HISTORY

OF THE

MOORS OF SPAIN

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH ORIGINAL OF

M. FLORIAN. 

TO WHICH IS ADDED, A BRIEF NOTICE OF ISLAMISM

NEW YORK

HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 329 & 331 PEARL STREET, FRANKLIN SQUARE

[Transcriber's note: Page numbers in this book are indicated by numbersenclosed in curly braces, e. G. {99}. They have been located where pagebreaks occurred in the original book, in accordance with ProjectGutenberg's FAQ-V-99. ]

[Transcriber's note: This book contains a number of variations in thespelling of some words/names, e. G. Haccham/Hacchem, Gengis/Zengis(Khan), etc. ]

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840 by

Harper & Brothers, In the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New York

{v}

PUBLISHERS' ADVERTISEMENT. 

We are accustomed to look upon the followers of the Arabian Prophet aslittle better than barbarians, remarkable chiefly for ignorance, cruelty, and a blind and persecuting spirit of fanaticism. As itregards the character of the Mohammedans at the present day, and, indeed, their moral and intellectual condition for the last twocenturies, there is no great error in this opinion. But they are adegenerated race. There has been a period of great brilliancy in theirhistory, when they were distinguished for their love of knowledge, andthe successful cultivation of science and the arts; nor is it too muchto say, that to them Christian Europe is indebted for the generousimpulse which led to the revival of learning in the thirteenth andfourteenth centuries. Of the various nations of the great Moslemfamily, none were more {vi} renowned in arts, as well as arms, than theMoorish conquerors of Spain, whose history is contained in thefollowing pages. The French original of this work has long enjoyed adeservedly high reputation; and the translation here offered is by anAmerican lady, whose literary taste and acquirements well qualified herfor the task. 

A sketch of Mohammedan history, &c. , from Rev. S. Greene's Life ofMohammed, has been appended at the close of the volume, to present tothe reader a comprehensive view of that very remarkable people, of whomthe Moors of Spain formed so distinguished a branch. 

H. & B. 

New York, October, 1840. 

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CONTENTS

 FIRST EPOCH

 PAGE

 The Origin of the Moors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 The Arabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 The Birth of Mohammed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Religion of Mohammed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 The Progress of Islamism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Victories of the Mussulmans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 New Conquests of the Mohammedans . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 The Moors become Mussulmans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Condition of Spain under the Goths . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Conquest of Spain by the Moors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 The Viceroys of Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Insurrection of Prince Pelagius . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Abderamus attempts the Conquest of France . . . . . . . . 39 He penetrates as far as the Loire . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 The Battle of Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Civil Wars distract Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

 SECOND EPOCH. 

 The Kings of Cordova become the Caliphs of the West . . . 45 The Asiatic Mussulmans divide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 The Dynasty of the Ommiades lose the Caliphate . . . . . . 48 Horrible Massacre of the Ommiades . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 An Ommiade Prince repairs to Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Abderamus, the first Caliph of the West . . . . . . . . . 53{viii} Reign of Abderamus I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Religion and Fêtes of the Moors of Spain . . . . . . . . . 55 Civil Wars arise among the Moors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 The Reigns of Hacchem I. And of Abdelazis . . . . . . . . 58 Reign of Abderamus II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Condition of the Fine Arts at Cordova . . . . . . . . . . 60 Anecdote of Abderamus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Reigns of Mohammed, Almouzir, and Abdalla . . . . . . . . 62 Reign of Abderamus III. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Embassy from a Greek Emperor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Magnificence and Gallantry of the Moors . . . . . . . . . 64 Description of the City and Palace of Zahra . . . . . . . 65 Wealth of the Caliphs of Cordova . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 The Fine Arts cultivated at Cordova . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Reign of El Hacchem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Laws of the Moors, and their Mode of administering Justice 75 Authority possessed by Fathers and old Men . . . . . . . . 77 An Illustration of the Magnanimity of El Hakkam . . . . . 78 Reign of Hacchem III. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Successful Rule of Mohammed Almonzir as Hadjeb under the imbecile Hacchem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Disorders at Cordova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 End of the Caliphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

 THIRD EPOCH. 

 The principal Kingdoms erected from the Ruins of the Caliphate of the West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Condition of Christian Spain at this Juncture . . . . . . 88 The Kingdom of Toledo; its Termination . . . . . . . . 87, 88 Success of the Christians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 The Cid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 The Kingdom of Seville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 The Dynasty of the Almoravides hold Supremacy in Africa . 92{ix} Conquests of the Almoravides in Spain . . . . . . . . . . 93 French Princes repair to Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Extinction of the Kingdom of Saragossa . . . . . . . . . . 95 Foundation of the Kingdom of Portugal . . . . . . . . . . 95 State of the Fine Arts among the Moors at this Period . . 97 Abenzoar and Averroes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Dissensions between the Moors and Christians . . . . . . . 98 The Africans, under Mohammed _the Green_, land in Spain . 100 Battle of Toloza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102-104 Tactics of the Moors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 The discomfited Mohammed returns to Africa . . . . . . . . 109 Extent of the Territories still retained by the Moors in Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 St. Ferdinand and Jaques I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Valencia is attacked by the Aragonians . . . . . . . . . . 113 Siege of Cordova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Surrender of Valencia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

 FOURTH EPOCH. 

 The Kings of Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 The Condition of the Moors; their Despondency . . . . . . 118 Mohammed Alhamar; his Character and Influence with his Countrymen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 He founds the Kingdom of Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Description of the City of Grenada and its _Vega_ . . . . 121 Extent and Resources of this Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Reign of Mohammed Alhamar I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 The Moorish Sovereign becomes the Vassal of the King of Castile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Ferdinand III. Besieges Seville . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 The Taking of Seville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Revenues of the Kings of Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Military Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Cavalry of the Moors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129{x} Disturbances in Castile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Reign of Mohammed II. El Fakik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 He forms a League with the King of Morocco . . . . . . . . 134 Misfortunes of Alphonso of Castile . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Interview between Alphonso and the Sovereign of Morocco . 134 State of Learning and the Fine Arts under Mohammed al Mumenim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Description of the Alhambra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 The Court of Lions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 The Generalif . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Mohammed III. El Hama, or _the Blind_, ascends the Throne of Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Troubles in Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Reign of Mohammed IV. Abenazar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Reign of Ismael . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Reign of Mohammed V. And of Joseph I. . . . . . . . . . . 152 The Battle of Salado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Successive Reigns of Mohammed VI. And Mohammed VII. . . . 154 Horrible Crime of Peter the Cruel of Castile . . . . . . . 150 Condition of Spain--of Europe in general . . . . . . 156, 157 Mohammed VI. Reassumes the Crown . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Reign of Mohammed VIII. Abouhadjad . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Favourite Literary and Scientific Pursuits of the Moors under the munificent Rule of Abouhadjad . . . . . . . . 160 Universal prevalence of a Taste for Fiction among the Arabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Music and Gallantry of the Moors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 The mixture of Refinement and Ferocity in the Character of the Moors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Description of the Women of Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . 169 The national Costume of both Sexes . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 Moorish Customs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Folly of the Grand-master of Alcantara . . . . . . . . . . 172 The Result of his Expedition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Dreadful Death of Joseph II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Mohammed IX. Usurps the Throne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Singular Escape of a condemned Prince . . . . . . . . . . 176{xi} Generous Disposition of Joseph III. . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Disturbed Condition of the Kingdom after his Death . . . . 177 A rapid Succession of Rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177, 178 Reign of Ismael II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 The Miseries of War most severely felt by the Cultivator of the Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Mulei-Hassem succeeds Ismael II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 The respective Characters of these Sovereigns . . . . . . 181 They declare War against the Grenadians . . . . . . . . . 182 Statesmen and Soldiers of the Spanish Court . . . . . . . 182 Stern Reply of the Grenadian King . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Alhama is Surprised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 Civil War is kindled in Grenada by the Feuds of the Royal Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 Boabdil is proclaimed King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 Cause of the ambitious hopes of Zagal . . . . . . . . . . 185 Boabdil is taken Prisoner by the Spaniards . . . . . . . . 186 The politic Spanish Rulers restore Boabdil to Liberty . . 187 The Moors become their own Destroyers . . . . . . . . . . 187 Death of Mulei-Hassem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Boabdil and his Uncle divide the Relics of Grenada between them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Baseness of Zagal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Boabdil reigns alone at Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Ferdinand lays Siege to the City of Grenada . . . . . . . 189 Condition of the City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 The Spanish Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Isabella repairs to the Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 She builds a City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 Surrender of Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 Departure of Boabdil from the City . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 The entrance of the Spanish Conquerors into the City . . . 195 Summary of the Causes of the Ruin of the Moors . . . . . . 196 Characteristics of the Moors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197{xii} Anecdote illustrative of their Observance of the Laws of Hospitality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Christian Persecution of the Moors . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 Revolts of the Moors, and their Results . . . . . . . . . 199 Final Expulsion of the Moors from Spain . . . . . . . . . 201 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

 A Brief Account of the Rise and Decline of the Mohammedan Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Chapter I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 Chapter II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 Chapter III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

{xiii}

INTRODUCTION. 

The name of the Moors of Spain recalls recollections of gallantry andrefinement, and of the triumphs of arts and arms. But, though thuscelebrated, not much is generally known of the history of thatremarkable people. 

The fragments of their annals, scattered among the writings of theSpanish and Arabian authors, furnish little else than accounts ofmurdered kings, national dissensions, civil wars, and unceasingcontests with their neighbours. Yet, mingled with these melancholyrecitals, individual instances of goodness, justice, and magnanimityoccasionally present themselves. These traits, too, strike us moreforcibly than those of a similar description with which we meet inperusing the histories of other nations; perhaps in {xiv} consequenceof the peculiar colouring of originality lent them by their Orientalcharacteristics; or perhaps because, in contrast with numerous examplesof barbarity, a noble action, an eloquent discourse, or a touchingexpression, acquire an unusual charm. 

It is not my intention to write the history of the Moors in minutedetail, but merely to retrace their principal revolutions, and attempta faithful sketch of their national character and manners. 

The Spanish historians, whom I have carefully consulted in aid of thisdesign, have been of but little assistance to me in my efforts. Careful to give a very prominent place in their extremely complicatednarratives to the various sovereigns of Asturia, Navarre, Aragon, andCastile, they advert to the Moors only when their wars with theChristians inseparably mingle the interests of the two nations; butthey never allude to the government, customs, or laws of the enemies oftheir faith. 

{xv}

The translations from the Arabian writers to which I have had recourse, throw little more light upon the subject of my researches than theproductions of Spanish authors. Blinded by fanaticism and nationalpride, they expatiate with complacency on the warlike achievements oftheir countrymen, without even adverting to the reverses that attendedtheir arms, and pass over whole dynasties without the slightest noticeor comment. 

Some of our _savans_ have, in several very estimable works, united theinformation to be collected from these Spanish and Arabian histories, with such additional particulars as they were able to derive from theirown personal observations. 

I have drawn materials from all these sources, and have, in addition, sought for descriptions of the manners of the Moors in the Spanish andancient Castilian romances, and in manuscripts and memoirs obtainedfrom Madrid. 

It is after these long and laborious researches {xvi} that I venture tooffer a brief history of a people who bore so little resemblance to anyother; who had their national vices and virtues, as well as theircharacteristic physiognomy; and who so long united the bravery, generosity, and chivalry of the Europeans, with the excitabletemperament and strong passions of the Orientals. 

To render the order of time more intelligible, and the more clearly toelucidate facts, this historical sketch will be divided in fourprincipal Epochs. 

The _first_ will extend from the commencement of the Conquests of theArabs to the Establishment of the Dynasty of the Ommiade princes atCordova: the _second_ will include the reigns of the Caliphs of theWest: in the _third_ will be related all that can now be ascertainedconcerning the various small kingdoms erected from the ruins of theCaliphate of Cordova: and the _fourth_ will comprehend a narration ofthe prominent events in the lives of the successive sovereigns of theKingdom of Grenada, until the {xvii} period of the final expulsion ofthe Mussulmans from that country. 

Care has been taken to compare the dates according to the Mohammedanmethod of computing time, with the periods fixed by the ordinary modeof arrangement. Some of the Spanish historians, Garabai for instance, do not agree with the Arabian chronologists in relation to the years ofthe Hegira. I have thought proper to follow the Arabian authorities, and have adopted, with occasional corrections, the chronologicalarrangements of M. Cardonne, whose personal assurance I possess, thathe attaches high importance to his calculations on this subject. Ihave thus reason to hope that this little work will serve to elucidatemany points hitherto doubtful in relation to this matter. 

The proper names of the Moors vary even more in the differentauthorities than their statements respecting the date of events, eitherin consequence of the difficulty of pronouncing them, or from ignoranceof their proper {xviii} orthography. In instances of this character Ihave always given the preference to such as appeared to be mostgenerally adopted, and were, at the same time, most harmonious in sound. 

{19}

A HISTORY OF THE MOORS OF SPAIN. 

FIRST EPOCH. 

THE CONQUESTS OF THE ARABS OR MOORS. 

_Extending from the end of the Sixth Century to the middle of theEighth. _

The primitive Moors were the inhabitants of the vast portion of Africabounded on the east by Egypt, on the north by the Mediterranean, on thewest by the Atlantic, and on the south by the deserts of Barbary. 

The origin of the Moors, or Mauritanians, is, like that of most otherancient nations, obscure, and the information we possess concerningtheir early history confusedly mingled with fables. The fact, however, appears to be established, that Asiatic emigrations were, from theearliest times, made into Africa. In addition to this, the {20}historians of remote ages speak of a certain Meleck Yarfrick, king ofArabia Felix, who conducted a people called _Sabaei_[1] into Libya, made himself master of that country, established his followers there, and gave it the name of Africa. It is from these Sabians or _Sabaei_that the principal Moorish tribes pretend to trace their descent. Thederivation of the name Moors[2] is also supposed, in some degree, toconfirm the impression that they came originally from Asia. 

But, without enlarging upon these ancient statements, let it suffice tosay, that nearly certain ground exists for the belief that the originalMoors were Arabians. In confirmation of this impression, we find that, during every period of the existence of their race, the descendants ofthe primitive inhabitants of Mauritania have, like the Arabs, beendivided into distinct tribes, and, like them, have pursued a wild andwandering mode of existence. 

The Moors of Africa are known in ancient {21} history under the name ofNomades, Numidae or Numidians, Getulae, and Massyli. They were byturns the subjects, the enemies, or the allies of the Carthaginians, and with them they fell under the dominion of the Romans. 

After several unsuccessful revolts, to which they were instigated bytheir fiery, restless, and inconstant temper, the Moors were at lengthsubjugated by the Vandals, A. D. 427. 

A century afterward these people were conquered by Belisarius: but theGreeks were in their turn subdued by the Arabs, who then proceeded toachieve the conquest of Mauritania. 

As, from the period when that event occurred, the Mauritanians orMoors, who were thus suddenly converted to Mohammedanism, havefrequently been confounded with the _native Arabians_, it will beproper to say a few words concerning that extraordinary people: apeople who, after occupying for so many centuries an insignificantplace among the nations of the earth, rapidly rendered themselvesmasters of the greater part of the known world. 

The Arabs are, beyond question, one of the most ancient races of men inexistence;[3] and {22} have, of all others, perhaps, best preservedtheir national independence, and their distinctive character andmanners. Divided from the most remote times into tribes that eitherwandered in the desert or were collected together in cities, andobedient to chiefs who in the same person united the warrior and themagistrate, they have never been subjected to foreign domination. ThePersians, the Romans, and the Macedonians vainly attempted to subduethem: they only shattered their weapons in fragments against the rocksof the Nabatheans. [4] Proud of an origin which he traced back even tothe patriarchs of olden time, exulting in his successful defence of hisliberty and his rights, the Arab, from the midst of his deserts, regarded the rest of mankind as consisting of mere bands of slaves, changing masters as chance or {23} convenience directed. Brave, temperate, and indefatigable, inured from infancy to the severest toil, fearing neither thirst, hunger, nor death itself--these were a peopleby whose assistance a leader suitably endowed could render himselfmaster of the world. Mohammed appeared:[5] to him nature had accordedthe requisite qualifications for executing such a design. Courageous, sagacious, eloquent, polished, possessed in an eminent degree of thepowers which both awe and delight mankind, Mohammed would have been agreat man had he belonged to the most enlightened age--among anignorant and fanatical people he became a prophet. 

Until Mohammed arose among them, the Arab tribes, surrounded by Jews, Christians, and idolaters, had entertained a superstitious faith, compounded of the religious belief of their various neighbours and thatof the ancient Sabaei. They fully credited the existence of genii, demons, and witchcraft, adored the stars, and offered idolatroussacrifices. But Mohammed--after having devoted many years to profoundand solitary meditation upon the new dogmas he designed to establish;after having either convinced {24} or won to his interests theprincipal individuals of his own family, [6] possessing pre-eminentconsequence among their countrymen--suddenly began to preach a newreligion, opposed to all those with which the Arabs were hithertofamiliar, and whose principles were well-adapted to inflame the ardenttemper of that excitable people. 

Children of Ishmael, said the Prophet to them, I bring you the faiththat was professed by your father Abraham, by Noah, and by all thepatriarchs. There is but one God, the Sovereign Ruler of all worlds:he is called THE MERCIFUL; worship Him alone. Be beneficent towardsorphans, slaves, captives, and the poor: be just to all men--justice isthe sister of piety. Pray and bestow alms. You will be rewarded inHeaven, by being permitted to dwell perpetually in delicious gardens, where limpid waters will for ever flow, and where each one of you willeternally enjoy the companionship of women who will be ever beautiful, ever youthful, ever devoted to you alone. Courageously combat both theunbelieving and the impious. Oppose them until they {25} embraceIslamism[7] or render you tribute. Every soldier who dies in battlewill share the treasures of God; nor can the coward prolong his life;for the moment when he is destined to be smitten by the angel of deathis written in the Book of the Eternal. 

Such precepts, announced in majestic and highly figurative language, embellished with the charms of verse, and presented by a warrior, prophet, poet, and legislator, professing to be the representative ofan angel, to the most susceptible people in the world--to a peoplepossessing a passion alike for the marvellous and the voluptuous, forheroism and for poetry--could scarcely fail to find disciples. Converts rapidly crowded around Mohammed, and their numbers were soonaugmented by persecution. His enemies obliged the Prophet to fly fromhis native Mecca and take refuge in Medina. This flight was the epochof his glory and of the Hegira of the Mussulmans. It occurred A. D. 622. 

From this moment Islamism spread like a torrent over the Arabias andEthiopia. In vain did the Jewish and idolatrous tribes attempt tomaintain their ancient faith; in vain did Mecca {26} arm her soldiersagainst the destroyers of her gods; Mohammed, sword in hand, dispersedtheir armies, seized upon their cities, and won the affections of thepeople whom he subdued, by his clemency, his genius, and hisfascinating address. 

A legislator, a pontiff, the chief of all the Arab tribes, thecommander of an invincible army, respected by the Asiatic sovereigns, adored by a powerful nation, and surrounded by captains who had becomeheroes in serving under him, Mohammed was on the point of marchingagainst Heraclius, when his designs were for ever interrupted by thetermination of his existence. This event took place at Medina, A. D. 632, Hegira 2, and was the effect of poison, which had, some timebefore, been administered to this extraordinary man by a Jewess ofRhaibar. 

The death of the Prophet arrested neither the progress of his religionnor the triumphs of the Moslem arms. 

Abubeker, the father-in-law of Mohammed, became his successor, andassumed the title of _Caliph_, which simply signifies _vicar_. Duringhis reign the Saracens penetrated into Syria, dispersed the armies ofHeraclius, and took the {27} city of Damascus, the siege of which willbe for ever celebrated in consequence of the almost superhuman exploitsof the famous Kaled, surnamed the _Sword of God_. [8]

Notwithstanding these successive victories, and the enormous amount ofbooty thus taken from the enemy and committed to his keeping, Abubekerappropriated to his own particular use a sum scarcely equivalent toforty cents a day. 

Omar, the successor of Abubeker, commanded Kaled to march againstJerusalem. That city soon became the prize of the Arabs; Syria andPalestine were subdued; the Turks and the Persians demanded peace;Heraclius fled from Antioch; and all Asia trembled before Omar and theterrible Mussulmans. 

Modest, in spite of the triumphs that everywhere attended them, andattributing their success to God alone, these Moslems preservedunaltered their austere manners, their frugality, their severediscipline, and their reverence for poverty, though surrounded by themost corrupt of the nations of the earth, and exposed to the seductiveinfluences of the delicious climates and the luxurious pleasures ofsome of the richest and most {28} beautiful countries in the world. During the sacking of a city, the most eager and impetuous soldierwould be instantly arrested in the work of pillage by the word of hischief, and would, with the strictest fidelity, deliver up the booty hehad obtained, that it might be deposited in the general treasury. Eventhe most independent and magnificent of the heroic chiefs would hasten, in accordance with the directions of the caliph, to take the command ofan army, and would become successively generals, private soldiers, orambassadors, in obedience to his slightest wish. In fine, Omarhimself--Omar, the richest, the greatest, the most puissant of themonarchs of Asia, set forward upon a journey to Jerusalem; mounted upona red camel, which bore a sack of barley, one of rice, a well-filledwater-skin, and a wooden vase. Thus equipped, the caliph travelledthrough the midst of conquered nations, who crowded around his path atevery step, entreating his blessing and praying him to adjudge theirquarrels. At last he joined his army, and, inculcating precepts ofsimplicity, valour, and humility upon the soldiers, he made hisentrance into the Holy City, liberated such of its former Christianpossessors as had become {29} the captives of his people, and commandedthe preservation of the churches. Then remounting his camel, therepresentative of the Prophet returned to Medina, to perform the dutiesof the high-priest of his religion. 

The Mussulmans now advanced towards Egypt. That country was soonsubdued. Alexandrea was taken by Amrou, one of the most distinguishedgenerals of Omar. It was then that the famous library was destroyed, whose loss still excites the profound regrets of the learned. TheArabians, though such enthusiastic admirers of their national poetry, despised the literature of all the rest of the world. Amrou caused thelibrary of the Ptolemies to be burned, yet this same Amrou wasnevertheless celebrated for his poetical effusions. He entertained thesincerest affection and respect for the celebrated John the Grammarian, to whom, but for the opposing order of the caliph, he would have giventhis valuable collection of books. It was Amrou, too, who caused theexecution of a design worthy of the best age of Rome, that ofconnecting the Red Sea with the Mediterranean by means of a navigablecanal, at a point where the waters of the Nile might be diverted from{30} their course for its supply. This canal, so useful to Egypt, andso important to the commerce of both Europe and Asia, was accomplishedin a few months. The Turks, in more modern times, have suffered it tobe destroyed. 

Amrou continued to advance into Africa, while the other Arabiancommanders passed the Euphrates and conquered the Persians. But Omarwas already no more, and Othman occupied his place. 

It was during the reign of this caliph that the Saracens, banishing forever its enfeebled Greek masters, conquered Mauritania, or the countryof the Moors of Africa, A. D. 647, Heg. 27. 

The invaders met with serious resistance only from the warlike tribesof the Bereberes. [9] That bold and pastoral people, the descendants ofthe ancient inhabitants of Numidia, and preserving, even to this day, aspecies of independence, intrenched as they are in the Atlas Mountains, long and successfully resisted the conquerors of the Moors. A Moslemgeneral named Akba finally succeeded in subjugating them, and incompelling them to adopt the laws and faith of his country. 

{31}

After that achievement Akba carried his arms to the extreme westernpoint of Africa, the ocean alone resisting him in his progress. There, inspired by courage and devotion with feelings of the highestenthusiasm, he forced his horse into the waves, and, drawing his sabre, cried, "God of Mohammed, thou beholdest that, but for the element whicharrests me, I would have proceeded in search of unknown nations, whom Iwould have forced to adore thy name!"

Until this epoch, the Moors, under the successive dominion of theCarthaginians, the Romans, the Vandals, and the Greeks, had taken butlittle interest in the affairs of their different masters. 

Wandering in the deserts, they occupied themselves chiefly with thecare of their flocks; paid the arbitrary imposts levied upon them, sometimes passively enduring the oppression of their rulers, andsometimes essaying to break their chains; taking refuge, after eachdefeat of their efforts, in the Atlas Mountains, or in the interior oftheir country. 

Their religion was a mixture of Christianity and idolatry; theirmanners those of the enslaved Nomades: rude, ignorant, and wretched, {32} their condition was the prototype of what it now is under thetyrants of Morocco. 

But the presence of the Arabs rapidly produced a great change amongthese people. A common origin with that of their new masters, togetherwith similarity of language and temperament, contributed to bind theconquered to their conquerors. 

The announcement of a religion which had been preached by a descendantof Ishmael, whom the Moors regarded as their father; the rapidconquests of the Mussulmans, who were already masters of half of Asiaand a large portion of Africa, and who threatened to enslave the world, aroused the excitable imaginations of the Moors, and restored to theirnational character all its passionate energy. They embraced the dogmasof Mohammed with transport; they united with the Arabs, volunteered toserve under the Moslem banners, and suddenly became simultaneouslyenamoured with Islamism and with glory. 

This reunion, which doubled the military strength of the two unitednations, was disturbed for some time by the revolt of the Bereberes, who never yielded their liberty under any circumstances. 

{33}

The reigning caliph, Valid the First, despatched into EgyptMoussa-ben-Nazir, a judicious and valiant commander, at the head of ahundred thousand men, A. D. 708, Heg. 89. 

Moussa defeated the Bereberes, restored quiet in Mauritania, and seizedupon Tangier, which belonged to the Goths of Spain. 

Master of an immense region of country, of a redoubtable army, and of apeople who considered his supremacy as essential to their well-being, the Saracen general from this period contemplated carrying his armsinto Spain. 

That beautiful kingdom, after having been successively under the yokeof the Carthaginians and the Romans, had finally become the prey of theBarbarians. The Alains, the Suevi, and the Vandals had divided itsprovinces among them; but Euric, one of the Visigoths, who entered thecountry from the south of Gaul, had, towards the end of the fifthcentury, gained possession of the whole of Spain, and transmitted it tohis descendants. 

The softness of the climate, together with the effects of wealth andluxury, gradually enfeebled these conquerors, creating vices from whichthey had been previously free, and depriving {34} them of the warlikequalities to which alone they had been indebted for their success. Ofthe kings who succeeded Euric, some were Arians and others Catholics, who abandoned their authority to the control of bishops, and occupied athrone shaken to its centre by internal disturbances. Roderick, thelast of these Gothic sovereigns, polluted the throne by his vices; andboth history and tradition accuse him of the basest crimes. Indeed, inthe instance of nearly all these tyrants, their vices either directlyoccasioned, or were made the pretext of their final ruin. 

The fact is well established, that Count Julian and his brother Oppas, archbishop of Toledo, both of them distinguished and influential men, favoured the irruption of the Moors into Spain. 

Tarik, one of the most renowned captains of his time, [10] was sent intoSpain by Moussa. He had at first but few troops; but he was not bythis prevented from defeating the large army that, by command ofRoderick, the last Gothic king, opposed his course. 

Subsequently, having received re-enforcements {35} from Africa, Tarikvanquished Roderick himself at the battle of Xeres, where thatunfortunate monarch perished during the general flight in which theconflict terminated, A. D. 714, Heg. 96. 

After this battle, the Mohammedan general, profiting by his victory, penetrated into Estremadura, Andalusia, and the two Castiles, and tookpossession of the city of Toledo. Being soon after joined by Moussa, whose jealousy of the glory his lieutenant was so rapidly acquiringprompted him to hasten to his side, these two remarkable commanders, dividing their troops into several corps, achieved, in a few months, the conquest of the whole of Spain. 

It should be observed, that these Moors, whom several historians haverepresented as bloodthirsty barbarians, did not deprive the people whomthey had subjugated either of their faith, their churches, or theadministrators of their laws. They exacted from the Spaniards only thetribute they had been accustomed to pay their kings. One cannot butquestion the existence of the ferocity that is ascribed to them, whenit is remembered that the greater part of the Spanish cities submittedto the invaders {36} without making the least attempt at resistance;that the Christians readily united themselves with the Moors; that theinhabitants of Toledo desired to assume the name of _Musarabs_; andthat Queen Egilona, the widow of Roderick, the last of the Gothicsovereigns, publicly espoused, with the united consent of the twonations, Abdelazis the son of Moussa. 

Moussa, whom the success of Tarik had greatly exasperated, wishing toremove a lieutenant whose achievements eclipsed his own, preferred anaccusation against him to the caliph. Valid recalled them both, butrefused to adjudge their difference, and suffered them to die at courtfrom chagrin at seeing themselves forgotten. 

Abdelazis, the husband of Egilona, became governor of Spain A. D. 718, Heg. 100, but did not long survive his elevation. Alahor, whosucceeded him, carried his arms into Gaul, subdued the Warbonnais, andwas preparing to push his conquests still farther, when he learned thatPelagius, a prince of the blood-royal of the Visigoths, had takenrefuge in the mountains of Asturia with a handful of devoted followers;that with them he dared to brave the conquerors of Spain, and hadformed the bold design of {37} attempting to rid himself of their yoke. Alahor sent some troops against him. Pelagius, intrenched with hislittle army in the mountain gorges, twice gave battle to theMussulmans, seized upon several castles, and, reanimating the spiritsof the Christians, whose courage had been almost extinguished by solong a succession of reverses, taught the astonished Spaniards that theMoors were not invincible. 

The insurrection of Pelagius occasioned the recall of Alahor by theCaliph Omar II. Elzemah, his successor, was of opinion that the mostcertain means of repressing revolts among a people is to render themprosperous and contented. He therefore devoted himself to the wise andhumane government of Spain; to the regulation of imposts, until thenquite arbitrary; and to quieting the discontents of the soldiery, andestablishing their pay at a fixed rate. A lover of the fine arts, which the Arabs began from that time to cultivate, Elzemah embellishedCordova, which was his capital, and attracted thither the _savans_ ofthe age. He was himself the author of a book containing a descriptionof the cities, rivers, provinces, and ports of Spain, of the metals, mines, and quarries it {38} possesses; and, in short, of almost everyobject of interest either in science or government. 

But little disturbed by the insurrectionary movements of Pelagius, whose power was confined to the possession of some inaccessiblemountain fortresses, Elzemah did not attempt to force him from hisstrongholds, but, impelled by the ardent desire of extending theMoorish conquests into France, with which the governors of Spain wereever inflamed, he passed the Pyrenees, and perished in a battle foughtagainst Eudes, duke of Aquitania, A. D. 722, Heg. 104. 

During the remainder of the Caliphate of Yezid II. , [11] severalgovernors followed each other in rapid succession after the death ofElzemah. [12] None of their actions merit recital, but, during thisperiod, the brave Pelagius aggrandized his petty state, advancing intothe mountains of Leon, and, in addition, making himself master ofseveral towns. 

This hero, whose invincible daring roused the Asturians and Cantabriansto struggle for liberty, laid the foundations of that powerful monarchy{39} whose warriors afterward pursued the Moors even to the rocks ofthe Atlas. 

The Moslems, who dreamed only of new conquests, made no considerableefforts against Pelagius: they were confident of checking his rebellionwith the utmost ease when they should have accomplished the subjugationof the French dominions; and that desire alone fired the ardent soul ofthe new governor Abdalrahman, or, as he is commonly called, Abderamus. 

His love of glory, his valour, his genius, and, above all, hisimmeasurable ambition, made the Mussulman governor regard this conquestas one that could be easily effected; but he himself was destined to bethe vanquished. 

Charles Martel, the son of Pepin d'Heristel, and the grandfather ofCharlemagne, whose exploits effaced the recollection of those of hisfather, and whose fame was not eclipsed by that of his grandson, was atthis time mayor of the palace, under the last princes of the firstrace; or, rather, Charles was the real monarch of the French and Germannations. 

Eudes, duke of Aquitania, the possessor of Gascony and Guienne, hadlong maintained a quarrel with the French hero. Unable longer, {40}without assistance, to resist his foe, he sought an alliance with aMoor named Munuza, who was the governor of Catalonia and the secretenemy of Abderamus. These two powerful vassals, both discontented withtheir respective sovereigns, and inspired as much by fear as dislike, united themselves in the closest bonds, in despite of the difference intheir religious faith. The Christian duke did not hesitate to give hisdaughter in marriage to his Mohammedan ally, and the Princess Numeranceespoused the Moorish Munuza, as Queen Egilona had espoused the MoorishAbdelazis. 

Abderamus, when informed of this alliance, immediately divined themotives which had induced it. He soon assembled an army, penetratedwith rapidity into Catalonia, and attacked Munuza, who was wounded in afruitless endeavour to fly, and afterward perished by his own hand. His captive wife was conducted into the presence of the victoriousgovernor Abderamus, struck with her beauty, sent the fair Numerance asa present to the Caliph Haccham, whose regard she elicited; and thus, by a singular chance, a princess of Gascony became an inmate of theseraglio of a sovereign of Damascus. 

{41}

Not content with having so signally punished Munuza, Abderamus crossedthe Pyrenees, traversed Navarre, entered Guienne, and besieged and tookthe City of Bordeaux. Eudes attempted, at the head of an army, toarrest his progress, but was repelled in a decisive engagement. Everything yielded to the Mussulman arms: Abderamus pursued his route, ravaged Perigord, Saintonge, and Poitou, appeared in triumph inTouraine, and paused only when within view of the streaming ensigns ofCharles Martel. 

Charles came to this rencounter followed by the forces of France, Asturia, and Bourgogne, and attended by the veteran warriors whom hewas accustomed to lead to victory. The Duke of Aquitania was also inthe camp. Charles forgot his private injuries in the contemplation ofthe common danger: this danger was pressing: the fate of France andGermany--indeed, of the whole of Christendom, depended on the event ofthe approaching conflict. 

Abderamus was a rival worthy of the son of Pepin. Flushed, like him, with the proud recollection of numerous victories; at the head of aninnumerable army; surrounded by experienced captains, who had been thefrequent {42} witnesses of his martial triumphs; and long inspired withthe warmest hopes of finally adding to the dominion of Islamism theonly country belonging to the ancient Roman empire that still remainedunsubdued by the Saracens, the Moorish leader met his brave foe, uponequal terms, on the battle-field of Tours, A. D. 733, Heg. 114. 

The action was long and bloody. Abderamus was slain; and thisdispiriting loss, without doubt, decided the defeat of his army. [13]Historians assert that more than three hundred thousand men perished. This statement is probably exaggerated; but it is certainly true, thatthe Moors, who had thus penetrated into the midst of France, wererelentlessly pursued after their defeat, and were many of them unableto escape from the army of the victors and the vengeance of the people. 

This memorable battle, of which we possess no details, saved Francefrom the yoke of the Arabs, and effectually arrested their spreadingdominion. 

Once again, subsequent to this reverse, the Moors attempted topenetrate into France, and {43} succeeded in seizing upon Avignon; butCharles Martel defeated them anew, retook the captured city, drove themfrom Narbonne, and deprived them forever of the hope with which theyhad so often flattered themselves. 

After the death of Abderamus, Spain was torn by dissensions between thetwo governors[14] named successively by the Caliph. A third pretenderarrived from Africa. A fourth added himself to the list;[15] factionsmultiplied; the different parties often had recourse to arms; chiefswere assassinated, cities taken, and provinces ravaged. 

The details of these events are variously related by differenthistorians, but possess little interest in the narrations of any. 

These civil wars lasted nearly twenty years. The Christians, who hadretired into Asturia, profited by them to the utmost. Alphonso I. , theson-in-law and successor of Pelagius, imitated the career of that hero. He seized upon a part of Galicia and Leon, repulsed the Mussulmantroops who were sent to oppose him, and rendered himself master ofseveral towns. 

The Moors, occupied by their domestic {44} quarrels, neglected toarrest the progress of Alphonso, and from that time the growth of aminiature kingdom commenced, whose interests were inimical to those ofthe Saracens in Spain. 

After many crimes and combats, a certain _Joseph_ had succeeded intriumphing over his different rivals, and was at last reigning supremein Cordova, when there occurred a memorable event in the East, whichwas destined greatly to affect the condition of Spain. 

From that period, A. D. 749, Heg. 134, commences the second epoch of theempire of the Moors of Spain, which makes it necessary to revertbriefly to the history of the Eastern caliphs. 

[1] The _Sabaei_, according to the best ancient authorities, were theinhabitants of the extensive Arabian kingdom of _Saba_. --_Translator_. 

[2] The term Moors, according to Bochart, comes from a Hebrew word, _Mahuran_, which signifies Western. 

[3] It is scarcely necessary to remind the reader that these _Childrenof the Desert_ are supposed to be the lineal descendants of Ishmael, the wandering, outcast son of the patriarch Abraham and the much-abusedHagar. --_Translator_. 

[4] The primitive name of the Arabs, from _Nabathaea_, an appellationfor their country which is probably derived from _Nabath_, the son ofIshmael. The capital city of Nabathaea was that _Petra_, of whosepresent appearance and condition our eminent countryman, Stephens, hasgiven his readers so graphic a sketch in his "Travels, "&c. --_Translator_. 

[5] A. D. 569. 

[6] The Coheshirites, the guardians of the Temple of the Caaba at Mecca. 

[7] See Note A, page 203. 

[8] See Note B, page 206. 

[9] See note C, page 207. 

[10] See note D, page 208. 

[11] See Note E, page 308. 

[12] Ambeza, Azra, Jahiah, Osman, Hazifa, Hacchem, and Mohammed. 

[13] It was in this battle that Charles acquired the title of _Martel_, or the _Hammer_. 

[14] Abdoulmelek and Akbe. 

[15] Aboulattar and Tevaba. 

{45}

SECOND EPOCH. 

THE KINGS OF CORDOVA BECOME THE CALIPHS OF THE WEST. 

_Extending from the middle of the Eighth to the commencement of theEleventh Century. _

We have seen that, under their first three caliphs, Abubeker, Omar, andOthman, the Arabian conquerors of Syria, Persia, and Africa preservedtheir ancient manners, their simplicity of character, their obedience tothe successors of the Prophet, and their contempt for luxury and wealth:but what people could continue to withstand the influence of such anaccumulation of prosperity? These resistless conquerors turned theirweapons against each other: they forgot the virtues which had renderedthem invincible, and assisted by their dissensions in dismembering theempire that their valour had created. 

The disastrous effects of the baneful spirit that had thus insidiouslysupplanted the original principles of union, moderation, and prudence, bywhich, as a nation, the Moslems had been {46} actuated, were firstmanifested in the assassination of the Caliph Othman. 

Ali, the friend, companion, and adopted son of the Prophet, whosecourage, achievements, and relationship to Mohammed, as the husband ofhis only daughter, had rendered him so dear to the Mussulmans, wasannounced as the successor of Othman. 

But Moavias, the governor of Syria, refused to recognise the authority ofAli, and, under the guidance of the sagacious Amrou, the conqueror ofEgypt, caused himself to be proclaimed Caliph of Damascus. Upon this, the Arabians divided: those of Medina sustaining Ali, and those of SyriaMoavias. The first took the name of _Alides_, the others styledthemselves _Ommiades_, deriving their denomination from the grandfatherof Moavias. Such was the origin of the famous schism which stillseparates the Turks and Persians. 

Though Ali succeeded in vanquishing Moavias in the field, he did notavail himself judiciously of the advantage afforded him by his victory. He was soon after assassinated, [1] and the spirit and courage of hisparty vanished with the {47} occurrence of that event. The sons of Alimade efforts to reanimate the ardour of his partisans, but in vain. 

Thus, in the midst of broils, revolts, and civil wars, the Ommiades stillremained in possession of the Caliphate of Damascus. [2] It was during thereign of one of these princes, Valid the First, that the Arabianconquests extended in the East to the banks of the Ganges, and in theWest to the shores of the Atlantic. The Ommiades, however, were for themost part feeble, but they were sustained by able commanders, and the{48} ancient valour of the Moslem soldiers was not yet degenerated. 

After the Ommiades had maintained their empire for the space ofninety-three years, Mervan II. , [3] the last caliph of the race, wasdeprived of his throne and his life[4] through the instrumentality ofAbdalla, a chief of the tribe of the Abbassides, who were, like theOmmiades, near relatives of Mohammed. 

Aboul-Abbas, the nephew of Abdalla, supplanted the former caliph. Withhim commenced the dynasty of the Abbassides, so celebrated in the Eastfor their love of science and their connexion with the names of Haroun AlRaschid, Almamon, and the Bermasides. [5]

The Abbassides retained the caliphate during five successivecenturies. [6] At the termination of {49} that period, they weredespoiled of their power by the Tartar posterity of Gengis Khan, after{50} having witnessed the establishment of a race of Egyptian caliphsnamed _Fatimites_, the pretended descendants of Fatima, the daughter ofMohammed. 

Thus was the Eastern empire of the Arabs eventually destroyed: thedescendants of Ishmael returned to the country from which they hadoriginally sprung, and gradually reverted to nearly the same condition asthat in which they existed when the Prophet arose among them. {51} Theseevents, from the founding of the dynasty of the Abbassides, have beenanticipated in point of time in the relation, because henceforth thehistory of Spain is no longer intermingled with that of the East. 

After having dwelt briefly upon an event intimately connected as wellwith the establishment of the Abbassides upon the Moslem throne as withthe history of Spain, we will enter continuously upon the main subject ofour work. 

To return, then, for a moment, to the downfall of the Ommiade caliphs. 

When the cruel Abdalla had placed his nephew, Aboul-Abbas, on the throneof the Caliphs of Damascus, he formed the horrible design ofexterminating the Ommiades. These princes were very numerous. With theArabs, among whom polygamy is permitted, and where numerous offspring areregarded as the peculiar gift of Heaven, it is not unusual to findseveral thousand individuals belonging to the same family. 

Abdalla, despairing of effecting the destruction of the race of hisenemies, dispersed as they were by terror, published a general amnesty toall the Ommiades who should present themselves before him on a certainday. Those ill-fated {52} people, confiding in the fulfilment of hissolemn promises, hastened to seek safety at the feet of Abdalla. Themonster, when they were all assembled, caused his soldiers to surroundthem, and then commanded them all to be butchered in his presence. Afterthis frightful massacre, Abdalla ordered the bloody bodies to be rangedside by side in close order, and then to be covered with boards spreadwith Persian carpets. Upon this horrible table he caused a magnificentfeast to be served to his officers. One shudders at the perusal of suchdetails, but they serve to portray the character of this Orientalconqueror. 

A solitary Ommiade escaped the miserable fate of his brethren; a princenamed Abderamus. A fugitive wanderer, he reached Egypt, and concealedhimself in the solitary recesses of its inhospitable deserts. 

The Moors of Spain, faithful to the Ommiades, though their governorJoseph had recognised the authority of the Abbassides, had no soonerlearned that there existed in Egypt a scion of the illustrious family towhich they still retained their attachment, than they secretly sentdeputies to offer him their crown. Abderamus foresaw the {53} obstacleswith which he would be compelled to struggle, but, guided by the impulsesof a soul whose native greatness had been strengthened and purified byadversity, he did not hesitate to accept the proposal of the Moors. 

The Ommiade prince arrived in the Peninsula A. D. 755, Heg. 138. Hespeedily gained the hearts of his new subjects, assembled an army, tookpossession of Seville, and, soon after, marched towards Cordova, thecapital of Mussulman Spain. Joseph, in the name of the Abbassides, vainly attempted to oppose his progress. The governor was vanquished andCordova taken, together with several other cities. 

Abderamus was now not only the acknowledged king of Spain, but wasproclaimed _Caliph of the West_ A. D. 759, Heg. 142. 

During the supremacy of the Ommiades in the empire of the East, Spain hadcontinued to be ruled by governors sent thither from Asia by thosesovereigns; but it was now permanently separated from the great Arabianempire, and elevated into a powerful and independent state, acknowledgingno farther allegiance to the Asiatic caliphs either in civil or religiousmatters. Thus was the control hitherto exercised over the {54} affairsof Spain by the Oriental caliphs forever wrested from them by the lastsurviving individual of that royal race whom Abdalla had endeavoured toexterminate. 

Abderamus the First established the seat of his new greatness at Cordova. He was not long allowed peacefully to enjoy it, however. Revoltsinstigated by the Abbassides, incursions into Catalonia by the French, and wars with the kings of Leon, [7] incessantly demanded his attention;but his courage and activity gained the ascendency even over suchnumerous enemies. He maintained his throne with honour, and merited hisbeautiful surname of _The Just_. 

Abderamus cultivated and cherished the fine arts, even in the midst ofthe difficulties and dangers by which he was surrounded. It was he whofirst established schools at Cordova for the study of astronomy, mathematics, medicine, and grammar. He was also a poet, and wasconsidered the most eloquent man of his age. 

This first Caliph of the West adorned and fortified his capital, erecteda superb palace, which he surrounded by beautiful gardens, and commencedthe construction of a grand mosque, the {55} remains of which continueeven at this day to excite the admiration of the traveller. Thismonument of magnificence was completed during the reign of Hacchem, theson and successor of Abderamus. It is thought that the Spaniards havenot preserved more than one half of the original structure, yet it is nowsix hundred feet long and two hundred wide, and is supported by more thanthree hundred columns of alabaster, jasper, and marble. Formerly therewere twenty-four doors of entrance, composed of bronze covered withsculptures of gold; and nearly five thousand lamps nightly served toilluminate this magnificent edifice. 

In this mosque the caliphs of Cordova each Friday conducted the worshipof the people, that being the day consecrated to religion by the preceptsof Mohammed. Thither all the Mussulmans of Spain made pilgrimages, asthose of the East resorted to the temple at Mecca. There theycelebrated, with great solemnity, the fête of the great and the lesserBeiram, which corresponds with the Passover of the Jews; that of theNewyear, and that of Miloud, or the anniversary of the birth of Mohammed. Each of these festivals lasted for eight days. During that time {56} alllabour ceased, the people sent presents to each other, exchanged visits, and offered sacrifices. Disunited families, forgetting theirdifferences, pledged themselves to future concord, and consummated theirrenewed amity by delivering themselves up to the enjoyment of everypleasure permitted by the laws of the Koran. 

At night the city was illuminated, the streets were festooned withflowers, and the promenades and public places resounded with the melodyof various musical instruments. 

The more worthily to celebrate the occasion, alms were lavishlydistributed by the wealthy, and the benedictions of the poor mingled withthe songs of rejoicing that everywhere ascended around them. 

Abderamus, having imbibed with his Oriental education a fondness forthese splendid fêtes, first introduced a taste for them into Spain. Uniting, in his character of caliph, the civil and the sacerdotalauthority in his own person, he regulated the religious ceremonies onsuch occasions, and caused them to be celebrated with all the pomp andmagnificence displayed under similar circumstances by the sovereigns ofDamascus. 

Though the caliph of Cordova was the enemy {57} of the Christians, andnumbered many of them among his subjects, he refrained from persecutingthem, but deprived the bishoprics of their religious heads and thechurches of their priests, and encouraged marriages between the Moors andSpaniards. By these means the sagacious Moslem inflicted more injuryupon the true religion than could have been effected by the most rigorousseverity. 

Under the reign of Abderamus, the successors of Pelagius, still retainingpossession of Asturia, though weakened by the internal dissensions thatalready began to prevail among them, were forced to submit to the paymentof the humiliating tribute of a hundred young females, Abderamus refusingto grant them peace except at this price. 

Master of entire Spain, from Catalonia to the two seas, the first caliphdied A. D. 788, Heg. 172, after a glorious reign of thirty years, leavingthe crown to his son Hacchem, the third of his eleven sons. 

After the death of Abderamus the empire was disturbed by revolts, and bywars between the new caliph and his brothers, his uncles, or otherprinces of the royal blood. These civil wars {58} were inevitable undera despotic government, where not even the order of succession to thethrone was regulated by law. To be an aspirant to the supreme authorityof the state, it was sufficient to belong to the royal race; and as eachof the caliphs, almost without exception, left numerous sons, all theseprinces became the head of a faction, every one of them establishedhimself in some city, and, declaring himself its sovereign, took up armsin opposition to the authority of the caliph. From this arose theinnumerable petty states that were created, annihilated, and raised againwith each change of sovereigns. Thus also originated the many instancesof conquered, deposed, or murdered kings, that make the history of theMoors of Spain so difficult of methodical arrangement and so monotonousin the perusal. 

Hacchem, and, after him, his son Abdelazis-el-Hacchem retained possessionof the caliphate notwithstanding these unceasing dissensions. The formerfinished the beautiful mosque commenced by his father, and carried hisarms into France, in which kingdom his generals penetrated as far asNarbonne. The latter, Abdelazis-el-Hacchem less fortunate than hispredecessor, did not {59} succeed in opposing the Spaniards and hisrefractory subjects with unvarying success. His existence terminated inthe midst of national difficulties, and his son Abderamus became hissuccessor. 

Abderamus II. Was a great monarch, notwithstanding the fact that, duringhis reign, the power of the Christians began to balance that of the Moors. 

The Christians had taken advantage of the continual divisions whichprevailed among their former conquerors. Alphonso the Chaste, king ofAsturia, a valiant and politic monarch, had extended his dominions andrefused to pay the tribute of the hundred young maidens. Ramir, thesuccessor of Alphonso, maintained this independence, and several timesdefeated the Mussulmans. Navarre became a kingdom, and Aragon had itsindependent sovereigns, and was so fortunate as to possess a governmentthat properly respected the rights of the people. [8] The governors ofCatalonia, until then subjected to the kings of France, took advantage ofthe feebleness of Louis le Debonnaire to render themselves independent. In fine, all the north of Spain declared itself in opposition to theMoors, {60} and the south became a prey to the irruptions of the Normans. 

Abderamus defended himself against all these adversaries, and obtained, by his warlike talents, the surname of _Elmonzaffer_, which signifies_the Victorious_. And, though constantly occupied by the cares ofgovernment and of successive wars, this monarch afforded encouragement tothe fine arts, embellished his capital by a new mosque, and caused to beerected a superb aqueduct, from which water was carried in leaden pipesthroughout the city in the utmost abundance. 

Abderamus possessed a soul capable of enjoying the most refined andelevated pleasures. He attracted to his court poets and philosophers, with whose society he frequently delighted himself; thus cultivating inhis own person the talents he encouraged in others. He invited from theEast the famous musician Ali-Zeriab, who established himself in Spainthrough the beneficence of the caliph, and originated the celebratedschool[9] whose pupils afterward afforded such delight to the Orientalworld. 

The natural ferocity of the Moslems yielded to the influence of thechivalrous example of {61} the caliph, and Cordova became, under thedominion of Abderamus, the home of taste and pleasure, as well as thechosen abode of science and the arts. 

A single anecdote will serve to illustrate the tenderness and generositythat so strongly characterized this illustrious descendant of theOmmiades. 

One day a favourite female slave left her master's presence in highdispleasure, and, retiring to her apartment, vowed that, sooner than openthe door for the admittance of Abderamus, she would suffer it to bewalled up. The chief eunuch, alarmed at this discourse, which heregarded as almost blasphemous, hastened to prostrate himself before thePrince of Believers, and to communicate to him the horrible purpose ofthe rebellious slave. Abderamus smiled at the resolution of the offendedbeauty, and commanded the eunuch to cause a wall composed of pieces ofcoin to be erected before the door of her retreat, and avowed hisintention not to pass this barrier until the fair slave should havevoluntarily demolished it, by possessing herself of the materials ofwhich it was formed. The {62} historian[10] adds, that the same eveningthe caliph entered the apartments of the appeased favourite withoutopposition. 

This prince left forty-five sons and nearly as many daughters. Mohammed, the eldest of his sons, succeeded him, A. D. 852, Heg. 238. The reigns ofMohammed and his successors, Almanzor and Abdalla, offer to the historiannothing for a period of fifty years but details of an uninterruptedcontinuation of troubles, civil wars, and revolts, by which the governorsof the principal cities sought to render themselves independent. 

Alphonso the Great, king of Asturia, profited by these dissensions themore effectually to confirm his own power. The Normans, from anotherside, ravaged Andalusia anew. Toledo, frequently punished, but everrebellious, often possessed local sovereigns. Saragossa imitated theexample of Toledo. The authority of the caliphs was weakened, and theirempire, convulsed in every part, seemed on the point of dissolution, whenAbderamus III. , the nephew of Abdalla, ascended the throne of Cordova, and restored for some time its pristine splendour and power, A. D. 912, Heg. 300. 

{63}

This monarch, whose name, so dear to the Moslems, seemed to be anauspicious omen, took the title of _Emir-al-Mumenin_, which signifies_Prince of true Believers_. 

Victory attended the commencement of his reign; the rebels, whom hispredecessors had been unable to reduce to submission, were defeated;factions were dissipated, and peace and order re-established. 

Being attacked by the Christians soon after he had assumed the crown, Abderamus applied for assistance to the Moors of Africa. He maintainedlong wars against the kings of Leon and the counts of Castile, whowrested Madrid, then a place of comparative insignificance, from him, A. D. 931, Heg. 319. Often attacked and sometimes overcome, but alwaysgreat and redoubtable notwithstanding occasional reverses, Abderamus knewhow to repair his losses, and avail himself to the utmost of his goodfortune. A profound statesman, and a brave and skilful commander, hefomented divisions among the Spanish princes, carried his arms frequentlyinto the very centre of their states, and, having established a navy, seized, in addition, upon Ceuta and Seldjemessa on the African coast. 

{64}

Notwithstanding the incessant wars which occupied him during the whole ofhis reign, the enormous expense to which he was subjected by themaintenance of his armies and his naval force, and the purchase ofmilitary assistance from Africa, Emir-al-Mumenim supported a luxury andsplendour at his court, the details of which would seem to be the merecreations of the imagination, were they not attested by every historianof the time. 

The contemporary Greek emperor, Constantine XI. , wishing to oppose anenemy capable of resisting their power, to the Abbassides of Bagdad, sentambassadors to Cordova to form an alliance with Abderamus. 

The Caliph of the West, flattered that Christians should come from sodistant a part of the world to request his support, signalized theoccasion by the display of a gorgeous pomp which rivalled that of themost splendid Asiatic courts. He sent a suit of attendants to receivethe ambassadors at Jean. Numerous corps of cavalry, magnificentlymounted and attired, awaited their approach to Cordova, and a still morebrilliant display of infantry lined the avenues to the palace. Thecourts were covered with the most {65} superb Persian and Egyptiancarpets, and the walls hung with cloth of gold. The caliph, blazing withbrilliants, and seated on a dazzling throne, surrounded by his family, his viziers, and a numerous train of courtiers, received the Greek envoysin a hall in which all his treasures were displayed. The _Hadjeb_, adignitary whose office among the Moors corresponded to that of theancient French _mayors of the palace_, introduced the ambassadors. Theyprostrated themselves before Abderamus in amazement at the splendour ofthis array, and presented to the Moorish sovereign the letter ofConstantine, written on blue parchment and enclosed in a box of gold. The caliph signed the treaty, loaded the imperial messengers withpresents, and ordered that a numerous suite should accompany them even tothe walls of Constantinople. 

Abderamus III. , though unceasingly occupied either by war or politics, was all his life enamoured of one of his wives named Zahra. [11] He builta city for her two miles distant from Cordova, which he named Zahra. 

This place is now destroyed. It was situated {66} at the base of a highmountain, from which flowed numerous perpetual streams, whose waters ranin all directions through the streets of the city, diffusing health andcoolness in their course, and forming ever-flowing fountains in thecentre of the public places. The houses, each built after the samemodel, were surmounted by terraces and surrounded by gardens adorned withgroves of orange, laurel, and lime, and in which the myrtle, the rose, and the jasmine mingled in pleasing confusion with all the variedproductions of that sunny and delicious clime. The statue of thebeautiful Zahra[12] was conspicuously placed over the principal gate ofthis City of Love. 

But the attractions of the city were totally eclipsed by those of thefairy-like palace of the favourite. Abderamus, as the ally of theirImperial master, demanded the assistance of the most accomplished of theGreek architects; and the sovereign of Constantinople, which was at thattime the chosen home of the fine arts, eagerly complied with his desires, and sent the caliph, in addition, forty columns of granite of the rarestand most beautiful workmanship. Independent {67} of these magnificentcolumns, there were employed in the construction of this palace more thantwelve hundred others, formed of Spanish and Italian marble. The wallsof the apartment named the _Saloon of the Caliphate_, were covered withornaments of gold; and from the mouths of several animals, composed ofthe same metal, gushed jets of water that fell into an alabasterfountain, above which was suspended the famous pearl that the Emperor Leohad presented to the caliph as a treasure of inestimable value. In thepavilion where the mistress of this enchanting abode usually passed theevening with the royal Moor, the ceiling was composed of gold andburnished steel, incrusted with precious stones. And in the resplendentlight reflected from these brilliant ornaments by a hundred crystallustres, flashed the waters of a fountain, formed like a sheaf of grain, from polished silver, whose delicate spray was received again by thealabaster basin from whose centre it sprung. 

The reader might hesitate to believe these recitals; might supposehimself perusing Oriental tales, or that the author was indebted for hishistory to the _Thousand and One Nights_, were {68} not the facts heredetailed attested by the Arabian writers, and corroborated by foreignauthors of unquestionable veracity. It is true that the architecturalmagnificence, the splendid pageantry, the pomp of power thatcharacterized the reign of this illustrious Saracenic king, resemblednothing with which we are now familiar; but the incredulous questionersof their former existence might be asked whether, had the pyramids ofEgypt been destroyed by an earthquake, they would now credit historianswho should give us the exact dimensions of those stupendous structures?

The writers from whom are derived the details that have been givenconcerning the court of the Spanish Mussulmans, mention also the sumsexpended in the erection of the palace and city of Zahra. The costamounted annually to three hundred thousand dinars of gold, [13] andtwenty-five years hardly sufficed for the completion of this princelymonument of chivalrous devotion. 

{69}

To these enormous expenditures should be added the maintenance of aseraglio, in which the women, the slaves, and the black and white eunuchsamounted to the number of six thousand persons. The officers of thecourt, and the horses destined for their use, were in equally lavishproportion. The royal guard alone was composed of twelve thousandcavaliers. 

When it is remembered, that, from being continually at war with theSpanish princes, Abderamus was obliged to keep numerous armiesincessantly on foot, to support a naval force, frequently to hirestipendiaries from Africa, and to fortify and preserve in a state ofdefence the ever-endangered fortresses on his frontiers, it is hardlypossible to comprehend how his revenues sufficed for the supply of suchimmense and varied demands. But his resources were equally immense andvaried; and the sovereign of Cordova was perhaps the richest and mostpowerful monarch then in Europe. [14]

He held possession of Portugal, Andalusia, the Kingdom of Grenada, Mercia, Valencia, and the greater part of New-Castile, the most beautifuland fertile countries of Spain. 

{70}

These provinces were at that time extremely populous, and the Moors hadattained the highest perfection in agriculture. Historians assure us, that there existed on the shores of the Guadalquiver twelve thousandvillages; and that a traveller could not proceed through the countrywithout encountering some hamlet every quarter of an hour. There existedin the dominions of the caliph eighty great cities, three hundred of thesecond order, and an infinite number of smaller towns. Cordova, thecapital of the kingdom, enclosed within its walls two hundred thousandhouses and nine hundred public baths. 

All this prosperity was reversed by the expulsion of the Moors from thePeninsula. The reason is apparent: the Moorish conquerors of Spain didnot persecute their vanquished foes; the Spaniards, when they had subduedthe Moors, oppressed and banished them. 

The revenues of the caliphs of Cordova are represented to have amountedannually to twelve millions and forty-five thousand dinars of gold. [15]Independent of this income in money, many imposts were paid in theproducts of the soil; and among an industrious agricultural {71}population, possessed of the most fertile country in the world, thisrural wealth was incalculable. The gold and silver mines, known in Spainfrom the earliest times, were another source of wealth. Commerce, too, enriched alike the sovereign and the people. The commerce of the Moorswas carried on in many articles: silks, oils, sugar, cochineal, iron, wool (which was at that time extremely valuable), ambergris, yellowamber, loadstone, antimony, isinglass, rock-crystal, sulphur, saffron, ginger, the product of the coral-beds on the coast of Andalusia, of thepearl fisheries on that of Catalonia, and rubies, of which they haddiscovered two localities, one at Malaga and another at Beja. Thesevaluable articles were, either before or after being wrought, transportedto Egypt or other parts of Africa, and to the East. The emperors ofConstantinople, always allied from necessity to the caliphs of Cordova, favoured these commercial enterprises, and, by their countenance, assisted in enlarging, to a vast extent, the field of their operations;while the neighbourhood of Africa, Italy, and France contributed also totheir prosperity. 

The arts, which are the children of commerce, and support the existenceof their parent, added {72} a new splendour to the brilliant reign ofAbderamus. The superb palaces he erected, the delicious gardens hecreated, and the magnificent fêtes he instituted, drew to his court fromall parts architects and artists of every description. Cordova was thehome of industry and the asylum of the sciences. Celebrated schools ofgeometry, astronomy, chymistry, and medicine were establishedthere--schools which, a century afterward, produced such men as Averroesand Abenzoar. So distinguished were the learned Moorish poets, philosophers, and physicians, that Alphonso the Great, king of Asturia, wishing to confide the care of his son Ordogno to teachers capable ofconducting the education of a prince, appointed him two Arabianpreceptors, notwithstanding the difference of religious faith, and thehatred entertained by the Christians towards the Mussulmans. And one ofthe successors of Alphonso, Sancho the Great, king of Leon, beingattacked by a disease which it was supposed would prove fatal in itseffects, went unhesitatingly to Cordova, claimed the hospitality of hisnational enemy, and placed himself under the care of the Mohammedanphysicians, who eventually succeeded in curing the malady of theChristian king. 

{73}

This singular fact does as much honour to the skill of the learnedSaracens as to the magnanimity of the caliph and the trusting confidenceof Sancho. 

Such was the condition of the caliphate of Cordova under the dominion ofAbderamus III. He occupied the throne fifty years, and we have seen withwhat degree of honour to himself and benefit to his people. Perhapsnothing will better illustrate the superiority of this prince to monarchsgenerally than the following fragment, which was found, traced by his ownhand, among his papers after his death. 

"Fifty years have passed away since I became caliph. Riches, honours, pleasures, I have enjoyed them all: I am satiated with them all. Rivalkings respect me, fear, and envy me. All that the heart of man candesire. Heaven has lavishly bestowed on me. In this long period ofseeming felicity I have estimated the number of days during which I haveenjoyed _perfect happiness_: they amount to _fourteen_! Mortals, learnto appreciate greatness, the world, and human life!"

The successor of this monarch was his eldest {74} son, Aboul-Abbas ElHakkam, who assumed, like his father, the title of _Emir-al-Mumenim_. 

The coronation of El Hakkam was celebrated with great pomp in the city ofZahra. The new caliph there received the oath of fidelity from thechiefs of the scythe guard, a numerous and redoubtable corps, composed ofstrangers, which Abderamus III. Had formed. The brothers and relationsof El Hakkam, the viziers and their chief, the _Hadjeb_, the white andblack eunuchs, the archers and cuirassiers of the guard, all sworeobedience to the monarch. These ceremonies were followed by the funeralhonours of Abderamus, whose body was carried to Cordova, and theredeposited in the tomb of his ancestors. 

Aboul-Abbas El Hakkam, equally wise with his father, but less warlikethan he, enjoyed greater tranquillity during his reign. His was thedominion of justice and peace. The success and vigilance of Abderamushad extinguished, for a time, the spirit of revolt, and prepared the wayfor the continued possession of these great national blessings. 

Divided among themselves, the Christian kings entertained no designs ofdisturbing their infidel neighbours. 

{75}

The truce that existed between the Mussulmans and Castile and Leon wasbroken but once during the life of El Hacchem. The caliph then commandedhis army in person, and completed a glorious campaign, taking severalcities from the Spaniards, and convincing them, by his achievements, ofthe policy of future adherence to the terms of their treaty with theirSaracen opponents. 

During the remainder of his reign the Moorish sovereign applied himselfwholly to promoting the happiness of his subjects, to the cultivation ofscience, to the collection of an extensive library, and, above all, toenforcing a strict observance of the laws. 

The laws of the Moors were few and simple. It does not appear that thereexisted among them any civil laws apart from those incorporated withtheir religious code. Jurisprudence was reduced to the application ofthe principles contained in the Koran. The caliph, as the supreme headof their religion, possessed the power of interpreting these principles;but even he would not have ventured to violate them. At least as oftenas once a week, he publicly gave audience to his subjects, listened totheir {76} complaints, examined the guilty, and, without quitting thetribunal, caused punishment to be immediately inflicted. The governorsplaced by the sovereign over the different cities and provinces, commanded the military force belonging to each, collected the publicrevenues, superintended the administration of the police, and adjudgedthe offences committed within their respective governments. Publicofficers well versed in the laws discharged the functions of notaries, and gave a juridical form to records relating to the possession ofproperty. When any lawsuits arose, magistrates called _cadis_, whoseauthority was respected both by the king and the people, could alonedecide them. These suits were speedily determined; lawyers and attorneyswere unknown, and there was no expense nor chicanery connected with them. Each party pleaded his cause in person, and the decrees of the cadi wereimmediately executed. 

Criminal jurisprudence was scarcely more complicated. The Moors almostinvariably resorted to the _punishment of retaliation_ prescribed by thefounder of their religion. In truth, the wealthy were permitted toexonerate themselves from the charge of bloodshed by the aid {77} ofmoney; but it was necessary that the relations of the deceased shouldconsent to this: the caliph himself would not have ventured to withholdthe head of one of his own sons who had been guilty of homicide, if itsdelivery had been inexorably insisted upon. 

This simple code would not have sufficed had not the unlimited authorityexercised by fathers over their children, and husbands over their wives, supplied the deficiencies of the laws. With regard to this implicitobedience on the part of a family to the will of its chief, the Moorspreserved the ancient patriarchal customs of their ancestors. Everyfather possessed, under his own roof, rights nearly equal to those of thecaliph. He decided, without appeal, the quarrels of his wives and thoseof his sons: he punished with severity the slightest faults, and evenpossessed the power of punishing certain crimes with death. Age aloneconferred this supremacy. An old man was always an object of reverence. His presence arrested disorders: the most haughty young man cast down hiseyes at meeting him, and listened patiently to his reproofs. In short, the possessor of a white beard {78} was everywhere invested with theauthority of a magistrate. 

This authority, which was more powerful among the Moors than that oftheir laws, long subsisted unimpaired at Cordova. That the wise Hacchemdid nothing to enfeeble it, may be judged from the following illustration. 

A poor woman of Zahra possessed a small field contiguous to the gardensof the caliph. El Hacchem, wishing to erect a pavilion there, directedthat the owner should be requested to dispose of it to him. But thewoman refused every remuneration that was offered her, and declared thatshe would never sell the heritage of her ancestry. The king was, doubtless, not informed of the obstinacy of this woman; but thesuperintendent of the palace gardens, a minister worthy of a despoticsovereign, forcibly seized upon the field, and the pavilion was built. The poor woman hastened in despair to Cordova, to relate the story of hermisfortune to the Cadi Bechir, and to consult him respecting the courseshe should pursue. The cadi thought that the Prince of true Believershad no more right than any other man to possess himself by violence ofthe property of another; and he endeavoured to {79} discover some meansof recalling to his recollection a truth which the best of rulers willsometimes forget. 

One day, as the Moorish sovereign was surrounded by his court in thebeautiful pavilion built on the ground belonging to the poor woman, theCadi Bechir presented himself before him, seated on an ass, and carryingin his hand a large sack. The astonished caliph demanded his errand. "Prince of the Faithful!" replied Bechir, "I come to ask permission ofthee to fill this sack with the earth upon which thou standest. " Thecaliph cheerfully consented to this desire, and the cadi filled his sackwith the earth. He then left it standing, and, approaching hissovereign, entreated him to crown his goodness by aiding him in loadinghis ass with its burden. El Hacchem, amused by the request, yielded toit, and attempted to raise the sack. Scarcely able to move it, he let itfall again, and, laughing, complained of its enormous weight. "Prince ofBelievers!" said Bechir then, with impressive gravity, "this sack, whichthou findest so heavy, contains, nevertheless, but a small portion of thefield thou hast usurped from one of thy subjects; how wilt thou sustainthe weight {80} of this entire field when thou shalt appear in thepresence of the Great Judge charged with this iniquity?" The caliph, struck with this address, embraced the cadi, thanked him, acknowledgedhis fault, and immediately restored to the poor woman the field of whichshe had been despoiled, together with the pavilion and everything itcontained. 

The praise due to a despotic sovereign capable of such an action, isinferior only to that which should be accorded to the cadi who inducedhim to perform it. 

After reigning twelve years, El Hakkam died, A. D. 976, Heg. 366. His sonHacchem succeeded him. 

This prince was an infant when he ascended the throne, and hisintellectual immaturity continued through life. During and after hisminority, a celebrated Moor named Mohammed Almanzor, being invested withthe important office of _Hadjeb_, governed the state with wisdom andsuccess. 

Almanzor united to the talents of a statesman the genius of a greatcommander. He was the most formidable and fatal enemy with whom theChristians had yet been obliged to contend. He {81} ruled the Moorishempire twenty-six years under the name of the indolent Hacchem. Morethan fifty different times he carried the terrors of war into Castile orAsturia: he took and sacked the cities of Barcelona and Leon, andadvanced even to Compostella, destroying its famous church and carryingthe spoils to Cordova. 

The genius and influence of Mohammed temporarily restored the Moors totheir ancient strength and energy, and forced the whole Peninsula torespect the rights of his feeble master, who, like another Sardanapalus, dreamed away his life in the enjoyment of effeminate and debasingpleasures. [16]

But this was the last ray of unclouded splendour that shone upon theempire of the Ommiades in Spain. The kings of Leon and Navarre, and theCount of Castile, united their forces for the purpose of opposing theredoubtable Almanzor. 

The opposing armies met near Medina-Celi. The conflict was long andsanguinary, and the victory doubtful. The Moors, after the terminationof the combat, took to flight, terrified by the fearful loss they hadsustained; and {82} Almanzor, whom fifty years of uninterrupted militarysuccess had persuaded that he was invincible, died of grief at this firstmortifying reverse. 

With this great man expired the good fortune of the Saracens of Spain. From the period of his death, the Spaniards continued to increase theirown prosperity by the gradual ruin of the Moors. 

The sons of the hadjeb Almanzor successively replaced their illustriousfather; but, in inheriting his power, they did not inherit his talents. Factions were again created. One of the relations of the caliph took uparms against him, and possessed himself of the person of the monarch, A. D. 1005, Heg. 596; and, though the rebellious prince dared notsacrifice the life of Hacchem, he imprisoned him, and spread a report ofhis death. 

This news reaching Africa, an Ommiade prince hastened thence to Spainwith an army, under pretext of avenging the death of Hacchem. The Countof Castile formed an alliance with this stranger, and civil war waskindled in Cordova. It soon spread throughout Spain, and the Christianprinces availed themselves of its disastrous effects to repossessthemselves of the cities of {83} which they had been deprived during thesupremacy of Almanzor. 

The imbecile Hacchem, negotiating and trifling alike with all parties, was finally replaced on the throne, but was soon after forced again torenounce it to save his life. 

After this event a multitude of conspirators[17] were in turn proclaimedcaliph, and in turn deposed, poisoned, or otherwise murdered. Almundir, the last lingering branch of the race of the Ommiades, was bold enough toclaim the restoration of the rights of his family, even amid the tumultof conflicting parties. His friends represented to him the dangers hewas about to encounter. "Should I reign but one day, " replied lie, "andexpire on the next, I would not murmur at my fate!" But the desire ofthe prince, even to this extent, was not gratified; he was assassinatedwithout obtaining possession of the caliphate. 

Usurpers of momentary authority followed. Jalmar-ben-Mohammed was thelast in order. His death terminated the empire of the Caliphs {84} ofthe West, which had been possessed by the dynasty of the Ommiades for theperiod of three centuries, A. D. 1027, Heg. 416. 

With the extinction of this line of princes vanished the power and theglory of Cordova. 

The governors of the different cities, who had hitherto been the vassalsof the court of Cordova, profiting by the anarchy that prevailed, erectedthemselves into independent sovereigns--That city was therefore no longerthe capital of a kingdom, though it still retained the religioussupremacy which it derived from its mosque. 

Enfeebled by divisions and subjected to such diversity of rule, theMussulmans were no longer able successfully to resist the encroachmentsof the Spaniards. The Third Epoch of their history, therefore, willpresent nothing but a narrative of their rapid decline. 

[1] See Note A, page 208. 

[2] The dynasty of the Ommiades, whose capital, as M. Florian informs us, was Damascus, is most familiarly known in history as that of the _Caliphsof Syria_; and the Abbassides, who succeeded them upon the throne ofIslam, are usually designated as the _Caliphs of Bagdad_, which city theybuilt, and there established the seat of their regal power andmagnificence. It may be observed, in connexion with this subject, thatthough the authority of the Caliphs of Damascus continued to be disputedand resisted after the death of Ali, yet with that event terminated thetemporary division of the civil and sacerdotal power which had been atfirst occasioned by their usurpation of sovereignty. The politicalsupremacy of the party of Ali ceased with his existence, and theauthority that had belonged to the immediate successors of Mohammed longcontinued to centre in the family of the Ommiade princes. --_Trans_. 

[3] See Note B, page 209. 

[4] A. D. 752, Heg. 134. 

[5] See Note C, page 209. 

[6] It was under the government of the Abbassides that the empire of theEast possessed that superiority in wealth, magnificence, and learning forwhich it was once so celebrated. Under the sway of the Caliphs ofBagdad, the Mohammedans became as much renowned for their attainments inthe higher branches of science as in the elegant and useful arts. Tothem the civilized world is indebted for the revival of the exact andphysical sciences, and the discovery or restoration of most of the artsthat afterward lent such beneficial aid to the progress of Europeanliterature and refinement. The far-famed capital of the Abbassides wasadorned with every attraction that the most unbounded wealth couldsecure, or the most consummate art perfect. There taste and power hadcombined exquisite luxury with unparalleled splendour, and there all thatimagination could suggest to fascinate the senses or enrapture the mind, was realized. These princes of Islam, by their unbounded liberality, attracted the learning and genius of other countries to their brilliantcourt, several of them were the ardent lovers of science as well as themunificent patrons of its devotees. Thus Bagdad became the favoured andgenial home of letters and the arts; and luxury and the pursuit ofpleasure were ennobled by a graceful union with the more elevatedenjoyments of cultivated intellect and refined taste. Nor were thesebeneficent influences confined to the Mohammedan court, or to the periodof time when they were so powerfully exercised. The Moslem sovereignsgave laws to a wide realm in arts as well as arms; and if the whole ofEurope did not acknowledge their political superiority, in the world ofscience their supremacy was everywhere undisputed. That, like thegradually enlarging circles made by a pebble thrown into calm water, continued to spread farther and farther, until it reached the mostdistant shores, and communicated a generous impulse to nations long sunkin intellectual night. 

 * * * * * * * *

Such was the celebrated empire of the Abbassides in its halcyon days ofundiminished power--such the beautiful City of Peace, the favoured homeof imperial magnificence, ere the despoiling Tartar had profaned itsloveliness and destroyed its grandeur. Yet, when we look beneath thebrilliant exterior of these Oriental scenes and characters, we discover, under the splendour and elegance by which the eyes of the world were solong dazzled, the corruption and licentiousness of a governmentcontaining within itself the seeds of its own insecurity and ultimatedestruction. We behold the absence of all fixed principles oflegislation; we frequently find absolute monarchs guided solely bypassion or caprice in the administration of arbitrary laws, and swayingthe destinies of a people who, as a whole, were far from deriving anysubstantial advantage from the wealth and greatness of their despoticrulers. We are thus led to observe the evils that necessarily resultfrom a want of those principles of vital religion, without which merehuman learning is so inadequate to discipline the passions or direct thereason, and of those just and equal laws, the supremacy of which canalone secure the happiness of a people or the permanency of politicalinstitutions. --_Trans_. 

[7] See note D, page 212. 

[8] See note E, page 218. 

[9] See note F, page 313. 

[10] Cardonne, in his History of Spain. 

[11] This word signifies, in the Arabic, _Flower_, or _Ornament of theWorld_. 

[12] See Note G, page 213. 

[13] The _dinar_ is estimated by M. Florian to be equal to at least _tenlivres_. According to that computation, the aggregate cost of the palaceand city of Zahra would amount to considerably more than $14, 000, 000. _Trans_. 

[14] See note H, page 214. 

[15] About $22, 500, 000. 

[16] See Note I, page 214. 

[17] Mahadi, Suleiman, Ali, Abderamus IV. , Casim, Jahiah, Hacchem III. , Mohammed, Abderamus V. , Jahiah II. , Hacchem IV. , and Jalmar-ben-Mohammed. 

{85}

THIRD EPOCH. 

CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE PRINCIPAL KINGDOMS THAT SPRANG FROM THERUINS OF THE CALIPHATE. 

_Extending from the Commencement of the Eleventh to the Middle of theThirteenth Century. _

At the commencement of the eleventh century, when the throne of Cordovawas daily stained by the blood of some new usurper, the governors ofthe different cities, as has been already remarked, had assumed thetitle of kings. Toledo, Saragossa, Seville, Valencia, Lisbon, Huesca, and several other places of inferior importance, each possessedindependent sovereigns. 

The history of these numerous kingdoms would be nearly as fatiguing tothe reader as to the writer. It presents, for the space of two hundredyears, nothing but accounts of repeated massacres, of fortresses takenand retaken, of pillages and seditions, of occasional instances ofheroic conduct, but far more numerous crimes. Passing rapidly over twocenturies of {86} misfortunes, let it suffice to contemplate thetermination of these petty Moorish sovereignties. 

Christian Spain, in the mean time, presented nearly the same picture asthat exhibited by the portion of the Peninsula still in possession ofthe Mohammedans. The kings of Leon, Navarre, Castile, and Aragon werealmost always relatives, and sometimes brothers; but they were not, forthat reason, the less sanguinary in their designs towards each other. Difference of religion did not prevent them from uniting with theMoors, the more effectually to oppress other Christians, or other Moorswith whom they chanced to be at enmity. Thus, in a battle whichoccurred A. D. 1010 between two Mussulman leaders, there were foundamong the slain a count of Urgel and three bishops of Catalonia. [1]And the King of Leon, Alphonso V. , gave his sister Theresa in marriageto Abdalla, the Moorish king of Toledo, to convert him into an allyagainst Castile. 

Among the Christians, as among the Moors, crimes were multiplied; civilwars of both a local and general nature at the same time distractedSpain, and the unhappy people expiated with {87} their property andtheir lives the iniquities of their rulers. 

While thus regarding a long succession of melancholy events, it isagreeable to find a king of Toledo called Almamon, and Benabad, theMussulman king of Seville, affording an asylum at their courts, the oneto Alphonso, the young king of Leon, and the other to the unfortunateGarcias, king of Galicia, both of whom had been driven from theirkingdoms by their brother Sancho, of Castile, A. D. 1071 Heg. 465. Sancho pursued his brothers as though they had been his most implacableenemies; and the Moorish monarchs, the natural enemies of all theChristians, received these two fugitive princes as brothers. Almamon, especially, lavished the most affectionate attention upon theunfortunate Alphonso: he endeavoured to entertain him at Toledo withsuch varied pleasures as should banish regret for the loss of a throne:he gave him an income, and, in short, treated the prince as though hehad been a near and beloved relative. When the death of the cruelSancho (A. D. 1072, Heg. 466) had rendered Alphonso king of Leon andCastile, the generous Almamon, who now had the person of the king ofhis enemies in his {88} power, accompanied the prince to the frontiersof his kingdom, loaded him with presents and caresses, and, at parting, offered the free use of his troops and treasures to his late guest. 

While Almamon lived, Alphonso IV. Never forgot his obligations to hisbenefactor. He maintained peace with him, aided him in his campaignsagainst the King of Seville, and even entered into a treaty withHacchem, the son and successor of his ally. But, after a brief reign, Hacchem left the throne of Toledo to his youthful brother Jahiah. Thatprince oppressed the Christians, who were very numerous in his city;and they secretly implored Alphonso to make war upon Jahiah. Thememory of Almamon long caused the Spanish monarch to hesitate inrelation to this subject. Gratitude impelled him not to listen to thesuggestions of ambition and the prayers of his countrymen; but thearguments of gratitude proved the least strong, and Alphonso encampedbefore Toledo. 

After a long and celebrated siege, to which several French and otherforeign warriors eagerly hastened, Toledo finally capitulated, A. D. 1085, Heg. 478. 

The conqueror allowed the sons of Almamon {89} to go and reign atValencia, and engaged by an oath to preserve the mosques fromdestruction. He could not, however, prevent the Christians fromspeedily violating this promise. 

Such was the end of the Moorish kingdom of Toledo. This ancientcapital of the Goths had belonged to the Arabs three hundred andeighty-two years. 

Several other less important cities now submitted to the Christianyoke. The kings of Aragon and Navarre, and the Count of Barcelona, incessantly harassed and besieged the petty Mussulman princes who stillremained in the north of Spain. The attacks of the kings of Castileand Leon afforded sufficient occupation for those of the south, effectually to prevent their rendering any assistance to theirbrethren. Above all, the Cid, the famous Cid, flew from one part ofSpain to another, at the head of the invincible band with whom his famehad surrounded him, everywhere achieving victories for the Christians, and even lending the aid of his arms to the Moors when they wereinternally divided, but always securing success to the party hefavoured. 

This hero, one of the most truly admirable of those whom history hascelebrated, since in his {90} character were united the most exaltedvirtue and the highest qualities of the soldier; this simple Castiliancavalier, upon whom his reputation alone bestowed the control ofarmies, became master of several cities, assisted the King of Aragon toseize upon Huesca, and conquered the kingdom of Valencia without anyother assistance than that of his men-at-arms. Equal in power with hissovereign, of whose treatment he frequently had reason to complain, andenvied and persecuted by the jealous courtiers, the Cid never forgotfor a moment that he was the subject of the King of Castile. Banishedfrom court, and even exiled from his estates, he hastened, with hisbrave companions, to attack and conquer the Moors, and to send those ofthem whom he vanquished to render homage to the king who had deprivedhim of his rights. 

Being soon recalled to the presence of Alphonso, in consequence of theking's needing his military aid, the Cid left the scenes of his martialtriumphs, and, without demanding reparation for the injuries he hadsustained, returned to defend his persecutors; ever ready, while indisgrace, to forget everything in the performance of his duty to hisking, and equally ready, when enjoying {91} the favour of thesovereign, to displease him, if it should be necessary to do so, byadvocating the cause of truth and justice. [2]

While the prowess of the Cid maintained the contest, the Christians hadthe advantage; but a few years after his death, which occurred in theyear 1099 and the 492d of the Hegira, the Moors of Andalusia changedmasters, and became, for a time, more formidable than ever to theirSpanish foes. 

After the fall of Toledo, Seville had increased in power. Thesovereigns of that city were also masters of ancient Cordova, andpossessed, in addition, Estremadura and a part of Portugal. Benabad, king of Seville, one of the most estimable princes of his age, was nowthe only one of its enemies capable of disturbing the safety ofCastile. Alphonso IV. , desirous of allying himself with this powerfulMoor, demanded his daughter in marriage. His proposal was acceded to, and the Castilian monarch received several towns as the dowry of theMoorish princess; but this extraordinary union, which seemed to ensurepeace between the two nations, nevertheless soon became either thecause or the pretext of renewed contests. 

{92}

Africa, after having been separated from the vast empire of the Caliphsof the East by the Fatimite caliphs, and being, during three centuriesof civil war, the prey of a succession of conquerors more ferocious andsanguinary than the lions of their deserts, [3] was now subjected to thefamily of the _Almoravides_, a powerful tribe of Egyptian origin. Joseph-ben-Tessefin, the second prince of this dynasty, founded thekingdom and city of Morocco. 

Endowed with some warlike talents, proud of his power, and burning toaugment it, Joseph regarded with a covetous eye the beautiful Europeanprovinces which had formerly been conquered by the Mussulmans of Africa. 

Some historians assert that the King of Castile, Alphonso IV. , and hisfather-in-law Benabad, king of Seville, having formed the project ofdividing Spain between them, committed the capital error of summoningthe Moors of Africa to their assistance in this grand design. Butothers, founding their assertions upon more plausible reasoning, saythat the petty Mussulman kings, who were the neighbours or tributariesof Benabad, justly alarmed at his alliance with a {93} Christian king, solicited the support of the Almoravide. 

But, be that as it may, the ambitious Joseph eagerly availed himself ofthe fortunate pretext presented by the invitation he had received, andcrossed the Mediterranean at the head of an army. He hastened toattack Alphonso, and succeeded in overcoming him in a battle that tookplace between them, A. D. 1097, Heg. 490. Then turning his arms againstBenabad, Joseph took Cordova, besieged Seville, and was preparing forthe assault of that city, when the virtuous Benabad, sacrificing hiscrown and even his liberty to save his subjects from the horrors thatthreatened them, delivered himself up, together with his family of ahundred children, to the disposal of the Almoravide. 

The barbarous African, dreading the influence of a monarch whosevirtues had rendered him so justly dear to his people, sent him to endhis days in an African prison, where his daughters were obliged tosupport their father and brothers by the labour of their hands. 

The unfortunate Benabad lived six years after the commencement of hisimprisonment, regretting his lost throne only for the sake of his {94}people, and beguiling the period of his protracted leisure by thecomposition of several poems which are still in existence. In them heattempts to console his daughters under their heavy afflictions, recalls the remembrance of his vanished greatness, and offers himselfas a warning and example to kings who shall presume to trust tooconfidently to the unchanging continuance of the favours of fortune. 

Joseph-ben-Tessefin, after he had thus become master of Seville andCordova, soon succeeded in subjugating the other petty Mussulmanstates; and the Moors, united under a single monarch as powerful asJoseph, threatened again to occupy the important position they hadsustained during the supremacy of their caliphs. The Spanish princes, alarmed at this prospect, suspended their individual quarrels, andjoined Alphonso in resisting the Africans. 

At this particular juncture, a fanatical love of religion and gloryinduced many European warriors to take up arms against the infidels. Raymond of Bourgogne, and his kinsman Henry, both French princes of theblood, Raymond of Saint-Gilles, count of Toulouse, with some othercavaliers from among their vassals, crossed the {95} Pyrenees withtheir retainers, and fought under the banners of the King of Castile. Thus assisted, that sovereign put the Egyptian commander to flight, andcompelled him, soon afterward, to recross the Mediterranean. 

The grateful Alphonso gave his daughters as a recompense to thedistinguished Frenchmen who had lent him the aid of their arms. Theeldest, Urraca, espoused Raymond of Bourgogne, and their son afterwardinherited the kingdom of Castile. Theresa became the wife of Henry, and brought him as a dowry all the land he had thus far conquered orshould hereafter conquer in Portugal: from thence originated thatkingdom. Elvira was given to Raymond, count of Toulouse, who carriedher with him to the Holy Land, where he gained some possessions by hisvalour. 

Excited by these illustrious examples, other French cavaliers resortedsoon after to the standard of the King of _Aragon_, Alphonso I. , whomade himself master of Saragossa, and for ever destroyed that ancientkingdom of the Moors, A. D. 1118, Heg. 512. 

The son of Henry of Bourgogne, Alphonso I. King of Portugal, a princerenowned for his {96} bravery, availed himself of the presence of acombined fleet of English, Flemings, and Germans, who had anchored inthe harbour of that city on their way to the Holy Land, to lay siege toLisbon. He carried that place by assault, in spite of its greatstrength, and made it the capital of his kingdom, A. D. 1147, Heg. 541. 

During this period the kings of Castile and Navarre were extendingtheir conquests in Andalusia. 

The Moors were attacked on all sides, and their cities were everywherecompelled to surrender, now that they were no longer materially aidedby the Almoravides. Those African princes were at this timesufficiently occupied at home in opposing some new sectaries, theprincipal of whom, under pretext of reinitiating the people in aknowledge of the pure doctrines of Mohammed, opened for themselves apath to the throne, and, after many struggles, ended by effectuallydriving the family of the Almoravides from its possession. The newconquerors, becoming by these means masters of Morocco and Fez, destroyed, according to the African custom, every individual of thesupplanted race, and founded a new dynasty, which is known under {97}the name of the _Almohades_, A. D. 1149, Heg. 543. 

In the midst of these divisions, these wars and combats, the fine artsstill continued to be cultivated at Cordova. And though they were nolonger in the flourishing condition in which they were maintainedduring the reigns of the several caliphs who bore the cherished name ofAbderamus, yet the schools of philosophy, poetry, and medicine hadcontinued to exist. These schools produced, in the twelfth century, several distinguished men, among the most celebrated of whom were thelearned Abenzoar and the famous Averroes. The former, equally profoundin medicine, pharmacy, and surgery, lived, it is said, to the age ofone hundred and thirty-five years. Some estimable works which heproduced are still extant. Averroes was also a physician, but he wasmore of a philosopher, poet, lawyer, and commentator. He acquired areputation so profound, that passing centuries have only served morefirmly to establish it. The disposition made by this remarkable man ofhis time during the different periods of his existence, will illustratehis mental character. In his youth he was the passionate votary of{98} pleasure and poetry: in more mature age he burned the verses hehad previously composed, studied the principles of legislation, anddischarged the duties of a judicial officer: having advanced stillfarther in life, he abandoned these occupations for the pursuit ofmedicine, in which he attained very great eminence: at last philosophyalone supplied the place of every earlier taste, and wholly engrossedhis attention for the remainder of his life. It was Averroes who firstcreated among the Moors a taste for Greek literature. He translatedthe works of Aristotle into Arabic, and wrote commentaries upon them. He also published several other works upon philosophy and medicine, andpossessed the united glory of having both enlightened and benefitedmankind. [4]

As Africa, distracted by the long war of the Almoravides and theAlmohades, was unable to offer any opposition to the progress of theChristians in Spain, these last, availing themselves of this conditionof affairs, continued to extend their conquests in Andalusia. If theSpanish princes had been less disunited, and had acted in concertagainst the infidels, they would have been able {99} at this period todeprive the Mussulmans of their entire dominions in the Peninsula. Butthese ever-contending princes had no sooner taken a Moorish city thanthey began to dispute among themselves about its possession. 

The newly-created kingdom of Portugal, established by the militarypowers of Alphonso, was soon at war with that of Leon. [5] Aragon andCastile, after many bloody quarrels, united in a league againstNavarre. Sancho VIII. , the sovereign of that little state, was forcedto resort to Africa for assistance, and implore the aid of theAlmohades. But they, being but recently established on the throne ofMorocco, were still employed in exterminating the dismembered fragmentsof the party of the Almoravides, and could not, in spite of their eagerdesire to do so, establish any claim to their assumed rights in Spain. Nevertheless, two kings of the race of the Almohades, both namedJoseph, passed the Mediterranean more than once with numerous armies. The one was successfully opposed by the Portuguese, and did not survivehis final defeat; the other was more fortunate, and succeeded invanquishing the Castilians, but {100} was soon after obliged to accepta truce and return in haste to Morocco, to which new disturbancesrecalled him, A. D. 1195, Heg. 591. 

But these useless victories, these ill-sustained efforts, did notpermanently disable either the Mussulmans or the Christians. On bothsides, the vanquished parties soon re-entered the field, in utterneglect of the treaties into which they might ever so recently haveentered. The sovereigns of Morocco, though regarded as the kings ofAndalusia, nevertheless possessed only a precarious authority in thatcountry, which was always disputed when they were absent, andacknowledged only when necessity forced the Mussulman inhabitants tohave recourse to their protection. 

At last Mohammed _El Nazir_, the fourth prince of the dynasty of theAlmohades, to whom the Spaniards gave the name of the Green, from thecolour of his turban, finding himself in quiet possession of theMoorish empire of Africa, resolved to assemble all his forces, to leadthem into Spain, and to renew in that country the ancient conquests ofTarik and Moussa. A holy war was proclaimed, A. D. 1211, Heg. 608, andan innumerable army {101} crowded around the ensigns of Mohammed, leftthe shores of Africa under the guidance of that monarch, and safelyarrived in Andalusia. There their numbers were nearly doubled by theSpanish Moors, whom hatred to the very name of Christian, arising fromthe vivid remembrance of accumulated injuries, induced to join thebands of El Nazir. 

The sanguine Mohammed promised an easy triumph to his followers, together with the certainty of rendering themselves masters of all thattheir ancestors had formerly possessed; and, burning to commence thecontest, he immediately advanced towards Castile at the head of hisformidable army, which, according to the reports of historians, amounted to more than six hundred thousand men. 

The king of Castile, Alphonso the Noble, informed of the warlikepreparations of the King of Morocco, implored the assistance of theChristian princes of Europe. Pope Innocent III. Proclaimed a crusadeand granted indulgences most lavishly. Rodrique, archbishop of Toledo, made in person a voyage to Rome, to solicit the aid of the sovereignpontiff; and, returning homeward through France, preached to the people{102} on his route, and induced many cavaliers to proceed at the headof bands of recruits to Spain, and join the opponents of the Mussulmans. 

The general rendezvous was at Toledo, at which point there were sooncollected more than sixty thousand crusaders from Italy and France, whounited themselves with the soldiers of Castile. The King of Aragon, Peter II. , the same who afterward perished in the war of the Albigense, led his valiant army to the place of meeting, and Sancho VIII. , king ofNavarre, was not backward in presenting himself at the head of hisbrave subjects. The Portuguese had recently lost their king, but theydespatched their best warriors to Toledo. In short, all Spain flew toarms. There was general union for the promotion of mutual safety; fornever, since the time of King Rodrique, had the Christians been placedin such imminent danger. 

It was at the foot of the Sierra Morena, at a place named _Las Navas deToloza_, that the three Spanish princes encountered the Moors, A. D. 1212, Heg. 609. 

Mohammed El Nazir had taken possession of the mountain gorges throughwhich it had been the intention of the Christians to approach {103} hiscamp. The adroit African thus designed, either to force his opponentsto turn back, which would expose them to the danger of a failure ofprovisions, or to overwhelm them in the pass if they should attempt toenter it. Upon discovering this circumstance, a council was called bythe embarrassed Christian leaders. Alphonso was desirous of attemptingthe passage, but the kings of Navarre and Aragon advised a retreat. Inthe midst of this dilemma, a shepherd presented himself before them, and offered to conduct them through a defile of the mountain, withwhich he was familiar. This proposal, which was the salvation of theirarmy, was eagerly accepted, and the shepherd guided the Catholicsovereigns through difficult paths and across rocks and torrents, until, with their followers, they finally succeeded in attaining thesummit of the mountain. 

There, suddenly presenting themselves before the eyes of the astonishedMoors, they were engaged for the space of two days in preparingthemselves for the conflict, by prayer, confession, and the solemnreception of the holy sacrament Their leaders set an example to thesoldiers in this zealous devotion; and the prelates and {104}ecclesiastics, of whom there were a great number in the camp, afterhaving absolved these devout warriors, prepared to accompany them intothe midst of the conflict. 

Upon the third day, the sixteenth of July, in the year twelve hundredand twelve, the Christian army was drawn up in battle array. Thetroops were formed into three divisions, each commanded by a king. Alphonso was in the centre, at the head of his Castilians and thechevaliers of the newly-instituted orders of Saint James and Calatrava;Rodrique, archbishop of Toledo, the eyewitness and historian of thisgreat battle, advanced by the side of Alphonso, preceded by a largecross, the principal ensign of the army; Sancho and his Navarroisformed the right, while Peter and his subjects occupied the left. TheFrench crusaders, now reduced to a small number by the desertion ofmany of their companions, who had been unable to endure the scorchingheat of the climate, marched in the van of the other troops, under thecommand of Arnault, archbishop of Narbonne. 

Thus disposed, the Christians descended towards the valley whichseparated them from their enemies. 

{105}

The Moors, according to their ancient custom, everywhere displayedtheir innumerable soldiers, without order or arrangement. An admirablecavalry, to the number of a hundred thousand men, composed theirprincipal strength: the rest of their army was made up of a crowd ofill-armed and imperfectly trained foot-soldiers. Mohammed, stationedon a height, from which he could command a view of his whole army, wasencompassed by a defence made of chains of iron, guarded by thechoicest of his cavaliers on foot. Standing in the midst of thisenclosure, with the Koran in one hand and an unsheathed sabre in theother, the Saracen commander was visible to all his troops, of whom thebravest squadrons occupied the four sides of the hill. 

The Castilians directed their first efforts towards this elevation. Atfirst they drove back the Moors, but, repulsed in their turn, theyrecoiled in disorder and began to retreat. Alphonso flew here andthere, attempting to rally their broken ranks, "Archbishop, " said he tothe prelate who everywhere accompanied him, preceded by the grandstandard of the Cross, "Archbishop, here are we destined to die!" "Not{106} so, sire, " replied the ecclesiastic; "we are destined here tolive and conquer!" At that moment the brave canon who carried thechief ensign threw himself with it into the midst of the infidels; theprelate and the king followed him, and the Castilian soldiers rushedforward to protect their sovereign and their sacred standard. Thealready victorious kings of Aragon and Navarre now advanced at the headof their wings to unite in the attack upon the height. The Moors wereassaulted at all points: they bravely resisted their opponents; but theChristians crowded upon them--the Aragonais, the Navarrois, and theCastilians endeavouring mutually to surpass each other in courage anddaring. The brave King of Navarre, making a path for himself throughthe midst of its defenders, reached the enclosure, and struck and brokethe chains by which the Moorish commander was surrounded. [6] Mohammedtook to flight on beholding this catastrophe; and his soldiers, nolonger beholding their king, lost both hope and courage. They gave wayin all directions, and fled before the Christians. Thousands of theMussulmans fell beneath the {107} weapons of their pursuers, while theArchbishop of Toledo, with the other ecclesiastics, surrounding thevictorious sovereigns, chanted a _Te Deum_ on the field of battle. 

Thus was gained the famous battle of Toloza, of which some details havebeen given in consequence of its great importance, and in illustrationof the military tactics of the Moors. With them the arts of warconsisted solely in mingling with the enemy, and fighting, each one forhimself, until either the strongest or the bravest of the two partiesremained masters of the field. 

The Spaniards possessed but little more military skill than theirMoslem neighbours; but their infantry, at least, could attack andresist in mass, while the discipline of that of the Saracens amountedto scarcely anything. On the other hand, again, the cavalry of theMoors was admirably trained. The cavaliers who composed it belonged tothe principal families in the kingdom, and possessed excellent horses, in the art of managing which they had been trained from childhood. Their mode of combat was to rush forward with the rapidity of light, strike with the sabre or the lance, fly away as quickly, and then wheelsuddenly and return again to the {108} encounter. Thus they oftensucceeded in recalling victory to their standard when she seemed justabout to desert them. The Christians, covered as they were with iron, had in some respects the advantage of these knights, whose persons wereprotected only by a breastplate and headpiece of steel. The Moorishfoot-soldiers were nearly naked, and armed only with a wretched pike. It is easy to perceive that, when involved in the _mêlée_, and, aboveall, during a route, vast numbers of them must have perished. This, too, renders less incredible the seemingly extravagant accounts givenby historians of their losses in the field. They assert, for example, that, at the battle of Toloza, the Christians killed two hundredthousand Moors, while they lost themselves but fifteen hundredsoldiers. Even when these assertions are estimated at their truevalue, it remains certain that the infidels sustained an immense loss;and this important defeat, which is still celebrated yearly at Toledoby a solemn fête, long deprived the kings of Morocco of all hope ofsubjugating the Spaniards. 

The victory of Toloza was followed by more fatal consequences to theunfortunate Mohammed than to the Moors of Andalusia; for the {109}latter retired to their cities, defended them by means of the remainsof the African army, and successfully resisted the Spanish princes, whosucceeded in taking but few of their strong places, and, speedilydissolving their league, separated for their respective kingdoms. ButMohammed, despised by his subjects after his defeat, and assailed bythe treachery of his nearest relations, lost all authority in Spain, and beheld the principal Moors, whom he had now no power to control, again forming little states, the independence of which they wereprepared to assert by force of arms. [7] The discomfited El Nazirconsequently returned to Africa, where he soon after died of chagrin. 

With Mohammed the Green vanished the good fortune of the Almohades. The princes of that house, who followed El Nazir in rapid succession, purchased their royal prerogatives at the expense of continualunhappiness and danger, and were finally driven from the throne. Theempire of Morocco was then divided, and three new dynasties wereestablished; that of Fez, of Tunis, and of Tremecen. These threepowerful and rival sovereignties greatly multiplied the {110}conflicts, crimes, and atrocities, the narration of which aloneconstitutes the history of Africa. 

About this period some dissensions arose in Castile, which, togetherwith the part assumed by the King of Aragon in the war of the Albigensein France, allowed the Moors time to breathe. The Moslems were stillmasters of the kingdoms of Valencia, Murcia, Grenada, and Andalusia, with part of Algarva and the Balearic Isles, which last, until thattime, had continued to be but little known to the Christians of theContinent. 

These states were divided between several sovereigns, the principal ofwhom was Benhoud, a descendant of the ancient kings of Saragossa, asagacious monarch and a great commander, who by his genius and couragehad obtained dominion over all the southeastern part of Spain. Next toBenhoud in rank, the most important of these Mohammedan princes werethe kings of Seville and Valentia. The barbarian who reigned atMajorca was a mere piratical chief, whose enmity was formidable only tothe inhabitants of the neighbouring coast of Catalonia. 

Such was the condition of Moorish Spain, {111} when two young heroesseated themselves, nearly at the same time, on the thrones of the twoprincipal Christian states; and, after having allayed the commotionscreated during the period of their minority, directed theirconcentrated efforts against the Mussulmans, A. D. 1224, Heg. 621. 

These princes, who were mutually desirous to emulate each other infame, but were never rivals in interest, both consecrated their livesto the extirpation of the inflexible enemies of their native land. Oneof these sovereigns was Jacques I. , king of Aragon (a son of the Peterof Aragon who distinguished himself on the field of Toloza), who unitedto the courage, grace, and energy of his father, a greater degree ofgenius and success than fell to the lot of that sovereign. The otherwas Ferdinand III. , king of Castile and Leon, a discerning, courageous, and enterprising monarch, whom the Romish Church has numbered with itssaints, and history ranks among its great men. 

This prince was the nephew of Blanche of Castile, queen of France, andcousin-german of St. Lewis, [8] whom he nearly resembled in his {112}piety, his bravery, and the wise laws he framed for the benefit of hissubjects. 

Ferdinand carried his arms first into Andalusia. When he entered theterritories of the infidels, he received the homage of several Moorishprinces, who came to acknowledge themselves his vassals. As heproceeded, he seized upon a great number of places, and, among others, the town of Alhambra, whose frightened inhabitants retired to Grenada, and established themselves in a portion of that city, which thusobtained the name by which it was afterward so much celebrated. 

Jacques of Aragon, on his part, set sail with an army for the BalearicIsles. Though impeded in his progress by contrary winds, he succeededat last in reaching Majorca, on the shore of which island he defeatedthe Moorish force that attempted to oppose his landing, and thenmarched towards their capital and laid siege to it. 

The chivalrous Jacques, who, when danger was to be encountered, alwaystook precedence of even his bravest officers and most daring soldiers, was, as usual, the first to mount the walls in the assault upon thiscity. It was carried, {113} notwithstanding its great strength, theMussulman king driven from the throne, and this new crown permanentlyincorporated with that of Aragon, A. D. 1229, Heg. 627. 

Jacques had long been meditating a most important conquest. Valencia, after the death of the Cid, had again fallen into the hands of theMoors. This beautiful and fertile province, where nature seemed todelight herself by covering anew with fruit and flowers the soil thatman had so often deluged with blood, was now under the dominion ofZeith, a brother of Mohammed El Nazir, the African king who wasvanquished at Toloza by the Christians. A powerful faction, inimicalto the power of Zeith, wished to place upon the throne a prince namedZean. The two competitors appealed to arms to decide their respectiveclaims. The King of Aragon espoused the cause of Zeith, and, underpretext of marching to his assistance, advanced into the kingdom ofValencia, several times defeated Zean, seized upon his strong places, and, with the active intrepidity that rendered him so formidable a foe, invested the capital of his enemy, A. D. 1234, Heg. 632. 

Thus pressed by the sovereign of Aragon, {114} Zean implored the aid ofBenhoud, the most puissant of the kings of Andalusia. But Benhoud wasat this time occupied in resisting the encroachments of Ferdinand. TheCastilians, under the conduct of that valiant prince, had made newprogress against the Moors. After possessing themselves of a greatnumber of other cities, they had now laid siege to ancient Cordova. 

Benhoud had been often vanquished, but always retained the affectionsof a people who regarded him as their last support. He had againcollected an army, and, though possessed with an equally earnest desireto relieve both Cordova and Valencia, was about to march towards thelatter, from a belief that he was most likely to be there successful, when his life was treacherously terminated by one of his lieutenants. 

The Catholic kings were by this means delivered from the opposition ofthe only man who was capable of impeding the accomplishment of theirwishes. 

The death of Benhoud deprived the inhabitants of Cordova of all courageand hope. Until then they had defended themselves with {115} equalcourage and constancy; but they offered to capitulate upon receivingintelligence of this disastrous event. [9]

The Christians made the most rigorous use of their victory, grantingonly life and liberty of departure to the unfortunate disciples of theProphet. An innumerable host of these wretched people came forth fromtheir former homes, weeping, and despoiled of all their possessions. Slowly they left the superb city which had been for more than fivehundred and twenty years the principal seat of their nationalgreatness, their luxurious magnificence, their cherished religion, andtheir favourite literature and fine arts. 

Often did these desolate exiles pause on their way, and turn theirdespairing eyes once again towards the towering palaces, the splendidtemples, the beautiful gardens, that five centuries of lavish expenseand toilsome effort had served to adorn and perfect, only to become thespoil of the enemies of their faith and their race. 

The Catholic soldiers who were now the occupants of these enchantingabodes, were so far from appreciating their loveliness and value, {116}that they preferred rather to destroy than inhabit them; and Ferdinandsoon found himself the possessor of a deserted city. He was thereforecompelled to attract inhabitants to Cordova from other parts of hisdominions, by the offer of extraordinary immunities. But, notwithstanding the privileges thus accorded them, the Spaniardsmurmured at leaving their arid rocks and barren fields, to dwell in thepalaces of caliphs and amid nature's most luxuriant scenes. 

The grand mosque of Abderamus was converted into a cathedral, andCordova became the residence of a bishop and canons, but it was neverrestored to the faintest shadow of its former splendour. 

Not long after the fall of Cordova, Valencia also submitted to theChristian yoke. Zean, besides being assailed externally by the forceof the intrepid Jacques, had, in addition, to oppose within his wallsthe faction of Zeith, whom he had dethroned. The king of Tunis, too, had been unsuccessful in an attempt to send a fleet to the relief ofValencia: it at once took to flight on the appearance of the vessels ofJacques. Abandoned by the whole world, disheartened by the fate ofCordova, and betrayed {117} by the party of his competitor, Zeanoffered to become the vassal of the crown of Aragon, and to pay atribute in acknowledgment of his vassalage; but the Christian monarchwas inflexible, and would accede to no terms that did not include astipulation to surrender the city. 

Fifty thousand Moors, bearing their treasures with them, accompaniedthe departure of their sovereign from Valencia. Jacques had pledgedhis royal word to protect the rich booty which they so highly valuedfrom the cupidity of his soldiers, and he faithfully performed hispromise. 

After the destruction of the two powerful kingdoms of Andalusia andValencia, there seemed to exist no Moorish power capable of arrestingthe progress of the Spanish arms. That of Seville, which aloneremained, was already menaced by the victorious Ferdinand. But, justat this period, a new state rose suddenly into importance, whichmaintained a high degree of celebrity for two hundred years, and longprevented the final ruin of the Moors. 

[1] See note A, page 216. 

[2] See note B, page 216. 

[3] See note C, page 218. 

[4] See Note D, page 220. 

[5] A. D. 1178. 

[6] See Note E, page 221. 

[7] A. D. 1213, Heg. 610. 

[8] See Note F, page 231. 

[9] A. D. 1236, Heg. 634. 

{118}

FOURTH EPOCH. 

THE KINGS OF GRENADA. 

_Extending from the middle of the Thirteenth Century to the period ofthe Total Expulsion of the Moors from Spain, A. D. 1493. _

The unprecedented success of the Spaniards, and, above all, the loss ofCordova, spread consternation among the Moors. That ardent andsuperstitious people, who were ever equally ready to cherish delusivehopes, and to yield to despondency when those anticipations weredisappointed, looked upon their empire as ruined the moment theChristian cross surmounted the pinnacle of their grand mosque, and thebanner of Castile waved over the walls of their ancient capital--thosewalls on which the standards of the Caliphs of the West and of theirProphet had for centuries floated in triumph. 

Notwithstanding this national dejection, however, Seville, Grenada, Murcia, and the kingdom of Algarva still belonged to the Mussulmans. They possessed all the seaports, and the {119} whole maritime coast ofthe south of Spain. Their enormous population, and great nationalwealth and industry, also secured to them immense resources; butCordova, the holy city, the rival of Mecca in the West--Cordova was inthe possession of the Christians, and the Moors believed that all waslost. 

But the hopes of these despairing followers of Islam were rekindled bythe almost magical influence of a single individual, a scion of thetribe of the _Alhamars_, named Mohammed Aboussaid, who came originallyfrom the celebrated Arabian city of Couffa. 

Several historians, who speak of Mohammed under the title of _MohammedAlhamar_, assure us that he commenced his career as a simple shepherd, and that, having afterward borne arms, he aspired to the attainment ofroyal power in consequence of his martial exploits. Such an incidentis not extraordinary among the Arabs, where all who are not descendedeither from the family of the Prophet or from the royal race, possessing none of the privileges of birth, are esteemed solelyaccording to their personal merits. 

But, be that as it may, Mohammed Aboussaid {120} possessed sufficientintellectual powers to reanimate the expiring courage of the vanquishedMoslems. He assembled an army in the city of Arjona, and, well knowingthe peculiar character of the nation that he wished to control, proceeded to gain over to his interests a _santon_, a species ofreligious character highly venerated among the Moors. This oracularindividual publicly predicted to the people of Algarva that MohammedAlhamar was destined speedily to become their king. Accordingly, hewas soon proclaimed by the inhabitants, and several other citiesfollowed the example thus set them. 

Mohammed now filled the place of Benhoud, to whom he possessed similartalents for government; and, feeling the necessity of selecting a cityto replace Cordova in the affections of the Moors, to become the sacredasylum of their religion, and the centring point for their militarystrength, he founded a new kingdom, and made the city of Grenada itscapital, A. D. 1236, Heg. 634. 

This city, powerful from the remotest times, and supposed to be theancient Illiberis of the Romans, was built upon two hills, not fardistant from the Sierra Nevada, a chain of {121} mountains whosesummits are covered with perpetual snow. The town was traversed by theriver Darra, and the waters of the Xenil bathed its walls. Each of thetwo hills was crowned by a fortress: on the one was that of theAlhambra, and on the other that of the Albayzin. These strongholdswere either of them sufficient in extent to accommodate forty thousandmen within their walls. The fugitives from the city of Alhambra, ashas already been stated, had given the name of their former home to thenew quarter that they peopled; and the Moors who had been driven fromBaeca when Ferdinand III. Became master of that place, had establishedthemselves, in a similar manner, in the quarter of the Albayzin. 

This city had also received many exiles from Valencia, Cordova, andother places which the Mussulmans had deserted. 

With a population whose numbers were daily augmented, Grenada, at theperiod of which we now speak, was more than three leagues in circuit, surrounded by impregnable ramparts; defended by many strong towers, andby a brave and numerous people, whose military prowess seemed to ensuretheir safety and independence. 

{122}

Various were the advantages that combined in giving to Grenada thesupremacy she had assumed. Her location was one of the most agreeableand beautiful in the world, and rendered her mistress of a country onwhich nature had lavished her choicest gifts. The famous _vega_, orplain, by which the city was surrounded, was thirty leagues in lengthand eight in breadth. It was terminated on the north by the mountainsof Elvira and the Sierra Nevada, and enclosed on the remaining sides byhills clothed with the verdure of the olive, the mulberry, the lemon, and the vine. 

This enchanting plain was watered by five small rivers[1] and aninfinite number of gushing springs, whose streams wandered in gracefulmeanderings through meadows of perpetual verdure, through forests ofoak and plantations of grain, flax, and sugar-cane, or burst forth inthe midst of gardens, and orchards, and orange-groves. 

All the rich, and beautiful, and varied productions of the soilrequired but little attention in their culture. The earth wascontinually {123} covered with vegetation, in myriads of changingforms, and never knew the repose of winter. 

During the heat of summer, the mountain breezes spread a refreshingcoolness through the air of this lovely vega, and preserved the earlybrilliancy and beauty of the flowers, that were ever mingled indelightful confusion with the varied fruits of a tropical region. 

On this celebrated plain, whose charms no description can embellish; onthis enchanting vega, where nature seemed to have exhausted her effortsin lavishing all that the heart of man could desire or his imaginationconceive, more blood has been shed than on any other spot in the world. There--where, during two centuries of unceasing warfare, whose balefuleffects extended from generation to generation, from city to city, andfrom man to man--there does not exist a single isolated portion ofearth where the trees have not been wantonly destroyed, the villagesreduced to ashes, and the desolated fields strewn with the mingledcorses of slaughtered Moors and Christians. 

Independent of this _vega_, which was of such inestimable value toGrenada, fourteen great cities and more than one hundred of smaller{124} size, together with a prodigious number of towns, were embracedwithin the boundaries of this fine kingdom. 

The extent of Grenada, from Gibraltar (which was not taken by theChristians until long after this period) to the city of Lorca, was morethan eighty leagues. It was thirty leagues in breadth from Cambril tothe Mediterranean. 

The mountain, by which the kingdom of Grenada was intersected, producedgold, silver, granite, amethysts, and various kinds of marble. 

Among these mountains, those of the Alpuxaries alone formed a province, and yielded the monarch of Grenada more precious treasures than theirmines could furnish--active and athletic men, who became either hardyand industrious husbandmen, or faithful and indefatigable soldiers. 

In addition to all this, the ports of Almeria, Malaga, and Algezirasreceived into their harbours the vessels of both Europe and Africa, andbecame places of deposite for the commerce of the Mediterranean and theAtlantic. 

Such, at its birth, was the kingdom of Grenada, and such it longcontinued. Mohammed Alhamar, from the period of its establishment, {125} made useless efforts to unite all the remaining dominions of theMussulmans of Spain under one sceptre, as the only means ofsuccessfully resisting the encroachments of the Christians. But thelittle kingdom of Murcia and that of Algarva were each governed byseparate princes, who persisted in maintaining their independence. This was the cause of their ruin, for they thus became more readily theprey of the Spaniards. 

Alhamar signalized the commencement of his reign by militaryachievements. In the year 1242, Heg. 640, he gained some importantadvantages over the troops of Ferdinand. But repeated revolts in thecapital and disturbances in other parts of his new empire, eventuallycompelled Mohammed to conclude a dishonourable peace with the King ofCastile. He agreed to do homage for his crown to the Castiliansovereign, to put the strong place of Jaen into his hands, to pay him atribute, and to furnish him with auxiliary troops for any wars in whichhe should engage. On these conditions Ferdinand acknowledged him Kingof Grenada, and even aided him in subduing his rebellious subjects. 

The sagacious Ferdinand thus established a {126} truce with Grenada, that he might the more effectually concentrate his forces againstSeville, which he had long entertained hopes of conquering. 

The important city of Seville was no longer under the dominion of aking, but formed a kind of republic, governed by military magistrates. Its situation at no great distance from the mouth of the Guadalquivir, its commerce, its population, the mildness of the climate, and thefertility of the environs, rendered Seville one of the most flourishingcities of Spain. 

Ferdinand, foreseeing a long resistance, commenced the campaign byseizing upon all the neighbouring towns. 

Finally, he laid siege to Seville itself, and his fleet, stationed atthe mouth of the Guadalquivir, closed the door to any assistance whichmight be sent from Africa in aid of the beleaguered city. 

The siege was long and bloody. The Sevillians were numerous and wellskilled in the arts of war, and their ally, the King of Algarva, harassed the besiegers unceasingly. Notwithstanding the extremebravery displayed by the Christians in their assaults, and the scarcityof {127} provisions which began to be felt within the walls, the city, after an investment of a whole year, still refused to surrender. 

Ferdinand then summoned the King of Grenada to come, in accordance withtheir treaty, and serve under his banners. Alhamar was forced to obey, and soon presented himself in the Christian camp at the head of abrilliant army. The inhabitants of Seville lost all hope after thisoccurrence, and surrendered to the Castilian monarch. The King ofGrenada returned to his own dominions with the humiliating glory ofhaving contributed, by his assistance, to the ruin of his countrymen. 

Ferdinand, with more piety than policy, banished the infidels fromSeville. One hundred thousand of that unfortunate people left thecity, to seek an exile's home in Africa or in the provinces of Grenada. 

The kingdom of Grenada now became the sole and last asylum of theSpanish Moslems. The little kingdom of Algarva was soon obliged toreceive the yoke of Portugal, and Murcia, in consequence of itsseparation from Grenada, became the prey of the Castilians. 

{128}

During the life of Ferdinand III. , nothing occurred to interrupt thegood understanding that existed between that monarch and MohammedAlhamar. 

The King of Grenada wisely took advantage of this peaceful period moreeffectually to confirm himself in the possession of his crown, and tomake preparations for a renewal of hostilities against the Christians, who would not, he foresaw, long remain his friends. 

Mohammed, by this means, ultimately found himself in a condition thatwould enable him long to defend his power and dominions. He was masterof a country of great extent, and he possessed considerable revenues, the amount of which it is now difficult correctly to estimate, inconsequence of the ignorance which prevails on the subject of thepeculiar financial system of the Moors, and the different sources fromwhich the public treasury was supplied. Every husbandman, for example, paid the seventh part of the produce of his fields to his sovereign;his flocks even were not exempted from this exaction. The royal domaincomprised numerous valuable farms; and, as agriculture was carried tothe highest degree of perfection, the revenues from {129} these, in soluxuriant a country, must have amounted to a very large sum. Theannual income of the sovereign was augmented by various taxes levied onthe sale, marking, and passage from one point to another of all kindsof cattle. The laws bestowed on the king the inheritance of such ofhis subjects as died childless, and gave him, in addition, a portion inthe estates of other deceased persons. He also possessed, as has beenalready shown, mines of gold, silver, and precious stones; and thoughthe Moors were but little skilled in the art of mining, still there wasno country in Europe in which gold and silver were more common thanamong them. 

The commerce carried on in their beautiful silks, and in a greatvariety of other productions; their contiguity to the Mediterranean andAtlantic; their activity, industry, and astonishing population; theirsuperior knowledge of the science of agriculture; the sobriety naturalto all the inhabitants of Spain; and that peculiar property of asouthern climate, by which much is produced from the soil, while verylittle suffices for the maintenance of its possessor; all these, unitedwith their other national {130} advantages, will furnish some idea ofthe great power and resources of this singular people. 

Their standing military force--it can scarcely be said in times ofpeace, for they rarely knew the blessings of that state--amounted tonearly a hundred thousand men; and this army, in case of necessity, could easily be increased to double that number. The single city ofGrenada could furnish fifty thousand soldiers. Indeed, every Moorwould readily become a soldier to oppose the Christians. Thedifference of faith rendered these wars sacred in their eyes; and themutual hatred entertained by these two almost equally superstitiousnations never failed to arm, when necessary, every individual of bothsides, even from children to old men. 

Independent of the numerous and brave, but ill-disciplined troops, whowould assemble for a campaign, and afterward return to their homeswithout occasioning any expense to the state, the Moorish monarchmaintained a considerable corps of cavaliers, who were dispersed alongthe frontiers, particularly in the directions of Murcia and Jaen, thoseparts of the country being most exposed to the repeated incursions ofthe Spaniards. Upon each of these cavaliers the king {131} bestowedfor life a small habitation, with sufficient adjoining ground for hisown maintenance, and that of his family and horse. This method ofkeeping soldiers in service, while it occasioned no expense to thepublic treasury, served to attach them more firmly to their country, byidentifying their interests with hers; and it held out to them thestrongest motives faithfully to defend their charge, inasmuch as theirpatrimony was always first exposed to the ravages of the enemy. 

At a time when the art of war had not reached the perfection it has nowattained, and when large bodies of troops were not kept continuallyassembled and exercised, the system of stationing this peculiar guardalong the frontiers was of admirable effect. 

The knights who composed this unrivalled cavalry were mounted onAfrican or Andalusian chargers, whose merits in the field are sowell-known, and were accustomed from infancy to their management;treating them with the tenderest care, and regarding them as theirinseparable companions: by these means they acquired that remarkablesuperiority for which the Moorish cavalry is still so celebrated. 

{132}

These redoubtable squadrons, whose velocity of movement was unequalled;who would, almost at the same moment, charge in mass, break intodetached troops, scatter, rally, fly off, and again form in line; thesecavaliers, whose voice, whose slightest gesture, whose very thoughts, so to speak, were intelligible to their docile and sagacious steeds, and who were able to recover a lance or sabre that had fallen to theearth while in full gallop, constituted the principal military force ofthe Moors. Their infantry was of little value; and their ill-fortifiedtowns, surrounded only by walls and moats, and defended by thisworthless infantry, could offer but an imperfect resistance to that ofthe Spaniards, which began already to deserve the reputation itafterward so well sustained in Italy, under Gonzalvo, the Great Captain. 

After the death of St. Ferdinand, his son Alphonso the Sage[2] mountedthe throne, A. D. 1252, Heg. 650. The first care of Mohammed Alhamarafter this event was to go in person to Toledo, followed by a brilliantretinue, to renew the treaty of alliance, or, rather, of dependance, bywhich he was united to Ferdinand. {133} The new king of Castileremitted on this occasion a part of the tribute to which the Moors hadbeen subjected. 

But this peace was not of long continuance; and the two contendingnations now recommenced the war with nearly equal advantages. 

An incident is related as having occurred during this war, whichreflects equal honour on the humanity of the Moors and the courage ofthe Spaniards. It refers to Garcias Gomes, governor of the city ofXeres. He was besieged by the Grenadians, and his garrison nearlydestroyed, but still he refused to surrender; and, standing on theramparts covered with blood, and literally bristling with arrows, hesustained alone the onset of the assailants. The Moors, on seeing himin this situation, agreed, with one accord, to spare the life of sobrave a man. Garcias then threw himself from the walls upon some ironhooks; but he was rescued alive in spite of his efforts to prevent it, treated with respect by his captors, and, after his wounds were healed, dismissed with presents. 

Alhamar could not prevent Alphonso from adding the kingdom of Murcia tohis dominions; and the fortunes of war compelled him to obtain {134}peace by submitting anew to the payment of tribute to the Catholicsovereign, A. D. 1266, Heg. 665. 

But some dissensions which soon after arose between the Castilianmonarch and some of the grandees of his kingdom, inspired the Grenadianking with the hope of repairing the loss he had sustained. The brotherof Alphonso, together with several noblemen belonging to the principalCastilian families, retired to Grenada in open defiance of theauthority of the Spanish monarch, and materially aided Mohammed Alhamarin repressing the insurrectionary movements of two of his rebellioussubjects, who were countenanced in their attempts by the Christians. 

But, just at this juncture, the wise and politic King of Grenada died, leaving the throne that he had acquired and preserved by his talents tohis son Mohammed II. , El Fakik, A. D. 1273, Heg. 672. 

The new Mussulman king, who took the title of _Emir al Mumenim_, adopted in all respects the policy of his father. He took everyadvantage in his power of the discord which reigned at the Castiliancourt, and of the ineffectual voyages undertaken by Alphonso in thehope of {135} being elected emperor. [3] Finally, during the absence ofhis enemy, Mohammed formed an offensive league with Jacob, the king ofMorocco, a prince of the race of the _Merines_, the conquerors andsuccessors of the Almohades. The Grenadian sovereign ceded to hisAfrican ally the two important places of Tariffe and Algeziras, oncondition of his crossing the Mediterranean to the Peninsula. 

Jacob, in accordance with this agreement, arrived in Spain, at the headof an army, in the year 1275 (the 675th of the Hegira); and the twoMoorish leaders, by acting in concert, gained some important advantages. 

But the criminal revolt of Sancho, the Infant of Castile, against hisfather Alphonso the Sage, soon afterward divided these Mussulmanmonarchs. The King of Grenada took the part of the rebellious son, while Alphonso, reduced to extremity by the abandonment of hissubjects, implored the assistance of the King of Morocco. Jacobrecrossed the sea with his troops, and met Alphonso at Zara. At thatcelebrated interview, the unfortunate Castilian wished to concede theplace of honour to the king, who was there as {136} his defender. "Itbelongs to you, " said Jacob to him, "because you are unfortunate! Icame here to avenge a cause which should be that of every father. Icame here to aid you in punishing an ingrate, who, though he receivedlife from you, would still deprive you of your crown. When I shallhave fulfilled this duty, and you are again prosperous and happy, Iwill once more become your enemy, and contest every point of precedencewith you. "

The soul of the Christian prince was not sufficiently noble, however, to prompt him to confide himself to the monarch who had uttered thesesentiments, and he escaped from the camp. Alphonso died soon afterthis event, disinheriting his guilty son before he expired, A. D. 1284, Heg. 683. 

Sancho[4] reigned in his father's stead, however, notwithstanding thisprohibition, and international troubles convulsed Castile anew. 

Mohammed seized this moment to enter Andalusia. He gained severalbattles, and took some important places in that kingdom, and thusvictoriously terminated a long and glorious reign, A. D. 1302, Heg. 703. 

{137}

This Mohammed _Emir al Mumenim_, the principal political events ofwhose life have now been briefly narrated, was a munificent patron ofthe fine arts. He added their charms to the attractions of a courtwhich poets, philosophers, and astronomers alike contributed to rendercelebrated. 

As an illustration of the scientific superiority that the Moors stillmaintained over the Spaniards, the fact may be mentioned that Alphonsothe Sage, king of Castile, availed himself, in the arrangement of hisastronomical tables (still known as the _Alphonsine Tables_), of theassistance of some contemporary Moslem _savans_. 

Grenada began by this time to replace Cordova. Architecture, aboveall, made great advances. It was during the reign of Mohammed II. Thatthe famous palace of the Alhambra was commenced, a part of which stillremains to astonish travellers, whom its name alone suffices to attractto Grenada. 

To prove to what a height of perfection the Moors had succeeded incarrying the art, then so little known to Europeans, of uniting themagnificent and the luxurious, a few details may perhaps be pardonedconcerning this {138} singular edifice, and as an illustration, also, of the particular manners and customs of the Moors. 

The Alhambra, as has been said, was at first only a vast fortress, standing upon one of the two hills enclosed within the city of Grenada. This hill, though environed on every side by the waters either of theDarra or the Xenil, was defended, in addition, by a double enclosure ofwalls. It was on the summit of this elevation, which overlooked thewhole city, and from which one might behold the most beautiful prospectin the world, in the midst of an esplanade covered with trees andfountains, that Mohammed selected the site of his palace. 

Nothing with which we are familiar in architecture can give us acorrect idea of that of the Moors. They piled up buildings withoutorder, symmetry, or any attention to the external appearance they wouldpresent. All their cares were bestowed upon the interior of theirstructures. There they exhausted all the resources of taste andmagnificence, to combine in their apartments the requisites forluxurious indulgence with the charms of nature in her most enchantingforms. There, in saloons adorned with the most beautiful marble, andpaved with a {139} brilliant imitation of porcelain, couches, coveredwith stuffs of gold or silver, were arranged near _jets d'eau_, whosewaters glanced upward towards the vaulted roof, and spread a deliciouscoolness through an atmosphere embalmed by the delicate odours arisingfrom exquisite vases of precious perfumes, mingled with the fragrantbreath of the myrtle, jasmine, orange, and other sweet-scented flowersthat adorned the apartments. 

The beautiful palace of the Alhambra, as it now exists at Grenada, [5]presents no _façade_. It is approached through a charming avenue, which is constantly intersected by rivulets, whose streams wander ingraceful curves amid groups of trees. The entrance is through a largesquare tower, which formerly bore the name of the _Hall of Judgment_. A religious inscription announces that it was there that the kingadministered justice after the ancient manner of the Hebrew and otherOriental nations. Several buildings, {140} which once adjoined thistower were destroyed in more recent times, to give place to amagnificent palace erected by Charles V. , a description of which is notnecessary to our subject. Upon penetrating on the northern side intothe ancient palace of the Moorish kings, one feels as if suddenlytransported to the regions of fairyland. The first court is an oblongsquare, surrounded on each side by a gallery in the form of an arcade, the walls and ceiling of which are covered with Mosaic work, festoons, arabesque paintings, gilding, and carving in stucco, of the mostadmirable workmanship. All the plain spaces between these variousornaments are filled with passages transcribed from the Alkoran, or byinscriptions of a similar character to the following, which willsuffice to create some idea of the figurative style of Moorishcomposition. 

"Oh Nazir! thou wert born the master of a throne, and, like the starthat announces the approach of day, thou art refulgent with abrilliancy that belongs to thee alone! Thine arm is the rampart of anation; thy justice an all-pervading luminary. Thou canst, by thyvalour, subdue those who have given companions to {141} God! Thynumerous people are thy children, and thou renderest them all happy bythy goodness. The bright stars of the firmament shine lovingly uponthee, and the glorious light of the sun beams upon thee with affection. The stately cedar, the proud monarch of the forest, bows his lofty headat thy approach, and is again uplifted by thy puissant hand!"

In the midst of this court, which is paved with white marble, is a longbasin always filled with running water of sufficient depth for bathing. It is bordered on each side by beds of flowers, and surrounded by walkslined with orange-trees. The place was called the _Mesuar_, and servedas the common bathing-place of those who were attached to the serviceof the palace. 

From thence one passes into the celebrated _Court of Lions_. It is ahundred feet in length and fifty in breadth. A colonnade of whitemarble supports the gallery that runs around the whole. These columns, standing sometimes two and sometimes three together, are of slenderproportions and fantastic design; but their lightness and grace affordpleasure to the eye of the wondering beholder. The walls, and, aboveall, the ceiling of the circular gallery, are covered {142} withembellishments of gold, azure, and stucco, wrought into arabesques, with an exquisite delicacy of execution that the most skilful modernworkmen would find it difficult to rival. In the midst of theseornaments of ever-changing variety and beauty are inscribed passagesfrom the Koran, such as the following, which all good Mussulmans arerequired frequently to repeat: _God is great: God alone is supreme:There is no god but God: Celestial enjoyment, gratifications of theheart, delights of the soul to all those who believe_. 

At either extremity of the Court of Lions are placed, within theinterior space enclosed by the gallery, and, like it, supported bymarble columns, two elegant cupolas of fifteen or sixteen feet incircumference. These graceful domes form a covering for beautiful_jets d'eau_. In the centre of the lengthened square, a superbalabaster vase, six feet in diameter, is supported in an elevatedposition in the midst of a vast basin by the forms of twelve lionssculptured from white marble. This vessel, which is believed to havebeen modelled after the design of the "molten sea" of the Temple ofSolomon, is again surmounted by a smaller vase, from which shoot {143}forth innumerable tiny cascades, which together present the form of agreat sheaf; and, falling again from one vase into another, and fromthese into the large basin beneath, create a perpetual flow, whosevolume is increased by the floods of limpid water which gush in acontinual stream from the mouth of each of the marble lions. 

This fountain, like each of the others, is adorned with inscriptions;for the Moors ever took pleasure in mingling the eloquence of poetrywith the graces of sculpture. To us their conceptions appear singularand their expressions exaggerated; but our manners are so opposite totheirs; the period of their existence as a nation is so far removed, and we know so little of the genius of their language, that we have, perhaps, no right to judge the literature of the Moors by the severerules of modern criticism. And, indeed, the specimens we possess ofthe French and Spanish poetry of the thirteenth and fourteenthcenturies are, many of them, little superior to the verses engraven onthe Fountain of Lions, of which the following, is a translation. [6]

{144}

"Oh thou who beholdest these lions! dost thou not perceive that theyneed only to breathe to possess the perfection of nature! Oh Mohammed!Oh potent sovereign! God originated and prolonged thy existence, thatthou mightest be inspired with the genius to conceive and accomplishthese novel and beautiful embellishments! Thy soul is adorned by themost ennobling qualities of humanity. This enchanting spot picturesthy admirable virtues. Like the lion, thou art terrible in combat; andnothing can be more justly compared to the bountiful and unceasingprofusion of the limpid waters which gush from the bosom of thisfountain, and fill the air with glittering and brilliant particles, than the liberal hand of Mohammed. "

We will not attempt a description in detail of such other portions ofthe palace of the Alhambra as still exist. Some of these served ashalls of audience or of justice; others enclosed the baths of the king, the queen, and their children. Sleeping apartments still remain, wherethe couches were disposed either in alcoves, or upon platforms coveredwith the peculiar pavement {145} already alluded to; but always near afountain, the unceasing murmur of whose dreamy voice might sooth theoccupants to repose. 

In the music saloon of this once luxurious royal abode are fourelevated galleries, which, ere the glory of the Alhambra had passedaway, were often filled by Moorish musicians, the delightful strains ofwhose varied instruments enchanted the court of Grenada. Then the fairand the brave reclined in graceful groups in the centre of theapartment, upon rich Oriental carpets, surrounding the alabasterfountain, whose balmy breath diffused refreshing coolness, and whosesoftly gurgling sounds mingled with the gentle music which was ever theaccompaniment of repose and enjoyment. 

In an apartment which was at the same time the oratory anddressing-room of the queen of this magnificent residence, there stillexists a slab of marble, pierced with an infinite number of smallapertures, to admit the exhalations of the perfumes that wereincessantly burning beneath the lofty ceiling. From this part of thepalace, too, the views are exquisitely beautiful. The windows anddoors opening from it are so arranged, that the most agreeableprospects, the {146} mellowest and most pleasing effects of light, perpetually fall upon the delighted eyes of those within, while balmybreezes constantly renew the delicious coolness of the air thatbreathes through this enchanting retreat. 

Upon leaving the marble halls and lofty towers of the Alhambra, onediscerns, on the side of a neighbouring mountain, the famous garden ofthe _Generalif_, which signifies, in the Moorish tongue, the _Home ofLove_. In this garden was the palace to which the kings of Grenadarepaired to pass the season of spring. It was built in a style similarto that of the Alhambra: the same gorgeous splendour, the same costlymagnificence reigned there. The edifice is now destroyed; but thepicturesque situation, the ever-varied and ever-charming landscape, thelimpid fountains, the sparkling _jets d'eau_, and tumbling waterfallsof the _Generalif_, are still left to excite admiration. 

The terraces of this garden are in the form of an amphitheatre, and thelingering remains of their once beautiful Mosaic pavements are still tobe seen. The walks are now darkly umbrageous, from the interwovenbranches of gigantic cypresses and aged myrtles, beneath whose {147}grateful shades the kings and queens of Grenada have so often wandered. Then blooming groves and forests of fruit-trees were agreeablyintermingled with graceful domes and marble pavilions: then the sweetperfume of the countless flowers that mingled their varied dyes indelightful confusion, floated in the soft air. Then the delicatetendrils of the vine clasped the supporting branches of the orange, andboth together hung the mingled gold and purple of their clusteringfruits over the bright waters that from marble founts

 "Gushed up to sun and air!"

Then valour and beauty strayed side by side, beneath emboweringbranches, the fire of the one attempered to gentleness by the softergraces of the other, and the souls of both elevated and purified bynature's holy and resistless influences. 

But now the luxuriant vine lies prostrate, its climbing trunk andclinging tendrils rudely torn from their once firm support: even thevoice of the fountain no longer warbles in the same gladsome tone as ofyore; the mouldering fragments of the polished column and sculptureddome are now strewed on the earth; the sighing of the gentle breeze nolonger awake: is the soft breath {148} of responding flowers; theloveliness and the glory of the _Home of Love_ are vanished away forever; and the crumbling stones of the tesselated pavements echo naughtbut the lingering footfall of the solitary stranger, who wandersthither to enjoy those mournful charms of which the destroyer cannotdivest a spot that must ever appeal so strongly to the vision and theheart, to the memory and the imagination. 

It is painful to quit the Alhambra and the Generalif, to return to theravages, incursions, and sanguinary quarrels of the Moors andChristians. 

It was the fate of Mohammed III. (surnamed the Blind) to be obliged atthe same time to repress the rebellious movements of his own subjectsand repel the invasions of his Catholic neighbours. Compelled by theinfirmity from which he derived his appellation to choose a primeminister, he bestowed that important post upon Farady, the husband ofhis sister, a judicious statesman and a brave soldier, who for sometime prosperously continued the war against the Castilians, and finallyconcluded it by an honourable peace. 

But the courtiers, jealous of the glory and {149} envious of thegood-fortune of the favourite, formed a conspiracy against his master, and instigated revolts among the people. To complete his calamities, foreign war again broke forth; the King of Castile, Ferdinand IV. , surnamed _the Summoned_, [7] united with the King of Aragon in attackingthe Grenadians. [8]

Gibraltar was taken by the Castilians, and the conqueror expelled itsMoorish inhabitants from its walls. Among the unfortunate exiles whodeparted from the city was an old man, who, perceiving Ferdinand, approached him, leaning on his staff: "King of Castile, " he said tohim, "what injury have I done to thee or thine? Thy great-grandfatherFerdinand drove me from my native Seville: I sought an asylum at Xeres;thy grandfather Alphonso banished me from thence: retiring within thewalls of Tariffe, [9] thy father Sancho exiled me from that city. Atlast I came to find a grave at the extremity of Spain, on the shore ofGibraltar; but thy hatred hath pursued me even here: tell me now of oneplace on earth where I can die unmolested by the Christians!"

{150}

"Cross the sea!" replied the Spanish prince; and he caused the agedpetitioner to be conveyed to Africa. 

Vanquished by the Aragonians, harassed by the Castilians, and alarmedby the seditious proceedings which the grandees of his court wereencouraging among his own subjects, the King of Grenada and his primeminister were forced to conclude a shameful peace. 

The intestine storm, whose gathering had long disturbed the domesticsecurity of the kingdom, soon after burst forth. Mohammed Abenazar, brother to Mohammed the Blind, and the head of the conspiracy, seizedthe unfortunate monarch, put him to death, and assumed his place, A. D. 1310, Heg. 710. 

But the usurper himself was soon driven from his throne by Farady, theancient minister, who, not daring to appropriate the crown to himself, placed it on the head of his son Ismael, the nephew of Mohammed theBlind, through his mother, the sister of that monarch. 

This event took place A. D. 1313, Heg. 713. From that period the royalfamily of Grenada was divided into two branches, which were ever afterat enmity with each other; the one, called {151} the _Alhamar_, included the descendants of the first king through the males of theline, and the other, named _Farady_, was that of such of his offspringas were the children of the female branches of the royal race. 

The Castilians, whose interests were always promoted by cherishingdissensions among their Moorish neighbours, lent their countenance toAbenazar, who had taken refuge in the city of Grenada. The Infant DonPedro, uncle to the youthful King of Castile, Alphonso _the Avenger_, as he was surnamed, took the field against Ismael, and several timesgave battle to the followers of the Crescent. Then joining his forcesto those of another Infant named Don Juan, the two friends carried fireand sword to the very ramparts of Grenada. The infidel warriors didnot venture to sally from their walls to repel the invaders; but when, loaded with booty, the Christians had commenced their return toCastile; Ismael followed on their route with his army, and, soonovertaking his ruthless foes, fell suddenly upon their rear. It wasnow the 26th of June, [10] and the time chosen by the Mussulmans for theattack was the hottest hour of a {152} burning day. The two Spanishprinces made such violent efforts to reorganize their scattered bandsand to recover their lost authority, that, exhausted at last by thirstand fatigue, they both fell dead without having received a wound. 

The dismayed and exhausted Spaniards could now no longer offer anyresistance to their furious enemies. They betook themselves to flight, leaving their baggage, with the bodies of the two unfortunate Infants, on the field of battle. Ismael caused the remains of these princes tobe conveyed to Grenada and deposited in coffins covered with cloth ofgold: he then restored them to the Castilians, after having bestowed onthem the most distinguished funeral honours. [11]

This victory was rapidly followed by the conquest of several cities andthe establishment of an honourable truce. But Ismael did not live toenjoy the fruits of his success: being enamoured of a young Spanishcaptive, who had fallen, in the division of the spoils, to the share ofone of his officers, the king so far forgot the laws of justice andhonour as to possess himself {153} by force of the beautiful slave. Such an insult among the followers of Islam can only be expiated byblood: the monarch was assassinated by his exasperated officer. Hisson Mohammed V. Mounted the throne in his stead, A. D. 1322, Heg. 722. 

The reign of Mohammed V. And that of his successor Joseph I. , both ofwhom perished in the same manner (being murdered in their palace), present nothing during thirty years but an unbroken series of ravages, seditions, and combats. 

At the request of the Grenadians, Abil-Hassan, king of Morocco, of thedynasty of the _Merinis_, landed in Spain at the head of innumerabletroops, with whom he joined the army of Joseph. The kings of Castileand Portugal unitedly gave battle to this immense army on the shores ofSalado, not far from the city of Tariffe. This encounter, equallycelebrated with the victory of Toloza in the history of Spain, terminated in the defeat of the Moors. Abil-Hassan returned hastily toMorocco, to conceal within his own dominions his chagrin at itsunexpected and disastrous issue. 

The strong place of Algeziras, the bulwark of {154} Grenada, and themagazine in which was deposited the necessary supplies received by thatkingdom from Africa, was besieged by the Castilians A. D. 1342, Heg. 742. Several French, English, and Navarrois cavaliers resorted on thisoccasion to the camp of the beleaguering army. The Mussulmans availedthemselves of the use of cannon in the defence of their city; and thisis the first time that the employment of that description of ordnanceis spoken of in history. We are told that it was used at the battle ofCressy by the English; but that event did not take place until fouryears after the date of the present siege. It is, then, to the SpanishMoors that we owe, not the discovery of gunpowder (for that isattributed by some to the Chinese, by others to a German monk namedSchwartz, and by others again to Roger Bacon, an Englishman), but theterrible invention of artillery. It is at least certain, that theMoors planted the first cannon of which we have any account. But, inspite of the advantages it thus possessed, Algeziras was taken by theChristians, A. D. 1344, Heg. 745. 

About ten years after this event, the unfortunate Joseph, who had beenso often attacked by {155} foreign enemies, met his death from thehands of his own subjects. 

It may have been remarked by the reader, that no established lawregulated the regal succession among the Moors. Yet, notwithstandingthe perpetual conspiracies and intrigues which rendered the possessionof the crown so insecure and of such uncertain duration, a prince ofthe royal race always occupied the throne. We have seen Grenadadivided, since the violent termination of the reign of Ismael, betweenthe factions of the _Alhamar_ and the _Farady_, and the former deposedby the latter, who always regarded the Alhamars as usurpers. Thisunhappy contest was the source of numberless disorders, conspiracies, and assassinations. 

The monarch next in order to Joseph I. On the throne of Grenada was hisuncle, a Farady prince named Mohammed VI. , and called _the Old_, inconsequence of his succeeding at a somewhat advanced period of life. 

Mohammed the Red, a scion of the Alhamar race, drove his cousin, Mohammed the Old, from the throne, A. D. 1360, Heg. 762, and retained itfor some years, through the protection of the King of Aragon. 

{156}

Peter the Cruel, then king of Castile, espoused the cause of thebanished Farady, supported his claims by warlike arguments, and soclosely pressed Mohammed the Alhamar, that he adopted the resolution ofrepairing to Seville, and abandoning himself to the magnanimity of hisroyal foe. 

Mohammed arrived at the court of Seville accompanied by a suitecomposed of his most faithful friends, and bearing with him vasttreasures. He presented himself with noble confidence in the presenceof the monarch. "King of Castile!" said he to Peter, "the blood alikeof Christian and Moor has too long flowed in my contest with theFarady. You protect my rival; yet it is you whom I select to adjudgeour quarrel. Examine my claims and those of my enemy, and pronouncewho shall be the sovereign of Grenada. If you decide in favour of theFarady, I demand only to be conducted to Africa; if you accord thepreference to me, receive the homage that I have come to render you formy crown!"

The astonished Peter lavished honours upon the Mussulman king, andcaused him to be seated at his side during the magnificent feast by{157} which he signalized the occasion. But, when the Alhamar retiredfrom the entertainment, he was seized and thrown into prison. Fromthence he was afterward conducted through the streets of the city, seated, half naked, upon an ass, and led to a field termed the_Tablada_, where thirty-seven of his devoted followers were deprived oftheir heads in his presence. The execrable Peter, envying theexecutioner the pleasure of shedding his blood, then thrust through theunfortunate King of Grenada with his own lance. The dying sovereignuttered only these words as he expired, "Oh Peter, Peter, what a deedfor a cavalier!"

By a very extraordinary fatality, every throne in Spain was at thisperiod occupied by princes whose characters were blackened by the mostatrocious crimes. Peter the Cruel, the Nero of Castile, assassinatedthe kings who confided themselves to his protection, put to death hiswife Blanche of Bourbon, and, in short, daily imbrued his hands in theblood of his relatives or friends. Peter IV. Of Aragon, less violentthan the Castilian, but equally unfeeling and even more perfidious, despoiled one of his brothers of his kingdom, commanded another to be{158} put to death, and delivered his ancient preceptor to theexecutioners. Peter I. , king of Portugal, the lover of the celebratedInez de Castro, [12] whose ferocity was doubtless excited and increasedby the cruelty that had been exercised against his mistress, tore outthe hearts of the murderers of Inez, and poisoned a sister with whom hewas displeased. Finally, the contemporary King of Navarre was thatCharles the Bad, whose name alone is sufficient still to cause ashudder. All Spain groaned beneath the iron rule of these monsters ofcruelty, and was inundated by the blood of their victims. If it beremembered that, at the same time, France had become a prey to thehorrors which followed the imprisonment of King John; that Englandwitnessed the commencement of the troubled reign of Richard II. ; thatItaly was delivered up to the contentions of the rival factions of theGuelfs and Ghibelines, and beheld two occupants at the same time uponthe papal throne; that two emperors disputed the right to the imperialcrown of Germany; and that Timurlane ravaged Asia from the territoriesof the Usheks to the borders of India, it will not be disputed {159}that the history of the world records the annals of no more unhappyepoch in its affairs. 

Grenada was at last tranquil after the crime of Peter the Cruel. Mohammed the Old, or the Farady, being now freed from the rival claimsof his competitor, remounted the throne without opposition. 

Mohammed was the only ally of the King of Castile who remained faithfulto that inhuman monster up to the period of his death. Peter was atlast the victim of a crime similar to those of which he had so oftenhimself been guilty: his illegitimate brother, Henry de Transtamare, deprived him of his crown and his life, A. D. 1369, Heg. 771. 

The King of Grenada made peace with the new sovereign of Castile, maintained it for several years, and finally left his kingdom in aflourishing condition to his son Mohammed VIII. , Abouhadjad, called bythe Spanish historians Mohammed Gaudix. 

This prince commenced his reign A. D. 1379, Heg. 782. He was the bestand wisest of the Spanish Mohammedan kings. Intent only upon promotingthe happiness of his people, he was desirous of securing to them theenjoyment of {160} that foreign and domestic peace to which they had solong been almost utter strangers. The more effectually to ensure this, Abouhadjad commenced his reign with fortifying his towns, raising astrong army, and allying himself with the King of Tunis, whose daughterCadiga he espoused. When well prepared for war, the Moorish sovereignsent ambassadors to the King of Castile, to solicit his friendship. Don Juan, the son and successor of Henry de Transtamare, beingsufficiently occupied by his quarrels with Portugal and England, readily signed a treaty with the royal follower of the Crescent; andAbouhadjad, on his part, kept it unbroken. Secured from the inroads ofthe Christians, this wise monarch now occupied himself in promoting theincrease of agriculture and commerce: he likewise diminished the ratesof imposts, and soon found his income increased in consequence of thisjudicious measure. Beloved by a people whom he rendered happy, respected by foreign neighbours whom he had no reason to fear, andpossessed of an amiable wife, who alone engaged his affections, thisexcellent Mussulman prince spent the wealth and leisure that he couldwith propriety devote to such objects, in {161} adorning his capital, in cherishing the fine arts, and in cultivating architecture andpoetry. Several monuments of his munificence existed at Grenada, andat Gaudix, a city in favour of which he entertained strongpredilections. His court was the favoured abode of genius and elegance. 

The Moors of Spain still possessed poets, physicians, painters, sculptors, academies, and universities. And these were all liberallyencouraged and endowed by Mohammed Gaudix. 

Most of the productions of the Grenadian authors of this periodperished at the final conquest of their country;[13] but some of themhave been preserved, and still exist in the library of the Escurial. They chiefly treat of grammar, astrology (then greatly esteemed), and, above all, of theology, a study in which the Moors excelled. Thatpeople, naturally gifted with discriminating minds and ardentimaginations, produced many distinguished theologians, who may easilybe supposed to have introduced into Europe the unfortunate scholastictaste for subtle questions and disputes, which once rendered socelebrated, men whose names and achievements have since sunk for everinto oblivion. The {162} pretended secrets of the cabal, of alchymy, of judicial astronomy, of the divining rod, and all the accounts, formerly so common, of sorcerers, magicians, and enchanters, arederived from these descendants of the Arabs. They were a superstitiousrace from the remotest times; and it is probable that to theirresidence in Spain, and their long intercourse with the Spaniards, isowing that love for the marvellous, and that well-deserved reputationfor superstitious credulity, with which philosophy still reproaches asprightly and intellectual nation, upon whom nature has bestowed thegermes of the best qualities that adorn humanity. 

A kind of literature which was common among these Saracens, and forwhich the Spaniards were indebted to them, was that of novels orromances. The Arabs were ever, as they still are, passionate lovers ofstory-telling. As well in the tents of the wild Bedouin as in thepalaces of the East, alike under the gilded domes and peasant roofs ofGrenada, this taste prevailed. Everywhere they assembled nightly tolisten to romantic narratives of love and valour. Everywhere theylistened in silent attention, or wept from sympathetic interest in thefate {163} of those whose adventures formed the subject of the tale. The Grenadians joined with this passion for exciting incident, a tastefor music and singing. Their poets imbodied in verse these favouriterecitals of love and war. Musicians were employed in composingsuitable airs for them, and they were thus sung by the youthful Moorswith all the enthusiasm that passion, poetry, and dulcet harmony canunitedly inspire. From this national custom are derived the multitudeof Spanish romances, translated or imitated from the Arabic, which, ina simple and sometimes touching style, recount the fierce combats ofthe Moors and Christians, the fatal quarrels of jealous and haughtyrivals, or the tender conversation of lovers. They describe with greatexactness everything relating to the peculiar manners and amusements ofthis interesting and extinguished nation: their fêtes, their games ofthe ring and of canes, and their bull-fights, the latter of which theyadopted from the Spaniards, are all portrayed. Thus we learn thattheir war-like equipments consisted of a large cimeter, a slenderlance, a short coat of mail, and a light leathern buckler. We havedescriptions of superb horses, with their richly-jewelled and {164}embroidered housings sweeping the earth in ample folds, and of thedevises emblazoned on the arms of the graceful Moorish cavaliers. These last consisted frequently of a heart pierced by an arrow, orperhaps of a star guiding a vessel, or of the first letter of the nameof the fair recipients of their vows of love. We learn, too, thattheir colours each bore a peculiar signification: yellow and blackexpressed grief; green, hope; blue, jealousy; violet and flame colour, passionate love. 

The following abridged translation of one of these little compositionswill produce a more correct idea of them in the mind of the reader thanany description could convey. [14]

 GONZULO AND ZELINDA. 

 A MOORISH ROMANCE. 

 In a transport of jealousy and pride, Zelinda spurned her lover from her side!{165} His cruel doom Gonzulo heard With bosom wrung; and disappeared! But the fair maid soon deeply felt The torturing wound herself had dealt; As glides the snow from mountain crest, So fled resentment from her breast. 

 They tell her that the Moor's proud heart Is pierced by grief's most poisoned dart, And that he'd doffed, when flying from her side, The tender colours that were once his pride; That green, of hope the cherished emblem gay, To sorrow's mournful hues had given way. A badge of crape his lance's point now wears, A blackened crown his shield as emblem bears!

{166}

 To proffer gifts with different meaning fraught, Zelinda now her errant lover sought: The blue of jealousy she had united With all the hues most dear to lovers plighted; A violet gem, entwined with gold, Gleamed mid a broidered turban's fold, And every silken riband that she bore, Of lovely innocence the symbol wore. 

 Zelinda reached the soft retreat Where Gonzulo his fate must meet! O'erwhelmed with doubt, the dark-eyed maid Reclined beneath a myrtle shade, And sent a faithful page to guide Her banished lover to her side. Gonzulo scarce the message would receive, For wo had taught his heart to disbelieve!

{167}

 But soon he flew, on wing of love, To seek Zelinda's chosen grove. Then tearful glances of regret By words of tenderness were met; And ne'er did guardian nymphs record More ardent vows than there were poured! 'Twas thus triumphant love repaired The cruel wrongs that each had shared!

The delicate and peculiar gallantry, which rendered the Moors ofGrenada famous throughout Europe, formed a singular contrast to theferocity that is so natural to all nations of African origin. TheseIslamites, whose chief glory it was dexterously to deprive theirenemies of their heads, attach them to their saddle-bows, and afterwarddisplay them as trophies on the {168} battlements of their towers or atthe entrance of their palaces; these restless and ungovernablewarriors, who were ever ready to revolt against their rulers, to deposeor to murder them, were the most tender, the most devoted, the mostardent of lovers. Their wives, though their domestic position waslittle superior to that of slaves, became, when they were beloved, theabsolute sovereigns, the supreme divinities of those whose hearts theypossessed. It was to please these idolized beings that the Moorishcavaliers sought distinction in the field; it was to shine in theireyes that they lavished their treasures and their lives--that theymutually endeavoured to eclipse each other in deeds of arms, in thesplendour of their warlike exploits, and the Oriental magnificence oftheir fêtes. 

It cannot now be determined whether the Moors derived thisextraordinary union of softness and cruelty, of delicacy andbarbarity--this generous rivalry in courage and in constancy from theSpaniards, or whether the Spaniards acquired these characteristics fromthe Moors. But when it is remembered that they do not belong to theAsiatic Arabs, from whom these gallant knights originally sprang; thatthey are {169} found, even in a less degree, if possible, among thesefollowers of Mohammed in that portion of Africa where their conquestshave naturalized them; and, that after their departure from Spain, theGrenadians lost every trace of the peculiarly interesting andchivalrous qualities by which they had previously been so remarkablydistinguished, there is some ground for the opinion that it was to theSpaniards that their Moslem neighbours were indebted for the existenceof these national attributes. In truth, before the invasion of Spainby the Arabs, the courts of the Gothic kings had already offeredknightly examples of a similar spirit. And after that event we findthe cavaliers of Leon, Navarre, and Castile equally renowned for theirachievements in war and their romantic devotion to the fair sex. Themere name of _the Cid_ awakens in the mind recollections alike oftenderness and bravery. It should be remembered, too, that, long afterthe expulsion of the Moors from the Peninsula, the Spaniards maintaineda reputation for gallantry far superior to that of the French, someportion of the spirit of which, though extinct among every otherEuropean nation, still lingers in Spain. 

{170}

But, be this point decided as it may, it is not to be disputed that thedaughters of Grenada merited the devotion which they inspired: theywere perhaps the most fascinating women in the world. We find in thenarrative of a Moorish historian, who wrote at Grenada during the reignof Mohammed the Old, the following description of his countrywomen:

"Their beauty is remarkable; but the loveliness which strikes thebeholder at first sight afterward receives its principal charm from thegrace and gentleness of their manners. In stature they are above themiddle height, and of delicate and slender proportions. Their longblack hair descends to the earth. Their teeth embellish with thewhiteness of alabaster, vermillion lips, which perpetually smile with abewitching air. The constant use which they make of the most exquisiteperfumes, gives a freshness and brilliancy to their complexionspossessed by no other Mohammedan women. Their walking, their dancing, their every movement, is distinguished by a graceful softness, an ease, a lightness, which surpasses all their other charms. Theirconversation is lively and sensible, and their fine intellects are{171} constantly displayed in brilliant wit or judicious sentiments. "

The dress of these elegant females was composed, as that of the Turkishwomen still is, of a long tunic of linen confined by a cincture, of a_doliman_ or Turkish dress with close sleeves, of wide trousers andMorocco slippers. The materials of their clothing were of the finestfabric, and were usually woven in stripes: they were embroidered withgold and silver, and profusely spangled with jewels. Their wavingtresses floated over their shoulders; and a small cap, adorned with therichest gems, supported an embroidered veil, which fell nearly to thefeet. The men were clothed in a similar manner: with them were carriedin the girdle the purse, the handkerchief, and the poniard: a white, and sometimes a coloured, turban covered the head; and over the Turkishdoliman they wore in summer a wide and flowing white robe, and inwinter the _albornos_ or African mantle. The only change made in theirdress by the Moorish cavaliers when preparing for battle was theaddition of a coat of mail, and an iron lining within their turbans. 

It was the custom of the Grenadians to repair {172} every year, duringthe autumn, to the charming villas by which the city was surrounded. There they yielded themselves up to the pursuit of pleasure. The chaseand the dance, music and feasting, occupied every hour. 

The manners of those who participated in these national dances were ina high degree unreserved, as was the language of the songs and balladsin which they joined. Were it not for the contradictions in the humancharacter, one might be surprised at this want of delicacy in a peoplewho were capable of so much refinement of feeling. But, in general, nations of Oriental origin possess but little reserve in their manners:they have more of passion than sentiment, more of jealousy thandelicacy in their haughty and excitable natures. 

In giving these details, we have perhaps trespassed too long on theperiod of calm repose enjoyed by the kingdom of Grenada during thereign of Abouhadjad. That excellent sovereign, after having filled thethrone for thirteen years, left his flourishing dominions to his sonJoseph, who succeeded him without opposition, A. D. 1392, Heg. 795. 

Joseph II. Was desirous, in imitation of the {173} course pursued byhis father, of maintaining the truce with the Christians. It was, however, soon disturbed by a fanatical hermit, who persuaded theGrand-master of Alcantara, Martin de Barbuda, a Portuguese, that he hadbeen selected by Heaven as the chosen instrument for expelling theinfidels from Spain. He promised the credulous Martin, in the name ofGod, that he should succeed in conquering the enemies of the Cross, andin carrying the city of Grenada by assault, without the loss of asingle soldier. The infatuated grand-master, convinced of thecertainty of the fulfilment of this promise, immediately sentambassadors to Joseph, with orders to declare to that sovereign, in hisname, that, since the religion of Mohammed was false and detestable, and that of Jesus Christ the only true and saving faith, he, Martin deBarbuda, defied the King of Grenada to a combat of two hundredMussulmans against one hundred Christians, upon condition that thevanquished nation should instantly adopt the faith of the conquerors. 

The reception these ambassadors met with may be easily imagined. Joseph could scarcely restrain the indignation of his people. The{174} envoys, driven contemptuously away, returned to the presence ofthe grand-master, who, surprised at receiving no response to hisproposal, soon assembled a thousand foot-soldiers and three hundredcavaliers, and hastened to the conquest of Grenada under the guidanceof the prophetic hermit. 

The King of Castile, Henry III. , who desired to preserve peace with thefollowers of the Prophet at the commencement of a reign during whichhis own dominions were but ill at rest, was no sooner informed of theenterprise of Barbuda, than he sent him positive orders not to crossthe frontiers; but that dignitary replying that he ought to obey thecommands of Jehovah rather than those of any earthly master, proceededon his way. The governors of the different cities through which hepassed on his route endeavoured, though vainly, to arrest his progress;but the people overwhelmed him with homage, and everywhere added to thenumber of his forces. 

The army of the grand-master amounted to six thousand men, when, inA. D. 1394, Heg. 798, he entered the country which his folly taught himto regard as already in his possession. In attacking the first castleat which he {175} arrived, three soldiers were killed and theirfanatical commander himself wounded. Surprised beyond measure atbeholding his own blood flow and three soldiers fall, he summoned theanchorite into his presence, and sedately demanded what this meant, after his express promise that not a single champion of the true faithshould perish. The fanatic replied, that the word he had pledgedextended only to regular battles. Barbuda complained no more, andpresently perceived the approach of a Moorish army composed of fiftythousand men. The conflict soon commenced: the grand-master and histhree hundred mounted followers perished in the field, after havingperformed prodigies of valour. The remainder of the Spanish army wereeither taken prisoners or put to flight; and the silence of historiansrespecting the hermit, leads to the opinion that he was not among thelast to seek safety at a distance from the scene of action. 

This foolish enterprise did not interrupt the good understandingsubsisting between the two nations. The King of Castile disavowed allapproval of the conduct of Martin de Barbuda, and Joseph long continuedto reign with honour and tranquillity. But he was at last poisoned, {176} it is said, by a magnificent robe which he received from hissecret enemy, the King of Fez through the ambassadors of thatsovereign. Historians assert that this garment was impregnated with aterrible poison, which caused the death of the unfortunate Joseph bythe most horrible torments. The peculiar effects it produced was thatof detaching the flesh from the bones, the misery of the wretchedsufferer enduring for the protracted period of thirty days. 

Mohammed IX. , the second son of this hapless monarch, who, even duringthe lifetime of his father, had excited commotions in the realm, usurped the crown that of right belonged to his elder brother Joseph, whom he caused to be confined in prison. 

Mohammed was courageous, and possessed some talents for war. Alliedwith the King of Tunis, who joined his fleet with that of Grenada, hebroke the truce maintained with Castile during the two precedingreigns, and at first gained some advantages over his adversaries, butthe Infant Don Ferdinand, the uncle and tutor of the young king JohnII. , was not long in avenging the cause of Spain. 

Mohammed IX. Died in the year 1408, {177} Heg. 811. When the expiringmonarch became conscious that his end was rapidly approaching, desirousof securing the crown to his son, he sent one of his principal officersto the prison of his brother Joseph, with orders to cut off the head ofthe royal occupant. The officer found Joseph engaged in a game ofchess with an iman:[15] he sorrowfully announced the mournfulcommission with which he was charged. The prince, without manifestingany emotion at the communication, only demanded time to conclude hisgame; and the officer could not refuse this slight favour. While thephilosophical Mussulman continued to play, a second messenger arrived, bearing the news of the death of the usurper, and of the proclamationof Joseph as his successor to the throne. 

The people of Grenada were happy under the rule of the good King JosephIII. So far was he from avenging himself upon those who had aided hisbrother in depriving him of his rights, that he lavished favours andoffices on them, and educated the son of Mohammed in the same manner ashis own children. When his councillors blamed him for a degree ofindulgence {178} which they regarded as hazardous, "Allow me, " repliedthe sovereign, "to deprive my enemies of all excuse for havingpreferred my younger brother to me!"

This excellent prince was often obliged to take arms against theChristians. He was so unfortunate as to lose some cities, but hepreserved the respect and affection of his subjects, and died lamentedby the whole kingdom, after a reign of fifteen years, A. D. 1423, Heg. 927. 

After the death of Joseph the state was distracted by civil wars. Mohammed X. Abenazar, or the _Left-handed_, the son and successor ofthat benevolent king, was banished from the throne by Mohammed XI. _ElZugair_, or the Little, who preserved his ill-gotten power but twoyears. The Abencerrages, a powerful tribe[16] at Grenada, re-established Mohammed the Left-handed in his former place, and hiscompetitor perished on the scaffold. 

About four years after the death of Joseph, the Spaniards renewed theirinroads into Grenada, and carried fire and sword to the very gates ofthe capital. All the neighbouring fields were devastated; the cropswere burned and the {179} villages destroyed. John II. , who thenreigned in Castile, wishing to add to the miseries he had alreadyoccasioned these unhappy people the still greater misfortune of civilwar, instigated the proclamation at Grenada of a certain JosephAlliamar, a grandson of that Mohammed the Red so basely assassinated atSeville by Peter the Cruel. 

All the discontented spirits in the kingdom joined the faction ofJoseph Alhamar; and the Zegris, a powerful tribe, who were at enmitywith the Abencerrages, lent their aid to the usurper. MohammedAbenazar was again driven from the capital, A. D. 1432, Heg. 836, andJoseph IV. Alhamar possessed his dominions six months. At thetermination of that time he expired. 

Mohammed the Left-handed once more resumed his royal seat; but, afterthirteen years of misfortune, this unhappy prince was again deposed forthe third time, and imprisoned by one of his nephews, named MohammedXII. The Osmin, who was himself afterward dethroned[17] by his ownbrother Ismael, and ended his days {180} in the same dungeon in whichhis uncle Mohammed Abenazar had languished. 

All these revolutions did not prevent the Christian and Moorishgovernors who commanded on their respective frontiers from makingincessant irruptions into the enemy's country. Sometimes a littletroop of cavalry or infantry surprised a village, massacred theinhabitants, pillaged their houses, and carried away their flocks. Sometimes an army suddenly appeared in a fertile plain, devastated thefields, uprooted the vines, felled the trees, besieged and took sometown or fortress, and retired with their booty. This kind of warfarewas ruinous, most of all, to the unfortunate cultivator of the soil. The Grenadian dominions suffered so much during the reign of IsmaelII. , that the king was compelled to cause immense forests to be clearedfor the support of his capital, which then drew scarcely any suppliesfrom the vast and fertile _vega_ which had been so often desolated bythe Spaniards. 

Ismael II. Left the crown to his son Mulei-Hassem, a young and highlycourageous prince, who, profiting by the disastrous condition ofCastile under the deplorable reign of Henry IV. The {181} Impotent, carried his arms into the centre of Andalusia. The success that markedthe commencement of the reign of this sovereign, together with histalents and warlike ardour, tempted the Moors to believe that theymight yet recover their former greatness. But the occurrence at thisjuncture of a great and unlooked-for event, arrested the victoriousprogress of Mulei-Hassam, and prepared the way for the total ruin ofhis kingdom. 

Isabella of Castile, the sister of Henry the Impotent, notwithstandingthe opposition of her brother and the intervention of almostinsurmountable obstacles, espoused Ferdinand the Catholic, the king ofSicily, and heir presumptive of the kingdom of Aragon. [18] Thismarriage, by uniting the two most powerful monarchs of Spain, gave afatal blow to the prosperity of the Moors, which they had been able tomaintain, even in the degree in which it now existed, only through thedivisions which had hitherto perpetually prevailed among theirChristian opponents. 

Either of the two enemies, now unitedly arrayed against them, had beensingly sufficient {182} to overwhelm the Mussulmans. Ferdinand wasalike politic, able, and adroit. He was pliant, and, at the same time, firm; cautious to a degree sometimes amounting to pusillanimity;cunning even to falsehood, and endowed in an extraordinary degree withthe power of discerning at a single glance all the various means ofattaining a particular end. Isabella was of a prouder and more noblenature; endowed with heroic courage and the most unyielding constancyof purpose, she was admirably qualified for the pursuit andaccomplishment of any enterprise to which she might direct the energiesof her powerful mind. The exalted endowments of one of these royalpersonages have been employed to ennoble the character of the other. Ferdinand often played the part of a weak, perfidious woman, negotiating only to deceive; whereas Isabella was always thehigh-souled sovereign, advancing openly to her purposes, and marchingdirectly to honourable conflict and generous triumph. 

No sooner had these distinguished individuals secured possession oftheir respective kingdoms, suppressed all domestic disturbances, andeffected peaceful arrangements with foreign powers, {183} than theymutually resolved to concentrate all their efforts for the annihilationof the Mohammedan dominion in Spain. 

This century seemed destined to be marked by the glory of theSpaniards. In addition to the immense advantages afforded them by theunion of their forces, Ferdinand and Isabella were surrounded by thewisest and most experienced advisers. The celebrated Cardinal Ximenes, at one time a simple monk, was now at the head of their councils; andthat able minister "_led_, " as he himself averred, "_all Spain by hisgirdle!_" The civil wars with which the Peninsula had been so longdisturbed, had created among the Christian powers a host of bravesoldiers and excellent commanders. Among the latter were particularlydistinguished the Count de Cabra, the Marquis of Cadiz, and the famousGonzalvo of Cordova, whose just claim to the surname of _the GreatCaptain_, given him by his countrymen, the lapse of time has onlyserved to confirm. The public treasury, which had been exhausted bythe lavish prodigality of Henry, was soon replenished by the rigideconomy of Isabella, aided by a bull from the pope, permitting theroyal appropriation of the {184} ecclesiastical revenues. The troopswere numerous and admirably disciplined, and the emulation whichexisted between the Castilians and Aragonians redoubled the valour ofboth. Everything, in short, prognosticated the downfall of the lastremaining throne of the Moors. 

Its royal champion, Mulei-Hassem, was not dismayed, however, even bysuch an accumulation of danger. He was the first to break the truce, by taking forcible possession of the city of Zahra, A. D. 1481, Heg. 886. Ferdinand despatched ambassadors to the Moslem court to complainof this breach of faith; with orders, at the same time, to demand theancient tribute which had been paid by the kings of Grenada to thesovereigns of Castile. 

"I know, " replied Mulei-Hassem, when the envoys of the Spanish princehad delivered their message, "I know that some of my predecessorsrendered you tribute in pieces of gold; but _this_ is the only metalnow coined in the national mint of Grenada!" And, as he spoke, thestern and haughty monarch presented the head of his lance to theSpanish ambassadors. 

The army of Ferdinand first marched upon Alhamar, a very strongfortress in the {185} neighbourhood of Grenada, and particularly famousfor the magnificent baths with which it had been embellished by theMoorish kings. The place was taken by surprise, and thus a war waslighted up that was destined to be extinguished only with the lastexpiring sigh of Grenada. 

Victory seemed at first to be equally poised between the two contendingpowers. The King of Grenada possessed ample resources in troops, artillery, and treasure. He might have long maintained the contest, but for an act of imprudence which precipitated him into an abyss ofmisfortune from which he was never afterward able to extricate himself. 

The wife of Mulei-Hassem, named Aixa, belonged, before her marriagewith the king, to one of the most important of the Grenadian tribes. The offspring of this marriage was a son named Boabdil, whose right itwas to succeed to his father's throne. But the reckless Muleirepudiated his wife at the instance of a Christian slave, of whom hebecame enamoured, and who governed the doting monarch at will. Thisact of cruelty and injustice was the signal for civil war. The injuredAixa, in concert with her son, excited her relatives and friends, {186}and a large number of the inhabitants of the capital, to throw offtheir allegiance to their sovereign. 

Mulei-Hassem was eventually driven from the city, and Boabdil assumedthe title of king. Thus father and son were involved in a contest forthe possession of a crown, of which Ferdinand was seeking to deprivethem both. 

To add to the misfortunes which were already fast crushing thisdistracted and miserable country beneath their weight, another aspirantto the throne presented himself, in the person of a brother ofMulei-Hassem named Zagel. This prince, at the head of a band ofMoorish adventurers, had succeeded in obtaining some importantadvantages over the Spaniards in the defiles of Malaga, A. D. 1483, Heg. 888. 

His achievements having won for him the hearts of his countrymen, Zagelnow conceived the design of dethroning his brother and nephew, and ofappropriating the dominions of both to himself. Thus a third factionarose to increase the dissensions of the state. 

Boabdil still held insecure possession of the capital; and, desirous ofattempting some action, the brilliancy of which would reanimate the{187} hopes and confidence of a party that was ready to abandon him, hesallied forth at the head of a small force, with the intention ofsurprising Lucena, a city belonging to the Castilians. 

But the ill-fated Boabdil was made a prisoner in this expedition. 

He was the first Moorish king who had ever been a captive to theSpaniards. Ferdinand lavished on him the attentions due to misfortune, and caused him to be conducted to Cordova, attended by an escort. 

The old king, Mulei-Hassem, seized this opportunity to repossesshimself of the crown of which his rebellious son had deprived him, and, in spite of the party of Zagel, he again became master of his capital. But the restored monarch could oppose but a feeble resistance to theprogress of the Spaniards, who were rapidly reducing his cities andadvancing nearer to his devoted capital. Within the walls of that citythe wretched inhabitants were madly warring against one another, as ifunconscious of the destruction that was fast approaching them fromwithout. To increase the sanguinary feuds which already so surelypresaged their destruction, the Catholic sovereigns had become the{188} allies of the captive Boabdil, engaging to assist him in hisefforts against his father on condition that he should pay them atribute of twelve thousand crowns of gold, acknowledge himself theirvassal, and deliver certain strong places into their hands. The baseBoabdil acceded to everything; and, aided by the politic Spanishprinces, hastened again to take arms against his father. 

The kingdom of Grenada was now converted into one wide field ofcarnage, where Mulei-Hassem, Boabdil, and Zagel were furiouslycontending for the mournful relics of their country. 

The Spaniards, in the mean time, marched rapidly from one conquest toanother, sometimes under pretext of sustaining their ally Boabdil, andoften in open defiance of the treaty they had formed with that prince;but always carefully feeding the fire of discord, while they weredespoiling each of the three rival parties, and leaving to thevanquished inhabitants their laws, their customs, and the free exerciseof their religion. 

In the midst of these frightful scenes of calamity and crime, oldMulei-Hassem died, either worn out by grief and misfortune, or through{189} the agency of his ambitious brother. This event occurred A. D. 1485, Heg. 890. 

Ferdinand had now rendered himself master of all the western part ofthe kingdom of Grenada, and Boabdil agreed to divide with Zagel theremnant of this desolated state. The city of Grenada was retained byBoabdil, while Gaudix and Almeria fell to the share of Zagel. The warwas not the less vigorously prosecuted in consequence of thisarrangement; and the unprincipled Zagel, doubting his ability long toretain the cities in his possession, sold them to King Ferdinand inconsideration of an annual pension. 

By virtue of this treaty, the Catholic sovereigns took possession ofthe purchased cities; and the traitor Zagel even lent the aid of hisarms to the Christian army, the more speedily to overthrow the royalpower of his nephew, and thereby terminate the existence of hisexpiring country. 

All that now remained to the Mussulmans was the single city of Grenada. There Boabdil still reigned; and, exasperated by misfortune, he ventedhis rage and despair in acts of barbarous cruelty towards its wretchedinhabitants. 

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Ferdinand and Isabella, disregarding the conditions of their pretendedalliance with this now powerless prince, summoned him to surrender hiscapital, in compliance, as they said, with the terms of a secrettreaty, which they affirmed had been concluded between them. Boabdilprotested against this perfidious conduct. But there was no timeallowed for complaint: he must successfully defend himself, or cease toreign. The Moorish prince adopted, therefore, to say the least, themost heroic alternative; and resolved to defend to the last whatremained to him of his once beautiful and flourishing country. 

The Spanish sovereign, at the head of an army of sixty thousand men, the flower and chivalry of the united kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, laid siege to Grenada on the 9th of May, 1491, and in the 897th year ofthe Hegira. 

This great city, as has been already mentioned, was defended by strongramparts, flanked by a multitude of towers, and by numerous otherfortifications, built one above the other. Notwithstanding the civilwars which had inundated it with blood, Grenada still enclosed withinits walls more than two hundred thousand {191} inhabitants. Everybrave Moorish cavalier who still remained true to his country, itsreligion, and its laws, had here taken refuge. Despair redoubled theirstrength in this last desperate struggle; and had these fierce andintrepid warriors been guided by a more worthy chief than Boabdil, their noble constancy might still have saved them; but this weak andferocious monarch hesitated not, on the slightest suspicion, to consignhis most faithful defenders to the axe of the executioner. Thus hebecame daily more and more an object of hatred and contempt to theGrenadians, by whom he was surnamed _Zogoybi_; that is to say, _theLittle King_. The different tribes now grew dissatisfied anddispirited, especially the numerous and powerful tribe of theAbencerrages. The alfaquis and the imans, also, loudly predicted theapproaching downfall of the Moorish empire; and nothing upheld thesinking courage of the people against the pressure of a foreign foe andthe tyranny of their own rulers but their unconquerable horror of theSpanish yoke. 

The Catholic soldiers, on the other hand, elated by their past success, regarded themselves as invincible, and never for a moment doubted the{192} certainty of their triumph. They were commanded, also, byleaders to whom they were devotedly attached: Ponce de Leon, marquis ofCadiz, Henry de Guzman, duke of Medina, Mendoza, Aguillar, Villena, andGonzalvo of Cordova, together with many other famous captains, accompanied their victorious king. Isabella, too, whose virtuesexcited the highest respect, and whose affability and grace won for herthe affectionate regard of all, had repaired to the camp of her husbandwith the Infant and the Infantas, and attended by the most brilliantcourt in Europe. This politic princess, though naturally grave andserious, wisely accommodated herself to the existing circumstances. She mingled fêtes and amusements with warlike toil: jousts andtournaments delighted at intervals the war-worn soldiery; and dances, games, and illuminations filled up the delicious summer evenings. 

Queen Isabella was the animating genius that directed everything; agracious word from her was a sufficient recompense for the most gallantachievement; and her look alone had power to transform the meanestsoldier into a hero. 

Abundance reigned in the Christian camp; {193} while joy and hopeanimated every heart. But within the beleaguered city, mutualdistrust, universal consternation, and the prospect of inevitabledestruction, had damped the courage and almost annihilated the hopes ofthe wretched inhabitants. 

The siege, nevertheless, lasted for nine months. The cautiouscommander of the Christian army did not attempt to carry by assault aplace so admirably fortified. After having laid waste the environs, therefore, he waited patiently until famine should deliver the cityinto his hands. Satisfied with battering the ramparts and repellingthe frequent sorties of the Moors, he never engaged in any decisiveaction, but daily hemmed in more closely the chafed lion that could notnow escape his toils. 

Accident one night set fire to the pavilion of Isabella, and thespreading conflagration consumed every tent in the camp. But Boabdilderived no advantage from this disaster. The queen directed that acity should supply the place of the ruined camp, to convince theenemies of the cross that the siege would never be raised until Grenadashould come into possession of the conquering Spaniards. This greatand {194} extraordinary design, so worthy the genius of Isabella, wasexecuted in eighty days. The Christian camp thus became a walled city;and Santa Fe still exists as a monument of the piety and perseveranceof the heroic Queen of Castile. 

At last, oppressed by famine, less frequently successful than at firstin the partial engagements that were constantly taking place under thewalls, and abandoned by Africa, from which there were no attempts madeto relieve them, the Moors now felt the necessity of a surrender. 

Gonzalvo of Cordova was empowered by the conquerors to arrange thearticles of capitulation. These provided that the people of Grenadashould recognise Ferdinand and Isabella, and their royal successors, astheir rightful sovereigns; that all their Christian captives should bereleased without ransom; that the Moors should continue to be governedby their own laws; should retain their national customs, their judges, half the number of their mosques, and the free exercise of their faith;that they should be permitted either to keep or sell their property, and to retire to Africa, or to any other country they might choose, while, at the same time, they should not be compelled to leave their{195} native land. It was also agreed that Boabdil should haveassigned to him a rich and ample domain in the Alpuxares, of which heshould possess the entire command. 

Such were the terms of capitulation, and but ill were they observed bythe Spaniards. Boabdil fulfilled his part of the stipulations somedays before the time specified, in consequence of being informed thathis people, roused by the representations of the imans, wished to breakoff the negotiations, and to bury themselves beneath the ruins of thecity rather than suffer their desolate and deserted homes to beprofaned by the intruding foot of the spoiler. 

The wretched Moslem prince hastened therefore to deliver the keys ofthe city, and of the fortresses of the Albazin and the Alhambra, intothe hands of Ferdinand. 

Entering no more, after this mournful ceremony, within the walls wherehe no longer retained any authority, Boabdil took his melancholyjourney, accompanied by his family and a small number of followers, tothe petty dominions which were now all that remained to him of the oncepowerful and extensive empire of his ancestors. 

{196}

When the cavalcade reached an eminence from which the towers of Grenadamight still be discerned, the wretched exile turned his last sadregards upon the distant city, amid ill-suppressed tears and groans. "_You do well_, " said Aixa, his mother, "_to weep like a woman for thethrone you could not defend like a man!_"

But the now powerless Boabdil could not long endure existence as asubject in a country where he had reigned as a sovereign: he crossedthe Mediterranean to Africa, and there he ended his days on thebattle-field. 

Ferdinand and Isabella made their public entrance into Grenada on the1st of January, 1492, through double ranks of soldiers, and amid thethunder of artillery. The city seemed deserted; the inhabitants fledfrom the presence of the conquerors, and concealed their tears andtheir despair within the innermost recesses of their habitations. 

The royal victors repaired first to the grand mosque, which wasconsecrated as a Christian church, and where they rendered thanks toGod for the brilliant success that had crowned their arms. While thesovereigns fulfilled this pious duty, the Count de Tendilla, the newgovernor {197} of Grenada, elevated the triumphant cross, and thestandards of Castile and St. James, on the highest towers of theAlhambra. 

Thus fell this famous city, and thus perished the power of the Moors ofSpain, after an existence of seven hundred and eighty-two years fromthe first conquest of the country by Tarik. 

It may now be proper briefly to remark upon the principal causes of theextinction of the national independence of the kingdom of Grenada. 

The first of these arose from the peculiar character of the Moors: fromthat spirit of inconstancy, that love of novelty, and that unceasinginquietude, which prompted them to such frequent change of theirrulers; which multiplied factions among them, and constantly convulsedthe empire with internal discords, expending its strength and power indissensions at home, and thus leaving it defenceless against foreignenemies. The Moors may also be reproached with an extravagant fondnessfor architectural magnificence, splendid fêtes, and other expensiveentertainments, which aided in exhausting the national treasury attimes when protracted warfare scarcely ever permitted this most fertileregion of the earth to reproduce the {198} crops the Spaniards haddestroyed. But, more than all, they were a people without anestablished code of laws, that only permanent basis of the prosperityof nations. And then, too, a despotic form of government, whichdeprives men of patriotism, induced each individual to regard hisvirtues and attainments merely as affording the means of personalconsideration, and not, as they should be considered, the property ofhis country. 

These grave defects in the national character of the Moors wereredeemed by many excellent qualities, which even the Spaniards admittedthem to possess. In battle they were no less brave and prudent thantheir Christian antagonists, though inferior in skill and discipline. They excelled them, however, in the art of attack. Adversity neverlong overwhelmed them; they saw in misfortune the will of Heaven, andwithout a murmur submitted to it. Their favourite dogma of fatalismdoubtless contributed to this result. Fervently devoted to the laws ofMohammed, they obeyed with great exactness his humane injunctionsrespecting almsgiving:[19] they bestowed on the poor not only food and{199} money, but a portion of their grain, fruit, and flocks, and ofevery kind of merchandise. In the towns and throughout the country, the indigent sick were collected, attended, and nursed with the mostassiduous care. Hospitality, so sacred from the remotest time amongthe Arabs, was not less carefully observed among the people of Grenada, who seemed to take peculiar pleasure in its exercise. The followingtouching anecdote is told in illustration of the powerful influence ofthis principle. A stranger, bathed in blood, sought refuge from theofficers of justice under the roof of an aged Moor. The old manconcealed him in his house. But he had scarcely done so before a guardarrived to demand possession of the murderer, and, at the same time, todeliver to the horror-stricken Mussulman the dead body of his son, whomthe stranger had just assassinated. Still the aged father would notgive up his guest. When the guard, however, were gone, he entreatedthe assassin to leave him. "_Depart from me_, " he cried, "_that I maybe at liberty to pursue thee!_"

These Moslems were but little known to the historians by whom they havebeen so often calumniated. Polished, enthusiastic, hospitable, {200}brave, and chivalrous, but haughty, passionate, inconstant, andvindictive, their unfortunate fate entitles them, at least, tocompassion and sympathy, while their virtues may well excite respectand interest. 

After their final defeat, many of the followers of the Prophet retiredto Africa. Those who remained in Grenada suffered greatly from thepersecution and oppression to which they were subjected by their newmasters. The article in their last treaty with the Spaniards, whichformally ensured their religious freedom, was grossly violated by theCatholics, who compelled the Mussulmans to abjure their national faithby force, terror, and every other unworthy means. 

At last, outraged beyond endurance by this want of good faith, andwrought to desperation by the cruelties they were compelled to endure, in the year 1500 the Moors attempted to revolt against theiroppressors. Their efforts were, however, unavailing: Ferdinand marchedin person against them, repressed by force of arms the struggles of apeople whom he designated as rebels, and, sword in hand, administeredthe rite of baptism to more than fifty thousand captive Moslems. 

{201}

The successors of Ferdinand, Charles V. And especially Philip II. , continued to harass the Moors. [20] The Inquisition was established inthe city of Grenada, and all the terrors of that dreaded institutionwere added to gentler means for the conversion of the infidels toChristianity. Their children were taken from them to be educated inaccordance with the precepts of that religion whose Adorable Founderenjoined peace, mercy, and forbearance upon his followers, and forbadethe practice of injustice and cruelty in every form. 

Yielding to the promptings of despair, this crushed and wretchedremnant of a once powerful and glorious nation again flew to arms inthe year 1569, and executed the most terrible vengeance upon theCatholic priesthood. Mohammed-ben-Ommah, the new king whom they choseto direct their destinies, and who was {202} said to have sprung fromthe cherished race of the Ommiades, several times gave battle to hisopponents in the mountains of the Alpuxares, where he sustained thecause of his injured countrymen for the space of two years. At the endof that time he was assassinated by his own people. His successorshared the same fate, and the Mussulmans were again compelled to submitto a yoke their revolt had rendered even more intolerable than before. 

Finally, King Philip III. Totally banished the Moors from Spain. Thedepopulation thus produced inflicted a wound upon that kingdom, fromthe effects of which it has never since recovered. 

More than one hundred and fifty thousand of this persecuted race tookrefuge in France, where Henry IV. Received them with great humanity. Asmall number also concealed themselves in the recesses of theAlpuxares; but the greatest part of the expatriated Islamites sought ahome in Africa. There their descendants still drag out a miserableexistence under the despotic rule of the sovereigns of Morocco, andunceasingly pray that they may be restored to their beloved Grenada. 

[1] The Darra, Xenil, Dilar, Vagro, and Monachil. 

[2] See note A, page 222. 

[3] See note B, page 222. 

[4] See note C, page 222. 

[5] It should be borne in mind, that the description given by M. Florian of the remains of the once gorgeous splendours of this palacewas written nearly half a century ago; and that time, and the yet moreruthless destroyer man, may have wrought great changes since thatperiod amid the ruins of the Alhambra. --_Trans. _

[6] The translator has adopted the literal French version of thisinscription, given in a note by M. Florian, from the impression thatthe spirit of the original would thus be better preserved than byattempting to render into rhyme his poetical interpretation. 

[7] See Note D, page 223. 

[8] See note E, page 224. 

[9] A. D. 1302, Heg. 703. 

[10] A. D. 1319, Heg. 719. 

[11] The mountains of Grenada, in the neighbourhood of which thisaction took place, have, ever since that event, borne the name of LASIERRA DE LOS INFANTES. 

[12] See Note F, page 224. 

[13] See Note G, page 225. 

[14] The translator ventures to offer an imitation of M. Florian'sFrench version of this Moorish ballad, and appends the Spanish originalwith which he presents his readers. 

 GANZUL Y ZELINDA. 

 ROMANCE MORO. 

 En el tiempo que Zelinda Cerro ayrada la ventana A la disculpa a los zelos Que el Moro Ganzul le daya, Confusa y arrepentida De averse fingido ayrada, For verle y desagravialle, El corazon se le abraza; Que en el villano de amor Es mui cierta la mudanza, etc. 

 Y como supo que el Moro Rompio furioso la lanca, etc. Y que la librea verde Avia trocado en leonada; Saco luego una marlota De tufetan roxo y plata, Un bizarro capellar De tela de oro morada, etc. 

 Con une bonete cubierto De zaphires y esparaldas, Que publican zelos muertos, Y vivas las esperancos, Con una nevada toça; Que el color de la veleta Tambien publica bononça Informandose primero. 

 A donde Ganzul estava, A una caza de plazer Aquella tarde le llama Y diziendole a Ganzul. Que Zelinda le aguardava, Al page le pregunto Tres vezes si so burlava; Que son malaas de creer Las nuevas mui desseadas, etc. Hollola en un jardin, Entre mosquetta y jasmine, etc. 

 Viendose Moro con ella, A penas los ojos alça; Zelinda le asio la mano, Un poco roxa y turbada; Y al fin de infinitas guexas Que en tales passes se passan, Vistio se las ricas presas Con las manos de su dama, etc. 

[15] Mohammedan priest. 

[16] See Note H, page 225. 

[17] A. D. 1453, Heg. 857. 

[18] A. D. 1469, Heg. 874. 

[19] See Note I, page 226. 

[20] The edicts of Charles V. , which were renewed and rendered moresevere by Philip II. , directed an entire change in the peculiardomestic habits and manners of the Moors, prescribed their adoption ofthe Spanish costume and language, forbade their women to wear veils, interdicted the use of the oath and the celebration of their nationaldances, and ordered that all their children from the age of five tofifteen should be registered, that they might be sent to CatholicSchools. 

{203}

NOTES. 

FIRST EPOCH. 

A, page 25. 

_Until they embrace Islamism, &c. _

The word _Islamism_ is derived from _islam_, which signifies_consecration to God_. 

The brief synopsis given in the text of the principles of theMohammedan religion, is literally rendered by the author from severaldifferent chapters of the Koran. These precepts are there to be foundalmost lost amid a mass of absurdities, repetitions, and incoherentrhapsodies. Yet, throughout the entire work, there are occasionallybright gleams of fervid eloquence or pure morality. Mohammed neverspeaks on his own authority; he pretends always to be prompted by theangel Gabriel, who repeats to him the commands of the Most High: theProphet does but listen and repeat them. The angelic messenger hastaken care to enter into a multitude of details, not only in relationto religion, but also to legislation and government. And thus ithappens that the Koran is regarded by the Mussulmans as their standard, no less for civil than for moral law. One half of this book is writtenin verse, and the remainder in poetical prose. Mohammed possessedgreat poetical talent; an endowment so highly esteemed by hiscountrymen, that they were in the habit of assembling at Mecca topronounce judgment on the different poems affixed {204} by theirrespective authors to the walls of the temple of tie Caaba; and theindividual in whose favour the popular voice decided was crowned withgreat solemnity. When the second chapter of the Koran, _Labia ebnrabia_, appeared on the walls, the most famous poet of the time, whohad previously posted up a rival production of his own, tore it down, and acknowledged himself conquered by the Prophet. 

Mohammed was not altogether the monster of cruelty so many authorsrepresent him to have been. He often displayed much humanity towardsoffenders who were in his power, and even forgave personal injuries. One of the most unrelenting of his enemies, named Caab, on whose head aprice had been set, had the audacity suddenly to appear in the mosqueat Medina while Mohammed was preaching to the multitude. Caab recitedsome verses which he had composed in honour of the Prophet. Mohammedlistened to them with pleasure, embraced the poet, and invested himwith his own mantle. This precious garment was afterward bought by oneof the caliphs of the East, from the family of Caab, for the sum oftwenty thousand drachms, and became the pride of those Asiaticsovereigns, who wore it only on the occasion of some solemn festival. 

The last moments of Mohammed would seem to prove that he was far frompossessing an ignoble mind. Feeling his end approaching, he repairedto the mosque, supported by his friend Ali. Mounting the tribune, hemade a prayer, and then, turning to the assembly, uttered these words:"Mussulmans, I am about to die. No one, therefore, need any longerfear me; if I have struck any one among you, here is my breast, let himstrike me in return: if I have wrongfully taken the property of anyone, here is my purse, let him remunerate himself: if I have humbledany one, let him now {205} spurn me: I surrender myself to the justiceof my countrymen!" The people sobbed aloud: one individual alonedemanded three drachms of the dying Prophet, who instantly dischargedthe debt with interest. After this he took an affectionate leave ofthe brave Medinians who had so faithfully defended him, gave liberty tohis slaves, and ordered the arrangements for his funeral. His lastinterview with his wife and daughter, and Omar and Ali, his friends anddisciples, was marked by much tenderness. Sorrow and lamentation wereuniversal throughout Arabia on this occasion; and his daughter Fatimadied of grief for his loss. 

The respect and veneration entertained by his followers for Mohammed isalmost inconceivable. Their doctors have gravely asserted in theirwritings that the world was created for him; that the first thing madewas light, and that that light became the substance of the soul ofMohammed, etc. Some of them have maintained that the Alcoran wasuncreated, while others have adopted a contrary opinion; and out ofthese discordant views have arisen numerous sects, and even wars thathave deluged Asia with blood. 

The life of Mohammed was terminated by poison, which had beenadministered to him some years before by a Jewess named Zainab, whosebrother had been slain by Ali. This woman, to avenge the death of herbrother, poisoned some roasted lamb which she served up for theProphet. Scarcely had he put a morsel of it into his mouth, when, instantly rejecting it, he exclaimed that the meat was poisoned. Notwithstanding the prompt use of antidotes, the injurious consequenceswere so severe, that he suffered from them during the remainder of hislife, and died four years after, in the sixty-third year of his age. 

{206}

B, page 27. 

_Kaled, surnamed the Sword of God, &c. _

The feats of arms ascribed by historians to Kaled resemble those of ahero of romance. He was at first the enemy of the great Arabianleader, and vanquished that commander in the conflict of _Aheh_, theonly battle which Mohammed ever lost. Having afterward become azealous Mussulman, he subjugated such parts of the Mohammedan dominionsas had revolted after the death of the Prophet, opposed the armies ofHeraclius, conquered Syria, Palestine, and a part of Persia, and cameoff victor in numerous single combats in which he was at differenttimes engaged: always challenging to an encounter of this kind thegeneral of the hostile army. The following anecdote will illustratehis character. Kaled besieged the city of Bostra. The Greek governor, named Romain, under pretence of making a sortie, passed the walls withhis troops, and arranged them in order of battle in front of theMussulman army. At the moment when he should have given the signal forthe onset, the valiant Greek demanded an interview with Kaled. The twocommanders, therefore, advanced into the centre of the space whichseparated the opposing armies. Romain declared to the Saracen generalthat he had determined not only to deliver the city to him, but toembrace the religion of the crescent; he at the same time expressed afear that his soldiers, among whom he was by no means popular, intendedto take his life, and intreated Kaled to protect him against theirvengeance. 

"The best thing you can do, " replied the Moslem leader, "is immediatelyto accept a challenge to a single combat with me. Such an exhibitionof courage will gain for you the respect of your troops, and we cantreat together afterward!"

{207}

At these words, without waiting for a reply from the governor, thechampion of Islamism drew his cimeter and attacked the unfortunateRomain, who defended himself with a trembling hand. At each blowinflicted by the redoubtable follower of the Prophet, Remain cried out, "Do you then wish to kill me?" "No, " replied the Mussulman; "my onlyobject is, to load you with honour; the more you are beaten, the moreesteem you will acquire!" At last, when he had nearly deprived thepoor Greek of life, Kaled gave up the contest, and shortly after tookpossession of the city: when he next saw the pusillanimous governor, hepolitely inquired after his health. 

C, page 30. 

_The warlike tribes of the Bereberes, &c. _

The name of the portion of Africa called _Barbary_ is derived from theBereberes. This people regarded themselves, with much appearance oftruth, as the descendants of those Arabs who originally came into thecountry with Malek Yarfric, and who are often confounded with theancient Numidians. Their language, which differs from that of everyother people, is, in the opinion of some authors, a corruption of thePunic or Carthaginian. Divided into tribes and wandering among themountains, this peculiar race still exists in the kingdom of Morocco. The Bereberes were never allied with the Moors, for whom they alwaysentertained a feeling of enmity. Though at present under the dominionof the kings of Morocco as their religious head, they brave hisdispleasure and authority at will. They are formidable in consequenceof their numbers, courage, and indomitable spirit of independence; andstill preserve unimpaired the peculiar simplicity of their ancientmanners and habits. 

{208}

D, page 34. 

_Tarik, one of the most renowned captains of his time, &c. _

Tarik landed at the dot of the Calpe Mountain, and took the city ofHerculia, to which the Arabs gave the name of _Djebel Tarik_, of whichwe have made Gibraltar. 

E, page 38. 

_During the remainder of the Caliphate of Yezid II. , &c. _

This caliph, the ninth of the Ommiades, ended his existence in a mannerthat at least merits pity. He was amusing himself one day withthrowing grapes at his favourite female slave, who caught them in hermouth. This fruit, it must be remembered, is much larger in Syria thanin Europe. Unfortunately, one of the grapes passed into the throat ofthe slave and instantly suffocated her. The despairing Yezid would notpermit the interment of this dearest object of his affections, andwatched incessantly beside the corpse for eight successive days. Beingcompelled at last, by the condition of the body, to separate himselffrom it, he died of grief, entreating, as he expired, that his remainsmight be interred in the same tomb with his beloved Hubabah. 

SECOND EPOCH. 

A, page 46. 

_He was soon after assassinated, &c. _

Three Karagites (a name applied to a pre-eminently fanatical sect ofMussulmans), beholding the disorders created in the Arabian empire bythe contentions of Ali, Moavias, and {209} Amrou, believed that theyshould perform a service that would be acceptable to God, and restorepeace to their country, by simultaneously assassinating the threerivals. One of them repaired to Damascus, and wounded the usurperMoavias in the back; but the wound did not prove mortal. Theconfederate charged with the murder of Amrou, stabbed, by mistake, oneof the friends of that rebel. The third, who had undertaken todespatch Ali, struck him as he was about to enter the mosque, and thevirtuous caliph was the only one who fell a victim to the design of theassassins. 

B, page 48. 

_Mervan II. , the last caliph of the race, &c. _

This Ommiade was surnamed _Alhemar_, that is to say, _The Ass_: anappellation which, in the East, is considered highly honourable, fromthe singular regard there entertained for that patient andindefatigable animal. Ariosto derived his touching episode of Isabellaof Gallicia from the history of this prince. Mervan, being at one timein Egypt, became enamoured of a religious recluse whom he chanced tosee there, and endeavoured to persuade her to break her monastic vows. Effectually to relieve herself from his persecutions, the young devoteepromised him an ointment which would render him invulnerable, andvolunteered to prove its efficacy on her own person. After havinganointed her neck with the mixture, she requested the caliph to testthe keenness of his cimeter on it, which the barbarian did; and theresult may be easily imagined. 

C, page 48. 

_The names of Haroun al Raschid, &c. _

Haroun al Raschid (which signifies Haroun the Just) was {210} greatlyrenowned in the East. He undoubtedly, in part, owed his fame, as wellas his surname, to the protection he afforded to men of letters. Hismilitary exploits and his love of science prove this caliph to havebeen no ordinary man; but then the glory of his achievements wastarnished by his cruelty to the Barmacides. These were a distinguishedtribe or family, descended from the ancient kings of Persia. They hadrendered the most signal services to the successive caliphs, and wonthe respect and affection of the whole empire. Giaffar Barmacide, whowas considered the most virtuous of Mussulmans and the most eminentauthor of the age, was the vizier of Haroun. He entertained apassionate regard for Abassa, the beautiful and accomplished sister ofthe caliph, and the princess reciprocated his affection; but thesovereign made the most unreasonable opposition to the celebration oftheir nuptials. This they effected, however, without his knowledge;and for some time Haroun remained ignorant of the union of the lovers. But, at the end of some years, the caliph made a pilgrimage to Mecca, to which city, the more effectually to secure the inviolability of hissecret, the Bermacide had sent his infant son to be reared. There therepresentative of the Prophet, through the instrumentality of aperfidious slave, became acquainted with all the circumstances of thedeception that had been practised on him. It would be difficult tobelieve the account of what followed, but that the facts were so wellauthenticated throughout Asia. Haroun caused his sister to be throwninto a well, commanded that Giaffar should lose his head, and orderedevery relative of the unfortunate Bermacide to be put to death. Thefather of the vizier, a venerable old man, respected throughout theempire, which he had long governed, met his fate with the most heroicfirmness. Before he expired, he wrote these {211} words to thesanguinary despot: "_The accused departs first; the accuser willshortly follow. Both will appear in the presence of a Judge whom noarguments can deceive!_"

The implacable Haroun carried his vengeance so far as to forbid thatany one should mention the names of his hapless victims. One of hissubjects, named Mundir, had the courage to brave this edict, andpublicly to pronounce the eulogy of the beloved Bermacides. 

The tyrant commanded that the offending Mussulman should appear beforehim, and threatened him with punishment for what he had done. 

"You can silence me only by inflicting death upon me!" replied Mundir:"that you have the power of doing; but you cannot extinguish thegratitude entertained by the whole empire for those virtuous ministers:even the ruins you have made of the monuments which they erected, speakof their fame in spite of you!" It is said that the monarch wastouched by the words of this fearless defender of the dead, and that hecommanded a golden plate to be presented to him. 

Such was the famous caliph who bore the name of _the Just_. Almamon, his son, received no surname; but he deserved to be ranked with thewisest and the most virtuous of men. Some idea of his character may beformed from the following anecdote. It is recorded of him, that hisviziers urged him to punish with death one of his relations who hadtaken arms against him, and caused himself to be proclaimed caliph. Almamon, however, rejected this sanguinary counsel, saying at the sametime, "Alas! if they who have injured me, knew how much pleasure Iexperience in forgiving my enemies, they would hasten to appear beforeme to confess their faults!" This excellent prince was the munificent{212} patron of science and the arts, and his reign formed the mostbrilliant epoch of the glorious days of the Arabs. 

D, page 54. 

_Wars with the kings of Leon, and incursions into Catalonia, &c. _

Historians do not agree concerning the precise period when Charlemagneentered Spain. It would appear, however, that it was during the reignof Abderamus that the emperor crossed the Pyrenees, took Pampeluna andSaragossa, and was attacked, during his retreat, in the defiles ofRoncevaux, a place rendered famous in romantic literature by the deathof Roland. 

E, page 59. 

_A government that properly respected the rights of the people, &c. _

The ancient laws of Aragon, known under the name of _Fore de Sobarbe_, limited the power of the sovereign by creating a balance for it in thatof the _ricos Hombres_, and of a magistrate who bore the name ofJustice. 

F, page 60. 

_The celebrated school, &c. _

The musical school, founded at Cordova by Ali-Zeriab, produced thefamous Moussali, who was regarded by the Orientals as the greatestmusician of his time. The music of the Moors did not consist, likeours, in the concord of different instruments, but simply in soft andtender airs, which the musicians sung to the accompaniment of the lute. Sometimes several voices and lutes executed the same air in unison. This simple style of music satisfied a people who were {213} suchpassionate lovers of poetry, that their first desire, when listening toa singer, was to hear the words he uttered. 

Moussali, who was the pupil of Ali-Zeriab at Cordova, became afterward, in consequence of his musical talents, the favourite of Haroun alRaschid, the celebrated caliph of the East. It is related that thisprince, in consequence of a misunderstanding with one of his favouritewives, fell into such a slate of melancholy that fears were entertainedfor his life. Giaffar, the Bermacide, at that time the principalvizier of the caliph, entreated the poet Abbas-ben-Ahnaf to composesome verses on the subject of this quarrel. He did so, and they weresung in the presence of the prince by Moussali; and the royal lover wasso softened by the sentiments of the poet and the melody of themusician, that he immediately flew to the feet of his fair enslaver, and a reconciliation took place between the disconsolate monarch andthe offended beauty. The grateful slave sent twenty thousand drachmsof gold to the poet and Moussali, and Haroun added forty thousand moreto her gift. 

G, page 66. 

_The statue of the beautiful Zahra, &c. _

Mohammed, to discourage idolatry, forbade his followers, in the Koran, to make images in any form; but this injunction was very imperfectlyobserved. The Oriental caliphs adopted the custom of stamping theircoins with an impression of their own features, as is proved byspecimens still existing in the collections of the curious. On oneside of these was represented the head of the reigning caliph, and onthe other appeared his name, with some passages from the Alcoran. Inthe palaces of Bagdad, Cordova and Grenada, figures of animals, andsculpture of various kinds, both in gold and marble, abounded. 

{214}

H, page 69. 

_The richest and most powerful, &c. _

Some conception of the opulence of the caliphs of the West, during thepalmy days of their prosperity, may be formed from the value of thegifts presented to Abderamus III. By one of his subjects, Abdoumalek-ben-Chien, on the occasion of his being appointed to thedignity of chief vizier. The articles composing this present are thusenumerated: Four hundred pounds of virgin gold; four hundred and twentythousand sequins, in the form of ingots of silver; four hundred andtwenty pounds of the wood of aloes; five hundred ounces of ambergris;three hundred ounces of camphor; thirty pieces of silk and cloth ofgold; ten robes of the sable fur of Korassan; one hundred others, ofless valuable fur; forty-eight flowing housings for steeds; a thousandbucklers; a hundred thousand arrows; gold tissues, from Bagdad; fourthousand pounds of silk; thirty Persian carpets; eight hundred suits ofarmour for war horses; fifteen Arabian coursers for the caliph; ahundred for the use of his officers; twenty mules, saddled andcaparisoned; forty youths and twenty young maidens, of rare beauty. 

I, page 81. 

About this time occurred the famous adventure of the seven sons ofLara, so celebrated in Spanish history and romance, and of which, as insome degree connected with Moorish history, we may briefly narrate theparticulars. 

These young warriors were brothers, the sons of Gonzalvo Gustos, a nearrelative of the first counts of Castile, and lords of Salas de Lara. Ruy Velasquez, brother-in-law of Gonzalvo Gustos, instigated by hiswife, who pretended to {215} have some cause of offence against theyoungest of the seven brothers, meditated the execution of a horriblescheme for their destruction. Ho commenced by sending their fatherGonzalvo on an embassy to the court of Cordova, making him, at the sametime, the bearer of letters, in which he prayed the caliph to put theenvoy to death, as the enemy of the crescent and its followers. TheMussulman sovereign, being unwilling to commit so barbarous an act, contented himself with retaining Gonzalvo as a prisoner. In the meantime, the perfidious Velasquez, under pretence of conducting an attackagainst the Moors, led his nephews into the midst of an ambuscade, where, overpowered by numbers, they all perished, after a most heroicdefence, accompanied by circumstances which render their end trulyaffecting. The barbarous uncle sent the gory heads of the murderedyouths to the royal palace of Cordova, and caused them to be presentedto the unhappy father, in a golden dish covered with a veil. No soonerdid Gonzalvo behold the ghastly contents of the dish, than he fell tothe earth, deprived of sense. The Caliph of the West, filled withindignation at the demoniac cruelty of Velasquez, restored his captiveto liberty. But the foe of his race was too powerful to permit thechildless Gonzalvo to avenge the murder of his offspring. Heattempted, indeed, to do so; but old age had deprived him of his formerstrength and vigour. With his wife, therefore, he mourned in solitudeover the untimely fate of his sons, and entreated Heaven to permit himto follow them to the tomb: but a champion of his cause unexpectedlyarose in the person of an illegitimate son of Gonzalvo's at the Moorishcourt. When this boy had attained the age of twelve years, he wasinformed of his parentage by his mother, who was the sister of thesovereign of Cordova, and of the wrongs which his father had suffered. 

{216}

The heroic youth, who bore the name of _Mendarra Gonzalvo_, resolved tobecome the avenger of his brothers. Hastening to execute his purpose, he left Cordova, challenged Valasquez, and slew him. Cutting off thehead of his father's foe, he sought with his burden the presence of theold man, demanded to be acknowledged as his son, and admitted into theChristian church. The wife of Gonzalvo joyfully consented to receivethe brave Mendarra as her son, and he was solemnly adopted by thevenerable pair. The wife of Velasquez, who, it will be remembered, hadinstigated the ferocious uncle to his murderous deed, was stoned todeath and afterward burned. It is from this valiant Mendarra Gonzalvothat the Mauriques de Lara, one of the most important Spanish families, seek to trace their descent. 

THIRD EPOCH. 

A, page 86. 

_Three bishops of Catalonia, &c. _

These three bishops of Catalonia, who died fighting for the Mussulmansat the battle of Albakara, which took place in the year 1010, wereArnaulpha, bishop of Vic; Accia, bishop of Barcelona; and Othon, bishopof Girona. 

B, page 91. 

_And equally ready, when enjoying the favour of the sovereign, todisplease him, if it should be necessary to do so, &c. _

RODRIGUE DIAS DE BIVAR, surnamed _the Cid_, so well known by hisaffection for Chimena and his duel with the Count Gormas, has been thesubject of many poems, novels {217} and romances in the Spanish tongue. Without crediting all the extraordinary adventures ascribed to thishero by his countrymen, it is proved by the testimony of reputablehistorians, that the Cid was not only the bravest and most dreadedwarrior of his time, but one of the most virtuous and generous of men. De Bivar was already famed for his exploits while Castile was stillunder the dominion of Ferdinand I. When the successor of that monarch, Sancho II. , endeavoured to despoil his sister Uraque of the city ofZamora, this champion of the oppressed, with noble firmness, represented to the king that he was about being guilty of an act ofinjustice, by which he would violate, at the same time, the laws ofhonour and the ties of blood. The offended Sancho exiled the Cid, butwas soon after obliged by necessity to recall him. When thetreacherous assassination of Sancho, while encamped before Zamora, entitled his brother Alphonso to the throne, the Castilians wereanxious that their new sovereign should disavow, by a solemn oath, having had any agency in the murder of his brother. No one dareddemand of the king to take this oath except the Cid, who constrainedhim to pronounce it aloud at the same altar where his coronation wascelebrated; adding, at the same time, the most fearful maledictionsagainst perjury. Alphonso never forgave the liberty thus taken withhim, and soon after banished the Spanish hero from court, underpretence of his having trespassed on the territories of an ally ofCastile, the King of Toledo, into whose dominions the Cid hadinadvertently pursued some fugitives from justice. 

The period of his exile became the most glorious epoch in the historyof the Chevalier de Bivar: it was then that he achieved so manytriumphs over the Moors, aided solely by the brave companions in armswhom his reputation drew to his standard. After a time Alphonsorecalled the Cid, and {218} received him into apparent favour; butRodrigo was too candid long to enjoy the royal smiles. Banished fromcourt anew, he hastened to accomplish the conquest of Valencia; andmaster of that strong city, with many others, and of a territory ofgreat extent, to make the Cid a monarch it was only necessary that hehimself should desire it. But the noble Spaniard never for a momentindulged the wish, and ever continued the faithful subject of theungrateful and often-offending Alphonso. 

This celebrated hero died at Valencia A. D. 1099, crowned with years andhonours. He had but one son, and of him he was early deprived bydeath. The two daughters of the Cid espoused princes of the house ofNavarre; and, through a long succession of alliances, formed at lengththe root whence is derived the present royal race of Bourbons. 

C, page 92. 

_More ferocious and sanguinary than the lions of their deserts, &c. _

The history of Africa, during the period referred to in the text, isbut a narrative of one continued succession of the most atrociousmurders. Were we to judge of humanity by these sanguinary annals, weshould be tempted to believe, that, of all ferocious animals, man isthe most bloodthirsty and cruel. 

Amid the multitude of these African tyrants, there was one, of the raceof the _Aglhebites_, named _Abon Ishak_, who was particularlydistinguished for the demoniac barbarity of his character. Havingbutchered eight of his brothers, he next indulged his horrid thirst forblood in the sacrifice of his own offspring. The mother of thismonster succeeded with difficulty in preserving from his fury a part ofhis family. One {219} day, while dining with Ishak, upon hisexpressing some feeling of momentary regret that he had no morechildren, his mother tremblingly ventured to confess that she hadpreserved the lives of six of his daughters. The sanguinary wretchappeared softened, and expressed a desire to see them. When they weresummoned to his presence, their youth and loveliness touched theferocious father; and while Ishak lavished caresses upon his innocentchildren, his mother retired, with tears of joy, to render thanks toHeaven for this apparent change in the temper of her son. An hourafterward, a eunuch brought her, by order of the emperor, the heads ofthe young princesses. 

It would be easy to cite other parallel deeds, attested by historians, which were perpetrated by this execrable monster. Suffice it to say, he escaped the violent death due to such a life, and long maintainedhis hateful rule. 

Time has not softened the sanguinary ferocity, which seems like aninherent vice produced by the climate of Africa. Mulei-Abdalla, thefather of Sidi Mohammed, the recent king of Morocco, renewed thesescenes of horror. One day, while crossing a river, he was on the pointof drowning, when one of his negroes succeeded in rescuing him from thewaves. The slave expressed his delight at having had the good fortuneto serve his master. His words were heard by Abdalla, who, drawing hiscimeter, and crying, "Behold an infidel, who supposes that God requiredhis assistance in preserving the life of an emperor, " instantly struckoff the head of his preserver. 

This same monarch had a confidential domestic who had been long in hisservice, and for whom the savage Abdalla appeared to entertain someaffection. In a moment of good-nature he entreated this aged servantto accept two thousand ducats at his hand and leave his service, lesthe should be {220} seized with an irrepressible desire to kill him, ashe had so many others. The old man clung to the feet of the king, refused the two thousand ducats, and assured him that he preferredperishing by his hand rather than abandon so beloved a master. Mulei, with some hesitation, consented to retain his aged servant. Some daysafterward, impelled by that thirst for blood whose impulses weresometimes uncontrollable, and without the slightest provocation to thedeed, the fiendish despot struck the unfortunate man dead at his feet, saying, at the same moment, that he had been a fool not to accept hispermission to leave him. 

It is painful to relate these shocking details; but they present a truepicture of the character of these African sovereigns, while theyinspire us with a horror of tyranny, and a veneration for therestraints of civilization and law, so indispensable to the well-beingof every community. 

D, page 98. 

_And possessed the united glory of having both enlightened, &c. _

Averroes belonged to one of the first families in Cordova. His versionof the writings of Aristotle was translated into Latin, and was for along time the only translation of the works of that author. The otherproductions of Averroes are still esteemed by the learned. He isjustly regarded as the chief of the Arabic philosophers: a class of mennot numerous in a nation abounding in prophets and conquerors. Theprinciples he entertained exposed him to much persecution. Hisindifference to the religious creed of his countrymen excited theenmity of the imans or priests against him, and afforded a pretext forthe animosity of all whom his genius inspired with envy. He wasaccused of heresy before the {221} Emperor of Morocco; and thepunishment decreed against him was, that he should do homage at thedoor of the mosque, while every true Mussulman who came thither to prayfor his conversion should spit in his face. He submitted patiently tothe humiliating infliction, merely repeating the words _Moriatur animamea morte philosophorum_ (_Let me die the death of a philosopher_). 

E, page 106. 

_And broke the chains, &c. _

This King of Navarre was Sancho VIII. , surnamed _the Strong_. It wasin commemoration of the chains broken by him at the battle of Tolozathat Sancho added the chains of gold to the arms of Navarre, which arestill to be seen on the field of gules. 

F, page 111. 

_Cousin-german of St. Lewis, &c. _

Blanche, the mother of St. Lewis, was the daughter of Alphonso theNoble of Castile. She had a sister named Beringira, who became thewife of the King of Leon, and the mother of Ferdinand III. Severalhistorians, among others Mariana and Garibai, maintain that Blanche wasolder than Beringira. If it were so, St. Lewis was the rightful heirto the throne of Castile. France long asserted the pretensions thuscreated. It is surprising that historians have not settled thisdisputed point. One thing, however, is certain: the claims ofFerdinand, sustained as they were by the partiality of the Castilians, prevailed over those of his cousin. 

{222}

FOURTH EPOCH. 

A, page 132. 

_Alphonso the Sage, &c. _

Alphonso the Sage was a great astronomer: his _Alphonsine Tables_ provethat the happiness of his people occupied his attention as much, atleast, as his literary pursuits. It is in this collection that thisremarkable sentence occurs--remarkable when it is considered that itexpresses the sentiments of a monarch of the thirteenth century: "_Thedespot uproots the tree: the wise sovereign prunes it. _"

B, page 135. 

_In the hope of being elected emperor, &c. _

ALPHONSO THE SAGE was elected Emperor of Germany in the year twelvehundred and fifty-seven: but he was at too great a distance from thatcountry, and too much occupied at home, to be able to support hisclaims to the imperial throne. Sixteen years afterward, however, hemade a voyage to Lyons, where Pope Gregory X. Then was, to advocate hisrights before that dignitary. But the sovereign pontiff decided infavour of Rodolph of Hapsburg, a scion of the house of Austria. 

C, page 136. 

_Sancho reigned in his father's stead, &c. _

This Sancho, surnamed _the Brave_, who took up arms against his fatherand afterward obtained his throne, was the second son of Alphonso theSage. His elder brother, Ferdinand de la Cerda, a mild and virtuousprince, died in the {223} flower of his age, leaving two infant sons, the offspring of his marriage with Blanche, the daughter of St. Lewisof France. It was to deprive these children of their reversionaryright to the crown of Castile that the ambitious Sancho made war uponhis father. He succeeded in his criminal designs; but the princes ofLa Cerda, protected by France and Aragon, rallied around them all themalecontents of Castile, and the claims they were thus enabled tosupport long formed a pretext or occasion for the most bloodydissensions. 

D, page 149. 

_Ferdinand IV. , surnamed the Summoned, &c. _

Ferdinand IV. , the son and successor of Sancho the Brave, was still inhis infancy when he succeeded to the throne. His minority wasovershadowed by impending clouds; but the power and influence of QueenMary, his mother, enabled her eventually to dissipate the dangers whichthreatened the safety of her son. This prince obtained his appellationof _the Summoned_ from the following circumstance. Actuated byfeelings of strong indignation, Ferdinand commanded that two brothers, named Carvajal, who had been accused, but not convicted, of the crimeof assassination, should be precipitated from a rocky precipice. Boththe supposed criminals, in their last moments, asserted their innocenceof the crime alleged against them, appealed to Heaven and the laws toverify the truth of their protestations, and summoned the passionateFerdinand to appear before the Great Judge of all men at the end ofthirty days. At the precise time thus indicated, the Castilian king, who was marching against the Moors, retired for repose after dinner, and was found dead upon his couch. The Spaniards attributed thissudden death to the effects of Divine justice. It had been well if the{224} monarchs who succeeded Ferdinand, Peter the Cruel in particular, had been convinced of the truth of this sentiment. 

E, page 149. 

_Retiring within the walls of Tariffe, &c. _

After Sancho the Brave became master of Tariffe, it was besieged by theAfricans. It was during this siege that Alphonso de Guzman, theSpanish governor of the city, exhibited an example of invinciblefirmness and self-command, of which none but parents can form a justestimate. The son of De Guzman was taken prisoner during a sortie. The Africans conducted their captive to the walls, and threatened thegovernor with his immolation unless the city should be immediatelysurrendered. The undaunted Spaniard replied only by hurling a poniardat his enemies, and retired from the battlements. In a moment loudcries burst from the garrison. Hastily demanding the cause of thisalarm, the unhappy father was told that the Africans had put to deathhis son. "God be praised, " said he, "I thought that the city had beentaken!"

F, page 158. 

_The celebrated Inez de Castro, &c. _

The passion of Peter the Cruel for Inez de Castro was carried to suchexcess as, perhaps, in some degree, to account for the atrocity of hisrevenge upon her murderers. These were three distinguished Portugueselords, who themselves stabbed the unfortunate Inez in the arms of herwomen. Peter, who, at the time this barbarous deed was committed, hadnot yet attained regal power, seemed from that period to lose allcommand of himself: from being gentle and virtuous, he became ferociousand almost insane. He openly rebelled against his father, carried fireand sword into those {225} parts of the kingdom in which the domains ofthe assassins of Inez were situated, and, when he afterward came intopossession of the crown, insisted that the King of Castile shoulddeliver up Gonzales and Coello, two of the guilty noblemen, who hadtaken refuge at his court. Thus master of the persons of two of hisvictims (the third had fled into France, where he died), Petersubjected them to the most dreadful tortures. He caused their heartsto be torn out while they were yet living, and assisted himself at thishorrible sacrifice. After thus glutting his vengeance, theinconsolable lover exhumed the body of his murdered mistress, clothedit in magnificent habiliments, and, placing his crown upon the lividand revolting brow, proclaimed Inez de Castro queen of Portugal;compelling, at the same time, the grandees of his court to do homage tothe insensible remains which he had invested with the attributes ofroyalty. 

G, page 161. 

_Most of the productions of the Grenadian authors, &c. _

After the surrender of Grenada, Cardinal Ximenes caused every copy ofthe Koran of which he could obtain possession to be burned. Theignorant and superstitious soldiery mistook for that work everythingwritten in the Arabic language, and committed to the flames a multitudeof compositions both in prose and verse. 

H, page 178. 

_The Abencerrages, &c. _

The inhabitants of Grenada, and, indeed, the whole Moorish people, weredivided into tribes, composed of the different branches of the samefamily. Some of these tribes were more numerous and important thanothers: but two distinct {226} races were never united together, norwas one of them ever divided. At the head of each of these tribes wasa chief who was descended in a direct male line from the originalfounder of the family. In the city of Grenada there existed thirty-twoconsiderable tribes. The most important of these were theAbencerrages, the Zegris, the Alcenabez, the Almorades, the Vanegas, the Gomeles, the Abidbars, the Gauzuls, the Abenamars, the Aliatars, the Reduans, the Aldoradins, etc. These separate races were, many ofthem, at enmity with each other; and their animosity being perpetuatedfrom one generation to another, gave rise to the frequent civil warswhich were attended with such disastrous consequences to the nation atlarge. 

I, page 198

_His humane injunctions respecting almsgiving, &c. _

Almsgiving is one of the leading principles of the Mohammedan religion. It was enjoined upon the followers of the Prophet by a variety ofallegories, among which is the following: "The sovereign Judge shall, at the last great day, entwine him who has not bestowed alms with afrightful serpent, whose envenomed sting shall for ever pierce theavaricious hand that never opened for the relief of the unfortunate!"

{227}

A BRIEF ACCOUNT

OF THE

RISE AND DECLINE

OF THE

MOHAMMEDAN EMPIRE;

THE LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND RELIGION OF THE ARABS;

AND THE PRESENT CONDITION OF MOHAMMEDANISM

{229}

A

BRIEF ACCOUNT

OF THE

MOHAMMEDAN EMPIRE. 

CHAPTER I. 

Extent of the Arabian Empire. --Causes which led to thatextent. --Continuance of Mohammedanism. --Decay of the Empire. --What ledto it. --Spain revolts and sets up a separateCaliph. --Africa. --Egypt. --Bagdad. --Fall of the House of the Abbassides. 

The first battle in which the Arabs tried their power against thedisciplined forces of the Roman empire was the battle of Muta. Thoughon that occasion they were successful, the most sanguine could not haveventured to predict that, before the close of a century, their empirewould become more extensive than any that had ever before existed. Yetsuch was the fact. It overthrew the power of the Romans, and renderedthe successors of the Prophet the mightiest and most absolutesovereigns on earth. 

Under the last monarch of the Ommiade race, {230} the Arabian empire, excepting only an obscure part of Africa, of little account, embraced acompact territory equal to six months' march of a caravan in length andfour in breadth, with innumerable tributary and dependant states. Inthe exercise of their power, the caliphs were fettered neither bypopular rights, the votes of a senate, nor constitutional laws: theKoran was, indeed, their professed rule of action; but, inasmuch asthey alone were its interpreters, their will was in all cases law. Theloss of Spain to the empire was more than made up by conquests inIndia, Tartary, and European Turkey. Samarcand and Timbuctoo studiedwith equal devotion the language and religion of the Koran, and at thetemple of Mecca the Moor and the Indian met as brother pilgrims. Throughout the countries west of the Tigris, the language of Arabiabecame the vehicle of popular intercourse; and, although in Persia, Tartary, and Hindostan the native dialects continued in common use, theArabic was also there the sacred tongue. 

We will advert to some of the causes which led to this astonishingsuccess. The leading article of the Mohammedan faith, the unity ofGod, harmonized with what Jews and Christians universally believed. Mohammed propounded this doctrine, by excluding the Deity of JesusChrist, so as {231} to fall in with the views of the greater number ofthe Christian sectaries. He moreover enjoined practices which, in thethen corrupt state of religion, were beginning widely to prevail. Tothe untutored mind of the desert wanderer, his doctrine would thuspossess all the attractiveness he might have heard ascribed toChristianity, while his being of the same country would secure for himthe greater attention. Systems in which truth and error have beencombined are by no means unwillingly received, especially by those whoare already superstitious and fanatical, and such was pre-eminently thecharacter of the Arabians. Mohammed's religious, moral, and juridicalsystem was in general accordance with Asiatic opinions; it provided aparadise exactly suited to the imagination and taste of the Orientals;and, as the superstitious are always more powerfully influenced by thatwhich awakens apprehension and appeals to fear than by what enkindleshope, his hell contributed even more than his heaven to multiplydisciples. 

Still, had no resort been had to arms, the Mohammedan faith would inall probability have been confined to the deserts of Arabia. The wholeof Asia was at that time in a state of unprecedented militaryinactivity, and opportunity was thus afforded for the success of hisenterprise. Empires {232} were tottering and powerless; politicalwisdom had almost disappeared; and to military talents and courage theArabs alone could make any pretensions. Previous contentions betweenthe Persian and Byzantine empires had entirely destroyed what littleremains of internal vigour those governments might otherwise havepossessed. Civil revolts, tyranny, extortion, sensuality, and sloth, had annihilated the ambition of universal rule which the Greek andRoman governments had once cherished; and their provinces, neglected oroppressed, became an easy prey to the Moslem power. 

The nations were the more rapidly subdued, since to the indomitableferocity of the desert wanderer the Saracens added those other featureswhich complete a warlike character. They despised death, and wereself-denying and energetic to a degree far beyond the soldiers ofcivilized countries, while they were scarcely less familiar with themilitary art. The lieutenants of the caliphs soon vied with the Romangenerals in skill; and it is by no means difficult to explain theiralmost uniform superiority, when we bear in mind the character of thearmies they respectively commanded. Terror, moreover, is epidemic; anda force already successful commonly finds its victorious progressgreatly aided by the prevailing notion of its prowess. Thus we havewitnessed, {233} in the wars of more disciplined troops, the tremendouseffect of a name alone. 

It may be added, also, that the Saracen success is greatly attributableto that ardent and impetuous spirit of religious enthusiasm with whichthey fought. They deemed their cause the cause of God; heaven, theywere persuaded, was engaged in their behalf; every one who fell intheir wars was a martyr; and cowardice was tantamount to apostacy. 

The religious ardour of the Crusaders, in the eleventh and twelfthcenturies, to exterminate Mohammedanism, did not exceed, if it evenequalled, that of the Arab soldiers by whom that system had beenoriginally propagated. Whatever secular principles and ambitioninfluenced them, they took credit for fighting in the support of truthand virtue. The sword and the Koran were equally the companions andthe instruments of their wars. "The circumstance, " says Paley, in hisadmirable exhibition of the Evidences of Christianity, [1] "thatMohammed's conquests should carry his religion along with them, willexcite little surprise when we know the conditions which he proposed tothe vanquished: death or conversion was the only choice offered toidolaters. To the Jews and Christians was left the somewhat milder{234} alternative of subjection and tribute if they persisted in theirown religion, or of an equal participation of the rights and liberties, the honours and privileges of the faithful if they embraced thereligion of their conquerors. "

Literature, in the days of Mohammed, was as little regarded as was pureand practical Christianity. His followers everywhere met with anignorant and easily deluded people. Both the monuments of science andthe means of freedom had been abolished by the barbarians of the North. Philosophy and the liberal arts found no patrons among indolent andluxurious emperors and nobles. Superstition, therefore, naturally tookpossession of the minds of men, and, as neither fears nor hopes weremoderated by knowledge, idle, preposterous, and unnecessary ceremonieseasily obtained currency. Mohammed merely changed one set ofceremonies for another; and in this there was little difficulty, since, in the almost universal darkness of mankind, terror and credulityeverywhere prevailed. 

The continuance of the religion of Mohammed in countries after the Arabdominion over them had ceased, may be also easily accounted for. "Everything in Asia is a matter of regulation; and freedom of opinionbeing but little permitted or encouraged in the despotic governments ofthe {235} East, Mohammedanism, when once received, became stationary. The human code is mingled with the divine, and the ideas of change andprofanation are inseparable. As the unsettling of the political andsocial fabric might ensue from a change of modes of faith, all classesof men are interested in preserving the national religion. " [2]Besides this, in their own nature religious doctrines are morepermanent in their hold than forms of civil government: it may bequestioned, for in stance, whether, whatever civil changes Scotlandmight undergo, Presbyterianism would ever cease to be the prevalentfaith of its inhabitants. A people may, with the overthrow of usurpedcivil power, return to their ancient religion, whatever it is: but whenonce a religion has become, so to speak, indigenous, it is likely to bepermanent. Such is the religion of the Koran both in Asia and Africa. 

The elements of political weakness and decay soon began to be developedin the chief seat of the Saracen empire. In the earliest days of thecaliphate, after the accession of the Ommiade dynasty, the princes ofDamascus were regarded as the heads of the Moslem faith; while thegovernors of Arabia successively obtained, as to civil rule, theirindependence. To this the widely-extended wars in which the caliphswere engaged no doubt {236} contributed. Other provinces followed theexample; and, as the empire enlarged, the remoteness and degeneracy ofthe Syrian court encouraged the governors to assume to themselveseverything except the name of king, and to render their dignitieshereditary. All the provinces were nominally connected with the empireby the payment of tribute; but means were easily devised to withholdthis, under pretence of prosecuting the wars of the caliph, thoughreally to strengthen his rebellious deputies against him. If in thiswe discover a want of efficiency in the government, we need not besurprised: the systems of the Macedonian hero and of the Romanconquerors were equally defective; and perhaps we should attribute suchdeficiency to a wise and beneficent arrangement of Providence, which, that oppression may never become permanent and universal, permits notany empire for a very long time to hold dominion over countriesdissimilar in their habits and character and independent of each other. 

To the establishment of these separate states, the luxury andeffeminacy of the court at Damascus in no small degree contributed. Inthe early periods of the caliphate, simplicity and charity chieflydistinguished their rulers; but, as the wealth and power of theSaracens increased, they imitated the splendour and magnificence of themonarchs of Persia {237} and Greece. Abulfeda says of the court in theyear 917: "The Caliph Moctadi's whole army, both horse and foot, wereunder arms, which together made a body of one hundred and sixtythousand men. His state officers stood near him in the most splendidapparel, their belts shining with gold and gems. Near them were seventhousand black and white eunuchs. The porters or doorkeepers were innumber seven hundred. Barges and boats, with the most superbdecorations, were swimming on the Tigris. Nor was the palace itselfless splendid, in which were hung thirty-eight thousand pieces oftapestry, twelve thousand five hundred of which were of silkembroidered with gold. The carpets on the floor were twenty-twothousand. A hundred lions were brought out, with a keeper to eachlion. Among the other spectacles of rare and stupendous luxury was atree of gold and silver, which opened itself into eighteen largerbranches, upon which and the other smaller branches sat birds of everysort, made also of gold and silver. The tree glittered with leaves ofthe same metals; and while its branches, through machinery, appeared tomove of themselves, the several birds upon them warbled their naturalnotes. "

When, moreover, decline had once commenced, its progress wasaccelerated by the means taken {238} to arrest it. After the regulartroops had been corrupted by faction, the caliphs, for the defence oftheir person and government, formed a militia; but the soldierscomposing this force, not unfrequently foreigners, soon governed with amilitary despotism similar to that of the janizaries of Turkey, theMamelukes of Egypt, or the praetorian guards of Rome; and, in additionto these causes of decay, a furious spirit of sectarianism tore asunderthe very strength and heart of the empire. The colossal power of thesuccessors of Mohammed, suddenly towering to its awful height, almostas suddenly fell, as if to yield more perfect confirmation of thetruth, that all earthly things are destined to pass away, while theword of the living God abideth for ever. 

Spain, as has been seen, was the first distant province of the Arabianempire which succeeded in separating itself and setting up anindependent caliph. As this country had been brought under the Moslemyoke by means chiefly furnished from the northern states of Africa, itsindependence was likely to produce a corresponding effect upon thosestates. They were governed in the name of the Bagdad caliphs; but fornearly a century they had been growing into independence, under rulersusually known, from the name of their progenitor, as the Aglabitedynasty. Early in the ninth century, {239} the throne of Mauritania, Massilia, and Carthage was seized by Obeidollah, whose successorsassumed the title of Mihidi, or directors of the faithful. Thedistricts of Fez and Tangiers, which had been already wrested from theprinces of Bagdad by the real or pretended posterity of Ali, were soonbrought under his dominion; and, before the end of the tenth century, all acknowledgment of the Abbassidan rule was obliterated by thesuppression of public prayers for the princes of that race. Asuccession of changes distracted the country for some five centuriesafterward; but, about the year 1516, the descendants of Mohammed wereraised to the throne of Morocco, which has been transmitted, withoutinterruption, in the same line, to its present possessors. Moez, thelast of the African princes of the house of Obeidollah, who seems tohave depended for his dominion more on his prowess than on his supposeddescent from Mohammed, [3] transferred his court to Grand Cairo, a citywhich he had built in Egypt after his conquest of that country. Africawas to be held as a fief of this new empire. Large tracts of Syria andthe whole of Palestine acknowledged the {240} supremacy of hisdescendants, commonly known as Fatimites, from their supposedrelationship to Ali, and to Fatima, the Prophet's daughter. Theypossessed also the sovereignty of the Holy Land; against them, therefore, the crusades of Europe were chiefly directed. During theseformidable wars the caliphs of Egypt sought assistance from those ofBagdad; and Noureddin, a prince of that empire, protected them againsttheir Western assailants. The weakness of Egypt, however, came thus tobe known to the crafty and powerful caliphs of Bagdad, and in a shorttime its Asiatic dominions were seized upon by Noureddin and Saladin. As Adhed, the last caliph of Egypt, was dying in the mosque of Cairo, these generals proclaimed Morthadi, the thirty-third caliph of Bagdad, as his successor. Saladin, whose name, from his activity, courage, andsuccess against the crusaders, is better known to the readers ofEuropean history than that of almost any other Mohammedan prince, soonmade himself master of Egypt; but his successors could not maintain thepower he had acquired. The country is now governed by the celebratedMohammed Ali, nominally as viceroy of the Turkish emperor, though he isin reality a sovereign and independent prince. 

The caliphs of the house of Abbas, having built the city of Bagdad soonafter their accession to the {241} throne, transferred thither theircourt and the seat of power. For five centuries they reigned therewith various degrees of authority; but foreign wars and domesticrevolts gradually dissolved the empire, and their dominion at lengthpassed away. Badhi, the twentieth caliph of the race, was "the last, "says Abulfeda, "who harangued the people from the pulpit; who passedthe cheerful hour of leisure with men of learning and taste; whoseexpenses, resources, and treasures, whose table and magnificence, hadany resemblance to those of the ancient caliphs. " "During the nextthree centuries, " says a modern historian of the Arabian empire, "thesuccessors of Mohammed swayed a feeble sceptre. Sometimes their statewas so degraded that they were confined in their palaces likeprisoners, and occasionally were almost reduced to the want ofcorporeal subsistence. The tragic scenes of fallen royalty at lengthwere closed; for, towards the middle of the seventh century of theHegira, the metropolis of Islamism fell into the hands of HoulagouKhan, the grandson of Zenghis Khan, and emperor of the Moguls andTartars, who reigned at that period with absolute and unmixed despotismover every nation of the East. The caliph Mostasem, the thirty-seventhof his house, was murdered under circumstances of peculiar barbarity, and the caliphate of Bagdad {242} expired. Though the dignity andsovereignty of the caliphs were lost by this fatal event, and the soulwhich animated the form had fled, yet the name existed for threecenturies longer in the eighteen descendants of Mostanser Billah, ason, or pretended son, of Daker, the last but one of this race ofprinces. 

"Mostanser Billah and his successors, to the number of eighteen, werecalled the second dynasty of the Abbassides, and were spiritual chiefsof the Mohammedan religion, but without the slightest vestige oftemporal authority. When Selim, emperor of the Turks, conquered Egyptand destroyed the power of the Mamelukes, he carried the caliph, whomhe found there a prisoner, to Constantinople, and accepted from him arenunciation of his ecclesiastical supremacy. On the death of thecaliph, the family of the Abbassides, once so illustrious, and whichhad borne the title of caliph for almost eight hundred years, sunk withhim from obscurity into oblivion. " [4]

[1] Vol. Ii. , Section 3. 

[2] Mills, p. 179. 

[3] When it was demanded of Moez from what branch of Mohammed's familyhe drew his title, "This, " said he, showing his cimeter, "is mypedigree; and these, " throwing gold among his soldiers, "are mychildren. "

[4] Mill's History, 160. 

{243}

CHAPTER II. 

Literature and Science of the Arabs. --Their Facilities for Literary andScientific Pursuits. --Patronage of Literature by the Princes of theHouse of Abbas. --Almamoun. --Arabian Schools. --Eloquence. --Poetry. --TheArabian Tales. --History. --Geography. --SpeculativeSciences. --Astrology. --Mathematical Knowledge of theArabs. --Astronomy. --Architecture. --The FineArts. --Agriculture. --Medicine. --Chymistry. --Our obligations to ArabLiterature. 

The early followers of the Arabian prophet were only enthusiasticmilitary adventurers, subduing in their wide and rapid progress most ofthe nations of the then known world. The lust of power, and successfulmilitary enterprise, are commonly unfavourable to the cultivation ofthe liberal arts, so that a conquering people usually exhibit butlittle taste for science or literature. The Goths and the Huns, forinstance, were among the most implacable foes of knowledge. Nor didthe early Arabs regard it with more favour. Mohammed found hiscountrymen sunk in the deepest barbarism: he was incapable of anydirect effort to raise them; and, from the ruthless destruction of theAlexandrean library by Omar, one of his earliest successors, theyappear not to have been in a much {244} better condition after theclose than at the commencement of his eventful career. 

Their settlement in the countries they had subdued, the unlimitedresources which their wide-spread conquests placed within their reach, and probably the leisure which their almost universal dominionafforded, speedily led to a change in their character in relation toliterary pursuits, of which the more enlightened nations of the Westare still reaping the advantage. It was about the middle of theseventh century that Omar committed the famous library of Alexandrea tothe flames: before the end of the eighth, literature began to enjoy themunificent patronage of the caliphs of the Abbassidan race, whosuperinduced upon the stern fanaticism of the followers of the Prophetthe softening influences of learning; and, by an anomaly in the historyof mankind, the most valuable lessons in science and the arts have beenreceived from a people who pursued with relentless hostility thereligion and liberties of every other nation. 

The Greeks were the most distinguished patrons of literature andscience. Among them philosophy found its earliest home, and the artsare commonly supposed to have sprung up chiefly under their fosteringcare, though modern researches have shown that much of their knowledgewas derived from still more ancient sources. Their {245} philosophy, though greatly improved by them, was borrowed from the mysteries of theEgyptian priests and the Persian magi. Their system of the universe, which made the nearest approach to the more correct discoveries ofmodern times, was previously known to the learned Hindus; and it mayadmit of question whether their whole mythology, allowing for theadditions which a chastened and vivid imagination would make to it, hadnot its prototype in some Asiatic religio-philosophical system. Alearned writer on the erudition of the Asiatics says, that the whole ofthe theology of the Greeks, and part of the philosophy of modernscientific research, may be found in the Hindu Vedas. He adds, "Thatmost subtile spirit which Newton suspected to pervade natural bodies, and to lie concealed in them so as to cause attraction and repulsion, the emission, reflection, and refraction of light, electricity, calefaction, sensation, and muscular motion, is described by the Hindusas a fifth element, endued with those very powers; and the Vedas aboundwith allusions to a force universally attractive, which they chieflyattribute to the sun. " The extension, therefore, of the Arabianvictories over the Eastern world, and their entire command, after theoverthrow of the Greek empire, of the resources possessed by thatpeople, {246} gave them access to all the literary stores then inexistence. 

It has been said, and probably not without good reason, that Mohammedhimself saw and felt the importance of literary distinction. Among thesayings attributed to him, the following has been considered asevincing his sense of the value of learning: "A mind without eruditionis like a body without a soul. Glory consists not in wealth, but inknowledge;" and, as the Koran affords abundant proof, he was by nomeans unmindful of that mental cultivation, of which the means werewithin his reach. His immediate followers, occupied only with theideas of conquest and conversion, despised equally the religion andlearning of the nations they subdued; but when the age of rapine andviolence yielded at length to comparative security and quiet, and thefair and splendid city of the Oriental caliphs arose, the Muses werecourted from their ancient temples, and by the milder and more gracefulachievements of literature and science, efforts were made to expiatethe guilt of former conquest, and to shed a purer lustre over theMohammedan name. 

Almansor, the second of the dynasty of the Abbassides, whose reigncommenced A. D. 754, and lasted twenty-one years, was among the first ofthe Arab princes to foster learning and the arts. {247} Jurisprudenceand astronomy were the principal subjects of his study, which, however, through the instruction of a Greek physician in his court, he extendedto the art of healing, and probably to those kindred arts with which, in all ages and countries, medical science has been connected. Whatprogress was made by himself or his subjects, we cannot now ascertain. His two immediate successors seem not to have trodden in his steps, though it is probable they did not undo what he had done; for the nextcaliph, Haroun al Raschid, is renowned as one of the most munificentpatrons that literature ever enjoyed. He was fond of poetry and music:he is said to have constantly surrounded himself with a great number oflearned men; and to him the Arabs were deeply indebted for the progressin knowledge which they were enabled to make. Every mosque in hisdominions had a school attached to it by his order; and, as if his loveof learning were superior even to his hereditary faith, he readilytolerated men of science who refused to yield to the bold pretensionsof the Prophet. A Nestorian Christian presided over his schools, anddirected the academical studies of his subjects. His successorimitated his wise and generous course; and thus knowledge extended fromthe capital to the most distant extremities of the empire. 

{248}

But it was during the reign of Almamoun, the seventh of the Abbassidanprinces, A. D. 813-833, that literature flourished most among the Arabs. Learned men, professors of the Christian faith, had multiplied atBagdad under the tolerant reigns of his predecessors, and they were nowliberally encouraged to unfold their ample stores of knowledge. Thecopious language of Arabia was employed to communicate whatever that ofthe Greeks had hitherto concealed, though, with a barbarism for whichit is difficult to account, many of the original works were destroyedas soon as translations of them were made. Almamoun in his youth hadassociated with the most eminent scholars of Greece, Persia, andChaldea; and he now invited them to his court. Bagdad was resorted toby poets, philosophers, and mathematicians, from every country and ofevery creed. Armenia, Syria, and Egypt were explored by his agents forliterary treasures, which were amassed with infinite care, andpresented at the foot of the throne as the richest and most acceptabletribute that conquered provinces could render. Camels, hithertoemployed exclusively in traffic, were seen entering the royal cityladen with Hebrew, Persian, and Grecian manuscripts. The court assumedthe appearance rather of an academy than of a council guiding theaffairs of a luxurious and warlike {249} government, and all classeswere encouraged to apply themselves to the acquisition of knowledgewith a zeal commensurate to the advantages thus afforded. "I chose, "said Almamoun, when remonstrated with for appointing a learnedChristian to an office of no small influence over the intellectualpursuits of his people, "I chose this learned man, not to be my guidein religious affairs, but to be my teacher of science; and it is wellknown that the wisest men are to be found among the Jews andChristians. " [1]

Under such favourable auspices, it is not to be wondered at that theSaracens became a literary people. The caliphs of the West and ofAfrica imitated their brethren of the East. "At one period, sixthousand professors and pupils cultivated liberal studies in thecollege of Bagdad. Twenty schools made Grand Cairo a chief seat ofletters; and the talents of the students were exercised in the perusalof the royal library, which consisted of one hundred thousandmanuscripts. The African writers dwell with pride and satisfaction onthe literary institutions which adorned the towns on the northern coastof their sandy plain. The sun of science arose even in Africa, and themanners of the Moorish savage were softened by philosophy. {250} Theirbrethren in Europe amassed numerous and magnificent collections; twohundred and eighty thousand volumes were in Cordova, and more thanseventy libraries were open to public curiosity in the kingdom ofAndalusia. "

We know but little of the internal government of the Arabian schools, or of the studies actually pursued. Aristotle, no doubt, was the greatmaster to whom, in philosophy, all deference was paid. The Prophet hadprescribed their religion. Their schools were of two kinds, or ratherclasses; the one comprehending the inferior institutions, in whichelementary branches of instruction, such as reading, writing, andreligious doctrine were chiefly attended to; the other, called_Madras_, mostly connected with the mosques, as were all the schools ofthe former class, included those institutions in which the higherdepartments of knowledge were explored. Here grammar, logic, theology, and jurisprudence were studied. The management of each school wasconfided to a principal of known ability, and not always, a Mohammedan. The professors lectured on the several sciences; and the pupils, if notin every department, of which there is some doubt, certainly in that ofmedicine, were publicly examined, and diplomas were given under thehand of the chief physician. 

Of elegant composition, the Koran was {251} universally esteemed themodel. Hence it was studied with the most diligent care by all whosought to distinguish themselves in the art of eloquence, one of theleading acquirements of Arab scholars. Subordinate to this pre-eminentcomposition, their schools of oratory boasted of models scarcelyinferior to the celebrated orators of antiquity. Malek and Sharaif, the one for pathos, the other for brilliancy, are the chief of these. Horaiai was esteemed as the compeer of Demosthenes and Cicero. Bedreddin, of Grenada, was their "torch of eloquence;" and Sekakiobtained the honourable designation of the Arabian Quinctilian. 

The ancient Arabs were much inclined to poetry. The wild, romanticscenery of the land they inhabited, the sacred recollections of theirearliest history, the life they led, everything around them, contributed to poetic inspiration. After the revival of letters, thisart was cultivated with enthusiasm. The heroic measures of Ferdousi, the didactic verses of Sadi, and the lyric strains of Hafiz, eventhrough the medium of imperfect translations, discover animateddescriptions, bold metaphors, and striking expressions, that at oncedelight and surprise us. In splendour, if not in strength, the poetsof the courts of Haroun and Almamoun, or those of the Ommiades ofSpain, have, perhaps, in no age been excelled. In this art, as amongother {252} people, so among the Arabs, the fair sex have distinguishedthemselves. Valadata, Aysha, Labana, Safia, and others, have obtainedthe highest encomiums. 

So great is the number of Arabian poets, that Abul Abbas, a son ofMotassem, who wrote an abridgment of their lives in the ninth century, numbers one hundred and thirty. Other authors have occupiedtwenty-four, thirty, and one no less than fifty volumes, in recordingtheir history. 

The Arabs, however, are entirely without epic poetry, so important adepartment of the art; nor have they anything that may be properlyranked as dramatic composition. Sophocles, Euripides, Terence, andSeneca, the classic models of Greece and Rome, they despised as timid, constrained, and cold; and under whatever obligation to these ancientnations the Arabs may have been in other departments of literature, they owe them nothing, or next to nothing, in this. Their poetry wasoriginal and local; their figures and comparisons were strictly theirown. To understand and properly appreciate them, we must have aknowledge of the productions of their country, and of the character, institutions, and manners of its inhabitants. The muse delights inillustrations and figures borrowed from pastoral life; that of Judearevels among the roses of Sharon, the verdant slopes of {253} Carmel, and the glory of Lebanon; while the Arab muse selects for her ornamentsthe pearls of Omar, the musk of Hadramaut, the groves and nightingalesof Aden, and the spicy odours of Yemen. If these appear to usfantastic, it must be remembered they are borrowed from objects andscenes to which we are almost utter strangers. 

Who is not familiar with the Alif lita wa lilin, or the thousand andone tales, commonly known as the Arabian Nights' Entertainment? Somehave questioned whether they are an original work, or a translationfrom the Indian or Persian, made in the Augustan age of Arabliterature: a doubt certainly not warranted by any want of exactness intheir description of Arabian life and manners. They seem to have beenoriginally the legends of itinerant story-tellers, a class of personsstill very numerous in every part of the Mohammedan world. The scenesthey unfold, true to nature; the simplicity displayed in theircharacters, their beauty and their moral instruction, appealirresistibly to the hearts of all; while the learned concede to themthe merit of more perfectly describing the manners of the singularpeople from whom they sprung, than the works of any traveller, howeveraccomplished and indefatigable. 

Of history the ancient Arabs were strangely negligent; but, by the moremodern, this {254} department of knowledge has been cultivated withgreater care and success. Annals, chronicles, and memoirs, almostnumberless, are extant among them: kingdoms, provinces, and towns aredescribed, and their history is narrated in volumes, a bare catalogueof which would extend to a wearisome length. They abound, however, more in the fanciful than in the substantial and correct. Of this, thetitles of some of the most approved works of this kind may be taken asspecimens: A Chronology of the Caliphs of Spain and Africa isdenominated "A Silken Vest, embroidered with the Needle;" a History ofGrenada, "A Specimen of the Full Moon;" Ibu Abbas and Abu Bakri areauthors of historical collections, entitled respectively, "Mines ofSilver, " and "Pearls and picked-up Flowers. " Yet some of theirwriters, as Ibn Katibi, are chiefly remarkable for the extent andaccuracy of their historical knowledge; and some of their works areexceedingly voluminous. A full history of Spain occupied six authorsin succession, and cost the labour of one hundred and fifteen years tocomplete. Their biography was not confined to men. Ibn Zaid and AbulMondar wrote a genealogical history of distinguished horses; andAlasucco and Abdolmalec performed the same service for camels worthy ofbeing had in remembrance. Encyclopaedias and gazetteers, {255} withdictionaries of the sciences and other similar works, occupied Arabianpens long before they came into vogue among more modern literati. Every species of composition, indeed, and almost every subject, in oneage or another, have engaged the attention of learned Mohammedans. 

Geography they did not so well understand, their means of acquiringknowledge on this subject being exceedingly limited. Yet their publiclibraries could boast of globes, voyages, and itineraries, theproductions of men who travelled to acquire geographical information. With statistics and political economy they had but an imperfectacquaintance; yet so early as the reign of Omar II. We find a workdevoted to these subjects, giving an account of the provinces andcities of Spain, with its rivers, ports, and harbours; of the climate, soil, mountains, plants, and minerals of that country; with itsimports, and the manner in which its several productions, natural andartificial, might be manufactured and applied to the best advantage. Money, weights, and measures, with whatever else political economy maybe understood to include, were also subjects which employed theiringenious speculations, and, in some cases, their laborious research. 

The speculative sciences, scarcely less than polite literature, flourished among the Arabs. {256} Indeed, what superstitious, enthusiastic people has ever neglected these? Their ardour in the moredignified of these pursuits was badly regulated; subtleties werepreferred to important practical truths; and, frequently, the moreingenious the sophism, constructed after the rules of Aristotle, themore welcome was it to men who rendered to that philosopher a homagealmost idolatrous. The later Arabs, and the Turks of the present day, pay no little attention to astrology, though it is strongly prohibitedby their Prophet. This science was universally employed by theidolaters, against whom his denunciations are scarcely less inveteratethan are those of the inspired volume; and doubtless he apprehendedthat its prevalence would hazard the integrity, if not the veryexistence, of his own system of religion. For many ages, therefore, itwas discountenanced; but, at length, the habit of consulting the starson important public occasions became frequent, and was attended with asmuch anxiety and as many absurd ceremonies as disgraced the nations ofantiquity. Among the modern Mohammedans, no dignity of state isconferred; no public edifice is founded, except at a time recommendedby astrologers. These pretenders to knowledge are supported by personsof rank; and in vain do the more enlightened part of the communityexclaim that astrology is a false {257} science. "Do not think, " saida prime minister, who had been consulting a soothsayer as to the timeof putting on a new dress, "that I am such a fool as to put faith inall this nonsense; but I must not make my family unhappy by refusing tocomply with forms which some of them deem of consequence. "

After these references to the polite literature of the Arabs, it willbe expected that they should have paid attention to the naturalsciences. They were not, indeed, discoverers and inventors, but theyconsiderably improved upon what they acquired in their extensiveintercourse with other nations; and, as forming the link which unitesancient and modern letters, they are entitled to our respect andgratitude. We derive our mathematics from them; and to them, also, weowe much of our astronomical knowledge. Almamoun, by a liberal reward, sought to engage in his service a famous mathematician ofConstantinople; and Ibn Korrah enriched the stores of his country inthis department with translations of Archimedes and the conics ofApollonius. Some have said that, on the revival of European literaturein the fifteenth century, mathematical science was found nearly in thestate in which it had been left by Euclid; and the justly celebratedBrucker contends, that the Arabs made no progress whatever in this{258} most important branch of knowledge; later writers, however, andparticularly Montucia, the author of the Histoire des Mathematiques, have done ample justice to their researches. Numerical characters, without which our study of the exact sciences were almost in vain, beyond all doubt came to us from the Arabs: not that they inventedthem--it is probable they were originally words, perhaps Hindu words, expressing the quantities they respectively represent, but abbreviatedand brought to their present convenient form by the followers of theProphet. Trigonometry and algebra are both indebted to their genius. The sines of the one of these sciences instead of the more ancientchord, and the representatives of quantities in the other, descendthrough the Arabs to us, if they did not at first invent them. Original works on spherical trigonometry are among the productions ofIbn Musa and Geber, the former of whom is accounted the inventor of thesolution of equations of the second degree. The University of Leydenstill retains a manuscript treatise on the algebra of cubic equations, by Omar ibn Ibrahim; and Casiri, who, preserved and classed 1851manuscripts, even after a fire had destroyed the magnificent collectionor the Escurial, informs us, that the principles and praises ofalgebraic science were sung in an elaborate poem by Alcassem, a nativeof Grenada. {259} These departments of knowledge were studied by theArabs as early as the eighth and ninth centuries. 

Astronomy, the science of a pastoral people, and eminently so inregions with an almost cloudless sky, like the East, was studied withgreat eagerness by Arabian philosophers. Almamoun, who has been beforementioned, was ardently devoted to it: at his cost the necessaryinstruments of observation were provided, and a complete digest of thescience was made. The land where, many ages before, this science hadbeen successfully studied by the Chaldeans, was in his power, and uponits ample plains a degree of the earth's circle was repeatedlymeasured, so as to determine the whole circumference of the globe to betwenty-four thousand miles. The obliquity of the ecliptic they settledat twenty-three degrees and a half: the annual movement of theequinoxes and the duration of the tropical year were brought to withina very little of the exact observations of modern times, the slighterror they admitted resulting from the preference they gave to thesystem of Ptolemy. Albathani, or, as his name has been Latinized, Albatenius, in the ninth century, after continuing his observations forforty years, drew up tables, known as the Sabean tables, which, thoughnot now in very high repute because of more accurate calculations, {260} were for a long time justly esteemed. Other Arabian astronomershave rendered considerable service to this science. Mohammedanism didnot, like ancient paganism, adore the stars; but its disciples studiedthem with a diligence, without which, perhaps, Newton, Flamstead, andHalley had observed and calculated almost in vain. 

Architecture was an art in which the Arabs greatly excelled; their wideextension gave them command of whatever was worthy of observation, andtheir vast revenues afforded the most abundant means of indulging ataste thus called into exercise. The history of Arabian architecturecomprises a period of about eight centuries, including its rise, progress, and decay: their building materials were mostly obtained fromthe ruined structures and cities that fell into their hands; and if noone particular style was followed by them, it was because theysuccessfully studied most of the styles then known. On their buildingsbut little external art was bestowed; all their pains were exhausted onthe interior, where no expense wag spared that could promote luxuriousease and personal comfort. Their walls and ceilings were highlyembellished, and the light was mostly admitted in such manner as, byexcluding all external objects, to confine the admiration of thespectator to the beauties produced within. With the art {261} ofpreserving their structures from decay they must have had an adequateacquaintance. Their stucco composition may still be found as hard asstone, without a crack or flaw: the floors and ceilings of theAlhambra, the ancient palace of Grenada, have been comparativelyuninjured by the neglect and dilapidation of nearly seven centuries;while their paint retains its colour so bright and rich as to beoccasionally mistaken for mother-of-pearl. Sir Christopher Wrenderives the Gothic architecture from the Mohammedans; and the crescentarch, a symbol of one of the deities anciently worshipped throughoutthe heathen world, was first adopted by the Arabs of Syria, andinvariably used in all the edifices erected during the supremacy of theOmmiades. The succeeding dynasty declined following this model; but, during the reign of the house of Moawiyah, in Spain, it was imitatedfrom the Atlantic to the Pyrenees. 

The fine arts, painting, and sculpture, were not so much cultivatedamong the early Mohammedans: they were thought to involve a breach ofthe divine law. In this particular they agreed with the Jews. Subsequently, however, these scruples were, by degrees, overcome; thatstyle of embellishment denominated Arabesque, which rejects figures ofmen and animals, being first adopted, and afterward sculpture, morenearly resembling {262} that of modern times. The Alhambra, or palaceof that suburb, had its lions, its ornamented tiles, and its paintings. Abdalrahman III. Placed a statue of his favourite mistress over thepalace he erected for her abode. Music was ardently cultivated. Atfirst, in the desert, its strains were rude and simple; subsequently, the professors of the art were as much cherished, honoured, andrewarded, as were the poets in the courts of the Arab sovereigns. Manywere celebrated for their skill in this art, especially IsaacAlmouseli. Al Farabi has been denominated the Arabian Orpheus: by hisastonishing command of the lute, he could produce laughter, or tears, or sleep in his auditors at pleasure. He wrote a considerable work onmusic, which is preserved in the Escurial. Abul Faragi is also afamous writer among the Mohammedans on this subject. To them we areindebted for the invention of the lute, which they accounted moreperfect than any other instrument; the use, also, of many of our moderninstruments, as the organ, flute, harp, tabor, and mandoline, wascommon among them. Some say that the national instrument of theScottish highlander is taken from them. 

In many of the useful arts of modern days the Arabs were proficients;as agriculture, gardening, metallurgy, and the preparing of leather. The {263} names Morocco and Cordovan are still applied, in this latterart, to leather prepared after the Arabian method. They manufacturedand dyed silk and cotton, made paper, were acquainted with the use ofgunpowder, and have claims to the honour of inventing the mariner'scompass. But perhaps there is no art in which their knowledge is somuch a subject of curious inquiry as medicine. Their country wassalubrious, their habits simple, and their indulgences few; so thatlarge opportunities of practically studying the art, at least among theArabs of earlier date, would not occur. Anatomy, except that of thebrute creation, was shut up from their study by the prejudices of theircreed; yet they excelled in medical skill. Hareth ibn Kaldar, aneminent practitioner settled at Mecca, was honoured with theconversation and applause of Mohammed. Honain was an eminent Arabphysician in the middle of the sixth century; Messue, the celebratedpreceptor of Almamoun, belonged to this profession; and a host ofothers adorn the early annals of the Saracens. Al Rhagi, or Ullages, as commonly called, and Abdallah ibn Sina, or Avicenna, are names towhich, for centuries, deference was paid by professors of the healingart throughout Europe, though it would not be difficult to show thattheir doctrines and practice must have been beyond measure absurd. They {264} administered gold, and silver, and precious stones to purifythe blood. 

Of chymistry, so far as it relates to medicine, the Arabs may beconsidered as the inventors; and botany, in the same connexion, theycultivated with great success. Geber, in the eighth century, is knownas their principal chymical writer; he is said to have composed fivehundred volumes, almost every one of which is lost. The earlynomenclature of the science indicates how much it owes to this people. Alcohol, alembic, alkali, aludel, and other similar terms, areevidently of Arabic origin; nor should it be forgotten that thecharacters used for drugs, essences, extracts, and medicines, theimport of which is now almost entirely unknown (and which areconsequently invested, in vulgar estimation, with occult powers), areall to be traced to the same source. 

It may be impossible now to estimate accurately the extent of ourobligations to Arabian literature. An empire so widely spread, by theencouragement it gave to letters, must have had a beneficial influenceon almost every country. Europeans, whether subject to its sway oronly contemplating it from a distance, copied or emulated the example. Gerbert, who subsequently occupied the papal chair as Silvester II. , acquired the Arabic method of computation during his travels in Spain, {265} previously to his elevation. Leonardo, a Pisan merchant, obtained a knowledge of the same art in his intercourse with theMohammedans on the coast of Africa; and by him it was introduced intohis own native republic, from whence it was soon communicated to theWestern World. In the city of Salernum, a port of Italy, Mussulmansand Christians so intermixed as to communicate insensibly theliterature of the Saracens to the Italians, and in the schools of thatcity students were collected from every quarter of Europe. Arabicbooks, by command of Charlemagne, were translated into Latin for theuse of learned men throughout his vast empire; and, withoutexaggerating the merits of the followers of the Prophet, it may beadmitted that we are indebted to them for the revival of the exact andphysical sciences, and for many of those useful arts and inventionsthat have totally changed the aspect of European literature, and arestill contributing to the civilization, freedom, and best interests ofman. 

[1] Abulferage, p. 160. 

{266}

CHAPTER III. 

The present Condition of Mohammedanism. --In Turkey. --The Doctrinesbelieved there. --Their Forms ofDevotion. --Lustrations. --Prayer. --Mohammedan Sabbath. --Fast ofRamadan. --Meccan Pilgrimage. --Proselytism. --MohammedanHierarchy. --Islamism in Tartary. --In Hindustan. --In China. --InPersia. --In Africa. --In the Indian Archipelago. --The Sooffees. --TheWahabees. 

The present condition of the Mohammedan faith, with some account of thestanding it maintains in the world, will not be deemed an inappropriatesubject for the closing pages of this volume. Its votaries have longceased to spread alarm through the nations by their victorious anddevastating progress; the fire of its fanaticism is almost extinct;nevertheless, its doctrines prevail over a larger number of mankindthan any other system of false religion: they are professed in nationsand countries remote from each other, and having no other mutualresemblance than that involved in their common superstition. In Spain, indeed, Christianity has triumphed over Islamism; and in theinhospitable regions of Siberia, a part of the ancient Tartary, itsadvance has been somewhat checked; but in middle and lower Asia, and inAfrica, the {267} number of Mohammed's followers has increased. Wecannot state with accuracy the number either of Mohammedan or ofnominal Christians; but, looking at religion geographically, whileChristianity has almost entire dominion in Europe, in Asia Islamism isthe dominant faith: in America the cross is rapidly becoming the symbolof faith throughout both its vast continents; but in Africa thecrescent waves to the almost entire exclusion of every other emblem. 

It is in Turkey that Mohammedanism exists at the present day in itsmost perfect form. To this country, therefore, our attention shall befirst directed. 

Constantinople, anciently called Byzantium, and the countries overwhich the Greek emperors residing in that city reigned, were subdued bythe powerful caliphs of Bagdad, while those of Spain and the West wereendeavouring to push their conquests over the fairest portions ofEurope. The situation of Constantinople and the surrounding empire layespecially open to the Eastern Mohammedans, whose warlike incursionswere incessant. Tartars from Asia overran the empire. Othman, in theearly part of the thirteenth century, laid the foundation of Turkishgreatness. Orchan, Amurathi and Bajazet, his successors, amid bothforeign and domestic wars, greatly contributed to its {268}establishment and increase. The children of the last of theseconquerors threw the empire into a frightful state of distraction bytheir unnatural quarrels, till, at last, the youngest of them, namedafter the Prophet, restored its integrity, and established somethinglike domestic tranquillity. Under a grandson of his, Mohammed II. , whom Bayle describes as one of the greatest men recorded in history, the Morea was subjugated, and the Greek empire, so long shaken byinternal dissensions, and tottering to dissolution by its luxury, wastrampled in the dust by the Moslem conquerors. Constantinople at lastyielded to their power, and a palace for the victor was erected on thevery spot which Constantine had chosen for his magnificent abode. 

From this time to that of Solyman the Magnificent, to whom the Turksowe their laws and police, the empire continued to prosper, butimmediately afterward its decline commenced. Letters and science havemade but little progress among that people, and their sultans havepossessed none of the martial enterprise and energy of their earlypredecessors; still the faith of Mohammed has maintained, and down tothis day continues to maintain, a hold which it enjoys in almost noother country. 

The Turks generally repose the most implicit faith in the two leadingarticles of the Mohammedan {269} creed, that there is but one God, andthat Mohammed is his Prophet; and since, in the opinion of the Moslems, a simple assent to these doctrines comprises all that is valuable inreligion, and will be surely followed by the possession of heaven, either immediately or remotely, it is readily conceivable thatinfidelity will be exceedingly rare. In religious matters, the heartopposes not so much what is to be believed as what is to be done. 

Minor points of their theology have been from time to time disputed, but these may be regarded as generally settled. Predestination is oneof the chief dogmas on which the faith of the Turk is as firmly fixedas on the most momentous article in his creed. Fatalism was the greatengine employed by Mohammed in establishing his religion; and among theTurks this doctrine is received as regulating their destiny, controlling all events, and determining the results of everyindividual's actions; thus unnerving the soul for generous and manlyenterprise, and casting a lethargy on the whole nation. In everythingthe operations of reason are checked, and even made to wait for theimagined manifestations of Deity. According to the creed of the Turks, not only is everything foreknown to God, but everything ispredetermined, and brought about by his direct and immediate agency. 

{270}

The Turk is keen and wise in his ordinary transactions: in promotinghis own interests, he knows how to exercise the powers of his mind, but, when difficulty or doubt overtakes him, he makes no effort. Thethick cloud of his misfortunes is suffered to remain; his troubles areyielded to with sullen indifference; he considers it impious to opposethe determinations of the Most High. To all improvement, such adoctrine is a decided and invincible foe; in some circumstances, however, it appears to have its advantages. Does a Mohammedan sufferby calamity? Is he plundered or ruined? He does not fruitlesslybewail his lot. His answer to all murmuring suggestions is, "It waswritten;" and to the most unexpected transition from opulence topoverty, he submits without a sigh. The approach of death does notdisturb his tranquillity; he makes his ablution, repeats his prayers, professes his belief in God and his Prophet, and in a last appeal tothe aid of affection, he says to his child, "turn my head towardsMecca, " and calmly expires. 

A people's religion is traced in their established and common forms ofdevotion, and none are more attentive to these than the Turks. Toneglect any ceremony which their religion prescribes, is deemed a markeither of inferior understanding or of depraved character. Publicdecorum is {271} everywhere observed; and though both moral andreligious precepts are violated with impunity and without remorse, theyare always spoken of with great respect. A Mohammedan is never ashamedto defend his faith; and of his sincerity and firmness, the earnestnessof his vindication may be taken as sufficient proof: he notunfrequently interrupts the progress of conversation by repeating hisreligious formula. In the Turkish towns, travellers are incessantlymet with the cry of Allah Ackbar; and by Mussulmans, who would beesteemed pious, the divine name is as frequently repeated as ifreverent and devout thoughts were habitually uppermost in their minds. 

Purifications are constantly, and with great strictness, performed bythe Mussulmans of every country, but especially by those of Turkey. Their professed object is to render the body fit for the decorousperformance of religious duties; no act being praiseworthy oracceptable, in their estimation, unless the person of the performer bein a condition of purity. Some have thought, but without sufficientgrounds, that these external purifications are believed to supersede aninward cleansing of the heart. Fountains placed round their mosques, and numerous baths in every city, enable the devout to perform theirfive prayers daily, during which, if they chance to receive pollution{272} from anything accidentally coming in contact with them, theirdevotions are suspended till the offensive inconvenience is removed bywater or other means. 

At the appointed hour, the Maazeens or criers, with their faces towardsMecca, their eyes closed, and their hands upraised, pace the littlegalleries of the minarets or towers of the mosques, and proclaim inArabic, the Moslem language of devotion, that the season of prayer hasarrived. Instantly, every one, whatever may be his rank or employment, gives himself up to it. Ministers of state suspend the most importantaffairs, and prostrate themselves on the floor; the tradesman forgetshis dealings, and transforms his shop into a place of devotion; and thestudent lays aside his books, to go through his accustomedsupplications. "Never to fail in his prayers" is the highestcommendation a Turk can receive; and so prejudicial is the suspicion ofirreligion, that even libertines dare not disregard the notices of theMaazeen. The mosques, like chapels in Catholic countries, are alwaysopen, and two or three times every day prayers are offered within theirwalls. It has often been remarked, that the devotions of Christiansmight acquire something valuable from the gravity, the decorum, and theapparently intense occupation of mind in Turkish worship. The Jewstrod {273} their holy place barefoot: the Turks, on the contrary, keepon their boots and shoes. Christians uncover their heads in prayer;the Moslems seldom lay aside their turbans; but for hours they willremain prostrate, or standing in one position, as if absorbed in themost intense abstraction. They have neither altars, pictures, norstatues in their places of worship. Verses of the Koran, the names andpersonal descriptions of their Prophet, of Ali and his two sons, Hassanand Hosein, with other Moslem saints, are sometimes inscribed inletters of gold on their walls. All distinctions of rank andprofession are forgotten when they pray. Persons of every class, onthe first sound of the accustomed cry, cast themselves on the ground, and thus declare their belief in the equality of mankind, in the sightof the great Father of all. 

The Mohammedans of Turkey have a Sabbath, for which the Jewish orChristian may be supposed to have furnished the model. Friday is theirday of rest, which commences on the preceding evening, when theilluminated minarets and colonnades of the mosques give to their citiesthe appearance of a festival. At noon, on Friday, all business issuspended, the mosques are filled, and prayers are read by theappointed officers, accompanied by the prostrations of the people. Discourses are likewise frequently delivered on {274} practical pointsin their theology; and sometimes, in the ardour of excitement, political corruption and courtly depravity are fiercely assailed. Avoluptuous sultan has been known, under the effect of these discourses, to tear himself from the soft indulgences of his harem and court, tolead his martial subjects to war and victory on the plains of theirenemies. As soon as the public religious services are concluded, allreturn to their ordinary pursuits; the day, however, is strictlyobserved by all classes in the manner prescribed by law, it being areceived maxim that he who, without legitimate cause, absents himselffrom public devotion on three successive Fridays, abjures his religion. It is worthy of observation, that the prayers of the Turks consistchiefly of adoration, of confessions of the Divine attributes and thenothingness of man, and of homage and gratitude to the Supreme Being. A Turk must not pray for the frail and perishable blessings of thislife; the health of the sultan, the prosperity of his country, anddivisions and wars among the Christians alone excepted. The legitimateobject of prayer they hold to be spiritual gifts, and happiness in afuture state of being. 

No one of their religious institutions is more strictly observed by theTurks than the fast of Ramadan. He who violates it is reckoned either{275} an infidel or an apostate; and if two witnesses establish hisoffence, he is deemed to have incurred the severest penalty of the law. Abstinence from food, and even from the use of perfumes, from sunriseto sunset, is enjoined. The rich pass the hours in meditation andprayer, the grandees sleep away their time, but the labouring man, pursuing his daily toil, most heavily feels its rigour. "When themonth of Ramadan happens in the extremities of the seasons, theprescribed abstinence is almost intolerable, and is more severe thanthe practice of any moral duty, even to the most vicious and depravedof mankind. " During the day all traffic is suspended; but in theevening, and till late at night, it is actively carried on in thestreets, shops, and bazars, most splendidly illuminated. From sunsetto sunrise, revelry and excess are indulged in. Every night there is afeast among the great officers of the court: the reserve of the Turkishcharacter is laid aside, and friends and relations cement their unionby mutual intercourse. Sumptuous banquets and convivial hilarity areuniversal; and, were not women everywhere excluded from the tables ofthe men, the pleasure of the festivals would amply compensate therigorous self-denial of their fasts. 

The pilgrimage to Mecca is with the Turks more a matter of form than ofreality. Its {276} importance as a part of the Moslem ritual isadmitted, and apparently felt, but the number of pilgrims annuallydecreases. The sultan, having dominion over the country through whichthe pilgrims must pass, preserves the public ways leading to thevenerated city; the best soldiers of his empire are charged with theprotection of the caravans, which are sometimes numerous; but of hisown subjects, properly so called, few comparatively accompany them;they are made up of devotees from a greater distance. The sultan, nodoubt, encourages the pilgrimage as much on commercial as on religiousgrounds. The Koran has determined it to be very proper to interminglecommerce and religion: "It shall be no crime in you, " it says, "if yeseek an increase from your Lord by trading during the pilgrimage. "Accordingly, articles of easy carriage and ready sale are brought bythe pilgrims from every country. The productions and manufactures ofIndia thus find their way into other parts of Asia and throughoutAfrica. The muslins and chintses of Bengal and the Deccan, the shawlsof Cashmere, the pepper of Malabar, the diamonds of Golconda, thepearls of Kilkau, the cinnamon of Ceylon, and the spices of theMoluccas, are made to yield advantage to the Ottoman empire, and theluxury of its subjects is sustained by contributions from the mostdistant nations. 

{277}

Mohammedans of the present day, at least those of Turkey, are lessanxious to make proselytes than were those of a former age. Those ofIndia and Africa may, to some extent, still retain the sentiment, thatto convert infidels is an ordinance of God, and must be observed by thefaithful in all ages; but in Turkey little desire of this kind is felt, chiefly because, by a refinement of uncharitableness, the conversion ofthe world is deemed unworthy of their endeavours. Now and then adevout Moslem, instigated by zeal or personal attachment, may offer upthis prayer for a Jew or a Christian: "Great God, enlighten thisinfidel, and graciously dispose his heart to embrace thy holyreligion;" and perhaps to a youth, esteemed for his talents orknowledge, the language of persuasion may occasionally be addressedwith an air of gentleness and urbanity; but the zeal of the missionaryis in such cases commonly subject to what are conceived to be the rulesof good breeding, and a vague reply or silence is regarded as anindication that the subject is disagreeable, and should not becontinued. A Mussulman may pray for the conversion of infidels, but, till they are converted, no blessing may be supplicated in theirbehalf. "Their death is eternal, why pray for them?" is the languageof the Mohammedan creed: do not {278} "defile your feet by passing overthe graves of men who are enemies of God and of his Prophet. "

Of the Mohammedan hierarchy, some idea may be obtained from the form itassumes in Turkey. The Koran is considered the treasure of all laws, divine and human, and the caliphs as the depositaries of this treasure;so that they are at once the pontiffs, legislators, and judges of thepeople, and their office combines all authority, whether sacerdotal, regal, or judicial. To the grand sultan titles are given, styling himthe vicar, or the shadow of God. The several powers which pertain tohim in this august capacity are delegated to a body of learned men, called the Oulema. In this body three descriptions of officers areincluded: the ministers of religion, called the Imams; the expoundersof the law, called the Muftis; and the ministers of justice, called theCadis. The ministers of religion are divided into chief and inferior, the former of whom only belong to the Oulema. Both classes are made upof Sheiks, or ordinary preachers; the Khatibs, readers or deacons; theImams, a title comprising those who perform the service of the mosqueon ordinary days, and those to whom pertain the ceremonies ofcircumcision, marriage, and burial; the Maazeens, or criers, whoannounce the hours of prayer; and the Cayuns, or common attendants ofthe mosque. The {279} idea of this classification was, perhaps, takenfrom the Mosaic priesthood; the Khatib being the Aaron, and the nextfour the several orders of the Levites, with their servants or helpers. The imperial temples have one Sheik, one Khatib, from two to fourImams, twelve Maazeens, and twenty Cayuns, among whom, except in a fewof the chief mosques of Constantinople, the Khatibs have thepre-eminence. All these ministers are subject to the civil magistrate, who is looked upon as a sort of diocesan, and who may perform at anytime all the sacerdotal functions. The ministers of religion are notdistinguishable from other people; they mix in the same society, engagein similar pursuits, and affect no greater austerity than marks thebehaviour of Mussulmans generally. Their influence depends entirely ontheir reputation for learning and talents, for gravity and correctmoral conduct; their employment is, for the most part, very simple, aschanting aloud the public service, and performing such offices as everymaster of a family may discharge. As Mohammedanism acknowledges nosacrifices, it appoints no priests; the duties performed by theministers of religion being seemingly devolved on them more as a matterof convenience than on account of any sacredness attaching to theirorder. 

The vast country to which the general name of {280} Tartary has beengiven, is that from whence Mohammedanism has gone forth to the East, the West, and the South. In Thibet, the Grand Lama and variousnational idols hold divided empire with the Prophet; and in theinhospitable regions of Siberia, the churches of Greece and Russia havesuccessfully promulgated the Christian doctrines; while theCircassians, with some other Tartar races, are almost without religion. In the Crimea, the people are Mussulmans, as rigid and devoted as theTurks; and over the vast tract called by modern geographers IndependentTartary, the crescent triumphantly waves. From these regions sprung, in the earlier ages of Mohammedan conquest, those vast empires which, in the East, comprise so large a number of the professors of the faithof Islam. The first sovereign of this country, to whom the title ofsultan was awarded early in the tenth century, conducted severalexpeditions into Hindustan, and secured the homage of many of thecities. The ancient Indian superstition was in a great measureoverturned by his victorious arms. Long and fierce contests ensued:the princes of the subdued provinces, often throwing off their forcedallegiance, endeavoured to regain their independence and re-establishtheir ancient faith, till, at length, the great Timurlane, havingoverrun the country with his legions, received at Agra the title {281}of Emperor of Hindustan. Scarcely, however, had two centuries and ahalf rolled away, when his successors fell in their turn under thePersian power; and the empire he established was weakened, andultimately destroyed. As the result of these conquests, Mohammedanismprevailed to a great extent, but rather nominally than really, amongthe millions of India: it was the religion of the court and government;but, either from indifference or timidity in the Moslem conquerors, theancient idols still held extensive influence, and were at lengthgradually restored. In the twelfth century, Benares, the ancient seatof Brahminical learning and of Hindu idolatry, fell into the hands ofthe conqueror, who destroyed its numerous objects of popular adoration. Yet, soon afterward, the religious character of the place was restored, and the demolished idols were replaced by others, that were as eagerlyresorted to as had been their predecessors. To this consecratedmetropolis, a pilgrimage was regarded by the millions of India asimperatively commanded, and as necessary as was a visit to Mecca by theMohammedans; and the weakness or the policy of its Moslem conquerorsdid not long withhold from them this valued privilege; the governmentof the city was committed to the Hindus, and their conquerors, in theplenitude of their bigotry, pride, and power, never {282} thought ofsuffering their own magistrates to exercise authority within its walls. Thus Mohammedanism is the religion, not of the ancient inhabitants ofIndia, but of the descendants of the millions of Tartars, Persians, andArabians who, at various periods, have left their native seats toparticipate in the riches of these far-famed plains. The north andnorthwestern parts are filled with them, and from thence they havewandered over the whole of that vast country. Perhaps their numbersmay now amount to nearly twenty millions, among whom, however, thoughthey are mostly of foreign extraction, are many converts from Hinduism. They form separate communities, amalgamating in some parts of thecountry, and living as sociably with Hindus as the differences in theirrespective faiths will permit. Hindu princes have at times paid theirdevotions at Mohammedan shrines, and observed their feasts; whileMohammedans have relaxed somewhat the strictness of their observances, and manifested an inclination to conform, as far as possible, to theirHindu neighbours. Some five centuries ago, the Borahs, a people whoonce occupied the kingdom of Guzerat, were converted _en masse_ toIslamism. The Arab traders to the coasts of Malabar have always beenexceedingly earnest in their endeavours to convert the natives, inwhich they have {283} been greatly aided by the facility with whichthey have been allowed to purchase the children of the poorer classes, to educate them in the principles of their faith, and also by thefrequency with which the inhabitants of those districts lose caste. This badge of the Hindu faith is often forfeited by the people mixingwith those of other countries, and when it is lost they easily becomeMoslems. 

It has been maintained that the native inhabitants of India areabsolutely unchangeable in their sacred, domestic, and politicalinstitutions, and, at first sight, there would appear to be much towarrant such an opinion; but the history of many of them, andespecially of the Sikhs, who inhabit the provinces of the Panjab, between the rivers Jumna and Indus, may be alleged as proofs to thecontrary. Still, in the religion of the Sikhs, Mohammedan fable andHindu absurdity are mixed; its founder wishing to unite both theseprevalent systems in one. He had been educated in a part of thecountry where these two religions appeared to touch each other, if notcommingle, and he was no stranger to the violent animosity existingbetween their respective professors; he sought, therefore, to blend thejarring elements of both in peaceful union. The Hindu was required toabandon his idols, and to worship the one Supreme Deity whom hisreligion acknowledged; while the Mohammedan {284} was to abstain fromsuch practices (especially the killing of cows) as were offensive tothe superstition of the Hindus. This plan so far prevailed, that, without acknowledging the Prophet, the Sikhs became more Mohammedansthan Hindus; and though the institutions of Brahma are not admittedamong them, they insult and persecute true Moslems more fiercely andcruelly than any other people. They compel them to eat that which isforbidden by their law; animals which they account unclean arefrequently thrown into their places of public assembly, and they areprohibited from proclaiming the hour of prayer to the faithful. 

China is one of those countries to which Mohammedanism was carried bythe hordes of Tartary. From the scrupulous jealousy with which thisvast empire is guarded from observation, it is difficult to say to whatextent the Mohammedan faith, or, indeed, any other, prevails among itsnumberless inhabitants; but, beyond question, it is tolerated. 

The irruption of the Saracens into China under Walid can scarcely betermed a conquest. Subsequently, the successors of Zenghis Khan seatedthemselves on the throne of Pekin, and opened the country to anintercourse with all nations. The commercial Arabs had visited theports and cities in the south of China; and, now that access to the{285} capital was unrestrained, multitudes of them repaired thither. They acquired the language, and adopted the dress and manners of thepeople, to whom also they rendered valuable aid in adjusting theirchronology, and making the necessary calculations for their calendar. Intercourse with the Chinese made the Mohammedans desirous of effectingtheir conversion, the means adopted for which were both wise andhumane. Deserted children were taken under their protection, andeducated in Islamism; while in other ways they sought to commendthemselves to confidence, and their religion to respect, by alleviatingthe wretchedness induced by a cruel superstition. The Mohammedans ofChina seem to partake of the mild and quiet character of theinhabitants generally, and are therefore tolerated; though there havebeen some exceptions to this encomium. About sixty years ago they wereinstrumental in promoting an unsuccessful rebellion, and the EmperorKien Long, after suppressing it, ordered one hundred thousand of themto be put to death. 

Persia, from an early period, has been almost entirely a Mohammedancountry. On its conquest by the Saracens, the religion of Zoroaster, which had till then prevailed, was nearly abolished. Those whopersevered in retaining it were obliged to flee to the mountains or tothe western parts {286} of India, where their old forms of worshipstill linger. In the disputes which ensued on the death of Mohammedconcerning the caliphate, the Persians espoused the cause of Ali, theProphet's son-in-law, and to his memory they are still attached. "Maythis arrow go to the heart of Omar, " is a frequent expression amongthem in drawing a bow; and not long since, when Mr. Malcolm, during histravels in Persia, was praising Omar, the antagonist of Ali, as thegreatest of the caliphs, a Persian, overcome by the justice of hisobservations, yet still adhering to his rooted prejudices, replied, "This is all very true, but he was a dog after all. "

Here Mohammedanism exists in a less rigorous form than in Turkey. Itsceremonies are observed by those who are little disposed to practiceits moral code: they say their prayers at the appointed season, andmake a show of devotion to prevent their being suspected of irreligion;but the people generally are little concerned about the pilgrimage toMecca, and other matters on which, in the Koran, much stress is laid. They choose rather to resort to the tomb of Ali, and to that of his sonHosein, whose name is reverenced among them with a feeling approachingto adoration. 

In Africa, Mohammedanism has very widely prevailed. Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, all the northern parts of this continent, acknowledge itssway. {287} From Arabia and Egypt it spread west and south nearly tothe great rivers. It is the established religion of Morocco; and inWestern Barbary and several kingdoms of the interior the Arabiclanguage is spoken, the Koran believed, and the Prophet almostworshipped. The Senegal, up to the small Moorish state of Gedumah, isthe line of division between the Mohammedans and the Negroes: fromthence the line passes eastward of north, through Nigritia and Nubia tothe Nile. As yet, however, it is but indistinctly marked, it beingdoubtful whether Timbuctoo is a Mohammedan or Negro town. The courtsof Bornou and Cassina are Mohammedan, but a majority of their subjectsare pagans. Islamism in these vast territories is in an exceedinglydegenerate state when compared with either its first development in theArabian desert, or with what now obtains in Turkey. It is said thatbut little more than its exclusive persecuting spirit remains: theOriental lustrations are almost unknown, Mohammedan temperance isneglected, and the great doctrine of the unity of God is confoundedwith, or supplanted by, the polytheism of the native inhabitants. TheMussulman is more depraved than the pagan; so that, while travellersfrequently mention the hospitality they received from the latter, bythe former they were constantly insulted and annoyed on account of{288} their religion. In no quarter of the world does the faith of theProphet wear so frightful an aspect as in Africa. 

The region from which Mohammedanism first sprung has not remained inall respects faithful to the precepts of the Prophet. In Mecca andMedina, indeed, his name and system are held in the profoundestveneration; and no wonder, since both these cities are mainly supportedby the superstitious observances enjoined in the Koran; but theBedouins are as licentious in their religion as in their policy andhabits. On the Turkish frontiers they keep up an appearance of respectfor the name of the Prophet and his doctrines; but, in answer to allreproaches for their unfaithfulness, they say in words worthy a bettertaught and more civilized race, "The religion of Mohammed could neverhave been intended for us. We have no water in the desert. How, then, can we make the prescribed ablutions? We have no money. How, then, can we give alms? The fast of Ramadan is a useless command to personswho fast all the year round; and, if God be everywhere, why should wego to Mecca to adore him?"

From the southernmost part of Hindustan, Mohammedanism made its way tothe Malayan peninsula; to Sumatra, Java, Borneo, the Manillas, and theCelebes: Goram, one of the Spice Islands, is {289} its easternboundary. In the interior of these islands it prevails less than onthe shores. To these remote regions Islamism has been carried more bythe commercial than the military enterprise of its votaries. What isits present condition there, it is difficult, perhaps impossible, accurately to ascertain. In Java it was the established religion; but, when the Dutch settled that island early in the seventeenth century, many of the natives were converted. Little respect is paid by theJavans of the present day either to their ancient paganism, or toMohammedanism which took its place; though some of the forms of thelatter are still in force, and its institutions are said to be gainingground. 

The reader of Mohammedan history will meet with the terms Sooffee andWahabee, as designating certain divisions of the disciples of thereligion of the Prophet. It will not, therefore, be inappropriate toclose with a brief account of these respective sects. 

Sooffee is a term originating in Persia, meaning enthusiasts ormystics, or persons distinguished by extraordinary sanctity. Theobject of the Sooffee is to attain a divine beatitude, which hedescribes as consisting in absorption into the essence of Deity. Thesoul, according to his doctrine, is an emanation from God, partaking ofhis nature; just {290} as the rays of light are emanations from thesun, and of the same nature with the source, from whence they arederived. The creature and the Creator are of one substance. No onecan become a Sooffee without strictly conforming to the establishedreligion, and practising every social virtue; and when, by this means, he has gained a habit of devotion, he may exchange what they stylepractical for spiritual worship, and abandon the observance of allreligious forms and ceremonies. He at length becomes inspired, arrivesat truth, drops his corporeal veil, and mixes again with that gloriousessence from which he has been partially and for a time separated. Thelife of the Sooffees of Persia, though generally austere, is notrendered miserable, like that of the visionary devotees of Hinduism, bythe practice of dreadful severities, their most celebrated teachershave been famed for knowledge and devotion. The Persians are a poeticpeople, and the very genius of Sooffeeism is poetry. Its raptures arethe raptures of inspiration; its hopes are those of a highly sensitiveand excited imagination; its writers in the sweetest strains celebratethe Divine love, which pervades all nature: everything, from the veryhighest to the lowest, seeking and tending towards union with Deity asits object of supreme desire. They inculcate forbearance, abstemiousness, and {291} universal benevolence. They are unqualifiedpredestinarians. The emanating principle, or the soul, proceeding fromGod, can do nothing, they say, without his will, nor refuse to doanything which he instigates. Some of them, consequently, deny theexistence of evil; and the doctrine of rewards and punishments issuperseded by their idea of re-absorption into the Divine essence. Thefree opinions of this class of enthusiasts subvert the doctrines ofIslamism, yet they pay an outward respect to them; they unsettle theexisting belief, without providing an intelligible substitute; theyadmit the divine mission of the Prophet, but explain away the dogmas heuttered; and while they affect to yield him honour as a person raisedup by God, to induce moral order in the world, they boast their owndirect and familiar intercourse with Deity, and claim, on that account, unqualified obedience in all that relates to spiritual interests. 

The similarity of Sooffeeism to the ancient Pythagorean and Platonicdoctrines will occur to every one at all acquainted with the religionand philosophy of antiquity. It as closely resembles some of thedistinguishing tenets of the Brahminical faith. In fact, it seems asif designed, in conjunction with the refined theology of ancient, andthe sublime visions of modern idolaters, to teach us that, withoutDivine guidance, the loftiest human {292} conceptions on subjectsconnected with God and religion invariably err; the ignorant and theinstructed are equally wrong; "the world by wisdom knows not God. "

The Wahabees are a modern sect of Mohammedan reformers, whose effortshave considerably changed the aspect of the religion of the Prophet. Perhaps to them may be owing much of that rigid adherence to Mohammedandoctrine and practice which prevails in those parts where theirinfluence has been felt. They are the followers of Abdol Wahab, whocommenced his career in the region where, during the lifetime of theProphet, Moseilama had threatened a considerable division among hisfollowers. Wahab was an ambitious fanatic, who aimed, nevertheless, atreforming the national religion. He was aided by powerful princes ofthe province of Nejed; and, within a short time, the tenets hemaintained spread throughout the peninsula. His fundamental principle, like that of Mohammed, was the unity of God. The Koran he regarded asdivine, rejecting all the glosses which ignorance and infatuation hadput upon it, and holding in utter contempt all the traditions and talesconcerning its author, which the devout of every generation had eagerlyreceived. The reverence, approaching to adoration, which the Arabswere wont to pay to the name of Mohammed, all visits to his tomb, andall {293} regard to the tombs and relics of Arab saints, he denounced;and the costly ornaments with which a mistaken piety had enriched thesesacred spots, he thought might be appropriated to ordinary purposes. Wahab would not suffer the common oath of, by Mohammed, or by Ali, tobe used among his followers, on the very rational ground that an oathis an appeal to a witness of our secret thoughts, and who can knowthese but God? The title of Lord, generally given to the Prophet byhis followers, Wahab rejected as impious. He was commonly mentioned bythis zealous reformer and his adherents by his simple name, without theaddition of "our Lord, the Prophet of God. " All who deviated in anydegree from the plain sense of the Koran, either in belief or practice, were infidels in their esteem; upon whom, therefore, according to itsdirections, war might be made. Thus was the martial spirit of theearly Saracens again called into exercise; and with the ardour thatcharacterized the days of the immediate successors of the Prophet, theywere prepared at once to assail the consciences and the property of mennot exactly of their own faith. 

At the call of their leader, they assembled first in the plain ofDraaiya, some 400 miles east of Medina, armed and provided at their ownexpense for war. Bagdad and Mecca in vain attempted to {294} suppressthem; the seraglio itself was filled with their formidable war-cry; thesultan trembled on his throne; and the caravans from Syria suspendedtheir usual journeys. The imperial city suffered from their ravages inits usual supplies of coffee; and the terror of their name was widelyspreading among devout Mohammedans of every country, for they hadviolated the shrines of saints, and levelled to the ground the chapelsat Mecca, which devotion had consecrated to the memory of the Prophetand his family. At the commencement of the present century, however, Mecca was recovered from them by the Turkish arms, and the plague, withthe smallpox, breaking out just at this time among the followers ofWahab, probably saved the mighty fabric of Islamism. These reversesdid not quench, however, the ardour of the Wahabees. Their leader hadbeen assassinated, but his son, already distinguished for his prudenceand valour, succeeded him in the command. Medina fell beneath hispower, and from thence to the Persian Gulf he seemed likely to reignlord paramount. In 1805 he was able to impose a heavy tax on thecaravan of pilgrims from Damascus to the Holy City, and declared thatthenceforth it should consist of pilgrims alone, without the pride andpomp of a religious procession. Soon afterward they again enteredMecca, and immediately threatened with destruction every {295} sacredrelic; but they did not put their threats into execution. Variousconflicts between them and the orthodox Mohammedans have since ensued, the general result of which has been to break the martial and fanaticalspirit of the Wahabees, and to re-establish the power of the grandsultan in cities and districts where it had been placed in jeopardy. They are still, indeed, dreaded as plunderers, but no great nationalconvulsion has resulted from their efforts. 

Some writers regret the suppression of this once powerful sect ofMohammedans, believing that, if continued, they would have beeninstrumental in overthrowing the Moslem faith, and making way for apurer religion; but for ourselves, we see little occasion for theseregrets. The Wahabees must not be supposed more favourable to a purefaith than are those by whom they have been overthrown. If they mustbe regarded as reformers, they only attempted to correct a few absurdand scandalous practices: the impious and abominable dogmas of theKoran they left untouched; or, if they touched them, it was only toenforce their observance with greater rigour. Their creed was evenmore sanguinary and intolerant than that of the ancient Mohammedans, and probably the continuance of their power would have been nothingmore than the continuance of injustice, cruelty, and {296} persecution. We do not look for the overthrow of Mohammedanism by such means. Onesystem of error may sometimes destroy another, but the pure faith, which blesses a miserable world by directing men in the path of safety, knowledge, and happiness, will extend only as the sacred volume isdiffused, and as that holy influence from God accompanies it by whichthe understanding is illuminated and the heart renewed. Fanaticism isno auxiliary of the religion of the Bible; it neither prepares its waynor accelerates its progress. Violence and war are utterly rejected bythis divine system, as alien from its spirit and character. "Mykingdom, " says its founder, "is not of this world: if my kingdom wereof this world, then would my servants fight; but now is my kingdom notfrom hence. "

THE END.