the attack.' Sid, as he received the message, blessed the memory of the great general. He also made the family he had left his special care ; and, the more effectually to discharge the trust, as well as to mark his estimate of the man, he, in true Arab fashion, took to wife his widow Selma. The army was marshalled by Sad anew. Companies were sid mar- formed of ten, each under a selected leader. Warriors of droops in note were appointed to bear the standards. Columns and le^ o'^^^^- battalions were made up by clans and tribes; and so by clans and tribes they marched, and also went into the field of battle. Departments also were established for the several services incident to a campaign.' The chief commands ' The Beni Eabia and Modhar, i.e. clans of northern lineage. ^ Of the constitution of companies, Tabari says that ' it vas according to the practice of the Prophet, and the system followed at the establishment of tl\e civil (pension) list.' The first allusion is not clear, for Mahomet made no 8uch disposition of his soldiers. The second points to the enrolment, shortly after made by Oniir, of the whole Arab race, according to descent. The organisation of commands was very simple. First, tlicre was the Amcsr, or commander-in-chief, responsible to the Caliph alone ; immediately under the Ameer were the generals commanding the centre, the wings, and brigades, van- and rear-guards ; between the generals and the decemvirs there was no intermediate grade. 160 OMAR. CHAP, xvr. were all given to veterans, who had fought under the Prophet's banner; for in this army there were no fewer than 1,400 Companions, and ninety-nine who had fought at Bedr.' Following Mothanna's counsel, which was confirmed by Omar, Sad marched slowly to Odzeib, still on the border of the desert. Leaving the women and children there under Encamps protection of a squadron of horse, he advanced to Cadesiya. g;„.^ ^' Here was a great plain washed on its eastern side by the A.H. XIV. I oi(j ' Euphrates,^ and bounded on the west by the Khandac, Slimmer, "^ A.D. 035. or Trench of Sapor (in those days a running stream), with the desert beyond. The plain was traversed by a road from the south, which here crossed the river by a bridge of boats leading to Hira, and onwards across the peninsula to Medain. Such was the field on which the great battle was to be fought that would settle the fate of Persia. Sdd, keeping still to the western bank of the Great Eiver, fixed his head-quarters at Codeis, a small fortress overlooking the stream a little way below the bridge. He had thus the great plain behind him on which to deploy his troops, with the river in front, and the Khandac and desert in his rear. Here encamped, the army awaited patiently the enemy's approach. Yezdegird, Eustem sought to play the same waiting game ; but the at the King grew impatient. The Arabs, from their standing camp, thri^^b^ made continual raids across the river into Mesopotamia, and orders as far north as Anbar. The castles of the nobles were advance. attacked, and their pleasure-grounds laid waste. A marriage procession fell into the hands of one of these parties near Hira, and the bride, a satrap's daughter, was carried, with ' ' Compnnions ' here include ftU men wlio hud seen and conversed with the Prophet. The number of these now present was an altogether now feature in the army of Ir&a, hitherto mainly comprised of Bedouins. Of the Companions, there were over 310 who hod joined Mahomet before the ' Tree of Fealty' {Life, ch. xix.) ; 300 who had been under his banner at the taking of Mecca; and 700 sons of Companions. We have had no such detail for any previous engage- ment. It foreshadows the coming classification of Omar's civil list. ^ So called Al AtieJe, as before' explained. The Khandac here approaches within a few miles of that channel. A.U. XIV. SAD ENCAMPS AT CADESIYA. 161 her train of maids and wedding trousseau, captive to the camp. Herds were driven from the fens and pastures of the delta, to supply the army ; for the forays were meant at once to fiumish food, and to punish such as had thrown off their allegiance to the Moslems. The people were clamorous ; and the great landholdei'S at last gave notice to the com-t that if help were delayed, they must go over to the enemy. Moved by their cries, Yezdegird turned a deaf ear to Eustem, and insisted on an immediate advance.' Meanwhile, Sid maintained a constant correspondence with Yezdegird 1/-11-1 1 Till- 1 ■• ft summoned xhe Oauph, who now called for a description of the country, by a depu- « Cadesiya,' Sdd told him in reply, ' lay between the Trench of ^b^chfefg Sapor and the river; in front of the ai-my was the deep to embrace stream, which on the left meandered through a verdant vale towards the town of Hira ; a ■ canal led up in the same direction to the lake of Najaf, on the margin of which stood the palace of Khawarnac. His right was guarded by an impassable swamp, and his rear rested on the Khandac and the desert.' ^ Omar, satisfied with his ' Some of tliesB raiding expeditions are described at considerable length by tradition, which, now becoming prolific, loves to dwell on all the accom- paniments of this great battle. An expedition sent for cattle to the marshy jiingles of the Lower Euphrates, for a long time searched in vain. At last a boor told them that there were no herds in the vicinity ; whereupon an ox bellowed from the thicket, ' The liar I here we all are.' They entered the jungle and found a great herd, which was di-iven off, and lasted tlio army many days. ' On the right, we are told that towards the N.E. the country was flooded as far as Walaja. For the 'Trench of Sapor,' dug three centuries before, see Life of Mahomet, vol. i. p. clxxi., where also will be found an account of the beautiful palace of Khawarnac. One road led to the palace, another to the desert, and a tliird from the bridge took a direction south into Arabia. The chronology is somewhat obscure. Sad is said to hare encamped only two months at C4desiya before the battle ; but eitlier he must have been much longer in that vicinity, or have spent some considerable time previously at Odzeib or Shiraf, or else upon the marcli thither — which last is not unlikely, as they travelled in heavy order, like emigrants with their families. Sad set out from Medina in spring (it was March when on the way he received tidings of Mothanna's death), and tl^e great battle was not fought till November ; so that three-quarters of u year have to be accounted for. According to some M 162 OMAR. CHAP. XVI. general's report, enjoined upon him vigilance and patience. But first, he said, Yezdegird must be summoned to embrace the Faith at the peril of his kingdom. With this com- mission, a party of twenty warriors, chosen for their com- manding, mien, crossed the plain and presented them- selves at the gates of Medain.' As they were led to the royal presence, the rabble crowded around, and jeered at the rough habit of the Arabs, clad in striped Yemen stuff, and armed with the rude weapons of the desert, all contrast- ing strangely with the courtly splendour of the regal city. ' Look ! ' they cried mocking, ' look at the woman's distaff,' meaning the Bedouin bow slung over the shoulder, little thinking of the havoc it was soon to make in their crowded ranks. As the Chiefs entered the precincts of the palace, the prancing and champing of the beautiful steeds, and the wild bearing of the stalwart riders, struck awe into the heart of the king and his effeminate nobles. Yezdegird demanded, through an interpreter, wherefore, thus unprovoked, they had dared to invade his kingdom. One after another the Arabian spokesmen told him of the Prophet who had wrought a mighty change in their land, and they explained to him the nature of Islam, its blessings and its obligations. ' Embrace the Faith,' they said, ' and thou shalt be even as one of us ; or, if thou wilt, pay tribute, and come under our protection ; which things if thou shalt refuse, the days of thy kingdom are numbered.' The king replied contemp- tuously : ' Ye are naught, ye are naught ! hungry adven- turers from a naked land ; come, I will give you a morsel^ and ye shall depart full and content.' The Arabs replied in strong but modest words. ' Thou speakest truth. We are poor and hungry ; but the Lord will enrich and satisfy us. traditions, Rustem prolonged his march from Mediin to CMeslya through a period of four months, which, however, may be an exaggeration. ' The names of fifteen are given as ' among ' those sent, so there may have heen aa many as twenty or more. Of the number were the two Moghirns, Ashath, Amr ibn Madekerib, Nom4n ibn Mocarrin, Ot4rid, Moanna, &c. A.H. XIV. RUSTEM ADVANCES ON CADESIYA. 163 Thou hast chosen the sword ; and between us shall the sword decide.' The king's wrath was kindled. ' If it were not,' he cried, ' that ye are ambassadors, ye should have been put to death, all of you. Bring hither a clod of earth, and let the mightiest among them bear it as a burden from out the city gates.' The Arabs embraced the happy augury. Asim forthwith seized the load, and binding it over his shoulders, mounted his charger and rode away. Eustem coming up at that moment, the king told him of the affront he had put upon the simple Arabs. ' Simple ! ' cried Eustem, ' it is thou that art simple ; ' and he sent in haste to get the burden back again : but Asim was already far away with his treasure. Hastening to Cadesiya, he cast the clod before his chief, and exclaimed, ' Eejoice, Sad ! for, lo, the Lord hath given thee of the soil of Persia ! ' ' Eustem could now no longer delay the campaign. Kustem, Elephants, cavalry, and soldiers had been gathered from menee every quarter to swell the host. He set out at the head Marches of an army 120,000 strong.' But he still delayed, marching f™ra slowly and unwillingly. The auguries, drawn from astro- logy and divination, all boded some great disaster. But he cherished the hope that the Arabs, pinched in their supplies, might, as in days of old, break up and disappear ; or, at any rate, that, wearied with the suspense, they ' Thoro is much omboUishmont and rommico in tho scono and in tlio spooclvos, which are given in great detail, and must be taken only for what they are worth. They have been spun by tradition, no doubt, around a kernel of fact. There must have been many Persians present, who would tell the tale in after days, as well as the members of the deputation itself. There is fair probability for at least so much of the narrative as I have given. Asim was brother of the warrior Cac&a. 2 Jalenfis led the advanced column of 40,000; Eustem, the main body of 60,000 ; there were 20,000 in the rear-guard ; and besides, 60,000 camp followers accompanied the army. The right wing was commanded by Hormuz, the left by Mehr4n, son of Behr4m. Some traditions put the numbers at 200,000 ; but it is all guess-work. 15,000 of these (as with the Eomau army) are called ' bound (meaning, apparently, tied together) for death,' and 60,000 free ; the rest seemingly slaves and convicts. Abundance of tales are given of Eustem's desponding dreams and auguries. M 2 164 OMAB. CHAP. X7I. and en- camps opposite the Arabs, A.H. XIV. October, A.D. 635. Moslem army re- strained by Sad. Pnstem obtains truce for three days. might be drawn from their strong position across the river. After many weeks' delay upon the road, he passed over the Euphrates below Babylon, and encamped under the ruined pile of Birs Nimrud. Advancing on Hira, he chided the people for siding with the Arabs; they replied with justice, that, deserted by their King, they had no resource left them but to bow before the invaders. At last, having whiled away four months from the time of starting, Eustem, passing Najaf, came within sight of the Moslem force, and pitched his camp on the opposite bank of the river. During this long period of inaction, the impatience of the Arabs was, not without difficulty, checked by the strong hand of S&d, to whom as Ameer, and lieutenant of the supreme Ameer, the Moslems were bound to yield implicit obedience. Excepting raids and reconnoitring expeditions nothing was attempted. Some of these, however, were sufficiently daring and exciting. On one occasion, Toleiha, the quondam, prophet, entered by night the enemy's camp alone, and cutting the ropes of a tent, carried off three horses. Hotly pursued, he slew his pursuers one after another, excepting the last; who, seized by Toleiha single-handed, andjcarried off a prisoner, embraced Islam, and fought ever after faithfully by his captor's side.' As the enemy drew near, the Moslem host lay couched like the tiger in its lair, ready for the fatal spring. The contending armies being now face to face, Eustem had no longer excuse for putting off the decisive day. On the morning after his arrival he rode along the river bank to reconnoitre ; and, standing on an eminence by the bridge, sent for Zohra, who with the foremost column was guarding the passage. A colloquy ensued ; and Sdd consented that an embassy proceeding to the Persian camp, should there set forth his demands. Three envoys, one after another, ' Those raids and expeditions are narrated at a length'altogether incom- mensurate with their importance— excepting that overytlung connootod with the impending battle is invested by tradition with unusual signiflcanco. A.H. XIV. RUSTEM CROSSES THE RIVER BY A DAM. 165 repaired to Eustem. All held the same language : Islam, Tribute, or the Sword. The Persian, now contemptuous in his abuse, now cowering under the fierce threats of the envoys, and scared (as we are to believe) by his dreams and auguries, at last demanded time to consider. Three days' grace, they replied, was the limit of delay which their Prophet allowed for choice ; and that was given.' When the term was over, Eustem (as was common in Eustem that day) sent to inquire whether he or they should cross the dam over river for battle. Strongly pitched, his rear resting on the *® "^"' trench of Sapor, flanked by Codeis and by a morass, and with the river in front, Sdd had no thought of moving ; and he bade the Persian cross as best he might. Eustem ad- vanced, but passage was denied. All n^ght the Arabs watched the bridge. But Eustem had another scheme ; he meant to cross the river by a dam. During the night his myrmidons cast fascines and earth into the channel, and the morning light discovered a causeway over which it was possible to pass. As soon as it was day, Eustem, clad in helmet and double and cross 69 suit of mail, leaped gaily, as it would seem, upon his horse. ' By the morrow we shall have beaten them small,' he cried.' But apart with his familiars he confessed that celestial omens were against him. And, indeed, previous mishaps, and the brave bearing of the Arab chiefs, were sufficient — astrology apart — to inspire grave forebodings. Crossing the dam un- opposed, he marshalled his great host on the western bank, ' The three envoys were Eibia, Hodzeifu, and Moghira. The colloquies are much in the same style as those at the court of Med&in — long addresses, and rather tiresome. Bustem is represented at one time as inclining to Islam, and held back only by the taunts of his ofScors from embracing it ; at another, threatening the Arabs with contemptuous denunciations. Much is drawn evidently from the imagination of the traditionists. ' ' If the Lord will,' added one of his followers. ' Whether He will or not,' said Eustem. Affecting to speak contemptuously of the Arabs, he said : ' It is going, I fear, to be a year of monkeys. The fox barks when the lion is dead ; ' meaning that in the time of Chosroes the Arabs would not have dared to invade Persia. Presh dreams and omens of a portentous kind now multi- plied upon him. 166 OMAR. Slid dis- abled by illness, marshals the army from the lamparts of Codeis. with the centre facing the fortress of Codeis. There were thirty war elephants in the iield ; eighteen were posted with the centre, and the remainder under Jalenus and Firuzan with the wings.' A canopy covering a golden throne was pitched for Eiistem by the river side ; and, seated there, he watched the issue of the day. Messengers posted within earshot of one another the whole way from the battle-field to Medain, shouted continually the latest news, and kept Yezdegird informed of all that passed. As the Persians began to cross, the advanced guard of the Arabs fell back on Codeis, beneath which the main body was drawn up. On the rampart of the fortress, S&d, disabled by blains and boils, lay stretched upon a litter; from whence casting down his orders inscribed on scraps of paper, he guided thus the movements of the army. The troops, imused to see their leader, at such a moment, in a place of safety, murmured ; and verses lampooning him were soon in the mouth of everyone. That he, the archer of renown, and the ' first to shed blood in Islam,' should be thus aspersed was insupportable, and Sdd accordingly had the ringleaders seized and imprisoned in the fortress. He then descended, and discovered to the troops the grievous malady which rendered it impossible for him even to sit upright, much less to mount his horse. They accepted his excuse ; for no man could doubt his bravery ; but still a certain feeling of dis- content survived.^ Kesuming his recumbent posture, he ' There were, besides, the riding elephants of the court and nobles. These must all have been imported from India. The elephant does not appear to have been used by the Assyrians in war. It only appears in their mural representations as a rarity, and under peaceful associations. The names of the other leaders were Dzul H(ljib (or Bahm4n Jadoweih), Mehr&n, Hormuzan, and BendzowAn. 2 The squib did not die out (as we shall see below), but assumed a perma- nent form, as in this couplet : — Wo fought patiently until the Lord vouchsafed ub victory, While SAU WftS sate within the walls of O&deslya ; And wo returned to our homes, flnding many a widow there ; But among the women of SAd tlioro was not any widow found. A.H. xiT. BATTLE OF CADESIYA. FIRST DAY. 167 harangued the army from the battlements, and then he sent his chief captains, with the orators and poets that accom- panied his force, along the ranks to rouse their martial spirit. At the head of every column, as a preparation for the SmaJehdd battle, was recited the Sura Jehad, with the stirring story before the of the thousand angels that fought on the Prophet's side at "•""7' Bedr, and such hortatory texts as these : — ' Stir up the Faithful unto battle. If there be twenty steadfast among you, they shall put to flight two hundred of the Unbelievers, anA a hundred shall put to flight a thousand. Victory Cometh frmn the Lord alone; He is -mighty and wise. I xoill'cast terror into the hearts of the Infidels. Strike off their heads, and their fingers' ends. Beware that ye turn not your bach in battle. Verily he that turneth his back shall draiu down upon him the wrath of God. His abode shall be Hell-fire ; an evil journey thither.' ' The mention of the great day of ' Decision ' at Bedr, with the Divine com- mand to fight, never failed to fire the souls of the Moslem host. And here we are told that upon the recital * the heart of the people was refreshed, and their eyes lightened, and they felt the Tranquillity that foUoweth thereupon.' The word was then passed round. Till the midday Battle op prayer, no one should stir. The Ameer would give the first „ „ ' ^ -^ ' , . . ° Ramadh4n signal by proclaiming the Takbir, Great is the Lord ! and the a.h. XIV. whole host would then take up the shout from him. At the j^.^. 635. ' second and third Takbir, they were to gird their weapons on, I. Day, and make ready their horses for action. At the fourth, the ArmAth.' ' Sura viii., entitled An/dl, or ' The Spoils,' is called also ' Sura Jehdd.' It is a long chapter, of seventy-eight verses. On ordinary occasions only suit- able portions 'were recited. Here, apparently, the entire Sura was read. Two other Snras— Victory (xlviii.) and She who is tried (Ix.) — are also used before battle, as containing warlike passages ; and the practice is kept up in Moslem campaigns to the present day. * The battle lasted three days, and each day. It will be observed, had a different name. The first, Arm&th ; the second, Aghwath (alluding, as some think, to the succour brought that day by the Syrian contingent) ; the third, 168 OMAR. CHAP. XVI. ranks were to rush in one body forward with the battle-cry,. Our help is from the Lord ! The order was deranged by the enemy, who, hearing the shouts, advanced upon the third Takbir ; whereupon several warriors from the Moslem front stepped forward, and challenging the enemy to single combat, did prodigies of valour. We are reminded of the similar feats at Bedr ; only the spoil, stripped from the fallen champions here, was rich beyond comparison. Thus, Amr ibn ]\Iadekerib carried off triumphantly the bracelets and jewelled girdle of a princely victim. Grhalib, of the Beni Asad, advanced, shouting gaily — The maid, with hanging tresses, Milk-white breast and fingers tapering. Knows that when the battle waxetli hot, I am he that lays the warriors low. Singing thus, he closed with liormuz, ' a prince of the Gate,' and, spoiling him of his armour, bore him, along with his diadem, a captive to S5,d. Asim, leader of the Beni Temim, singing a like war-song, pursued his adversary right into the enemy's ranks; there he seized a mule-driver, and carried him off with his laden beast to the Moslem lines ; it was the king's baker with a load of his choicest viands. More remarkable still is the story of Abu Mihjan the Thackif- ite. He was a ringleader in the detraction of S.ld, and his offence was aggravated by drunkenness. Bound as a prisoner in the fort, under charge of Selma, he was seized by an irrepressible ardour to join the battle. At his earnest en- treaty, and under pledge of an early return, she set him free, and mounted him on her husband's white mare. An unknown figure, he dashed in circuits, now into and now around the enemy's host, performing marvels of bravery. GHmds ; the final night, HaHr (noise or clangour). The last is the only name which clearly has a meaning, as Tve shall see. The others may have been taken from names of places. See C. do I'erccval, vol. iii. p. 484. Gibbon (oh. li.), ignoring the first day, translates the other three as signifying Succour, Concussion, and Barking. A.H. XIV. BATTLE OF CADESIYA. ATTACK OF THE ELEPHANTS. 169 Some thought it might be the chief of the Syrian contingent, expected that day. Others opined that it was Al Khizr, precursor of the angelic band. But Sdd said, ' If it were not that Abu Slihjan is safe in durance under Sehna's care, I would take an oath that it were he, and the mare my own.' According to promise, the hero, satisfied with his exploits, returned to Selma, who reimposed his fetters as before, securing, shortly after, his release.' But now the elephants bore down upon the Bedouin lines. The brunt of the onset fell upon the Beni Bajila. The horrid sight of huge beasts swaying to and fro, — 'the howdas, manned with warriors and banners, like unto moving castles,' — affrighted the Arab horses, and they broke away in terror. At Sad's command the Beni Asad diverted the attack upon themselves ; but in the heroic act th^ left four hundred dead upon the field. Then the elephants att-acked the wings, spreading consterna- tion all around ; and the enemy, profiting by the confusion, pressed forward. The position was now critical; and Sad,- as a last resource, bade Asim to rid them from the danger at whatever cost. At once that gallant chief chose from the Beni Temim a band of archers and of agile skirmishers, who, drawing near, picked off the riders one by one, and boldly cut the girths. The howdas fell, and the great beasts, with none to guide them, fled. Thus reUeved, the Arabs regained their ground. But the shades of darkness were falling, and both armies retired for the night. The Moslem force was downcast. The uncertain issue Sid up- added point to the invectives of Sad's accusers, and, what was his wife. ' Abu Mihjan confessed to Selma that in his cups ho hnd been singing these verses : — Bury me when I die by the roots of the vine ; The moisture thereof will distil into my bones ; Bury me not in the open plain, for then I much fear That no more again shall 1 taste the flavour of the grape. But he swore to her that he would not again indulge in drinking, nor in abuse of the Ameer. And Selma, explaining this to Sad, obtained his release, so that he joined his comrades on the last great day of battle. 170 OMAR. CHAP. XVI. still harder for him to bear, the reproaches of Selma. As during the day, seated by her lord, they watched the lines swaying in deadly conflict to and fro, she exclaimed bitterly, ' for an hour of Mothanna ! Alas, alas, there is no Mothanna to-day!' Stung by the taunt, Sdd struck her on the face, and pointing to Asim and his band, said, 'What of Mothanna ? Is he to be compared with these ? ' ' Jealousy and cowardice!' cried the high-spirited dame, faithful to her first husband's memory. ' Not so, by any means,' said Sad somewhat softened ; ' I swear that no man will this day excuse me if thou dost not, who seest in what plight I lie.' The people sided with the lady ; but (tradition adds) S&d was no coward, and he lived the contumely down. II. Day, The morning was occupied with the wounded and the Jghwdtk dead ; and the day was advanced before fighting was re- sumed. Just then the first column of the Syrian contingent came in view. It was led by Cacaa, a host in himself, who ' hurried forward with a thousand men, leaving Hashim to bring up the main body of five thousand more, the following day. By a skilful disposition Cacaa magnified his force, in the eyes both of friend and foe. He arranged his men in bands of a hundred, each following at a little distance behind the other. Advancing, he saluted S&d and his comrades, and bade them joy of the coming help. Then calling upon the rest to follow, he at once rode forth to defy the enemy. Dzul Hajib, the hero of the Bridge, accepted the challenge. Cacaa recognised his foe ; and crying out, ' Now will I avenge Abu Obeid and those that perished at the Bridge,' rushed on his man and cut him lifeless to the ground. As each of Cacaa's squadrons came up, it charged with all the appearance of a fresh and independent column across the plain in sight of both armies, shouting the Takbir, which was answered by the same ringing cheer, Allah Akbar, from the Moslem line. The spirits of the Arabs rose, and they forgot the disasters of yesterday. Equally the heart of the Persians sank. These A.H. xiT. BATTLE OF CADESIYA. SECOND AND THIRD DAYS. 171 saw their heroes slain, one after another," at the hands of Cacaa and his fellows.' They had no elephants this day, for their gear was not yet repaired. Pressed on all sides, their horse gave way, and Kustem was only saved by a desperate rally. The Persian infantry, however, stood their ground, and the day closed with the issue still trembling in the balance. The fighting was severe and the carnage great. Two thousand Moslems lay dead or wounded on the field, and ten thousand Persians. All night through the Arabs kept shouting the names and lineage of their several tribes. There was shouting, too, in the Persian camp. And so, encouraging themselves, each side awaited the final struggle.* On the third morning, the army was again engaged in m. Day, the mournful task of removing their fallen comrades from e/if^as. the field. The space of a mile between the two lines was Burial of strewn with them. The wounded were made over to the women to nurse, if perchance they might survive — or rather, in the language of Islam — 'until the Lord should decide whether to grant, or to withhold from them, the crown of martyrdom.' The dead were borne to a valley in the rear towards Odzeib, where the women and children hastily dug graves for them in the sandy soil. The wounded, too, were carried to the rear. For the suffering sick it was a weary passage under the burning sun. A solitary palm-tree stood on the way, and under its welcome shade they were laid for a moment as they passed by. Its memory is consecrated in such plaintive verse as this : Hail to the grateful palm that waves between Cadesiya and Odzeib. By thy side are the wild sprigs of camomile and hyssop. May dew and shower water thy leaves beyond all otheis. Let there never want a palm-tree in thy scorching plain I ' CacAa is said to have dressed up a troop of camels with trappings, &c., resembling those of elephants, and so endeavoured to affright the Persian cavalry. But it reads like a story. ' Sad felt satisfied and assured, so long as this shouting of genealogies 172 OMAR. CHAP. xyi. Fighting resumed. Arrival of Syrian troops. A day and a night of unceasing conflict were still before the combatants. The spirit of the Persians, whose dead lay unburied on the field, flagged at the disasters of the preceding day. But much was looked for from the elephants, which, now refitted, appeared anew upon the field, each protected by a company of horse and foot. The battle was about to open, when suddenly Hashim came up with the main body of the Syrian troops. Sweeping across the plain, he charged right into the enemy, pierced their ranks, and having reached the river bank, turned and rode triumphantly back, amidst shouts of welcome. The fighting was again severe, and the day balanced by alternate victory and repulse. Yezdegird, alive to the crisis, sent his own bodyguard into the field. The elephants were the terror of the Arabs, and again threatened to paralyse their efforts. In this emer- gency, S3,d had recourse to Cacaa, who was achieving marvels, and had already slain thirty Persians in single The ele- combat ; so that the annalists gratefully acknowledge, ' if toflielit^^ it had not been for what the Lord put it into the heart of Cacaa to do, we had siirely in that great battle been discomfited.' ' SAd learned from some Persian refugees that the eye and trunk were the only vulnerable parts of the elephant : ' Aim at these,' he said, ' and we shall be rid of this calamity.' So Cacaa took his brother Asim, and a band of followers as a forlorn hope, and issued on the perilous went on ainong his men, that all was right ; and desired that his sleep should not be disturbed during the night unless it ceased. What kind of shouting the Persians' was is not stated. ' So tradition says ; but it seems a piece of extravagance that thirty Per- sians should come forward, one after another, to be thus cut down. CacAa is the great hero of OMestya whom tradition delights to honour. He was fearful lest Hftshim should not arrive in time. So, to keep up the spirits of the Moslems, he repeated the tactics of the previous day. During the night he led his thousand men back a little way on the Syrian road, and in the morning appeared as before, company after company, as if they had been fresh reinforcements. The last had just come in, when Hishim himself appeared in sight with his 5,000. But tliere is a tendency to fiction throughout as respects Cacila. A.H. XIV. BATTLE OF CADESIYA. NIGHT OF CLANGOUK. 173 undertaking. There were two great elephants, the leaders of the herd. Dismounting, they boldly advanced towards these, and into the eye of one, the ' great White elephant,' Cacaa succeeded in thrusting his lance. Smarting at the pain, it shook fearfully its head, threw the mahout, and swaying its trunk with great force, hurled Cacaa to a distance. The other fared still worse, for they pierced both its eyes, and slashed its trunk. Uttering a shrill scream of agony, blinded and maddened, it darted forward on the Arab ranks. Shouts and lances drove it back upon the Persians. And so they kept it rushing wildly to and fro between the armies. At last, followed by the other elephants, it charged right into the Persian Une ; and so the whole herd of huge animals, — their trunks raised aloft, trumpeting as they rushed by, and trampling all before them, — plunged into the river and disappeared on the farther shore. For the moment the din of war was hushed as both armies gazed transfixed at the portentous spectacle. But soon the battle was resumed, and they fought on till evening, when darkness again closed on the combatants with the issue still in doubt. The third night brought rest to neither side. It was a The struggle for life. At first there was a pause, as the light cifngom. faded away ; and S&d, fearing lest the vast host should over- lap his rear, sent Amr and Toleiha with parties to watch the lower fords. There had as yet been hardly time for even mo- mentary repose when, early in the night, it occurred to some of the Arab leaders to call out their tribes with the view of harassing the enemy. The movement, made at the first with- out Sad's cognisance, drew on a general engagement in the dark. The screams of the combatants and din of arms made TJie Night of Clangour, as it is called, without parallel in the annals of Islam. It could only be compared to * the clang of a blacksmith's forge.' SS-d betook himself to prayer, for no sure tidings reached him all night through.' Morning ' The first, thing, we are told, that gave him assurance was the sound of 174 OMAR. CHAP. XVI. The Per- sians dis- comfited and Rus- tem siain. Destruc- tion of the Persian host. broke on the two hosts, weary but still engaged in equal combat. Then arose Caeaa and said that one more vigorous charge would surely bring the decisive turn, 'for victory ever foUoweth him that persevereth to the end.' For four- and-twenty hours the troops had maintained the struggle without closing an eye. Yet now the Moslems issued with freshness and alacrity to a new attack. The Persian wings began to waver. Then a fierce onslaught on their centre shook the host : it opened and uncovered the banlc on which was pitched the throne of Eustem. A tempestuous wind arose ; and the canopy, no longer guarded, was blown into the river. The wretched prince had barely time, before his enemies were upon him, to fly and crouch beneath a mule laden with treasure. The chance blow of a passer-by brought down the pack and crushed the prince's back. He crawled to the bank and cast himself into the river ; but not before he was recognised by a soldier, who drew him out and slew him, and then, mounting his throne, loudly proclaimed his end.' No sooner was their leader slain, than the rout and slaughter of the Persian host began. Firuzan and Hor- muzan succeeded in passing their columns over the dam, and making good their flight before their pursuers could cross the bridge. Jalenus, standing by the mound, ex- horted his men to follow ; but the dam (perhaps to secure the Arabs vaingloriously reciting their genealogies, as they had done the niglit lieforo. Then, towards morning, Cacfta was heard shouting — Wo bavc Hliiin a wholo host, and more, Singly, and io fours and fives, (We were like blaolc serpents in the manes of lions) Until, as they fell, I called out lustily, The Lard is my Lord I whiles I had to keep my guard all round. Whereupon Sad Imew that the attack was going on favourably. ' Another account is that, on the approach of the Moslems, Eustem shot an arrow, whicli transfixed the foot of HiMl (the fortunate captor) to his stirrup ; whereupon HiUl rushed forward and despatched him. Gibbon's version is very dilferent from either. A.H. XIT. BATTLE OF CADESIYA. DEFEAT OF PERSIANS. 175 retreat) had been already cut, and was soon swept away, and with it a multitude into the stream.' To the right and to the left, up the river bank and down, the Mussulmans chased the fugitives relentlessly. Jalenus, vainly endea- vouring to rally his men, was slain, and his body rifled of its jewelled spoil. The plain, far and wide, was strewn with dead bodies. The fugitive multitude, hunted even into the fens and marshes, were everywhere put mercilessly to the sword. But the army was too exhausted to cai-ry the pursuit to any great distance beyond the river. The Mussulman loss far exceeded that of any previous Moslem engagement. In the final conflict 6,000 fell, besides 2,500 in the two days before. No sooner was the battle ended, than the women and cliildren, carrying pitchers of water, and armed with clubs, on a double mission of mercy and of vengeance, spread themselves over the field. Every fallen Mussulman, still warm and breathing, they gently raised and wetted his lips with water. But towards the wounded Wounded ^^flrfti ATI ^ Persians they knew no mercy ; for them they had another despatched! errand ; raising their clubs they gave to them the coup de and^"""^'* grace. Thus had Islam extinguished the sentiment of pity, diildi-en. and, against nature, implanted in the breasts of the gentler sex, and even of little children, the spirit of fierce and cold- blooded cruelty.^ ' The Hindia (which answers to tlie Atick or Bidacla) is described by Geary as flowing swiftly, sixty yards broad, and in the full season eight or nine feet deep, with bants from ten to twenty feet in height. ' This is on the authority of one present : — ' We followed our husbauds,' she relates, ' and no sooner was the Persian army routed than we (the women) tucked up our garments, seized clubs in our hands, and issued forth to the field of bottle, which was strewn with the dead. Every Moslem still alive we raised up, and gave drink to ; and every wounded heathen we despatclied. And the cliildren followed us, and wore helpers witli us in this service.* {Taiari, iii. p. 73.) A cliaiactoristio incident is moutioncd. Among tlie slain was the Muedzzin of the army. There was a contention as to who should succeed to this post of honour. It came near to blows and bloodshed, when Sod interposed, and settled the matter by his authority. 176 OMAR. CHAP. XVI. The vast Like the loss of life, so also the spoil for the survivors ''°°^y- ^as great beyond all parallel, both in its amount and costli- ness. Each soldier had six thousand dirhems, besides special gifts for the veterans and for such as had shown extraordinary valour. The jewels stripped from Rustem's body were worth 70,000 pieces, although the tiara, most costly portion of his dress, had been washed away. The great banner of the empire was captured on the field. It was made of panthers' skins, but so richly garnished with gems as to be valued at 100,000 pieces.' The prize taken by Zohra from the person of Jalenus was so costly, that S&d, doubting whether it might not be altogether too great for one person, applied to Omar for advice. The Caliph chided him in reply. ' Dost thou grudge the spoil to such a one as Zohra,' he wrote, ' after all that he hath wrought, and in view of all the fighting yet to come ? Thou wilt break his heart thus. Give him the whole, and over and above add a special gift of 500 pieces.' Thus did the needy Arabs revel in the treasures of the East, the costliness of which almost exceeded their power to comprehend. Decisive For the enemy, the defeat was crushing, and decisive of of the the nation's fate. ' It was little more than thirty months victory. since Khalid had set foot upon Irac, and already that empire, which fifteen years before had humbled the Eoman arms, had ravaged Syria, and encamped triumphantly on the Bosphorus, was crumbling under the blows of an enemy whose strength never exceeded thirty or forty thousand Arabs rudely armed. The battle of Cadesiya reveals the secret. On one side there was but a lukewarm, servile following ; on the other, an indomitable spirit that nerved every heart and arm, and ' The captor received 30,000. Gibhon, resting on the authority of D'Herbelot, tells us: — 'The standard of the monarchy was overthrown and captured on the field — a leathern apron of a blacksmith who, in ancient times, had arisen, the deliverer of Persia ; but this badge of heroic poverty was dis- guised and almost concealed by a profusion of precious gems.' Our authorities simply describe it as made of panthers' skins, richly jewelled. A.H. xiT. OMAR RECEIVES TIDINGS OF THE VICTORY. 177 after long weary hours of fighting enabled the Moslems to deliver the final and decisive charge. The result was, that the vast host, on which the last efforts of the empire had been spent, was totally discomfited ; and, although broken columns escaped across the river, the military power of the empiie never again gathered itself into formidable shape. The country far and wide was terror-struck. An important though indirect effect was that the Bedouin tribes on the Euphrates hesitated no longer. Many of them, though Christian, had fought on the Moslem side. Some of these now came to Sdd and said : ' The tribes which at the first embraced Islam were wiser than we. Now that Eustem hath been slain, all will accept the new beUef.' So there came over many tribes in a body and made profession of the faith. The battle had been so long impending, and the prepara- Ti(lin;;s tions of the empire on so grand a scale, that the issue was ceivnii i.y watched all over the country, 'from Odzeib away south to '""'" Aden, and from Obolla across to Jerusalem,' as that which would decide the fate of Islam.' The Caliph used to issue forth alone from the gates of Medina early in the morning, if perchance he might meet some messenger from the field of battle. At last a courier arrived outside the city, who to Omar's question replied shortly, ' The Lord hath discomfited the Persian host.' Unrecognised, Omar followed the camel- rider on foot, and gleaned from him the outline of the great battle. Entering Medina, tlie people crowded round the Caliph, and, saluting, wished him joy of the triumph. The courier, abashed, cried out, ' Commander of the Faithful, why didst thou not tell me ?' ' It is well, my brother,' was the Caliph's simple answer. Such was the unpretending mien of one who at that moment was greater than either the Kaiser or the Chosroes. ' The vast import of the battle is signified by the tradition that the tidings of the victory were carried by the Genii to distant parts, long before it was possible for any human messenger to reach. N 178 OMAR. CHAP. xvir. CHAPTER XVII. Sad re- occupies Hira, end of A.II.XIV. Januiiry, A.I). 636. Tlie I'ur- siiiu'i driven across the plain to Meddin, and the Siiwid re- occupied. EVENTS FOLLOWING THE BATTLE OF CADESIYA —CAPTURE OF MEDAIN. A.H. XV., XVI. A.D. 636-7. Affer his victory, Sad, by desire of the CaUpb, paused for a little on the field of Cadesiya, and allowed the weary troops to rest. Fragments of the great Persian host escaped, broken and dispersed, in the direction of the ruins of Babylon, and rallied there, on the right bank of the Euphrates. After two months' repose, Sdd, now recovered from his sick- ness, advanced to attack them. One or two short marches brought him to Hira. It was the third time the imfor- tunate city had been taken and retaken. The punishment for this its last helpless defection from the Moslem cause, was the doubling of its tribute. Soon supplanted by Kufa, at a few miles' distance, the' once royal city speedily dwindled into a common village. But the neighbouring palace of Khawamac, the beautiful residence of the Lakh- mite princes, was left standing on the lake of Najaf, and was sometimes visited, as a country seat, by the Caliphs in after days. As the Moslems advanced, the Persian troops made a stand, first at Birs Nimrud,' and then, recrossing the Eu- phrates, under the great mound of Babylon. Driven from thence with loss, they fell back upon the Tigris. SS,d then pitched a standing camp at Babylon, and, himself remaining • Written Sura. There is a town Biirsa on the Euphrates, four leaguoH bolow Babylon ; but I take it that the ruin (Towiir of liabcl) is meant, which lay in the way. A.H. XT. ADVANCE UPON MEDAIN. 179 there, sent forwaj-d his lieutenants, Hashim and Zohra. These, ah. XV. in a series of minor but decisive engagementj, cleared the plain of Dura, here about fifty miles broad, from the Euphrates to the Tigris.' The territorial chiefs from all sides came in, tendering their allegiance, some as converts, some as tri- butaries ; and the Arabs again became undisputed masters of the whole Sawad, with the channels and canals intersecting it. Several months thus passed ; and at last, in the summer of A.D. 636, SM found himself able, now with the full consent of Omar, to make an advance upon Medain.'' This royal city of Persia was built, as we have seen, on The both banks of the Tigris, at a sharp and double bend of the 2J^\*"er river, fifteen miles below the modern Baghdad. Seleucia, '^ ^^- on the right bank, was the original seat of the Alexandrian conquerors. On the opposite shore had grown up Gtesiphon, the winter residence of the Persian monarchs. The com- bined city had now for ages superseded Babylon as the capital of Chaldsea. Though repeatedly taken by the Romans, it was now great and prosperous, but helplessly torn by intrigue and enervated by luxury. The main quarter, with its royal palaces, was on the eastern side, where the noble arch, the Tak i Eesra, still arrests the traveller's eye as he floats down the Tigris.^ On the nearer side was the suburb, Bahar Sair ; * _ and towards it, as immediately acces- ' In Uioso ongiigoments, Sftra, Kithii, and SaMt, towns situated on or iiPHr tho Tigris, were either taken, or submitted themselves to the Moslem arnis. While encamped at Babylon, Sad made a pilgrimage to the shrine {Majlis) of Abraham. ^ Meddin signifies ' Cities.' It is said to have comprised a cluster of seven towns, but it is ordinarily taken to designate the twin cities of Seleucia and Gtesiphon. The double bend of the Tigris, in the form of the upper part of tho letter S (with the convex side to the west), inclosps a considerable penin- sula on the eastern bank, nnd on this stands the T4k i Kesra. ' Geary, in the account of his recent journey, says it is fast falling into decay ; but ' the arch unequalled in the world ' is still nearly entire. Built of brick, it has a fa9ade 450 long and 160 deep, and the niches and cornices ano mouldings still remain. The vaulted areh is nearly 100 feet high, with a span of 80 feet. ' It is also called Nahr Shir, and is describei as beyond (i.e. to the east of) N 2 180 OMAR. Sad be- fiioges the western sible to attack, Sad now directed his inarch. Buran, the queen-mother, animated by the ancient spirit of the Sassanides, and swearing with a great oath that so long as the dynasty survived, the empire was invincible, herself took the field, with an army commanded by a veteran general, * the lion of Chosroes.' She was utterly discomfited, and her champion slain by the hand of Hashim. When he came to announce the victory, his cousin S4d kissed Hashim's fore- head, in token of approval and delight ; and Hashim kissed the feet of Sad. Sdd then marched forward ; and, in reference to the vainglorious boast of the vanquished princess, he publicly suburb of recited this passage from the Goran : — Medain. -^ ° A^rx^v' ^'^^ y® "°*- ^"^^^^ aforetime that ye would never pass away 1 AD. 636. Yet ye inhabited the dwellings of a people that dealt unjustly by their own souls ; and ye saw how We dealt with them ; for Wo made them a warning and example unto you.' In this spirit, they came upon the bend of the river ; and lo ! the famous Iwan, or palace, with its great hall of white marble, stood close before them on the opposite shore. ' Good heavens ! ' exclaimed Sad, dazzled at the sight ; * Allah akhar ! What is this but the White Palace of Chosroes ! Now hath the Lord fulfilled the promise which He made unto His Prophet.' And each company shouted, Allah akhar! ' Great is the Lord ! ' as it came up and gazed, wondering, at the great white building, almost within their grasp. But the city was too strong to storm, and S5,d sat down before it. Catapults and testudos were brought up, but they made no impression on the massive ramparts of sunburnt brick. The besieged issued forth in frequent sallies ; and the siege is mentioned as the last occasion on SabAt. In the eiirlior campaiRns, this natno of Nahr SMr frequently occurs, as the point at which the purtiiit of tlie victorious columns was stopped by the Persian outposts. ' Sura xiv. v. 44. WESTERN SUBURB OF MEDAIN TAKEN. 181 which the warriors of Persia adventured themselves in single combat with the Arabs. The investment was so strict that the inhabitants were reduced to great straits. The army lay for several months before the city.* But it was not inactive in other directions ; for bands were despatched throughout Lower Mesopotamia, wherever the great land- holders failed to tender their submission. These ravaged the country between the two rivers, and brought in multi- tudes of prisoners ; but, by Omar's command, they were dismissed peaceably to their homes.^ Thus, all Mesopo- tamia, from Tekrit downwards, and from the Tigris west- ward to the Syrian desert, was brought entirely and con- clusively under the sway of Islam. The siege at last pressed so heavily on the western Persians quarter, that the king sent a messenger, proposing terms. ^eTtern" l-[e would give up Mesopotamia and all beyond the Tigris, ^"''"^''^... if they would leave him undisturbed on the eastern side. a.h. xv.' The offer was met by an indignant refusal.' Not long after, ^.d, e^'j] ' Among the single combats,