CORNELL university libr:ary GIFT OF Ife-s. and Mr, Wm, F.E, Gurllb 3 1924 028 449 332 oim..» 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/cu31924028449332 HISTORY OF THE MOORS IN SPAIN. CONCISE HISTORY OF THE MOORS IN SPAIN. PROM THEIR INVASION OP THAT KINGDOM TO THEIR PINAL EXPULSION PROM IT. By THOMAS BOITRKE, Esq. LONDON: PRINTED FOR F., C, AND J. RIVINGTON, 62 ST. PAUL'S CHURCH- YARD, AND J. HATCHARD, 190 PICCAPIIXY. ; 1811. CONTESf TS, •.' '-^ BOOK THE FIRST. Fbom thr Conquesjs of the Arabs, jo the Estabusjk^e^t of the Ommud^an Caliphs at Cordova.— Comprizing from the End OF THE Sixth "to the MmDtEop the Eighth Century. ^ CHAP. ■ I. — Cfharacter of the Arabs. — Mahomet and Ms ' Doctrines and Successes ------_. Page 3 CHAP. II. — Further Progress^ of the^ Musulman Arms under the Successors of , Mahomet - 11 CHAP. III. — Of Spain, and the Invasion of that King- dom hy the Moors . - - - ^ ...,.- . 19 CHAP. IV. — Further Progress of the Moors in Spain - 28 CHAP. V. — Of the Spaatiards^in tlie A^uries. — Don Pelagio. — Don Alphonso 33 CH AP. . VI.— :0/l Eudes, Duke of Aquitmih-^Manm^.— Ahdelzamin ",""""" ^ Appendix, to ihe. First Book ----,.---- 47 CONTENTS. BOOK THE SECOND.. Comprizing the Middle of the Eighth to the Eleventh Century. - CHAP. I. — Of the Eastern Caliphs. — ITie Alides, the Ommiades, Abassides, and Fatimites in Egypt - - 61 CHAP. II. — Abdelzamin the First. — Haccham. — Abdelozis '" kl Haccham -------'•----- 68 CHAP. HI. — Reign of Abdelzamin the Second - - - - 76 CHAP. IV, — Cordova, under Abdelzamin the Third - - 83 CHAP. V. — Reign of Hakham. — Decline of Cordova. — End of the Empire of the Caliphs of the West - - 93 Appendix to the Second Book 103 BOOK THE THIRD. Prom the Commencement of the Eleventh to the Middle OF THE Fourteenth Century. CHAP. I. — Cdnduct'of the Christian Princes in Spain. — Of Almamim the Moor - * - '•• 117 CHAP. II. — Fall of Bennabad. — Confederation of Chris- ' iian Princes -- --... J3i CONTENTS. CHAP. 111. — Distraeiidns in Africa. — Of Abehaoar and 'J^erroes --- -..-,_- 136 CHAP. IV. — Mahomet al Nazir. — Confederacy of the Christian Powers. — Battle of Tolosa.^— Moorish Tactics ,.. 141 CHAP. V. — Death of Mahomet. — Empire of Morocco divided. — State of the Moorish Power in. Spain^ after the Battle of Toloza.—> James the First of Arragon and Ferdinand of Castile ---------150 Appendix to the Third Book --1S9 BOOK THE FOURTH. "Prom the Middle of the Fockteenth CeNtcky to the total ^xpumion of the moors from spain. CHAP? I.' — Origin of the Kingdom of Grenada - - - 169 CHAP.' II. — Fall of Seville. — Eevenues and Forces of the Grenadian Sovereigns ---------- 176 CHAP. in. — Alphonso the Sage. — Anecdote of Garcias Gomez -^-_-- 183 CUAP. lY.— Of Alhambra, and Generalise - - - - 187 Gihk¥i^Vr.>iTiiMahomet:vtlie Third.— .Heath ofl ih6: -Hmo - - Infants. — Qarmon first used. — Melancholy State of Europe --------------- 198 (M'APJiWl.-'^^SidtB of the Sciences in Grenada at this - Period. — Gallantry of the Grenadian Moors. — De- scription of their Women --,------- 210 CHAP. Yll.-!^ Expedition ^ Martyn Sarbudas.—'Meigns ofilos^h^ Mahomet the Ninth, and Joseph, the Second 219 CHAP. Vni. — Reign of Muley Hassem.— Marriage of Ferdinand jtnd Isahell^r— Ferdinand' s Embassy^ to Grenada, and Muley Hassem's Reply. — Dissentions in Grenada, and Death of Muley Hassem - - - - 338 CHAP. IX. — Boahdil's Excesses. — Contrast between the Two PoweM.*-iCor^ag'kiiiion in the Spanish Camp. — „ City pf-Smta Fe^foumi^. — Capitulation of Grmada. —R^fiqctions. - - ' - - - -.-,-- - - 238 * Appendix to the^ourtkMook ^ - -^i- -i -r - - - 255 PREFACE. ■f pOM the title of the following Work, the Reader will •perceive, that he is not to expect any thingjike a circumstan- tial detail of the transactions of the Moors in Spain, My object in this concise history, is, merely to do common justice to this extraordinary people. To give such an insight into their laws, customs, manners and exploits as may raise them to just estimation by removing some part of the obloquy tpo often cast upon them by the Spanish Historians. This is attempting as much as our riiaterials will warrant, the charts of this tract of history being mostly so vaguef and inaccu- rately laid down, as to come presented to us at best in " a " shape "jextremely quptionable." The Author^ from whom we have them were either Arabs or Spaniards, and as the intentions of both are obviously to mislead, we are forced* to commit ourselves to them with great caution, and litera% to keep the line in hand to sound as we proceed. b X PREFACE. The Spanish writings, though chiefly but fulsome panegyrics upon particular Sovereigns, are interlarded with wanton invectives against the Moors, and our con6dence is much shaken by the strain of prejudice which obstinately pervades them. If these invectives do not occu^ so frequently as one would expect, we may clearly perceive that they are not withheld from any wish to spare their obnoxious adversa- ries^ but from an apprehension, that, if they bring them too forward the merits of their own nation may be considerably eclipsed, and the credibility of their evidence overturned by facts. But if the Spanish historians are faulty in this respect, it must be owned that the Moors are not exempt from censure on similar grounds. They give glowing descriptions of the victories. of their countrymen, but carefully conceal or qua- lify their defeats, or where neither of these can be done, skip over whole dynasties to avoid mentioning them at all. Hence 'it becomes extremely difficult to develope many parts of their history, or to trac^ the reigns of their different sovereio"ns in any regular order, or with any degree of chronological exact- ness. PREFACE. *i Where materials are thus contradictory or confused, a writer is necessarily obliged to seek out some third standard to which he can refer, and by which their value can be justly appr^ ciated. This is what the Author whom I haye principally followed professes to do, having endeavoured to assay the merits of different histories, by the standard of the national ballads and romances, and by such manuscripts as happily escaped the mercUess clutches of fanaticism, and were till lately to be met with in the Escurial. Upon these principles it is to be hoped that this work, as far as it goes, will be, found tolerably correct, and that our descriptions, however mar- vellous they may sometimes appear, at least have the merit of being strictly consonant with truth. After bringing the Arabs in contact with their brethren of Mauritania, and landing them in Spain, I have comprised the two nations under the general head of Moors. This perhaps may wound the pride of the modern Spaniard, who may think it more honourable for his country to be conquered by one description of people than another. But exclusive that the Moors and the Arabs were once one and the same people, we must admit, not only that a great part of the force ori- b2 xii PREFACE. ginally employed for the reduction of Spain consisted of Mau- ritanian , recruits, but that Mauritania, after the conquest of this country, was the great magazine from which the armies of the invaders were replenished. The two nations readily coalesced when brought together, because they were in fact but tallies from one common stock and corresponded exacts ly in manners, customs, language, and proverbial sayings. Religion was the only point in which they differed, and this among the Moors having degenerated into ^he grossest, super- stition, rendered their principles at best very unsettled, and exposed to the assaults of any regular system that could be brought to bear upon them. They had been left unmolested on this head by different invaders, none of whom, antecedent to the Arabs, made any attempts to enlighten them, and all of whomj if they had made any, would probably have failed for want of the master-key to their confidence. This key the Arabs brought with thf m in their doctrines, which were^exactly adjusted to the genius and temper of their new subjects. Mahomet had been careful to gild over the pill which he intended for his disciples. As he borrowed the best and indeed only pure parts of his pre- PREFACE. xiii cepts from the Sacred Writings, they inculcated of course the soundest principles of moraUty. But lovely and admira- ble as these precepts were, they would probably have failed of effect, if they had not been qualified so far as to conform to the natural voluptuousness of the nation. Thus while he enjoined the practice of the sacred duties of justice, charity, and bro- therly love, the' remunerations held out for the observance of these duties were of a nature wholly sensual — luxuriant gardens abounding with fruits, flowers, springs, and beautiful women ; in short with all those indulgences on which they were known to set the greatest value in this life, and of which they might be most supposed to covet the perpetuity her^fter. It was by thus adapting his doctrines to the turn of his pro- selytes that the Musulman Lawgiver contrived to smooth his way, and establish the power of his successors not only in Arabia, but even other countries equally congenial, or which lay within the vortex of their ambition. If they were checked in one direction they turned aside and spread in another, the checks they occasionally encountered only serving to augment the force of their native impetuosity. Thus though, they xiv PREFACE. attempted jSicUy and even Rome ineffectuSilly, they quickly overran the greater part of India, from whence taking an oppo- site direction, aad spreading along the African coast of the Mediterranean, they got such a firm hold of Spain, as required eight centuries to compel them to relinquish. Had the Musulmans been as dexterous in securing this yaluable acquisition as they were active in making it, who can say what might have been the effect upon the ge- neral destiny of Europe ? But a variety of causes conspired to shake their establishment in this country at the outset. They suffered a considerable body of the unsubdued Goths to escape and fix themselves in the Asturies, and by this over- sight were continilally exposed to the assaults of an active and vigilant enemy, who was quick in detecting their blunders and ever ready to turn them to account. To this oversight of leaving an unsubdued enemy to strengthen himself unmolested, they added another which, though it did credit to their moderation, was not very com- mendable on the score of policy. By permitting the con- quered to retain their laws and their religion, they con- PREFACE. XV tiniied them to a certain degree a distinct and separate people, and as they had all been more or less stript of their possessions, the points thus accorded only served to remind them more effectually of what had been taken away, and thus proved an incessant stimulus to discontent and future in- surrections. The poUcyof the very people to whom they granted these indulgences might have taught them a better lesson, it being a rule with the Goths to have no other laws than their own in all the (countries which they over-ran. Nolu- mus, says the Gothic Code, sive Romanis sive alienis institu- tionibus amplius convexari. But in addition to these oversights the Moors wanted that principle among themselves, which is the very key-stone of all power. In short they wanted union. Scarcely had they landed in Spain before Discord shook her torch among them, and factions sprung up like mushrooms. The Generals became jealous and mistrustful of each other, and instead of watching, as they ought to have done, every movement of an enemy whose wounds were green and smarting, and whose sub- mission at best was very questionable ; e^ch was intent on devising expedients to thwart the plans of his rival, and under- xvi PREFACE. mine his credit by intrigues and misrepresentations at the court of Damascus. These cabals, which tarnished the glory of the Generals, and militated against the interests of the Sovereign, were rendered still more mischievous, and fatal, by the number of petty go- vernments into which Spain, under the new system, had been subdivided. Though these governments were subordinate to one Governor-general, jet his communication with the dif- ferent dependencies was too slow and precarious, to enable him to extend his vigilance equally over all. His power of controul was therefore so far from being adequate to the pur- poses for which it was conferred, that it was often barely com- petent to curb even the ordinary irregularities of his deputies, who, while they squeezed and ground all those over whom they immediately presided. Moors and Christians alike, were almost always at deadly variance, and intent on tearing each other to pieces. But notwithstanding these, and some other radical defects in their policy, it must be admitted to the credit of the Moors, that they not only retained their conquest for a far more exten* PRIiFACB, xvH stve term than either the Romans or Carthaginians, but that Spain under their auspices acquired a degree of splendour ?knd prosperity far beyond any thing she could boast of antece- dently, or even in the later pmods of her history. With the Carthaginians commerce was the great object of pursuit, but their commercial views were chiefly confin^ to the acquisition of the precious metals. They had all the vices of a commercial people without any of their virtues ; their ruling principles were avarice and selfishness^ and as kaiig as. these principles were gratified they were contented, and looked no fiirther. With the Romans, to whom Spain was abandoned srfter the tecond Punic war, commerce seems to have been an object of but secondary consideration. Their traffic, whatever it might be;, originated in conquest, and was made subservient to their ambition. But while they drained the couatry of men to recruit their armies smd money to pay them, they iwip^^ted many substantial benefits in return. They ftmn4ed cities and uaiversitiea, encouraged and diffused the sciences, SkOtJ made many useful regulations which nat only enerease^ i^Ue xviii PREFACE. comforts of the people, but tended materially to their civiliza- tion. It is not necessary to follow minutely the progress of the Visigoths in Spain. Though Euric is generally called the founder of their monarchy ; yet the credit of this establish- ment seems father to be due to Leovigild, since it was not till his reign that the monarchy was compacted by the acquisition of Gallicia, and the greater part of Lusitania, which till then had remained under the government of the Suevi. Full ninety years elapsed, from the death of Euric, before this consolidation of the Gothic power was effected ; con- sequently, reckoning from this period, the Gothic Monarchy, iti its compact state, cannot be allowed a duration of more than one hundred and thirty eight years. But in this period many useful laws were enacted, and various parts of the king- dom considerably improved. Leovigild, we are' told, esta- blished a royial treasury, and regulated the taxes which were tri- butary to it with much wisdom and policy. From the state of the cfbuntry, in his time, we may suppose, that not only agricul- ture was much encouraged, but that commerce kejpt pace with it, since he was able to order the seizure and confiscation of seve- PREFACE. xix ral vessels belonging to the Francs, upon the mere apprehen- sion of a rupture with that people, a measure which he must have had a fleet to enable him to effect. Thus we find that the Gothic monarch thought himself perfectly justifiable in commencing aggressions upon an enemy without any pre- vious declaration of war, and that, in doing this, he did no more than has since been happily imitated, and received the sanction of more modern practice. Several of the laws of the Visigoths were extremely good, and do much credit to the councils by which they were enacted. By these, all persons who aspired to the crown without being of Gothic blood, and having the other requisite pretensions, were declared traitors and punished accordingly. The power of pardoning was vested in the crown ; all grants made in recompence of services were secured ; conspiracies against the state made punishable with confiscation and death; and in capital cases the confronting of evidence was ex- pressly enjoined. These laws evidently bespeak some degree of refinement, and show that the Goths were not alto^ther such barbarians as different writers have endeavoured to repre- sent them^ XX PREFACE. Iti ii61igkm they were Arkhs, aind c<«itin4ied mt\\ till Ricard the Catholic, afid' hfe prifieipal fioMlity, were brought to embrace the (3Tth6'd6± Chrfetian faith. An event which did hot take place till one hundred and twenty-thtee yedfis after the settlettifent of their countrymen 4yexpo8ing4im to dis- closures at once both painful and humilia'eilig, and subgecdnghis credit to be fly-blown at the pleasure of authorized inspectors.. But, with this m©di/6ca*ioB, the tax«s in Grenada were at best d xxvi PREFACE. extremely oppressive, and occasioned frequent and very alarm- ing discontents. The government of the Caliphs on the contrary, vi^here no discontents from these causes prevailed, was a limited monar- chy in which the laws were regulated by the principles of the Alcoran. They were equally binding upon the sovereign as the subject, and being few and simple, such as every" one could easily comprehend. Hence there was no necessity for the employing of authorized pleaders ! The parties pleaded for themselves;, their plieadings were concise and clear, No chicanery was suffered, no useless delays were connived at, n:or. ruinous expences incurred. The plaintiff in law or equity was always sure of compensation where his claims were well founded, and might assert them without the risk of drawing a load of black-letter lumber on his head, or being ruined b/a decision with costs in his favour! Nor was the criminal code more complex than the civil: capital punishments* were rarely inflicted, justice preferring always requitals, and compensations to corporal penalties. Even murder coulci be compounded for with the consent of PREFACE. xxvii kindred ; and, though the power of husbands over their wives, and parents over their children, was absolute and exorbitant, yet it should seem that this power was rarely ever abused. The Moorish jurisprudence, by being thus grafted upon the stock of their religious code, not only tended to simplify all legal processes, but was extremely useful in the ordinary inter- courses of life. For as every Musulman was expected to be well instructed in the sacred tenets of his faith, and indeed to have the greater part of the Alcoran by heart, his memory was a portable abridgment of law, and he was frequently enabled, by a seasonable and apt citation of it, to act upon the fears of an aggressor, and restrain or correct injustice at the outset. Of this we have a striking proof in the following little anec- dote. A poor woman, whose house had been pillaged by the soldiery, threw herself at the feet of the Caliph as he marched at the head of his army, stating her complaint and demanding satisfaction : " Hast thou not," says he to the complainant, " read in the Coran, that when the armies of princes are on " march they plunder and destroy the place's through which " they are obliged to pass?'' " True," replied the woman, « bi%t I have also read in the salme pcred book, that, for dS *' these dcts of violehce and injustice, the houses of prince «i shall in their turns be destroyed." It is needless to say what was the effect o£ tliis able rejoiridCT. The Caliptfs ba|p tery was so completely turned upon himself, that he was glad to comjibund for the ttan^esMoni ordering itistant com- pensation to be made to the compkonant^ -.1 Under their Caliphs the Gordovians were certJiiilly both a, jKippy and an enlightened pfeoplte. They were happy befcausfe they enjoyed the beneficent protection of mild and equal laws, and they became extacemely enlightened by the liberal piatrcWdge afforded to the sciences. Under the Abdelzamins Mdbriilfi Spain might be called the very cradle of the arts, and it is not a little remarkable that leahiing flourished in this kingdom, when its lights were bverlaid and almost extinguished in all the Christian kingdoms of Europe. There were at one pe- riod no fe^er than seventy public hbraries in the different Musttlman cities, and Cordova alone boasted of upwards Of one hundred and fifty authors, independent of others that were dispersed through Murcia, Valencia, and Grenada, and other districts. In medicine, botany, mathematicsj astronomy^ and astrology they cQul^|)oast of many first rate ma&tetB, but thdy PREFACE. xxk were particularly attached to and excelled in music and poetry. Indeed these sister arts had a very absolute influence over the Moors in general ; their airs were soft, tender, and impressive, and the poetry excellent, the people being not less attenjtive to the sense and harmony of the versification, tlian to the sounds by which it was assisted and set off. How could it be other- wise where the poetic rage was so generally disseminated, that Caliphs themselves were composers, and among the most eager candidates for poetic fame and distinction ! It is to be lamented (and this leads me to glance at the tri- umphant adversary before whom these magic scenes have vanished) that so few of the works in the various branches of science, in which they unquestionably excelled, have beeii reserved to our days. But, after the fall of Grenada, the Spaniards were vindictively hostile to Moorish literature, and what even the soldiers spared, the priesthood confederated to destroy. * The trumpet for this rude assault was first sounded by Ximenes, the celebrated cordelier and cardinal. When he wdeied aU the copies of the Alcoran to be destroyed, and XXX PREFACE. committed this order to be executed by a barbarous and illiterate soldiery, he signed the death-warrant of Moorish literature. As the military casuists to whom he committed the execution bf this cruel edict, could neither read nor .write, all the books that came in their way were considered as copies of the Alcoran, and committed indiscriminately to the flames. But what was spared or escaped in this genei^I |>rospription, it became afterwards not only criminal to read but to be known to possess, and that this avenue to inforjmation might be completely barred up, it, was committed to the prf^ident guardianship of the Inquisition. . By this institution, ieaming has been placed in Spain under the ban of proscription, and, with it, the happiest energies of the Spaniards have gradually subsided and died away. It is not with science only that the Inquisition has warised- Its eflforts have been directed with equal attention and vigilance against morals, against justice, and against common sense. It is hardly necessary to adduce proofs upon a point so well ascertained ; ;but as I have touched upon the subject. PREFACE. xxxi I cannot help dilating a little upon the abuses of an institu- tion, which has at all times warred with all the best interests of mankind, though by the bounty of Providence it is now most happily subverted. In the year I696 an investigation into the abuses of this institution having taken place, conformably to an order of Charles the Second, issued immediately after attending an Auto da F6, the fraldlving strong report was made to the King. "In all parts of your Majesty's dominions in which this tri- " bunal has been established," says Don Juan de Ledesma, the reporter, " it has always strenuously laboured to augment " its own powers at the expence of every other jurisdi^ion, as *' if particularly intent on leaving nothing to the royal justice " or to those charged with its administration. There is no " subject, however foreign to the principles of the Institution, " upon which the Inquisitors do not take upon them to " decide, usurping and exercising this power even upon occa- *' sions the most trivial. Every individual, however inde- " pendent of their authority, is treated as an abject vassal, « being subjected not only to their orders, but to their severest xxxii PREFACE. " penalties and persecutions ;— to imprisonrherit, tortiEFes, " death and infamy ! " Nor are these penalties confined only to extraordinary of- " fences. The most triifling slight, the most inadvertent, unin- " tenticpal neglect shewn to aay of its menial servants is " deemed an offence against the holy brotherhood, and punished " accordingly. Nor does the mischief end here : the Inquisi- " tors not only attach extraordinary privilegdfe to tiaemselves " and their own houses, but they extend them to thefhouses of " their dependants and servants, by which these are csonterted « into so many asylums for criminals, who have oiily to fly " thither to be effectually screened from justice, f And it is " further notorious, that, whenever your majesty's judges com- " mence even the most ordinary processes against offenders of " this description, the Inquisition never faUs to screen tiiem " under its extensive wings, and to thunder out the heaviest " denunciations against those whose duty it is to pursue and " bring them to justice." In the above leport a jvariety of facts is stated to shew the abuses committed iby this body, and the necessity there was PREFACE. xxxiii for fixing some bounds to its usurpations. But, notwithstand- ing these statements from the council, the Inquisition was still suffered to range at large and riot in the abuse of its undefined and unlimited powers. But this very enquiry proves the enormous extent of the powers which they claimed and exercised, since the sovereign, as we see, did not dare to pro- ceed, though the enquiry itself shews how much he wished it. Xhis tribunal was, in fact, as formidable to the monarch as to the meanest of his subjects^ and so confident in its own strength as to set both equally at defiance, considering it a matter of total indiflference against what orders in the state its attacks were directed. Of this we have an instance in the treatment of Don Melchior de Macaenas, once minis- ter plenipotentiary from his Catholic Majesty at the court of Breda. This gentleman was charged with no other crime than having endeavoured to ascertain the limits of the Papal au- thority, to prevent it from trenching upon the just prerogatives of the King his master; an undertaking to which, as he was a profound canonist, he was no doubt fully competent. This how* sxxiT PBEFACE. elFer, wi»8 a sin too heimnis to be passed over, and accordingly it ^wakened not only the wrath venture were enemies to liberal and enlightened knowledge, and that saint Augustin was a poor man ! It was so lately as the year 1778, that the persecution of M. 01ayid6 took place. But what shall we say to other pro- xxxviii PREFACE. feedings equally mimical to taste and science, aod still more recent? What must we tlunk of a tribunal which proscribed tile celdsrated History of the Abb6 Raynal, branding those with the appellation of ferahore, both to God and man, .who circulated, or eVen dared to read, this truly ingenious perform-- ance? Permission, indeed for a partial publication of the wmk was finally obtained, but what was then published was an abridgment rather tJian a translation, and the duke de Al- modovar, by whom it was given, forced to deliver it shorn of all its brigbtdst beams,, of its philosophical and profou^est reflections, because they were found to clash too much with ^e sordid pursuits of despotism and superstition. ^t^ a^Ui,.' ... ■ - ^ '"hf^" To the same cause we must impute the failure of the pro- jected translation of the Jrencb Encyclopaedia* This work, under the article, Spain, necessarily contained strictures which TKere thought to reflect too freely upon the Spaiiish^ govern- mfsnt and its bloody coadjutor. The wrath of the Holy Office was immediately rekindled ; tbe perasal; of the work prohibited even to such subscribers as had already obtained their copies, and^ " kof make ai&Hraoee douWe mse," all the impressioBS in ili^ghaiidA of the ageivfc were seized, and &\^ppmss%di to the PREFACi;. xxxin great disappointment of a long list of subscribers, with the grmd Inquisitor at their head. But did our countryman, Dr. Robertson, receive better raea»' sure at their hands? It is well known that when his history of America was published, the members of the Sptaish academy were so delighted with his moderation in treating of the cruel^ ties of their countrymen in the New World, that they wished to give him the most honourable proofs of apprcrbatioiii and esteem. They not only appointed one of their own members to translate the work into Spaoisb, that it might he put into general circulation, but admitted the author a member of the academy, and commissioned no less a person than count Gampomanes to notify this honour to him, and accompany it with their acknowledgments. " In the two first volumes of your ** wcffk," says this gentleman in his letter to the author, " yod " l^ve. an order and connection so natural betw^n ancient ** and modem history, that I know few men capable of doing ** it with so much success. I have read the first book vidth ** aidiegtee of pleasure and admiration it is impossible for me '* to express." So wrote the learned scribe of the Academy !— ^ Goverana^at, or the Xmquisitors, however, thought diflferently) xl PREFACE. The letter alluded to was written in the latter end of 1777, and within fifteen months after —the very work, which had excited so much admiration among the Spanish literati ; which was thus calculated to connect ancient and modern history, was formally proscribed. But, what is still more unaccountable, while .the custoin-liouse officers were ordered to prevent its admission into the kingdom in any language whatever, the Academy of History was required to appoint two of its mem- bers to criticise and confute it. In this very order we may trace the source ifrom whence it issued, since it is perfectly in character for those who are habituated to condemn upon ex pdHe evidence, to commit themselves to ex parte criticism for their justification. Such are a few. traits of the celebrated Inquisition ! Of a tri- bunal, to the mercyof which the most beautiful kingdom in the world was delivered up, after the expulsion of the Moor?. Un- fortunately for the Spaniards, the policy of Ferdiuajid and his im- mediate successors went hand in hand with the mistaken policy of the monastic orders. Both alike concurred in maturing and letting loose upon the world a monster far more deformed, fermore frightful than « Gorgons, Hydras, and Chimeras dire." PREFACE. ili Both were alike bent on effecting impossibilities, and in their vain attempt to bring mankind to one opinion, and to intro- duce jointly rehgious and civil slavery, have entailed maladies upon their unhappy country, in ransacking even palliatives for which all the arts of their more enlightened successors have been exerted in vain. Such has been the lot of a kingdom, which nature seems to have intended as her master-piece ; on which she exhausted all her choicest treasures ! — treasures which the hand of bigotry has rendered useless ! Under the scourge of persecution the sciences and the arts have been frightened, and fled from Spain in fearful haste ; commerce has dwindled, industry become extinct, genius cramped and distorted, and all the noblest energies of a people naturally haughty, brave and enterprizing, are completely chained down and paralyzed. HISTORY, &c. BOOK THE FIRST. FROM THE CONQUESTS OF THE ARABS, TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OMMIADiEAN CALIPHS AT CORDOVA : COMPRIZING FROM THE END OF THE SIXTH TO THE MIDDLE OF THE EIGHTH CENTURY. CHAPTER THE FIRST. Character op the arabs. — Mahomet and his doc- trines AND SUCCESSES. A' HiflT extensive district of Africa, to which the Romans gave the name of Mauritania, is bounded on the east by Egypt, by the Mediterranean on the. north, by the Atlantic ocean on the west, and on the south by the deserts of Barbary. From this vast tract issued those swarms of Moors,, who in conjunction with the Arabs conquered Spain. The origin of the Moors, hke that of most other nations, is enveloped in ob- scurity and fable. But as we read of a Mulic Yafric who emi- grated to this part of Africa, bringing with him a considerable colony of Sabaeans ; it is not improbable that the Moors de- duce their descent from these Sabaeans, and that this great continent received its name from the founder of this colony. We shall find this conjecture much strengthened, if we advert to the close resemblance which has been always perceptible in the manners and customs of the two nations. B 2 4 OF THE ARABS. [book i. The inhabitants of both countries have been always classed in tribes, always addicted to a wandering life, and in short they resemble each other so much in all other tespects, that what has been said of one will be found strictly applicable to the other ; — ^That God has given, them four distinguishing charac- teristics : " Turbans for diadems, tents instead of houses and walls, swords instead of intrenchments, and poems or fables ta supply the pla6e of written laws." Such were the people who were destined, under the influ- ence of the Arabs, to hold the descendants of the Goths in awe for more than seven centuries, and during that period to main- tain their footing in one of tie richest, as it is by nature* formed to bie one of the most powerfol kingdoms in the world. What more strongly corroborates the affinity be- tween the Moors and Arabs, than this ^^udden- change in con- dttet, in exertion, in inteiUect and in improvements ? Antece* dent to the arrival of the Arabs the inhabitants of Mauritania had been destined to wear the chains ^of many successive in\raders. Their couatry was first subdued by the Carthagir nians, then by the Ronaans, then by the Vandals, and after these by Belisarius. Under aU these different masters the Moors remained in a state of contemptible insignificancy, yet how TCversed ! the scene when the Arabs appeared among * SStee Nate (A) at the end of Book I. CHAP. 1.] OF THE ARABS. 5 them?^ The very people who had hitherto onl}- suffered and submitted; who had been satisfied with seconding the enter- prizes of successive masters without aspiringsifeo jparticipate in their spoils or glory ; — ^This people becomes instantly active and invigorated, bursts from its state of torpor and insensi- bihty, and^ soars upon the wing to gallant and splendid exertion. • To account for these changes we- must advert to the Arabs who' effected them, and take a cursory survey of the doctrines and conquests of Mahomet, and his successors, before they came in contact with the Moors. -vSlhe Arabs are not ottly the^ost ancient people of our ^ath, but p^haps the only people' who have^retained their independency and original cast of oharacter. b Froni the remotest antiquity we find them divided into tribes, which cdther wandered at large, or were united in coramtinities under warrior clnefs or magistrates ; and it has been their singular gkary? never to have received tiie yoke of *a'ny f&eeij^ invader. Tbemgh their ^sU-bjugatioii was «,1*^topted % Persians, Mace- d'iM^^aris and Romans successively, they alt attempted it in vain, th^ arms of all alike Tebouuding harmlessly from the rocks of the ^bathseaaisf -Bfoud of Ms'imtriarchal origin, of haviig thus defeliid^, and nobly |ie!i|)etusited ; feis^ indepen- 6 OF MAHOMET. [book i- dency, the Arab, from the recesses of his deserts, looks down contemptuously on other nations, considering them as little better than so imany herds of cattle collected together by chance, and abjectly dependent on masters perpetually chang- ing. He is by nature brave, sober and indefatigable, and, being enured from infancy to hardships, fears neither hunger, nor thirst, nor pains, nor death. Such were the people on whom Mahomet was destined to practise. When the Impostor presented himself, he found the different tribes surrounded by Jews, Christians and Tdolators; but preserving, notwithstanding their neighbourhood to these opposite sects, theirown respective systems of faith and wor- ship. . They, were sunk in ignorance and superstition, believ- ing in Demons, Genii, and witchcmft. In short they sacrificed to Idols and worshipped the Stars. Among persons of this stamp it is not at all surprizing that the Impostor found a ready reception, or that he easily re- commended himself to them as a preternatural character and a propheit. He had studied the nation well upon whose feelings he proposed to operate, and had the policy to feshion his doctrines exactly to their genius and dispositions. Arid these doctrines were set off to the highest , advantage, not more by the personal graces of the preacher, and the charms CHAP. I.] OF MAHOMET. 7 of his elocution (transcendent as these certainly were) than by the "purity and beauty of some of their best precepts.* #■ " There is," says the pretended Prophet, " but one God, " whose greatest and best attribute is mercy; who from his " pure sknd perfect possession of this attribute is justly to " be styled the All-merciful. To this God all praise and " adoration are due, and him we are therefore bound exclu.- " sively to worship. " Be kind to the poor, the captive, the fatherless and the " unprotected; and be just to all men, for justice is the " sister of piety. If you conform to these precepts, but, " above all, if you practise charity, the amplest remunera- " tions will await you in heaven. There the good are trans- " ported into spacious and luxuriant gardens, watered by " pure and never-failing springs, and decorated with trees and " flowers of the greatest fragrancy and. beauty. Such will be " the residence of the blessed ; and to complete their blessings " they will ienjoy in this retreat the society of wives whose ** charms can know no decay, and whose love will be as per- " manent and unalterable as their charms." " But to secure these blessings," adds the Impostor, " you " mult contend manfiiUy against incredulity, and the ob- * Notc(B). 8 OF MAHQMET. [book,i. " ^tinacy and prejudices of i impiety, ftilly^u force those with " whom you contend, either to embrace .the true faith, pr eou*n " pound by tribute for their obduracy. Every adventurer "in this glorious work will stand particularly recommended " to the mercies of the Almighty. ^Let not then the appre-. " hension of- hardships, of dangers, or even death, divert you " from this just track. 'But if, which I c§n scarcely^ believe,. " there should be any one who prefers life to the discharge of " this sacred duty, let him reflect, that human existeuqe, is " at best precarious and limited at the very commencement : " thd,t the days of all are numbered, and that, at the fi^ppqinted " houT, the angel of death will single out his destined victim, " and carry him oflf in defiance of all precautions." ; -jhAs fr.h' Hli ,xii,: \ jj^- ^^p >^ These and similar precepts were conveyed in language bpth figurativd and glowing, and being embellished by the charms of poetry, and'enjfojpced by a consummate (orator, with all the gracfes'of delivery, and the assumed confidence of in^pirjation, were fully calculated to command proselytes in any ^^;or ma- tion. What fruits then were not to be expected from^ th^m among a people of all others the most enthusia^tkfeand^rone)t© the mai^ellous ? The effects were every where answerable to liie cause. Such sparks could not be scattered among materials so combustible without quickly producing an overpowering ]^ame. Accordingly the number of converts augmented ^rapidly, and it is probable the new doctrines would have circulated ftirough CHAP. I.] OF MAHOMET. g Arabia, without the aid of persecution. But persecution, as is usual in such cases, came in to lend her finishing hand to the work ; when the prophet was driven from Meccha, and forced to shelter himself atMedina,his flight maybe said to have stampt the seal of authenticity on his pretended mission; since it is from this period, we date the proud Epocha of Musulraan glory, equally with the commencement of the Musulman chronology. After this revulsion, Islamism* spread like a torrent over Arabia and Ethiopia, resisting all impediments, and bearing down all opposition. The Jews indeed attempted, with the aid of some of the idolatrous nations, to stem its current ; but they attempted it in vain ; and it was equally in vain that Meccha sent forth her armies against the destroyer of her gods. These armies were either vanquished or dispersed in succes- sion, the cities they were sent to defend faUing regularly into the hands of the conqueror. But, in the midst of his successes, the Impostor never forgot his great precept of mercy ; for, where he vanquished, he generally was careftil to spare; by which seasonable policy, he secured opinion, and %ugmente. CHAP. VI.] SPAIN. 45 fifty thousand mtn, white that of the Mtoorfe is said to havt wodcmnted to four hundred thousamd. The fate of two armies undigr such leadens txmld utrt re- main long undecided. A desperate battlte ensiled, in which the Moors were defeated and Abdekamiia slain. Their loss in and after this action has been estiniated at three hundi:^ thoixsand men. The number must no doubt be exa^erated, but it must liertainly have beem very icJOnsiderable, since as they had penetrated veary far into France, they had not only to encounter the various detachments sent to cut 'off their retreat, but also the tBogeamce e£ the people thnati^ whtjse countries they fPMe &>rced to fly. Whatever their loss may have been, it is certain that this memorable battle, of which history gives no regular detail, rescued France from the fangs of the Mu^ulma^ns, and fixed -a barrier to their fiiwrtheir ai^grandise- fiient. ISiey indeed made some feeble attemj)ts upon this kifi^tem aftearward's, and even proceeded once as far as Avignon, bm they were again opposed by their invincibte ad^^etsary, land piisraied beyond Catalonia, being forced to abandon this province to the victors. Spain, after the death of Abdeleamin, was disto-acted by the dissentions of two governors to whom the Caliph had delegated his authority jointly. In the midst of these distractions, almost always inseparable from a joint delegation of power, a 46 SPAIN. [book I. third pretender to the government arrived from Africa; and finally a fourth put in his claim. Hence factions were multi- plied, and the contending parties recurred invariably to arms, in the conflicts incidental to which, chiefs were murdered, cities sacked, and whole provinces completely desolated. There can be nothing very interesting, certainly nothing pleasing, in the details of such enormities so differently related by ' historians. It may not however be irrelevant to remark that, in proportion as the manners of the Moors in Spain began to be civilized and polished by intercourse with the Spaniards, and by mixture of blood, fresh inundations of Africans kept regularly pouring in, as if expressly to counter- act improvement, and force them back to their characteristic fei:ocity. The troubles of this kingdom were at length quieted by a governor of the name of Ebn Joseph, who had nearly esta- blished himself at Cordova, when a most unexpected and im- portant change took place in the east, which had a particular influence on the fate of Spain. As it is at this point we fix the commencement of the Moorish empire in this peninsula, it will be adviseable before we proceed on this subject, to advert cureorily to the history of the Caliphs, APPENDIX TO THE FIRST BOOK. Note (A), one of the richest, Sec. ▼ ▼ HEN the Phoenicians first visited Spain, that country abounded in the precious metals. Silver in particular was so abundant, that their commonest utensils, and even the racks and mangers of their stables were made with it. The new guests quickly contrived to come in for their full share. They bartered every thing they could in exchange, and, that they might have nothing to accuse themselves of afterwards, caused the very kitchen utensils which they required for the voyage, to be made of silver. Note (B), the purity and beauttf, &c. It is worthy remark how much the founder of the Musul- man sect is beholden to the Sacred Writings for the best, and indeed the only pure passages in the Alcoran; his precept of the Unity of the Godiiead being taken from the decalogue, and 48 AFFESTDIX TO BOOK f. the divine attributes of charity and justice from the doctrines of our Saviour. „ , " Charge them," says St. Paul, " who aire rich in this " world, that they be ready to give, and glad to distribute, " laying up for themselves a good foundation against the life " to come, that they ma!y attain eternal Me." " The sovereign judge^" aa^« the Mahometan law-giver, " will fasten at the last day an immense serpent on him " who has done no charity^ the sting qf Avhich. shall pierce in- " cessantly that hand which never was open to the calls of " the poor." , n Again, " tbe best attribute of Gm^' says Mah^Bact, " is mercy. He is jttstjgr sfeited. All Mercifut" " Peter said unto Jesus, Loud, how ofben; shall! my b!:x)ther **- sia against me and I d6)igi\!e him ? till seven times? Imj " not uztto thee til seven tizHes/' says our Saviourj " but till ** ses^enty tinsues seven." " Be just to all men," says Mahomet. " Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's," says our Saviour. I cannot dismiss this topic without sisbmitting to the reader a na©9t impressiv® and dfstquev^ extract from one of bishop ShfirltMrfc's sermons, in which the reverend preaeh^ contrasts APPENDIX TO BOOK I. 49 the life and doctrines of the Impostor, with those of our blessed Saviour. " Go," says Sherlock, " to your natural religion* " Lay before her Mahomet and his disciples arrayed in armour ** and blood, riding in triumph over the spoils of thousands who " fell by his victorious sword. Shew her the cities which h€ " set in flames, tJie countries which he ravaged and destroyed, " and the miserable distress of all the inhabitants of the earth. " When she has viewed him in liis scene, carry her into his " retirement Shew her the Prophet's chamber, his concu- " bines and his wives, and let her hear him alledge revelation " as a divine commission to justify his adultery and his lust." " When she is tired with the Prophet, shew her the blessed *' Jesus, humble and meek, doing good to all the sons of men. " Let her see him in his most retired privacies. Let her fol^ " low him to the Mount, and hear his doctrines and his sup^ ** plications to God. Carry her to his table, and view his poor " fare, and hear his heavenly discourse. Let her attend him " to the tribunal, and consider the patience with which he en- ** dured the scoffs and reproaches of his enemies. Lead her to " hi§ cross. Let her view him in the agonies of death, and hear *' his last prayer for his unworthy persecutors, Forgive them, for " thet/ know not what they do. When natural religion has " thus viewed both, ask her, which is the Prophet of God.? " But her answer we have had already, when she saw part of " this scene through the eyes of the centurion, who attended « him at the cross. By him she spake, and said. Truly this " was the Son of God" So APPENDIX TO BOOK I. Note (C). Islamism spread, &c The word Islamism is derived from " eslam," signifying Consecration or dedication to God. In the Alcoran Mahomet never speaks. It is always the angel Gabriel who expresses the divine will. The Prophet only listens and repeats. The angel is careful to enter into details,- not merely concerning religion, but legislation and policy also, for which reason the Alfcoran must be regarded as a code of civil and pbUtic as well as religious law. One half of the book is itt verse, the other in poetic prose. Mahomet was himself a poet ; and poetry was so highly esteemed among the Arabs, that the people of Meccha used to assemble at certain periods to de- termine the merits of different compositions, which their re- spective authors were accustomed to affix to the walls of the temple of Caaba. Here the author of the most approved performance was crowned with the greatest solemnity. When Mahomet attached the second book of the Alcoran to thos6 walls, Labid Ebn Kabia,, till then esteemed the most 'Cele- brated poet of his country, tore down a work which he him- self had placed there, and confessed himself excelled by the Prophet. Note (D), that warm and enthusiastic nation. Mahomet was not the monster of cruelty that some authors represent him. Where he vanquished, he was generally merciful ; and he has been known frequently to pardon even personal injuries. Caab, the son of Zoar, had been one of his APPENDIX TO BOOK I, 51 most inveterate enemies, insomuch that he was proscribed and a price put upon his head. Yet this very Caab dared one day to enter abruptly into the mosque at Medina, while Mahomet was preaching, and to recite some of his own verses in praise of the Prophet. Mahomet was so transported with the per- formance, (" Oh! proud distinction of the sacred lyre T) that he sprang in raptures from his seat, and tore off his b\Yn mantle and placed it on the shoulders of the poet. This robe was afterwards purchased from Caab's family, by one of the Caliphs, for twenty thousand drachmas, and converted into a state garment for the sovereigns of Persia, which they never wore but upon the most solemn occasions. From Mahomet^s latter moments, we are justified in con- cluding he was not naturally cruel. On the evening preceding his death, he went to the mosque, supported on the arms of his faithful Ali, and, having ascended the tribunal, and made a short prayer, addressed the people to the following effect. " My faithful children, you see me here on the verge of the " grave. No one has now reason to fear me more. If I have " ever struck any of you, behold me here ready to receive the " blows of him I have thus offended. If I have taken the " property of any one forcibly from him; here is my purse. " Let the person thus injured indemnify himself. If I have " wantonly humbled any one, let him now come forward and " humble me. I deliver my self .wholly to your justice." During this speech, the Templie, resounded with broken ac- cents of affliction. One man only came forward to avail himself H 2 52 APPENDIX TO BOOK I. of the declaration of the dying Prophet, and his demand, which did not exceed three drachmas, was directed by Maho- met to be paid with interest. After this affecting scene, the Prophet bid a tender farewell to his faithful Medineze, and having libetated his slaves, directed the order of his funeral with the greatest composure. Althou]^ he supported his character of Prophet to the last, declaring, even in his latter agonies, that he was conferring with the angel Gabriel, he was not the less mindful of his worldly attachments, of his beloved wife A'ixa, of his daughter Fatima, of Ali, of Omar, and in short all his dearest friends and disciples. The poison which shortened his life, had been administered in some roasted lamb, by a Jewess named Ainab, to revenge the death of her brother. The deed was discovered at the instant; for Mahomet upon swallowing the first mouthful declared that he was poisoned. Yet, notwithstanding this immediate discovery, and ihe antidotes that were as immedi- ately administered, such was the subtle virulence of the poison that all applications proved ineffectual. The respect and veneration of the eastern nations for Maho- met know no bounds. Their doctors maintain that the world was made for him. That the first created thing was light, and that this hght became his soul. Some maintain the Koran to^ be increate ; others hold a contrary opinion. Hence those swarms of sects and commentators, and those wars of religion, which have so often deluged Asia with blood ! APPENDIX 1*0 BOOK I. $5 Note (E). The renowned Kaled, kc. The militarjf exploits of this general, as related by histo- rians, who are considered as authentic, resemble those of some fictitious hero of romance. He was at first the declared ene- my of Mahomet, whom he vanquished at Aked, the only battle the Prophet ever lost. He became afterwards a zealous Miisulman. He reduced such nations as attempted to revolt after the death of Mahomet, defeated the armies of Heraclius, conquered Syria and Palestine, and a considerable portion of Persia, and came off always triumphant from a multipUcity of single combats, which he himself used always to propose tti enemies of any renown. The following trait will give some idea of his character. During the siege of, Bostra, the Greek governor Romanes, wishing to betray the city, affected to make a sortie, but as soon as he had ranged his troops in order of battle, instead of commencing the action he demanded a conference with Kaled. The two generals having accordingly advanced into the space between the armies, the Greek gave his adversary to under- stand that it was his wish, not only to dehver up the place, but to embrace the faith, provided his life would be insured from the soldiery, by whom he was both hated and suspected. He therefore requested to be put in the way of executing his treason without endangering himself. " Nothing more easy," replied Kaled, " the best thing you can do, will be to fight " with me instantly, as this will put your courage beyond " all doubt, and acquire you respect through the whole 5^ ' APPENDIX TO BOOK I. " araiy." Saying this he unsheathed his sword, and with- out waiting any reply, made a furious charge upon the poor governor, who defended himself with a trembling hand, exclaiming at every cut he received, " Hold,, hold, enough, " zounds, do you intend to kill me?" " No, no, by nO " means," replies Kaled, (a,t the same time that he laid on his bldws still thicker) " I wish only to acquire you glory and " esteem. The more wounds you receive, the more of both " you will necessarily have /' To conclude, he did not quit his truant antagonist till He had covered him with gashes, leav- ing him wherewith to remind him of his treason and cowardice as long as he lived. Sometime after this, meeting with his old friend, " Well, old boy," says he, " and- how dost find thy- " self now?" .If., Note (F) from the Bereberes, Sec. The Bereberes were the inhabitants of the part of Africa now called Barbary. Though they have been confounded with the primitive Numidians, they are regarded, with much reason, as the descendents of those Arabs, that accompanied Mulic Yafric. Their language differed from that of the sur- rounding nations, a:nd it is, in the opinion of Mr. Chehier, a corruption of the Punic. However this may be, this nation exists at this day in the kingdom of Morocco. They live in tribes, out of which they never ally themselves, and lead a wandering life. Though they are subject to the Emperor of Morocco,' they submit to his authority only at pleasure and as they find it convenient. They are still formidable by* their APPENDIX TO BOOK I. 53, numbers and courage, still retain their original manners, and their characteristic love of independency. KoTE (G). no sooner quelled this insurrection, &c. MufA or Moussar Ben Hazen was of an enterprizing genius, and equally capable of planning as of conducting grand projects. He was possessed of heroic courage, and understood perfectly the art of war. But he was violent and cruel in the extreme, making war like a barbarian without any respect to the calls of humanity. Note (H). an officer of distinguished, &c. Tarik distinguished himself greatly in the wars of Africa. The Arabian historians tell us that the night after his em- barkation for Spain, he had an extraordinary dream, in which he saw Mahomet and his companions, with their cuirasses on, and their heads cased in shining steel. That Mahomet said to him, iiTa voice like thunder, " March on, T'arik, to assured " conquest. Victory attends thy steps. Be true to the " faith, and treat thy brothers with kindness." Saying this, the Prophet and his company appeared to take the road to Andalusia. Whether .this extravagant dream was the effect of a heated imagination, or of policy, or ambition, we cannot determine. It is certain Tarik .lost no time in imparting it, and that those 56 APPENDIX TO BOOK I. to whom he addressed himself did not fail to interpret it favourably, and to announce it as a sure pledge of future victory. Note (I), of defence, &c. The pretext Manuse employed to gain over partizans, was that the people were oppressed by the exactions of their judges. He could not have touched upon a more tender string, nothing being more offensive to the Arabs than the corrupt administration of justice. His intrigues took deep root, and the discontents they produced gave a momentary shock to the government, which excited alarms even at the court of Damascus^ Note (K). share of his vengeance. Abdelz AMINES vengeance, says Mezeray, was levelled at Charles Martel jointly with the Duke of Aquitaine. He set on foot two lai-ge armies, one of which was intaided to enter Burgundy ; the other to act in Aquitaine. The first of these crossed the Rhone, but meeting no enemies capable of facing it, it divided into two distinct corps, one of which entered Avignon, where it was defeated, though not before it had surprised some strong cities and fortresses. The other passed the Saone, and penetrated as far as Navarre. In all tiie dis- tricts throu^ which these two divisions passed they burnt and destroyed all that came in their way, all the churches, monas- APPENDIX TO BOOK 1. 5T tgries, and houses of dLstinctipn, besides a considerable num- ber gf towns and small dties. And this they did so effec- tually, as to make it almost impossible at this^day to ascertain where some of these actually stood, little more remaining of 4iiem than their names. jEn addiitiofi to these excesses, they massacped a -multitude of the inhabitants, and carried some hundreds of'all ages and sexes into slavery. ^^ 1)'', ' ■ rThe army, eoaductfed by Abdekamin in person^ traversed Navarre, and, iiaving secured all- the passes through whidh the FrcsQch couldi receive assistance from the Asturian Spa-i uiards^ proceeded to Aquitaine, and pillaged and burnt Bourdeaux. Eudes, .who had watched the motions of the enemy with a flying camp, crossed the Garonne and Dordogne, and posted himself on the borders of this latter river. But, though his army had been augmented by some troops from^Gascony, and he di«p3ayed his usual valour, he was defieated with very con- siderable lossi; and, after his defeat, had no alternative but to unite with Charles. He was pursued by his enemy through Perigord, Poitou an^ Xaintonge, the Moors committing in their march various excesses, of which fire and slaughter were among the mildest. In Poitou, Abdelzamin vented his fury on the Saints, and burnt the church of St. Hilaire, and the monastery of St. <^roix. After this he continued his march along the Loipe, 58 APPENDIX TO BOOK 1. intending to proceed to Tours, to plunder the sepulchre of St. Martin, in which he expected to find immense riches. It was on his march for this city, that he came up with Charles, who had encamped with his gallant army on the banks of the Char, near Tours, at a place called St. Martin le Bel. The two generals made several trials of t^eir respective sjipU and strength during the two days preceding the battle. At length the decisive action was commenced by Charles. The Arabs displayed their usual courage and agility, but, having no other defensive armour than stuffed coats, nor oifeh- sive than spears and darts, they could make but little im- pression on the heavy battalions of the French,^ secured by their bucklers j and fenced in on alL sides by halberts.and javelins. These grand corps, which were by no means formed for brisk manoeuvring, and whose whole dependence was on their firm feet and -v^reighty armour, suffered the .Moors to ex- haust themselves with their assaults a,nd wheelings. This, they did so effectually, that they were at length thrown into con- fusion and easily broken. Eudes is said to have contributed essentially to the success of this day, by an attack upon the enemy's camp^ during the heat of the action, which helped to divert their attention from the main battle.. BOOK THE SECOND. 3 COMPRIZING THE MIDDLE OF THE EIGHTH TO THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER THE FIRST. OF THE EASTERN CALIPHS.— THE ALIDES, THE OMMI- ADES, ABASSTDES, AHO FATIMITES IN EGYPT^ \J NDER their three first Caliphs, Abou Bekir, Omar, ?asA Othma»^we have seens die Arabs, hke an irpesistiWe torrent, oveiwbehning Persia^&yria and Africa, but in the height of their meridional splendor, preserving still their original naan- ners, their ehaiacteristie simplicity, their contempt of 'wedAik ajid luxury^, mtd their obedience to the successors of the Prophet! But what nation has been long proof against the slow and subtle workings of prosperity ? In the intoxication of conquest they soon began to(ovef]QQilci,iior> ico]aiteimi,tthe vktues- that had rraidcred them iavincible. . j They soon divided into parties and &,ctiQiis, and tumamg those arms against each m othea?,' which they had hitherto oiiiy levelled at their common enemies, contrived in the end to demolish the glorious fabric reared bythedar ancestors, with the very 'weapons which had been empibayed >for>its comtmction, / 63 THE ALIDES. [book ii. These changes in the conduct and fortunes of this people, commenced Math the assassination of Othman, to whom AH, the companion, the friend and son-in-law of the Prophet, had been declared the successor. Aii stood justly recommended to his countrymen by his natural benevolence and goodness of heart, by his amiable and engaging manners, by the lustre of his military exploits, and, above all, by his marriage with Fatima, the daughter of Mahomet. But notwithstanding thesie recommendations, powerfiil as they were, his claim was not universally recognized. Moavias, the governor of Syria, at the instigation of the artful Amrou, who conquered Egypt, had got himself to be proclaimed Caliph at Damascus; Hence sprung that schism which divided the Arabs into two sebis, and separated the Turks from the Persians ;Hhecause of Ali being espoused by the Arabs of Medina, and that of Moavias by the Syrian Arabs; the fornier of these factions assumed the name^ofAlides, the latter of Ommiades, ftom Otomias,: the grand-father of Moavias. . -\ nor. ;?;: Though AU triumphed over his competitor, he did, not long enjoy the CaUphat. Three Karegit^,; so the!' most ftirious iof the Musulman sect are called; fancymg. that the coiltests be- tween Moavias, Amrou, and Ali, portended nothing short of the- subversion of the true faitii, determined upon the. destruc- tion of the whole obnoxious triunavirate. One of these accord- ingly sought out MoaviasjPahdattempted to dispatch hin^ CHAP. I.] THE OMMIADES. 63 but, being, too much agitated, and striking at random, he missed his aim, and only wounded him shghtly in the- back. The second, who had undertaken to assassinate Amrou, killed one of his friends by mistake. The third was more successful than his accomplices. He wounded Ali as he entered the mosque, and the wound being given with a poisoned weapon proved mortal. Thus by a fatality not uncomimon, but for which no human reasoning can account, out of three victims that had been devoted, the hand of fanaticism was suffered to act with effect only against the most virtuous! -nee te tua plurima, Pantheu, Labentem pietas, nee ApoUinis Ihfnla texit ! Th€ QittHaiades, after the death of Ali, remained in pos- session of the Galiphat. But their feigns were reigns of in- cessant tumults, treasons, and assassinations.^? It was, indeed, under Valid the first, one of these Caliphs, that the Arabians extended their empire from the banks of the Ganges to the shores of the Atlantic. But they could assume little or no credit to themselves from these successes, being at best but a feeble race of princes. Their generals, however, were expert, and their soldiers brave, and, by these props, they were sup- ported on the throne for the tenri of ninety three years. Mir- van the second*, the last prince of this Dynasty, was deposed ♦ Note (A). 64 ABDALLAH. [book ii. by . Abdallah of the race of the Abassides, whose descendents became afterwards so celebrated in the east for their love of the sciejnces, and for the renowned. names of Haroun Al Raschid*, Al Mamon^ and the Barmecydes. The Abassides held the Caliphat for about four centuries, when they were dispxjssessed by the Tartar desceudents of Genghis Khan, having witnessed, antecedently, the establish- ment of another dynasty of CaUphs in Egypt; that of the Fatimites, so called: from their pretended descent from Fatima. By the estabUshment of this race of Caliphs, the empire of the Arabs, properly so called, over Egypt ceased, and the bulk of that people returning to Arabia, hold now a situation in that country, pretty similar to the one they held antecedent to the appearance of Mahomet. We anticipate these events because Spain, from this period, will have but little concern in the affairs of the east. But, to return to the Abassides. When the cr^el Abdallah placed his nephew Abou Abbas on the throne, he formed the horrible design of extirpating the whole race of the dethroned dynasty. In countries in which polygamy is tolea-ated, and children are deemed a blessing, it is not at all uncommon to reckcm many thousands of individuals in one family. The * Note (B). CHAP. I.] ABr)ALLAH.\ 65 femily thus devoted was extre^dy tiuraerous, aad iiherefore not to be easily taken off by auy open or i?€^ula3: process. The traitor being aware of this, determined to circumvent them by treachery, ftom which his cnitelty tatjtght him to e&pect a nwjre complete? and strmniary gratification. > Gon- formably to this plan, he fesuedoutaprodlaiflationitbyw^hidhhe promised a^aerid .piffdiMi to sach of the Oistoiad^s as should surrender tlfciBselves en a certain day at an a^^ifiied place. The persecuted and ftilBtlspeetfmg |reople gave ftoo readily into the snare, and did not'ikil to present themselves at ^ ifjpcdnted' time, to solicit pardon at th6 feet liiS' fadiHly oh the thmrie^ arid^ received firorafhK sraiia^eidB thd pixjud appellation ^^TheJ«st. iNotwitih- staadMagtlffit fimiMirtsHfc'Qiad ^venuteigeircms: warsi in which he was necessarily engaged, he courted and patronized the sciences. Under his auspices, various schools were established 70 ABDELZAMIN. [boo it ii. at Cordova, to which learned men resorted from all parts to give lectures in grammar, mathematics, astronomy and medir cine. He was himself esteemed the most eloquent man of his day, and is said to have composed some verses which are still in estimation. He embellished and fortified his capital, and constmcted a magnij¢ palace surrounded with gardens disposed with the greatest taste. ' But, what has contributed principally to the renown of this monarch, is, that he was the founder of the celebrated mosque, which remains to this day the just object of admiration to all travellers. This monument of magnificeiice and splendour, though begun in his reign, was not completed till the reign cH his son and successor. Only half of it, we are given to under- stand, has been preserved by the Spaniards ; but this half is six hundred and fifty feet in length,, by two hundred and fifty wide. It is supported by more than three hundred colunins of jasper, alabaster and marble ; — a relique by which the spec- tator is enabled to form no imperfect idea of its primitive mag- nificence. The building had twenty four brazen gates of en- trance, all profusely decorated or enriched with golden sciilp- tures ; and four thousand lamps were kept constantly burning in it, as if it had been the intention of the founder that the splendour of this co»tfy edifice should never for a moment cease to dazzle. CHAP, ii.l ABDELZAMIN. 71 To this building the CaUphs of Cordova resorted every Friday to pray for the people ; Friday, according to the pre- cepts of the Masulman law, being the day expressly dedicated to public worship. Hither the Musulmans of Spain were accustomed to perform their pilgrimages, as those of the east to' the temple of Meccha. Here were celebrated, with the greatest solemnity, the feasts of the great and little Beiram, the feast of the New Year, and the anniversary of the Miloud or birtht of Mahomet. Each of these feasts continued eight days, daring which term all labour was suspended. The people were emptoyed in paying and receiving visits reciprocally ; sacrifices were incessantly offered. — Animosities of every kind were reconciled; and families, again united in bonds of natural affection which otherwise might have been dissevered for ever, delivered themselves up to all orderly and apposite recreations. The city was illuminated.' The streets were strewed with iiowers. The walks and public places resounded with the Bidtes of cytiierns, lutes andhautboes; and to conclude, as the most laudable finishing of the feast, the rich were profuse in their, charities, and the blessings of the poor, the unbefriendied, the contrite and the broken in spirit, the most acceptable of all incenses in the InfalUble Presence, were wafted to heaven in gnatefiil Paeans of festivity and praise I. . It was Abdelzamin that introduced the taste for splendid feasts into Spain, which we are told he had the art of embel- n HACCHAM. [book id. lisbiag and setting off to the liighest advantage. Having been educated in the east, and uniting in his own person as* Caliph the powers of the church with those of the state, he was enabled on all occasions to vie in pomp and magnificence with the sovereigns of Damascus. Though he was a'meneany to the Christians, who formed a very considerable jponteOn of his subjects, he pearsecnted none. , But he 4^pnved the : cities, of their bishops and odier dignified preachers, and encom-aged marriages between the Moors and Spaniards ; by which >latter quiet and imperceptible sap, he did more contplete injiiirijri'to Christianity, than perseciition in all her vindictive taeiTOPS'errta* dreatned of effecting. Abdelzamin, after aireign of thirty years, died possessied of all that portion of Spain, extending from Catakmia along the coasts of tiie Mediterranean to the Atlantic. He bequeatised his throne to his son'Haccham, the third of his«leveh children. During his reign the Gothic kings^ Aureho and Mauregat, the successors of Froila, were compelled again to retire into the Asturies, and subject themselves to the disgracefiil tribute of ioesenting one hundred young women annually at Cordova. This kingdom, on the accession of Haccham, was distracted by factions and civil wars, and the new Caliph had at once to eontend not only against his brothers and uncles, but many other ambitious princes of the blood. In despotic govem<- CHAP, n.] ABDELOZIS. 73 ments, where the brder of succession is mrely established by any law, wars of this kind are almost always inevitable. In these, to be of the blood royal is often supposed to furnish a justifiable pretext for aspiring at the crown. As almost evCTy Caliph left a numerous prdgenyj it Avas no unusual thing, on his decease, for several of his children to put in at once their claims to the succession. On such occasions each one could generally secure a party possessed of sufficient power to set him up in some city of note, from which he was able to exercise a kind of sovereignty, and contend, at least for a season-, against the rest of his brethren. It is to this source we are to trace the swarm of petty states, which, on the termi- nation of every reign, sprung up and were cut down and yet sprang up again. Hence those shocking and endless details of vanquished, deposed, and murdered sovereigns, which render it extremely difficult, if not impossible to methodize the his- tory of the Moorish kings, and which, by their disgusting sai&eness, make that history so little interesting ! Botii Haccham and his son Abdelozis al Haccham contrived to baffle all the efforts of the various factions that contested their claims, and maintained themselves successfully in the Calij^at. The former of these princes completed the beauti- ful mosque which his predecessor had begun. As Charle- magne in the early part of his reign was engaged in wars which called his forces to some distance from Spain, Haccham 74 ABDELOZIS. [book ii. profited of their absence to recover some of the posts in the neighbourhood of the P3rrennees, of which his predecessor had been dispossessed. One of his generals defeated an army of Gauls, which had marched against him under the conduct of William Count of Narbonne. But he derived no other benefit from this victory than that of plundering some few cities of little or no account, and carrying off a considerable number of , prisoners, which, it is said, were employed in completing the celebrated mosque. But though the Caliph derived no other benefit from this battle, it must, at least for a time, have been extremely preju- dicial to the French king, as it left him many places to recover, which individual Moors, availing themselves of the weakness of their garrisons, had ventured to seize. Zatum had made himself master of Barcelona. Balalue, governor of Huesca, refused to acknowledge Charlemagne, as his predecessor had consented to do, and the spirit of revolt even extended as far as Navarre, where the natives, in conjunction with the Moors, had taken possession of Pampeluna. Most of these cities were recovered by Charlemagne about the year seven hundred and ninety six, and, in the following year, Louis duke of Aqui- taine, by order of this king, passed the frontiers, and having demolished the city of Lerida, proceeded to lay siege to Bar- celona. CHAP. II.] ABDELOZIS. 75 Abdelozis sent a powerful army to the relief of this city. But this army could do nothing ; for, as the duke of Aqui- taine was able to keep three distinct armies on foot, exclusive of the one that carried on the siege, the Moors could give no relief to the town without previously disposing of these covering armies, to which their strength was wholly incom- petent. The garrison, though thus deprived of assistance, defended itself for some time with incredible obstinacy; undergoing bravely all the hardships inseparable from famine and exces* sive fatigue. At length, however, the place was obliged to ca- pitulate upon conditions sufficiently favourable, such of 'the inhabitants as wished it being permitted to join their country- men in other districts. Abdelozis, during the whole of his reign, was continually embroiled either with the French or Spaniards, or with his own subjects. He died in the midst of troubles, and' was suc- ceeded by his son Abdelzainin the second. , CHAPTER THE THIRa REIGN OF ABDELZAMIN" THE SECOND. A.LTHOUGH the successor of Abd^lozis was both a great and goo4 prince, we inust newrtheless fix upon his rdgn as the period stt which the Christians in Spain began to £»rm something hke a counterpoise against the power of the Moor&. They availed themselves of their domestie (|uaCTel& to harrass^ them incessantly, and get posseMiion of some of their frontier towns. At length Alphonso the Chaste,, kiog of Asturies, found himself strong enough to refuse the tribute of the hundred vii^s, which had been stipulated ori^nally with Froila, and confirmed by his two successors Aurelio and Mauregat. Alphonso seems to have been bom for the conjuncture at which he appeared. Christian Spain was at this time par- celled out between different sovereigns, all of whom were ahke threatened by the arms of Abdelzamin. Arragon and Navarre CHAP. III.] ABBELZAMIN II. 77 had separated ftom the kingdom of Leon ; and, .^KWigh the power of the counts of Castile was divided* yet Alfdiomso bad reason to apprehend that their power might concentrate ulti- mately in one person, and become extremeity tFoublesofme to the paramount sovereign. Arragon had hitherto been governed by its counts, who were dependent on the kingdom of Leon. At length the Acragoaiians fiading themselves particularly exposed to the depredations of the Moors, and that all tbdr appli* cations to their sovereign for protection were ineffec^na), determined to have a king of their own,, and accordingly elected Iniga Count of Bigorre to this important trust, li was this election that gave rise to the famous code of the Fore de Sobrarbe,* somewhat similar to our Magna Charta. This code, though once common to the people of Navarre, jointly with the people of An:agQn,.has since become the exclusive law of this latter, by whom it has been always re- garded as a kind of fundamental law. It contained two prin- cipal and very material clauses. That the king should not decide either upon war or peace, or any other subjects of similar importance, without the consent of the Ricombres, or council of twelve of the principal people: and that these Ricomloie^ on, the, othsr handt. should be sworn to watch oxec • Note (D). 78 ABDELZAMIN II. [book i i. his person, and assist him faithfully with such counsels as were most expedient for the government and defence of his king*- dom. Other articles borrowed from the French and Lombards have been since added to this code ; the whole of which com- poses that bill of rights, to which the Arragonese have always so pertinaciously adhered, and which has been frequently found so inconvenient to the pursuits of their sovereigns. The separation of Navarre and Arragon could not be seen with indifference by the king of Leon, and his jealousy was mu<;h heightened by some recent acquisitions, which these powers had separately made from the infidels. Alphonso saw that every thing was to be apprehended from the vicinity "of two kingdoms so little inferior in magnitude to his own. To guard therefore his kingdom against the eflfects of their rising ambition, he had associated Ramire to him in his government, and afterwards, by his will, nominated him to the succession. Upon the death of Alphonso the rights of this successor were at first contested by several competitors, and the crown of Leon hung for some time in suspense. Fortunie, however, at length decided in favour, of Ramire, and he found himself firmly established on the throne with no other enemy to con- tend with but Abdelzamin the sovereign of Cordova. The Moor having demanded as usual the tribute of the hundired virgins, his demand producied a war, and a severe battle was fought near Logrono, which lasted two days, in which GHAP. III.] ABDELZAMIN II. 79 both sides laid claim to the victory: the Moors, however, retreatied. The tide, after this battle, seemed to turn in favour of the Christians, all the north of Spain becoming inimical to the Moors, and their possessions in the south being harrassed by reiterated irruptions from the Normans. Against these different enemies Abdelzamin defended himself with equal courage arid ability. But while he was thus necessarily occupied with war, he was not inattentive to the less dazzling, but far more benefi- cial, glories of; peace. He embellished his capital with a new mosque, and caused a most superb aqueduct to be con- striicted, by which water was distributed by leaden pipes into all parts of the city. He attracted artists, poets and phi- losophers to his court, associated with them familiarly, and was himself a model of the very excellencies he thus encou- raged. His greats: mind was rivetted to the arts and to the sciences. It was under his auspices that the celebrated school of music was founded, which produced afterwards the many el6ves*, that constituted the delight of Asia; by which he* caused Spain, like a grateful stream, to pay back a tribute in kind, to the source to which she was indebted for the repletion * Note (E). 80 ABDELZAMIN II. [book n. of her springs. Under his fostering encouragement, Cordova became the cradle, not only of the arts, but of the pleasures, their twin sisters ; and Musulman ferocity was melted down and refined by a happy mixture or amalgamation of gallantry and poUteness. Of this we have a pleasaat exemplification in the conduct of Abdelzamin himself! The favourite slave of the Caliph, having had a slight dif- ference with her royal lover, withdrew in anger from his presence ; making at the same time a vow, that she would see the door of her apartment walled up, before it should be opened to him again. The chief eunuch, who overheard this vow, and was frightened at it, as if he had heard so much blasphemy ; hastened to his master, and prostrating himself in his presence, declared tremblingly what he had heard. Abdel- zamin listened to the recital in perfect good humour ; then, smiling, commanded the door way to be immediately closed with pieces of silver, declaring at the same tirbe, that this barrier should never be removed, till the favourite herself should think proper to remove it for her own pleasure. What more eflfectual or more refined mode of conciliation could gallantry have devised? The wall vanished, as if by enchantment, the very evening after it was constructed. The wrath of the favourite was appeased ; and it is scarcely necessary to add, the royal gallant enjoyed, as he justly merited, the happy fruits of his poUte and seasonable ingenuity. CHAP. III.] ABDELZAMIN n. 81 Abdelzamin at his death left eighty-six children, forty-five sons and forty-one daughters. He was succeeded by his eldest son Mohammed. Jiis ireign, as well as the reigns of his successors Almouzin and Abdallah, exhibit for a space of sixty years only a succession of calamities, of intestine tumults and divisions, of civil wars, and of revolts of different cities, excited by their respective governors, with a view to their own aggrandizemeiit. The kings of Leon, profiting by these scenes of confusion, extended their dominions considerably ; while the Normans on the other hand committed fresh de- predations in Andalousia. Toledo, often punished, yet always in rebellion, had erected her own sovereign, and, her example was follawed by Saragossa. By- tjhese joint and reiterated shocks, the authority of the Goi:dovianj.4iionarchs seemed tpttering to its fall ; when, happily for the Moors, on a jjidden the whole fg,ce of the pojitical p,troosphere wasdianged ; md Abdekamin the third ascended the throne, to calm the jarring el^mients, and.give augmented splendour to the apparently expiring Caliphat CHAPTER THE TOURTH. CORDOVA, UNDER ABDELZAMIN THE THIRD. xIlBDELZAMIN on his accession to the throne assumed the title of Prince of the True Believers. He was brave, active and entefprizing, and a rigid observer of justice, by whicli qualities he endeared himself to all orders of his Musvjlman subjects. His reign commenced in glory.' He quickly brought back to their alle^ance such of his revolted subjects as his predecessors had long contended against in vain, and re- stored order and tranquillity through the different provinces! of his empire. But he was engaged in long and bloody wars with the kings. of Leon and Navarre, in which he was powerfully assisted by the Moors of Africa, and which he conducted in general with great success. Yet notwithstanding his general successes, he "was obliged in the course of these wars, ta abandon Madrid^ a city at that time of little account, to the king of Leon. This. t3HAP. ivl] ABDELZAMIN III.. 83 sacrifice, however, does not seem to have detracted from his glory, as undercover of the divisions which he artfully fer- mented among the Spanish princes, he carried his arms above twelve times into the very centre of their states. But notwithstanding the wars in which he was incessantly engaged, and the consequent intrigues he was obUged to prac* tise to support^these wars ; notwithstanding the expences at- tendant on the numerous fleets and armies he maintained, and the sums he annually expended to secure the assistance of the African -Moors, the court of Abdelzamin displayed a degree of magnificence, which we could scarcely credit if the fact was not well attested by historians. Of this I shall give some examples. The Greek emperor, Constantine the ninths wishing to oppose to the Abassidaean Caliphs of Bagdat, an enemy capa- ble of contending with them, sent an embassy to soUcit the alliance of Abdelzamin. This compliment from a Christian sovereign, was so highly flattering to the Caliph, that he de- termined to honour the embassy with a reception in the highest style of Asiatic pomp. Accordingly, many of the principal lords of his court were dispatched to Jaen to attend and wel- come the embassadors,; who were to be escorted from thence l?y a large body of cwalry which had been splendidly accoutred for the occasion. On their arrival at Cordova, they found M 2 altthe aivenues to'^the' palace' linei by*^ an infenta-y^sttli more spJieudidl- Thcj passages to tlie cdtipt were* coVenifd with the ehoicest Persian aiidrEgjsptian carpeting, andf the wallis hung with gold stujfife of" tibe richest^ and mostGuri6tis;feJMtt(^tio«i: The embassador at his audience was presented by the Hadji orchifif'officerof the courti andreceiiredrby the Caliph seated on. aspleiidid t&KHne,: wit^all the piimcipal'pessdns of his court around him; and all his riches 'disposed' to iiie greatest advam- ta|^< A display ©f wealth and? magmdcenoe' with which the embassadors were egieeedifflgly da^ded,^ aMdr at which tbe^ coiddiuot aw)id*tdsti%iagiboth deliglit and: admffation. The letter fSeom the Greek emiiperbr was on a beautiful blue parchment, inclosed in a gold box, which the embassadors prostrated themselves to present. When this ceremony was ^hdi|d^ itM the treaty^ s^edj they were sumptuously eriter- tEkihed ^*htgi tMl stay in the capitd^ and, at the conr eMsJ6*ii Sfent b^efc toaded witibp tte richest presents, under an ^^i3*f ' even BiOlfe sfi*^di][t! aifid numeronas than the c«ie which f^= retJei^ed them'at their Ittfldingi which had ortkra to attend theirt to tfe: waSs ©f Constanthfoplfe. Abdeizamin who was thus; pcKweBful^, thus courted and re'- tered, was hJtoseM the slave of beauty; the willing captive of th^totrely Zehrav or flow^and ornament of the world, on wtocsii he doaited during hi& whole life. In honour of his OHAPv IV ;] ABDEIZAMIN III. 83 loyely mi&tiress- he fouudted a city about two miles from Cor- dova, to which he gave her name, and which, if we may be- lieve report, must have been indeed a most magnificent offer- ing at the shrine of his idol. This city, now no more, was si- tuated at the foot of a lofty mountain from which issued' seve- ral beautiful springs of the purest water. These springs were conducted through the streets with the nicest art, so as to answer the purposes both of use and ornament, forming in some of the public places large transparent reservoirs^ or spouting up in others in a variety of beautiful fountains. The houses were in a style of taste and magnificence perfectly cor- responding with the intentions of the royal founder. They were surmounted' with flat roofs, on which were gardens beau- tifully laid out, whicji abounded with orange and other choice fruit trees, as well as an infinite variety of shrubs and odori- ferous flowers. The principal gates* of the city were all de- corated with statues X)f the beautiful slave. Such was the splendid oblation of Moorish gallantly at the shrine of beauty ! But even this splendid oblation, so far out of the common order of things, so much in the style of Oriental fable and fiction, was farecHpsfed by the palace of the favourite. Iff consequence of his alliance with the Greek emperor, Abdellza- * Npt©|f). 86 ABDELZAMIN III. [book n. min had obtained the assistance of his ablest architects, and, in addition to this signal mark of favor and distinction> the. sovereign of Constantinople had furthet presented him with forty columns of beautiful granite. The palace cont^ained besides twelve hundred other columns of Spanish or Italian marble. The walls of the saloons were decorated with gold, and many imitations of animals, in that metal, were disposed in basons of beautiful alabaster, into which they constantly discharged streams of the purest water. Historians farther assure us, that the cielings of the pavilion, in which the favou- rite passed the night with Abdelzamin, were covered with gold and silver inlayed with precious gems, and that a fountain of quicksilver was kept playing through the whole night into a bason of alabaster. These details we must own are not easy to be credited, since they certainly savour of the translation of some Arabian tale, and seem to have a closer affinity with Eastern invention than with historical truth. Such monuments of wealth and magni- ficence, of pageantry and splendour, do not certainly come within the scope of modem observation, and the generality of mankind regulating its faith by this standard, will hardly be brought to credit this description. But are not the accounts of the modern sovereigns of Asia, which we find in authors of unquestionable veracity, to the full as astonishing ? If the pyramids of Egypt had been destroyed by earthquakes, CHAP. IV.] ABDELZAMIN III. 87 « "would the travellers who have given their dimensions, have been thought entitled to greater credit ? The details here given are, in fact, not only vouched for by the Arabian writers, and related by Cardan, who has admitted them with great caution ; but they are further confirmed, by Mr. Swinburne, a gentleman of great observation and discernment, and one who may be reckoned any thing rather than an over-credulous tra- veller. Writers of very good authority, represent the sums ex- pended upon the city of Zehra to have amounted annually to three hundred thousand golden dinars. The work took upwards of twenty years for its completion ; and therefore estimating the dinar at only eight shillings and four pence of our money, which I believe is too little, the annual expenditure must have been about one hundred and twenty five thousand pounds sterling; a sum which the nations of modern Europe, almost always engaged in wars, would expend in less than half a day! So much easier do we make it to destroy than to build up ; or, to allude to Themistocles's expression, " so much " easier is it to sound the fife, than to make a small city " a great one !" To the above expences of Abdelzamin, we must add the maintenance of his seraglio, in which the number of wives* concubines and eunuchs, exceeded six thousand. The ompers 8§ ABDEL^MIN III. [book ii. x)f the household, and the palaces set apart for their use, were all in a proportionate style of costliness and splendor. The body guard alone consisted of twelve thousand cavalry. Jf, in addition to these drains, we recoUe6|i, that Abdelzaniin was incessantly at war; that he was, as we have already re- marked, obhged to subsidize large bodies of stipendiary forces from Africa, and to fortify the various parts of his dominions' that were exposed to invasion, it is scarcely conceivable,,/how means could be devised, adequate to the supply of such accu- mulating enormous expenditures. J,}. But the revenues of this CaJiph were immense, and he was perhaps the richest potentate at that time in the wptrl^. , H? posses^d Portugal and Andalousia, the kingdoms of Granada, Murcia and Valencia, and, the principal and best parts of New Castile. He. own^d all the valuable and beautiful dis- tricts in Spain, aftid, the different provinces of his empire were not only well peopled, but the Moors, by whom they were |)igppled cluefly, had brought p,griculture to the highest possible |>e];fe€tion. We are assured that there were more ;than twelve ^ousand villages and towns on the banks of the Guadalquivir, and that a traveller could scarcely journey in any direqtion with- out encountering perpetually either towns, villages or hamlets. Within the dominions of the Caliph were reckoned Qighty principal cities three hundred of an inferior class, and an infinite dUttvoiber of Tsm.allejfl towns. Cordova coatained within, its walls CHAP. IV.] ABDELZAMIN III. 89 two hundred thousand houses, and nine hundred public baths ! How reversed, ajas, the picture since the expulsion of the Moors ! It hasl^n reversed from a very obvious cause. The generous Moor,- where he vanquished, did not persecute. The Spaniarcf, in his turn conqueror, not only persecuted, but destroyed, if ThergYenues of the Caliphs were estimated, in ordinary, at twelve millions forty five thousand golden dinars ; in addition to which many taxes were laid upon the products of the earth ; a source of wealth which, among a people famed for industry and agricultural excellence, must certainly have proved extra- vagantly productive, however objectionable it might have been on the score of policy. The mines of gold and silver with which Spain at all times abounded, of which no adequate estimate can be formed, were further sources of inexhaustible wealth; while commerce, through her various windings and ramifications, through her many imperceptible alimentary channels, conspired jointly to enrich both the sovereign and his people. Silks, cochineal, iron, wool, even at that time in singular estirnation, ambergris, yellow amber, load-stones, talc, antimony, marquisites, rock chrystal, oils, sugar, ginger, saffron, coral fished for on the coast of Andalousia, pearls on that of Catalonia, and, finally, rubies, two mines of which had been discovered, one at N 90 ABDELZAMIN III. [book it. Malaga, the other at Beija ; all these were so many sources of amplitude to the revenues of the Cordovian Caliphs. These id- productions were sent sometimes in a wrought, sometimes in an un wrought state to Egypt and the East ; the emperors of Constantinople, always the faithfiil allies of the Cordovian Caliphs, favouring these various branches of commerce, which the Moors, by their immense command qf coast, and their neighbourhood to Africa, Italy and Fmnce, were able to nourish and pamper at pleasure*. But, in addition to these advantages, the arts, the children of commerce, contended to throw augmented splendour on the brilliant reign of Abdelzamin. His magnificent entertain-, ments, the gardens he planned, the palaces he constructed, alike attracted artists from all countries, and while they ren- dered Cordova the predominant school of industry, converted it also into an asylum for the sciences. It was in this reign that those celebrated seminaries of astronomy, geometry, chemistry and medicine were perfected, which, in less than half a cetitury after, produced an Averroes and an Abenzoni ! Such was the fame of the Arabian profes- sors in philosophy and medicine, that, when Alphonso the Great, king of Leon, wished to select an able preceptor for his * Note (G). CHAP. IV.] ABDELZAMIN III. 91 son, he was induced, notwithstanding difference of religion, and the known hereditary antipathy pf Catholics to Musul- mans, to invite two Moorish, preceptors to this important charge. And further, when Sancho the'Great, one of the suc- cessors of this Alphonso, was afflicted with a dropsy, which his own physicians pronounced incurable, he came without the smallest hesitation or mistrust to Cordova, and committed himself to the skill of the Caliph's physician. The faith of Sancho did not pass unrewarded. He was completely cured, and this singular trait reflects equal honour on the generosity of the Caliph, the noble and confident liberahty of the Chris- tian monarch, and the professional knowledge and dexterity of the learned Arabian. Thus was Cordova exalted during the reign of Abdelzamin. A reign certainly of unqualified glory. Alas ! " the paths of «f glory lead but to the grave." Perhaps we cannot have a better standard for appreciating the nature and value of all sublunary pursuits, than what is to be found in the following letter, discovered among the manuscripts of the Caliph after his death, and written, apparently, only a few days antecedent to that awful event. *' Fifty years are elapsed since I ascended the throne of my ■'* ancestors. During this whole term, I had pleasure, wealth •** and honours so unqualifiedly at my command, that Heaven N 2 92 ABDELZAMIN III. [book ii. " seemed to have lavished upon lifte all its choicest blessings. •' I liow And m^rself oh the verge of the grave, and endeavour. " iiig at this siwfal fttottieiitto reeoUeethow matiy days of th' " Ibttg^reigh I Cart caB happy dneSi I find the whole nuniber ** taken together does not ejtceed fourteen. Profit, my son, " by this? Itssbtt, and, if it is ti^y fate td reign as long as I have " done, and experience the same good foriitme, be mindful to " turft thy time to better account, so that at the end thou " mayest derive comfort from reflectic*i, and be able to boast " of more than foiitteen happy days*." « Note (H). CHAPTER THE FIPTH. REIGir OF HAEHAM. — DECLINE OF CORDOVA. — END OF THE EMPIRE OF THE CALIPHS OF THE WEST. jcLBDELZAMIN was succeeded by his son Abbou Abbas al Hakham, whose coronation was celebrated with great pomp and magnificence at the city of Zehra. To this city the brothers and kinsmen of the new CaKph, the chiefs of the Scythian guards (a formidable band of warriors formed by his predecessor) the vizirs, the chief Hadje and all the other ^eat officers resorted to take the oaths of aHegiance. After the ceremony of the coronation, the body of the late Caliph was interred with great pomp in the tomb of his ancestors at Cordova. Hakham, though* liess warlike than his father, was not in- ferior to him either in courage or talents, and enjoyed fkv greater tranquillity. If the spirit of pebel]k>ni was not com- pletely laid, it had at least been weakened, aaad kept xuaider 94 HAKHAM. [book ii. by the exploits and vigilance of Abdelzamin : and the Chris- tian sovereigns were too much occupied at this time by their own divisions, to give any considerable molestation to the Moors. The truce with CastUe and Leon was broken only once during the reign of rfakham, and even then every thing terminated to liis glory and advantage. ■% This good Caliph seems to have been wholly intent on two objects, the happiness of his people, and the advancement of the sciences. He gave the greatest encouragement to men of learning, by whose advice and assistance he formed a valuable library of the choicest books. His laws, though lew and simple,' were enforced with strictness and impartiality. Among thie iMoors, as far as we can judge, the civil and religious code were one and the same ; their jurisprudence being confined to an application of the principles laid down in the Alcoran; which principles, though the Caliph as head oif the church was competent to explain and enforce, he himself did not dare to violate. On the first day of every week he gave audience to his subjects, listening to their grievances, examining accused per- sons, and sentencing delinquents to their just punishment. He nominated aU the governors of the different provinces and cities; and these governors coramEinded the military^ superin- tended the collection of the revenues, presided over the CHAP, v.] HAKHAM. 95 police, and were amenable for all outrages in their respec- tive districts. ^ The duties of notaries were discharged by persons conver- sant in the laws, whose employment it was to give a juridical form to all transfers of property. When a process was ready, it was submitted to certain magistrates or judges called Cadis, whose authority was alike revered by the sovereign and his people. These processes were never long. No expence was incurred by them, no chicanery in the conducting of them practised or tolerated. Advocates and proctors, or sanc- tioned pleaders, were unknown. The parties pleaded for themselves, and judgment was given on the instant. Nor was the criminal jurisprudence more complicated than the civil, being regulated by the Alcoran, and consisting of requitals and compensations rather than any species of cor- poral punishments. The rich could compound even for blood, provided they obtained the consent of the kindred of the deceased. But this consent was so indispensable a condi- tion, that if the son of the Caliph was convicted of a murder, even the authority of his father could not remit the punish- ment, unless the kindred of the deceased were brought to ac- quiesce. It would perhaps have been impossible for a code thiis 96 HAKHAM: [book II. simple to suffice for all the purposes of civil society, if the laws had not been strengthened by two very powerful props ; by the supreme unlimited authority of parents over their chil- dren, and husbands over their wives. With respect to parents, the Arabs or Moors observed in every family that submissive, unqualified obedience to their chief, which was in strict con- formity with the ancient patriarchal customs. Every father of a IJamiily, within his own waljs,, possessed, in a certain degree, the authority of a Caliph. He decided all disputes between his wives and children, and from his decisions there lay no appeal. He could inflict severe punishments even for tajivial tscansgressions, and, in some cases, even death. An old man was every where the object of respect and veneration,.the young always accosting him with modesty and reverence, and receiving his admonitions with the profoundest attention. His appearance quelled all tumults and disorders instantly, his white beard being every where regarded as a kind of sym- bol of ma^stracy. This power of manners, paasamount over all laws, prevailed for a considerable time a^ Cordova, and the following anecdote will shew that it was not at all impaired: by the sage Hakham. A poor woman of Zehra owned a small field contiguous to the Caliph's gardens, upon which this, prince wished to erect a CHAP, v.] HAKHAM. 97 \ pavilion. The intendant of the gardens was accordingly directed to propose the purchase of the field from the owner; to this proposal, she on her part refused to accede, having, as she said, an insurmountable objection to disposing of any part of , the inheritance of her ancestors. Courtiers rarely like to report unpalatable tidings to their masters, and we cannot therefore wonder that the woman's refusal was carefully con- cealed. But, though the intendant thought fit to conceal it, he determined to take a summary way of severing the knot which he could not fairly untie. He possessed himself forcibly of the land, and erected the projected pavilion. The humble owner being thus cruelly oppressed, betook herself in despair to the Cadi Bekir at Cordova, requesting his advice and interposition. The Cadi, not quite so much a cour- tier as the intendant, not quite so zealous as to 'commit fla- grant injustice for his master's pleasure, was of opinion, that the Prince of the BeUevers had no better right than the meanest of his subjects to seize upon the property of another by force ; and he therefore recurred to an expedient to recall the mind of the Caliph to a principle, which the best of men may some- times inadvertently transgress. A very few days after this complaint had been made, the Caliph was indulging himself in his favourite pavilion, when- he saw the Cadi approach moujnted on an ass, with an empty »» »KfiB(^]!«L [Booi II. sack ik" fi& haiia. Hafeliainp^iAubh astbuisiiBdpdflhianded the cause of tHs singuraf |>h€li©fe^ft'(ai; " €tmamid^Tre£ thie " Faithful !" sayiS Bekir, " I collide to reqaesipegrmissionid fift *« this sack with softie "part of that earth yoif are liow tieadm^ " under your feet."'^ The Priiice ivais too much struck ^ith the singulitrity of the rfeqvtfest not to wish to khow hdw so strange a scene would end. He therefore ga^fe Ms consent,' and the Judge gravely proceeded to iill the sack. This wias no sooner done, than Bekir, leaving it on its end, hUiiiMy re^- quested that the Prince would complete tkfe bountff bi^ enabling him to fix his. burthen on the ass. With this- r^^ttisi-^ tion the Caliph also endeavoured to comply ; but finding the sack so heavy tha.t he was scarcely able to move it^ he smiled and let go his hold, complaining at i^ saiile tihie of the eiioMou's wei^t; and^the iiicompetericy of M^ fetopi to perforin the t^sk required. °' . - , TMs declaration was iio sooner mafffe, thkn S^ri-^itM coiriiakudihg gra^ty, exdaittiedj" Prince of the Belifef^s! th^ " skek which you find so weapity ^chnM^lbiil a very si^l " portiofe irideed of the Mrid Vhich you haLve fbrcibt;^ taMi " fi-om one of your subjects. If ^ii fifa'd this poftiOh, incoii- ** siderable as it is, so heavy and intolerable, what will the ♦* field itSelflSefote, ^feii:5^1Stf pft-^seiityoui'^li; asy'itia must " dbTi^?fe^te,ii&^e pfe§^{^ cjf ah ik^Me'iMdlgJ ** Wm the 4iieie%e^f^*J^^Wfepas&;" q- iv GHAP. v.] HAKHAM. 99 The Caliph .eould not withs]tand this ingenious and just re- proof, Eeispning towards the judge, embraced and thanked him for.this mM& pledge of his integrity, and acknowledging his tmn§gi;ession openly^orderetl not only the field to be re- stored to the injured proprietors but the pavihon also with all its riQh «ontejit&. Hgyf few judges so bravely honest as jBekir! How .few despots jso considerate and just as Hakham! The dfsspot capable of acting thus nobly was ^)nly second to the JBjd^e mh>. laught him tiius to act. ^ r We always part reluctantly with princes who are thus ahve to the calls erf justice ; thus capable of feeling the wrongs they in^ct. Hakham*, reigned only fourteen years, and he had theiBJsfbrtuoe to be succeeded by a son who was a cl^ld yheu heibegq.n'.to:reign,.aiid continued ^^eh ever after. He had, however, an able and -honest minister in Mahomet Almanzpr, who, by ibis pfllce of chief Hadji, had the princip^-l map^ge- ment of Ms a-ffairs, find ^.cqjiitted himself with great wisdom fmd.^wm^9.hQt\iJivm^j^Ta^.3ft'^TC ,tb§,. minority of his iBSs|«!r, , • ■; - -r iMftJi&roet^to.l^e, talents p^a, gr^at gepfs-al, ^united all the qualities of a consummate statesman, and.aoa^ybe said to have reigned in the name of his master during twenty six Note (I), o 2 100 HAKHAM. [book n. years without subjecting himself to any other imputatioti than that of bearing an implacable hatred to the Christians. He carried his arms more than fifty-two times into Castile and the Asturies ; sacked the cities of Barcelona and Leon, and pene- trated as far as G(Mnposte]la, the celebrated church of which city he destroyed, and enriched Cordova with its spoils. In short, he kept the energies of his countrymen in constant exertion, causing the authority of the weak Caliph to be re- spected through all Spain, while he himself slumbiered amidst his concubines and his pleasures. t This was the last ray of glory that glittered on the dynasty- of the Ommiades. But this ray was sufficiently splendid to ex- cite the jealousy of the kings of Castile, Leon and Navarre. These three monarcHs confederated against Hakham, and a long and desperate battle being fought near Medina, the Moors were vanquished, and so discomfited that they fled in different directions, and were easily cut off. Almahzor, their gal- lant genarail, who, fi-om twenty years of uninterrupted success, began to think himself invincible, was so affected by this un- expected overthrow, that he died of grief and vexation, and with this great man porished the fortunes of the Moors in ihis district of iSpain. -: ■■- 'U'J The place of Almanzor was ill supplied by his son, who was destined to hold his father's office without inheriting any eiiougb:;to resist hisjfirst aseaAolts^ 'buli know- ing that no reidiytaQGe could ^ong av^aal a^iinat suchalovesr, she determined upon a desperate 6X|!iedieat:>lo save heir honor. She promiised, prorrided he desisted at tiaat time)from his criminal pursuii;, to present him with, an ointment which would reiaderlum invulnerafele ; to cjcxmyMice him of which fact, she [o£S@ced to feave. :the ficst proof of its efficacy made i^pon herself. 3b this the lCidiph,'3wrhoihadii© suspicion of the stratagem, consestodjjsad. jtbe <3rirtux)»s uwbj hamig^ rutofoed- 104 APPENinX TO BOOK II. her neck with the ointment, desired him to strike at It with his sabre, with which he compUed, and cut oflfher head. Note (B). Haroun Al Raschild, &c. Haroun Al Raschild, which means Haroun the Just, acquired great glory in the East, for which, as well as his flattering sur- name, he was beholden to his protection and encouragement of men of letters. His victories and his love of the sciences, prove that Haroun was no ordinary man, and he would per- haps have been entitled to as just panegyric as most princes who have reigned, if he had , not sullied the lustre of his ex- ploits by his cruelty to the Barmecydes. Frail mortal ! with presumptuous pride And fortune's treach'rous gifts elate. Behold the fall of Barmecyde And tremble at thy prosperous fate. So says, 1 think, Voltaire. The noble family of the Barmecydes, descended from the ancient kings of Persia, had not only rendered most signal ser- vices to the Cahphis, but justly merited the esteem and venera- tion of all orders in the empire. Of these Giafar Barmecyde, the prime vizier of Haroun, was particularly entitled to pre- eminence. This Giafar, who was one of the most virtuous of Musulmen, as well as the best writer of his age, had con- ceived an affection for the beautiful Abassa, the Caliph*s sister, which the princess on her part requited. APPENDIX TO BOOK II. £05 ^ Hatroun, who cherisheKi, to give it no harsher epithet, a ten- der friendship for his sister, was nrnch torniented atnhe dis- covery of this mutual passion. He consented, h'oti^ever, to the union of the lovers; but, by a caprice perfectly charac- teristic of eastern despotism, bound the amorous vizier by a solemn oath never to enjoy the rights of marriage 'with bis wife. The unfortunate Barmecyde was too welt aware of the consequences of a refusal to oppose this cruel teqiiisition, sind he accordingly took the oath required. But what Mths, or contracts^ can ever be long proof against the joiht assaults of love, beauty and sdKcjitation ? Abassa, who, though a principal party in the tontract, had not been sworn, could hot so easily forego her rights, so easily bring herself to consider the marriage contract, as a contract purely platonic. She, therefore, ex- plained herself to her husband in some elegant lines, 'which she dropt purposely in his way ; in which, without departing ft'om the delicacy of her sex, she hinted his duties, and her expecta- tions, in such terms as effectually overcame all his firmness and philosophy. In short, he got access to his wife, and forgot his vow. About nine months after this iriterview, the princes^ was pri- vately delivered of a son, which was sent to Meccha to be nursed, and the sebtet was so well kejf)t that many years elapsed before the Caliph was apprized of the very pardonable perjury of his minister. At length the fatal secret was revealed by the treachery of one of Giafar's slaves, as the Caliph passed through the city in which the unfortunate infant had been secreted.' The atrocious Haroun (one could scarce credit the fact, if it was not well attested through all the *East) cast his 106 APPENDIX TO BOOK II. sister into a well, ordered the head of his faithful servant to be struck off, and to complete the climax of his criminality, passed sentence of death indiscriminately upon all the Barme- cydes. Jabiad the father of Giafar, a most venerable old man, justly respected through the empire for his virtues, met his fate with the greatest fortitude, taking care however to transmit the following note to the tyrant, a few moments before his execution. " The accused passes off first ; the accuser and " judge must quickly follow. Both must appear hereaftec " before that tribunal whose decrees are infallible, and whgse " justice no one can elude." Even these cruelties, atrocious as they were, did not appease the wrath of the implacable Haroun, who carried his resentment beyond the grave, so far as to forbid the very name of Barmecyde to be pronounced. But the tyrant did not find all his people disposed to participate in his ignoble and unmanly revenge. A Musulman of the name of Mundir, in particular, dared to brave the unworthy order, so far even as to pronounce a pubUc eulogium on the forbidden name. For this offence he was arraigned before the Caliph, and threatened with instant death. " You can, I admit," says Mundir, « in this Avay, but this way only, make me silent. " But can my death, or silence, erase your late injured and " virtuous subjects from the remembrance of the Empire?, " Even the very Avrecks of the works they raised, which you " have cruelly destroyed, will prove so many tongues to " proclaim their virtues and your injustice." APPENDIX TO BOOK II. 107 Haroun was so much struck; by this honest and brave re- proof, that, to the astonishment, and pferhaps disappointment, of his surrounding sycophantic attendants ; he ordered a gold cup of very considerable value to be presented to his reprover ; and the resolute Mundir, on receiving the present, could not help exclaiming " even this is another blessing from the " Barmecydes." Note (C). King of Leon, &c. Leon, the first Christian kingdom founded in Spain, after the invasion of the Moors, is bounded on the north by the Asturies, on the west by Gallicia and Portugal, on the south by Estremadura and Castile, and on the east by Castile. It is one hundred and twenty-five miles in length, by about one hundred broad. It is 'intersected almost evenly by the Douro. Note (D), Fore de Sobrarbe, &c. SoBRARBE, signifies, upon the tree. The term, says Mezerai, is taken from the following incident. Garcias Ximenes, who signalized himself greatly by his military exploits, being about to give battle to the Moors, directed the mass to be celebrated 'antecedently. While the army was thus devoutly occupied, the King observed the figure of a crown in the heavens, having at its side an oak which seemed to support a red cross. From p 2 lQj5 APPENDIX TO BOOK II. this prodigy M he assumed the oak, cross, and crown for Jiis arms,, and called the spot from which he had seen them Sobrarbe. The laws. called Fore de Sobrarbe, were enacted 9-t this place: and pertained at first to Arragon -and Navarre. jointly. These laws hmited the power of the sovereign by introducing as a counterpoise the office of Ricos Hombres or Chief Judge. It was conformably to these laws, that the states of Arragon always made the foUowing^declaration to the sovereign at his coronation : " Nosque volemos tant como quanto vos, y que " podemos nasque vos. Os hazemos nuestroiRei com tal que ^ gardeis nuestros .fuerjos :. sino no," " We are of ; as , m uch " consequence as you. We accept jou for our King on con- " dition that you re^rd thCi laws and our just rightSi Otherr " wise not." The origin of the kingdom of Navarre, is said to have been as follows: On a retired spot in this kingdom called the Peign6e d' Oruel, there once stood a little cell or chapel dedi- cated to St. John the Baptist, jwMch was long inhabited by a devout hermit, to whom the neighbouring gentry daily paid theirtrespectsi, fromiprinjapleai of dev.otion. Thisihermit is supposed, ito. Jiave. idied, soon after the j periods when the Miaoi3$4iad< ^eaxh^jjy&mmi, Spain,, and at , feisi&meral three or folic kundred of themeighbouringgeatry assembled to pay him th€i4asl«ol^ii3iiis honors, j ati { When, the iOeremflojf . ,was;,«nded^ithe ,®@nversation chanced APPENDIX. TO BOOK II. 109 to turn upon ..the deplorable condition of the . country, and the dangers ,with which Christianity was threatened by enemies, whose manifest design , it was. to plant .their new doctrines in all the places they reduced. While they were warmly occupied iby this subiect, one of the company was so struck, with the place on which they then #tpod, that he could not help remarking how r very tenE^ble it was, and how well calculated for defence. The . thought was no sooner suggested-, than the whole company fdetermined unam- mously to carry it into effect, and ,to make one struggle in defence of their persecuted faith. And they accwdingly chose a leader, who then assumed the title of Count of Navarre.;: Note (E). The many EUwSi &c. The school for music founded by AU Zeziaih at Cor- dova, produced) the celebisated vMoussali, whom .the Orien- talists regarded as their greatest musician. Moorish music did not, like: Durs,< comist lin • a combination 'of i mamgs dif- ferent instrumeaitsjiibut chiefly in ■^ soft, and tendeiiiiairs, in which, the. singecsi were accompanied .by 'the iute.o Some times they bad> several. voices and severaiJutes. Si This Music sufficed: for a people. passionately fond> c£|)oetryy.wh(Oi while they listened to the tunes, were, anxious atthe same- time to compuehend thjemeaningiand merit ;of the composition* Moussali, the pupil of the Cordovian school, was in high 110 APPENDIX TO BOOK II. estimation with the Caliph Haroun Al Raschild. It is said that Hiaroun, having quarrelled with his favourite mistress, sunk into a melancholy which endangered his life. To rouse him from this lethargy, the faithful, but afterwards ill-requited Giafar, entreated the poet Abbas ben AnufFto compose some verses on the subject ; with which he com- plied immediately. When these verses were sung to the Cahph, he was so charmed with the thoughts and the accom- paniments of the musician, that he started up, and threw him- self in raptures at the feet of his mistress to entreat an ex- change of forgiveness. Maria, so the favourite was called, ordered twenty golden drachmas to be divided between the poet and musician, in acknowledgment of this service, and the enraptured Caliph presented them with forty more. Note (F). Over all the principal gates. Sec. Mahomet forbad the use of images in any way what- ever, but this precept was never much regarded. The Couis of the Eastern Caliphs bore the head and name of the reigning monarch on one side, and some passages from the Alcoran on the other. In the palaces of Bagdat, Cor- dova and Grenada, they had not only sculptures in gold and marble, but many statues and representations of various animals. APPENDIX TO BOOK it. Ill Note (G). At pleasure, fk.c. We have a further proof of the opulence of Cordova in the presents which Abdelzamin received from Abimelech ben Cheld, on being advanced to the office of prime minis- ter. It is taken from Ebn Kaledan, an Arabian historian. Four hundred pounds weight of virgin gold, four hun- dred thousand sequins in ingots of silver, four hundred pounds weight of aloes, five hundred ounces of ambergris, fifty pieces of gold and silver stuff, ten skins of the Korassin marten, one hundred marten skins of an inferior quality, forty eight housings of gold tissue of Bagdat. Four thousand pounds of silk, thirty Persian carpets, eight hundred sets of horse armour, one thousand bucklers, one hundred thousand arrows, fifteen Arabian horses for the use of the Cahph, one hundred for his officers, twenty mules with sumptuous saddles and trailing housings complete, twenty boy and forty most beautiful girl slaves. Note (H). Fourteen happy days ! &c. Did Charles the Fifth say much more for himself when he resigned the sovereignty of the Low Countries to his son.^ After a reign of thirty six years, the only account he could give of himself was, " that he had visited Germany nine « times, Spain six, Italy seven, France four, the Low Coun- « tries, ten, and that he had visited England and Africa twice, 112 -APPENDIX TO BOOK II. " and traversed the seas eleven times." How much more gloriously could he ■have boasted that he left his states free and flourishing, and that every subject " could command a fowl in ".his pot?" - . ' kNote (I); Hakhant reigned, Sec. I MUST here notice the tragical incident of the seven chil- dren ^f Lara, as they are called, which happened in this reign; not only . because it has employed the pens of the Spanish sniters, having been the subgect of many of their romances ; botijecause it serves as an index to the pedigree of onaof the most liMustrious families in Spain. Th&'f seven children of Lara were seven brothers^ sons of Gonsaiv©!! Gustos, a near kinsman of the first counts of Castile and the fiords of Salos de Lara. This Gonsalvo had a brotiier-in-law,. named Ruy Velasquez, whose wife Donna Lambra having conceived a rooted hatred to one of the bro- thers, meditated vengeance upon all, and contrived to effect her horrible purpose by the instrumentality of her own hus- band. At her instigation, Velasquez begun his villainy, by sending his brother Gonsalvo on some pretended affair of im- portance to the Caliph of Cordova, giving him at the same time a letter to the Caliph by which he recommended him to be put to death, as one who had ever harboured an implacable hatred to the Moors. - Fortunately fo)" Gonsalvo, Hakham was too just to be APPENDIX TP ?0Q1^ II- 110 swayed by ^ucU a ckarge." But policy poinfted m3i th^t^vm precautions agamst his new gueat might be nepessajcy. Jjq- stead therefore of confoiming to the purport of the letteir, he confined himself simply to the securing the perscto of his sup- posed enemy. While this was passing at Cordova, the treachecouis Velas- quez, under the pretence of warring agpnst jljhe Mi^re, seduced his seven nephews into an ambuscade, in wJftteh* being surrounded by assassins planted th^e for the purpose, ;tjiey were all basely murdesred, after having def^^eid themselves stoutly, and exhibited prodigies of valour tolhetest. JJf/QT did the villainy of the unnatural uncle eiad here ; /or ]m placed the heads of his seven vicitims in a golden /iisb whkk was covered with a napkin, and had M^em t)m§ gfi^^eotei ctp the view of ^iieir luaahappy father. It is needless to describe the' feelings (pf the wretcted (km- ssAyo when this sad spectacle wag placed before hiin. T^ barbarity of the act tended, however, to lundeceive tlie Calip^i; and he instantly released his prisQiiti: that he pight -sg^i^^ ^is revenge. Velasquez, however, was too far removed above his brother to be easily reached by him. Besides, age, and afflictions, which always bring on age prematurely, had too muii im- paired the powers of the injured father for such an Undertaking. No alternative, therefore, apparently remained but to devote the remnant of his Ufe to sorrow and the bitter^t reflections. In seclusion with his wife he brooded over his griefs, pining Q 114 APPENDIX TO BOOK II. away in lamentations, and calling incessantly upon Heaven for a speedy termination of his life and isufFerings. But the Divine Justice, which never sleeps, was raising up an avenger on whose aid he had little calculated ! While Gonsalvo resided at Cordova he was received by the Caliph's sister as her favoured lover; and the princess, after his departure, had been delivered of a son, the fruit of their union, to whom she gave the name of Mundaria Gon- salVo; This son, who was born a hero, at the age of fifteen was made acquainted with the name of his father and the villainy of his uncle, against whom he meditated from that time the most signal vengeance. Within a few years after, he challenged and killed the ruffian murderer of his brothers, and having cut off his head, presented himself with it at Gonsalvo*s feet, and demanded to be made a Christian and acknowledged as his son. The wife of Gonsalvo, who was still living, was so aflfected by his gallantry, that she backed the sohcitation, being proud to be called the mother of the brave bastard, and Mundaria was instantly recognized and baptized. It is from this hero that the Manriques of Lara, one of the first Spanish families, deduce their descent I BOOK THE TfflRD. FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE ELEVENTH TO THE MIDDLE OF THE rOUETEENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER THE FIRST. CONDUCT OP THE CHRISTIAN PRINCES IN SPAIN. — OJ ALMAMON THE MOOR. XT is from this period we date not only the total decUne of Cordova, but the consequent declension of the Musulman ascendency in Spain. The prown of this once celebrated king- dom was become, what crowns really are, a kind of ephemeral bawble, which glittered gaudily for a season on the brow of its unhappy possessor, and then was to be contended for anew, perhaps, by some less worthy claimant. Transient, however, and fatal as the acquisition always proved, competitors for the dangerous and brittle trinket were never wanting. Scarcely was one sovereign dispatched or removed, when various can- didates rushed forward to supply the vacuum, all contending with equal eagerness to fill a throne, whose steps were still reeking with the blood of the last unhappy possessor. It was impossible that the capital of a great kingdom could be exposed to such shocks, and the changes they must neces- 118 CIVIL WARS. [book hi. sarily produce, without communicating to all the separate dependencies some share of its convulsions. Most of the governors renounced their allegiance, and declaring themselves independent, proceeded to the election of kings or magis- trates. Toledo, Saragossa, Seville, Valencia, Huesca, Lisbon, and many others, had their respective sovereigns, whose histories for a space of two centuries exhibit only successive scenes of conspiracies, massacres, devastations, and all the other conse- quent horrors of civil or family dissentions. Nor does Christian Spain, during the same period, present more pleasing scenes to contemplation. Sancho the Great, king of Navarre, who died at the commencement of this cen- tury, had divided his estates among his four sons. Navarre, with his possessions in Cantabria, was given to the eldest son, Don Garcia^ as also the part of Najarre in which: his father had resided, the entire Buzeva, which had been detached from Castile, and some smaller districts bordering upon other «tates. Castile was bequeathed to Don Ferdinand.. The smaller states of Ripargoc6 to Don Gbnsalvo, and Arragon to liis natural son Don Ramirez. By one of the latter clauses of his will, each of the three last mentioned Princes were to assume the title of King; and each hold his respective state in full sovereignty and totally independent of the other. By this participation, Christian Spain was divided into six CHAP. I.] CHRISTIAN SPAIN. 119 monarchies, which, in extent, did not amount altogether to near a fourth part of the present kingdom, viz. the four which Sancho had ordained, and the kingdoni of Leon and county of Barcelona. The southern part of Leon was occupied bj the Moors, and Veremond, son of Alphonso the fifth, had given that part which lies towards mount Ocha, as a marriage portion with his sister, GaUicia had b^en an appendage of Leon, but this crown, after the loss of Coimbra, could not much calculate on its possessions on the side of Portugal. The Christian sovereigns, always of kin, sometimes even brothers, in point of barbarity did not yield even to their Moorish neighbours. Nor did difference of rehgion operate as a greater preventative than the ties of blood to their alUances with Musulmans for their mutual destruction.; it being by no means an uncommon thing to see an army of Moors invited by Christians on one side, to combat with an army of Chris- tians invited by Moors on the other. Thus we find, at the battle of Alcantara, a count D'urgal and three bishops, Arnold bishop of Vie, Accio of Barcelona, and Otho of Gironne,* among the slain on the part of the Moors ; thus Alphonso the fifth, a Christian sovereign, gave his daughter in marriage to Abdallah king of Toledo, to secure his alliance against. Castile., ♦ Note (A}.. ISO CHRISTIAN SPAIN. [book hi. It may miwaBy be supposed, that, during the perioid we are tareating of, crimes of all kinds were as prevalent amon^ iGhristians as among Moore ; and that the excesses of the former at least kept pace with those perpetrated by the latter. At one period we read of a Sanpho Garcia of Castile, who compelled his mother to swallow a poison which the usfiar tural parent had pisepjired for himself. .-At another, we find thfi children of Ferdinand, another.vking of Castile, stript of the best part of their inheritance by their uncle Sancho king of Leon. Again, we hear of another Sancho,'who assassinated ;1hs own brother. All Spain, in j short, was assailed and vexed at Dne aoad the Sjame instant, by civil wars and foreign, by mteiual xruej^ies and external, while the unhappy people, iQ|nDsi(iriii[iBi'tli£> penalties of wicked cnt erroneious policy fiii^^ipst invunaMyali^it, were '^ made to amswCT with theirilives aaad fiantunesibr the malversations of their rulers ! uf nn ?,, nften c« Ttet&st aggression among the Christian prince^ after the jdeath pf Sancho tiie Great, was committed by \^F0fe, of 'i^avarre against his n^Asj^hcolimi Ramif ez of Arragon. Xfee aiggEBSsoir^in tiaas insteuoe was the ; sufferer j being comfjelled ^j iiis brother not caily iia abandon tfee territ^TOies he had intw^d, fewt eiv©Bkhis«iw»i and to ^seek a® asylum in the court of his brother Gonsalvo of Sobrarbe. By his precipifeutte retreat, the kingdom of Navarre was annexed for the moment toArragon! "^ .{hfMfVi CHAP. I.] RAMIREZ. m Scaicdy had Ramirez secured this acquisitkxn timn his as- sistance was required by Ferdinand of Castile against his bro- ther-in-law the king of Lfeon, who had possesse4 himself forcibly of the part of Castile borderiairg upon Mouftt Ocfea, which -Sancho, as we have already aaoticed, bequeaii^ed to Ferdinand. With the assistance of Ramirez, the Castiliaii monarch de^ feated his enemy in a pitched battle, iin which the aggressor Avas killed. After his death the kingdom was annexed to Castile by the conqueror, who caused himself to be crowned tft it, much against liie wishes of his own subjects, the more thinking part of whom apprehended that Leon would thence- forward be absorbed into a province of Gastiie. in the person of Veremond ended the race of the Gothic kings, the imm^ diate descendeuts df Felagio, Alphonso and Ricardo. It is foreign to my purpose in this concise History to trace mifitit^ly the ^progress -^f ^e Chidstian jmnces. -Myi^at object in biMging them thus forward, is merely tojshewtthat tlieir conduct Was neither more pure nor exemplary than that of their Musiilman neighbours. We find the ^ame jerflousy 'pefVading both- religitos^ the satne injustice and violence, the same animdsities, and the same want ofTinion and primciple. But through the gloom diflFused over Spain by tbesedark 122 ALMAMON. [book hi. and oppressive clouds, the mind is occasionally cheered by Tsome flashes of magnanimity and benevolence. Such are the examples of Bennabad, king of Seville, and Almamon of Toledo, in whose courts two unfortunate monarchs, Alphonso of Leon, and Garcia of Gallicia, had withdrawn, both dis- possessed of their kingdoms by their brother Sancho. The Christian Sancho persecuted these brothers as his inveterate enemies, and the Moors, the approved inveterate enemies of the Christians, treated them as brothers. Almamon in particular shewed the greatest sympathy for his royal guest. He assigned him not only a handsome esta- blishment and a liberal pension, but continued to treat him on all occasions like a favoured son, till by the death of his unprin- cipled brother, the great impediment in the way of his birth- right was removed, and the passage to his throne again opened to him. Alphonso was at first not a little embarrassed how to con- duct hunself when the happy revolution in his fortunes took place. He saw that before he could well assert his rights to Castile, it was necessary he should be safely delivered from Toledo, and how far could he be sure that the laws of hospi- tality and friendship would prevail oyer maxims of state policy ? Or that Almamon might not detain his person, the more securely to extend his dominions on the side of Castile ? CHAP. I.] ALPHONSO. 135 The Moor had certainly the most formidable of the Christian monarchs at this time in his possession, and might no doubt have exacted his own terms as the price of his ransom. But his high respect to the laws of hospitaUty raised him above such sordid considerations ; and he scorned to treat him as an enemy, whom he had once recognized as a guest. On the contrary, he loaded him with presents and honoured him with the highest marks of favour and distinction, accompanying him himself as far on his route as Zamora, and offering unquali- fiedly both his troops and treasures to facilitate his restoration. Alphonso testified his sense of these obligations, by one of the first acts of his reign. He aided his benefactor against his enemy, the King of Cordova, and did this so effectually as completely to disable that monarch from renewing his ag- gressions. After the death of Almamon, the grateful Castilian conti- nued the same predilection and friendship for his son and sup- cessor Haccham. But the reign of this prince, unforttmat^Iy for his people, was of no duration, and at his death the crown of Toledo devolved to his brother Jabiah, or as others call him Haya, a prince in all respects his very countei-part. He is said, in short, not to have possessed one amiable quality ; arid from the very commencement of his reign, made himself equially obnoxious to all orders of his subjects, who were a mixture R 2 1^4 ALPHONSO. [bpok III. of Moors and Christiaus. At length the hatred against Mm became so general, that two different monarchs were invited by ihis /subjects to disposseigs him of the crown, thp Christians having recourse to Alphonso, and the Moors to the King of Badajos. oi t. It was with -much rduotance Alphonso brought himself to faccede to the splendid proposal." The former. bounties of his deceased beneiBactor, his hospitality, his presents, his resent- ment of his wrongs, his sympathy under his sufferings, and above all the joy he had manifested at his happy restoration : all these consideratiom pleaded most powerfully agamst the measure, and the sordid Avorkings of ambition were for a while restrained by the silent admonitiiQQS.'Of ^faXitU^-- At length it -was suggested to him, that, what he' hesitated to ac<5qpt, had -been offered to another, and that other not a Chrjsti^^n ; and that, as the people were determined upon a changej in ciEise of his refusal Ijaey ; would tbf0w, th^g^ives upi(?n4 his rival for protection, and jHhus the cau3e i3l' Cbii^t^ity be injured witiaout being prioductite of any ady^afitfpige' I^P the sonof his beoefactdr. fa'!- , ; r ? r • lis ,h The latter conpideratixDn at Jjaigibh prevailed, ajid Alphonsp sMKOBdiBglyoibtained possesion of T^oledo^ withofit thesjnaU^ resistance. But hx mpking tibe aequi^tin® beiftill remertJ- beped the bourati^ of the joed Al^iUQniSjO far.as toqualij^'^ CHAP. I.] ALPHONSO. 125 an injustice Tj^hich he could not in sound policy avoid. He suffered his son to reign at Valencia, and bound himself by oath to protect the Moorish mosque at Toledo : an oath which he could not afterwards prevent the Christians from violating. The Moors had held this kingdom three hundred and sixty years, from the year seven hundred and fourteen, to the year one thousand and eighty. After its surrender Al- phonso assumed the title of Emperor of Toledo, and hence this city has been always distinguished by the epithets of impOTial and royal. The city of Toledo was said to have contained, about two £€intunes^^ upwards of two buudiied thojiisand iohabitlilits. The flfumber now dgpg not iexceedthixty thousand. The whole 4X)ua.try is mouiitainous or hilly^ and #iese iluMs aretheVfery images W jftfirility ; yet, under tjus "^fs^rbiddiHg and f baireii jaj^peaisaisXi, me find ammg ihsi snojuntain/s many rich ma£ ib@auti£ul i^esuiows all well waiberfid,- in which the vines are €een aMaahingJthemfitelves to the trees in such a maniier as if dissigBjedljf 1 to presept so many natural bowers, ''to proteot the traveller from the scorching ^heiats of the sup. These sp«rf;s are called Cignarolcs. The roads to them are tedious ; but those who .sucmouQt th^ ate so Amply cioiiin^nsated' for their 126 THE CID. [book hi. patience, that it is not without great regret they bring them- selves to quit these charming retreats. ^ ■ , After the death of Alphonso the kingdoms of Castile and Leon were again separated. But, though under different sovereigns, they furnished full employment to the Moors in the South of Spain, while in the North they were harrassed inces- santly, and dispossessed of many of their strong cities, by the kings of Arragon and Navarre and the counts of Barcelona. We cannot avoid noticing that it was about this period, that the celebrated Cid principally achieved his great con- quests, and distinguished himself in the fields of glory. Roderic Dias de Bivac or Bivar, surhamed the Cid, whose love for the fair Chimerie, and ulihappy quarrel with her father, the count de Gomez, has fiimished matter for one of Comeille's best tragedies, was by birth a simple Castilian knight, equally destitute of consideration as of fortune. But such were his talents, so transcendent his virtues, both moral and political, that they quickly surmounted these adventitious defects, and exalted him suddenly in the political hemisphere as a star of the very first magnitude. The Cid first attracted notice in the reign of Ferdinand the CHAP. I.] THE cm. 127 First, king of Castile, about the middle of the eleventh century. On the death of Ferdinand, when Sancho the Second, who succeeded him, wished to deprive his sister Uraque of the city of Zampra, the Cid with a noble intrepidity pointed c^ut the injustice of the act, demonstrating, how far such an aggres- sion must violate both the laws of honour and the ties of blood ; for which offence he was banished by the impetuous Sancho. But Sancho could not long dispense with the talents of such a servant, and kings, like ordinary men, must sometimes forget affronts. He was therefore recalled from this first banishment very shortly after it had takien place. When this Sancho, by whom he had been thus ungenerously treated, was afterwards murdered before the wdlls of Zamora, and the Castilians wished that Alphonso his successor, who was suspected of being accessory to the murder, should purge himself of the charge upon oath, the Cid was thie only person who had the courage to demand this formality from the new sovereign. He not only proposed the oath, but proposed it at the very altar where he was crowned, insisting that it should be pronounced audibly, and accomp^iying. his demand virith strong imprecations upon him in case of perjury. We must na- turally suppose that this insult could not easily be overlooked. He was shortly after banished a second time, though, as was given out, not for this oiFence, isft Ta^ cm. [b6oit 111. •X. Whatever may have been the motive foi'this Wush fefeiiteftbe, it only tettded to advance his character the liigher, and ]pr6seftt it with additiotiall lustre to the admiration of his Country. It was ih*exil^ his careet of glory coimhenced. It was then "hei exhibited prodi^es of valour and generosity ; that he idared above the most ddebrated of his cotemporaries, and eclipsed Ihem far by the splenddur and rapidity of his conquests.' By these exploits he triumphed even over his master,^'' who, either from envy of his prOweSs,^or because he requited his gilfvices elsewhere, found it necessary to recall and even affected to reinstate htoi in favour. V^ ' j u L-. •"'^Bttt this occasional lenity was neither sin6ere nor lasting, the Cid ftom his teittire beitig but ill qualified totMvfein the liotrbed of a court. ^ He was^ theteibrej scatcely tecalled Wheii iie was baaaished the third tiiSie, and hfe Itr^tr^ again brought 40 the |est by further itlSdltiS ahd disgraces. But, like the purest of the mfetals,'it r^iilaihisd p?rOOf against all assays, Und, )lii6u^' twisted , and tortui-^ iti a thousand differeiit shapes, '^resi^ved its intrinsigfchatactteristic value to the la'st. When he -w^as recalled from exile, he abaiidoned his cOtltjii^stsVith tjae same celerity he msuAe them, to fly to the presence of his .Ungenerous pei^ecntor. In disgrace^ he readily* fOrgot all wrongs for the servite of his master. When in favour he was equally ready to offend him by wholesome coiinsd'Sj aM tiSe avowal of honest though unpalatable truths. CHAP. I.] THE CID. 129 It was during his third exile that the.Cid conquered Va- lencia, and made many other valuable acquisitions, over the whole of which he might with safety, and in right of conquest, have usurped to himself the full sovereignty. But his high sense of duty scorned to stoop to such sordid considerations, and he faithfully retained all his conquests in the name of his soviereign. Oh! proud pre-^eminence of heroic virtue! In the faithful groupings of history, the character of the miscreant monarch is thrown into a kind of back ground. It is cast into the shade, and almost wholly eclipsed by the exalted and splendid virtues of the injured unalienated subject. This hero died at Valencia, as full of years as glory, leaving three children ; a son, who was killed in battle when young, and two daughters. Donna Elvira and Donna Sol, who mar- ried two princes of the House of Navarre ; from one of whom, by a long train of alliances, are descended the Bourbons, who lately occupied the French and Spanish thrones. While they were assisted by the Cid, the Christian princes were always successful against the common enemy. But with- in a few years after his death, which happened in 1099, the Moors of Andalousia, having changed masters, became for the moment as formidable as ever. By the fall of Toledo, Seville had risen into great power, and 130 BENNABAD. [book hi. the kiags of this country, the ancient sovereigns of dor- dova, stUl hejd Estremadura and a considerable portion pf Por- tugal. Bennabad, one of the best men of his day, was the then reigning monarch, and as he was the only enemy capable of disturbing the tranquillity of Castile, Alphonso the Siittb, the then king, to secure hjs alliance, had obtained his daughter Zaide, in marria,ge, and with her sever^ considerable places in dower. This union was productive of consequences directly the reverse of those intended by it. It produced a bloody war, which tenninated in Bennabad's ruin. Events which are partly to be attributed to the jealousy of the> neighbouring states, but more to some important changes which had recently taken place in Africa. CHAPTER THE SECOND. FALL OF BENNABAD. CONFEDERATION OF CHRISTIAN PRINCES. xxFRICA, aftet being dismembered by the Fatimite Caliphs from the empire of the East, had devolved to conquerors far more ferocious than the lions of its deserts.* Under these monsters it had groaned for nearly three centuries, when they were at length supplanted by „ the Almoravides, a family originally of Egyptian descent. Of these Joseph ben Tanas* sin, the second of the dynasty, founded the city and empire of Morocco. Joseph, being a prince of considerable military talents, and equal ambition, had scarcely established himself upon the throne, when he began to cast an invidious eye upon the possesisions of his brethren in Spain, and to covet a partici- pation of their spoils. If this was his wish, the alliance be- tween Bennabad and Alphonso soon furnished a pretext for realizing it, * Note (B). S 2 132 JOSEPH. [book hi. Some writers pretend that Bennabad had formed a plan for annexing all Musulman Spain to the crown of Seville ; but that as Alphonso, his son-in-law, could not, as a Christian, openly countenance this project, it was agreed between them, that Bennabad should solicit assistance from the Almoravide. Others pretend, that Joseph's assistance was required by the lesser states in the neighbourhood of Seville, who were justly alarmed at the close alliance between Bennabad and a Chris- tian sovereign. Perhaps the Almoravide was swayed by neither of these motives. At all events we have no occasion to resort to them, when we recollect, that, to a conqueror flushed with success, and not overburdened with scruples, the wealth of Spain,' and its contiguity to his own dominions, were of themselves in- ducements sufficiently powerful. Whatever the inducement may have been, we know that Joseph landed a considerable army on the coast of Anda- lousia, with which he surprised Perdinand, and easily became master of Cordova. After this first success he proceeded to Seville, and was preparing to carry the city by assault, when the unfortunate Bennabad delivered himself and his one hundred children to the mercy of the Almoravide ; hoping to screen his subjects from pillage by this voluntary surrender of his crown and hberty. But no sacrifice could soften the na- tural ferocity of his African conqueror. The barbarian loaded CHAP. II.] JOSEPH. 133 the royal captive with irons, and fearing the many virtues which justly endeared him to his people, sentenced him to drag on the remnant of his miserable life in the gloom of an African prison, where his daughters, who had associated them- selves to his misfortunes, were forced to depend on their own hard exertions, to obtain a scanty and precarious subsistence for their unhappy parent. In this miserable prison, the good Bennabad languished six years, no otherwise regretting his reverses than as his subjects were affected by them ; and with no wish for life except as it continued him in the society and enjoyment of his family. In his hours of painful solitude he composed some verses, which are still extant and in estimation. In these he endeavours to console his children, for the hard measure his benevolence had entailed upon them. Or, contemplating his past grandeur Tvith true philpsophic magnanimity, holds up his example, as a cautionary mirror, to such of his brother monarchs, as plume themselves too highly on the stability of their fortunes, and think, because they are kings, they are necessarily exempted from the ordinary casualties of humanity. Joseph having thus mastered Cordova and Seville, was tempted to carry his arms against the other neighbouring states : and, so rapid was his progress, that the Moors begain to cherish the hopes of retrieving their formier glories, and ex- 134 ALPHONSO. [book hi. tending once more their empire over the greater part 'of Spain. His successes* however, were too rapid, and his views too obvious, to escape the vigilance* of the Christian Princes, and they very wisely suspended their own contests to unite with Alphonso against the common enemy. In this great undertaking they were seconded by many gallant warriors from motives of zeal and piety. Raymond of Burgundy and his kinsman Henry, both princes of the blood of France, ac- companied by Raymond de St. Giles, count of Tholouse, and a crowd of other illustrious knights, crossed the Pyrennees to range themselves under the Castilian banners. This powerful confederacy completely damped the ardor of the African prince. He withdrew his armies precipitately, abandoning all his conquests, and fled for safety to his native country. Alphonso gave his daughters in marriage* to the Princes who had assisted him, in requital of their late services. Uraque, his eldest daughter, was bestowed upon Raymond of Burgundy, to whom she bore a son who afterwards ascended the throne of Castile. Theresa became the wife of Henry, bringing as her portion, the districts that had been or might' be recovered in Portugal. This marriage laid the foundation of the P<3rtm;guese monarchy ! Elvira was betrothed to the cou^nt of Tholouse, whom , she accompanied to the holy warsj aifd wh^fbeeame aflteiswajrds the founder of some other states. CHAP. II.] ALPHONSO. 135 The encouragements dealt out by Alphonso to the knights and princes who had thus critically assisted him, drew crowds of other heroes to his standard, with whose assistance he pos- sessed himself of Saragbssa, and made other equally valuable acquisitions. Not long after' this period, Alphonso, the son of Henry, who became afterwards the first king of Portugal, availed himself eum on the field of battle, in the presence of the triumphant sovereigns. . Such is a summary of the much celebrated tettle of Toloza; ,a,battle worthy to be recorded, not only fi-om its importance ■to the cause of Christianity, but Jbecause it gives: us isome ide^. :of Moorish tactics ; which, infact, consisted in littlp more than joining battle with an enemy with .all iipo^sSale .dn^mtuosity, each man fighting for himself, and committing his success to iiis own pfiEsonalatrength and Tesolution. ) IfH ■•a 5it,H]«istjbe;Confe6S€d that the Spaniart^s in thisiage were aiot4m3ajch/,gTieater ladepts than their adversaries in the art of >*.Note(By. fr, t a if pa. V 3 148 BATTLE OF TOLOZA. [book hi. war. Y^t they had certainly one material advantage; their infantry was even then accustomed to resist a charge in a body, a practice which they brought afterwards to the greatest perfection; while the infantry of the Moors, being strangers to this practice, could scarcely ever act to such effect as to recommend itself to even ordinary estimation. But if the Moorish infantry was of no account, its defects were amply compensated by the cavalry, which was, beyond all doubt, extremely formidable. The men were selected from the best families; they wete mounted on the fleetest and most beautiful chargers, which, being trained from infancy to the horse exercise, they managed with uncommon dexterity, darting upon those that opposed them with the velocity of lightning. They managed both the sabre and launce with skill and activity. When pressed in action they would fly, or affect to fly, with the greatest swiftness; but they would rally again as swiftly, and often restore a battle when it seemed on the point of being irretrievably lost. Yet over this cavalry, excellent as it certainly was, HHM Christians had one signal advantage. They were cased com- pletely in steel, while their opponents, comparatively^ were almost unarmed, their heads being only protected by steel, and their stomachs by ordinary breastplates. With respect to their mfantry, it may be said to have been almost naked. CHAP. IV.] BATTLE OF TOLOZA. 149 having no defensive armour but their breastplates, and no offensive but their pikes. Hence it is reasonable to infer that in battle, but,. above all, in flight, they must always have suffered considerably. A conclusion which may lessen in some degree that appearance of exaggeration which the de- tails of this battle carry witlf^hem. Yet, with all the allow- ances that can be made, these details are certainly incredible, notwithstanding the authorities by which they have been transmitted. Historians assure us, that the Christians in the battle of Toloza, destroyed upwards of two hundred thousand Moors, with the loss to themselves of only one hundred and fifteen men. That the loss on their side was excessive, there can be. no doubt, since this memorable battle seems to have crippled the powers of the Kings of Morocco so completely as to have forced them from that time to moderate their views, so far as to renounce all hopes of the future reduction of the Spaniards. These latter, at all events, have always regarded this victory as of the last importance, since the battle of Toloza has not only formed the subject of many of their choicest «ongs and legendary tales, but is, even at this day, commemo- rated at Toledo with the utmost parade of pomp, triumph and exultation. CHAPTER THE FIFTH. s!& DEATH OF MAHOMET. — EMPIRE OF MOROCCO DIVIDED. STATE OF THE MOORISH POWER IN SPAIN, AFTER THE BATTLE OF TOLOZA. — JAMES THE FIRST OF AR- RAGON ATHli FERDINAND OF CASTILE. JL HE battle of ' Toloza proved more immediately fatal to 'Mahomet than to the Moors of Atidalousia. These retired into their principal cities, and being strengthened by the r©aa- nants of liie Afiacaii arany which had betaJcen themselves to ithe same 'shdltgr, they were secured -for the present agaifeSt all assanks. Indeed, the to practise between his twentieth and thirtieth year, he must certainly have had as much experience as any of his contemporaries. He published two treatises, on diet, and on pharmacy: This latter work was so much esteemed, that, in 1280, it was translated into Hebrew, and has been since translated from that language into Latin by Paravicius, whose translation ran through many editions. Note (D). Averroes. AvERRois, son of the Judge of Cordova, was educated in Africa. He first . translated Aristotle into the Arabian lan- guage, and thence into Latin, and his translation was for a long time the only one in use. . His xjther works on the Globes, and the Res Medica, are still held in estimation among the learned. He was ranked, not without reason, among the first of the Arabian philosophers, a race of men rarely very APPENDIX TO BOOK III. l65 numerous where bigots or prophets predominate. Persons of this cast, hke certain noxious trees, rarely permitting any salutary plants to prosper within the reach of their exhala- tions. The indifference which Averroes affected for all religions, his own not excepted,, drew upon him the vengeance not only of the priesthood, but of all denominations of fanatics, to whose malevolence he is said to have falleh a martyr. Articles of ac- cusation were tendered against him to the Emperor Henry of Morocco. In consequence of this prosecution, he was con- demned to do public penance at the gates of the Mosque, where he was exposed to the disgusting humiliation of receiving in his face the spittle of all those who came, or pretended to come, to pray for his conversion. To this sentence he resigned himself with the utmost composure, exclaiming all the while, with an energy superior to the mean and little insults of human malice, " Oh let me live and die with the temper of a philoso- " pher." He was taken off at Morocco, anno 1206. Note (E). St. James and Calatrava. The order of St. James of the Sword, as it is called, was instituted in 1170, in the reign of Ferdinand the Second, king of Leon and Gallicia. It took its rise from the incursions of the Moors, and was intended to protect the pilgrims who were accustomed to resort to Compostella, to visit the se- pulchre of St. James. The order was confirmed in 1175 by a Bull of Pope Alexander the Third. Don Pedro Ferdinand de Y 2 l64 APPENDIX TO BOOK III. Fuentos Escalada was the first Grand Master. He died in 1184, after having governed the order thirteen years. The habit of ceremony of the knights of St. James is a white mantle with a red Cross on the breast. This Cross has th6 form of a sword, powdered with fleurs de LyS along the pummel and handle. The knights in ordinary wear a medal with a red sword at the button hole. They made at first no other vows than those of conjugal cliastity, poverty and obedience ; but since 1652, they have added a fourth— to maintain and defend the immaculate Conception. This order had twenty-seven Commanderies assessed in Castile and Leon, ♦which produced a revenue of two hundred and seventy two thousand ducats. The order of Calatrava was instituted 1158, during the reign of Sancho the Third, under Raymond Fitero and David Velas, two monks, who madfe a vow" to defend Calatrava, a city of New Castile, on the Guadiaha, when the Moors threatened to besiege it. The king was so pleased with this vow, that he gave the city and its territory to Fitero and his order, and knighted them. The knights wear a red Cross upoii their habits. Pope Alexander the Third confirmed the institution. The title of Grand was in 1522 annexed to the Crown of Castile, and, from being dective, was made hereditary, by a Bull of Adrian the Sixth. ITie knights bear for arms the Cross of the order gules, in a field argent, with two entraves sable at the foot of the Cross. The habit of ceriemony is a large white mantle. APPENDIX TO BOOK III. l65 having, on the left side, a red cross sprinkled, with ileursde Lys. Since the year 1540, at which time they obt;ained per- mission to marry, no other vows are exacted than those of obedience, poverty, and conjugal chastity^ Note (F). Forces the iron chains^ &c* It was Sancho the Eighthjsurnamed.the Sjlafong, whQi.aOr quired such gjoryin this action: And iti was in c@mn}^etnorar tion of his exploits on this day, (of the chains she. forced through), that he assumed, in addition to the arms of Navarre, chains d'or upon a field gules. Note (G). The paradise, &c. Cordova is commanded by a chain of mountains which, preserve a perpetual verdure. The walls of this city are washed by the Guadalquivir. It was known to the ancients by the names of Corduba and Colonia patricia. The former site is filled up with half ruined buildings and the scattered reliqiies of its ancient mosque. All who have written upon this city call it the Cradle of Genius. In the first ages after its foundation it had an univer- sity in which the sciences were cultivated. Under the Romans this university was celebrated for the Study of philosophy, morality and eloquence, and even a great professorship was annexed to it ; in their days we find among its best produc- l66 , APPENDIX TO BOOK III. tions, the names of Gallio, Lucanus Acilius, ancestor of the poet of that name, Fortius Ladro, Menalus, master of the elder Seneca, Seneca the historian, author of the history which passes under the name of Florus, Lucan the poet, and Seneca the tutor of Nero. The Moors preserved to the university the reputation it had acquired under the Romans. Among their illustrious el6ves we find Avenpace and Algazel, Ahalbohava and All Aben Rag^l, Abenzual, surnamed the Sage, Albehnarcar, Abramo, Rashez, Almanzor and Aben Regid. BOOK THE FOURTH. FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY, TO THE TOTAL EXPULSION OF THE MOORS FROM SPAIN. CHAPTER THE FIRST. i;.'. f, -,j - ORIGIN OF THE KINGDOM OF GRENADA. JL HE rapid and brilliant successes of the Christian mo- narchs, but above all the taking of Cordova, spread general consternation among tne Musulmans. When they beJield the cross displayed upon the minarets of the grand mosque, they abandoned themselves to despair, considering this profanation as nothing less than the subversion of their empire. Yet their situation was neither desperate nor irretrievable. They still possessed Seville, Murcia, and the little kingdom of Algarvez, and the coasts and ports in the South of Spain, and above all had an earnest of ample protection in the gigantic arm of Grenada*. But to them all these possessions now appeared no better than so much dust in the balance. Cordova, their holy city, the western rival of Meccha, had fallen into the hands of the unbelievers, and what ablution or what penaace ♦ Note {A). 170 ALHAMAR. [book iv. could cleanse them from the effects of this profane and deadly contamination ? Grenada at this period was governed by Mahomet Ebn Said of the tribe of Alhamar, originally from Caffa on the borders of the Red Sea. It is said, that Alhamar was by birth but a simple shepherd, who, having been accidentally present at a battle, became ever after impatient of the dull uniformity of the pastoral hfe, and was tempted to exchange his crook for the faulchion ; to which exchange he owed his elevation to the throne. Incidents of this kind are not uncommon in history ; but they -frequently occurred among the Moors. It is of little consequence to what source true greatness traces its origin, " to whom related, or by whom biegot." Alhamar was assisted in his pretentions to the crown by a powerful auxiliary whom he had called in, in aid. of his own merits. This was a kind of prophetic priest called a Santon, who most seasonably foretold that he was to be a king, and whose prediction, like many others, led to its own veri- fication. The new king, who was not inferior in talents to Benhoud,, justly regarded himself as the last prop of the Musulman esta- blishments in Spain. And the persecutions to which his coun- trymen had been exposed, and the dangers which seemed CHAP. I.] GRENADA. I7I daily to be threatening more immediately his own states, de- termined him to found a city, which might, in some degree, replace Cordova, and present a solid barrier to the impe- tuosity of the Christian incroachments, and he accordingly founded the city of Grenada. This city is built upon two declivities at the foot of the Sierra Morena or Snowy Mountain, having the benefit of two rivers, one of which intersects and the other surrounds it. On the summit of these decUvities Alhamar had erected two for- tresses, one called Albazin, the other Alhambra in honour of the inhabitants of the Old Alhambra, who, as we have already stated, had betaken themselves thither after the loss of their proper city. This last town soon became a considerable city of itself, the original settlers having been recruited by fresh accessions of the Moors, whom Ferdinand expelled from Baeza, and of such as had forsaken Valencia, Cordova, and the other reduced places. Being thus suddenly augmented by the adventitious acqui- sition of such an immense population, Grenada may be said to have burst forth in a state of complete maturity from its very birth. This city was upwards of three leagues in length. Its ramparts were flanked by 1030 towers, and the inhabitants no less brave than numerous, and thus all things seemingly conspired not only to promise permanence to her independency, z 2 %7% GRENADA. [book iv. but to recommend and justify her pretensions to sovereignty. Her situation was both heg^lthy and temperate, and perhaps one of the most luxuriant and dehghtful in the world, the whole circumjacent country conveying the idea of a perfect terrestrial paradise. The famous Vega or plain, which forms a kind of bason of about 20 leagues in length, by eight in breadth, is sheltered by the mountains of Elvira and Sierra Nuevada on the North, and on the other sides by an amphi- theatre of lesser mountains, all decorated with mulberry trees, oranges, citrons, vines and olives. It is watered by five small rivers, and an infinitude of springs which serpentine along mea- dows of perpetual verdure, through groves of orange trees, fields of wheat and flax, plantations of the sugar cane, and forests of the stately oak. AH these productions, so varied, so delicious, and so valua- ble, required in this climate but little culture or trouble to bring them to perfection. The soil, a stranger to the for- bidding inactivity of winter, is in a state of constant vegetation ; and the winds that descend regularly from the mountains, as if expressly to quaUfy the sultry heats of the summer, and pre- serve a pleasing temperature, wMe they assist respiration and, preserve health, protect and revive the flowers, with which Nar. ture in her bounfy has bedizened this her great master-piece. Vegetation is every where so active, that buds, blossoms, and fruits are seen upon the same tree at one and the same tmi&a CHAP. I.] GRENADA. 17$ as if contending for pre- and further call to mind the extraordinary activity, the industry, and characteristic sobriety of the Moors, these ag^egate con^derations must certainly impress no very humble notions of the opulence of the Grenadian sovereigns. Their forces, I will not say in times of peace, for with such times they were rarely acquainted, amounted to one A A S! 18G GRENADA. [book ir. hundred thousand effective men, and this number could on exigencies be doubled. The city alone furnished fifty thousand ; but when called upon to act against the Spaniards, every man became a soldier. Difference of worship rendered these wars in a manner holy, and the rooted antipathy be- tween the two nations, drew forth, in times of need, even the imperfect energies of infancy and age. »*■ But independent of this auxiliary force, which could at best be but imperfectly disciplined, Grenada had always large bodies of horse distributed along her frontiers ; but particu- larly on the sides of Jaen and Mureia, these points being most exposed to the depredations of the Spaniards. Each of these horsemen had a comfortable dwelling assigned him, with land sufficient to support his femily and his horse. Tliis mode of maintaining soldiers, was beneficial without being burthensome. And' it was also extremely politic, since it attached these soldiers to their country, by giving them a kind of property they were interested in dfefending, and the defence of which they must know depended principally on them- selves. *^ This cavalry must have proved extremely serviceable in an age when the art of war did not, as in our days, require large bodies of men to be incessantly assembled and collectively exercised. The men were mounted on Andalousian or CHAP. II.] GRENADA. 131 African horses, whose excellencies have been always acknow- ledged, which they managed with uncommon dexterity, and rfegarded indeed as companions. In a word, their cavalry had obtained even then the same reputation which we assign it at present. ♦ These formidable squadrons were unrivalled in the velocity of their movements. At one and the same instant they would charge in a body, divide by troops, disperse, rally, fly and then rally again, and during any of these manoeuvres pick up a lance or sabre from the ground on full gallop. Nothing in short in horsemanship could, exceed their experb- ness. Their voices, their looks, their gestures, their very thoughts all seemed rivetted to their inestimable coursers; and these in fact constituted the principal stren^ of the Moorish battle. Their infantry wasiof littTe or no estimation, and the places of. defence committed to them in general, little; better than mere mud: walls surrounded by ditches, and therefore cer- tainly incompetent to resist the attacks of tiie Spanish in- fantry, which began even then to be thought, what it after^ wards proved itself to be under Gonsalvo the great captain. CHAPTER THE THIRD. ALPHONSO THE SAGE. — ANECDOTE OF GARCIAS GOME;^, Jb ERDIN4.ND the Third, or, as he has been called. Saint Ferdinand, was succeeded on the throne of Castile by his son Alphonso the Sage*. On the accession of the new king, Mahomet presented himself at court, escorted by a splendid retinue, to renew the treaty of peace which had been entered into with his predecessor. He met with the most gracious reception, and obtained a remission of part of the tribute he had stipulated to pay, and thus far harmony seemed esta- blished between the two courts. But the prospect was too fair to be lasting. War wa$ agafti renewed, and conducted with the usual inveteracy, but with this only difference, that the contending parties were now more equally balanced, and the chances became more doubtful. In the course of this war we meet with an exploit which does no less honour to the liberaUty of the Moors, than the * Note (D). CHAP. III.] ALPHONSO. 183 courage of the Christian hero, the immediate subject of it, and is therefore not undeserving a place in history. Garcias Gomez was governor of Xeres when that city was besieged by the Grenadians, and, during the siege, had lost the principal part of his garrison. Still, however, though himself stuck round with darts and covered with blood, he remained upon the ramparts, resisting almost singly all the attacks of the assailants. The Moors, who beheld with admiration this ex- "traordinary display of courage, were so affected by it, that they determined with one accord to save, if possible, the life of the gallant Spaniard ; and accordingly, by means of iron hooks, they actually succeeded and brought him off in his own despight. They detained him among them till his wounds were healed, treating him always with the greatest care and tenderness, and then, in acknowledgment of his hi^ valour, loaded him with presents and returned him unransomed to his country. If Alhamar, klthough *successful in many battles, could not protect Murcia against the arms of A,lphonso, and was even forced, for the attainment of peace, to subject himself anew to his former tribute. But the treaty to this effect was scarcely signed, when his hopes were again revived by dissentions in Castile between Alphonso and some of the principal lords of his court, with his brother at their head. These malcontents withdrew themselves to Grenada, where they rendered very 184 MAHOMET II. [book iv. seasonable service to Alhamar, in quelling a revolt which had been excited by the intrigues of the Spaniards. This was one of Alhamar's last exploits. He died shortly after at Grenada, bequeathing to his son, Mahomet the Second, the undisputed possession of a throne which had been acquired exclusively by his own valour and virtues. ^ Mahomet assumed at his accession the title of Emir al Mu- nemion. He seems to have adhered to his father's policy with' respect t6 Castile. As Alphonso was aspiring at the imperial crown,* he was necessarily forced to make frequent voyages for the advancement of his pretensions : upon these occasions the Grenadian monarch did not fail to profit of his absence so far as to foment divisions in his kingdoms, under covei^ of which, ^^xpectednot only to xelease himself from his dis- graceful tribute, but also to augment and strengthen his domi- nions. With this view he made a secret treaty with the king of Tunis, by which it was fixed that the strong fortresses of Jaen and Algeziras, should be delivered into his hknds, on con- dition that he invaded Castile with a powerful army. Con- formably to this treaty, Jacob arrived in S^ain and effected a junction with his ally. While the Musulman princes acted in concert they ob- * Note (E). CHAP. III.] ALPMONSO. 185 tained many advantages over the Castilians. But their union was soon interrupted by the criminal febelUon of Sancho against his father. Mahomet on this occasion declared for the rebel son, and Alphonso being forsaken by his subjects, had no resource but to throw himself at the mercy of the King of Tunis, before whom he presented himself accordingly at Zehra. At this interview the Castihan offered the post of honor to his protector. " No," exclaimed the generous .Moor, " this place, as long as you are unfortunate, is due to " you. I come to render justice to an injured father, to " assist him in chastising an ungrateful son, who, in return for " the life he has received, is wickedly plotting to deprive his " venerable benefactor both of his life and his crown. When " this work is accomplished, and you become once more pros- ** perous and powerful, I shall be then ready to enter the " list against you, and contest anew your pretensions to the " crown." Alphonso had not magnanimity enough to confide in the person who made this declaration. He withdrew secretly from his court, and died shortly after of grief and disappointment, having previously made a will, by which, in due form, he af- fected to disinherit his guilty son. Vain ostentation ! to think that the grave would give him the disposal of a kingdom, which, when living, he had not been able to recover ! In defiance of the will, and the then prevalent dissentions in » B 186 MAHOMETi [book iv> Castile, Sancho*. continuedt.upono the ; -throne. . Mahomet however did > not* fail to turn these. dissepjtiaiis> to his own benefit* He penetrated into Andalousia,-f* where he possessed himself of; many posts of. considerable strength, and signa^ lizing his rei^ by various victories^ ended his. career in a blaze of glory! * Note (F). t Note (G). QHAPTER THE FOURTH. OF ALHAMBRA, AND GENERALIFFB. jffLS Mahomet the Second was always friendly to the scienpesi his court became particiflarly the asylum of poetry and phi- losophy. The Moors had ^distinguished tiiemselves in many branches of science, but, above all, in astronomy, for which they were so highly celebrated, thal^ we are told, when Al" , phonso the Sage was composing his famous astronomical tables, he was materially assisted by some of the most learned of this nation. But exclusive of her excellence in this and other sciences, Grenada had certainly begun to rival Cordova* in arts, but particularly in architecture;, her progress in which had been uncommonly rapid. It was in the reign of Mahomet the Second, that the cele- brated palace of Alhambra was begun > a palace which has * Note (H). B B 2 188 ALHAMBRA. [book iv. particularly excited the admiration oF all travellers, as it serves to prove the degree of perfection to which the Moors had carried the art, till then so little known to Europeans, of adjusting magnificence by the mirror of voluptuousness. As I am upon this topic, I trust I shall be excused from giving some detail of a structure, the contemplation of which con- veys no little insight into the manners and customs of this people. ri Alhambra was a vast fortress constructed upon one of the two hills which comprised the city of Grenada. This hill, not only commands a complete view of the whole city, but an extensive and almost boundless landscape of the most beauti- Jful country probably in the universe. It was in the middle of an esplanade on this spot that Mahomet constructed his superb palace. Nothing known to us in architecture can give us any adequate idea of the architecture of the Moors. They piled up their buildings without the smallest regard to external shew, without symmetry, without order. Tlieir whole attention was directed inwardly. Hfere they employed all their ingenuity. Here they exhausted their resources of taste and magnificence, •endeavouring to blend all the refinements of luxury and elegance, with the lovelier fascinations of rural simplicity. Here, in spacious saloons lined with marble, paved or coated CHAP. IV,] ALHAMBRA. 189 with elegant china, and set off with sofas covered with the finest Persian carpeting, or decorated with the costUest stuffs in gold and silver, fountains were seen to play in various di- rections, the most precious perfiimes were inhaled from vessels of the choicest workmanship, and all the apartments embalmed with the combined sweets of oranges, jasmins, myrtles, and other fragrant and odoriferous flowers ! To the first view of the traveller the palace of Alhambra presents scarcely any front. It is approached by delightfiil walks carried along the borders of rivulets, which wind through groves of flowers in various directions. The entrance is by a square tower called heretofore the Gate* of Judgment; a re- ligious inscription, denoting that it was in this place the mo- narch dispeni^ed justice, according to the ancient usage of the Hebrews and all the eastern nations. Many buildings adja- cent to this have been since demolished to make room for a magnificent palac^ which was erected for Charles the Fifth, the description of which would be foreign to our purposef. On the north side of the above building we enter the apart- ments of the Moorish kings, where the traveller fancies him- self transported, as if by magic, into the land of the fairies. The first court is an oblong square, surrounded by an arched * Note (I). t Note (Kj. 190 ALHAMBRA. [book iv. gdHefy'ithe'WaMs'aiad ceilings' of which are covered with Mosaic, ^th'festdoas) with Arabesque paintings and different gildings andpcafvings in stucco. All the spaces are filled with passages from the Alcoran, or inscriptions like the following, which I sMect/as'thBy g^ve us some ideas of the figurative style of the Moorg. " O Nazar, thou wast born upon the throne, and shinest " likethe morning star, with thine own lustre !" ** Thy arm is our rampart, thy justice our light. By ** thy valour thou subduest those i*ho give companions to " God. By thy bounty thou difFusest happiness among the " innumerable offspring of thy people. The stars of the " firmament shine upon thee widi respfcct, the sun with *' love,; and the statdy cedar, lofitiest.monarch of the forest, " is abased in thy presence, and again exalted by thy " power." In the middle of this court, which is pa^ved with white mar- ble, is a bason deep and wide enough for persons to swim in, which had the benefit of a constant supply of running water. This was called the Mescar, and served as a bath to the attendants of the court*. - Prom hence we pass to the celebrated Court of the Lions, which is a hall one hundred feet long by fifty wide. Round this hall there passes a ^aXkry supported by a colonade of ♦ Note (L). CHAP. IV.] ALHAMBRA. 191 white marble, the pillars, of which are ranked sometiraes by ^ twosf sometin^s by^ threes- in the row. They are small an4 of a wiiimsical taste,, yet the eye of the spectator is pleased by their grace and lightness. The walls, and, above all, the cielings of (this winding; gallery are clothed with gold, lapis lazuli^ azure i or stucco, or adorned with silk worked in Arabesque j%iires ^tJbian elegance and nicety which our most skilful artists would perhaps be, puzzled to imitate. ^ Jn , the midst of flower iworksj gems aBd> other decorations, we meet with the .following passages from the Alcoranj, which every goadrMusfuhafliLisjenjoinfid constantly tct^hayein ius mQUth -i " God is great!" " God alone is conqueror!" ' ' " There ia but) one God!" , ;; " Heavenly gaiety, expansion of heart, and ^11 " delights of the soul to the true believers." At the two extr«ni^i©si'Q£ this ,oblQng,;sq;a^d depose or murder their sovereigns, were, of all peo- ple, the tenderest and most impassioned of lovers. Their women, who in general were treated little better than slaves, were no sooner beloved, than they were exalted iJito so many tutelar divinities. It was to recommend themselves to these, they pursued glory and fame, and became prodigal' to excess both of life and fortune, endeavouring to eclipse each other in the magnificence ^nd splendour of their feasts and shows, JBO Jess than by the lustre of their military achievements, CHAP. VI.] MOORISH GALLANTRY. 215 Was this desire to please, this extraordinary mixture of delicacy ivith barbarity, of mildtiefis with ferocity > derived from the Spa'niards to the Moors, or from these latter- to the Spaniards? Perhaps the question, in . the opinion 'of many, may not be easily solved. Yet, when we reflect that these traits in the Moorish character, are not to be met with in Asia, which was their original country ; that they are still less per- ceptible in Africa, where they had naturalized themselves by conquest ; and finally, that since their expulsion from jSpain, they have lost all traces of these chivalrous, amiable charac- teristics, must we not be disposed, as far as this kind of negative evidence goes, to decide in favour of the Spaniards ? I*erhaps the traits we are noticing might be traced to the courts of the Gothic Kings, antecedent to the arrival of the Moors in Spain. Whether they can be so. traced or. not, one thing is certain, that they are to be found among the Chris- tian princes subsfequent to this event, the knights and princes of Leon, Navarre and Castile being no less celebrated in the annals of history^ for their gallantry than for their renown in arms. • What ideas of tenderness as well as courage does not the' illustrious Cid alone awaken in Us ? But Without adverting to individual examples, of which innumerable instances might be' produced,^ we know, that long after' the' expulsion of the 216 MOORISH WOMEN. [book iv. Moors, the Spaniards bore aivaj the palm of gallantry from the French; and that the manners of the chivalrous ages, thougli lost to the rest of Europe, are still, to a certain degree, perceptible in various parts of Spain. Much of the chivalrous manners of the Grenadians, is no doubt to be attributed to thdr wiomen, who were exactly quahfied to create and keep aliv€ this spirit of giallantry among their countrymen, and to oetasioin those excesses of lovfe, of which so many examples, equally extraordinary as pleasing, occur both in Spanish and Arabian history. Thiey were then, what they continue at this day; the most alluring atid fascinating w"omen in the world. As my authority for the assertion, the following portrait of them is taken from an Arabian history published at Grenada, in' the reign of ^ahomet the Old. " They are," says this historian, " uncommonly beautiful^ " and their charms, which rarely fail to impress at first sight, " are further set off by a lightness and grace> which ^vesthem " an inflaeftGC quite irresistible. They are rather below the mid- " die stature i their hair, which is of a beautiful black, descends " almost to their ancles. No vermilion can vie with their lips, " which are continually sending forth the most bewitching " smiles, as if expressly to display teeth as white as alabaster. " They are profuse in the use of perfiimes and wlishes, which, ** being exquisite in their kinds, give a freshness and lustre to ** the skin itaelj to be equalled hy the women of other coun- c«AP. ri.} MOOaiSH DRESSES. 217 ** tries. Tlieir steps, tlieir dances, ail their movemfinis dismay •* a grac^i softness, an £asy negiige^ice, that en^l&ces tlieir. " jQither charms, and not only rendei?s them iifiesistibk^ but " exalts ihem be,y^ond all power of pmisie. Their eonversa. " l&)n is liwdy and poignant ; their sidt rdined and pene- ** trating, equally adapted to grave and abstruse discussioiMy ** as to the pleasantest and most lively salUes." Illam, quicquid agit, quoq.vo vestigia flfctit, <7olnponit furtim subsequlturque decor.* Some grace propitious on her steps attends, Adjusts faercfcappis ^«tealtih, arid ipeomaiends. Tkm dresses of the Grenadian women, like those ^f th& modecn Turks and Bersians, consisted «Kf a ^ng tunic closed by a ^i3Elle,an upper garment withMraigbt ideeves, called a 4^yman, jai^ draweiis and Morocco slippers. Their ^uffs, -which jdreie Qiocoalmoidy fine^W'Cl'e edged with g0ld aed ^Iv^r, and set off with a [profusion ^f Jewels. 4, Their hear fell ia braids down the shouMers, and thdr heads were covered witb sxnaE faoianets, to which were attached embroiderod veils, ex- ceedingly rich and ornamental, thgtt descended to ihm knees. if Whe men were clothed neaicty after the same fashion. Their purses,* daggers and handkerchief^ w«re festened to tljeir S18 MCXmiSH CUSTOMS. [book iv. girdles." ffheir heads were covered with white turbans. In gunamer tley wore a large white robe over the dolyman, which' they exchanged in winter for the alboanoso or African man- tle. Their only variation "of this dress was in times of war, vmen they put on coats of mail, and lined their turbans with iron. It was customary for the Grenadians during the autumn to assemble at the charming villas in the vicinity of their city, where they resigned themselves wholly to pleasure, their nights and days being occupied alternately by music, dancing and the chace. Their dances, as well as some of their tales and ballids, were loose and lascivious. If the philosopher could be astonfehed at any contradictions in human nature, he would be surprised and puzzled to account, how any thing like a w disr^ard or contempt of decency could be tolerated among a ]^Ople, whc^ seemed so wdl to understaild the nature ''of love. But, /in fac|, the Eastern nations are but little aor ' qiiainted witli tlie truly amiable attributes of this divine pas- sion. Thei^whole "enjoyments are sensual. They are more jealous than delicate, and l^bw not how to discriminate be-- tween the giptifications obtained by selection and preference, and those reluctantly acquiesced in upon far opposite and most humiliating considei|itibns t CHAPTER THE SEViOTH. EXPEDITION OF MARTYN BARBUDAS.— REIGNS OF JOSEPH, MAHOMET THE NINTH, AND JOSEPH THE SECOND. ▼ V E availed ourselves of the calm which Grenada enjoyed during the reign of Mahomet Guadix, to enter upon the pre- ceding details, which the reader perhaps, after all, will think irrelevant, if not tedious. This good king enjoyed a reign of thirty years, and at his death, was succeeded without opposi- tion by his son Joseph. The successor conformed to his father's policy, endeavouring to 'preserve peace with the diffe- rent powers, in which he happily succeeded, with only a little interruption occasioned ■ by , the machinatiofis of a fanatic hermit. This fanatic had contrived to persuade Martyn Barbudas, Grand Master of Alcantara, as great a madman as himself, that he was appointed a chosen instrument in the hands of Providence to effect the total expulsion of the Moors from Spain, and that the glorious work was to be accomplished F F 2 !^20 MARTYN BXRBUDAS. [book iy. without anysdifficulty, or the loss of even a single man, in the attempt. The credulous Grand Master was so dazzled with the prospect of an enterprise which promised him glory upon such easy terms ; that he deter mined, without loss of time, to attempt the accomplishment of the prophecy. By way of prologue therefore to the farce he was about to act, he dis- patched, what ,he called, an ambassador to the King of Grenada, with orders to declare, in his name, that the religion of Mahomet was false and detestable, and that of Christ, the only true one. And the ambassador was further instructed to say, thai ^s master was ready to support this, declaratjonj, not by airgcfment, not by -proofs drawn from the sacred volumes j but by the s«»Btoaaty and infalUWe evidence of the sword, m. whieh he had suc^ ^^th, as to challenge him to a combait 0f one hundred Christians against twice that number ^f -Musult mans. Upon no other, condition, than that •the Taaquishill jKirby sh6«ild 5d)bKgfe themselves to esnbrace the religiQa,«f tfee victors. * It was with much diflB.cultyj;gre^ and unquestionable ^s-th^ attthcirtty of his mai^r was, that Joseph contrived to .protect the ^persctti of the amb^sadc^r,. who brought this veity €imdh liatory message. ^ All Ms ipDecaUffioosi,> however, could not CHAP, vn.] MAETYK BARBUDAS. m secure him from insult. He was not only reviled with the most opprabrious language, but hooted out of the city with the most marked accompaniments of indignation and con- tempt. The zealous Grand Mastea* was not a little snifpftse^ wheii he was informed of this reception of his ambassador. But he was too confident of I4ie predictions in his favour, uttered by his inspired monitor and fevourite, to be eaaly alarmed at tire disooatent of a whole peo{^e, or to thmk, that because they refused to acquiesce in a particalar change, that that change ought not nevertheless to be attempted. This has been a rock perhaps upon which more than one pilot has been ship- wrecked. But when did experience ©r reason ever avail against tooted obstinacy and j^aticism ? Martyn committed hioasejf, in coMempt of all ^fudiente, to the ^idsovce of his &vourite prophet, affld at Ibc head of one thousand infantry and three faimdied cavalry pto&0ed0dibf€betiadayi3ot4oii:bting that this force wcmid oveirun that whole Mn^djotn, or that the timid Afiican would shrink badk at the fiirst appearasice of his formidab^ legions. The king of Castile was no sooner apprised of ^diese pro- ceedings, so apposite both to his wishes and his policy, than he expressed his disapprdbation openily, and forbad in the most positive terms the entrance of the frantic Grusade upon his territories. Barbudas, notwithfirt;andiBg this injunction, 222 MARTYN BAEBUDAS. [book iv. continued his route, making no other reply, than " that it " was his duty to serve God." The governors of the pro- vinces tiirough which he passed attempted in vain to oppose his progress. Their opposition only tended further to inflame the zeal of the infatuated people, and so many were dazzled by the boldness Of the enterprise and the promises of the prophet, that, when the Grand Master entered the terri- tories his credulity had taught him to consider as an easy conquest, he found his numbers augmented to six thousand effectives. With this force, which he was impatient to try, he attacked the first castle that lay on his march, where he lost three of his men and was himself wounded. " How," says he, turning, not a little confounded, to his great counsellor, " how do you " account for this misfortune so contrary to your prediction, " that I should effect the reduction of Grenada, without the " loss of a single man?" To this, the other, who had his answer ready, replied, that his prediction only referred to a pitched battle. Martyn was so satisfied with this reply that he proceeded, without any further questions, to bring the veracity of his friend to a new test, by engaging in a pitched battle against fifty thousand Moors. It is hardly necessary to state the result. The Grand Master and three hundred of his knights perished in the field, and the remainder of his CHAP. VII.] MAHOMET IX. 223 Uttle £urmy was either taken or cut oflf in its retreat. History says nothing of the fate of the Prophet Hermit, but its silence leads us to conjecture that he was not among the last to flee. As the king of Castile had unequivocally manifested his displeasure at this aggression, the harmony betwixt that kingdom and Grenada experienced no interruption. Joseph survived this incident some years, but was at last poisoned by wearing a magnificent robe which had been sent him as a present by his secret enemy the king of Fez. We are told that the poison with which the robe was impregnated, was so subtle and virulent, that the unhappy victim suffered tiie most excruciating agonies for thirty days, during which his flesh rotted and detached itself by piece meal from his bones. Joseph was succeeded by Mahomet the Ninth, the second of his sons, who had attempted to excite disturbances during the life of his father, and now usurped the throne over his elder brother whom he had imprisoned. Though the usurper had neither courage nor talents for war, yet, being in close ^IHance with the king of Tunis, and having with his assistance contrived to augment his fleet, he departed from his father's policy and broke the truce with Cas]tile. But though he broke it with some success, yet the cause oi the Castilians 334 JOSEPH n. [book iv. was afterwards fiiEy avenged ) by Dons Juan tiae governor of tiaeinfant king, and Mahomet fell a victim to his cunjust anb, ^ho was jengaiged at a gaatne of ■dicss wilh aaa Itasm^ when -the officer imparted the cmel order, eodly noim^ ^ermissioB to finish his gaaie, with which the ©tibirar Q0in|)tied9 and hy the respite thus obtained, he > sM^d Im life. Befom the game was ended, a second messenger arrived^ to announce the death of his cruel brother aaad his own accession to the throne. A change in the tide of his ifiniunes, of whsch he dt/ixe& not seem to hare be^fi un- Instead of stTeo^g thimself on those who had rbeea instaru- men^ to his la4e snfienngs, he lavistbed &3irours andddstinc- tiens Mpon them, and eveai so far foiigiot his brcxtihiei^s ixihux m^ity as to ifeoeive {his chMreaiiQ his paJaee, and itreat them withTall tipae teaidemessef a fiaitiher. When one of hisoouartiers veatured to nemon^atC'agaiost iMs diaritabk knity, >*' ^F nate uncle. These vaiious ss&tolaksDmi and the ciimes wliidi the^r tneees- staily geoienaied, did not deaden thd sftnamositaies of the ^ver« nors on the fkmtiers, laor restrain Hieir mutual depredations. In one i^airtier a troop of horse, or a small body tHT ui&jatry would pounce mposi a Tilage by surprise, to plunder louses, diixre off catde, and massacre the pe^oeM inhabitant's. In anod^r, an army would appear as suddenly., either to destroy vineyards and desolate whole districts, or enter some city to glut its avarice and vengeance, and load itself with spoils. CHAP, vii.] ISMAEL. 22T Thi» species of warfare bore particularly hard upon the farmer who had too often the misfortune to behold the fruits of many months of labor, blighted and destroyed in a few seconds. The country round Grenada, in the reign of Ismael, was so thoroughly destroyed, that this prince was forced to fell whole forests to supply the calls of the capital, whose fertile and justly celebrated Vega, was rendered almost useless by the reiterated irruptions of the Spaniards. CHAPTER THE EIGHTH KEIGir OF MULEY HASSEM. — MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. FERDINAND's EMBASSY TO GRE- NADA, AND MULEY HASSEM's »EPLY. DISSEN- TIONS IN GRENADA AND DEATH OF MULEY HAS- SEM. J-SMAEL was succeeded by his son Muley Hassem, who availed himself of the distractions in Castile, during the mino- rity of Henry the Fourth, surnamed the Impotent, to carry his arms into the centre of Andalousia. This early exploit of the young King, joined to the high opinion which was enter- tained of his military talents, infused new energies into the Gienadians, who began to cherish hopes of recovering all that they had been dispossessed of in the preceding reigns. But the season was gone by for the realization of such hopes, as a change had taken place, which threatened to be productive of consequences the most important. This was nothing less than the marriage of Ferdinand of Sicily, presumptive heir CHAP. VIII.] HASSEM. 229 to the throne of Arragon, with Isabella of Castile, sister of Henry the Impotent. A marriage * brought about against the wishes of her brother, and in defiance of various impediments that opposed it at the time. This marriage, by uniting as it did the two jtnost powerful Christian monarchies, portended'serious and important changes in the fortunes of the Moors. Either Castile or Arragon was formidable singly, and, under an active and enterprizing prince, sufficiently strong to exhaust the Musulmans by con- stant alarms, if not to crush them altogether. But by the union of both their ruin became obviously inevitable. To reduce the Musulman power and to expel the Moors altogether from the Peninsula, . had principally occupied the attentions of the two sovereigns from the commencement of their respective reigns ; and they had no sooner quieted the distractions in their new states, than they directed all their thoughts to the accomplishment of this master-stroke of poUcy. And the times were certainly highly favourable to the undertaking, since scarcely any court was ever composed of a greater number of brave generals and expert statesmen. The celebrated Ximenes was at the head of their councils, and the camp was brightened by a constellation of heroes, all ♦ Note (W). fSQ HASSEM. [book iv. ibrmed by the civil tvars, among whom we need only specify the count de Cabra, the marquis of Cadia* and the renowned Gonealvo, the Great Captain, a title conferred upon him by the voice of Europe at the time, and since sanctioned in the faithful records of history. Exclusive of the signal services whidi were assured to Ferdinand and Isabella from such generals, the latter had had the precaution to provide herself with what has be^n with reiason n^arded as one of the main sinewB of war. Pari^ by her own rigid oeconomy, and ^^rtly by bulls she had the address to obtain from the Fbpe upon the church revenues^ she had refurnished her treasury^ wMch the prodig4ity of her predecessor had drained to the very dregs. The forces of tiie two monarchs were heaily equal in point of numbers, discipline^ and kmhtory tactics. They wereti^holly made up of Castilians and Arra^gcmianis^/iTho, as tiiey were destined to serve under the eye of their respective aovArdgftB^ Inust have been alike actuated by one general principle of emulation-. Mnley ifessem, w4i!o iidgned at this period at Grenada, was perfectly aware of the dangers widi which he was threataied ; bat, far from bei»g intimidated, he was tiie tet to break ikae truce by surprising the Castilian city of Zehra. On the first intelligence of this unexpected aggression, many of the neigh- GHAP. vin.} FERDINAND. S31 bouring cities attempted to take arms against their invaders, but, as they had appointed no fixed point of rallying, they were attacked in little detachments, and easily either cut off or carried into slavery. Ferdinand was no sooner appruzed of an insult which corr responded so exactly with his views, than he determined to turn it to account. An ambassador was accordingly dis- patched to Grenada, with orders not only to demand satis- faction for the late aggression, but further to require payment of the arrears of tribute which were due by treaty to Castile. ** I know," said Muley in reply to the embassadw, *^ that ** some of my predecessors have been accustomed to send " pieces of gold occasionally to your masters. But in my ** reign we deal in no such article. Thi« is the only metal I ** have to offer to Castile." On pronouncing which words he ^inted to the head of his spear. Ferdinand upon receiving this answer issued orders instantly to the governors on his frontiers to prepare for war : adding that " he did not doubt but the loss of Zehra would prove a " spur to their vigilance, as it must shew how little they could ** trust to an enemy who could thus contemptuously violate ** his most solemn engagements." This charge produced a reply on the part of the Moors, in 232 WARS. [book iv. which they rested their vindication upon precedent gnd long estabhshed practice. These, they insisted, gave each nation a kind of prescriptive right to surprize cities and fortresses eveYi in times of peace without any previous ceremony or notifica- tion, provided no lines of circumvallation were drawn, nor re- gular intrenchments formed, and that the attack was not con- tinued above three days. At this distance of time it is diffi- cult to decide which of the governments was right, the one that brought the charge, or the one that endeavoured to rebut it. But it certainly does appear a kind of solecism, to con- sider that as a peace which " gives no assured resjate from " war," or which can be justly violated without the form of any previous notification. Fortune, in the commencement of this war, balanced her favours pretty evenly between the belhgerent powers. At all events they were so evenly balanced as to give the Musulmans no reason to despond. Muley had a considerable train of ar- tiljery; his army was formidable, and his coffers were well filled. But all these advantages were ineffectualized by his own imprudence. It was the misfortune of the Grenadian prince, though he commanded "^thers, to be himself commanded by a favourite mistress, and to doat on her to such excess, as to let his passion triumph over his prudence. At her tHAP. VIII.] B0ABDI31. SS3 instigation he had been induced to i-epudiate his queen Aixa, a descendant of oiie of the first families in ^Grenada. It was impossible foi' such an iiisult to be ji^ssed over lightly, or that her -wrhole family should not be implicated in her liesent- Hients. The injured princess accordingly contrived to Win over her son Boabdil, the presumptive heir of the cfotra, to espouse her qtiatrel; and e^ect the fatal standard of rebellion ii^ainst his father. By this revolt Mufey Hassfem Was forced to fly his capital, and, Boabdil assuming the teihs of govern- ment, a civil war was kindled up between father and son for a prize, Whidi Ferdinand Was preparing to Wfest from both for ever. This contest between the father aud son, produced d, third competitor in Zagal, the brother of Miiley Hastefii, who rested Ms hopes of success on the credit of a battle which he had recently gained Over ^e Spaniards at Malaga. Thus, by one trespass of her liege sovereign, Orenada was exposed to the joint assaults of three different factions at once, Jand " for the kifag'S oflfence the people died." While the unhappy city was torn by these diissentions, Boiabdil perceiving the opinions of his friends a little shaken, and their ^eal to abate, thought it advisea^le to attempt some expblt which might teahiftiate their hopes, and if possible aug- ment the number of hia 'adherents. He accordingly directed his arms against Lucfetta, expecting to carry that tity hy surprise. But the blow which he meditated against the Spaniards H H 234 MULEY HASSEM. [book iv. recoiled with augmented violence upon his own head. His army was routed and nearly cut to pieces, and, being himself intercepted in flight, he was reserved to be exhibited as the first instance of a Moorish king, who had ever fallen alive into the hands of his enemies. Ferdinand sent his royal prisoner to Cordova, where he was treated with all possible respect, that he might be properly suppled to the piirposes of the con- queror, and produced afterwards as a master trump irj the game he was preparing to play, \ \ By the capture of Boabdil, Muley Hassem was enabled to reassume the crown, of which he had been recently dispos- sessed. But such was the fate of this distracted kingdom, that all eiForts to save it proved hopeless; and ineffectual. Ferdinand, who from the very commencement of his reign, had projected the subversion of the; Musulman power in Spain, had put himself at the head of an army, consisting of forty thousand infantry and six thousand cavalry. With this formidable force he commenced his operations by laying waste the fauxbourgs of Ylorca, and all the country that lay in his line of march. Having thus far completed his operations, and rased the city of Tanjore, he proceeded directly to invest Gren£ida, where the infatuated Musuhnans were busily employed in tearing eac^i other to pieces, and dyeing the ^mds of fratricide with daily victims to its ferocity. CHAP. VIII.] CIVIL WARS. 235 Ferdinand, who was well informed of what passed in the devoted city, determined now to prepare the way for hm master stroke of policy by bringing once more his puppet Boabdil upon the stage. It was agreed that the Moorish monarch should be set at hberty, on condition, that he acknow- ledged himself his vassal and did homage to him for his crown : That Ferdinand should be instantly put in possession of certain posts of great strength and importance, and that Boabdil should pay him annually a tribute of twelve hundred gold crowns. In return for these sacrifices, the Castilians simply engaged to assist him against his father, and reinstate him on the throne. The base Boabdil, having subscribed these hard conditions, was dismissed to carry them ii^to effect^ or, to speak more properly, to direct his last parrici4al efforts against his father and his country. From this period Grenada became a vast shamble of indis- criminate slaughter, in which Muley Hassem, Zagal, and Boabdil were the principal agents, each contending to excel the other in cruelty and to accelerate the ruin of his kindred and friends. While they were indulgmg in these excesses, the Spa>. Biardshad only to walk leisurely from conquest to conquest ; at one tjme, affecting to assist BoabdQ as their ally; at an- other to exact the performance of Jiis late stipulations. Where- ^ver they interfered, under whatever pretence, the flames oC H H 2 236; Civil. WARS. [book IV. discord invariajaly raged more fiercely^ eaabliog them to seize upon different cities in sjuccessioin^ in whiclv whiJt tkey Muck at no promises to. conciliate, the people, they were neverthe- less minutely exact in plundering and persecuting all descrip*^ tions of them alike. While these: excesses, were at the height^ the qM Muley Hassem died,, some say bdng. murdered by hi& brother, but according to> others^ of excessive griefs for tk& calamities he had occasioned. Ferdinand profited of this incident, to seize the strong posts of Ykarda, and Mecklin; one considered by the; Moors, as the right eye of their capitial, the other, as its buckler or shield. By this seizure he obtained a perfect command over the whcde western part of Grenada, Boabdil now found himself reduced to the necessity of pro- posing a compr^nise with Zagal by the partition- o^las kingdom, by- which: he made over (§luadix to his competitor, and reserved Grenada to himself. !]^it. this partition^ instead of proving a prop to hifr declining power^ served only to accekrate its faH. It hadno ottt^- effect than, to ©pen new sources of jealousy and discord betwieen thc^ different factions. At length the^ criminaL ^isigal, in despair of bdaig abLg to retain what had been allotted to hini} made over his portion ,to Ferditaand for an annual penaon. This transfer was no sooner made, than CHAP. VIII.] CIVIL WARS. 23r the Christian monarch possessed himself of his purchase ; and the traitor who transferred it, was received into his army, where he became a passive spectator of the surrender of his: native city, and the humiliating consequences of his fatal and unprincipled ambition ! CHAPTER THE NINTH. BOABDIL's excesses. — CONTRAST BETWEEN THE TWO POWERS. CONFLAGRATION IN THE SPANISH CAMP. — CITY OF SANTA FE FOUNDED. — CAPITULATION OF GRENADA. — REFLECTIONS. oCjLFTER the transfer made by the unprincipled Zagal, no- thing remained to the Moors but Grenada, in which Boabdil, maddened by disappointments, was venting his fiiry indiscrimi- nately on all orders of his subjects. By these excesses, Ferdi- nand was encouraged to throw aside the mask he had worn so long, and lay open blaim to the fleece for which he had thus far only indirectly contended. Under pretence of a treaty to that effect, he summoned Boabdil to deliver up his capital, giving him at the same time to understand, that his refusal would only draw down the heaviest punishments upon him- self and his people. Boabdil denied the existence of the alledged treaty in the CHAP. IX.] SIEGE OF GRENADA. ^g most unqualified terms, and accompanied his denial with the strongest reproaches and protestations against the perfidy of the claimant. But both reproaches and protestations were now equally inejffectual. The doom of Grenada had been long sealed in the Spanish cabinet. The definitive fiat had been issued, and the devoted victim of royal perfidy and in- justice had only the choice of two alternatives, either to resign his kingdom without a struggle, or to stake his last hope upon the precarious cast of war. He accordingly jMreferred the latter ; and his determination was no sooner announced than the Catholic monarch at the head of sixty thousand men (for his army had been by this time considerably augmented,) pro^ ceeded to lay siege to Grenada in form. This city, as we have already observed, was surrounded with a very strong wall, flanked by a thousand and thirty towers, and by a variety of other stupendous works all equally calcu- lated for defence. She contained besides upwards of two hundred and sixty thousand inhabitants capable of bearing arms, and among these most of her distinguished warriors ; all rendered more furious by despair, a principle, which, under any other leader than Boabdil, must doubtless have rendered them invincible. But misfortunes seem to have impaired the intellects of the, infatuated monarch. As his power declined, he became more 340 SIEGE OF GRENADA. [book it. foriotis,' doHsignisig his most faithful adherents to the sword of the«xemtioner, opoa the slightest and most fl^ivolous pretences. ®y these violences, he had drown upon himself the contempt, as well as the hatred of his subjects; who toicknatoed him in 4erision Zagoybi» ot the Littie King. Thus one s^it of dis- «ffeo6k)n pervaded all the tribes^ but particularly the tribe of the Abenceitages* the most poWferfui of any, and Aafa^uissand Imans loudly predicted the .^pfix^clait^ dissolution nof the empire i an event eer^lftiy^too obvi©us to requtse the predic- ^ns of feil^erflmatiB or^Aifeqiassi* rHow, indeed, could it^be «sti>erwise? All respect for Uie rojriat autixDrity had vanished, ^li the^bbads of union were broken ; »whati then ?could be done to avert the intended blow? Wfeat ex?en ©ouldward it off for a season? What, but that rooted dread of Spanish bigotry and r«ttpei^ttii944 Which the MtfloPSi surely nstwiliiout , reason, had always harboured ? '. ' While these ill oiffened symptoms manifested themselves within the Walls of GrMada,i how opposite the seenes Which presented themselves without ? There all was' union, > all mild- ness and harmony, ail onie S6ttlfed fealm. Thteite tfee effdrts of aU uniformly tended to one Gentt*alpokit,*andthe spiiits bfthe soldiery were of course proportionably elated.'^ They eohtcm- plated their past successes with wonder and astonishment, CHAP, ix.] ISABELL'A. UV regarding them as so many miracles, that haidbeeti ^tf|ht in^ their favour, and as an earnest of preternatural encotiragemeht to the completion of their glorias. They saw themselves heaifedand led on 8y chiefs whom they adored ;— by Ponce de Leon, Marquis of GMus; by Henry Guzman, Duke of Medina Siddnia; by Mendoza, Aguillar, Villena, the re- nowned Gonzalvo,* and a fclustre of other heroes, under Vi^hose banners they deemed themselves invincible. But to complete these encouragements, their cduf a;ge was ^i^er animated by the presence of the Quefen. Isabella, whose affability and numberless graces were calculated to ex- cite admiration, as her virtues were to command esteem and v^eratidn, had joined the army of her husband, attended by the Infant and her other children, and by the most splendid court at that time in Etirope. Exclusive of her many great and transcendent qualities, this princess was a perfect mistress of her temper, which, though naturally severe, she could modulate at pleasure ; and aptly adjust to the exigences of the moment. £ ( No oiie understood better than she did, the art of qualifying and softening the rigors of military duty by a judicious alloy of plteasiiig and seasonable recreation. To heighten the l^. # Note (Y). I I 342 FliRDINAND. [book iv. charms of the summer nights, (which in that climate are beyond description delightful^) she had introduced into the camp, dances, tournaments, and the vayious other pastimes* then ip vogue. Every .iiyhereit was the Qvieen who presided. Praise from her lips was considered: as. the most flattering mark of remuneration. It was coveted and received as such , by the meanest soldier, and borne ^by him as a badge of proud and honourable distinction, . Under her auspices in short every thing flourished and was productive ; and, as if to second her happy exertipns, ■ abundance pervaded the camp, dispensing the treasures of her ample born, and infusing hope and con-, fidpnce in every bosom. .i-r, ' ..;, ■ ■ < : ■ &D'. ,,In the city, on the other hand, all was cheerless, gloomy and forbidding. The spirit of concord had ' aband on^4 i*- Hope had , resigned . her place to, ^despondency, and all courage was gneryated and palsied by jealousy, bymistrust, by r con- vernation, and the petrifying aspect of approaching famine. i ,, ' . ... ^ ■ i J - J, . . . .... Ferdinand, who was aware of what was passing, did not chuse to risk the lives of his people wantonly, by bein^|oo eager after a prize, which he knew would, ere long, devolve to him without a , struggle. He determined, therefore, to proceed gradually, and converted the siege into a blockade, which con- tinued for nine months. During the greatest part of this term, he was particularly careful not to hazard an action. CHAP. IX.] SANTA F^A^^' 243 contenting himself either with watching the movements of the garrison and repelling their occasional sorties, or with bat- tering the ramparts and keeping them in continual alarm. While he was intent upon this plan, an accident occurred, which at iany other season might have been productive of the most fatal consequences. A fire broke out at night in the Queen's tent, and as this, like all the others, was formed of the dried branches of trees interwoven or laced together, the flames spread with such rapidity, that, in the course of the night, the greatest part of the camp was consumed. For- tunately for the Spaniards, the accident had no fiirther result, than the loss of a part of their baggage. On the second day succeeding this event, order was completely restored, and the Queen j to convince the enemy that the siege would not be quickly raised, directed on the instant a city to be constructed, on the scite of her former camp. Tliis extraordinary and grand conceit, every way worthy the genius of Isabella^ was executed with such dispatch, that, in less than eighty days, the whole w^as completed and walled in, and the array quietly established in the new habitations. This city still exists under the name of Santa F6; the name originally given to it by the illustrious foundress. When this work was completed, the Spaniards began to act ofFensivdys I I 2 244, FALL. OF GRENADA. [book iv. by seizing; some new posts, interrupting the enemy's convoys, and committing various 4§pie4$'tiQns in ^be neighbouring mountains. Thus Boabdil found himsplf not only harr^ssfid p^petually, ]3Ut daily more and more circumscribed. At length, being defeated in all the skirmishes that took place under the walls of the city, being cut oflf from all hopes of succour from Africa, and further exposed to 9.H the ntiultipUed horrors of famiqe, he was reduced to the necessity of; proposing a capi- tulation, of which Gonsalvo de Cordova was appoii^ted to re- gulate the articles. , . .i«'i ' The principal stipulations in this famoui^ treaty, were» that the gates of the city and fortresses of Alhambra and Albaizin should be delivered up within sixty days. That Ferdinand and the kings of Castile, his successors, should be ackniojBr- ledged the liege sovereigns of Grenada, and Boabdil do homage to him accordingly,: th^fc all Christian slaves should be libe- rated unransomed. Ajid finally, that five hundred childjjen ^f the principal families should be delivered up, withinjkn days after the signing of the treaty, as hostages for its. latifi^ catipp. . ' In return fpr ,tl?^se. concessions, it was agreed, that the CHAP. IX,] FALL OP GRENADA. 245 Moors should retain their horses, their arms, with the excep* tion of cannon or other artillery, and their piropeities entire : that they should keep also the half of their mosques, bfe allowed the free exercise of their rehgion, and preserve their judges, laws and customs ; that they should be exempted from all taxes and imposts for the term of three yeai^, to com- mence from the ratification of the feeaty ; and^ at the expira- tion of this term be subjected to no others than those they had' heretofore paid their king4 : that sucK as wished to pass into Africa, or elsewhere, should retire unmolested with th^ effects, and be supplied with the vessels requisite for tlidr transportation free of all expence. And finally, that a rich and fertile district in the Apulxares should b&-all©tted to Boabdil, which he might retire to or dispose of:at ^asure^ Such was the capitulation of Grenada! a eapitulMenr which, it is scarcely necessary to add, prqfessed too rauefrte: fee scrupulously adhered to. The treaty was on the pdnt of being broke on the very evening after it was .signed the Jmans having spirited up the pfeoplei to' make one desperate effort to save their city, or, in case of failure, to bury themselves under its ruins. The discovisry of this plot determined the dastardly Boabdil to. delivjer it up before the sti|mfe*ea t«rm. Accord^ ingly, under the pretext of complimenting Ferdinand with a magnificent present of a sabre ettriched with' diamonds and^ 24S FALL OF GRENADA. [book iv. tsTo, horses .splendidly accoutred, he sent a letter informing him of, the projected plot, and inviting him to take possession of the capital, which he gave him to understand he would be ready to deliyer up on the following morning. . It is hardly possible to describe the joy of the army when the contents of this letter were made public. Ferdinand re- ceived it on the first day of the year fourteen hundred and ninety, and on the day succeeding, having placed himself at the head of his forces, which were formed in order of battle, he began his march towards Alhambra. o.NjBver had a rnore briUiant or gratefi^l spectacle been eihi- bited, to . the iSpaniards. The cavalcade was headed by. the king, and, a few paces behind, came the queen and royal children. These ; were followed by the great officers of the household and the principal grandees of the kingdom, all de- cora,ted with their different insignia and dressed in their most splendid and costly habits. In short the whole line of march was one continued glare of gold and jewels. As soon as the procession appeared in sight of the Alham- bra, Boabdil, escorted by fifty horse and the principal officers of his court, went out to meet it. When he approached Feih dinand, he dismounted and offered to kiss his hand, which CHAP. IX.'] FALL OF GRENADA. 247 ceremony, however, this latter dispensed with. The humi^ Ijated and degraded prince is then said to have addressed his master as follows : . ^wi " Great king, our destiny is in your hands. We deliver " up our city and kingdom to you, both equally belonging to " you of right, and we commit ourselves and our families to " your clemency." « At the conclusion of this addres&i he presented the keys of the town and castle to the king, who pre- sented them in his turn to the queen. From her they were passed over to her son Don Juan, who delivered them tQ the Count de Tehdrilla, the newly appointed governor of Grenada. , TJjese, and the other requisite ceremonies being ended, Boabdil quitted his capital, and, within a few days after, began his journey to the district that had been allotted him, accom- panied by his family, and (suqh is the fate of fallen, .majesty !) by a very inconsiderable body indeed of his former attendants. From the summit of Mount Padul, which commanded an entire view of Grenada, he turned to take a farewell view^ of that 'justly celebrated city^ and the tears ; were- observed to trickle isilently dow,n his cheeks.,: "My son," said hi^ mother Aixa to him, " you.may w^ll bewail, like^% woman, " the loss-pf a throne, which, as a man, you had n^t cour^^e, " to defend." iio o.-; eu(Ui970i> S48 FALE OF GRtoABA. [sdoft iv. i^ sodii'as.the nbeessary'^ preparations cmdd He arratigied; thfe two^ ifabnarefes rriade their public entr^r into Orfeflada; be- tween a double range of soldiers, and under one incessant roar of artillery. During the whole of the ceremony the houses to ajjpearance were deserted; the Moors having secreted them- sdilfes in the rii^t retired prarts of thera to conceal their tears aM their 'despair: The grand mosque had been converted fok thb oceasion, with the usual ceremonies, into a church. ThttbCT the mtonarchs proceeded to celebrate a Tfe Deum in thankfuliiess for their transcendent successes; and, while the service was performing, the marquis of Tehdrilla; the new gbvettdr, c&^iised the crOss to be displayed triumphantly, be- tween the standards of Calatrava and St. James, upon the highest pinnacle of the Alhambra. t'- Thus fell the justly celebrated city of Grenada! Thiis after a period of seven hundred and ninety two yeafsj com- puting from the conquest, terminated the empire of the Mbors in Spain! ' ' It may not be amiss to notice in this place some few of the caiises idiich conduced to their decline and final overthrow. Hie first must undoubtedly be sought in the cha:racter itself of the people. In that love of novelty, that eternal restless- n^s* and inconStaiicy which disposed them to change their governors so often and upon such fiivolous pretences. By €HAF. IX.] MOORISH CHAHACTEk 249 this master infirmity, factions were multiplied, discord and divisions pfrpetuated, and those energies,' ivhich should have been directed to one common centre, suffered to diverge, and to be wasted in idle and destructive conflicts among them- selves. They had further to blame that extravagant turn for magni* ficence and shew, which was so prominently conspicuous in all their pleasures and pursuits ; in their feasts, in their shews, their buildings, and even their wars. These expences, which were not only enormous, but excessive beyond all bounds, were so many constant drains upon their treasures ; and these were felt the more severely, because the wars in which they were almost always engaged, gave no leisute to the country, notwithstanding its extreme, incredible fertility, to repair the wastes which they occasioned. But, above all, the Grenadians wanted good laws ;— the only solid basis of national estabUshments and prosperity. Their government was a despotism ; a species of government inva* riably weak and ricketty, upon which no political nostrum has ever yet been devised to confer either moderate strength, or reasonable stability. Under the iron rod of the despot, man knows no ties of kindred, no country, no affections. What patrirnony or interest can the sage or statesman claim K K m^' UCMmmriCHAUAGVEE. [book ir. in - bis knfiwledge or. ; his virtues ? In; knoKrledge and virtues; vihUd^ carry, witht then) no assured prospect of permanent' benefit to himself: or his family, which must inevitably entail either envyor jealouisy., or both^ upon the unfortunate posses- sor, and at last, too frequently conduct him either to death or to perpetual imprisonment. Thus circumstanced, virtue and talents are t?€iasures which the possessor must hoard up ; whichthoughhe may amuse himself in contemplating, pri-^ vatcAy, he can rarely bring.into circulation so as to increase the; pul^lie stopk.either of moral or intellectual etyoyments. But these defectsi so obviously conducive to the ruin of the Moarsj wraejqualifiediby praiiGiplesJ of humanity, benevolence* andmaignanimity,for whidi even their Christian enemies cannot deny them psaise. Though less expert in the art of war, and less disciplined than the Spaniards, in battle they were to the full as calm and brave, and in an attack perhaps superior. Adversity-never deprjEssfid them long. They regarded it as a kind? of. manifestation of i the. divine will, and as. such sub- mitted tQ it without repining or complaint; which perhaps is partly imputable to their received notions, of &,talismi ISjeiMoors of Grenada, berag rigid observers of the Maho^ msisaiD-hm, practised. -chauity in its utmost extent.. They not only gave. bread and money to their poor,, but shaied CHAP. IX.] MOORISH CHARAGTEE. 251 with them a portion of their ftuitsj their grain, their; flocks aod merchandize. Their sick, whether in town or. country, were always assisted with equal tenderness and huminit^. They were also particularly observant of the laws ofhospi- tality. This duty, at all times a most sacred oneahiongr the Moors, was always rigidly adhered to atGrenada, The Gte- nadians did not confine themselves to the ordinary and circum- scribed practice of it, but made it their particular pursuit,) and seemed to take a singular delight in conforming to it through all its ramifications. Such were the celebrated Moors! Such thb pebple so much calumniated by historians' ! By bigots blinded by, pre- judices, fanaticism or ij^orance, who either A very inconsiderable proportion of them was, till lately, to be met with in the Apulxares, where they gave silent but damning evidence against the inactivity and indolence of their tyrants. But the far greater part returned 254 FINAL EXPULSION. [book iv. to Africa. There their descendants of our day drag on their miserable existence under the savage despot of Morocco^, , But, while they groan under this ordeal of African caprice and barbarity, they still call to mind, with bitterest regret, the paradise they have forfeited, and set apart every Friday to do homage to their prophet, and pester Heaven with indfectual, but no doubt fervent prayers for their speedy i restoration to Grenada!!! END OF BOOK IV, APPENDIX TO THJE. FOURTH BOOK. Note (A). Arm of Grenada, &c. HIS kingdom, part of the ancient Boeficai was once inha- bited by the Bastuii, Sexitani, &c. It is about seventy leagues in length by thirty wide. The)principal rivers are, 1st, the Zenil, whack rises above the city ; and after watering the country round Loxa, enters Andalousia. Shd, The Rio Fio, so called from the coldness of the waters. These take their souit)e in the mountains of Alhamar, in the heart of Grenada y and discharge themselves in the Mediterranean near the Port of Torres. 3rd, Guadalquivirijo^ or Little. jGwadalquivs^i which rises at Munda, and loses itself in the sea at Malaga. 4th, The GuadaJentin, which has its source in the environs of Guadix, and takes a serpentine course running from west to east, as if expressly going out of its way, to serve the little kingdom of Murcia. 5th, The, Darro, whose waters are said to be very salutary to all animals that frequent them. For this reason they have been called the 'flocks bath. " Vulgo autembal- 256 APPENDIX TQ BOOK IV. " neum pecoribus salutiferum dicitur, eo quod haec aqua " omnia morborum genera in animalibus curet." Vid. De- script. Grenad. George? Briiin, Francis Hagenburg. The river takes its names from the golden sands over which it rolls, quia dat aurum. When Charles the Fifth visited Grenada with the empress Isabella in 1526, the city presented him with a crown made of the gold that was collected in the Darro. Grenada is intersected in all directions by lofty mountains, interspersed in most beautiful and delicious vallies. Of these the Apulxares, from whose lofty summits the coast of Barbary and the city of Tangiers are discernible, are the most deserv- ing notice. It is in the heart of these mountains that they say some remnants of the unfortunate Moors are still to be met with, who, we are told, inherit the active and industrious spirit of their ancestors. They cultivate the vine with success, making a considerable quantity of excellent wine ;. for which, as ^well as their choice fruits, they find a market at Velez Malaga and other parts of the neighbouring coasts. ,. . The Apulxares are 17. leagues in length,. measuring from Velez^Ma;laga to Almeria, and about eight in breadth. They abound in fruits of immense size, and exquisite flavour and beautyv . The principal cities of Grenada in our days, are Grenada, Guadixji Bassa, Guescar, Loxa, Santa F6, Alhamar, Ante- querra, Eistbpa,LVelez Malaga, Almeria and Malaga. Grenada had .t\\^enty gates of entrance. The gate of APPENDIX TO BOOK IV. 257 Elzerai of Bibelmazach, or Conversation, because it served,, like our Exchange, for a rendezvous for the merchants. The Gate of Viverambla, leading to a famous place of that name which is still to .be seen. Bibracah, or the Gate of Provisions ; Bitaubia, or the Hermit's Gate, leading to divers cells and solitudes frequented by these venerable fathers. Biblacha, or the Fish Gate ; the Gate of the Mills ; the Gate of the Sun, so called because it opened to the east; Alhambra; Bid. Adam, or the Bones of Adam ; Bidlieda, or the Gate of Nobi- lity, which the Moors kept long shut from an old prediction that the enemy which was one day to subvert their laws and religion would enter by that gate ; Fauxalauza ; of the Almond Trees ; of the Lions; of the Coasts; of the Banners or Standards, now the Magdalen Gate ; of the Moraqua ; and one or two more. Note (B). Little kingdom of Murcia, &c. This is the smallest of all the kingdoms, of which the Spanish monarchy is composed. Its principal cities are Murcia, Carthagena, and Lorca. It produces great quantities of silk at this day, for which it is beholden to the Moors, who not only introduced the mulberry tree, but taught the Spaniards how to rear the worm and prepare the silk. Murcia is said to contain more than three hundred and fifty thousand mulberry trees, and to produce annually about two hundred and fifty thousand pounds of silk. Antecedent to the arrival of the Moors, this capital was comparatively but an insignificant village wholly eclipsed by Carthagena. It L L 258 APPENDIX TO BOOK IV» was indebted for its subsequent celebrity to these conquerors, in whose possession it remained about six hundred and £Jteen years. The Moors did not attack this city till they had reduced Cordova, Mal^a> Grenada, and Jaen ; and when they did attack it, insignificant as it then appeared, they met with a stwrdy resistance. The Murcians sallied out bravely to rneet their assailgjits, and the two armies engaged in a plain, which, on account of the bloody battle that ensued, is called at tl^s dfiy Sj3.ngocina, the name then given it. The ^pianiards or Goths foughtso obstinately that the greatest part was left dead on the field qf Jjattle. In this extremity the governor ordered the gates to be made fast and all the women to present themselves on the ramparts dressed like men, while he himself went out to propose articles of capitulation. By this stra^geni.he ol^^ed advantageous terms^^the Moors concluding from the numbers they saw parading on the walls that the city was prepared fpr a desperate resistance, and of course their success doubtful. Though the stratagem thus practised could not be concealed from them, they still adhered to the treaty. Murcia was recovered from the Mpors in the year twelve hwadred and forty-one by Don Ferdinand, son of Alphonso. APPENDIX TO BOOK IV. 259 Note (C). Sealed the doom of the city, kc. The Romans in granting the privileges of a colony to this city called it Julia Romula. By the Goths, it was called His- palia, by the Ara,bs or Moors, Isbellia. It is said to have been founded by Hercules, and has upon the gate called the Flesh Gate, leading to the market, the following inscription : Condidit Alcides, renovavit Julius Urbem, Restituit Christo Fernandus tertius Heros. Many statues, both of Hercules and Caesar, are still extant in this city. Of the many Hercules, noticed in fables, two are said to have certainly visited Spain ; the Lybian and the Theban. The latter in particular we are told came to Cadiz with the Argonauts, and proceeded thence to Gibraltar, and founded the city of Heraclium. This Hercules is supposed to have lived near twelve hundred years after the one which has been so much celebrated for his strength, his courage, and his twelve labours. To which of them, if either, we are to attri-. bute the merit of founding Seville, it is impossible to say. But there are those who pretend to be convinced that the Lybian Hercules died at Cadiz, The lands round Seville were in high cultivation in#ie times of the Moors, and the country so remarkable f6r its fertility, that it was called Hercules's garden. Its principal production was oil, and when it fell to Ferdinand it was said to contain near one hundred thousand oil mills. The drivirons ara very L L 2 260 APPENDIX TO BOOK IV. agreeable at this day ] but, can they be compared to what they were in the times of the Moors, when one hundred thou- sand towns, villages and hamlets were to be reckoned round Cordova ? This number is now reduced to about two hundred, and consequently the population in proportion, for which Roderigo de Caco' endeavours to account in his celebrated History of the Antiquity of Seville. " The population and number of settlements under the " Moors," says this ingenious author, "are to be traced to " the dispositions of the people, who, being extremely sen- " sual, increased and multiplied wherever they found them- " selves." Does our author forget, or did he not think it expedient to recollect, that since the times of the Moors, a very considerable and pious class of men has been condemned to celibacy, and even bound themselves to it, under the strictest vows, whose labours in other countries, where no such sen- tence is passed, are crowned with complete success, and found extremely useful to population ; and who certainly cannot, with the shghtest shadow of reason, be deemed a sensual order of men. Note (D). Alphonso the Sage^ Sec. It was this prince that said jestingly, If he had been of God's council when he created the world, he could have giveii good advice. A pleasantry certainly not very indica- tive of his right to the epithet with which he had been com- plimented ! He is said, however, to have been a great astro- APPENDIX TO BOOK IV. 26l nomer, and gained credit by the Alphonsine tables. His collection of laws, Las Partidas, proves at all events that he had the welfare of his people at heart. It is in this collection we find the following remark from a king of the thirteenth cen- tury. " The despot either bleeds the tree too much, or kills " it. The patriot monarch prunes and protects it." Note (E). Imperial crown, &c. Alphonso was elected in twelve hundred and fifty seven, but too far removed from Germany, and too much occupied with the dissentions in his own kingdom to be able to support his election. In twelve hundred and seventy eight, he made a. journey to Rome to plead his cause before the sovereign Pontiflf. The Pope, however, decided in favour of Rodolph of Hapsburg, the stock from which the house of Austria claims its descent. ^OTE (F). Sancho continued^ Sec. The elder brother of this prince, Ferdinand, called De la Cerda, was a mild and virtuous prince ; he left two children, both very young, by his wife Blanche of Castile, daughter of Saint Louis, king of France. It was to deprive these children of the crown that the ambitious Sancho took arms against his father. He succeeded indeed, but the princes, who werfe pro- tected by France and Arragon, occasioned great disturbances 262 APPENDIX TO BOOK IV. in Castile, and if they did not actually cause, at least furnished the pretext for a great deal of bloodshed. Note (G). Into Andalousia, Sec. This kingdom is divisible into two parts, the Upper and the Lower. It obtained its name from the Vandals. The Ro- mans called it Boetica, from the river Boetis, now the Guadal- quiver, that runs through it. It is about one hundred leagues in length, by sixty in breadth, and, what has always added much to its importance, occupies about sixty leagues of coast. It is not only the largest province in Spain, but the most abundant in flocks and mines. Above all it has been particu- larly famed for its excellent breed of horses, the most esteemed of which come from the environs of Baeza. The principal cities of Andalousia are Seville, Cadiz, Cor- dova, Jaen and Ecija. It has, besides, many towns and vil- lages. But it has many large districts uncultivated at this time, being one of the kingdoms which has suffered most by the edicts against the Moors. Note (H). Rival CordoDttf &c. This city has no traces of her ancient grandeur except what are to be discovered in the great square, and amid the moulderiilg rubbish of the celebrated mosque completed by Abdelzamin. This mosque was converted by the Spa- APPENDIX TO BOOK IV. 263 niards into a cathedral, or church, part of which is only now remaining. But, such as it is, nothing could excell it in point of grandeur, if the width corresponded with the extent. It has at this time seventeen doors of jentrance, all decorated in Arabesque, or other ornaments in bronze. The arch is sup- ported by three liundred and sixty pillars in alabaster, jasper, or marble, each pillar thirty feet high, by one and a half in diameter. The proportions are certainly not Grecian! In this building a httle chapel is still preserved, in which the Al- coran is said to be deposited. It is fu,ll of Cordovian inscripr tions. The Cordovians believe, and take great pains to make travellers believe, that the Moors pay every year a tri- bute to Spain, to prevent any Christian images being placed in it. Note (I). The Gate of Judgment, &c. Over this gate are the following inscriptions ; " This gate called the Gate of Judgment, — God grant " for its existence felicity to the BeKevers, — was erected by " our Lord, King and Emperor Abulhaggehg, son of " the warrior King, the Just Abelqualid, the son of Nazar." " JVIay Crod grant his blessing on the works he con- **■ structed for the benefit of our nation, and take this " building) raised for his glory, under his {nrotection ! " *• God strengthen the foundation and the period of its " elevation in the memory of posterity !" 264 APPENDIX TO BOOK IV. On the side of this inscription are two marble plates con- taining the following short sentences in Arabic : " Praise be to God." " There is no other God but God, and Mahomet is th& Prophet of God." " Without God all strens:th is vain." o Above these inscriptions we see a key and a hand (of which I shall treat more fully in Note S), contenting myself for the present with observing. That the key and the hand are the great symbols of the Musulman faith. The Alcoran mention- ing, or alluding every where to " The all-powerful hand of " God, which conducts Behevers in the true way;" and " The key of God which opens the gates of religion and the " world." Among the Hebrews and Arabs, the tribunals of justice were always at the gate, and it is on this principle that in Asia, when speaking of Constantijiople, the distinguish- ing terms of the Port, and the Sublime Port, are always used. Note (K). Foreign to our purpose^ &c. Xhe palace was built with the money Charles extorted from the Moors under the pretence of allowing them hberty of conscience. They advanced sixteen hundred thousand ducats at two instalments, for which they obtained promises APPENDIX TO BOOK IV. 265 indeed in plenty, but nothing more ; being forced to aposta- tize, or, if they refused, exposed to the most unmerciful perse- cutions. Note (L). The Mescar, Sec. The Mescar or Mesuar, now called los Array Janes, was paved with large square panes of white marble, half of which are now destroyed, and the remainder overrun with moss and weeds. You see in the centre a straight bason, almost the length of the court, which is an oblong square. At the two extremities are four slender Gothic columns supporting two handsome galleries, the walls of which are adorned with fiotires dividing many Arabian letters, which, joined together, form different sentences. Such as " God is the sovereign good. Tlie great Director of " the universe. He is fuU of goodness and compassion, " for those who are themselves compassionate and good." " God alone is conqueror." ** Honour and prosperity to our lord Abdallah." On the outside of the gate opening to this apartment, we read the following : *' If thou admirest my beauty without thinking of God, " the fountain of all goodness, I tell thee it is folly. But " if thou art mindful to shew reverence where it is due, " thou mayest turn thy admicatiofl to thy profit. —Otber- " wise God can inflict death upon thee." M M 266 APPENDIX TO BOOK IV. Again, " O thou, who regardest this marble so pure, so ad- " mirable for the beauty of the workmanship, and for *' its whiteness, be attentive to its preservation, and that it " may long retain its present perfection, protect it with " thy hand and thy five fingers," (vide Note S). Note (M). And to the heart, &c. The Generaliffe is said to have been constructed by a prince of the name of Omar, who used to retire thither to in- dulge in his favourite recreation. The word signifies the house of love, dancing and music. From the mountain on which this charming palace was built, the waters spout in torrents in every direction, forming beautiful cascades or foun- tains in the gardens, the courts, and the very halls. Over a window in the hall of entrance we meet the following : " This window at the entrance of this happy palace is " dedicated to the pleasure of the nobility. The charming prospects it affords, delight the eye and exalt the souL Let us give thanks to God." In another part, " Charming palace ! how noble dost thou appear !" " Thy splendour vies with thy majesty^' ^^ ^' Thy light enlivens and decorates all around thee." (( APPENDIX TO BOOK IV. 2,67 " Thou art worthy all praise." <• Thy aspect is divine." " Thy gardens are adorned with flowers, sending forth ' constantly the sweetest perfumes from the stocks on ' which they repose. The friendly breeze moves thy ' orange trees to diffuse around the rich odour of their ' blossoms. There is music in the rustling of thy thickets. - * Every thing around is full of harmony and beauty.-" " Abulgalij thou best of kings, protector of the law " and of all true believers ! thou art the great object of my " esteem and veneration. This apartment, dedicated tQ " thee, is so perfect, and so solid, that its duration can only " be measured by that of our holy sect. It is the triumph " of art, and the prodigy of genius." ;«. Note (N). The Summoned, &c. He received his surname from the following circumstance. In a paroxysm of rage, to which the best of kings are some- times subject, he condemned two brothers of the name of Car- vajal, who were accused of murder but not convicted, to be thrown from a high rock. The persons thus sentenced made the most solemn protestations of innocence to the last ; but finding all their protestations vain, they appealed to God, and cited their judge to appear in his presence within thirty days, to answer for this criminal abuse of his power. It is said that exactly at the expiration of this term, Ferdinand, then on his march against the Moors, was found dead on his bed where M M 2 868 AfplNDlX TO BOCK IV. he had retited to take his afternoon's siesta. This incident was regarded by the superstitious Moors as a judgment ! ! ! Note (O). An asylum at Tanffe, he. The Moors besieged Tariffe after it had fallen into the iiands of Sancho the Brave. It was during this siege we find an example of Stoical firmness and inflexibility equal to any in the Greek or Roman history. The besiegers having taken the son of Alphonso de Gusman^ the governor, in a sortie* conducted him under the walls, giving his father to understand that he should be instantly put to death if the fortress was not surrendered. The inflexible governor hearing this threat threw a dagger oflF the walls" and withdrew. Scarcely had he turned his back, than he heard a loud groan from the ram- parts. What is the matter, demanded the Stoic ? The Moors, replied an officer, have murdered your brave son. Is that all ? md Alphonso,, then God be praised, I was apprehensive they had found their way into the city. Note (P). Algeziras, Sec. The name signifies an island, and such this city is. It is surrounded entirely by the river Xucar and accessible only by stone bridges. The environs produced a considerabfe quantity of fruits, rice and grain of every kind in abundance. The sugar cane was also cultivated here with great success, but, as A1»PENDIX TO BOOK IV. /Si69 sugar has been since obtained from the West Indies at a cheaper rate, the culture of this most grateful luxury has been abandoned. Note (Q). Ines de Castro, &c. Peteh, would have been entitled to compassion, if his love for Ines had not made him so cruelly vindictive on hex mur- derers. The offenders were three principal lords of his court, Gonsalez, Alphonso, and Coello. When the murder was committed he was only prince of Portugal, but no sooner did he ascend the throne than he prevailed on Peter the Cruel to deliver Gonsalez and Coello, who had withdrawn to Castile, into his hands. He then caused them to be put to the cruellest tortures in his presence, and, having &tretched his vengeance in this respect as far as it could go, ordered their hearts to be torn from them ahve. Pacheco escaped into France. After taking this inhuman satisfaction on her murderers, Peter directed the funeral of Ines to be solemnized with the greatest pomp. The body was clothed in regal robes, and a crown placed upon her livid and disiSgured forehead, and all the grandees of the kingdom compelled to do homage to this offensive compound of putrefaction^ 270 APPENDIX TO BOOK IV. Note (R). Celebrated writers, &c. When Grenada was taken, Cardinal Ximenes ordered all the copies of the Alcoran that were found to be burnt, and the ignorant soldiery, being eager to obey this order, com- mitted all the manuscripts that fell in their hands indiscrimi- nately to the flames, supposing them all copies of the Alcoran. Thus through ignorance, or superstition, or perhaps- both, many , valuable works on various branches of science were probably destroyed. Note (S). Judicial astrology, &c. We remarked in note (K), that the key and the hand were symbols of the Musulman faith. The key among them is pretty much the same as the cross with the Christians, the great t^dge of their faith. It had the same functions and the same power over the gates of heaven as the key of St; Peter. Thus we find in the Alcoran, " Is not God equally compas- " sionate towards those who write of him, and those who be- " lieve in him ? Does he not give his legate the power of " heaven which is on high, and the fire that is beneath ? Does " he not give him the key, together with the office and title of " Porter, that he may open the gates of the heavenly man- *• sions to the elect ?" . . The key was the blazon or coat of arms of the Andalousian Moors, and it was actually borne on their banners when they invaded Spain. APPENDIX TO BOOK IV. 271 But further, do we not know that Gibraltar or Gibraltath, as it was called by the Moors, received that name be- cause it was as the key which opened the communication between the Mediterranean and Atlantic ? Thus the ' key in the Alhambra may be regarded either as only a simple shield, or as symbolical of the Musulman faith. The hand which is placed near the key seems to have been placed there equally emblematically, and to have three dis- tinct significations. First, it signified Providence. Secondly,' It was considered as a Prototype or abridgment of the law. Its third signification was wholly superstitious. The hand they say has five fingers, reckoning the thumb as one, four of which have three joints, and the fifth pnly two. All these are subordinate to the unity of the hand, which is taken to signify the unity of the godhead. As the hand ac- cording to this mode of computing contains five fingers, so the Mahometan law contains five fundamental principles. Be- lief in God and his Prophet, prayer, charity, fasting during^ the month Rhamadan, and pilgrimage to the temples of Meccha and Medina. Thus then the five fingers may be con- sidered as so many Rosaries intended to remind the Musulman of his several duties ! Each of these dogmas has its modifications corresponding with the joints of the fingers. The two joints in the thumb are considered as emblematic of faith and good works. The others are corresponding emblems of other duties. All these modifications, however, end in the unity of the Godhead, which 273 APPENDXX TO BOOK IV. -^the MuauUnaas have always in their mouth " La-Eilah-Ela- *' Allah," There i» no other God but God. With respect to the third and superstitious si^ufication of the haod, it is to be remarked, that^^he Arabs were and are still convinced from ite structure, that, being an abridgement of their religion, it became a powerful protection against the ©oeiniea of their faith ; insomuch that the hand when open had the power of appalling or weakening an enemy. They furtibter held that it gave an insight into futurity, enabling those who knew how to cast certain figures upon it, and to vary these figures accprding to the course of the planets, stars, or the different constellations, not only to foretell events, but to work miracles and enchantments at pleasure. But does not the hand seem to be held in similar estimation among Europeans even in this more enlightened age? Is it not regularly referred to by our ordinary fbrtunetellera, as a kind of index or Aey, to their various predictions ? Do not chiromancers pretend that every man's destiny is there inscribed ? Have not the lineaments, which nature has placed there for her provident purposes, furnished out matter for numberless vohimes ? Even in our day the Spanish women, like the African ne- groes, aflSx bracelets ornamented witibhttle fingers in ebony, ivory or coral, round the necks, or arms of their dbfldren, ex- pressly t^ protect them against enchantments i A superstition certainly derived from the Moors. APPENDIX TO BOOK I.V. glfS Note (1^. Subsequiturque decora &c. ** In all sb6 says, in all she does, " So many charms AJixa shews, *' We can't admire too highly ; " But where's the wonder she excells ? " The lovely wanton works by spells ; " The Graces aid her slyly. Note (U). The Abencerrages, &c. In Grenada, the tribes were never confounded. Each had its chief, who was generally the eldest descendent in the male line. The city at this time contained no fewer than«»thirtj distinct tribes, among the most illustrious of which, were the Abencorages, the Zegris and Vanelas, the Gomelas, the Maliques Alibes, Almorades, Abidbais, Ganzds, iAb^i^iinan^, Aliators, Redouans, and Aldoradins. The Abencerrages were descended from the brave Aben- zaho, who accompanied Moussar when he inviaded Spain. The Zegris and Vanelas were descendents of the kings of Fez. The Gomelas from Vdez de Gomera, and the Maliques Alibes fi-om the kings of Fez and Morocco. 274 APPENDIX TO BOOK IV. Note (W). A marriage brmghi abmt^kc. Isabella was first betroih^vto Doa Gatlos, Prince of Vienne, elder brother of Ferdinand, whose life and misfortunes are interesting subjects in Spanish history. She was afterwards demanded in marriage by many other Princes, by AlphonsQ King of Portugal ; by the Duke of Guienne, brother of Louis the Eleventh, King of France ; by the brother of our King Edward i ajad she was actually affianced to Don Pacheco, Grand Master of Calatrava ; but she very wisely chose for herself. . As ker match with Ferdinand was strenuously oppbsed by her brother, she was necessarily obliged to conduct it with great secrecy. The manageihent of it was committed to Carillo Archbishop of Toledo, a man whose life was one tissue of intrigues. The Archbishop contrived to carry oflF Isabella, from her brother's court, and placed her at Valladolid, at which city Ferdinand met her in disguise, attended only by three or four gentlemen, and the cereEnony was conducted without any parade. On this occasion, it is worth remarking, that the young couple, who were destined one day to possess the treasures of the New World, were forced to borrow money from their attendants to defray their expences. Isabella was a few years older than Ferdinand. Her com- APPfiNurx: TO BOOK ir. 275 plexion was rather of the olive cast, but not so much as to take off from the charms of her face, which was both pleasing and iateresting. She was under the middle size ; her eyes had a tinge of green in them, but were extremely, Uvely and expressive; her hair was a feir flaxen. Ferdinand was of the middle size ; his skin dark, his eys& black and piercing. He was sedate and grave in his car- riage, and sober in the extreme, restraining himself to two meals, and never drinking more than twice at each meal. Note (X). The Abmcerrages, &c. BoABDiL, upon a false charge advanced against one of thi^ tribe, Mahomet Ebn Zurat, of holding a criminal correspon- dence with the Queen, had caused many of them to be treacherously murdered in his palace. This fact is recorded in an Arabian manuscript, which I have thought worth giving here, for a kind of singularity in the description. ** In the name of God the All-merciful ! the fountain of all ** mercies. Praise be to t\ie Most High. There is no other *' God but God. He upholds the good and protects them ; *' He persecutes and punishes the wicked ; He abhors liars ** and all evil-doers; He wishes nothing but what is good. ** Evil originates with the tempter, who artfully insinuates ir " into the heart o( man, and man foolishly suffers himself to be ** misled by it. It is then he becomes the child of the devil, « whoVorks in him, making his will his own. N N 2 APPENDIX TO BOOK IV. ic " Odd;has blessed his cr^rt;iire with wisdom, and ^v^Bhira a hi^ sense of rectitude, and if man is ndt blinded by pride or envy, he caai never wander from the right p^h. " The Devil placed envy, in the heart of 2ulim Zegris, " because Mahomet Ebn Zurrah was exalted in the sight of ^' the King his mastfer. He hated even the fairtily of Ebn " Zurrah, who were powerful and rich, aiid good, because " theit virtues shone forth like the stars in a summer's nighti " Ebn Zurrah stood always at the side of the King, and the " Queen had named him her councillor, because the truth '* never departed from him. " Zulim Zegris and Hazem Gomel came to the King, and " said, ' O King, dost thou not kndw that tjits Queen hath " * di&honoiirsed thy bed with Ebn Zurrah, and that it is he " * who cohspireth against thy throne ? Renounce thy Queen, " 'unless thou meanest to renounce thy life and kingdom.' " And the King spake not hereof to, the Queen^ but called *' unto him Ebn Zurrah, and his tribe, and in one day caused " eighty-six of them to be beheaded. Insomuch that, if God " had not been compassionate to protect innocfence, not cine *' AbenceHfage would have survived that day. " And the Queen trusted her defence to the Christians, " and noble and vaUant Christians came forward to vindicate *' innocence, before the King and in the presence of all his " people^ They fought manfully against her accusers, and "God put courage into their hearts and strength into their Af»PENDIX TO fiCKXK tV. ^ff •* artn^y beea«si they fought for the truth. Illig^* fesa^QJ^^d " eiach! ttie vil6 acousfer agadn«t whom he c^Mfett