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1S34,

ARABIA.

VOL. II.

MOCHA.

HARPER & BROTHERS. NEW-YORK.

r^.

^

THE

HISTORY

OF

ARABIA.

ANCIENT AND MODERN.

CONTAINING

A DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY — AN ACCOUNT OF ITS INHABITANTS,
ANTIQUITIES, POLITICAL CONDITION, AND EARLY COMMERCE — THE
LIFE AND RELIGION OF MOHAMMED — THE CONQUESTS, ARTS, AND
LITERATURE OF THE SARACENS — THE CALIPHS OF DAMASCUS, BAGDAD,
AFRICA, AND SPAIN — THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT AND RELIGIOUS CERE-
MONIES OF THE MODERN ARABS — ORIGIN AND SUPPRESSION OF THE
WAHABEES — THE INSTITUTIONS, CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND CUS-
TOMS OF THE BEDOUINS — AND**. COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF ITS NATU-
RAL HISTORY.

BY ANDREW CRICHTON.

WITH A MAP AND ENGRAVINGS.
IN TWO VOLUMES,

VOL. II.

NEW-YORK:

PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS,
NO. 82 CLIFF-STREET.

18 3 4.

v)S

ENGRAVINGS IN VOL. II.

Vignette. — View of the South Quarter of Mocha.

An Arab of Rankin the Costume of Yemen . . . . Page 127

Mecca and the Grand Temple during the Pilgrimage . . . 185

Convent of El Bourg near Tor 251

Abdallah ibn Saoud, Chief of the Wahabees 301

A Young Female of the Coffee Mountains 313

fi4813J)

- I i-7

CONTENTS

OF
THE SECOND VOLUME.

CHAPTER I.

THE ABBASSIDES, OR CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

Accession of the Abbassides — Caliphs of that Dynasty — Aknan-
sor — Haroun al Rasehid — Almamoun — Motassem — Capri-
cious Cruelty of Motawakkel — ^lagnificence of the Caliphs —
Weakness and Corruption of their Government — Their' Mili-
tary Operations — Wars of Haroun al Rasehid and his Suc-
cessors with the Romans — Victories of Nicephorus Phocas
and John Zimisces over the Moslems — Causes of the Dovm-
fall of the Abbassides — Despotic Power of the Turkish Guards
— Ravages and Cruelties of the Karmathians — Dismember-
ment of the Empire into independent Principahties — Persia
usurped by petty Dynasties — Conquests of Mahmoud of
Ghizni in India — Irruptions of the Tartars — Togrul Beg ap-
pointed Viceroy of the Mohammedan Dominions — Hoolcku
lays Siege to Bagdad — Surrender and Pillage of that Capital
— "Death of Mostasem and Extinction of the Caliphate Page 9

CHAPTER II.

CALIPHS OF AFRICA, EGYPT, AND SPAIX.

The Aglabites or Caliphs of Cairoan — Military Exploits of the
Western Arabs — Reduction of Crete — Conquest of Sicily —
Invasion of Italy — Pillage of Rome — Siege of Gaeta — Naval
Victory of the Christians — Subjugation of Corsica and Sardi-
nia by the Saracens — Expulsion of the Aglabites — Moorish
Kingdom of Timbuctoo — Dynasty of the Fatimites in Egypt
— Their Subversion by Saladin, Founder of the Ayubites —
DjTiasty of the Ommiades in Spain founded by Abdalrahman
— Their Power and Magnificence — Extinction of the Caliph-

/

4 CONTENTS.

ate — Conquest of Granada by Ferdinand — "Wealth and Popu-
lation of the Moorish Capitals — The Government, Arms, and
Military Tactics of the Arabs — Revenue, Trade, and Marine
of Spain under the Saracens — Reduction of Sicily by the
Normans, and final Overthrow of the Mohammedan Power in
Europe 39

CHAPTER III.

LITERATURE OP THE ARABS.

The Arabs turn their Attention to Learning — Their rapid Pro-
gress— Literary Ardour and Patronage of the Caliphs — Haroun
al Raschid — Almamoun — Vathek — College of Mostanser at
Bagdad — Academies and Libraries founded in Persia, Syria,
Egypt, Africa, and Spain — Course of Study in the Saracen
Schools — Grammar — Rhetoric — Poetry — Tales — Arabian
Nights' Entertainments— Story-tellers— History— Biography-
Numismatics — Geography — Statistics — Metaphysics — Medi-
cine and Medical Authors — Rhazes — Avicenna — Pharmacy —
Anatomy and Surgery — Botany — Chymistrj' — Astrology — As-
tronomy— Optics — Mathematics — Trigonometry — Algebra —
Arithmetic — Architecture — The Fine Arts — Painting — Cal-
ligraphy— Music — Agriculture — Manufactures in Steel, Por-
celain, and Leather — Claims of the Arabs as the Restorers
of Letters and the Importers of useful Arts and Inventions
into Europe 60

CHAPTER IV.

CIVIL HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA.

Extinction of the Saracen Power — Formation of new Kingdoms
in the East — Victories and Dominions of Timur — Conquests
of the Turks and Portuguese in Arabia — Selim I. obtains the
Investiture of the Caliphate — Expulsion of the Turks by the
Independent Arab Chiefs — Dominions of the Imam of Sanaa
— His Government, Revenues, and Military Force — Descrip-
tion of Sanaa — Visits of European Travellers to that Capital
— Principal Towns in Yemen — Beit el Fakih — Taas — Mocha
— Aden — Government of Hadramaut — Of Oman — Description
of Muscat — Court, Revenues, and Commercial Enterprise of
the Imam — Islands of Bahrein — Pearl Fisheries — Depreda-
tions of the Joassamee Pirates in the Persian Gulf— Various
Expeditions from India to suppress them — Reduction of Ras
el Khyraa and their principal Fortresses — Arab Settlers on
ihe Persian Frontier — Classification of the wandering Be-
douin Tribes — Their migratory Habits and Military Strength
— Government of their Sheiks — Their Laws and Judicial
Trials — Refle.ctions on their Political Institutions . . . 108

CONTENTS. 6

CHAPTER V.

HEJAZ, OB HOLY LAND OF THE MOSLEM.

Government of Hejaz — Succession and Power of the Sheriffs —
Reign of Ghaleb — Sheriff Families at Mecca — Cities and
Towns in Hejaz — Jidda — Yembo — Taif— Mecca — Description
of the Beituilah or Grand Temple — The Court and Colon-
nades—The Kaaba— The Black Stone— The Tob or Cover-
ing of the Kaaba — The Zemzem Well — Servants and Reve-
nues of the Mosque — Inhabitants of Mecca — Their Character,
Domestic Manners and Employments — Low State of Arts
and Learning in Hejaz 168

CHAPTER VL

THE MOHAM.MEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

The Pilgrim-caravans — Their different Routes — Description and
Number of Pilgrims — The Mahmal — The Ihram — Duties of
the Pilgrims on arriving at Mecca — Walk to Safra and Omra
— Journey to Arafat — Sermon of the Cadi — Curious Appear-
ance of the Scene — Stoning of the Devil — The Feast of Sa-
crifice— Return of the Procession to Mecca — Visit to the Inte-
rior of the Kaaba — Departure of the Caravans — Altered
Appearance of the City — Holy Places round Mecca — Pil-
grimage to Medina — Description of the City — Its Inhabitants
— Their Character and Occupation — The Mosque of the
Prophet — The famous Tomb of Mohammed — Ceremonies
required of the Hajjis — Servants and Revenues of the Mosque
— bacred Places near Medina — Return of the Pilgrims — Bedr
— Suez — Convent of St. Catherine — Regulations and Hospi-
tality of the Monks — Places of Superstitious Resort about
Mount Sinai — The Cave of Elijah — The Rock of Meribah —
Gebel Mokkateb or the Written Mountain — The Convent
near Tor— Gebel Narkous or Mountain of the Bell . . . 205

CHAPTER VII.

HISTORY OF THE WAHABEE8.

Origin of the Wahabees— Their Founder, Abdel Wahab— Ac-
count of their Doctrines — Success of Ibn Saoud and Abdela-
zeez in Nejed — Siege and Plunder of Kerbela — Submission
of Mecca and Medina — Destruction of religious Monuments
— Murder of Abdelazeez — Accession of Saoud — His Charac-
ter— Government — Revenues— Military Tactics — Revival of
the pilgrimage— Predatory Incursions of the Wahabees — At-
tempts of the Turkish Government to aunpress them — Expe-

b CONTENTS,

ditionfrom Egypt lands at Yembo — Defeat of Toussoun Bey
at Jedeida — Recapture of Medina by the Turks — Thomas
Keith, a Native of Edinburgh, made Governor of the City —
Recovery of Mecca and Hejaz — Mohammed All takes the
Command in Person — Arrest and Death of Ghaleb — Repulse
of the Turks at Taraba — Capture of Gonfode— Death of
Saoud — Accession of Abdallah — Strength of the Turkish
Army — Defeat of the Wahabees at Bissel — Surrender of Ta-
raba and Beishe — Cruelties of Ali — His Return to Egypt —
Campaign of Toussoun in Nejed — Treaty of Peace with Ab-
dallah— Treachery ol AU and Renewal of Hostilities — Expe-
dition under Ibrahim Pasha — His success in Nejed — Siege
and Surrender of Deraiah — Death of Abdallah— Suppression
of the Wahabees and Destruction of their Capital — Reflec
tions on the Character of their Government and Religion 254

CHAPTER VIII.

SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

National Character ol the Arabs — Their Family Pride — Orders
of Nobility — Their Domestic Life — Their Tents — Furniture —
Mode of Encamping — Dress — Personal Appearance — Acute-
ness of their Senses — Sagacity in tracing Footsteps — Their
Arms — Food and Cookery — Manner of Eating — Diseases —
Wealth and Industry — Marriage — Divorce — Education of
their Children — Funerals — Modes of Salutation — Hospitality
Warfare — Robbery and Theft — The Blood-revenge — Amuse-
ments— Poetry and !Music — Learning — Medicine — Supersti-
tions— Language — Arts — Commerce — ProposedSteamRoutes
by the Euphrates and the Red Sea — Population— Concluding
Reflections 306

CHAPTER IX.

NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA

Want of Information on the Natural History of Arabia — Scien-
tific Discoveries of the Danish Travellers — Geology — Mount
Sinai — Hills of Hejaz and Yemen — Volcanic Rocks — Hot
Springs — Soil— Agriculture — Crops — HarA-est — Comparative
Fertility of different Districts — Mineralogy — No Gold or
Silver Mines in Arabia — Precious Stones — Botaxy — Vegeta-
bles— Plants — Coloquiniida — Tobacco — Hemp — Trees and
Shrubs — Fruit-trees — The Palm —Date-groves — Manna —
Gum-arabic — Honey — Shrubs — The Nebek — Tamarisk —
Balsam of Mecca — The Gharkad — Henna — Acacia — Incense
Tree — Coffee — Zoology — Wild Animals — Hyenas — Mon-
keys— Rock-goats — Hares — Jerboas, &c ..... 349

ARABIA;

ANCIENT AND MODERN.

CHAPTER I.

THE ABBASSIDES, OR CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

Accession of the Abbassides — Caliphs of that Djmasty — Alman-
80r — Haroun al Raschid — Almamoun — Motassem — Capri-
cious Cruelty of Motawakkel — Magnificence of the Caliphs —
Weakness and Corruption of their Government — Their Mili-
tary Operations — "VVars of Haroun al Raschid and his Suc-
cessors with the Romans — Victories of Nicephorus Phocas
and John Zimisces over the Moslems — Causes of the Down-
fall of the Abbassides — Despotic Power of the Turkish Guards
— Ravages and Cruelties of the Karmathians — Dismember-
ment of the Empire into independent Principalities — Persia
usurped by petty Dynasties — Conquests of Mahmoud of
Ghizni in India — Irruptions of the Tartars — Togrul Beg ap-
pointed Viceroy of the Mohammedan Dominions — Hoolaku
lays Siege to Bagdad — Surrender and Pillage of that Capital
— Death of Mostasem and Extinction of the Caliphate.

With the elevation of the house of Abbas the
family of Mohammed ascended once more the pulpit
and the throne of their ancestor ; and so long as the
Saracen power continued to exist, they ruled the
greater part of the Moslem world. The Arabs have
marked the several dynasties with different degrees
of reverence and respect. The reigns of Abu Beker,
Omar, Othman, andAli are distinguished by the title
of the Perfect Caliphate, as that of their successors

10 CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

is called the Imperfect. The Ommiades are gene-
rally styled Caliphs of Syria, their capital being Da-
mascus ; while the Abbassides are known in history
as the Caliphs of Bagdad, the city to which they
transferred their court. In the rise of the Moham-
medan monarchy, the empire, however menaced by
revolt, was still one and undivided ; but in its de-
cline and fall this indivisibility ceased, and the Mos-
lems beheld three independent sovereignties erected,
towards the close of the eighth century, within dif-
ferent parts of their dominions — one seated at Bag-
dad, another in Egypt and Africa, and a third in
Spain.

The house of Abbas, whose accession to the
throne was attended with circumstances of such
unparalleled cruelty as to procure for its first caliph
the epithet of Al Saffa/i, or the Sanguinary, ruled
over the Eastern World with various degrees of
authority for a period of five hundred years. The
first century beheld their powxr undiminished ;
though the dismemberment of several provinces
showed that their government was inherently weak,
and that the unwieldiy fabric could not long main-
tain its stability. Like other great nations of an-
tiquity, the policy of the Saracens seemed better
adapted for the acquisition of empire than for its
preservation ; and tliougli, by a surprising effort of
arms, they had compelled the world to acknowledge
the might of the Commander of the Faithful, they
could not infuse into their system those principles
of wholesome and vigorous administration essential
to its perpetuity. The incessant workings of fac-
tion made it necessary to invest the lieutenants of
provinces with absolute command ; and these, as
the monarchy grew feeble and degenerate, were
enabled to make their governments hereditary, and
to assume every thing except the name of kings.
The seeds of dissolution were slowly matured by
foreign wars and domestic revolts : and the first

CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

11

twenty reigns are all that can be assigned as the
prosperous era of the Abbassides. In Arabia their
authority was nominally maintained by their vice-
roys ; though the sheiks of the desert gradually re-
sumed their ancient independence, and regarded the
successors of Mohammed merely as the chiefs of
their religion. As their power commenced in blood,
so it will be found in the sequel to have terminated
its career in the most dreadful scenes of cruelty and
carnage. The middle of the thirteenth century
brought the tragic history of their fallen race to a
close, Avhen the proud capital of Islam fell into the
hands of the Tartars.

DYNASTY OF THE ABBASSIDES,

OR CALIPHS

OF BAGDAD.

A. D.

A. H.

A. D.

A. H.

949

132 Saffah

934

322

Rhadi

754

136 Abnaijsor

941

329

Mottaki

775

158 Mahadi

944

333

Mostakfi

785

169

Alhadi

946

334

Almoti

786

170

Haroun al Raschid

974

363

Altai

809

193

Alamin

991

381

Alkadir

813

198

Almamoun

1031

422

Alkayem

833

218

r^rotassem

1075

467

Moktadi

842

227

Vathek

1094

487

Mostader

847

232

Motawakkel

1118

512

Mostarshed

861

247

Montaser

1135

529

Alrashed

862

248

Mostain

1136

530

Moktafi II.

866

252

Molazz^

1160

555

Mostanjed

867

255

Mohtadi

1170

566

Mostadi

870

256

Motamed

1180

575

Almaser

892

279

Motaded

1225

622

Daher

902

289

Moktafi I.

1226

623

Mostanser

908

295

Moktader

1242

640

Mostasem

932

320

Kaher

Of the earUer princes of this dynasty, several
were not more distinguished for their warlike prow-
ess than for their love and encouragement of science.
The reigns of SafFah and his successor were chiefly
occupied in extirpating the race of Ommiah, whose
hapless adherents were persecuted with unsparing
vengeance. Almansor had established his court at

13 CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

Hashemiah, a city founded by his brother on the
site or in the vicinity of Anbar ; but an insurrection
compelled him to resort to the erection of a new-
capital — and in the 145th year of the Hejira the
foundation of Bagdad was laid. The aid of astrol-
ogy was called in to ascertain a propitious season
for commencement ; and in a short time rose the
City of Peace, a splendid metropolis, on the banks
of the Tigris, which continued the seat of imperial
luxury for nearly five centuries. The rural scenery
was beautiful ; the spacious river had a width of 250
yards, and a depth, when the waters were at the
highest, of forty-six feet. The neighbourhood was
rich in gardens and villages ; and some idea of its
ancient population may be formed, when we learn
that 800,000 men and 60,000 women could attend the
funeral of Hanbal, their popular saint. Yet all this
magnificence seemed but ill adapted to the temper
of Almansor, whose extraordinary penury obtained
for him the nickname of Abu Daicanek, or Father
Halfpenny. After his w ars and buildings, he left
behind him 600,000,000 drachms and 24,000,000
•dinars of gold (about 24.850,000/. sterling) — a trea-
sure which the vices or the munificence of his chil-
dren scattered in a few years. In a single pilgrim-
age to Mecca, ]Mahadi expended 6,000,000 dinars
(2,775,000/.), and distributed 150,000 dresses to the
poor.

Haroun al Raschid (Aaron the Just), whose name
Eastern romance has made so familiar to European
ears, yielded to none of his predecessors in the fame
and splendour of his reign. He was eminentl}^ libe-
ral and humane ; and excelled as a warrior, a states-
man, and a scholar. He conversed familiarly with
all classes of his subjects ; and from these adven-
tures sprang numerous anecdotes, which historians
have been careful to preserve. To obviate the jeal-
ousies and collisions likely to arise from the nomina-
tion of a successor, he had proposed an equal division

CALIPHS OF BxVGDAD. 13

of the empire among his sons — a scheme which
created the very evils it was intended to avert. One
trait contrary to the general complexion of his
character was his mirelenting cruelty to the Barme-
cides, especially Yahia and his son .Taafar, who had
served him long, and given the most distinguished
proofs of zeal and fidelity. To this illustrious fam-
ily, well known to the Western World through the
same enchanting tales that have celebrated their
royal master, Haroun had entrusted the entire ad-
ministration of his extensive dominions. But court
favour is precarious : circumstances confirmed and
exasperated the caliph's aversion, and death or im-
prisonment extirpated the unhappy race of Barmec.
The ingratitude of Haroun in this instance inflicted
its own punishment ; for with their destruction his
affairs fell into immediate and irretrievable con-
fusion.

The reign of Alamin was one continued scene
of insurrection, revolt, and fraternal discord. His
treasures were exhausted; and to supply the de-
ficiency he was obliged to commit to the crucible
his gold and silver plate. The precious contents
of his warehouses were openly exposed to sale, that
he might have wherewithal to stimulate his soldiers
to exert themselves in defence of the capital, then
besieged by his brother Almamoun, who was pro-
claimed caliph in Khorasan. A body of 5000 mer-
cenary troops had joined his standard ; but, as he
had neither rich dresses nor pecuniary rewards to
bestow, they were compelled to rest satisfied with
a fumigation of their beards over pans of civet,
which Avere supplied in great profusion by the ca-
liph's orders ; and from this species of luxury the
inhabitants of Bagdad gave them in ridicule the ap-
pellation of the Civet corps. The head of this unfor-
tunate monarch, who was assassinated by a slave,
exhibited on the walls of Bagdad, announced to his
brother that he enjoyed an undivided throne.

Vol. n.— B

14 CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

Almamoiin, who, but for his own imprudence,
might have rendered his government as peaceful as
it was splendid, is generally regarded as the most
magnificent of the Abbassidan caliphs. At his nup-
tials a thousand pearls of the largest size were
showered on the head of the bride ; while gifts of
lands and houses, scattered in lottery-tickets among
the populace, annovmced to the astonished holders
the capricious profusion of the royal bounty. Be-
fore drawing his foot from the stirrup, he gave away
2,400,000 gold dinars (1,110,000/.), being four-fifths
of the income of a province. In the encouragement
of literature he Avas the Maecenas of the East.
Learned men from all parts of the world were in-
vited to resort to the court of Bagdad, where their
talents and their works received the most distin-
guished tokens of imperial favour ; and in return, these
happ}' scholars laboured t.o the utmost of their power
in extolling the glory of their generous patron, and
gratifying his taste by collecting and presenting to
him the most rare and curious productions of ori-
ental genius. Notwithstanding his many eminent
virtues and endowments, his panegyrists complain
that he evinced a favourable disposition to that
heretical doctrhie of the Motazalites which denies
to the Koran the authority of a divine revelation ;
and the last years of his life were spent in enforcing
on his subjects, by severe persecution, the acknow-
ledgment that it was of human origin. His capital
and his army he threw into commotion, by com-
manding them to assume the green uniform instead
of the black, the symbol of his family. His military
talents, which were great, found exercise in making
incursions against the Greeks, or in quelling insur-
rections in Persia, Arabia, and various parts of his
dominions ; for in one year not fewer than four
usurpers made their appearance in Syria, Palestine,
£g>-pt, and Western Africa.

The errors of Almamoun, both pohtical and

CALIPHS OF BAODAD. 1 Ti

spiritual, devolved on liis l)rother and successor, Mo-
tassem. The name of the Octonanj, by which he is
designated in history, originated from the remark-
able coincidences, that he was the eighth calipli of his
family — tlie eighth in descent from Abbas — he gained
eight distinguished victories — eight sons of princes
were enrolled in his service — he possessed eight
thousand male, and as many female, slaves — he lia.l
eight sons and eight daughters — he was master ol'
eighty thousand horses — and left in his coffers eight
millions of gold dinars, with eighteen millions of
drachms of silver. His strength was so prodigious
that he is said to have carried a burden of 1000
pounds' weight ; and such was the muscular power
of his arm, tTiat he could hold a sheep in each hand
until his attendants flayed them alive. Among
other luxuries he kept 130,000 piebald horses in his
stables at Samarra, and maintained 50,000 boys at
court, to each of whom he furnished a satchel or
little bag for provisions. He was the first calipli
that added to his name the title of BilJah, or B' Allah,
equivalent to the Dei Gratia of Christian sove-
reigns.

Yathek was a liberal patron of learned men, and
so charitable to the poor, that not a single beggar,
through the whole course of his reign, Avas to be
met with in his dominions. His brother Molawak-
kel displayed all the caprice and cruelty of a tyrant.
He evinced his displeasure against the .Tews and
Christians by compelling them to use wooden in-
stead of iron stirrups — to wear leathern girdles, to
have badges on their clothes, and to paint the figures
of devils or hogs and apes on their door, to distin-
guish them from the Mussulmans. Among other
instances of his folly and depravity, it is recorded
that one of the amusements in which he chose to
indulge himself was to give a magnificent entertain-
ment, and in the moment of convivial gayety to turn
a lion loose among the terrified guests. Sometimes

16 CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

he Avoiild introduce a snake into the sleeve of an un-
fortunate courtier, or cast leathern jars full of scor-
pions into a crowded assembly, or in the middle of
the hall where he had prepared a banquet for his
favourites, without suffering any one to rise from
the table or change his place. Besides these mis-
chievous diversions, he exercised great severity on
his subjects, of whom not less than 80,000 perished
in the Armenian rebellion. Persons of distinction,
who had the misfortune to incur his displeasure, he
enclosed in an iron stove lined with pointed nails,
which he caused to be heated in proportion to the
enormity of the crime he intended to punish. But
the tyrant met with his deserts, having fallen by the
hands of his own slaves, who employed against his
life those scimitars which he had recently distrib-
uted among them for the defence of his person and
throne. From the death of this prince the destina-
tion of the crown was usually fixed by the fierce
and mercenary chiefs of the Tartar slaves or guards,
and in their power it continued for twelve succes-
sions, including a period of about eighty-four years.
Yet with all this weakness a show of external
strength and magnificence was maintained. Of
Moktaders court and camp at Bagdad (A. D. 917)
we find a curious picture in Abulfeda, little accord-
ant with the declining state of his authority. " The
caliph's whole army," says he, " both horse and
foot, was under arms, which together made a body
of 160,000 men. His state-officers, the favourite
slaves, stood near him in splendid apparel, their
belts glittering with gold and gems. Near them
were 7000 eunuchs ; 4000 of them white, the re-
mainder black. The porters or doorkeepers were
in number 700. Barges and boats with the most
superb decorations were seen floating upon the Ti-
gris. Nor w^as the palace itself less splendid, in
which were hung up 38,000 pieces of tapestry;
12,500 of which were of silk, embroidered with gold.

CALIPHS OF BAGDAD. 17

The carpets on the floor were 22,000. A liundred
lions were brouglit out with a keeper to each.
Among the other spectacles of rare and stupendous
luxury, was a tree of gold and silver, spreading into
eighteen larger branches, on which, and on the
lesser boughs, sat a variety of birds, made of the
same precious metals, as well as the leaves of the
tree. The birds w^arbled their natural harmony,
each in its own strains ; the whole being effected
by the spontaneous motions of machinery." Such
was the marvellous luxury of the Abbassides. seated
amid the riches of the East. The ambassadors of
tlie Greek Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus,
on whose account such courtly grandeur was dis-
played, were led by the vizier, himself splendidly
dressed, through all this magnificence, to the foot
of the caliph's tin-one.

The arts by which this ingenious splendour was
supported seem then to have flourished in great per-
fection ; and we are told that Hallaj, a famous jug-
gler and fanatic, who was executed at Bagdad (A. D.
922), could astonish his numerous spectators by
making winter fruits appear in summer, and summer
fruits in winter ; and CA'-en bring showers of drachms
from the clouds, by merely stretching out his hands
in the air. The viziers and other officers of state
imitated the extravagance of their master. Kimar,
the emir of Mostadi, carried his ideas of magnifi-
cence so far. that in his chamber of retirement, a
chain of gold was suspended from the roof to rest
his hands on ; and in the same apartment stood a
golden vase, charged with musk, amber, and the
most expensive aromatics.

But the nations of the East had learned to despise
these idle pageantries, and trample on the degraded
successors of the prophet. Of the first twenty
caliphs of the house of Abbas, nine had been cut off
by poison, hunger, or assassination. Kaher was
dethroned by thie Tartar guards ; the searing instru-

B2

18 CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

ment was passed across his eyes, and in this
wretched state he is said to have prolonged an
existence of sixteen years, during which he was
regularly seen every Friday, with other blind men-
dicants, at the gates of the principal mosque of his
own capital, soliciting the alms of the charitable.
Of the succeeding monarchs, five, Mottaki, Mostakfi,
IMostarched, Alrashed, and Mostasem, met the same
fate. With a few exceptions, the power of the
Abbassides, after Rhadi, was reduced to an empty
pageant, — a mere gilded phantom. Sometimes their
condition was so degraded, that they were confined
like prisoners in their palace, exposed to blows and
insults, and scarcely allowed the ordinary means of
subsistence. So entirely was Rhadi the creature of
Ibn Rayek, his Emir al Omra (commander of com-
pianders), an officer first instituted by him, and supe-
rior to the vizier, that he could not draw a single
dinar from the treasury for his own use without the
permission of this absolute minister, who even
officiated in the great mosque, and had his name
inserted in the public prayers.

Usurpers had risen up in almost every province,
and erected themselves into independent sovereigns.
The dominions of the once mighty Emperors of the
Faithful were nearly circumscribed within the walls
of Bagdad, which still contained an innumerable
multitude of inhabitants, vain of their past fortune,
discontented with their present state, and oppressed
by the demands of a needy government, whose
exchequer had heretofore been replenished by
the spoil and the tribute of nations. Irak, the
greater part of Persia, the provinces round the Cas-
pian and beyond the Oxus, had recognised other
masters. Syria and Arabia no longer obeyed the
caliph ; while the rulers of Egypt and the West had
withdrawn their allegiance from the humbled pon-
tiff on the banks of the Tigris. Corruption and
venality pervaded every department of the state ;

CALIPHS OF BAGDAD. 19

the office of cadi of Bagdad, first exposed to sale in
the reign of Alnioti, was purchased for 200,000
drachms (4583/. 6s. 8d.) ; and we learn from Abulfeda,
that all the chief offices of government were dis-
posed of in a similar manner. The administration
was sometimes put into the handsof women belong-
ing to the court ; and among the secretaries and
counsellors of Moktader was a damsel named Ya-
mek, who was so thoroughly versed in the weightier
points of legislation, that the judges in the determi-
nation of criminal causes, as well as the doctors of
the law in their most important decisions, were fre-
• quently obliged to have recourse to her for assist-
ance. Religious differences gave rise to bitter and
incessant animosities. In every profession which
allowed room for two persons, the one was gene-
rally a vctary, and the other a persecutor, of the
sect of Ali. The rigid disciples of the famous Han-
bal carried their phrensy so far as to invade the pri-
vileges and the pleasures of domestic life. Enter-
ing the houses of the citizens, they spilled the wine
wherever they found it, beat the musicians, and
broke their instruments to pieces ; nor could they
be reduced to submission except by the publication
of a severe edict.

This state of corruption and licentiousness was
occasionally checked by a firm and determined
hand ; and some of the last of the Abbassidan princes
acted with an energy that would have done credit
to the brightest days of the caliphate. The policy
of Alkayem and Moctadi led them to strengthen
their interests by powerful matrimonial alliances.
The latter espoused the daughter of Malek Shah,
who was received at Bagdad amid an illumination
of waxen torches, " which echpsed the stars, and
set the firmament in a blaze." Of the luxury or
expenditure of their nuptial banquet, some estimate
may be formed from the assertion, that in the arti-
cle of sugar alone, 500 tons weight was consumed.

20 CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

Such was the vigilant prudence of Mostader, that
during the whole of his reign not a single insurrec-
tion occurred to disturb the tranquillity of his gov-
ernment. His son Mostarched has obtained a dis-
tinguished name among the few latter sovereigns of
the house of Abbas, who, in the decline of its
power, displayed some portion of zeal to revive the
expiring lustre of the caliphate. Mostanjed was a
prince of considerable energy, and scrupled not to
throw some unfortunate ladies of the harem into the
Tigris, for intriguing against his successor.

Under Mostanser and Mostasem the taste for ex-
pensive magnificence revived. Previous to one of
the religious festivals, the former ordered his jew-
eller to prepare avast quantity of small golden balls,
which he caused to be distributed among his domes-
tics, and shot from pellet-bows over all par's of the
city. Mostasem, the last of his line, whose power
had dwindled to a mere pre-eminence in dignity,
affected a higher degree of pomp and ceremony than
the most splendid of his predecessors. The greatest
princes were with difficulty allowed access to his
presence. In imitation of the Kaaba, the gate of
his palace was furnished with a stone and a piece of
black velvet, to which his subjects paid almost divine
honours ; and when the principal officers of state
made their court, they did homage to the proud pon-
tiff, by rubbing their eyes and forehead on these vene-
rable emblems, and kissing them with profound
humility. When he went abroad he generally wore
a mask or a veil, to inspire his people with the
greater respect ; as he passed, the crowded streets
were too narrow to contain the multitudes that
flocked to behold him ; and the windows or balco-
nies were let at an extravagant price.

The few conquests achieved by the Abbassides
were chiefly due to the talents of their earlier
princes ; and of these it will be necessary to give a
cursory sketch before recording the entire downfall

CALIPHS OF BAGDAD. 21

of their house. During- the sanguinary feuds that
followed, and confirmed their elevation to the
throne, the Greeks had stolen the opportunity of
avenging their wrongs and enlarging their limits.
With an army of 100,000 men they had invaded
Syria, and defeated a body of Arabs, of whom they
killed 2000, with five emirs or principal officers.
But a severe retribution was exacted by Mahadi,
who despatched a force of 95,000 Persians and
Arabs to the shores of the Bosphorus, under his
second son the renowned Haroun al Raschid. A
body of the imperial troops was defeated, and seve-
ral of the provinces laid waste with fire and sword.
A woman then occupied the Byzantine throne ; and
the encampment of the Saracens on the opposite
heights of Scutari informed Irene, in her palace at
Constantinople, of the loss of her troops and the
devastation of her territories. The helpless sove-
reign, or her ministers, consented to sign an igno-
minious peace ; nor could the exchange of some
royal presents disguise the annual tribute of 70,000
pieces of gold, which was imposed on the Roman
empire.

Fifteen years afterward (A. D. 796), when Ha-
roun had ascended the throne, he renewed his incur-
sions into the imperial dominions, and ravaged Lydia
and Lycaonia, vdience he carried off an immense
quantity of booty. Eight times were these preda-
tory inroads repeated; and as often as the Greeks
declined the regular payment, they v/ere tauglit to
feel that a month of depredation was more costly
than a year of tribute. On the deposition and ban-
ishment of the empress, her successor Nicephorus
resolved to obliterate this badge of servitude and
disgrace, which, in his epistle to the caliph, he
ascribed to the weakness of a female reign. " The
queen," said he, borrowing his allusion from the
game of chess, " considered you as a rook, and her-
self a pawn. That pusillanimous woman submitted

22 CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

to pay a tribute, the double of which she oug-ht to
have exacted from the barbarians. Restore, there-
fore, the fruits of your injustice, or abide the deter-
mination of the sword." At these words, by way
of bravado, the ambassador made Haroun a present
of several excellent sabres. The caliph smiled at
the threat, and drawing his famous scimitar {Sam-
samah), a weapon of historic or fabulous renown, he
cut them asunder one by one, like so many radishes,
before the eyes of the astonished Greeks, without
seeming- to exert the strength of his arm or turning
the edge of his well-tempered blade. He then die-,
tated an epistle of tremendous brevity : " In the
name of the most merciful God ! Haroun al Raschid,
Commander of the Faithful, to Nicephorus the Ro-
man dog, I have read thy letter, thou son of an unbe-
lieving mother. Thou shalt not hear, — thou shalt
behold my reply." A Avar of desolation ensued.
With a force of 100,000 men, Haroun invaded the
imperial territories. Nicephorus was overthrown
in Lycaonia, with the loss of 40,000 of his best
troops, having received three wounds in the action.
In this campaign the Saracens ravaged the adja-
cent provinces, and took a considerable number of
the principal towns ; after which they compelled the
emperor to a treaty of peace, by which he engaged
to pay annually 300,000 dinars (138,750/.), and ab-
stain from hostile encroachments in future. On
the faith of this stipulation the caliph withdrew into
Western Irak ; but the distance of 500 miles, and
the inclemency of the season, Avhich set in with un-
usual severity, encouraged Nicephorus to violate
the truce by assailing the Moslem dominions. The
Commander of the Faithful was not slow to punish
the aggression. In a rapid march during the depth
of winter, he passed the snows of Mount Taurus,
and landed a regular army of 135,000 men in the
plains of Phrygia. A large body of volunteers
.swelled this huge armament to 300,000 persons.

CALIPHS OF BAGDAD. 23

Like a host of locusts they swept the surface of Asia
Minor far beyond Tayana and Ancyra, and invested
the Pontic Heraclea, now a paltry towai, Ijut then a
flourishing place, whose ships had conveyed home
the intrepid Xenophon and his ten thousand ; and
whose walls, 1200 years afterward, were capable of
sustaining a month's siege against the combined
forces of the Arabs. The ruin was complete ; the
city was reduced to ashes ; and, besides immense
spoil, 16,000 captives enhanced the triumph of the
conqueror.

Several other towns met a similar fate. Cyprus
■was attacked, and the inhabitants pillaged without
mercy; after which, the "Roman dog" was com-
pelled to retract his haughty defiance, and submit
to an annual assessment. As a further mark of his
degradation, the coin of the tribute-money was
stamped with the image and superscription of Ha-
roun and his three sons. *It was perhaps for-
tunate for Xicephorus, as the terms might have
been still more humiliating, that his adversary was
hastily called away to check the progress of revolt
at Samarcand, where the usurper, Ibn al Leith, had
assumed the title of caliph. The insurrection spread
over the Transoxian provinces, and extended also
to Khorasan and Kerman. Haroun had left his
favourite palace at Racca to march against the
rebels, when death put an end to his triumphant
career. His general Harethmah, laid siege to Sa-
marcand, and conveyed the refractory chief in chains
to the presence of Almamoun.

The Emperor Theophilus, one of the most active
and high-spirited princes that reigned at Constan-
tinople during the middle ages, had led an army five
times in person against the Saracens. In the last
of these expeditions (A. D. 838) he invaded Syria at
the head of a hundred thousand men, and besieged
the obscure town of Sozometra, the birth-place of
Motassem, which he took and levelled with the

24 CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

ground. The male inhabitants were all put to the
sword, and the women and children carried into
captivity. At Malatia, in Cappadocia, 1000 females
were made prisoners ; these, and the natives of other
towns which he reduced, were treated with exces-
sive cruelty, their eyes put out, or their noses and
ears cut off. The arms of Motassem were at that
moment occupied with the revolt of the Persian im-
postor Babec, who was taken in 837 and put to an
ignominious death. This fanatic had for twenty
years maintained his power against the caliphs ;
during which time he had massacred above 250,000
individuals. Nud, one of his officers, employed in
these executions, acknowledged that he had de-
stroyed with his own hand more than twenty thou-
sand Moslems.

On the suppression of this rebellion, Motassem
conducted a formidable army into A.sia Minor. An-
cyra was laid in ashes, and not a town or fortress
belonging to the Christians could withstand him.
Amarium was invested ; and after an obstinate siege
of fifty-five days, and the loss of 30,000 Greeks, the
place was betrayed by one of the inhabitants, who
had abjured the Christian religion. The walls were
levelled v/ith the ground, and 30,000 wretched cap-
tives gratified the vengeance of the conqueror. The-
ophilus had marched to the relief of his native city ;
but he was opposed by a body of ten thousand Sa-
racens. The two armies came to a general action
at Dazymenum. The Arabs at first were broken ;
but the Greeks, in the pursuit, were so galled by the
arrows of the Turks, that they were in their turn
thrown into complete disorder; and had not the
enemy's bowstrings been damped and relaxed by the
evening rain, very few of the Christians would have
escaped with their emperor from the field of battle.
Tired of destruction, Motassem returned to his
new palace of Samarra.

The loss of 70,000 Moslems in the siege of Amo-

CALIPHS OF BAGDAD. 25

rium entailed a severer fate on the unhappy captives,
who were treated like the most atrocious criminals.
Mutual necessity sometimes extorted the exchange
or ransom of prisoners ; but, in the relig^ious conflict
of tliese great empires, peace was without con-
fidence, and war without mercy. Quarter was sel-
dom given in the field ; those who escaped the edge
of the sword were condemned to hopeless servi-
tude, or cruel torture ; and a Catholic emperor
relates, with visible satisfaction, the execution of
the Saracens of Crete, who were flayed alive, or
plunged into caldrons of boiling oil. Vathek nego-
tiated with Michael III. for an exchange of captives.
The Christians and the Moslems were drawn up on
the banks of the Lamus, near Tarsus. Of the Arabs,
4460 men, 800 women and children, and 100 con-
federates were exchanged for an equal number of
Greeks ; and more might have been redeemed, had
not the caliph excluded from the benefit of the car-
tel all heretics who refused to assert the creation of
the Koran. The two bands passed each other on
the middle of the bridge, and the shouts of Allah
akbar! on the one side, and Kyrie eleison! on the
other, announced the grateful tidings that they had
joined the respective camps of their countrymen.

Under the feeble successors of Moktader and
Rhadi, irruptions were occasionally made into the
Grecian territories, both by sea and land ; but, in
proportion as the Eastern World was convulsed and
broken, the Byzantine empire had recovered its
prosperity, especially after the accession of the
Basilian race, whose wisdom and talents infused a
new strength into the government. The lofty titles
of the Morning Star and the Death of the Saracens
were applied in the public acclamations to Nicepho-
rus Phocas, a sovereign as renoAvned in the camp as
he was unpopular in the city. The twelve years'
reign (A . D. 963-975), or military command of this
prince, and of his assassin and successor John Zi-

VoL. IL— C

26 CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

mivsces, llie two heroes of the age, form the most
splendid period of tiie Byzantine annais. In a series
of bloody combats, they extended their victories
from the moimtanions defiles of Cappadocia to the
deserts of Bagdad. The conqest of Cilicia may be
said to have been achieved by the sm'render of JMa-
sifia or Mopsuestia, and Tarsus. In the siege of the
former city, which was taken by assault, 200,000
Moslems, including probably the inhabitants of the
dependant districts, were predestined to death or
slavery. Tarsus was reduced by the slow progress
of famine. The besieged held out in the hope of
succour from Egypt ; and no sooner had the Sara-
cens yielded on honourable terms, than they were
mortified by the distant view of their supplies, the
arrival of which by sea was too late to avail them.
The Mohammedi^n population w^ere dismissed in
safety to the confines of Syria, and their places
replenished with a colony of Christians.

Having forced and secured the narrow passes of
Mount Amanus, the Greeks repeatedly carried their
arms into the heart of Syria. Antioch and Aleppo
were once more restored to the faith of Christ and
the dominion of the Caesars. Nicephorus, with a
strong army, invested the latter place, and having
applied his military engines to the walls, he made
his attack with great fury. After a fruitless assault
of three days, a dissension of the inhabitants left the
"gates unguarded, and afforded the Greeks an oppor-
tunity of entering the town. Vast multitudes of
mea and women were put to ' the sword. In the
palace the victors seized a well-furnished magazine
of arms, a stable of 1400 mules, and 300 bags of sil-
ver and gold. Ten thousand youths of both sexes
were led into captivity ; the weight of the precious
spoil exceeded the strength and number of the
beasts of burden ; the remainder was consumed with
fire, and after a licentious possession of ten days,
the Romans abandoned the scene of desolation. In

CALIPHS or BAGDAD. 27

their Syrian inroads, tho Greeks reduced more than
100 cities ; eiijhteen pulpits of the principal mosques
were committed to the tlames, to expiate the sacri-
lege of the disciples of Mohammed. On the shift-
in": scene of conquest, the names of Hierapolif>,
Apamca, Emesa, Acre, and Baalbec, again appear.
The Emperor Zimisces encamped in the Paradi.se
of Damascus, where he accepted the ransom of a
submissive people ; and the torrent was only stopped
at tlie impregnable fortress of Tripoh, on the Phe-
nician coast.

From the passage of iMount Taurus to the Persian
CiUlf, the Euphrates had been impervious to the
Greeks since the days of Heraclius. It was crossed
by the victorious Zimisces: and the historian may
imitate the speed with which he overran the once
famous cities of Samosata, Edessa, Martyropolis,
Amida, and Nisibis, the ancient limit of the Roman
empire in the neighbourhood of the Tigris. His
ardour was quickeried by the desire of grasping tho
imaginary v/ealih of the Abbassides in their own
capital. But Bagdad was reheved of its apprehen-
sions by his sudden retreat. Satiated with glory
and laden with plunder, Zimisces returned to Con-
stantinople, where he displayed in his triumph the
silks and aromatics of Asia, with 300 myriads of
gold and silver. The Saracen states recovered from
the effects of this transient hurricane. On the de-
parture of the Greeks, the fugitive princes returned
to their capitals; the Ncstorian and Jacobite Ghris-
Cians broke their involuntary oaths and exch.anged
vheir allegiance ; while the Moslems again purified'
th.'ir temples, and overturned the images of the
•ajjus and martyrs. Antioch, with the towns of
Cilicla and the isle of Cyprus, were the only per-
tuanent and useful accessions to the Byzantine tei--'
k'itories of uil the imperial conquests in the East.

But the revovijiy of so many cities and provinces
added nothinc lo iKs; exhausted power of the Abbas-

28 CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

sides ; and, in contemplating the fallen fabric of
their greatness, it is easy to discover the principal
causes which hastened that catastrophe. When the
Arabian conquerors had spread themselves over dis-
tant countries, and were mingled with the servile
crowds of Persia, Syria, and Egypt, they insensibly
lost the hardy and martial virtues of the desert. The
Turks and Tartars, who dwelt northward of the
Oxus and the Jaxartes, possessed the daring enter-
prise peculiar to their climate ; and from their hordes
the mercenary forces of the caliphs were frequently
recruited. Those robust youths, either taken in
war or purchased in trade, were educated in the
exercises of the field and the profession of the Mo-
hammedan faith. From being slaves they w^ere
imbodied into household troops, and placed in arms
round the throne of their benefactor. Motassem
was the first that introduced the dangerous expe-
dient of Turkish guards, of whom he received above
50,000 into his capital. If his own troops had been
factious, the foreign militia to whom he had intrusted
his person proved still more refractory. From pro-
tectors they soon becam.e lords over the Commander
of the Faithful, usurping dominion both in the pa-
lace and in the provinces. Their licentious conduct
provoked the public indignation, and may be regarded
as one leading cause of detaching the Moslems from
the allegiance which was due to their lawful sove-
reigns, and ultimately of subverting the throne.

Another formidable enemy to the stability of the
Abbassides was the religious sect of the Karma-
thians, who sprang up in the vicinity of Cufa about
the 277th year of the Hejira. Their founder was an
Arabian fanatic of the name of Karmath, who as-
sumed to himself many lofty and incomprehensible
titles, The Guide, The Demonstration, The Word,
The Holy Ghost, The Camel. He aff'ected great
sanctity and strictness of life ; claimed to be the
herald of the Messiah, the representative of John

CALIPH3 OF BAGDAD. Of

the Baptist, Gabriel, and the imams descended from
Ah. He altered the established foTms of v/orship,
relaxed the duties of ablution and fastinic; per-i
mitted the use of wine and forbidden foods ; preaclied
aj^ainst the utility of the pili^riniage ; and enjoined
his disciples to pray fifty times daily. He chose
twelve apostles to govern ins flock and propas^ate
his doctrines ; and such was the success of these
missionaries among tlie Bedouins, as to threaten
Arabia with a new revolution. From Bahrein and
the shores of the Persian Gulf, these zealots spread
their conquests far and wide, over Chaldea, Syria,
and Mesopotamia. As they disowned the title and
abhorred the worldly pomp of the caliphs, they per-
secuted their subjects with the bitterest hostilit}'-.

Many a bloody conflict ensued ; but the mercena-
ries of Bagdad were terrified to face an enemy
107,000 strong, wlio neither asked nor accepted
quarter. The cities of Racca, Baalbec, Cufa, and
Bussora were pillaged ; Ba^gdad itself was filled with
consternation ; for the daring Abu Taher, with no
more than 500 horse, had advanced to Anber, and
threatened to attack the City of Peace. A lieuten-
ant had recommended the Karmathian chief to with-
draw ; when the latter, to evince the determination
of his troops, turned to three of his companions, and
at his command the first plunged a dagger into, his
own breast ; the second leapt into the Tigris ; and
the third cast himself headlong from a precipice.
" Relate," continued he, " to your master what you
liave seen ; before the evenini!; he shall be chained
among my dogs." The Saracen camp was sur-
prised, and before the evening the menace was lite-
rally executed. Mecca was an object of aversion
to the Karmathians, and in the SlTth year of the
Hejira (A. D. 929) Abu Taher entered the sacred
city at the season of the pilgrimage. Even/^ spe-
cies of cruelty and profanation was committed.
Thirty thousand citizens and strangers were put to

C2

30 CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

the sword; and the most venerable relics of the
Moslem faith were carried off or trampled in the
dust. A fter this bloody and sacrilegious exploit, the
turbulent fanatics continued to infest the borders of
Irak, Syria, and Egypt ; and though they received
occasional checks from the Mohammedan arms,
they were for two centuries the pest and scourge of
the caliphate.

The unwieldy magnitude of the Saracen empire
itself, and the number of independent principalities
that sprung up in its bosom, were other obvious and
powerful accessories to its destruction. Almamoun
might proudly assert that it was easier for him to
rule the East and the West than to manage a chess-
board of two feet square ; yet errors in the game of
politics, though less palpable, are no less fatal than
mistakes in the artificial management of rooks and
pawns ; and it is easy to discover, that so early as
the reign of this caliph, the authority of the crown
in the remote provinces was already impaired. Dis-
tance slackened the reins of order and obedience
among the subjects of the Abbassides. A change
was scarcely visible so long as the lieutenants of
the caliph were content with their vicarious title ;
so long as they merely solicited for themselves, or
their sons, a renewal of the imperial grant ; and still
maintained on the coin, and in the pulpits of the
mosque, the name and the prerogatives of the Com-
mander of the Faithful. But, in the settled and
hereditary exercise of power, the viceroys assumed
the pomp and attributes of royalty. The alterna-
tive of peace or war, of punishment or reward, de-
pended solely on their will ; and the revenues of the
government were reserved for local services, or
private magnificence. Instead of a regular supply
of men and money, the successors of Mohammed
were flattered with the ostentatious gift of an ele-
phant, a cast of hawks, a few bales of silk, or a
supply of musk and amber.

CALIPHS OF BAGDAD. 31

Persia, from being a province, became itself the
heritage of several petty dynasties, who successively
threatened the capital and usurped the power of the
Abbassides. The earliest of these was that of the
Tahentes, — the posterity of the vaUant Taher, who
had taken an active part in the civil wars of the
sons -of Haroun. His descendants, or successors,
reigned in Khorasan till the fourth generation,
when they were supplanted by the Soffcndes, a
name borrowed from the trade of their founder,
Jacob ibn Leith, who exercised the humble craft of
a brasier, and afterward the less honourable pro-
fession of a robber. This dynasty was overthrown
by the arms of the powerful Tartar chief Ismail
Samani, whom the caliph Motamed had invited to
his assistance. In the year 873 he passed the Oxus
with 10,000 cavalry, so poor that their stirrups were
of wood, and so brave that they vanquished the
Soffarian army, eight times more numerous than
their o^^^l. For several generations the Samanides
exercised a turbulent and precarious rule over Kho-
rasan, Seistan, Balkh, and the Transoxian provinces,
including the cities of Samarcand and Bokhara ; but
they were at length swept away by more potent
usurpers. The Bowides or Dilemites, so called from
their ancestor Buiyah, a fisherman of Dilem, were
their rivals and their enemies ; and about the middle
of the tenth century the Persian throne and the
sceptre of the caliphs were usurped by three power-
ful brothers, Ali, Ahmed, and Hassan, on whom the
feeble Mostakfi bestowed the highest dignities, and
the pompous titles of Moezodowlah (Column of the
State), Amadodowlah (Pillar of the Throne), and
Rocnodoiolah (Angular Stone of the Court) ; epithets
which discover the fallen majesty of the Saracen
emperors. Under this dynasty the language and
genius of Persia revived ; and the authority of the
Arabs beyond the Tigris may be said to have termi-

32 CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

nated within little more than three centuries after
the death of Mohammed.

Mesopotamia, with the important cities of Mosul
and Aleppo, were occupied bj'- the Arabian princes
or sultans of the tribe of 'Hamadan. The poets of
their court could repeat without a blush, that nature
had formed their countenances for beauty, their
tongues for eloquence, and their hands for liberality
ahd valour. But their elevation and their reigii
were marked by scenes of treachery, murder, and
parricide. The wealth and dominion of the Bowides
and various other petty d5'-nasties, yielded in their
turn to the victorious arms of the first sultans of
Ghizni, w^hose authority, for a short period, extended
over a great part of Persia. But the chief glory of
these monarchs arose from their holy w^ars against
the infidels of India. Subuktagi, originally a Turk-
ish slave, took Oabul, and overran the fine prov-
ince of the Punjaub. Mahmoud inherited the ruling
passions of his father, — devotion to religion, and
love of military glory. vSensible of the import-
ance of such an ally, the caliph encouraged, him to
obtain a never-dying name in this world, and eternal
happiness in the next, by spreading the religion of
the Prophet ; and, in imitation of other popes, con-
ferred on him the titles of The Right Hand and
Protector of the Faith. The other vowed in return,
that his sw^ord through life should be consecrated to
the sendee of Islam ; and it would be difficult to
compute the millions whom he forced, b}'- that
powerful instrument of conversion, to embrace its
tenets. His eldest son, Musaood, was dignified by
the caliph with the title of The Light of Posterity
and The Beauty of Nations. On the second was
conferred the appellation of The Aim of Fortune
and The Column of the State. The last services of
Mahmoud, after subduing a considerable part of
India in twelve expeditions, were against the Turks,

CALIPHS OF BAGDAD. 33

who had invaded his Persian dominions and obtained
several advantages over his generals. He expired
at his Palace of Felicity after a reign of tliirty-five
years, being the first Mohanunedan prince that bore
the title of sultan. His successors were involved
in fraternal disputes and military rebellions. They
lost the whole of their possessions in Persia, and
tlicir history for above a century, till their final ex-
tinction by the Tartars, presents only a mournful
detail of petty wars and massacres.

It was from these warlike hordes, whose prowess
was soon felt from China and India to the barren
wilds of Northern Europe, that the tottering throne
of the Abbassides received its final overthrow.
After the death of Mahmoud, the Seljuks, under
Togrul Beg, the first prince of his dynasty (1038),
subdued Jorjan, Tabaristan, Azerbijan, Korasm,
Irak, and Khorasan. The increasing insolence of
the Turkish guards had compelled Alkayem to im-
plore the assistance of this Tartar chief, who had
now assumed the title and state of a sovereign. He
was received by the caliph at Bagdad with the
greatest respect. At this interview Alkayem ap-
peared with all the mummery of state that belonged
to his high office. He was seated on a throne, which
was concealed by a dark veil. The celebrated boneda,
or black mantle of the Abbassides, was thrown over
his shoulders, and in his right hand he held the staff
Df Mohammed. Togrul approached the successor
^f the Prophet on foot, accompanied by his nobles,
vho, laying aside their arms, had joined in the pro-
cession. He kissed the ground, stood for a short
time in a respectful posture, and was then led to the
caliph, near whom he was placed on another throne.
His commission was then read, appointing him King
of Bagdad, Viceroy of the Caliph, and Lord of all the
Mohammedans. He was invested with seven dresses
(the usual symbol of official preferment), and had
ficven slaves bestowed on him, — a ceremony imply-

34 CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

ing that he was authorized to rule the seven reg-ions
subject to tlie Commander of the Faithful. He was
likewise adorned with a collar and bracelets ; a veil
of gold stuflf, scented with musk, was throw^n over
his head, on which tw^o crowns were placed, one for
Arabia, the other for Persia ; while two swords
were girt on his loins, to signify that he was ruler
both of the East and the V/est.

To consolidate this copartnery of interests, the
caliph married the sister of his new ally ; Avhile the
latter shocked the pride of tlie house of Abbas by
espousing Zeida, the daughter of their spiritual chief.
The nuptials were celebrated at Rhe, the Suljuk
capital, with great splendour ; but as the royal bride-
groom had arrived at the age of seventy, their hap-
piness was only of a few months' duration. Togrul
and his successors, Alp Arslan and Malek Shah, were
zealous Moslems of the Sonnee sect ; and it was
ov/ing to this circumstance that the caliphs under
their administration enjoyed an ease and dignity far
superior to what fell to their lot while in the hands
of the Bowides, His victories over the Greeks, and
his cruel persecution of the Christians, on whose
necks he fixed a horseshoe, or large iron collar, as
a mark of ignominy, have placed Alp Arslan, accord-
ing to the judgment of the Mohammedans, among
the most distinguished sovereigns of Asia.

The kingdom founded by Togrul, which extended
from the Mediterranean to the borders of China,
and the various principalities into which it was
divided, fell in their turn before that gi'eat destroyer
of the human race Zingis Khan (A. D^ 1202), and his
grandson Hoolaku. The former subdued the whole
of Tartary ; and before his death his vast territories
reached from the Indus to the Volga, and from tiie
shores of the Persian Gulf to the snowy Avastes
of Siberia. The carnage he committed was terrible ;
for his armies, which exceeded 600,000 men, or, in
the language of oriental liyp)erboie, " outnumbered

CALIPHS OF BAGDAD. 3.5

the drops of rain," were never idle. The conquests
of the father were extended by his immediate suc-
cessors into Russia, Buls^aria, and Poland ; but it
was to Hoolnku that fortune reserved the achiev-
ment of destroying the capital of Islam and the last
of the Abbassidan caliphs. With 120,000 horse and
1000 families of Chinese artificers, skilled in the art of
tiirowinir naphtha and other inflammable substances,
he quitted the Mogul territory ; and, traversing
the plains of Irak, he appeared (October 1757) at
the head of this prodigious force before the walls of
Bagdnd. The caliph courted accommodation by
sending him valuable presents : and it was not till
all hopes of peace had departed, that he discovered
the treachery of his prime minister, by whose
advice he had dispersed his troops, and left the
capital defenceless. Forgetting their own weakness,
the citizens assumed a tone of defiance, and treated
with scorn the proposal to surrender. "Who is
Iloolaku, and what is liis power, that he should pre-
sume to make war on the house of Abbas? Their
empire is derived from God alone ; and, therefore,
no prince can meet with success that endeavours to
overturn it. Let him return to Hamadan, and we
will intercede with tlie Connnander of the Faithful
to forgive the enormous crime he has committed."
The Tartar smiled at this affectation of imperturba-
ble majesty, and being joined by all his detachments,
immediately laid seige to the metropolis.

On each side of the city mounds and trendies
were drawn, with high towers, in which the assail-
ants planted their stone-engines, fire-engines, and
other warlike machines. For the space of nearly
two months the inhabitants, j^ough exposed to every
species of violence and injury, defended themselves
with considerable obstinacy. But the enemy having
made themselves masters of the walls, and every
thing bcung ready for storming the j)lace, Mostasem
resolved to commit hi.s person to the hazard of an

36 CALIPHS OF BAGDAD.

interview with the Tartar chief. Accompanied by
his two sons, together with a numerous group of
relatives and the most distinguished members of his
court, he quitted Bagdad by the Gate of Peace, and
approached the pavihon of Hoolaku. The caliph
and a few of his attendants were admitted without
difficulty, but the remainder were excluded ; and
many of them were doomed, the very same day, to
the fatal distinction of becoming the first victims of
the conqueror's unsparing ferocity. In this melan-
choly retinue were about 700 women belonging to
the caliph and his sons, with 300 eunuchs. The
traitorous vizier was set at liberty ; but his master
was detained in captivity. The two sons were con-
demned to death; but the eldest had already found
a more honourable grave in defending one of the
gates of his father's capital.

On Friday, the ninth of Saphar (Feb. 14, A. D.
1258), Hoolaku made his entry into Bagdad, where
he treated his generals and principal officers to a
sumptuous entertainment. To this display of bar-
barous festivity and triumph the last of the Abbas-
sides was now summoned, and required, as the host
of his conqueror, to produce something that should
be worthy the acceptance of such an exalted guest.
Conceiving that nothing more was intended than
expressed, the unhappy monarch gav« direction that
a present of 2000 costly and magnificent robes, 2000
dinars of gold (925/.), together with a variety of gold
and silver plate, vases, and other articles, enriched
with jewels of the greatest price and beauty, should
be selected from his treasury and wardrobe, and laid
in the usual style, in trays, before Hoolaku. Sur-
veying them with an eye of contempt, the proud
Mogul distributed every article among his attend-
ants. " The whole of thy visible propert}'." ad-
dressing Mostasem, " as well 3s that of the inhabit-
ants of Bacrdad, is already at the disposal of my
followers. Of that it was needless to make an

CALIPHS OF BAGDAD. 37

offering. What we require of thee is to give us some
indication with respect to thy hidden treasures."
The object of the barbarian could no longer be mis-
understood. Tlie captive prince pointed in silence
to the area in the court of his palace ; and on open-
ing the ground there was discovered what might
have been amply sufficient to glut the utmost crav-
ings of avarice; — a tank, or covered reservoir,
loaded to the brim with ingots of solid gold, each
weighing 100 meskals, or nearly a pound and a
quarter avoirdupois. This immense wealth did not
satiate the vengeance of the remorseless Hoolaku,
who is said to have kept his illustrious but unfor-
tunate prisoner several days without food or sus-
tenance of any kind. When the pangs of hunger
could no longer be endured, the wretched Mostasem
sent to implore relief ; but the tyrant, in mockery
of his distress, ordered his attendants to set before
him a dish full of gold and jewels. The last act of
the tragedy approached ; audit became a subject of
deliberation how the sacred person of the caliph
should be disposed of, as it was superstitiously be-
lieved that the shedding of his blood would be fol-
lowed by some awful and tremendous convulsion of
nature. To quiet these uneasy apprehensions, the
ferocious Tartar resolved that 'he should be sewed
up in a leathern bag ; others say wrapt tightly in
felt, or coarse hair blankets, and in this manner
dragged through the streets of the city until he ex-
pired ; every joint and bone of his frame beings
pounded as in a mortar. The rest of his children,
his brothers, his relations, his household officers, and
every agent of his government, were cut off with the
same unsparing cruelty. The devoted city was
now surrendered to the license of the Mogul army,
and, for the space of forty days, such a scene of pil-
lage, massacre, and blood ensued, as outraged hu-
manity, and almost surpassed the bounds of be-
lief. The Persian authors assure us, that in the
Vol. II.— D

38 CALIPHS OF BAGDAD

city alone the number of the slain amounted to
800,000 persons, exclusive of the multitudes thai
were butchered in the adjoining- villages. If this
estimate be correct, we may believe that the waters
of the Tigris were reddened, and its usual dimen-
sions swelled, with the tributary streams of human
gore. This memorable revolution tervBinated the,
dynasty of the Abbassides, after it had subsisted for
a period of 523 lunar years. The regal authority
of this celebrated race, and the gi-eater part of their
remaining dominions, now devolved on the Mogul
}>rinces of the blood of Zingis. Since that event
Bagdad has witnessed various other sieges and
revolutions. It was burnt and plundered by the
ferocious Timur (A. D. 1401), who erected a pyramid
of human heads on its ruins. In 1637, it incurred
the vengeance of Amurath lY., the Turkish sultan :
300,000 troops encamped under its walls, and by
tlie incessant play of 200 pieces of artilleiy, its
towers and ramparts were levelled with the ground.
The vaults and cellars were filled witii the dead bodies
of those whvO had fled to these recesses for security.
The sobs and cries of 15,000 women and children
were drowned by the shouts of the enemy exulting
o^^er the fallen Qneen of the East ; and the trembling
remnant is said to have owed their preservation to
the music of Shah Kali, whose touching strains are
alleged to have melted Amurath to tears of compas-
sion. Since that period the once illustrious city of
the Abbassides has been degraded to the seat of a
Turkish pashalic. In the present century it can
number 200,000 inhabitants. The rich merchants
and the beautiful princesses of the Arabian Tales
liave all disappeared ; but it retains the tomb of the
charming Zobeide, and can boast of its numerotis
gardens and its well stocked bazars. The citizens
live in greater security than is usually enjoyed in
the East ; and a European might fancy that the
^hade of old Haroun al Raschid still preserves the

CALIPHS OF AFRICA. 39

same admirable order which was formerly main-
tained among- all classes by the terror of meeting
that redoubted caliph as he wandered the streets of
his capit-al in disguise.

CHAPTER 11.

CALIPHS OF AFRICA, EGYPT, AND SPAIN.

The Aglabites or Caliphs of Cairoan — Military Exploits of the
Western Arabs — Reduction of Crete — Conquest of Sicily —
Ijivasion of Italy — Pillage of Rome — Siege of Gaeta — Naval
^'ictory of the Christians — Subjugation of Corsica and Sardi-
nia by 'the Saracens — Expukion of the Aglabites — Moorish
Kinrrdom of Timbuctoo — D}Tjasty of the Fatimites in Egypt
— Their Subversion by Saladm, Founder of the Ayubites—
Ps nasty of the Ommiades in Spain founded by Abdalrahman
—Their Power and Magnificence — Extinction of the Caliph-
ate—'Conquest of Granada by Ferdinand — Wealth and Popu-
lation of the Moorish capitals — The Government, Arms, and
3'Iilitary Tactics of the Arabs — Revenue, Trade, and .Marine
^f Spain under the Saracens — Reduction of Sicily by the
Normans, and final Overthrow of the IMohammedan power in
Europe.

Varioi's dynasties of Arab princes rose and succes-
sively ruled in Africa and Eg^'pt. In the year of
Christianity 797, Ibrahim ibn Aglab had been sent,
b)'- the Caliph Haroun al Raschid, governor into the
western parts of Africa. Fifteen years after, en-
•couraged b}^ the rebellious state of the IMoslem em-
pire at the accession of Almamoun, he assumed to
himself an almost absolute power in that country,
•and conquered a large extent of territory, over which
he and his descendants ruled as sovereign princes,
under the name of the Aglabites, for more than a cen-
tmy. This new empire, whose capital was Cairoan,
included the ancient kingdoms of Maurit ia and

40 CALIPHS OF AFRICA.

Massylia, with the republic of Carthage. Several
of these caliphs took the name of Mohammed, and
signalized their reigns by exploits, both naval and
military, not unworthy the heroic age of the Moslem
conquests. Numerous bodies of their troops occa-
sionally served in the mercenary armies of Bagdad,
and assisted the Abbassides in maintaining their au-
thority over the insurrectionary provinces of the
East.

It was in the time of Almamoun that the islands
of Crete and Sicily were subdued by the Western
Arabs. The former of these conquests is passed
in silence by their own writers, who were indiffer-
ent to the fame of Jupiter and Minos. But we learn
from the Byzantine historians, that a piratical band
of Andalusian volunteers, discontented with the
climate or the government of Spain, had set out with
only a few galleys on an exploratory voyage, in quest
of a more genial settlement. Landing at Alexan-
dria, they were introduced into that city by a re-
bellious faction, where they cut in pieces both
friends and foes, pillaged the churches and mosques,
sold above 6000 Christian captives, and maintained
their station in the capital of Eg^^pt, till they were
repulsed by the forces of Almamoun, who had taken
the command in person. In their excursions among
the Mediterranean islands they had seen and tasted
of the fertility of Crete ; and with forty gaUeys
they soon returned to make a more serious attack.
Loaded with spoil they prepared to retreat ; but,
on descending to the shore, they were dismayed
to find their vessels in flames, and still more sur-
prised when their chief Abu Caab confessed him-
self the author of the disaster. In their indignation
they suspected him of madness or treachery. " Of
what do you complain ?" said the crafty leader in
reply to their clamours. " I have brought you to
a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is your
true country ; repose from your toils, and forget

CALIPHS OF AFRICA. 41

the bnrren plnce of your nativity. As for your
wives and children, your beautiful captives will
supply the place of the one ; and in their embraces
you will soon become the fathers of anew progeny."

Their first habitation was their camp, surrounded
witli a ditch and a rampart, in the Bay of Suda.
An apostate monk pointed out to them a more de-
sirable residence ; and the modern appellation of
(^andia, from Candax, the fortress and colony of the
Spanish Arabs, has superseded the ancient name,
-and been extended to the whole island. Of its thirty
cities the inhabitants of Cydonia alone had courage
to retain their freedom and their Christianity. The
timbers of Mount Ida soon repaired the loss of the
Saracen navy ; and during a period of 138 years,
these licentious freebooters defied the cnrses and the
arms of the Byzantine emperors, until they w^ere
extirpated by the valour of Nicephorus Phocas ;
" when the natives," to use the vrords of a contem-
porary writer, " exchanged the detested supersti-
tion of the Hagarenes for the baptism and discipline
of the Catholic church." In the reign of Motamed
they captured the imperial fieet in the iMediterra-
iiean, and put 5000 Greeks to the sw^ord at Melazzo
in Sicily. A short time after, the}'- reduced the
island of Lemnos, ravaged without control the coasts
of Asia, made themselves masters of Thessalonica,
and threatened to invest Constantinople.

Sicily had been repeatedly attacked by the West-
ern Arabs ; but its loss was occasioned by an act of
injudicious rigour. Euphemius, an amorous youth,
who had stolen a nun from her cloister, was sen-
tenced by the emperor to the amputation of his
tongue. He appealed to the Saracens of Africa, who
sent him back with a fleet of 100 ships, and an army
of 700 horse and 10,000 foot. These troops landed
at Mazara, near the ancient Silenus, and after some
partial victories, in which they made themselves
masters of Ragusa, Messina, Eniia. and other places,

D2

42 CALIPHS OF AFRICA.

they invested Syracuse. This city was delivered
by the Greeks ; the apostate youth was slain, and
his African auxiliaries reduced to the necessity
of feeding on the flesh of their own horses. In
their turn they were assisted by a powerful rein-
forcement from Andalusia ; and by degrees the
western and largest portion of the island was sub-
dued. Palermo became the seat of the emir or
governor (A. H. 228), and the navy of the Saracens
rode with ease in its commodious harbour. Syra-
cuse resisted the Moslem yoke for a period of fifty
years ; and in the last fatal siege, her citizens dis-
played some remnant of the valour which had for-
merly baffled the power of Athens and Carthage.
The cruelties and exactions of the Arabs were enor-
mous. The silver plate of the cathedral weighed
5000 pounds, and the entire spoil was computed at
1,000,000 pieces of gold (about 462,500/.).

For more than two centuries the emperors of
Constantinople, the princes of Beneventum, and the
Moslem armies, contended in all the horrors of war
for the possession of Sicily. By degrees, the reli-
gion and language of the Greeks were eradicated ;
and such was the docility of the new proselytes, that
15,000 boys submitted to be circumcised and clothed
on the same day with the son of the African caliph.
In the year 953, Hassan, governor of Sicily, sent a
powerful army to the coast of Italy. At Reggio
the inhabitants and the garrison had fled ; but the
imperial forces were overthrown, and their com-
mander, with several ofl[icers of note, taken prison-
ers in the action. Successive squadrons issued from
the harbours of Palermo, Biserta, and Tunis. A
hundred and fifty towns of Calabria and Campania
were attacked and pillaged ; and had the Saracens
been united, the land of Romulus, and the patrimony
of St. Peter's successors, must have fallen an easy
and glorious accession to the empire of Mohammed-
No event in the military history of the Arabs

CALIPHS OF AFRICA. 43

awakens our curiosity or surprise more than their
invasion of the Roman territories. Who could have
foretold that the roving Bedouins should have in-
sulted the majesty of the Caesars in their own capi-
tal, or raised their tecbar in the neighbourhood of the
eternal city ? In full possession of Sicily, these
" Sons of Satan," as the Librarian Anastasius with
pious indignation calls them, entered with a fleet
the mouth of the Tiber, and presumed to approach
the venerated metropolis of the Christian world.
The gates and ramparts were guarded by a trem-
bling people ; but the church and tombs of St. Peter
and St. Paul, without the walls, whose sanctity had
been respected by Goths, Vandals and Lombards,
were pillaged by the rapacious disciples of the Ko-
ran. The images, or Christian idols, were stripped
of their costly offerings ; a silver altar was torn away
from the shrine of St. Peter; and if any thing
escaped their destructive hands, it must be imputed
to the haste rather than the scruples of the spoilers.
But their divisions saved the capital. Directing
their course along the Appian Way, they pillaged
Fundi, and laid siege to Gaeta. In the hour of dan-
her the Romans implored the protection of the
Latin sovereign Lothaire ; but the imperial army
was overthrovm by a detatchment of the Moslems-
The church and the city owed their safety to the
courage and energy of Pope Leo IV., who, from
the pressing crisis of affairs, was unanimously called
to the chair without the forms and intrigues of an
election.

The welcome news that the siege of Gaeta had
been raised, and a part of the enemy with their sa-
crilegious plunder immersed in the waves, gave the
harassed Romans the assurance of a short respite.
But the storm soon burst upon them with redoubled
violence. A fleet of Arabs and Moors from Africa,
after a short refreshment in the harbours of Sar-
dinia, again cast anchor off the mouth of the Tiber,

44 CALIPHS OF AFRICA.

sixteen miles from the city. The vigilance of the
pontiff had provided for the emergency, by his
alliance with the maritime states of Naples and
Amalfi; and in the hour of danger their galleys
appeared in the port of Ostia, under the command
of Caesarius, a noble and valiant youth, who had al-
ready humbled the naval pride of the Saracens.
Leo hastened to meet the descent of the enemy, not
in the garb of a warrior, but with the solemnity of
a Christian bishop. The alhes and city bands in
arms attended him to Ostia, where they were re-
viewed, and animated by his paternal benediction.
The pious soldiers kissed his feet, received the com-
munion with martial devotion, and listened to the
papal supplication, that the same God who had sup-
ported St. Peter and St. Paul on the waters of the
sea, would strengthen the hands of his champions
against the adversaries of the Holy Faith. The
Moslems preferred a similar prayer against the in-
fidels, and with equal resolution advanced to the
attack. The Christian galleys bravely maintained
their advantageous position along the coast, and
victory was inclined to their side, when it was less
gloriously terminated in their favour by a sudden
tempest, which confounded and appalled the stout-
est mariners. While they enjoyed the shelter of a
friendly harbour, the Saracens were scattered and
dashed' in pieces among the neighbouring rocks and
islands. Those who escaped the disasters of ship-
wreck and hunger neither found nor deserved mercy
at the hands of their implacable pursuers. The
sword and the gibbet reduced the dangerous multi-
tude of captives ; and the remainder M-ere usefully
employed in restoring the fortifications and sacred
edifices which they had attempted to destroy.

Among the spoils of this naval victory, thirteen
Arabian Idows of pure and massy silver were sus-
pended round the shrines of the apostles, where the
pontiff", at the head of the warriors and citizens, paid

CALIPHS OF AFRICA. 45

their grateful devotions for so happy a dehverance.
By the care of Leo, Rome was soon restored to its
wonted splendour. The churches were renewed
and embellished; nearly 4000 pounds of silver were
consecrated to repair the losses of St. Peter ; and
his sanctuary was decorated with a plate of gold,
weighing 216 pounds, embossed with portraits of
the pope and the emperor, and encircled with a
etring of pearls. Had the Arabs been inspired with
the impetuous energies of the first soldiers of the
Koran, a different fate might have awaited the capi-
tal of Christendom.

In the year 810 Corsica submitted to the Moham-
medan yoke. A powerful Saracen, named Lanza
Ancisa, introduced some troops into the island ;
and, by the united influence of arms and eloquence,
the inhabitants were induced to expel the Greeks
and embrace the Moslem faith. For 166 years
Lanza and his successors were sovereigns of the
island. At the close of that period, the zeal of the
Christians in Italy burst into a flame of war ; the
last king was driven away, and Corsica again ac-
knowledged the pope for her supreme lord. Sar-
dinia was invaded and subdued about the same time.
The natives did not long submit to the yoke ; they
expelled their assailants ; and, for a safeguard against
future aggressions, placed themselves under the
protection of Louis le Debonnaire, at that period
King of France and Emperor of the West. The
successors of Charlemagne were as feeble as the
representatives of the Prophet in the FJast ; and the
Sardinians, driven to their own resources, invested
their leaders, mider the title of judges, with full
military power ; and, for a while, the island was re-
lieved from the inroads of the Africans and Spanish
Moors. At the end of the ninth or beginning of the
tenth century, it seems to have again become a
Moslem province, and 100 years elapsed before its
state was changed. Pope .Tohn XVIIL, touched

46 CALIPHS OF AFRICA.

w-ith its unhappy condition, invited the Catholic
princes to relieve it from the cruel devastations of
the Arabs. The piety and cupidity of the republics
of Genoa and Pisa were awakened at the call : and,
notwithstanding- the dreadful annoyance of the Greek
fire, they succeeded in annihilating the power of the
vSaracens. The liberators contended long and ve-
hemently for the possession of the island, and the
skill of Italian diplomacy was exhausted in settling
the rival claims. The Emperor Frederic Barba-
rossa, in the year 1165, bestowed the investiture of
the whole island on the Pisans. These measures,
however, were ill calculated to procure repose ; an
equal partition was soon after made between the
contending states, which induced those jealous re-
publics to lay aside their animosities, and enjoy their
booty in peace.*

In the year of Christianity 909, Abu Abdallah,
emir or governor of Sicily, defeated the caliph of
Cairoan, and drove the family of the Aglabites from
the throne, Avhich they had occupied more than a
century. The conqueror, having seized the western
capital, bestowed the vacant caliphate on Obeidallah,
one of the posterity of Ali, who assumed the title of
Mahadi, or Director of the Faithful, built a new city
which he called Mahadia, and claimed the distinction
of being the founder of the Fatimite dyriBstj in Africa,
where he soon put an end to the power of the Edris-
ifes, so called from their founder Edris, a descendant
of Ah, who fled from Mecca (A. D. 784), and had
wrested the countries of Fez and Tangier from the
caliphs of Bagdad. For five centuries a succession

* For the conquests of the Saracens in Italy and the Mediter-
ranean, in addition to the authorities already cited, the reader
may consult the annalists Baronius and Pagi ; De Gnigncs
(Hist, des Huns, tome i.) ; Muratori (Script, rer. Ital.) ; Carusii
(Bibl. Hist. Sicil.); Cod. Dipiom. Arabo-Sicil., Malaferra, and
Giannone (Istona Civil di Nap.); Anuzi (Hist, de Sardaigne);
Meursius (lib. ii. cap. 7, 15, 21); Belon. (Obscn-ations, &c,
ehap. 3-20); and Tournefort (Voyage du Levant, tomei.).

CALIPHS OF EGYTT. 47

of fleeting dynasties ravaged and distracted these
western provinces. Various kingdoms were formed,
the most considerable of which were those of Mo-
rocco, Algiers, and Tunis. From Leo Africanus, it
appears that in the year 1-215 a flourishing kingdom
was founded at Timbuctoo by a Moorish chief. Some
of its rulers had the reputation of warlike princes,
who maintained a splendid court, encouraged com-
merce, and extended their frontiers in all directions.
Of their prosperity the Portuguese voyagers received
the most flattering accounts, but were never tempted
to ascertain their authenticity by ocular evidence.
Other adventurers were equally negligent ; and it is
only at the present day that the successful career of
African discovery has made this mysterious capital
known to Europeans. It were out of our province
to pursue further the history of Northern Africa.
Scenes of horror and bloodshed fill its pages. The
grand seignior, since the time when Solyman assisted
the two Greek corsairs, Hayradin and Barbarossa,
with his fleets in reducing Tunis and Algiers, has
always claimed the Barbary States as fiefs of Con-
stantinople ; and the proud hst of his titles is still
swelled by their names.

Egypt was reduced by Moez, the last of the Afri-
can caliphs, who built Grand Cairo (A. D. 972), and
established there the dynasty of the Fatimites ;
leaving his western dominions to be holden in fief
by one of his generals. His genealogy was doubt-
ful ; but he had now an argimient to prove his legiti-
macy, which it might have been dangerous to call in
question, and which silenced the indiscreet demand
of one of the Arabian princes of the sacred blood,
M^ho inquired from what branch of the family he drew
his title. " This," exclaimed Moez, drawing his
scimitar, " is my pedigree ; and these," throwing a
handful of gold among his soldiers, '' are my kindred
and my children." His general Jauher had sent a
detachment of troops towards Syria and Pale'.-tine ;

48 CALIPHS OF EGYPT.

and with such gallantry were his orders executed,
that Ramla, Tiberias, and Damascus were compelled
to swear alle^ance to the conqueror of Egj^t. The
name of Almoti was {suppressed, and that of Moez
substituted in the mosques, not only of Egypt, but in
Syria and Arabia, as far as the city of Medina ;
Mecca being the only place of importance that per-
sisted in recognising the house of Abbas, Saladin,
whose name stands associated with the most bril-
liant achievements of Mohammedan valour, was
first elevated to the dignity of vizier ; and by a
series of artful and energetic measures, he soon
became absolute ruler of the country, and the founder
of a new dynasty (A. D. 1171). From the Indian
Ocean to the Mountains of Armenia, from Tripoli to
the Tigris, his power was felt and acknowledged.
Even in Arabia, the greater part of which owned his
authority, his name was inserted in the public
prayers. The title of Ayubites^ by which he and his
successors are distinguished in history, was derived
from the name of his father. Under his descendants
Eg5T)t was repeatedly assailed by the Crusaders.
Too feeble to defend themselves, the Ayubite
princes had recourse to the protection of foreigners.
Twelve thousand Turks from the shores of the Cas-
pian had been purchased, and trained to military
service as attendants of the royal person. From
being slaves, these Mamlouks soon became masters;
and at the end of twenty years from their first intro
duction into the country, they murdered the last sue
cessor of Saladin, and placed one of their own chiefs,
Azzaddin, on the throne (A. D. 1250). The sway of
the Mamlouks and Borghites, two branches of the
same dynasty, endured for two centuries and a half;
when the victorious arms of the Turks in 1517, re
duced that kingdom to the condition of a proiince.

Spain was one of the first of the Moslem conquests
that detached itself from the parent stock. In the
general proscription and massacre of the Ommiades

CALIPHS OF SPAIiN, 49

that ensued on the accession of the house of Abbas,
a royal youth of the name of Abdalrahman, a
younger son of Merwan, escaped the fury of his
enemies. With his brother and his child he fled,
and concealed himself in the woods on the banks
of the Euphrates. His persecutors discovered his
retreat ; the child was slain, and the two brothers
plunged into the river. Fainting with fatigue, Soly-
man accepted the proffered mercy of the pursuers,
and returned to the shore, where he was basely put
to death. The more robust Abdalrahman sw^am the
dangerous passage, and was hunted by the ruthless
foe from the deserts of Irak to the recesses of
Mount Atlas in Africa.

The Saracens of Spain retained their attachment
to the family of Moawiyah ; their zeal was rekindled
by the presence of a prince of that race in their
neighbourhood, and they immediately invited the
wandering exile to ascend the throne of his ances-
tors. Dreading the implacable vengeance of his
enemies, and dazzled by the splendours of a crown,
Abdalrahman received the message with joy, and
was saluted with acclamations on the shore of
Granada. The cities of Malaga, Ronda, Xeres,
and Seville, tendered him their allegiance ; and the
descendants of Merwan saw restored in Spain
(A. D. 755) the honours of the caliphate, which they
had lost in the East. His elevation v.^as not gained
without opposition and bloodshed ; but all the efforts
of the Abbassides were in vain. In a battle of
several days near Seville, their lieutenant, Alala, fell
with 7000 of his followers ; his head, in salt and
camphor, was sent to Mecca, and suspended before
the gate of the palace ; the streets of that city and
of Cairoan were strown with similar trophies ; and
the Caliph Almansor expressed his thankfulness that
lie was separated by seas and lands from an adver-
sary who appeared to be not a man, but a demon.
After a successful struggle he established himself

Vol. U.—E

50 CALIPHS OF SPAIN.

firmly on the throne of Cordova, where death put an
end to his projects (A. D. 788) after a reign of thirty-
three years. The renown of this prince acquired
him the friendship and esteem of Charlemagne, who,
after having tried his prowess in war, courted his
alhance bv offering him his daughter in marriage.
His rival,'the Caliph of Bagdad, spoke of him with
admiration, calling him the Hawk of the Koreish, on
account of the ability he displayed in surn^^unting
difficulties in his flight from Asia to Europe, and of
the celerity with which he made himself master
of a kingdom, without the assistance of friends or
followers.

The dynasty of the Spanish Ommiades existed
for nearly three centuries. In wealth and grandeur
some of their princes equalled, if not surpassed,
their gorgeous rivals in the East. Under Alnasar
(A. D. 939), the annual revenue of Spain from the
towns and villages is said to have amounted to
5,480,000 dinars (2,534,500/.) ; and from spoils taken
in war, to 765,000 dinars (353,812/. 105.), besides a
fifth of the soldiers' plunder, not computed in the
register of the treasury. Of this vast income, one-
third was appropriated to the army, one-third to
building, and the remaining third to the royal ex-
chequer. Our imagination is dazzled with this pic-
ture of courtly splendour; yet, if we consult the
experience of the possessor, it will perhaps excite
our pity, rather than our envy or admiration. In a
memorial, written with his own hand, and found in
his closet after his decease, he has left an authentic
estimate of his felicity. Amid riches and honours,
power and pleasure, Alnasar, " the heir of pros-
perity," found, in a reign of fifty years and seven
months, only fourteen days of undisturbed enjoy-
ment. The glories of this period were even eclipsed
by that of his son Hakem, who subdued the provinces
of Barbary, and annexed to his other dominions the
sovereignty of Western Africa. But the luxury, the

CALIPHS OF SPAIN. 51

tyranny, and the negligence of the last princes of
the house, lost them the conquests which had been
won by the valour of their ancestors, and were the
causes of this fine kingdom passing into other hands.
Lieutenants and viziers rebelled, and aspired to inde-
pendent rule. The Caliph Hesliam was deposed by
the army, and with him was finally extinguished the
power of the Spanish Ommiades (A. D. 1036).

Their downfall became the signal for feuds and
contentions ; usurpers divided the sovereignty among
themselves, and there arose as many dynasties as
there were principal towais. Malaga, Algesiras,
Cordova, Toledo, Seville, Jaen, Lisbon, Tortosa,
Badajos, Saragossa, Valencia, Murcia, Almeria,
Denia, and the Balearic Isles, had each its separate
king and government. In consequence of their
mutual jealousies, frequent wars, massacres, and
intestine commotions, these petty monarchs either
fell a prey to each other, or were gradually subdued
by the ancient possessors of the country. The
little province of Granada alone maintained its inde-
pendence, reinforced by subsidies from Africa and
the fugitive Moslems from the cities conquered by
the Christians. For nearly three centuries it con-
tinued to increase in population, wealth, and power ;
and was governed by the laws and religion of Mo-
hammed, until it was finally destroyed by the arms
of Ferdinand and Isabella, whose fortunate marriage
imited the crowns of Castile and Arragon, and an-
nexed to their dominions all the inferior principali-
ties of the kingdom. Thousands of the zealous and
conscientious followers of the Arabian Prophet were
put to the sword or driven into exile, and the more
timid compelled to a nominal acknowledgment of
the gospel. The surrender of Granada, after ten
years of incessant fighting, terminated the dominion
of the Moors in Spain, which had endured 778 years,
and engaged the Christians in 3700 battles. '"' This
great triumph of our holy Catholic faith," says the

52 CALIPHS OF SPAIN*. "^ - — .,

pious and minute Fray Ag-apida, " took place in the
beginning of January in the year of our Lord 1492,
being 3655 years from the population of Spain by
the patriarch Tubal ; 3797 from the general deluge ;
5453 from the creation of the world ; and in the
month Rebiah, in the 897th year of the Hejira, or
flight of Mohammed, whom God confound !"*

This detested nation, whose conquest and expul-
sion were attended with such atrocities, and such
triumphs to the Catholic church, were by far the
most industrious and skilful part of the Spanish popu-
lation ; and their loss was a blow to the greatness
and prosperity of that kingdom, from which it has
never recovered. The literary activity and com-
mercial enterprise of the Arabs, which the wise policy
of their caliphs encouraged, contributed both to en-
rich and adorn their adopted country. Cordova, the
seat of the Ommiades, was scarcely inferior in point
of wealth and magnitude to its proud rival on the
banks of the Tigris. A space of twenty-four miles
in length and six in breadth, along the margin of the
Guadalquiver, was occupied with palaces, streets,
gardens, and public edifices ; and for ten miles the
citizens could travel by the light of lamps along an
uninterrupted extent of buildings. In the reign of
Almansor it could boast of 270,000 houses, 80,455
shops, 911 baths, 3877 mosques, from the minarets
of which a population of 800,000 were daily sum-
moned to prayers. The seraglio of the caliph, — his
wives, concubines, and black eunuchs, amounted to
6300 persons ; and he was attended to the field by a
guard of 12,000 horsemen, whose belts and scimitars
were studded with gold. Granada was equally cele-
brated for its luxury and its learning. The royal
demesnes extended to the distance of twenty miles,
the revenues of which were set apart to maintain
the fortifications of the city. Of the duty on grain,

* Conquest of Granada by Washington Ining.

CALIPHS OF SPAIN'. 53

the king's exchequer received about 15,000Z. yearly
— an immense sum at tliat time, when wheat sold at
the rate of sixpence a bushel. The consumption
of 250,000 inhabitants kept 130 water-mills con-
stantly at work in the suburbs. The population of
this small kingdom under the Moors is said to have
amounted to 3,000,000, which is now diminished per-
haps tu one-fifth of that number. Its temples and
palaces have shared the same decay. The Alham-
bra stands solitary, dismantled, and neglected. The
interior remains of the palace are in tolerable pres-
ervation, and present a melancholy picture of the
romantic magnificence of its former kings. Seville,
which had continued nearly 200 years the seat of a
petty kmgdom, enjoyed considerable reputation as
a place of wealth and commerce. The population
in 1217 w'as computed at 300,000 persons, which, in
the sixteenth century, had decreased one-thii-d. It
was one of the principal marts for olives in the
Moorish dominions ; and so extensive was the trafle
in this article alone, that the axarafe, or plantations
round the suburbs, employed farm-houses and olive-
presses to the amount of 100,000, being more than
is now to be found in the whole province of An-
dalusia.

The government of the Arabs in Spain was a
military despotism — tempered, however, by man-
ners and customs which made it preferable to the
irresponsible rule of Eastern tyranny. The throne
was elective ; yet the reigning monarch had seldom
much difficulty in transferring the sovereign power
to a favouiite son. Though a military people, the
Saracens were but little skilled in what may be
called the tactics of the profession. Hakem was
the first of the caliphs that organized an army, paid
his soldiers regularly, and formed magazines of war-
like s<^ores. The command of the native Spanish
troops was usually given to some relation of the
monarch, or other confidential person; and their

E3

54 CALIPHS OF SPAIN.

arms consisted of a short coat-of-mail, a light hel-
met, Arabian horse furniture, a leathern buckler,
and a slender spear. The African mercenaries
sometimes used camels in battle, so equipped as to
make the hump on their backs appear larger than its
natural size — a stratagem that frequently threw the
Christian army into confusion.

Their arnis were a peculiar kind of knotted staves,.
or rather pikes, termed annas, which they drove
furiously against the enemy. The massy silver of
their belts, their bridles, and their swords displayed
the magnificence of a prosperous nation. Their ac-
coutrements were light, and not like those of the
Christians, who were completely cased in steeL
Their combats generally consisted in personal en-
counters rather than regular engagements ; each
man fighting for himself until the strongest or
bravest remained masters of the field. Beyond
this, indeed, the military knowledge of the Span-
iards themselves was not much advanced ; but their
infantry was superior to that of the Moors, inasmuch
as they could both attack and resist a charge in a
body — while the latter, unaccustomed to such a
mode of assault, was scarcely of any service. This
defect, however, was amply compensated by the
superiority of the Moorish cavalry, which was com-
posed of horsemen selected from the best families,
and mounted on excellent chargers, to the manage-
ment of which they were trained from infancy.
Instead of wagons, they were attended by a long
train of camels, mules, and asses ; the multitude of
these animals, whom they bedecked with flags and
ensigns, appeared to swell the pomp and magnitude
of their host ; and the horses of the enemy were
often thrown into disorder by the uncouth figure
and odious smell of the camels of the East. Their
order of battle was a long square of two deep and
solid lines, the first consisting of archers, the second
of cavalry. In general actions they were accus-

CALIPHS OF SPAIN. 55

tomed to make their first onset with wild cries and
bowling's, in order to intimidate the foe — a practice
which is said to have been introduced in the reiprn
of Almansor, and was adopted by the Turks. In
military tactics the Arabs were, upon the whole,
inferior to the Christians ; but their skill in the arts
and sciences c^ave them, duriny part of their con-
quests, an incalculable advantage over the latter.
With the composition of gunpowder, and the difler-
ent ways of applying- it in war, they were not un-
acquainted : and we know from various authorities
that they employed artillery. Casiri has cited two
native historians, who prove that it was both known
and used by the Spanish Arabs in the latter part of
the twelfth and beginning of the thirteenth century ;
and he has given extracts from two contemporary
Spanish writers, who describe these destructive en-
gines as being certain iron tubes or mortars, which
emitted thunder and fire.

The annual revenue of the Spanish caliphs was
immense. In the reign of Abdalrahman III., the
greatest sovereign that ever sat on the Moorish
throne, it was reckoned equivalent to 5,500,000Z. of
sterling money, which at that time probably ex-
ceeded the united income of all the Western mon-
archies. It was derived, first, from a tithe of all pro-
duce whatsoever, which was paid in kind ; secondly,
from a duty of twelve and a half per cent, on every
commodity imported or exported ; of an impost of
one-tenth part on every species of goods transferred
by sale ; and, lastly, of a tribute of one-fifth levied
on property belonging to Jews and Christians. How
Spain could supply all this magnificence and expense
may be a subject of wonder or dispute to political
economists. But the fact is certain, and perhaps
not of very difficult solution. Her population, not-
withstanding all the devastations of civil war, was
on the same grand scale with her palaces and her
productions both natural and artificial. Under the

56 CALIPHS OF SPAIN.

Saracens she boasted of eighty great cities — 300
of the second and third order ; besides smaller
towns and villages innumerable. Most of these
were planted with nurseries of art and industry,
which gave an unexampled activity to trade and
manufactures. There was scarcely a country in
the civihzed world to w^hich their traffic did not ex-
tend. Throughout Africa, arms and accoutrements,
silks and woollen cloths of various colours, were in
great demand. With Egypt and the Grecian states
they bartered their different exports, to a still greater
amount, for such commodities as were in popular
request in Spain. Their drugs and dies were ex-
changed for oriental perfumes ; and the luxuries of
India were brought ^rom Alexandria to Malaga to
supply the wants of the court. The manufactories
of Spain were the arsenals from which France and
England drew their best military accoutrements —
such as helmets, lances, swordblades, and coats-of-
mail, which had reached a perfection in that coun-
try unknown to the rest of Europe. The profits de-
rived from these successful speculations must have
been incalculable ; and, while abundantly renmner-
ating the merchant, they afforded a prodigious
source of revenue to the sovereign.

In the fourteenth century the Arabs had an im-
mense marine ; the woods and forests of Spain fur-
nished them with timber, and they are said to have
possessed a fleet of more than 1000 merchant ves-
sels. From an Arabian writer on commerce, of the
tenth century, it appears that the balance of trade
was decidedly in favour of the Moors, whom Crtsiri,
from their maritime traffic and the distant voyages
they undertook by sea, compares to the ancient
Phenicians and Carthaginians. Gold, silver, cop-
per, raw and wrought silks, sugar, cochineal, quick-
silver, iron, olives, oil, myrrh, corals fished on t!ie
coast of Andalusia, pearls on that of Cata! jnia,
rubies and amethysts from mines in the neighbour-

CALIFIIS OF SPA IX. 57

hood of Malaga and Carthagena, were among the
most vahiable and Uicrative articles of exportation.
These facts, attested by native authors, will throw
light on the hitherto unexplained magnificence of
the Western caliphs. Connuerce was the true
foundation of their greatness — the secret spring
that filled the treasures of Spain, and fed the wealth
and industry of her inhabitants. At length the fleets
of the Christians, as well as of the kings of Arragon
and Portugal, gradually defeated the maritime forces
of the Moors, until they were totally annihilated
after the conquest of Algesiras, Seville, and Al-
meria.

In all their actions by sea and land, the Arabs re-
tained their characteristic mode of warfare; they
sustained with patient firmness the fury of attack,
and seldom advanced to the charge until the enemy
were thrown off their guard or overcome with fa-
tigue. But if they were broken and repulsed, they
knew not how to rally or renew the combat ; and
their dismay was always heightened by a super-
stitious presentiment that they were abandoned of
Heaven. The decline and fall of the caliphs coun-
tenanced the fearful opinion that God had declared
himself on the side of the foe ; nor were there want-
ing, both among Mohammedans and Christians, some
obscure oracles which predicted their alternate de-
feats. In their various encounters with the Arabs,
the princes, both of Asia and Europe, too often felt
that these barbarians had nothing barbarous in their
■discipline. If their ships, engines, and fortifications
svere of a less skilful construction, they had the
vanity to think it was a defect of nature rather than
any fault of their ov^n ; for they readily acknow-
ledged that the same God who had given a tongue
to the Arabians had more nicely fashioned the hands
of the Chinese and the heads of the Greeks.

Since the reduction of Sicily by the ISIoslems, the
Greeks had been anxious to regain that valuable

58 CALIPHS OF SPAIN.

possession. The southern provinces, which now
compose the kingdom of Naples, were in the ninth
century divided into the rival principalities of Bene-
vento, Salerno, and Capua, whose mutual jealousies
had invited the Arabs to the ruin of their common
inheritance. Their shores were visited almost an-
nually by the squadrons wiiich issued from the har-
bour of Palermo ; while a colony of Saracens had
fixed themselves at Bari, which commands the en-
trance to the Adriatic Gulf. The depredations of
these adventurers called down the vengeance of the
Greeks and Franks, whose combined strength was
necessary to root out this nest of pirates. The for-
tress was invested by sea and land ; and, after a
defence of four years, the Arabs submitted to the
clemency of Louis, grandson of Charlemagne, who
commanded in person the operations of the siege.
But they still continued to infest the country, pil-
laging the monasteries and profaning the churches.
In the work of devastation they were joined by a
new enemy from the north. The citizens of Bari
had invited the Normans (A. D. 1016) to assist in
shaking off the Grecian yoke. These ferocious
auxiliaries soon established themselves permanently
in the dukedom of Naples, and ultimately assisted
such of the petty princes as appealed to their sword.
In every enterprise of war or danger they promptly
volunteered their aid, and Sicily at that time opened
an inviting scene for their services. In their first
efforts against that island, the Latin emperors had
been unsuccessful ; 20,000 of their best troops w^ere
lost in a single expedition, and the victorious Mos-
lems ridiculed the policy of a nation which entrusted
eunuchs, not only with the custody of their women,
but with the command of their armies.

Internal divisions, however, effected what the
Byzantine armaments had attempted in vain. The
emirs aspired to independence ; the people rebelled
against the emirs, and the cities and castles were

CALiniS OF SPAIN. 59

usurped by their respective chiefs. In tliese do-
mestic quarrels the weaker of two rival brothers
implored the friendship of the Christians ; and a band
of 500 Normau warriors, knights on horseback,
landed in Sicily under the standard of the Governor
of Lombardy. The valour of the Arabs quailed be-
fore the ponderous swords of this new and untried
foe. In three successive engagements they were
defeated ; in the second their feader fell ; and in the
last, 60,000 of their troops were left dead on the
field. Thirteen cities, and the greater part of the
island, after a possession of 200 years, were reduced
to the obedience of the Greek emperor.

Twenty years afterward, Sicily felt the prowess
of a new conqueror, the famous Count Roger, the
twelfth and youngest son of Tancred, a Norman ban-
neret, who had joined the fortunes of his brothers
and countrymen, then possessors of the fertile re -
gion of Apulia. In an open boat he crossed the
strait, landed with only sixty soldiers, drove the
Saracens to the gates of Messina, and returned in
safety with the spoils of the adjacent country. Nei-
ther difficulties nor dangers could repress his activ-
ity. Before the walls of Trani, 3^0 Normans with-
stood and repulsed the whole force of the island.
At the battle of Ccramio, 50,000 horse and foot were
overthrown by only 136 Christian soldiers (most
probably knights, but so stands- the narrative of the
historian), without reckoning St. George, who fought
on horseback in the foremost ranks.

Notwithstanding the frequent and powerful suc-
cours which the Sicilian Arabs obtained from their
brethren in Africa, town after town yielded to the
bravery of the Normans, who added those splendid
conquests in the Mediterranean to the hst of their
achievements in England, France, and other king-
doms of Europe. After a war of thirty years, Roger
obtained the sovereignty of Sicily, with the title of
Great Count ; that of king being afterward bestowed

60 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

cn his son. The Saracens were protected m the
enjoyment of their property and rehg-ion ; but the
island was restored to the jurisdiction of tlie Roman
pontiff, who planted the principal cities with new
bishops, and gratified the clergy by a liberal endow
ment of the churches and monasteries.

CHAPTER III.

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

The Arabs turn their Attention to Learning — Their rapid Pro-
gress— Literary Ardour and Patronage of tlie Caliphs — Haroun
al Raschid — Almamoun — Vathek — College of Mostanser aS
Bagdad — Academies and Libraries founded in Persia, Syria
Eg>'pt, Africa, and Spain — Course of Study in the SaraceN
. Schools — Grammar — Rhetoric — Poetry — Tales -— Arabiai*
Nights' Entertainments— Story-tellers— History— Biography—
"Numismatics — Geography — Statistics — Metaphysics — Medi
cine and Medical Authors — Rhazes — Avicenna — Pharmacy-
Anatomy and Surgery — Botany — Chymistry — Astrology — As
tronomy — Optics — Mathematics — Trigonometry — Algebra-
Arithmetic — Architecture — The Fine Arts — Painting — Cal
ligraphy^Music — Agriculture — Manufactures in Steel, Por
celain, and Leather — Claims of the Arabs as the Restorers
of Letters and the Importers of useful Arts and Inventions in
Europe.

It was at a period when ignorance and barbarism
overspread every part of the Western World, that
literature and philosophy found an asylum in the
schools of the Saracens. Unlike the Goths and
Huns, they became the instructers and enlighteners
of the countries they had conquered. Their stern
fanaticism yielded to the mild influence of letters ;
and, by a singular anomaly in the history of nations,
Europe became indebted to the implacable enemies
of her religion and her liberties for her most valu-

LTTER.VrURE OF THE ARABS. 61

able lessons in science and the arts. In the prc-
ccdiner chapters of this work we have beheld the
disciples of Mohammed in the character of warriors
and conquerors. Their success in arms had been
enough to satiate even the most unmeasured ambi-
tion. But, great and splendid as were the events
we have just detailed, we shall turn with pleasure
from fields of blood, from scenes of misery and vice,
to contemplate the more gentle and useful progress
of the Arabs in the cultivation of learning. The
first Mussulmans knew, or at least esteemed, no
other book than the Koran. But this aversion to
intellectual pursuits gradually relaxed, in proportion
as their faith and their empire extended. The pos-
session of those happy countries, so long the seats
of ancient taste and splendour, naturally introduced
among them a spirit of refinement ; and here their
career was as rapid and surprising as it had been
in the field. The literature of Greece, such as it
was in the days of Pericles, required the slow growth
of nearly eight centuries of progressive cultivation.
The same period elapsed between the foundation
of Rome and the age of Augiistus. In France, the
reign of Louis XIV., the brilliant era of wit and
genius, was 1200 years subsequent to that of Clovis.
But among the Saracens, such was their enthusiasm
for learning, that little more than a single century
elapsed from the period of their deepest barbarism
to the universal diffusion of science over the vast
extent of their dominions. It was in the year 641
that Omar committed the Alexandrian library to the
flames, and in 750 the house of Abbas, the munifi-
cent patrons of letters, mounted the throne.

Under the first of the Ommiadan caliphs, the
genius of Greece had begun to obtain an influence
over the Arabs. But it was not till the great and
final division of the empire — till Bagdad arose, a fair
and splendid city — that the golden age of A rabian
literature commenced in the East, and the Muses

Vol. II.— F

62 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

were courted from their hallowed retreats beyond
the Bosphorus, to expiate the giiilt of conquest and
illustrate the fame of the Abbassides. Almansor,
successful in his domestic wars, turned his thoughts
to the acquisition of science. Accident brought him
acquainted with a Greek physician, named George,
who was invited to court to prescribe for the re-
moval of a temporary indigestion. To him the Sara-
cens were indebted for the introduction of medicine.
The famous Haroun al Raschid has acquired a splen-
did name as the encourager of letters. He was fond
of poetry and music, and himself considerably skilled
in these divine arts. Volumes have been written
on the learning of the Moslem empire during this
caliph's reign. Whenever he undertook a journey,
or a pilgrimage, he carried with him a retinue of a
hundred learned men. The Arabs were deeply in-
debted to him for their rapid progress in education,
for he issued a law that a school should be attached
to every mosque erected within his dominions.
With a toleration superior to the fanaticism of his
creed, he did not despise the knowledge which the
believers of another faith possessed. The head of
his schools, and the chief director of academical
studies in his empire, was a Nestorian Christian of
Damascus, of the name of John ibn Messue. His
generous example was imitated by his successors ;
and in a short time the sciences that were cultivated
in the capital were diifused to the distant extremi-
ties of the caliphate.

But the Augustus of Arabian literature was Alma
moun, whose attention from his youth had been
chiefly engrossed with books and study. Even in
his father's lifetime, and during his journey to Kho
rasan, of which he was appointed governor, he had
selected for his companions the most eminent
scholars among the Greeks, Persians, and Chal-
deans'. His accession to the throne did not abate his
ardour for knowledge. Bagdad became the resort

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS. G3

of poets, philosophers, and mathematicians, from
every country and of every creed. His ambassa-
dors and ajjents in Armenia, Syria, and Eg-ypt were
ordered to collect the most important books that
could be discovered. The literary relics of the con-
quered provinces, which his governors amassed with
infinite care, were broujO^ht to the foot of the throne
as the most precious tribute he could demand.
Hundreds of camels might be seen entering Bagdad
loaded with volumes of Greek, Hebrew, and Per-
sian literature ; and such of them as were thought
to be adapted to the purposes of instruction, were
at the royal command translated by the most skilful
interpreters into the Arabic language, that all classes
might read and understand them. Masters, instruct-
ers, translators, and commentators formed the
court of Bagdad, which appeared rather to be a
learned academy than the capital of a luxurious and
warlike government. Aware of the vast treasures
that were deposited in the libraries of Constantino-
ple, Almamoun, in concluding a treaty of peace with
the Grecian emperor, Michael HI., stipulated, as
one of the conditions, that a collection of rare and
valuable authors should be delivered up to him.
These were immediately subjected to the process
of translation ; but it must be recorded with regret
that, through an ill-judged partiality for his native
tongue, he gave orders that after the Arabic ver-
sions were finished, the original manuscripts should
be burned.

The Caliph Vathek not only admired and coun-
tenanced literature and the sciences, but was him-
self a proficient in some of them, especially poetry
and music. He was particularly addicted to astrol-
ogy ; and having conferred with some of his learned
fraternity in his last illness, they assured him, on
consulting his horoscope, that his reign was yet to
endure fifty years. His death in ten days falsified
this prediction, and ruined the credit of Hassan ibn

64 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

Solial. Abu Slasher, an eminent astrologer, flour-
ished in the reig-n of Mostain: but his talents re-
ceived sorry encouragement, for that prince ordered
him to be severely whipped, because an event which
he had foretold actually came to pass.

Long after the power of the Abbassides had
dwindled into a mere pageant of state, they affected
to patronise and cultivate learning. Many distin-
guished men in almost every science illustrated this
period of Saracen history ; but the capital of the
muses in the East had seen innumerable rivals
spring up in other parts of the empire. The last
prince that shed a ray of departing glory on his race
was the Caliph Mostanser, vrho adorned Bagdad by
the celebrated college that bore his name. Accord-
ing to oriental historians, this edifice had no equal
in ,the Moslem world, whether we consider the
beauty and elegance of the building, the number of
students it contained, or the splendid revenues as-
signed it by its founder. Each of the four chief sects
of the Somiees had its appointed professor, with a
monthly salary and a maintenance from the royal
exchequer. Every student had daily a very hand-
some allowance of provisions of all kinds. There
were baths set apart for their use, and a physician
employed to attend them at the caliph's expense.

The example of the sovereign was sometimes fol-
lowed by viziers and governors. Achmed ibn Tolun,
viceroy of Egypt, distributed every month among
the most distinguished ecclesiastics in that country
1000 dinars of gold (462/. 105.) ; and sent to Bagdad
not less than 2,200,000 dinars (1,017,500/.) for' the
benefit of the poor and learned in that city. An-
other vizier founded a college there at the expense
of 200,000 (92.500/.), and endowed it with an annual
revenue of 15,000 dinars (6937Z. 10.?.). The benefits
of public instruction in that capital were communi-
cated, perhaps at different times, to 6000 students
of every degree, from the son of the noble to that

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS 65

of the mechanic. The celebrity of its schools may-
be inferred from the vast numbers of poets, histo-
rians, physicians, and astronomers which it pro-
duced ; and for several ages it abounded in learned
men, in the various departments of science, more
than any other place in the Moslem dominions.

In every considerable town, schools, academies,
and libraries M^ere established. Bussora and Cufa
almost equalled the capital itself in reputation, and
in the number of celebrated authors and treatises
which they produced. Damascus, Aleppo, Balkh,
Ipsahan, and Samarcand became renowned as seats
of science. It was the glory of every city to col-
lect the treasures of literature ; and we are told that
a private doctor refused the invitation of the sove-
reign of Bokhara, because the carriage of his books
would have required 400 camels. The same enthu-
siasm was carried by the Saracens beyond the fron-
tiers of Asia. Egypt became a second time the asy-
lum of letters and art ; and the Spanish Jew, Benja-
min Tudela, relates in his Itinerary that he found in
Alexandria more than twenty schools for the cul-
tivation of philosophy. At a later period Cairo pos-
sessed numerous colleges, some of which were so
substantially built as to serve, during a rebellion, the
purpose of a citadel for the army. The royal library
consisted of 100,000 manuscripts, elegantly tran-
scribed and splendidly bound, which were lent out
to the students without jealousy or avarice. In its
arrangement, the first place was given to copies and
interpretations of the Koran ; the next to writings
on the traditions of Mohammed; books on law suc-
ceeded ; and after these philology, poetry, and sci-
ence, in their respective order.

The historians of Africa dwell with pride on the
academical institutions which adorned the towns
scattered along its northern coasts. Cairoan, La-
race, Fez, and Morocco, were endowed with magni-
ficent establishments for the instruction of the peo-

F2

66 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

pie ; and their rich hbraries preserved to Europe
many valuable works which nowhere else existed.
It was in Spain that Arabian learning shone with a
brighter lustre, and continued to flourish to a later
period, than in the schools of the East. Cordova,
Seville, and Granada rivalled each other in the
mag-nificence of their academies, colleges, and libra-
ries. The former city, celebrated as the birthplace
of the poet Lucan and the two Senecas, possessed a
celebrated university in the time of the Romans.
Its reputation did not degenerate under the Sara-
cens, and Casiri has enumerated the names and
writings of nearly 170 eminent men, natives of this
place. Hakem fomided here a college and a royal
library comprising 400,000 volumes : he had care-
fully examined every work, and with his own hand
wTote in each the genealogies, births, and deaths of
their respective authors. The academy of Granada
was long under the direction of Shamseddin of
Murcia, so famous among the Arabs for his skill in
polite literature, Ibn Almotawakkel, who reigned
there in the twelfth century, possessed a valuable
library, many of v/hose original manuscripts are still
preserved in the Escurial. Casiri has given a cata-
logue of those accounted the most rare in the time
of the Moors ; and has recorded the names and
works of 120 authors, theologians, civilians, his-
torians, philosophers, and other professors, whose
talents conferred dignity and fame on the university
of Granada. Toledo, Malaga, Murcia, and Valencia,
were all furnished with splendid literary apparatus.
In the cities of the Andalusian kingdom alone,
seventy libraries were open for the instruction of
the public. Middeldorpf has enumerated seventeen
distinguished colleges and academies that flourished
under the patronage of the Saracens in Spain, and
has given lists of the eminent professors and authors
who taught or studied in them.

A few scattered notices are all that we possess

LITERATURE OF TIIR ARABS. 67

respecting' the course of study and internal govern-
ment of the Arabian scliools. Every institution for
the education of youth, strictly speaking, was con-
nected witli religion ; lience public establishments
for this purpose were always found in conjunction
with the mosques. Of these foundations there were
two classes ; — one was composed of inferior schools,
where children, chiefly of the lower orders, were
instructed in the elements of reading, writing, and
religion. From the Arabic alphabet they gradually
advanced to the Koran, for the correct pronunciation
of which, rules were carefully prescribed. A second
description of colleges called the Madras, though
sometimes connected with the mosques like the
preceding, were occasionally erected as hidepend-
ent institutions. Here were taught the higher
branches of grammar, logic, theology, and juris-
prudence. Many of these colleges were so consti-
tuted as to contain thirty apartments, each of which
was occupied by three or four students. The
government of every school and academy was con-
fided to a rector, chosen from the most eminent of
the learned, and often without regard to his religious
opinions. That academical examinations took place
among all the pupils seems highly probable ; — Ayith
respect to medical students the fact is certain. In
Egypt and Spain this class were subjected to a very
strict investigation as to their proficiencj^ Casiri
has noticed a treatise by a professor of Cordova,
containing seventy-seven questions to be proposed
to medical candidates, and when the Achimbasi or
chief physician was satisfied of their qualifications,
they received a testimonial or diploma, under his
hand, authorizing them to practise. The different
professors were furnished with text-books, on which
they lectured, authorized by the colleges, and ac-
counted classical by the Arabs.

Whatever might be the real progress of the Sara-
cens in the speculative or the useful sciences, their

68 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

studies embraced a course sufficiently ample to ex-
ercise every faculty of the human mind. Grammar
and rhetoric were cultivated with sin^lar assiduity
by all who aspired to literary honours and dis-
tinctions. As always happens, the precepts of
elegant composition have succeeded the models; —
the inimitable Koran, and the pure dialect of the
Koreish, had refined the Arabian tongue long before
its rules were fixed and its beauties analyzed in the
rival schools of Cufa and Bussora. The literati of
Spain were not inferior to those of the East in the
prosecution of their philological investigations. We
learn from Casiri that Abdallah ibn Hescham, in his
'■ Introduction to a Chastised INIode of Speaking,"
reviews and corrects the errors of hmidreds of
former grammarians.

Eloquence, one of the three national distinctions
of the ancient Arabs, had ceased to be cultivated
after the time of IVIohammed and his immediate
successors, w^hen oriental despotism had banished
the freedom of the desert. But this art was revived
by the Saracens, who exercised themselves alter-
nately in the compositions of the academy and the
pulpit. Among these distinguished orators Malek
was considered the most pathetic ; while Sharaif
possessed beyond all others the art of blending the
brilliancy of poetry with the vigour of prose. Ho-
rairi was placed in the same rank with Cicero and
Demosthenes ; and his academical orations, w^e are
assured, deserved to be \\Titten, not on paper or
vellum, but on silk and golcl. In the sixth century,
Granada could boast of Bedreddin, surnamed the
Torch of Eloquence ; while Sekaki, the most cele-
brated writer on the belles-lettres, produced a work
on rhetoric called the Key of the Sciences, which
obtained him the title of the Arabian Quinctilian.

Poetry, anciently a favourite occupation of the
Arabs, continued, after the restoration of learning,
to be cultivated with enthusiasm ; and such was the

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS. 69

fertilit}^ of their genius, tluit they are said to have
produced more works in this department than all
other nations united. Owing to the distractions of
the cahphate, the Arabian muses seem to have been
silent till the reign of the Abbassides. It was in
the courts of Haroun and Almamoun, and more
especially under the Ommiades of Spain, that poetry
arrived at its highest pitch of splendour. At this
era flourished that bright assemblage of bards,
chivalrous lovers, and romantic princesses, whom
the oriental writers compare to Anacreon, Pindar,
and Sappho. Among their most eminent improvers
of versification were Motanabbi of Cufa, styled the
Prince of Poets, and Khalil ibn Ahmed, w^ho first
subjected it to regular rules.

Si;veral of the latter caliphs of Bagdad cultivated
this elegant art with the greatest ardour ; as did the
sultans of Mosul, Aleppo, Seville, and Cordova.
Kven ladies entered the lists as votaries of the muse.
N'aladata, daughter of the Caliph of Cordova, en-
dowed with equal beauty and genius, was considered
as the Arabian Sappho. Aysha, another princess at
the same court, w^as scarcely less distinguished ;
lier orations and poems were frequently read in the
royal academy of that city with the greatest ap-
plause. Labana, also a native of that learned capi-
tal, not only excelled as a poetess, but was deeply
skilled in philosophy and arithmetic, and held an
office not often enjoyed by females, that of private
secretary to the Caliph Hakem. Seville could boast
of Safia, whose poetry and beautiful penmanship
were the subject of equal admiration : of Algasania,
who wrote verses in praise of the caliphs ; and of
Maria, who has been honoured with the title of the
Arabian Corinna. So gi'eat was the number of poets,
that Abul Abbas, son of the Caliph Motassem, wTote
an abridgment of their lives, which contains notices
of 130. Casiri has further recorded the fragment of
a work entitled the " Theatre of the Poets," which

• LICERAHURE OF THE ARABS.

originally consisted of twenty-four volumes. Hejiaz
composed a biography of the Arabian bards in fifty
volumes ; and Safadi another in thirty, besides the
lives of illustrious men distinguished for extraordin-
ary valour. In the large Miscellany of Thaalebi,
called Yatima, may be seen a specimen of the united
beauty, elegance, and dignity of the Arabian muse.
It contains the lives and some of the verses of the
finest writers who flourished in Syria, Egypt, Meso-
potamia, Chaldea, Arabia, Persia, and Tartary.
Numerous collections of poems exist in Spain,
termed Divans or Academical Prolusions, from the
circumstance of their having been honoured with a
recital in the colleges or academies. These com-
prise idyls, elegies, epigrams, odes, satires, and
almost every other species of poetry familiar to the
Greeks and Romans.

The structure of the rhymes and verses, as may
be seen in the Commentaries of Sir William Jones,
was subjected to particular laws, which imparted a
degree of harmony and regularity to the whole com-
position. The two forms of versification most in use
were the Gazdla and the Cassida ; both of which
were compositions in distichs, the alternate lines in
every couplet being made to rhyme with each other
throughout the whole poem. The Gazella was an
amatory or lyrical ode, which ought not to contain
less than seven, nor more than thirteen couplets ;
Avhile the length of the Cassida, employed in songs
of love or war, might extend from ten to a hundred
distichs. The most celebrated of these Divans were
those of Abu Nowas, and Ibn Mokannas whose epi-
grammatic wit procured him the title of the Arabian
Martial.* Of all the diff'erent kinds of poetical com-

* The Arabs were extremely fond of reiterations and jingling
sounds in the poetry, —

" WTien shall it be, and when shall it be, and when shall it be,

and when,
That I shall be, and love shall be. and music shall be, and wine ?"

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS. 71

position, the moral and didactic appear to have been
- m the highest repute with the Saracens ; hence thqy
■wrote in verse, with as much facihty as in prose,
treatises on grammar, rhetoric, theology, medicine,
and even on the abstruse sciences of mathematics
and astronomy.

Amid this luxuriant variety, it has been remarked
as a curious circumstance that the Arabs have not a
single poem which is strictly epic. The nearest
approach to dramatic writing are a few dialogues
in rhyme ; but these -belong rather to satire than
comedy. The classic models of the Greeks and
Romans, the works of Sophocles and Euripides, of
Terence and Seneca, were desp'sed by the Arabs as
timid, cold, and constrained ; and among all the
books which, with an almost superstitious venera-
tion, they borrowed from these nations, there is
scarcely a single poem. Neither Homer nor Pindar,
Virgil nor Horace, were allowed to enter into a com-
parison with their own writers ; and consequently
none of those relics of classical genius were judged
worthy of translation. A Syriac version of the bard
of Troy was made so early as the reign of Haroun
al Raschid by Theophilus, a Christian Maronite of
Mount Libanus ; but much as the oriental muse de-
lighted in the themes of love and wine, she was an
entire stranger to the effusions of Ovid and the lyrics
of Sappho and Anacreon. The heroes of Plutarch,
and Livy, and Tacitus, were left to slumber in

Of their epigrammatic wit, Professor Carlyle (Specim. of Arab.
Poetry) has translated some examples. The following stanzas
are by Ibn Alrumi, who lived andaied at Emesa, in the reign of
Motaded, and who excelled in every species of versification : —

TO A VALETUDINARIAN.

" So careful is Isa, and anxious to last,
So afraid of himself he is grown,

He swears through two nostrils the breath goes too fast^
And he's trying to breathe through but one."

72 LITERATURE OF HE ARABS.

oblivion ; and the eloquence of Koss and Horairi
superseded that of Cicero and Demosthenes.

Fully to appreciate the beauties of Arabian poe-
try would require an acquaintance Avith the produc-
tions of the country, and with the maimers and
peculiarities of the inhabitants. For want of this
knowledge the oriental muses have been criticised
with extreme severity and injustice. Nor is it per-
haps very surprising that those who have read the
most celebrated compositions of the Eastern poets,
in Latin or French translatioHS only, should feel but
an indifferent relish for their charms, or form a cold
judgment of their merits. Comparisons and similes
founded on local objects have a point and beauty that
can only be felt in the land that gave them birth ;
though we may easily comprehend what force and
propriety such metaphors as the odour of reputation
and the deivs of liberality must have had in the mouths
of those who so much needed refreshment on their
journeys, and were accustomed to regale their senses
^vith the sv/eetest fragrance in the world. The same
remark is true of the figures and images drawn from
those beautiful and agreeable scenes with which the
Eastern nations are perpetually conversant. The
Hebrew muse delighted in the roses of Sharon, the
verdure of Carmel, and the cedars of Lebanon ; so
did the Arabs adorn their verses with the pearls of
Oman, the musk of Hadramaut, the woods and
nightingales of Aden, and the spicy odours of Ye-
men. Compared to our idiom, such emblems may
appear fantastic and extravagant, however striking
andjust in the glowing language of the East. They
differ essentially from those we meet with in the
schools of Greece and Rome. The acacia and the
tamarisk of the rocks bloomed not in their famed
Parnassus, nor in the groves of their academy ; and
were we to attempt to transplant these exotic tlow-
ers to the gardens of Europe, perhaps we should

ITERATURE OF THE ARABS. 73

not be surprised to find a portion of their beauty-
gone, and our gratification diminished.

With the Arabs the want of epic and dramatic
poetry was abundantly compensated by a species of
composition which in some degree combined the
nature of both. It is to their brilliant imagination
that we owe those beautiful tales, which surprise us
not more by their prodigious number than their ex-
haustless variety. With the Arabian Nights' Enter-
tainments, the All/ Lila wa Lilin, or the Thousand-
and-One Stories told by the Sultaness of the Indies,
who is not acquainted T The pleasure we derive
from their perusal makes us regret that we possess
only a comparatively small part of these truly en-
chanting fictions. The author or authors of this
immense collection of tales are unknown, and the
learned in Europe differ as to their origin. Von
Hammer, on the authority of Masoudi, suggested
some years ago that they were not originally Ara-
bian, but translated from the Indian or Persian in
the reign of the Caliph Almamomi, — an opinion cer-
tainly opposed by the circumstance, that a foreigner
could scarcely have succeeded in giving so accurate
a description of Arabian life and scenery. Mons.
Galland, who first supplied a French version (A. D.
1706), supposed that not more than a six-and-thir-
tieth part of them were knowm in Europe ; and a
late traveller (Dr. Daniel Clarke) has given a list of
172 tales contained in a manuscript purchased by
him in Egypt, divided in the same manner as the
celebrated Nights' Entertainments. It rarely hap-
pens, this author remarks, that any two copies of
the Alif Lila iva Lilin resemble each other ; and the
title is'indiscriminately bestowed on every compila-
tion of popular stories*^ that embraces the sam« num-
ber of parts, — a fact which may help to accomit for
our comparative deficiency in this department of
oriental Hterature.

Besides those committed to writing, a vast nan*--

VoL. II.— G

74 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

ber of these diverting legends had no more durable
tablet than the memory of itinerating story-tellers.
Crowds of both sexes in every region of the Mo-
hammedan world still earn their livelihood by their
wonderful talent for recital ; and they never fail to
attract an audience ; for the indolent natives of Tur-
ke}'-, Persia, and India willingly bury their present
cares in the pleasing dreams of the imagination.
The Africans, in the midst of their deserts, assem-
ble nightly round the blazing fire in their tents, ajid
learn to forget their own hardships and fatigues in
the captivating narrative of ideal adventures. The
public squares of the cities in the Levant abound
with these wandering reciters, and their assistance
is called in to fill up the heavy hours of the palace
and the seraglio. Their art is even prescribed as a
substitute for medicine ; and physicians not unfre-
quently recommend them to their patients in order
to sooth pain, to calm the agitated spirits, or pro-
duce sleep after long watchfulness.

Of their astonishing powers of memory we find
an instance recorded in Hamad of Damascus, known
by the title of Arawiyah, or the Narrator, one of the
literary suite of the second Walid, and reckoned the
most conversant of men in the history, poetry,
genealogy, and language of the Arabs. " Com-
mander of the Faithful," he replied to the caliph,
" I can relate the works of every poet with which
you are acquainted, or have heard of; I can, more-
over, relate the works of those with whom you are
not acquainted ; and no one can repeat to me a
poem, ancient or modern, but I can tell to which of
the two classes it belongs. I will undertake to repeat
to you, for every letter of the alphabet, 100 poems
of the larger description, besides small pieces, all
made before the introduction of Mohammedanism,
independently of the poetry that has appeared since
that ere.'' In proof that this was no idle boast,
Hamad continued to relate tiU the caliph grew

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS. 75

tired, and appointed another to hear liim ; and when
informed that the narrator liad actually repeated
2900 odes from authors before the time of Moham-
med, he ordered him a present of 100,000 drachms
('2291^. 135. 4d). An equal sum was paid him by the
Emir Yussuf, governor of Irak, who was exceed-
ingly puzzled on account of a stanza which had
occurred to his mind, and of which he did not know
the author. Hamad not only told him the name
of the poet, but repeated the entire composition
from which tlie verse was taken.

History, so much neglected by the ancient Arabs,
Avas cultivated with great assiduity by the Mos-
lems ; and there is extant an immense number of
works in this department, comprising annals, chron-
icles, and memoirs ; besides descriptions of particu-
lar kingdoms, provinces, and towns. A catalogue
of the authors' names would fill a volume ; and we
can only notice a few of the more celebrated. The
works of Abulfarage, a Christian physician of Ma-
latia, in Lesser Armenia, who flourished in the thir-
teenth century, and of Abulfeda, a writer of high
repute both in the East and the West, we have
already noticed. Ibn Katib, another eminent histo-
rian of the fourteenth century, was descended of a
noble family, and vizier to Mohammed, caliph of
Granada. He v/as deeply versed in every branch
of science, but chiefly remarkable for the extent and
accuracy of his historical knowledge. He wrote
treatises on forty-one different subjects, some of
them consisting of many volumes ; and there is
scarcely a topic in elegant or scientific literature
that he left untouched. His Chronology of the
Caliphs and Kings of Spain and Africa has the lofty
appellation of the " Silken Vest embroidered with
the Needle." A treatise on the Choice of Sentences
he designates "Pure Gold." His Lives of Eminent
Spanish Arabs, celebrated for their learning and
piety, are perhaps not inaptly termed "Fragrant

76 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

Plants ;" but it might puzzle a modern reader to
discover that " Approved Butter" means a disserta-
tion on Constancy of Mind ; or to find a History of
Granada in a ♦' Specimen of the Full Moon." Ibn
Hassem, a native of Cordova, was equally renow^ned
for poetic genius, historical information, and attain-
ments as a linguist. His writings on various sub-r
jects, both in prose and verse, were so multitudinous,
that, after his decease, his son is said to have col-
lected 400 volumes of them, comprising about 80,000
leaves. Ibn Haion, an inhabitant of the same city,
wrote an account of Spain in ten volumes ; and ano-
ther work on history, embracing the occurrences of
his own times, which extends to sixty. It were
tedious to specify the " Golden Chains of Faith," a
highly-celebrated performance on the Character and
Productions of Royal and Eminent Spanish Authors
in the fifth century of the Hejira ; or the " Mines of
Silver," a biographical work of the famed Ibn Ab-r
bar ; or the ^' Fallen Pearls and Picked-up Flowers"
of Abu Bakri. Every state, every province, every
city and town, possessed its individual chronicler
and historian. A full history of Spain, from the
time when it was first peopled to the close of the
thirteenth century, giving an account of its geogra^
phy, productions, and literary institutions, was con.-
tinued by six authors in succession, and cost the
labour of 115 years.

Works on biography, memoirs of the different
caliphs, and of men peculiarly distinguished for their
virtues, talents, or achievements, Avere innumerable.
The two Razis of Cordova, father and son, filled
many large volumes with illustrious genealogies,
and annals of distinguished viziers. Abul Walid, a
statesman and historian of Seville, wrote an account
of the Ommiades in Spain, similar to that given by
Masoudi of the Caliphs of Asia. These Arabian
Plutarchs descended even to the brute creation,
^uch was the passion for every species of composi-

LITKRATURE OF THE ARABS. 77

tion, and the desire to leave no subject untouched,
that Ibn Zaid of Cordova, and Abul Mondar of
Valencia, wrote a Genealogical History of celebrated
Horses ; as did Alasueco and Abdolmalec that of
Camels which had risen to distinction. This last-
mentioned author and eminent antiquary rendered
to his countrymen the same literary service that
Bayle and IMoreri conferred on Europeans, by giv-
ing them a copious historical dictionary. The Arabs
possessed encyclopaedias, gazetteers, and other simi-
lar compilations on critical and biographical sub-
jects. They were familiar, in short, with all those
inventions which curtail labour, dispense with the
necessity of research, and afford facilities to indo-
lence or curiosity. The Dictionary of the Sciences,
by Mohammed Abu Abdullah of Granada, was an
elaborate work, consisting of eleven parts, of which
a fragment of the seventh and the four last are still
extant. A similar compilation was made by the
renowned Farabi, who spoke seventy-two languages,
and wrote on every science then known.

With numismatics the' Saracens were well ac-
quainted. Namari and IVIakrizi wrote histories of
Arabian money ; the latter also produced a treatise
on the legal weights and measures. Azaker wrote
commentaries on the first inventors of the arts ; and
Gazali, in his learned work on Arabian antiquities,
treated in a profound manner of the studies and dis-
coveries of his countrymen.

Of geography they had, so far as their limited
means went, a tolerably accurate knowledge. The
library at Cairo could boast of two massive globes,
one of which was of brass, the other of pure silver,
constructed by an Arabian cosmographer, which
weighed 3000 drachms, and is said to have cost as
many thousand crowns of gold. In this department
Abuifeda holds a conspicuous rank. The Sheriff
Edrisi of Cordova, who made the celebrated silver
globe for Roger H.. kincr of Sicilv, is jiTstly distin-

iG2

78 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

guished for his " Geographical Amusements," which
he wrote and dedicated to that monarch. Of this,
however, only an abridgment has appeared in print,
published by the Maronites under the absurd title
of " Geographia Nubiensis." The Saracens of Spain
were at great pains to cultivate this science by actual
surveys ; and Casiri has described not less than
eighteen Voyages or Itineraries of learned men, who
travelled for the express purpose of acquiring and
diffusi^ng a knowledge of geography. Ibn Raschid,
one of them, journeyed through Africa, Egypt, and
Syria, hearing and conversing with the most emi-
nent scholars in those countries ; of whom, as well
as of their most remarkable libraries and academies,
lie has given some account in his travels.

Statistics and political economy, though of slow
growth among the Arabs, did not escape their atten-
tion. The ambition of conquest was succeeded by
a spirit of inquiry into the wealth and resources of
the countries that had yielded to their arms. So
early as the reign of Omar II., Assam ibn Maleo,
his viceroy in Spain, transplanted into that country
much of the wisdom of the East as respects the
improvements of productive industry. In the sta-
tistical survey which he composed for the caliph's
information, he described not only the different prov^
inces and cities, together with their respective rivers,
ports, and harbours; but also the nature of the cli-
mate and different soils of Spain, its mountains,
plants, and minerals ; giving an exact account of its
imports, and of the manner in which its various pro-
ductions, natural or artificial, might be manufactured
and applied to the best advantage.

In the speculative sciences the Arabs excelled as
much as they did in polite literature. Their acute
temperament of mind was well adapted to the study
of pliilosophy and metaphysics, and on these ac-
quirements is founded the reputation of many inge-
nious and celebrated men, whose names are still
revered in Europe. Gazali applied the doctrines of

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS. 79

metaphysics to theology ; and Alkendi, a native of
Bussora, who flourished in the cahphate of Alnia-
moun, was so celebrated among his contemporaries,
that he was called, by way of eminence, the Arabian
Philosopher, the Great Astrologer, the Phffinix of
his aoe. Notwithstanding the extravagant enco-
miuins of his friends, he was unquestionably en-
dowed with rare talents ; the 200 different works
which he composed show him to have been deeply
versed in all the learning of the Greeks, Persians,

"""But'liowever enthusiastically the Arabs pursued
these ingenious studies,theirprogress was more spe-
cious than real. Their ardour was ill-regulated, pre-
ferring the subtleties to the more important and
practical lessons of the science. The system of
Aristotle was well fitted to this prevailing taste ot
the Saracens. Though they were neither unac-
quainted with Plato, nor insensible to the ments of
his works, th-j Stag>^rite became their exclusive
•favourite, and received from them an intellectual
"iiomage that was almost divine. All parties ac-
knowledged his authority and appealed to his assist-
ance whether in attack or defence ; and the most
solid arguments both of Jews and Christians against
the truth of the Koran were laid prostrate before
the resistless artillery of his syllogisms. An accu-
rate translation, or a learned commentary on his
works, appeared to them the highest pitch of ex-
cellence to which the genius of man could attain
At the head of all these subtle expounders stood
Averroes, who, in the feUcitous obscurity of his
opinions, was by some reckoned superior to his
master. The library of the Escurial comprises
many authors on ascetic and mystic divinity ; but
for a detail of their lives and writings the curious
reader is referred to the elaborate pages of D Her-
belot and Casiri.*

* For the state of literature among the Arabs the authorities
we numerous :-Middeldorpf (De Instu. Lit. Arab, m Hisp.).

80 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

The natural sciences were cultivated by the Arabs
not only with great ardour and success, but with
judicious views of the means whereby their progress
might be promoted. The knowledge which they
possessed of medicine is a subject of curious inquiry.
In a country where the climate is healthful and the
inhabitants abstemious, the healing art was not likely
to be highly esteemed ; and accordingly we find the
starving physicians of Arabia complaining that exer-
cise and temperance deprived them of the greatest
part of their practice. About the time of Moham-
med the profession appears to have been held in
better repute. His contemporary, Hareth ibn Kal-
dah, an eminent practitioner, who had settled at
Mecca, was occasionally honoured with liis conver-
sation and applause. This learned personage was
physician to Abu Beker, and a pupil of the Greek

Abulfarage (Dynast, a Pococke), Asseman (Bibl. Orient.), Ca-
siri (Bibl. Arab. Hisp.), Toderini (Litter, ^es Turcs), Andies
(Deir Orig. Prog, e Stat. d'Ogni Litterat.'j, Schnurrer (Bibl.
Arab.), Renaudot (Hist. Pat Alex.), Fabricius (Bibl. Grajc).
Each department oflearning has been treated by particular wri-
ters : — Philosophy, — Brucker (Hist. Grit. Philos.), Leo Africanus
(De Virib. Illust. Arab.). Poetry, — Sir ^. Jones (Comment, de
Poes. Asiat.), Carlyle (Specim. of Arabian Poetry), Sisinondi
(Litt. du Midi.). Medicine, — Le Clerc (Hist, de la Med.). Freind
(Hist, of Med.), Sprengel (Hist.de la Med.), Moir (Ancient Hist,
of Med.). Botany, — Haller (Bibl. Botanica, tome i.). Chymis-
try, — Beckmann (Hist, of Inventions), Watson (Chemic. Es-
says), Boerhaave (Chymistry). Mathematics, — Montucla (Hist.
deMathemat.), Encyclopsed. Britannica(Playfair's Supplement).
Astronomy, — Lalande (Astronom. tome i.), Bailly (Hist, de I'As-
tronomie), Halley (Philosoph. Transact, vol. xvii.), La Place
(Syslfemedu Monde). Architecture, — Murphy (Arabian Antiqui-
ties of Spain), Swinburne (Travels in Spain), Professor Shak-
spear and Hartwell Home (Hist, of the Mohammedan Emp.
in Spain.) Agricuhxire, — Jacob (Travels in Spain), Townshend
(ditto). La Borde (Voyage, Pittoresque et Historique, de I'Es-
pagne), Masdeu (Hist. Crit. d'Esp.), Gregorius (Rerum Ara-
bic, quag ad Hist. Siculam spectant Collectio). The most valu-
able collection of Arabic literature is that of Casiri, who has
preserved and classed 1851 manuscripts; but it is to be regretted
that the work was not executed, until a fire, in the year 1671,
uad consumed the greater part of the Escurial Ubrary.

LITERATURE OF THE ARA}3S. 81

school of Jondisabour in Persia, founded by Shapoor
I. who, according' to Abulfarage, married a daughter
of the Emperor Aurehan, and by her means intro-
duced the doctrines of Hippocrates into the East.

When conquest had supphed the Arabs with the
means ofhixury and intemperance, this science was
better appreciated. In the schools of Bagdad and
Alexandria, the study of physic was encouraged
with the usual munificence of the caliphs. Trans-
lations of Hippocrates and Galen issued from the
same manufactory that had clothed Plato and Aris-
totle in an oriental dress. Most of these versions,
the merit of which is freely discussed by Renaudot,
and piously defended by Casiri, are ascribed to Ho-
nain, an eminent physician of the Nestorian sect,
who died A. D. 576 ; and Messue, the celebrated
preceptor of Almamoun, who was principal or su'
perintendent of the College of Bagdad. Serapion,
Alkhendi, Thibet ibn Korra, the friend and astrolo-
ger of the Caliph Motaded, Baktishua and his son
Gabriel, with a host of others, are names which adorn
the medical annals of the Saracens. The lives of
more than 300 Mohammedan physicians, consist-
ing of Arabs, Syrians, Persians, and Egyptians,
were recorded by an author named Osaiba, part of
whose work, about a century ago, Mr. Mead, at his
own expense, caused to be translated from the ori-
ginal ; but it proved so incoherent and so full of
puerile stories, that the task was abandoned. To
Ali ibn Al Abbas, surnamed the Magian, from the
sect to which he belonged, we are indebted for the
earliest as well as the best account of Arabian phy-
sic. This eminent author was a star of the first mag-
nitude m the galaxy of learned men who flourished
at the court of Adodowlah, sultan of Aleppo. His
book, called Al Meleki or Royal Work, which ap-
peared about the year 980, was intended to be a com-
plete system of medicine, and continued to maintain
its ascendency till superseded by the Canon of
Ayiceuna.

82 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

Al Razi, or Rhazes as he is commonly desig-,
nated, is a name of which Arabian hteratm-e has
reason to be proud. He flourished in the tenth cen-
tury, and had the reputation of being deeply skilled
in almost all sciences as well as in medicine. He
was appointed director of the hospital at Rhe, in
Irak, his native cit}^,^ and afterward delivered lec-
tures in the College' of Bagdad, in which he was by
far the most distinguished professor of his time.
His fame rests chiefly on his medical writings, the
principal of which, Alhav-i or the Continent, com-
prehended his account of diseases. He wrote, among
other works, a small but curious tract on quacks,
whom he characterizes with a fidelity that makes his
descriptions applicable to the pretending knaves of
modern times. This treatise is remarkable, from
being the earliest medical work in which Eau de vie
is mentioned, as also different kinds of beer manu-
factured fiom rice, barley, and rye. Another merit
of this distinguished scholar, and what perhaps
above all has tended to heighten his reputation as
an author, is his treatise on small-pox and measles,
being the first account of these diseases ever given.
His remarks on climate, season, situation, and consti-
tution, denote the accurate and philosophic observer.
Indeed, from the minute and excellent descriptions of
disease to be found in his works, embracing not only
the more commonly known, but others of rare oc-
currence, and some recorded for the first time, such
as tic douloureux and hypochondria, there can be as
little doubt that his opportunities of observation
were immense, as that his genius enabled him to
turn his experience to the best account.

But in learning and reputation, Rhazes was sur-
passed by the famous Abdallah ibn Sina, a name
which the Jews abVjreviated into Abensina, and the
Christians into the well-known appellation of Avi-
cenna. This Prince of Physicians, as the Arabs
denominate him, was a person nearly as remarkable
for the extent and variety of his precocious attain-

LITER ATrilE OF THE ARABS. 83

merits as the Admirable Crichton ; wliile in the med-
ical world he attained a celebrity rivalled only by
the fame of Hippocrates and Galen. He was born
in the year 980, at a small village near Bokhara.
Removing to Bagdad for the prosecution of his
studies, he there applied himself to the cultivation
of philosophy and medicine, in both of Avhich his
progress was surprisingly rapid. Besides physic,
the range of his acquirements comprehended logic,
morals, metaphysics, astronomy, philology, mathe-
matics, natural history, and theology. While yet
in his nineteenth year, Avicenna Avas regarded
even by the old and experienced as a complete pro-
digy of learning, and the deference paid to his judg-
ment was sufficient to flatter his utmost vanity.
During his residence at Hamadan, he W' as chosen
first physician to the sultan, and afterward raised to
the dignity of vizier. His literary fame, and that of
the brilliant court to which he was attached, drew
the admiration of surrounding princes. But his
popularity was short-lived, and his life seemed des-
tined to be a restless one. Finding his liberty
endangered, for having refused the invitation of
Mahmoud of Ghizni to honour his capital with a
visit, he withdrew to Jorjan, where the splendour
of his reputation, not only as a physician but a man
of science, increased beyond all rivalry.

The subsequent history of this remarkable person-
age is short. Though possessed of an excellent con-
stitution, he had so impaired it by the use of wine,
and its accompanying vice, that he died from intes-
tinal inflammation, in his 56th year, at Hamadan.
Avicenna is one of those on whom praise and vitu-
peration have been lavished wqth equal excess. It
may be somewhat difficult to account for the despotic
supremacy which his writings acquired in the Sa-
racen schools ; for they w^ere not only translated,
abridged, and commented on, but formed text-books
for the professors in the principal colleges of Europe,
and continued the oracles of medical knowledge for

84 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

nearly 600 years. His Ciuion consists of five books,-
each of which has its subdivisions. His Materia
Medica must have been sutficiently absurd, as we
find him recommending the administration of gold,
silver, and precious stones, with a view to purify
the blood. It is to this ridiculous belief that the
custom of gilding and "silvering pills is to be re-
ferred. In anatomical knowledge he appears to have
been extremely superficial. To follow out the intri-
cacies of his pathology, his speculations on the func-
tions of the brain, the vital spirits, pleurisies, fevers,
faculties, and temperaments, is unnecessary for our
purpose. Posterior to Avicenna, flourished, among
many others of lesser note, Abulcasis, Avenzoar,
and his pupil Averroes, whose fame was as distin-
guished in medical as in metaphysical science.

To pharmacy the Arabs paid particular attention ;•
and they deserve the credit of having set the first
example of publishing pharmacopoeias or re_gular
dispensatories, containing collections of authorized
formula. The shops of the Saracen apothecaries
were placed under the immediate superintendence
of the magistrates, who took care that they should
be provided with genuine drugs, and that these
should be sold at reasonable prices. Many of the
pharmaceutical terms, as naphtha, camphor, syrup,
and jalap, are of Arabian origin. In this branch
of the science Avenzoar was well versed ; and in his
treatise we find accounts of both simple and com-
pound medicines not elsewhere to be met with. The
discovering of antidotes for poisonous plants seems
to have been a favourite research with him. Vari-
ous other writers enlarged the limits of pharmacy.
The elder Messue employed, as emetics, powder of
fine bark, and decoctions of hyssop ; and as a styptic
in violent bowel-complaints he had recourse to the
rennet of diff'erent animals, particularly the hare.
In curing similar disorders, Serapion advised boiled
milk, in which red-hot iron had been dipped,

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS. 85

In anatomy and surgery, the Arabs never attained
to any remarkable proficiency. The polhited touch
of the dead alarmed the most determined naturalist ;
and the orthodox Mussulman felt himself debarred
from this impious knowledge by the prejudices of
his creed. When Toderini asked a mufti if it was
allowable to practise human dissection, he was told
that the very question itself was an infringement of
their divine law. To mutilate a corpse was prohibited
by the religious belief that the soul does not depart
from the body at the moment of death, but remains,
after deserting the other members, for a consider-
able time in the breast. Besides, it was deemed
necessary to appear entire at the stern tribunal of
IMunkir and Nakir, to undergo the sepulchral exami-
nation. Hence the anatomical studies of the Arabs
were restricted to the lower animals, and skeletons
in the cemeteries. In their writings on the subject,
they did little more than translate and paraphrase
theVorks of the Greeks.

The surgery of Ali Abbas has some distinctive
features ; for though he modestly professed only to
be a copyist, he made a great many observations
peculiar to himself. His son, who followed the
same profession, was the author of a book on the
diseases of the eye. In operating for cataract, A vi-
cenna recommended depression ; and speaks of ex-
traction, which he had several times seen practised,
as a very dangerous experiment. The most emi-
nent of the Arabian surgeons was Abulcasis, whose
name has been already introduced. He complained
of the deplorable state into which the art had fallen
in his day ; and informs us that the Spanish prac-
titioners dashed into all kinds of operations without
knowing in the least degree the nature of the parts
they were dividing, and consequently without at-
tending to the precautions necessary for averting
danger. His surgery is arranged into three books ;
the first treating of caustics, the second of surgical
Vol. it.— H

86 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

diseases, and the third of luxations, togetlier with
some miscellaneous particulars,

Abulcasis is the only ancient MTiter on anatomy
that has described the instruments used in each par-
ticular operation. To him we owe the invention
of the probang, an elastic rod tipped with sponge,
for dislodging extraneous substances from the gullet.
Another instrument of his own, was that for ope-
rating in fistula lachrymalis, which he has explained,
as also the needle used by the oriental surgeons for
cataract. The knife, which he calls ainessil, and
used in the section of a vein, as distinct from punc-
ture, is by some presumed to be our common lancet
— a term which the French borrowed from the an-
cient Gauls. The myrtle and olive knives, so called
from resembling in shape the leaves of these plants,
were employed for blood-letting by incision. For
opening veins in the forehead, use was made of the
fosseriiim, said to resemble the phleme for bleeding
cattle, and which required percussion to make it
penetrate the skin. We learn from Casiri, that
among the Escurial manuscripts there is a treatise
in the Cufic character, which contains a collection
of plates of surgical instruments.

Botany, as subsidiary to medicine, M^as cultivated
by the Arabs with considerable success. This sci-
ence they advanced far beyond the state in which it
had been left by Dioscorides, who flourished about
the commencement of the Christian era. His herbal
they enriched by the addition of 2000 plants ; and
their knowledge of the vegetable world enabled
them to insert in their pharmacopoeias several
remedies which had been unknown to the Greeks.
Rhazes, Ali Abbas, and Avicenna are names that
adorn the annals of this elegant and useful study ;
but the most distinguished of all the Arabian bota-
nists was Ibn al Beithar, a native of Malaga. In his
zeal for herborizing, he travelled over every part of
Europe, Africa, and Asia ; inspected and analyzed
every thing that was rare, curious, or valuable in the

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS. 87

three kingdoms of nature ; and, on his return, pub-
lished the result of his investigations in three books :
first, on the nature and virtues of plants — second, on
metals and minerals — and third, on animals. He
died at Damascus in the year 1248, in which city-
he held the dignity of vizier. Casiri mentions an-
other eminent botanist, Ibn Phara, a celebrated phy-
sician of Corella, who was appointed curator of the
botanical garden of the Sultan Alnasar. Albiruni,
who died in 941, travelled in India during the long
period of forty years, to observe the nature and
properties of the mineral and vegetable kingdoms ;
and has given the result of his researches in a
rare and exceedingly valuable treatise on precious
stones.

The praise of originality, however, is more justly
due to the Saracens for their discoveries in chymis-
try, of which they may be considered as the invent-
ors, in so far as regards its introduction into medi-
cine. Before their time this science was degraded
to the same level with magic and astrology, and
confounded with the reveries of alchymy, or the art
of making gold by means of the philosopher's stone,
which is usually described as a red powder, having
a peculiar smell. Besides the virtue of transmuting
metals, this precious compound was believed to have
the inherent property of charming evil spirits, curing
all diseases, ard protracting the span of human ex-
istence to an indefinite extent. The history of al-
chymy, from first to last, is full of fiction and obscu-
rity, and consists of little else than an account of
dupes and impostors who made a livelihood by vend-
ing their mystic nostrums to the ignorant at an ex-
travagant price ; for, strange as it may appear, mul-
titudes were found credulous enough to believe that
wealth and immortality could be bottled up in thumb-
vials, or extracted by means of the crucible from
oxides and powders.

This study, however, was attended with many
incidental advantages, by extending the boundaries

88 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

of chymical knowledge, teaching- a greater degree
of facility in operations, and leading to the discov-
ery of many new and valuable substances which,
without some such strong incentive, would have
perhaps remained much longer in obscurity. Struck
with the result of investigations which they did not
understand, the Arabs applied themselves to this de-
partment of science, with the view of making it
subservient to the composition of medicines and the
cure of diseases. In conducting distillations, and
detecting the properties of various bodies, they
made great improvements. The three mineral
acids were discovered ; the vegetable and mineral
alkalies were distinguished from each other; and
the preparation of alcohol made known. Rhazes is
generally allowed to be the first regular practi-
tioner that made use of chymical remedies ; and
from his mentioning corrosive sublimate and mer-
curial ointment, various preparations of arsenic, the
sulphates of copper and iron, saltpetre, and borax,
it is evident that the science had already passed its
infancy.

But the true patriarch of Arabian chymistry was
the famous Geber, a native of Harran in Mesopota-
mia, who lived in the eighth century. Little is
known of this writer, except his works, which con-
tain many and important chymical facts. Besides
the metals, sulphur, and salt, with which the Greeks
and Romans were familiar, he knew the method of
preparing sulphuric acid, nitric acid, and aqua regia.
He was familiar with the art of dissolving the metals
by means of these acids, and actually prepared
nitrate of silver and corrosive sublimate. He was
acquainted with potash and soda, both in the state
of carbonates and caustic. He was aware that
these alkalies dissolve sulphur, and he employed the
process to obtain it in a state of purity.

Of Geber's works, so far as they have appeared
in Latin or English, we possess only four tracts ;

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS. 89

though D'Herbelot states that he wrote 500 volumes
on chymistry. The greater number of chymical
processes, such as they were almost to the end of
the eighteenth century, were perfectly known to
him ; and if we compare his writings with those of
Dioscorides and Pliny, we shall perceive the vast
progress which chymistry, or rather pharmacy, had
made in the schools of the Saracens. The early
nomenclature of the science demonstrates how
much it owes to the Arabs. The terms alcohol,
alembic, alkali, aludel, and others, clearly indicate
their derivation ; nor should it be forgotten that
those characters of drugs, essences, extracts, and
medicines which are frequently to be found in apothe-
caries' shops, and which to vulgar eyes appear to be
vested with occult powers of healing, are all to be
traced to them. It is the opinion of Sprengel, that
the writings of the Arabs, even at the present day,
might be of service, were our chymists and physi-
cians capable of perusing the works of Geber, Mes-
•sue, Rhazes, Averroes, and Avicenna in the native
tongue.

Allied to medicine was the science of astrology,
which the Saracens cultivated with great zeal. The
doctrine of sidereal influences is very ancient ; and
lai a later period each part and member of the human
t)ody was assigned to the custody or dominion of a
particular star. The heart, brain, liver, spleen,
iDile, kidneys, and other viscera were successively
affected by the sun and moon, and by the planets
Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Mars, and Venus ; so that
a physician, before he could understand or attempt
to cure a disease, had to ascertain the magical
harmony between the planets and the habits oif his
patient. He durst not venture to draw blood with-
out consulting the position of the heavens, nor order
a cathartic unless the constellations were favoura-
ble. With a people so superstitious as the Arabs,
such a science could not fail to be popular. Accord-

H2

90 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

ing-ly its professors, independently of all medical
considerations, were seen in the courts, and con-
sulted in the cabinets of princes ; and no public or
even private enterprise of moment was undertaken
without previously obtaining the concurrence of the
heavenly bodies.

The most flourishing period of Arabian astron-
omy was the reign of Almamoun, who was himself
devoted to the study of this science. He caused a
complete digest of it to be composed by the most
eminent men of his court, and provided at his own
cost the necessary instruments of observ^ation.
The land of the Chaldeans still supplied the same
spacious level, the same unclouded horizon ; and
under his munificent patronage the philosophers of
Bagdad, first on the plains of Shinar, and a second
time on those of Cufa, accurately measured a de-
gree of the great circle of the earth, and determined
at 24,000 miles the entire circumference of our
globe. The process by which this remarkable mea-
surement was conducted is described by Abulfeda,
from the relation of Ibn Khallican and the best his-
torians. The obliquity of the ecliptic was calcu-
lated at about twenty- three degrees and a half;
but not a single step was made towards the discov-
ery of the solar system beyond the hypotjiesis of
Ptolemy.

Among the Arabian astronomers were several
who distinguished themselves both by their writings
and observations. Albumazar published an Intro-
duction to Astronomy — a Treatise on the Conjunc-
tion of the Planets — and another on the Origin, De-
rivation, and End of the World. The celebrated
Alfragani composed a classical work entitled Ele-
ments of Astronomy, of which a translation, with
notes, has been given by Professor Golius, and
which presents a concise exposition of Ptolemy's
Almagest. This author likewise produced a trea-
tise on solar clocks, and on the astrolabe. Moham-

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS. 91

med ibn Musa, Abdallah ibn Sahal, and Yaliia ibn
Mansor were eminent writers on this science, and
their astronomical tables were admired for their
exactness. Albathani (or Albategni), one of the
most learned men that adorned the court of Mokta-
der, was justly renowned as the author of the Sabian
tables, drawn up from the astronomical observa-
tions which he made in the course of forty years
(A. D. 879-921), at Racca, on the Euphrates. His
laborious researches were of the highest importance
to the science. He gave a new and improved theory
of the sun, from which some valuable results were
derived ; and supplied the defects of the Ptolemaean
tables by his more accurate observations. His
work on " The Science of the Stars," which is still
extant, long held a very high place in the estima-
tion of philosophers. We owe to him a more cor-
rect calculation of the obliquity of the ecliptic than
had hitherto been made ; he also determined the
annual movement of the equinoxes, and found the
duration of the tropical year to be 365 days and a
decimal fraction.

His contemporary, Ibn Korrah, likewise observed
the declination of the ecliptic — distinguished the
motion of the apogee of the sun and planets from
that of the stars in longitude ; and, what is most im-
portant of all, ascertained that the solar revolution
M-as completed in 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes, and
12 seconds — a calculation not very different from
that now in use. Arzakel, the reputed author of the
Toledan tables, who flourished towards the end of
the eleventh century, was famous for his hypothesis
to account for the diminution of the sun's eccen-
tricity, which he conceived to have taken place
since the time of Ptolemy, and the motion of the
sun's apogee. His idea was adopted by Coperni-
cus ; and subsequently applied to the moon by Ho-
roccius, Newton, Flamstead, and Halley.

3Iodern astronomy is indeked to the Saracens for

92 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

the introduction of observatories. Appended to the
celebrated mosque at Seville was the lofty tower of
the Giraldo, built under the superintendence of the
famous mathematician Geber (A. D. 1196), which
long served this purpose, and which still remains
one of the most noble and ancient monuments, per-
haps, in Christendom, in honour of this science.
The learned Bailly attributes the revival of astron-
omy to the Spanish Arabs, and the translations of
the works of Alfragani. He affirms that Kepler
drew the ideas that led to his discovery of the ellip-
tical orbits of planets from NureddinPetrucci, whose
Treatise on the Sphere is preserved in the Escurial.
From Lalande and Andres we learn that Alfonso X.,
king of Castile, who has immortalized himself by
his astronomical pursuits, and whose tables have
contributed so much to promote the knowledge of
the heavenly bodies, received his information chiefly
from the Moors, whom his liberality induced to
settle at Toledo.

The schools of Bagdad and Cordova did not neg-
lect the study of optics. Alfarabi, Ibn Haitim, and
Alhazen devoted their attention to this subject ; but
the works of the two former are lost. The treatise
of the latter, who wrote in the twelfth century, has
been frequently noticed. It is cited by our distin-
guish.ed countryman Roger Bacon ; and was illus-
trated by Vitellio, a native of Poland, who lived in
the thirteenth century. In mathematics, though
the Saracens did not ascend to the higher branches,
yet in the other division of the science their know-
ledge was far from being inconsiderable. The
works of the most eminent Greek geometricians
were translated, and the schools of the East sup-
plied in their vernacular tongue with versions of
Euclid, Theodosius, Hypsicles, Menelaus, and Apol-
lonius of Perga.

How highly these studies were valued by Alma-
moun, may be imagined from his liberal offer of 100

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS. 93

pounds' weight of gold to engage in his service the
famous mathematician Leo of Constantinople, who
was then employed by the Emperor Theophilus in
delivering lectures and establishing schools in his
capital. But the invitation was declined ; as the
Greeks, from a foolish vanity of their superior ex-
cellence, were jealous of imparting to heathen the
sacred fire of their learning. Ibn Korrah enriched
the literature of his country with translations of
Archimedes and the Conies of ApoUonius. But
none of them seem to have bequeathed to the world
any treatises of importance ; and, at the revival of
letters in the fifteenth century, this branch of the
science is said to have been found nearly in the
state in which it was left by Euclid. Brucker, in
his History of Philosophy, maintains that the Sara-
cens owed their mathematical knowledge solely to
the Greeks, and that the study made no progress
whatever in their hands. But later writers, par-
ticularly Montucla, have done ample justice to their
researches in certain departments of this sublime
science.

Trigonometry derived from the Arabs the form
which it still retains. They substituted the use of
sines for that of the chord, which had been employed
by the ancients. Ibn Musa and Geber composed
original works on spherical trigonometry ; and Al-
kendi, besides his own treatise, De Sex Quantifaiihus,
translated that of Autolycus, De Sphara Mota. Al-
gebra, though not the invention of the Saracens,
received valuable accessions from their talents ;
and, on comparing them with their predecessors,
their advances will perhaps be found as conspicuous
as the improvements which have been suggested
and the progress that has been made by later and
even by modern proficients. Ibn Korrah and Ibn
Musa are the earliest Arabian mathematicians who
have treated on this science. The former wrote
on the certainty of the demonstrations of the

94 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

algebraic calculus, and the latter is accounted the
inventor of the solution of equations of the second
degree. There is an original treatise by Omar ibn
Ibrahim, on the Algebra of Cubic Equations, which
exists in manuscript in the library of the Univer-
sity at Leyden ; and we learn from Casiri that the
principles and the praises of this science were
sung in an elaborate poem by Alcassem, a native
of Granada.

The numerical characters, which have tended so
much to simplify and abridge calculations, and with-
out which none of the exact sciences could have
been carried to the point at which they have arrived
in our day, were beyond all doubt communicated
to us by the Arabs. They were not, however, the
inventors of these digits, which, as Avell as their
arithmetic, they acknowledge to have received from
the East ; and many of their treatises on this sub-
ject they denominate " Indian Arithmetic," "The
Art of Computing according to the Indians," &c.
It is well known that the Hebrews, Greeks, and Ro-
mans, and perhaps other nations, used alphabetical
letters for the representation of numbers. The
Indians adopted this simple and natural method;
and their original numerals, of which the Arabic
ciphers are merely an abridgement, may be consid-
ered as primitive words or characters. Their use
and general diffusion in Europe must be ascribed to
the persevering industry of the famous Gerbert,
afterward Pope Sylvester II., who is the first phi-
losopher known to have visited Spain in the pursuit
of knowledge. On his return he founded two
schools — one at Bobbio in Italy, and another at
Rheims in France, both of which were numerously
attended, and contributed to give a new turn to the
study of philosophy.

Their mathematical and mechanical knowledge
the Arabs turned to various purposes of multiplying
and improving the conveniences of life — such as th©

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS. 95

construction of aqueducts, baths, cisterns, and ca-
nals. Their acquaintance with hydrauhcs is mani-
fest from the number of mills and other waterworks
employed in the nseful process of irrigation. Ac-
customed to an arid and sultry climate, they consid-
ered the command of water to be a material requi-
site in every country where they settled. The fon-
tanos or reservoirs in vSpain, and the tanks in Africa,
were either erected or restored by them. Their
palaces and mosques were furnished with capacious
cisterns. The gardens of the Alhambra contained
sheets of water, in the surface of which the build-
ings were reflected ; and in most of the principal
cities fountains played in the streets, as well as in
the courts of the houses, by which the atmosphere
was attempered during summer. Tn the famous
palace of Toledo was a pond, in the midst of which
rose a vaulted room of stained glass adorned with
gold. Into this apartment the caliph could enter
untouched by the water, and sit while a cascade
poured from above, with tapers burning before him.
We are not aware that any discoveries of theirs in
hydrostatics have been transmitted to us ; but the
titles of two works by the celebrated Alkendi are
mentioned in Casiri, viz. on Bodies that Float on
Water, and on Bodies that Sink.

Architecture was an art in which the Arabs par-
ticularly excelled ; and the revenues of kingdoms
were expended in erecting public buildings, of which
Jerusalem, Babylon, and Baalbec, afforded the most
stupendous models. It has been observed as a cir-
cumstance worthy of remark, that no people ever
constructed so many edifices as the Arabs, who ex-
tracted fewer materials from the quarry. From the
Tigris to the Orontes, from the Nile to the Guadal-
quiver, the buildings of the first settlers were raised
from the wreck of cities, castles, and fortresses,
which they had destroyed.

In the style of architecture, the Arabs both of the

96 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

East and the West had a kindred resemblance, as
appears by contrasting the disposition of the apart-
ments of the Alhambra, and other remains of Moor-
ish art, with the accounts given by travellers relative
to the general mode of oriental buildings. While
little attention, comparatively, was bestowed on the
exterior of their mansions, on the furniture and ac-
commodation within every thing was lavished that
could promote luxurious ease and personal comfort.
Their rooms were so contrived that no reverberation
of sound was heard. The light was generally ad-
mitted in such a manner as, by excluding external
prospects, to confine the admiration of the spectator
chiefly to the ornaments and beauties of the interior.
Their arrangements for ventilation were admirable ;
and by means of caleducts, or tubes of baked earth,
warm air was admitted, so as to preserve a uniform
temperature. The utmost labour and skill were
expended in embellishing the w^alls and ceilings.
Their tiles had a blue glazing over them ; their
paving-bricks were made of different colours, — blue,
white, black, or yellow, — which, when properly con-
trasted, had a very agreeable effect. Nothing is
more astonishing than the durability of the Moorish
edifices. The stucco composition on their walls
became hard as stone ; and, even in the present
century, specimens are found without a crack or a
flaw on their whole surface. Their woodwork also,
which is of a more fragile nature, still remains in a
state of wonderful preservation. The floors and
ceilings of the Alhambra have withstood the neglect
and dilapidation of nearly 700 years ; the pine-wood
continues perfectly sound, without exhibiting the
slightest mark of dry-rot, worm, or insect. The
coat of white paint retains its colour so bright and
rich, that it may be mistaken for mother-of-pearl.

The history of Arabian architecture comprises a
period of about 800 years ; which M. Laborde has
divided into three distinct epochs, marking its rise,

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS 97

progress, and decay. From the end of the thirteenth
century, the era of its dechne in Spain, it exhibited
a mixture of styles borrowed from the revival of the
arts in Italy. The origin of what is called Gothic
architecture, we know, has been much disputed ; but
among the different hypotheses, that of Sir Cljris-
topher Wren, which derives it from the Arabs, is
certainly the most probable. The crescent arch,
said to be the symbol of a celebrated goddess whose
worship among the ancients was universal, was first
adopted by the Arabs of Syria, and invariably used
in the edifices erected by them during the reigns of
the Ommiades. After their dethronement the Ab-
bassides, disdaining to imitate their rivals, introduced
at Bagdad an arch resembling the section of an oval
taken below the transverse diameter. A similar
form was adopted by the sovereigns of Granada ; but
it is worthy of remark, that so long as the house of
MoawiA^ah ruled in Spain, the arch of their Syrian
ancestors prevailed from the Atlantic to the Pyre-
nees.

The Mohammedan religion was unfriendly to what
we usually denominate the fine arts. To the first
Moslems painting and sculpture were considered
odious, as leading to idolatry and a breach of their
Divine law. Subsequently, however, these scruples
decreased as literature and the arts were introduced ;
and the caliphs, both of the East and the West,
evaded or violated with, impunity the prohibitions
of the Koran. At first, as a substitute for pictorial
delineation, the orthodox artists patiently traced
those lineal ornaments of Mosaic and network which
covered the mterior of their mosques and palaces. It
was the same religious feelings that gave birth to that
peculiar style of embellishment, which from the
Arabs has been denominated the Arabesque, and
which rejects human or animal figures ; the subjects,
whether painted or sculptured, consisting wholly of
imaginary plants, flowers, or foliage. In later times

Vol. II.— I

d8 Literature of the arabs.

the restraints of relig-ioii yielded more and more icf
the progress of the arts. Some of the Eastern
caliphs caused their images to be stamped on their
coins. In Spain, Abdalrahman HI. ventured to place
the statue of his favourite mistress over the magnifi-
cent palace which he had erected for her reception.
The Alhambra had rts sculptured lions, its orna-
mented tiles, and historical paintings.

In one branch of the fine arts, that of calligraphy
or ornamental writing, the Saracens particularly ex-
celled. The extensive manufacture of translations
brought this necessary accomplishment to a very
high degree of perfection. Afrihi ibn Adi, a Jacob-
ite Christian, who flourished at Bagdad under the
caliphs Mostakfi and Almoti, and was much em-
ployed in transcribing books of literature, wrote so
fine a hand as to resemble typography ; and with
such expedition, that in the course of a day and a
night he could finish 200 pages. His contemporary
Ahdab, surnamed Al Mozawer, or the Falsifier, was
the most ingenious forger and imitator of penman-
ship that any country ever produced. He could
counterfeit any hand ; and with such dexterity, that
even the person whose autograph was imitated could
not distinguish the copy from the original. Ado-
do wlah, the vizier of Almoti and Altai, turned this
singular faculty to his own advantage, by causing
him to write letters calculated to sow jealousy and
dissension between such of the neighbouring princes
as he wished to subdue ; and this fictitious corres-
pondence often produced the desired effect. To the
Chinese and Persians, the Arabs were indebted for
their method of imparting a remarkable purity and
neatness to their paper. They employed inks of
extraordinary lustre, and studied to adorn their
manuscripts with beautiful and vivid colours, so as
to render them more pleasing to the eye.

IMusic was an art to w^hich the Arabs were ar-
dently attached. But the rude and natural strains in

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS. 99

which the shepherds of the Desert sung their loves
and their wars, became under the caliphs a study
and a science. Its professors were cherished and
honoured iji the courts of their sovereigns, mIio en-
couraged their exertions, as they did those of the
poets, by handsome rewards. At Bagdad and Cor-
dova schools were established expressly for the
cultivation of this delightful art ; and from these
seminaries issued many illustrious performers. Of
the eflects of their skill some very extraordinary but
well-attested instances have been recorded, which
may justify the remark that, like the famed Timo-
the'us of old, they could, by the magic touches of
their lute, raise or depress at pleasure the passions
of their masters. Isaac Almouseli, so called from
Mosul where he resi'ded, is ranked by the orientals
among the most distinguished musicians that ever
lived. Mahadi, father of Haroun al Raschid, having
accidentally heard him sing one of his compositions,
accompanied by a lute, was so charmed with the
performance that he appointed him chief musician
to the court, — an office which he filled with univer-
sal applause during the reign of five successive ca-
liphs. Haroun, whose inauguration he commemo-
rated in a short poem still extant, was delighted
with his talents, and considered his presence neces-
sary in every part of amusement.

This prince had other reasons for admiring his
musical powers. He had quarrelled M'ith his fa-
vourite mistress Meridah, and determined never to
see her more. The ladv became inconsolable. Jaaf-
far, the vizier, imparted her distress to Almouseli,
and requested him to perform before the caliph a
song composed on the occasion ; which he did with
such pathos of execution, that in a fit of sudden affec-
tion, the repentant monarch rushed into the presence
of Meridah, implored her to forgive his indiscretion,
and bury their unhappy discords in eternal oblivion.
Overjoyed at this vmexpected revolution of fortune,

100 LITERATURE OF THE ARAB?.

the lady ordered 10,000 drachms {2291. 3s. 4d.) to be
given to Jaaffar, and as much to Almouseli ; while
the caliph doubled the present to both.

Abu Mohammed, another musician of Bagdad,
flourished in the reign of the Caliph Yathek, who
was so enchanted with one of his compositions, that
he threw his o^^^l robe over the shoulders of the
performer, and ordered him a donation of 100,000
drachms (-3291/. 13s. ed.). The famous Al Farabi,
whose universal attainments have been already no-
ticed, was so eminently skilled in music, that he has
been styled the Arabian Orpheus. On his return
from the pilgrimage to Mecca, he introduced himself
at the court of Saifadowlah, the first sultan of Alep-
po, whom he astonished with the variety of his
accomplishments. After disputing with the most
learned doctors of the court, whom he put to silence,
he joined a band of musicians that were accidentally
performing, and accompanied them with his lute.
The prince was delighted, and requested to hear
some composition of his own, — one of which in three
parts he immediately produced and distributed among
the band. The first movement, we are told, threw
the sultan and his courtiers into a fit of excessive
laughter ; — the second melted them into tears ; — and
the last lulled even the performers themselves to
sleep. Al Farabi wrote a work on the subject, en-
titled the Elements of Music, preserved in the Es-
curial, which treats on the principles of the art, the
harmony of natural and artificial sounds, and the va-
rious kinds of musical composition, besides contain-
ing the notes or gamut of the Arabs, and upwards of
thirty figures of their musical instruments. Another
work on the same subject is the Kitah Al Agani, or
Great Collection of vSongs, by the celebrated com-
poser and poet Abulfaraji. Of two volumes, the first
only is extant, which contains 150 ariettas, the lives
of fourteen distinguished musicians, and four emi-
nent female singers. There is a striking similitude

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS. 10 1

between the Arabian and the Itahan pamut ; and it
is highly probable that the terms, sol, fa, ut, &c. used
in the old mode of teaching- music, were borrowed
from the Moors of Spain. To the Saracens we are
indebted for the invention of the lute, which they
accounted the most beautiful of all instruments.
They had likewise the organ, flute, harp, tabor, and
the mandoline, with which they serenaded their
mistresses. On these occasions, not only the words
and air of their songs, but even the colour of their
dress, indicated the triumph of the fortunate, or the
despair of the rejected lover. Black and yellow
denoted grief; green was expressive of hope ; blue,
of jealousy ; and the violet or flame-colour, of im-
passioned love. In addition to the musical instru.-
ments just mentioned, a recent traveller alleges that
the bagpipe, which has so long been considered na-.
tional among the Scottish Highlanders, was unques-
tionably of Arabic origin.* Without pretending to
decide w^hether it be a native of Asia or Europe, we
may remark that, ni the two countries, there is a
wonderful similarity both in the shape of the instru-
ment and in the mode of playing it. The tube is
perforated in the same manner ; the bag is angular,
and pressed with the arm. The gaspah of the Arabs
is a common reed open at both ends, like the Ger-
man flute, with three or more holes in the side, ac-
cording to the extent of the musician's abilities.
The tarr, another of their instruments (the tympanum
of the ancients), consists of a thin hoop of wood,
with a skin of parchment stretched over the top like
a sieve. This serves for bass in their concerts, and
they touch it, like the tambourine, very dexterously
with their fingers, knuckles, or palms. Connected
with this art was the practice of employing /orj^/ewr^,
who accompanied with their instruments the recita-
tions of the poets. Dancing was a favourite amuse-

* Colonel Johnson's Overland Journey.
I 2

102 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

ment with the Spanish Arabs ; and from them our
ancestors borrowed the morris-dance, which formed
a part of their May-games. To the diversions of
hunting, hawking, and horsemanship, they were
passionately addicted.

Of all the sciences cultivated by the Arabs, agri-
culture is that in which they made the greatest pro-
gress. No civilized nation of 'their times-possessed
a code of husbandry more judicious or more perfect.
Many of their learned men turned their attention to
this subject. Kutsami, author of the Nabathaean
Agriculture, Abu Omar, Abu Abdallah, Abu Zacha-
ria, and others, afforded to their countrymen valuable
instruction in the different branches of rural econ-
omy. From these treatises it appears that the
Saracens were well acquainted with the nature and
properties of soils and manures ; and the proper
application of them to every particular species of
crops, trees, and plants. They were familiar with
the rearing and management of cattle ; and the Eu-
ropean horse was greatly improved by a mixture
with the Arabian breed. They had a thorough
kuQwledge of climate, and possessed the happy art
of appropriating, in their various productions, the
different soils to that kind of culture best adapted to
them. Great care and skill were also bestowed on
the formation of gardens, and the choice and ar-
rangement of plants ; and iDy this means many valu-
able exotics were naturalized. Besides rice, olives,
oranges, and the sugar-cane, we are indebted to the
Saracens for the introduction of the cotton-tree, the
pistachio, ginger, myrrh, henna, sesame, saffron,
spinach, and a variety of fine fruits and vegetables,
now considered as indigenous. In ornamental gar-
dening they took great delight ; studying the grati-
fication of the eye as well as of the palate. Flowers
and fountains of water they had in the richest
abundance. A monument of their horticultural taste
etill remains in the garden of the Alcazar at Seville,

LITERATURE OF THF. ARABS. 103

which is preserved in its original state. There are
walks paved witli marble, and so contrived that
they can be turned into continuous fountains, by
forcing up small jets of water from minute pipes
inserted between the joining of the slabs.

In metallurgy, or the working of mines and me-
tals, there is evidence that the Arabs had arrived at
considerable perfection. Their skill in the different
manufactures of hardware was remarkable, and
known to every civilized nation in the world. The
blades of Mushraf and Damascus were not more
renowned in the East than the swords of Granada
and Toledo in the West. The temper of the Spa-
nish arms was held in the highest repute ; that coun-
try being the arsenal which supplied Europe and
Africa with cuirasses, bucklers, casques, scimitars,
and daggers. The celebrated Alkendi, among his
mimerous works, produced a treatise on the differ-
ent kinds of swords, in which the perfections of the
metal are particularly discussed ; and another, on
the art of preparing steel in such a manner that the
edge of the weapon could neither be broken nor
blunted. Of the skill of the Saracens in the forma-
tion of porcelain, some exquisite proofs remain in
the superb vases still preserved in the Alhambra,
and in the glazed tiles which formed a distinguished
ornament of their palaces. One species of manu-
facture in which they pre-eminently excelled was
that of tanning, currying, and dying leather ; Avhich,
though almost lost in Spain by the expulsion of the
Moors, was transferred to Fez, where great numbers
of them settled. The skins were stained With green,
blue, or scarlet, of the liveliest tints, for which a
peculiar sort of woad was used, and then finished
with such a degree of brilliancy as to resemble var-
nish. The art was afterward carried to England,
where the terms Morocco and Cordovan are still ap-
plied to leather prepared after their mode.

5uch th6n, was the state of perfection to which

104 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

literature, science, and the arts were carried, and
continued to flourish from the ninth to the four-
teenth century of our era, in those vast countries
which had submitted to the yoke of Islam. The
literary apparatus of the Saracens was splendid, and
their progress merits all the eulogy that has been
bestowed on it. Certain prejudices, however, de-
prived them of part of the benefits which they might
have reaped from a familiar intercourse with classic
authors ; and, as has been remarked, with all their
enthusiasm for European learning, there is no ex-
ample of a poet, an orator, or even an historian of
Greece and Rome being translated into their lan-
guage.*

Though the Saracens cannot claim to rank high
as inventors and discoverers, they must be acknow-
ledged as the restorers of letters and the great deposit
taries of science. Many useful treatises, now lost
in the original, were preserved in their language.
Besides some of the commentaries of Galen and
Hippocrates, we owe to this cause the completion
of the mathematical works of Apollonius Pergaeus ;
part of which, in Arabic, was discovered about the
middle of the seventeenth century, in the Medicean
Library, and part among the Bodleian Collection,
of which a Latin version was given by the Savilian
professors, Bernard and Halley. It is unquestion-
able that a great number of the inventions which
at the present day add to the comforts of life, and
without which literature and the arts could never
have flourished, are due to the Arabs. They taught
us the use of the pendulum in the measurement of
time ; and also of the telegraph, though not with all
the speed and effect of modern improvement. The
pianufacture of silk and cotton Avas brought by them

* We must make one exception. Erpenius states, that in the
great library at Fez, which contained 32,000 volumes, there was
preserved an entire copy of Livy in Arabic— Lomitr, de Biblioth.

LITERATURE OF THE ARABS. 105

into Spain, as was probably the art of dying black
with indigo. They introduced the use of camels
and carrier pigeons into Sicily. The art of enam-
elling steel, the system of a national police, the
principles of taxation, and the benefits of public
libraries, were all derived from the same source.
Rhyme, a pleasing characteristic of modern verse,
though some have assigned to it a Gothic origin,
was doubtless borrowed from the Saracens by the
troubadours and Proven9al bards, who derived
from the same source the sentiment of honour,
the mysticism of love, and the spirit of chivalry, so
copiously infused into our early romances. Even
Descartes, as Huet has asserted, was indebted to
them for his celebrated metaphysical principle,
Cogito, ergo sum. To them also belongs the honour
of making us acquainted with the manufacture and
use of paper. This invaluable commodity, it is true,
had from a very remote period been made in China
from the refuse of silk, bamboo, and other sub-
stances. About the year 649 the invention was
introduced at Samarcand by the Tartars, who used
cotton instead of silk ; and when that flourishing
city was subdued by the Moslems, the process was
conveyed to Mecca, by Yussuf Amru (A. D. 706),
where paper was made similar to that now manu-
factured, though it does not appear to have come
immediately into general use. From jNIecca, the
art spread through all the Arabian dominions. In
Spain, Avhich was renowned for this article from the
twelfth century do\\iiwards, flax, which grew there
abundantly, was substituted for cotton, the latter
being scarce and dear. Alphonso X. established
paper-mills, and his example passed successively
into France, Germany, and England.

Gunpowder, the discovery of which is generally
attributed to Schwartz, a German chymist, was
known to the Arabs at least a century before any
traces of it appear in European history. Though it

108 LITERATURE OF THE ARABS.

is probable they may have derived their knowledge
of this composition from the Indians, they certainly
improved its preparation, and found out diiferent
ways of employing it in war. The mariner's com-
pass has been alternately given to the Italians and
the French; but Tiraboschi, notwithstanding his
partiality for his country, is decidedly of opinion
that the honour of its invention is due to the Arabs.
Its adoption in Europe is not older than the thir-
teenth century, while among the Arabs it was
known in the eleventh. The polarity of the magnet
is alleged to have been known to Aristotle ; and
something like the compass was in use among the
Chinese ; but as the Saracens paid considerable
attention to navigation, and often undertook long
and laborious voyages, history has, with much
probability, assigned to them the discovery of the
magnetic needle.

Some Avriters have offered a conjecture that this,
singular people paved the w^ay for our immortal
Ne^vton tow^ards discovering the doctrine of attrac-
tion ; but as the astronomical treatises of the famous
mathematician Mohammed ibn Musa, upon which
this supposition is founded, are not extant, the hon-
our of the English philosopher remains unimpaired.
Jt is worthy of remark, that when the historians of
the middle ages mention most of these inventions
for the first time, they treat them, not as novelties,
but as things in general use ; hence the presumption
is," that they were all gradually imported by obscure
individuals, and not by men of genius ; and that
however much they may have altered our system of
war. commerce, science, and education, they were
brought by a people familiar with their practice, and
from a country where they Avere already universally
known. But whatever may be the claims of the
Saracens to the praise of original genius, they formed
the link which unites ancient and modern letters.
Their schools and academies were the shrines at

LITERAtnRE OF THE ARABS. lOt

•Which the l)iirh;irizod nations of the West rekindled
the torch of science and philosophy; and thus the
ravages occasioned by their -wars were, in some
degree, expiated by their scattering the germs of
social and intellectual improvement over the wide
regions which they successively occupied. In the
colleges of Cordova, Seville, and Toledo, the scho-
lars of Italy, France, Germany, and England drank
from the copious fountain of Arabian literature.
Among the number of their distinguished students
tvere Adelard, a monk of Bath, in the eleventh cen-
tury, Morley, a native of Norfolk, and our country-
tnan, the celebrated ^lichael Scott, who is only
known in Scotland by his reputation as a wizard.

By the command of Charlemagne, the principal
Arabic books were translated into Latin, for the use
of the people in the various provinces of his empire.
For several centuries medicine found a secure re-
treat at Salerno and INIontpellier, whither students
flocked from all quarters of Europe, and where the
Christians became acquainted with the works of
Galen and Hippocrates. Even the Greeks and Jews
did not disdain to learn the healing krt from the.
Saracens, many of w^hom were induced by the
liberality of Alphonso X. to settle at Toledo. The
Arabian arithmetic, introduced by Gerbert, was im-
proved by Leonardo, a merchant of Pisa, who learned
the art during his residence at Algiers, about the
commencement of the thirteenth century ; and to
that commercial republic may be attributed the dis-
tinction of being the first among the Christian states
of the West which employed this system of nota-
tion. In short, without exaggerating the labours of
the Arabs, it may be said that we are indebted to
them, not only for the revival of the exact and phy-
sical sciences, but for most of those useful arts and
inventions that have wrought so total a change, and
given so beneficial aii impulse to the literature and
civilization of Europe.

108 CIVIL HISTORY AND

CHAPTER IV.

CIVIL HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA.

Extinction of the Saracen Power — Fonnation of new Kingdoms
in the East — Victories and Dominions of Timur — Conquests
of the Turks and Portuguese in Arabia — Selim I. obtains the
Investiture of the Cahphate — Expulsion of the Turks by the
Independent Arab Chiefs — Dominions of the Imam of Sanaa
—His Government, Revenues, and Military Force — Descrip-
tion of Sanaa — Visits of European Travellers to that Capital
— Principal Town in Yemen — Beit el Fakih — Taas — Mocha
— Aden — Government of Hadramaut — Of Oman— Descriptioir
of Muscat — Court, Revenues, and Commercial Enterprise of
the Imam^Islands of Bahrein — Pearl Fisheries — Depreda-
tions of the Joassamee Pirates in the Persian Gulf — Various
Expeditions from India to suppress them — Reduction of Ras
el Khyma and their principal Fortresses — Arab Settlers on
the Persian Frontier — Classification of the wandering Be-
douin Tribes — Their migratory Habits and Military Strength
—Government of their Sheiks — Their Laws and Judicial
Trials — Reflections on their Political Institutions.

TsE history of the Saracens, both as a military and
a pohtical nation, may be said to have expired with
the reduction of Bagdad by the grandson of Zingis
Khan. The successors of Mostasem, to the number
of eighteen, called the Second Dynasty of the Ab-
bassides, were merely the spiritual chiefs of the ]Mo-
hammedan religion. For two centuries and a half
the ecclesiastical supremacy continued in the hands
of these venerable phantoms ; when at length the
tide of invasion swept away the only remaining
vestige, and feeble representative, of the once proud
caliphs of the East. Long before the downfall of
the Abbassides, Arabia had shared in the declining
fortunes of its masters. Instead of being the seat
of the successors of the Prophet, or the centre of

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 109

a mighty empire, it had dwindled into the condi-
tion of a province ; where, except in the cliaracter
of pontiff, the power of the sovereign was httle re-
garded. Amid the distractions of foreign wars many
chiefs of the interior shook off their precarious alle-
giance, and resumed their ancient habits of inde-
pendence. Only the coast and the principal cities
acknowledged the yoke of the neighbouring mon-
archs ; and during the hostilities which for 300
years desolated the continent of Asia, the Arabs
mingled with the auxiliary bands that swelled the
ranks of the Egyptians and Persians in their san-
guinary campaigns against the Turks and Tartars.

In the West, their unwieldy empire, despoiled of
Spain, Africa, and the Mediterranean islands, had
shrunk within its original boundary, the Red Sea;
but their power was not increased by the dismem-
berment of these remote provinces. The com-
manders of the faithful had been stripped of much val-
uable territory in Asia by Mahmoud of Ghizni and his
successors, the founders of the Mohammedan power
in India. The race of the Gaurides and the Afghans,
who had supplanted the descendants of tliat warlike
sultan (A. D. 1160), and extended the dominions and
the faith of Islam from Delhi and Lahore to the dis-
tant extremity of the vast province of Bengal, yielded
in their turn to the swords of the Moguls (A. D.1413),
who, from being the conquerors, became the sove-
reigns of that peninsula. Persia, whose jewelled
sceptre had fallen from the nerveless grasp of the
despicable successors of Omar and Ali, was long a
prey to every daring adventurer who had the courage
to seize it. For a hundred years it was ruled by
Hoolaku and his descendants, whose fortunes may
be said to have ended with the weak and indolent
Abu Seyd (A. D. 1356) ; for the few princes that suc-
ceeded him were mere pageants, whom the nobles
of the court elevated or cast down as suited the
purposes of then* ambition. From an obscure ad-

VoL. II.— K

110 CIVIL HISTORY AND

venturer, Ismael, at the age of eighteen, became
sole monarch of the comitry (A. D. 1502), and founder
of the Suflfavean dynasty, which continued to hold
the reins of government till the beginning of the last
century.

The empire of the great Zingis, which had de-
stroyed and superseded the temporal power of the
cahphs, was itself doomed to experience the same
fate from the fierce Tartars, who, bursting in swarms
from their immeasurable steppes, and rolhng on-
ward like a resistless torrent, overthrew in one
common ruin the thrones of the principal dynasties
of the East. The renowned Timur, or Tamerlane,
who as chief of one of these tribes had ascended
the throne of Zagatai in 1370, was the leader of
those barbarous invaders. A fertile kingdom of
500 miles in length and as many in breadth might
have satisfied a man of ordinary ambition ; but this
Alexander of the Desert aspired to the conquest
and monarchy of the wiiole world : and before his
death he had the rare fortune to place twenty-seven
crowns on his head. With an army occupying a
space of thirteen miles from wing to wing he left
his capital of Samarcand. The hostile nations
yielded in succession to his arms, and his name
was pronounced with terror from the Ganges to
the distant wilds of Siberia. " Penetrating to the
" regions of perpetual daylight," he made himself
master of the Russian capital of Moscow ; where
the astonished IMoslems found themselves for the
first time relieved from the obligations of evening
prayer. Everyv»^here his course was tracked by
desolation and blood. At Ispahan, Bagdad, and two
other places on the road to Delhi, pyramids of human
sculls, amounting to 70,000, 90,000, and 100,000
respectively, were raised as the barbarous monu-
ments of his triumphs. The battle of Angora (A. D.
1402) has immortalized the glory of Timur and the
defeat of his rival Bajazet, the fourth of the Ottoman

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. Ill

emirs, who gratified the pride and ven^reance of his
conqueror in the captivity of an iron cape. This
decisive victory cost the hves of about 200,000 Turks
and nearly as many Tartars. The dominions of this
wonderful man were inferior in extent only to those
of the Saracens in the zenith of their power.

The star of Timur ror^e and set amid scenes of
carnag-e ; and his race, as well as his empire, might
have become extinct, had not Baber, the grandson
of Abu Seyd already mentioned, after a long and
noble struggle against the Uzbeck Tartars, the ene-
mies and subverters of his family, retired to India,
where his great talents obtained for him one of the
most splendid thrones in the world. This sultan was
the first that received the title of Emperor of Hin-
dostan, and with him commenced (A. D. 1526) the
sovereignty of the Great Mogul in that peninsula,
which flourished till the beginning of the eighteenth
century, when it received its death-blow in the fall
of Aurengzebe (A. D. 1707), — a prince who raised it
to the zenith of its glory, and whose sway extended
over a region containing .64,000,000 inhabitants.
His successors have in their turn vanished from the
scene ; and their richest kingdoms are now pos-
sessed by a company of British merchants.

Though the Turkish sultans could not, like the
Arabian caliphs, style themselves the descendants
and successors of the apostle of God, they piously
espoused the cause of the Koran ; and, like the Sa-
racens, affected to wage war only for the interests
of Islam. Selim I., after reducing the whole penin-
sula of Mesopotamia, made himself master, in 1516,
of Syria and Egypt. The Arabs alone refused him
their obedience. Since the ruin of the caliphate,
they had in a great measure shaken off the foreign
authorities to which they had been partly subject.
The neighbouring powers, too much engrossed with
their own quarrels, had never attempted their sub-
jugation ; till the Portuguese, under Gama, made
their appearance in the Red Sea (A. D. 1501),

112 CIVIL HISTORY AND

Instigated by the fanatical ambition of founding"
an Eastern empire, the King of Portugal had
assumed, among other magnificent titles, that of
" Lord of the Navigation, Conquest, and Commerce
of Arabia;" and commenced the exercise of his
prerogative by capturing a Moorish vessel, the crew
of which were treated in the most savage manner.
From the beginning of the sixteenth century dif-
ferent expeditions from Lisbon visited the Arabian
coast. Alphonso Albuquerque, in 1506, reduce: I
Curiat, IMuscat, and other important cities on bollj
sides of the Persian Gulf. Gauri, the last of the
Mamlouk sultans of Egypt, before his overthrow
by Selim, desirous to rid his neighbourhood of
these troublesome adventurers, fitted out an expe-
dition, and seized most of the ports on the Red
Sea. But on the extinction of that dynasty the
greater part of these cities fell again into the hands
of their European masters. The Ottomans, in order
to secure the possession of Egypt, and restore to its
ports the lucrative trade of the East, found it ne-
cessary to continue the war against the Portuguese
in co-operation with the sultans of India. Solyman
Pasha, the governor of Cairo, was ordered by Selim
to equip at Suez a fleet of seventy galleys, manned
by 7000 of the best Turkish soldiers. With this
powerful armament he recovered all the towns on
the Arabian Gulf as far as Aden.

Another circumstance tended to confirm the do-
minion of Selim over Arabia. One of the descend-
ants of the caliphs of Bagdad (Mohammed XL), on
the ruin of that capital by the Moguls, had fled to
Egypt ; and being the last of the sacred race, his
family were treated with all the respect due to the
successor of the successors of the Prophet. A scion
of this fallen trunk of the Abbassides was found
by Selim at Cairo in 1517, and conducted to Con-
stantinople, where he maintained him at his own
expense, and at his demise received from him the
formal renunciation of the caliphate. In this empty

COVERNMF.NT OF ARABIA. 113

title the Turkish soveroijo^n obtained a distinction,
which secured to him and his descendants the
veneration of all Mussulmans of the Sonnee sect.
The posterity of this last of the caliphs have sunk
to the level of subjects ; but the spiritual influence
and supremacy derived from this investiture is by
no means a barren privileg^e, even to the present
occupant of the Turkish throne. Partly by gifts,
and partly by intimidation, Selim allured many
of the Arabian chiefs and commanders to his al-
legiance. Even the Sheriff of Mecca delivered to
him the keys of the sacred city, and openly acknow-
ledged his sovereignty. By the influence of this
venerated personage, many^of the wandering tribes
of the Desert were induced voluntarily to submit
to his authority, and to deliver hostages for their
future obedience. From this circumstance, and
from this period, may be traced the duty which has
been annually performed by the Turkish sultans,
as commanders of the faithful, of conducting the
zealous Moslems on their pilgrimage to the sacred
territory, — a privilege which was henceforth dele-
gated to the Pasha of Damascus, and to whom it
fitill belongs.

The conquests of Selim left his son, Solyman I.,
little to achieve in Asia, except to preserv'e and con-
solidate the vast empire which he had acquired. In
Arabia this sultan, who appears to have carried the
Ottoman name to the highest pitch of glory, em-
ployed his arms with great success. From Suez to
Aden the whole coasts acknowledged his power.
Penetrating inland, he obtained possession of Yemen,
and even carried his victories into some of the
mountainous regions beyond its northern frontier ;
60 that the peninsula became almost entirely an
appendage of the Turkish empire, governed by
pashas or beglerbegs appointed by the Porte.

The reigns of Achmet II. and Mustapha II. (A. D.
J 696) were disturbed bv revolts of the Arab tribes,

"K 2

114 CIVIL HISTORY AND

who plundered and impeded the pilgrims on their
route, and even made the Khan of the Tartars
himself their prisoner. The former, unable to con-
quer, was glad to compound with the sheiks of the
Desert ; while the latter, through the hravery of
Arslan, the Pasha of Tripoli, defeated the free-
booters, and upheld the authority of the Turkish
emperor as protector of the sacred territory. Nadir
Shah made an attempt to subdue the Arabs who
constantly infested his frontier ; and, in the pro-
secution of this object, had at an immense expense
equipped a fleet of twenty-five sail on the Persian
Gulf. But the success of the expedition was frus-
trated by religious animosities ; for the sailors,
being Indians, who were Sonnees, refused to fight
against their brethren of the same orthodox faith \
and after massacring their Sheah officers they
carried ofi" the ships. Another of his schemes was
to transport these troublesome neighbours to the
shores of the Caspian Sea, and settle a colony of
Persians in their room ; but his tragical death,
in 1747, prevented the execution of this project.

The precarious authority of the Turks received
frequent shocks from the independent princes an^
sheiks in the interior, who had never been sub-
dued. So early as 1630 they were expelled from
Yemen, where their name and their government
were alike odious, and obliged to evacuate all the
places on the coasts, which they had occupied for
more than a century. The sultans style themselves
sovereigns of Hejaz ; but their sole title to this
distinction consists in a few slender prerogatives,
which may now be considered as nearly annihi-
lated. As lord-paramount, the grand seignior can
appoint or depose a governor, though he dare not
always venture to punish a rebel. Tlie revenues
which he draws from this capricious province are
proportionate to his diminished authority, being
limited to a few trifling dues at certain ports. These

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 115

are, however, more than counterbalanced by his ex-
penditure in pensions, grants, and pious foundations
established at the different sacred places.

Except under the reigns of the warlike caliphs,
the same primitive and simple form of government
may be said to have subsisted in Arabia from the
most remote period of its history'. Among the
modern Bedouins it remains in all its purity ; in
other parts it has undergone some changes, without,
however, being materially altered. The whole pe-
ninsula is divided unequally among a vast number
of petty sovereigns, under different titles, and ex-
ercising various degrees of authority ; bearing a
strong analogy to those social arrangements which
appear to have prev^led in Europe in the middle
ages, and more recently among the Highland clans
of Scotland ; except only that the inferior chiefs
have seldom been in a state of vassalage, and never
Knew the feudal government. In the fertile and
civilized districts, monarchies more or less exten-
sive have been formed, either by conquest or by re-
ligious prejudices.

Among the most considerable of the Arabian
princes is the imam, w^ho resides at Sanaa, and who
auay be styled King of Yemen, as his dominions ex-
lend over the greater part of that large and fertile
province. The elevation of this royal family is
coeval with the expulsion of the Turks in 1630, —
■a revolution which was achieved by their ancestor
the famous Khassem, who traced his descent from
the Prophet. It was while residing privately on
his patrimonial inheritance, on the mountains near
Loheia, that with the aid of the neighbouring
sheiks he freed his country from the odious sway
of the Ottoman pashas. Raised thus to the dig-
nity of a sovereign, he assumed the modest title
•of sejid, or lord ; but, after his death, the gratitude
■of the nation bestowed on him the epithet of The
Xjreat.

IIG CIVIL HISTORY AND

His son Ismael adopted the title of imam : he was
so economical that he made and sold bonnets for
his livelihood, to save the public revenue, and re-
stricted his household to one wife and a female
slave. He died after a reig-n of thirty years, and
was held in the highest esteem, both for his talents
and his piety. His descendants, to the number of
eleven in succession, had filled the throne at the
time when the traveller Niebuhr visited that coun-
try. The interval had been sig-nalized by the con-
tests of various pretenders to the crown, chiefly of
the reigning family. The imam Mahadi, who as-
cended the throne in 1746, had some formidable
adversaries to oppose, particularly the heroic Ab-
durrab, governor of the small province of Hosjerie,
who proclaimed himself an independent sheik.
After taking possession of Kataba, Taas, and other
districts, on which he levied heavy contributions,
the imam was obliged to conclude a peace with
him.

Though the throne of Yemen is hereditary, and
devolves, if generally approved by the subjects, on
the eldest legitimate son, yet the rightful succes-
sion is often violated. The jurisdiction of the imam
in ecclesiastical matters, though absolute among his
own subjects, extends not over the dominions of
other sovereigns of the same sect, who employ a
mufti or cadi as their spiritual ruler. In the exer-
cise of his prerogative he is controlled by the su-
preme tribunal of Sanaa, of which he is only presi-
dent, and which consists of a certain number of
cadis, possessing the sole power of life and death.
These assessors, generally persons of incorruptible
integrity, are nominated by the sovereign, and re-
movable at his pleasure — a circumstance which, if
he is disposed to abuse his authority, puts it in his
power to extort their suffrages by threatening them
with disgrace : but this extreme measure is seldom
resorted to. The public ofRces at court are numerv.

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 117

ous, but titles of honour are few. The first minister
is simply styled fakih — an appellation so vagiie as
to include all holding place or employment who are
in any degree above the vulgar. Every petty dis-
trict has its governor, who, if not of princely or
noble birth, is called waUh and doodah, or sometmies
emir, when he happens to be of low extraction. A
dowlah in Yemen resembles a pasha in Turkey,
only acting in a more restricted sphere. He com-
mands the forces in his province, regulates the po-
lice, and collects the taxes. They are all obliged
to render frequent account of their administration ;
and to prevent their accumulating too much wealth
where the governments are lucrative, they are re-
called every two or three years. When guilty of
high misdemeanors, or convicted of malversation,
they are punished by imprisonment or confiscation,
but seldom capitally. Every city in which a dowlah
resides has likewise a cadi, who is sole judge in
civil and ecclesiastical affairs. In large villages the
chief is a sheik ; and in every little town a sub-dow-
lah resides, with a small garrison of soldiers to pre-
serve order. The emir hahr is the inspector of sea-
ports ; and in the inland districts the sheik el helled
is the officer who levies taxes, and determines what
each individual must pay. Sales and markets are
regulated by their own emir ; the principal gates in
cities and fortresses are intrusted to similar officers;
even the post of chief jailer and watchman is hon-
ourable, and an object of ambition. Where the
governments are considerable, the dowlahs are at-
tended by a bas-kateb, or comptroller, whose business
it is to keep a strict eye upon their conduct, and
acquaint the imam with the general state of affairs.
This spy, by his misrepresentations, often supplants
the governor ; but he is himself placed at the mercy
of another bas-kateb, and shares in his turn the fate
of his predecessor.

Tlie revenues of the imam arise both from a land

118 CIVIL HISTORY AND

and a poll tax, and from duties payable on articles
of merchandise. Coffee affords a very considerable
income, as the crown is entitled to receive a fourth
part of the selling price before it can be put on board
ship for exportation. The different departments
vary in their contributions according to circum-
stances. Niebuhr learned that Mocha, in the sum-
mer season, when vessels from India arrive and de-
part, paid 7000 crowns per month — at other times
onlv 4000 ; Loheia yielded 3000 crowns ; Hodeida,
1400; Beit el Fakih, 3600; and Zebid 1400.* It is
difficult to obtain accurate knowledge either of the
revenue or expenditure of the Arabian princes.
Strangers are obliged to use great caution in putting
questions on this subject, otherwise their curiosity
may cost them their head. Oraki, a Jew, and sur-
veyor-general of buildings, the person whom the
Danish traveller consulted, estimated the income
of Mahadi at 830,000 crowns, or 188,306/., a month ;
but in consequence of the temporary loss of Kataba,
Aden, Abu Arish, Taas, and some other provinces,
it was reduced nearly one-half.

The military force of Sanaa, though not precisely
known, consisted, according to Niebuhr, of about
4000 infantry and 1000 cavalry. The chief com-
mand of the army was intrusted to four sheiks ; and
under them were many nakibs, or officers of an in-
ferior class, some of whom had been raised from the
condition of slaves. Nakib is the highest title that
the sovereign can confer, that of sheik being hered-
itary, and peculiar to petty princes or independent
Arabs. In times of peace the military are employed
as state pageants, or engaged in civil occupations.
The cavalry attend the imam or the dowlah to the
mosque, wherever their head-quarters may happen
to be ; and, after conducting their master home,
they exercise themselves in arras and horsemanship,

* The German crown is equal to 4s. 6|d. nearlyr

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 119

which they perform with great dexterity. The cav-
alry have no uniform, every one dressing according
to his own fancy. Their arms are a long lance, a
sabre, a curved dirk stuck in their girdle, and some-
times a pair of pistols in tlie holsters of their sad-
dles. A pair of boots are drawn on their naked
legs, and the ends of their turbans ilow down be-
tween their shoulders.

The infantry, while in garrison, have little else to
do than act as sentinels or foot-guards to the dow-
lah. In accompanying him to the mosque they use
"Wild and grotesque gestures, flourishing their scimi-
tars or their muskets in the air, and singing and
leaping like men insane or intoxicated — a practice
which is supposed to have some reference to an
ancient usage of exciting courage when marching
to battle. Their pay Niebuhr states at two crowns
and a half per month, and their dress is as irregular
as that of the cavalry. The greater number wear
nothing but a piece of short linen around their loins,
and over that is a girdle in which their curved dag-
ger is fixed. Their heads are covered with a ker-
chief or a cap of blue linen ; and their hair, which is
long, is knotted or folded up into a kind of bag. A
buckler, sabre, and lance are their ordinary arms ;
and they are trained in the use of musketry. They
have a singular method of displaying their courage
and fidelity in battle, resembling that of the soldurii
among the Romans. A soldier willing to evince
his devoted attachment to his chief binds up his
leg to his thigh, and continues to fight until the
enemy are routed, or himself cut to pieces. The
marine of Yemen is on a very limited scale, a naval
force being unnecessary, as there is little to dread
from enemies or corsairs.

Sanaa, the capital of the imam, stands at the foot
of Mount Nikkum. Abulfeda describes it as being
the largest city in Yemen, and resembling Damas-
cus for the multitude of its waters and orchards ;

120 CIVIL HISTORY AND

but the wealth and populousness which it enjoyed
under the Hamyarite kings no longer exist. Nie-
buhr, who resided in it for a short time, says the cir-
cumference is not more than an hour's walk ; and
the inhabitants are not so numerous as this extent
might lead us to suppose, a considerable part of the
space being occupied with gardens. The walls are
constructed of earth, faced with unburnt brick, and
surmounted by a great many small turrets ; and if
we can believe the report of the French travellers
who visited Yemen in 1712, their breadth is suffi-
cient to admit of driving eight horses abreast.* It
has seven gates, and a number of mosques, some of
which were erected by the Turkish pashas. The
public baths are only twelve ; but there are several
noble edifices built in the Arabian style. No less
than three palaces were erected .by the imam Ma-
hadi : these are constructed partly of brick, and
partly of hewn stone ; but they must not be judged^
in point of elegance or accommodation, by the
standard of European taste. Only one of them
could boast the luxury of glass windows, thoiTgb
they are provided with extensive gardens. Some
of the principal inhabitants have in their country-
houses small panes of stained glass, brought from:
Venice. In the city the windows have merely shut-
ters, which are closed in time of rain, and the house
is then lighted by a round wicket fitted with a piece
of Muscovy glass.

Here, as in most other places in the East, there
are large simseras or caravansaries for merchants
and travellers ; as also separate bazars for wood,
coal, iron, grapes, corn, butter, salt, bread, and the
bartering of old clothes for new. The other trades,
including all who traffic in the merchandise of India,
Persia, and Turkey, as well as those who deal in
all sorts of spices and drugs — the fruiterers, carpen-

* Voj'age de I'Arabie Heureuse.

GOVEKN.^ItNT OF ARABIA. 121

ters, smiths, slioemakers, saddlers, tailors, stone-
cutters, goldsmiths, barbers, cooks, and writers or
scribes, have each their respective stand in the open
street, with their little portable shops. Jews are
not permitted to live in tlie city ; they reside, to the
number of about 2000, in a village in the suburbs.
They are treated with great contempt ; yet the best
artisans in Arabia are of this nation, especially pot-
ters and goldsmiths, who come within the walls by
day to work in their little shops, and in the evennig
retire to their own habitations. JMany of them
carry on a very considerable trade, and are occa-
sionally advanced to places of trust. Oraki was an
eminent merchant before he was made by the imam
comptroller of customs and surveyor of the royal
buildings and gardens. He had incurred the dis-
pleasure of his master shortly before the arrival of
the Danish traveller, and his disgrace involved his
countrymen in a severe persecution. Fourteen of
their synagogues were demolished by order of the
government ; all the stone pitchers in which they
kept their wine were broken ; all their houses above
14 cubits high (25^ feet) were pulled down, and none
exceeding that height were permitted to be raised
in future.

Fruits are very abundant. It is said there are
more than twenty different species of grapes, one
of which is without stones ; and as they do not aU
ripen at the same time, they continue to afford a de-
licious refreshment for several months. By pre-
serving and hanging them in their cellars the citi-
zens secure an agreeable food the greater part of
the year. Vast quantities of them are dried ; and
the exportation of raisins forms a considerable
branch of traffic. The adjacent plain of Rodda is
covered with gardens, and watered by small streams.
Timber for firewood is scarce and dear, the hills in
the vicinity bcnig bleak and bare ; so that this article
is brought from the distance of three days' journey,

Vol. II. -L

122 CIVIL HISTORY AND

and a earners load costs two crowns. There is a
partial supply of pit-coal, and even peat is used, but
of so bad a quality as to require a mixture of straw
to make it burn. The castle contains a mint, and a
series of prisons for persons of different ranks. It
is the residence of several princes of the blood.
, The battery consisted, when Niebuhr visited it, of
seven iron cannons, partly buried in the sand and
partly mounted upon broken carriages ; and these,
with six others near the gates, which are fired on
festival-days, were all the artillery of the metropolis
of Yemen.

The first Europeans that visited the court of Sa-
naa were the deputation of a company of French
merchants of St. Malo engaged in the coffee-trade,
during their second expedition in 1711 and the two
following years. The residence of the imams was
then at Mohaib or Mouab, a small town to the north
of Sanaa, and eight days' journey from Mocha. It
was built by the sovereign then on the throne, Mo-
hammed, who was involved in perpetual wars ; and
appeared remarkable for nothing but its palace, which
consisted of two large wings three stories high. The
walls and most part of the houses were of mud.

That prince is described as an old man, eighty-
seven years of age, of a complexion inclining to
tawny, and an agreeable aspect. In his dress he
maintained the greatest simplicity, never wearing
any other habit than a fine cloth of a green or yellow
colour, without any ornament. His legs and feet
were bare, with the exception of slippers after the
Turkish fashion. The only mark of distinction was
a kind of veil of white silk over his turban, which
covered his head, and, falling down before, was tied
under his chin like a v/oman's hood. The same
plainness and modesty of attire were observed in
the courtiers and other officers of the household.
The grandees never approached him without taking
hold of his right hand, which was laid upon his

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 123

knee, and kissing it with the most profound re-
spect.

The only thing like state ceremony, and in which
the simple manners of the court were laid aside,
occurred when his majesty went to the mosque. On
these occasions there was a splendid military pa-
rade, including infantry, cavalry, and officers of the
palace. The king rode a beautiful white charger,
which nobody else was permitted to mount. By
his side w-ere the two princes, his sons, on horses
richly caparisoned. Over his head, as a screen
from the heat, was borne a large parasol or canopy
of green damask, with a red fringe ornamented with
gold tassels, and surmounted by a globe of gilt sil-
ver. Immediately before the royal person rode an
officer carrying the Koran in a bag of red cloth ; the
sword-bearer rode behind. During the march of
this pageant, tambours, timbrels, and hautboys
ceased not to play ; and, to swell the train, they
were joined by fifty led horses and as many camels
from the king's stables at Damar, which had sad-
dles, bridles, and housings, ornamented with gold
and silver, with a battle-axe suspended on the one
side, and a beautiful sabre on the other. The heads
of the camels were furnished with tall plumes of
black ostrich feathers. The place of prayer was a
pavilion or open tent, into which the sovereign
alone entered, the spectators performing their de-
votions at the same time, and imitating the imam in
the various motions of the requisite ceremonies.

The French deputies were astonished at contrast-
ing the size and elegance of the palace with the
homeliness of its furniture. The walls w^ere merely
hung round with a piece of printed calico, five or six
feet in breadth ; and its only accommodation was a
sofa, with plain cushions and carpets, which served
the purposes of chair, table, and bed. The plains in
the vicinity were sown with rice and wheat ; while
nearly all the hills and valleys were covered with

124 CIVIL HISTORY AND

vines, coff<fe, and fruit trees of ever}'^ description.
The royal gardens were extensive, but presented
nothing particular, except in the arrangement of the
shrubberies, which contained specimens of all the
trees known in the kingdom. The harem was kept
in the castle, and replenished with 600 or 700 women.
When they ventured abroad, their ordinary convey-
ance Avas on the backs of camels, enclosed in a sort
of cage covered with scarlet and stuffed with cush-
ions, on which they sat or lolled at pleasure. The
only entrance into this sedan was by a small open-
ing before, which was covered with a curtain or
veil of fine linen. The ladies in general used a pro-
fusion of scents and odours ; many of them had large
gold rings suspended from the end of their nose,
besides bracelets of the same metal on their arms,
neck, and ankles.

When Niebuhr visited the court of Yemen, fifty
years afterward, Mohaib had ceased to be the royal
residence. Damar contained about 5000 houses,
with a dowlah, and a university attended by nearly
500 students. At Sanaa the Danish travellers were
conducted to the royal presence by the secretary of
the vizier. The court of the palace (the Bustan el
Motakkel) was so crowded with horses, oflicers, and
servants, that it would have been impossible for the
strangers to force their way, had not the principal
equerry, v/ho had formerly been a slave, opened a
passage through the crowd with the aid of a ponder-
ous staff" in his hand. The hall was a spacious
square chamber, having an arched roof, lighted from
the top. In the centre was a large basin, with some
jets d'eau rising to the height of fourteen feet. Be-
hind this reservoir was a platform about a foot and
a half high, and five feet in length. On this was set
the throne slightly elevated, and resembling a square
pedestal or altar, covered Avith silk stuffs. The floor
of the apartment was spread with Persian carpets.
The imam '^at half-buried in cushions, with his legs

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 125

across. His dress was a bright green robe with fiiU
sleeves, such as were worn by the caliphs. On each
side of his breast was a rich filleting of gold lace,
and on his head he wore a white turban of ample
dimensions. His sons sat on his right-hand, and
his brothers on his left. Opposite to them was the
vizier, Fakih Achmed, and on the lower elevation
were placed the European visiters. On each side of
the hall were ranged the principal grandees and
officers of the court, who all shouted, " God save
the imam !" as the strangers kissed the hem of the
royal robe.

The pompous manner of going to mosque, which
is described by the French travellers, was witnessed
by the Danes. The better to display his magni-
ficence, the imam usually made along and circuitous
progress, passing out by one gate of the city and
entering by another ; his train, after prayers, being
joined by all the inhabitants who have performed
their devotions. A large body of soldiers marched
before ; and, besides the princes of the blood, there
w^ere in the procession at least 600 noblemen, eccle-
siastics, civil and military officers, all superbly
dressed and mounted ; the rear was brought up by a
vast concourse of people on foot, and by a number
of camels in pairs, bearing empty sedans, and small
flags fixed by way of ornament to their saddles. On
eacn side of the imam was borne a standard, sur-
mounted by a small box or casket of silver filled with
amulets, whose virtues were supposed to render
him invincible. Various other banners were forti-
fied with similar talismans. The same rich cano-
pies, called mcdallas, were extended over the heads
of the king and some other members of his family ;
these being a distinction peculiar to the sovereign
and princes of the blood, and claimed by the sheiks,
sheriflTs, and nobility in other parts of Yemen, who
constantly display this mark of their independence.
Altogether, the cortege was magnificent but disor-

L2

126 CIVIL niSTORY AND

derly, the multitude crossing and jostling each olher,
The firing of the military was awkward, as were
their evolutions and exercises in front of the palace.

After their audience with the imam, the strangers
paid their respects to Fakih Achmed. The vizier's
house was not large, and on one side entirely open
on account of the heat. The garden was stocked
with fruit trees, and in the middle Avas a jet (Veau,
wrought by an odd sort of hydraulic machiner}'^ ;
the water being put in motion by means of an ass
and a man alternately mounting and descending an
inclined plane. This apparatus was less for orna-
ment than use in cooling the air, and was common
in the gardens of all the principal inhabitants of
Sanaa.

The traveller and his companions, on the eve of
their departure, received from the imam each a
complete suit of clothes, with a letter to the Dowlah
of Mocha, desiring him to pay them 200 crowns as
a farewell present ; while the secretary had orders
to furnish camels and asses for the whole of their
journey, besides a quantity of provisions. The dress
Niebuhr describes as being exactly like that M'orn
by the Arabs of distinction throughout Yemen, con-
sisting of a shirt over wide drawers of cotton cloth,
and a vest with straight sleeves covered by a flow-
ing gown. The turban is very large, falling down
between the shoulders. The jamhea, a sort of
crooked cutlass or dagger, is inserted in a broad
girdle, and to the handle is sometimes attached a
kind of chaplet or rosary, which the ISIohammedans
use at praj^ers.

Since the visit of the Danish travellers internal
wars and political revolutions have wrought many
changes in Yemen, and greatly eclipsed the splen-
dour of that ancient monarchy. About the com-
mencement of the present centurj'-, Mr. Pringle, the
British resident at Mocha, twice visited Sanaa, which
he describes as a handsome town surrounded with

An Arab of Rank in the Costume of Yemen.

GOVFRNMF.NT OF ARABIA. 129

gardens. Tlie palace was an elegant huildine: ; and
at court a considerable degree of dignity and splen-
dour was maintained. The imam, whom Lord Va-
lentia represents as a person about 78 years old, and
fast approaching to dotage, was still endeavouring
to amuse himself in his harem of iOO Abyssinian
slaves ; apparently insensible of the danger that
threatened him from the encroachments of the Wa-
habees. His family, consisting of 19 brothers and
24 sons and grandsons, was torn by domestic quar-
rels. The whole disposable force of the kingdom
did not then exceed 600 horse and 3000 foot, though
it is reckoned in ordinary times at 1000 cavalry and
4000 infantry.

The dominions of this prince in Niebuhr's time
w^ere subdivided into thirty governments or prov-
inces, of which the Tehama contained six, and the
inland country twenty-four. These petty districts
Avere not all equally populous or important, and to
describe them in detail would be as irksome as it is
superfluous. The territory of Loheia,the most north-
ern part of the kingdom, is arid and barren. The
city was built about the middle of the fifteenth cen-
tury; and, like several others in these parts, owed
its foundation to a Mohammedan saint, whose hut
stood near the shore, where a town gradually accu-
mulated round his tomb. The houses, -with the
exception of a few stone edifices, are mere mud
hovels thatched with grass, having a straw mat for
a door, and scarcely any windows. The harbour is
so indifferent that even the smallest vessels are
obliged to anchor at a considerable distance. Its
staple trade is coffee, of which annual purchases are
made by merchants from Cairo and other places.

The journey to Beit el Fakih is represented as
lying generally through a parched and barren tract
of country. The only accommodation are wretched
coffee-houses intended to serve the purposes of our
inns. These mokeias, as they are called, are paltry

130 CIVIL HISTORY AND

huts, farnished mereh- with a sevir, or long bench of
straw ropes; nor do they afford any refreshment
hut kischer^ a hot infusion of coffee-beans, or some-
times millet-cakes with camePs milk and butter.
The kischer is served out in coarse earthen cups ;
wheaten-bread was a rarity in the province, and the
water was scarce and bad. The owner or master
of the inn generally resides in some neighbouring
village, whence he comes daily to wait for passen-
gers. Another description of coffee-houses is the
ma?isale, where travellers are received and enter-
tained gratuitously, if they will be content with the
usual fare of the country. The guests are all lodged
in one common apartment, which is served and
furnished in the same homely style as the mokeias.
The city of Beit el Fakih (or House of the Sage)
derived its name and origin from a famous saint,
Achmed ibn Mousa, whose sepulchre is shown in a
handsome mosque near the town. His reputation
for miraculous cures was as celebrated as that of
any martyr or confessor in the Romish calendar.
One of his most wonderful performances was the
liberation of a Turkish pasha who had been for
twenty years a captive in Spain, where he was bound
in a dungeon to two huge stones, with ponderous
and massy chains. Long and in vain had he invoked
every canonized name in the annals of Islam ; but
when the aid of Achmed was solicited, the compas-
sionate saint stretched his hand from the tomb, and
at this signal the pasha instantly arrived from Spain,
carrying with him both fetters and stones, to the
great amazement of the inhabitants of Beit el Fakih,
who were then met to celebrate the anniversary fes-
tival of their ghostl}^ patron. The city contains
little of an interesting nature. The houses stand
separate from each other ; many of them are built
of stone, others of mud mixed with dung. The sur-
rounding plain, though not fertile, is well cultivated ;
and the authority of the resident dowlah extends

OOVERNMKNT OF ARABIA. 131

over a wide district. Hodeida has a tolerable har-
bour, a small citadel, a patron saint, and a dowlah,
whose jurisdiction is confined to the town. Zebid,
once the capital of Tehama, the residence of a sove-
reign, and the most commercial city on the Arabian
Gulf, now retains little but the shadow of its former
splendour. It is furnished with a dowlah, a mufti,
three cadis, and an academy.

After visiting the coffee-mountains in the neigh-
bourhood, and the towns of Kahme, Bulgosa, and
Kusma, which last stood on the loftiest peak of the
range, N icbuhr proceeded to Udden and Jobla. The
country was solitary ; and in the few villages which
they passed the houses were still more wretched
than in Tehama: they had no Avails, and consisted
merel}' of poles laid together and covered with reeds,
some of which grew in tlie valley to the height of
twenty feet, forming an agreeable shade.

Taas, a place of some celebrity, stands at the foot
of the fertile hill of Sabber, and is encompassed with
a wall varying from sixteen to thirty feet thick, and
flanked with several towers. Within this rampart
rises a steep rock about 400 feet high, on which the
citadel or fortress of Kahre is built, defended by an
exterior coating of brick. The present town is of
comparatively modern origin, and owed its founda-
tion to the attractive virtues of the tomb of Ismael
■Malec, its patron saint, who according to tradition
was once king of that country. A mosque bearing
his name w^as reared on the spot where his remains
were buried ; but nobody has been permitted to ap-
proach his tomb since on one occasion he thought
proper to Avork a miracle which gave great dissatis-
faction to the authorities of the place. This mar-
vellous event was related to Niebuhr : — Two beggars
had asked charity from the doAvlah, of whom one
only received alms : the other repaired to the sepul-
chre of Ismael to implore his interposition. The
holy man, who when ahve had been liberal of his

132 CIVIL HlSiUKV AND

bounty, gave the mendicant a letter contaniing an
order on the dowlah for the payment of 100 crowns.
Upon examination the document was found to be in
the handwriting of the deceased, and sealed with his
seal. With such evidence before his eyes the
governor durst not refuse, and paid the beggar the
demand in full ; but, to avoid such troublesome
drafts in future, the tomb was enclosed with a lofty
wall.

In the city and neighbourhood stood many deserted
and ruinous mosques, some of which appeared to be
erected by the Turkish pashas. The subsequent
governors of the place had built several noble pal-
aces, which were the greatest ornaments in it ; but
many of the houses had been destroyed, and the sur-
rounding country almost depopulated, during the
civil wars occasioned by the revolt of the governor,
Dowlah Achmed, brother to the imam El INIansor
Hossein. On being recalled, this officer refused to
obey ; and with a force of 2000 men he stood out
for twelve years, leaving the succession to his eldest
son Abdallah. The place was taken and pillaged
about the end of the year 1760.

On the route from Taas to Sanaa the principal
cities are Abb, Jerim or Yerim, and Damar. Abb
is situate on the summit of a hill, surrounded by a
strong wall, and contains about 800 houses, most of
them well built. Jerim, which some suppose to be
Dafar, an ancient capital of the Hamyaric kings, is
but a small town ; the houses are built of stone or
sun-dried bricks. The castle stands on a rock, and
is the residence of the dowlah. In all the markets
locusts were sold at a low price ; and these the
peasants dry and lay up for winter provisions.

In Yemen the usual method of travelling is on
asses, which in that country are large, strong, and
spirited, walking at a pace not very agreeable to the
rider. As Christians, however, are not prohibited
the use of horses, Niebuhr and his companions pre-

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 133

ferred that animal ; hirinn: camels for their haprpage.
A bucket of \v;iter is sometimes suspended from the
saddle, — that beiujy: an article indispensable in tliese
arid regions. The roads in general are of a very
bad description. Among the mountains the path is
sometimes so narrow that a single camel only can
pass at a time ; in other places it winds up steep and
rugged acclivities, and is formed of a causeway or
pavement, which is occasionally broken and ren-
dered impassable by the descending torrents.

The town of IMocha, the name of which a cele-
brated article of its export-trade has rendered so
familiar to our ears, has no pretensions to antiquity.
It was not in existence 400 years ago ; and nothing
was known of it till the adventures of the Dutch and
Portuguese in India opened the Red Sea to the
nations of Europe. Its place, as a commercial port,
was originally supplied by the village of Moosa.
This wretched hamlet, which now consists of a few
circular huts with conical roofs, built of matting or
leaves of the date-palm, must have then stood on the
shore of the Arabian Gulf, though the retirement of
the waters at this spot, as elsewhere, has left it a
distance of five hours' journey from the modern
town. It is still the residence of a sub-dowlah, and
distinguished for its delicious water and its excel-
lent fowls.

The origin of Mocha is ascribed to the great
reputation of its patron saint, the famous Sheik
Schaedeli, who had here a hermitage, which was
eagerly resorted to by disciples from all parts of
the country to drink his coffee and receive his
benedictions. After his death an elegant mosque
was raised over his tomb : the principal wall and
one of the gates of the city still bear his name ; the
people swear by him, and thank Heaven every
morning on his account for having taught mankind
the use of that delightful beverage, the healing vir-
tues of which were long reckoned as efficacious aa

Vol. II.— M

134 CIVIL HISTORY AND

his prayers ; they implore the Divine favour on his
descendants, who are held in great honour, and enjoy
the title of sheik. Such is the oriental history of
the founding of Mocha. When the Portuguese,
under Don Alphonso Albuquerque, first visited it in
1513, it was with the intention of uniting themselves
to the Abyssinian Christians against their common
enemy the Moslems; but they returned without
deriving any advantage from the attempt. In 1538,
it seems to have been a place of little importance,
probably under a Turkish governor ; as Solyman
Pasha, who commanded the Eg3^ptian fleet, men-
tioned it as a castle where he stopped on returning
from his disgraceful expedition against Diu.

In the beginning of the seventeenth century, when
the Red Sea was first visited by the English under
Captain Alexander Sharpey of the Ascension (1609),
Mocha had become the grand mart for the trade be-
tween India and Egypt. The Turkish governor was
courteous and liberal, and allowed the foreigners to
traffic without injury ; but the succeeding pasha was
a man of a very different character, as Admiral Sir
Henry JSHdiUeton, who was sent by the East India
Compan^^Bn a trading voyage the following year,
experienced to his cost. The treacherous Turks
not only assaulted the strangers in the town, but
made an attack on their ships in the harbour. The
gallant commander and part of the crew " were
manacled like so many slaves ;" Sir Henry was
threatened with the loss of his head for daring to
set his polluted foot on the soil where the city of
their holy Prophet stood, and consigned to a dmi'-
geou, where " he had a hard floor for his bed, a great
stone for his pillow, and good store of rats and mice
to keep him company." After lying in captivity for
some time, he was conveyed a prisoner to Sanaa,
which he describes as something bigger than Bris-
tol ; but by the interposition of certain friends he

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 135

obtained his release, and wfis remanded to Mocha,
with a stern injunction that neither he nor any of his
nation should attain revisit these ports.

Captain Saris with a small expedition arrived in
the course of next year, when he found the Turks
more liberal, and met with greater civility ; but the
spirit of religious antipathy was too fierce to admit
the continuance of trade. Monsieur de la Merveille,
with the French deputation from St. Malo, had
visited Mocha in 1708, and obtained a treaty of
commerce and the establishment of a factory for
his countrymen ; previous to which time, the only
foreign settlement in tlte town belonged to the
Dutch.

It was not till the year 1618 that Captain Shilling
of the Royal Amie obtained a firman from the Imam
of Sanaa and the Governor of Mocha, granting to the
English, " onihe faith of the Prophet's beard, liberty
to sell and buy Avithout let or molestation in that or
any other port within their dominions." Twenty
years afterward the French bombarded the town, in
order to extort payment of a debt of 82,000 crowns
(18,620/.) from the dowlah, which they obliged him
to reimburse ; besides reducing the duties ffom three
to two and a half per cent. During this temporary
warfare, the trade of the English and Dutch, who
had formed a union of interests, remained in perfect
security. Several of the Arabs in Niebuhr's time
recollected the siege, and were well pleased at the
punishment of the avaricious dowlah, whom they
represented as pursued backward and forward wher-
ever he went with " pots of fire." This was the last
city in Yemen of which the Turks retained posses-
sion : the Arabs having recovered it, according to
report, not by conquest, but by purchase. Since the
Ottomans were dislodged, it has had no other master
than the Imam of Sanaa.

In the present century Mocha has been described
by various Europeans. Viewed from a distance*

136 CIVIL HISTORY AND

the town looks handsome and cheerful, the houses
seem lofty, and have a square solid appearance.
Their unvaried whiteness contrasts beautifully with
the dark-blue sea, and, no shrub or tree intervening
to break the uniformity of colour, gives it the sem-
blance of being excavated from a quarry of marble.
Over the tabular line of flat roofs, the minarets of
three mosques rise to a considerable height, with
several circular domes of kubbets or chapels. The
roadstead is almost open, being only protected by
two narrow tongues of land, on one of which is a
ruined castle, and on the other an insignificant fort,
A grove of date-trees adjoins the city, and extends
nearly two miles along the southern beach ; a
pleasing object for the eye to repose upon, con-
trasted with the interminable expanse in every
other direction of brown and desolate sterility. The
wall, by which it is completely surrqunded, is not
more than sixteen feet high towards the sea ; though,
on the land side, it may in some places be double
that height. The two forts that guard the harbour
stand about a mile and a half asunder; a single
broadside from an English man-of-war would level
the whole to the ground.

The internal condition of the city corresponds not
with the imposing aspect of the exterior ; and the
moment the traveller passes the gates, his romantic
ideas are put to flight by the filth that abounds in
every street. The houses of the lower class of the
people, who rarely change their under-dress until it
is worn to rags, are circular huts composed of
wickerwork, covered inside with mats, and some-
times on the outside with a little clay. The roofs
are uniformly thatched; and in front each has a
small area or yard fenced off". The inhabitants have
a singular fancy for crowding their dwellings in
clusters, though there is ample space within the
walls left unoccupied. All the principal buildings
face the sea, and consist chiefly of public edifices.

GOVERNMENT OF ARAllIA. 137

The British factory is a larjje and lofty structure ;
those of the F'rench and Dutch are rapidly falling
into decay. The mansion of the dowlah is tlic best
in the city, having one front to the sea ; while on
two other sides are a square for military exercises,
and a range of official dwellings. None of these
have much pretension to architectural elegance.
The walls have fantastic ornaments in white stucco.
The windows are in general small, and not arranged
in any regular order ; they are closed with lattices,
and sometimes open into a wooden carved-work
balcony.

The town, according to Lord Valentia, does not
contain a population of more than 5000 souls, though
the French travellers made it amount to twice that
number. The garrison consists of about 80 horse
and 200 matchlock-men, who receive a regular pay
of two dollars and a half per month. There is not a
vestige of discipline among them. When on guard
at the different gates they recline on couches, with
their matchlocks lying negligently by their side,
while the right hand is occupied with sustaining
either a pipe or a cup of coffee. Their greatest dis-
play takes place when they attend the dowlah to the
mosque, with the usual pomp of gay streamers, and
of green and red flags. A lively Avriter has described
a procession which he witnessed at Mocha ten years
ago. The dowlah rode a beautiful little iron-gray
charger, and was accompanied by about half a dozen
persons, well dressed and of some condition ; the
rest of the attendants, amounting to the like number,
were meanly clothed, and mounted on wretched
horses. A large band of regular infantry from the
garrison followed, in plain costume, — a common
blue shirt, small dark turbans, a rude body-belt for
their cartridges, and a priming-horn. They marched
in a wide front, their matchlocks sloped upon their
shoulders, their free hands grasping the firearms of
their comrades, singing as they proceeded some war-

M2

138 CIVIL HISTORY AND

song in loud chorus. When the dowlah reined up
at the gateway of his residence, the miUtary ranged
themselves on one side of the square, and fired
three volleys in the air, retiring every time to the
wall to load. The only thing remarkable in their
exercise was their address with the lance, and the
extremely small space within which the combatants
wheeled their horses.

The streets of Mocha present a motley appear-
ance, both as to the dress and character of the in-
iiabitants. Under the coarse awnings of its narrow
bazars are to be seen brown and black complexions,
half-naked peasants, and richly-attired merchants,
in robes of woollen cloth, with a red woollen cap,
and a tassel of purple silk, peering above the folds
of their snow-white turban. There is the Jew,
the . Banian, the Persian, the Egyptian, and the
jetty Abyssinian, straight as the young areca, and
having his short curled hair died with a reddish
yellow, — the foppery of his country. There is the
stout Arab porter in his coarse broAvn garment,
bowing under a heavy load of dates, the matting
all oozing and clammy with the luscious burden-
Lastly, there is the Bedouin, with the hue of the
desert on his cheek, the sinewy limb, the eye dark
and fiery, his legs and arms bare, sandals on his feet,
and his bronzed bosom open to the sun and wind. He
walks erect, and moves onward giving place to none ;
— a broad, straight, two-edged sword in his hand,
and a long poniard in his girdle. Other objects in
these bazars attract attention : — extended rows of
camels and asses, the large coarse sheep of Abys-
sinia, the small thin species of Arabia, the tall brown
goats ; — the shops of the armorers, with their long
polished swordblades, daggers, spears, matchlocks,
and here and there the half-worn shield of other
days ; — then there are the cooks' shops, with their
hot cakes of bread, and their large coppers with
portions of meat and fowls swimming in ghee, and

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 139

ready for the tnivoller;— besides there are tlic cara-
vansaries and coflee-houses, witli groups of towns-
men and tniders redininp on couches of the date-
leaf, smoking their small hookahs, sipping their
kischer, and perpetually stroking their long beards.
The government of Mocha is one of the best in
the gift of the imam, owing to the large sums which
the dowlah is able to extort from the Banians and
foreign traders. Formerly an Arab of high rank
was appointed to the office ; but of late it has been
deemed more prudent to give it to a slave, who can
easily be removed, and from whom it is more safe
to take. the profits of his situation. From the
avaricious temper of the local authorities, Niebuhr
and his companions experienced the most vexatious
treatment in the seizure of their baggage, and the
destruction of some of their valuable instruments.
Lord Valentia makes the same remark as to the
covetous and tyrannical character of the ruler of
Mocha, and ascribes to him a new method of ex-
torting money from the Banians, by confining them
in a room, and fumigating them with sulphur till
they complied with his demands. The dowlah in
1823 is represented as a more amiable personage,
quiet and civil to Europeans, and not oppressive to
the people. He was an Abyssinian, not at all
striking either in his figure or appearance, w^ho had
been a slave in the family of the imam, and pro-
moted for his good conduct. Without the walls of
the town are three extensive suburbs ; one occupied
by common labourers ; one by the Abyssinian mar-
iners, who detest the natives ; and the third by
the Jews, who are not allowed to wear a turban,
and held in such contempt that an Arab may spit
upon and strike them. These last carry on an ex-
tensive illicit trade in brandy distilled from dates.
These suburbs are not more cleanly than the town.
The bed of the river IMoosa is filled with an accu-
mulation of filth and rubbish; its waters never

140 CIVIL HISTORY AND

reach the sea except after heavy rains, on one of
which occasions it swept away a considerable part
of the Jewish village that had been built in its dusty
channel.

In the territory of Yemen, besides the govern^
ments already mentioned, there are an immense
number of small hereditary princes, sheiks, and
dowlahs, who live in a state of vassalage or in-
dependence, according to the ability of the imam
to retain them in subjection. In nobility of descent
and dignity of rank, many of them acknowledge
no superior, and assume the symbols and preroga-
tives of royalty. To enumerate these petty sove-
reigns vrould be impossible. The mountain of
Schashava, north-east from Loheia, contained 300
villages, which were divided among a great many
sheiks, most of whom claimed kindred with the
reigning family at Sanaa. The famous hill of Sab-
ber, near Taas, was said to be parcelled out to more
than a hundred free and hereditary sheiks.

Of independent states in Yemen, besides those
within the imam's dominions, Niebuhr has specified
no fewer than thirteen ; and others doubtless might
exist, of which he had obtained no mformation.
These were Aden, Kaukeban, Kobail or Heschid-u-.
Bekel, Abu-Arish, Khaulan, Sahan, Saade, Nejeran,
Kahtan, Nehm, East Khaulan, Jof, and Jafa.

Aden belonged to the imam until 1730, when the
inhabitants expelled the governor, elected a sheik,
and declared themselves independent. Abulfeda
and Ibn-Haukul describe it as a flourishing town ;
but it suffered repeated devastations in the wars
between the Turks and Portuguese, and its com-
merce was transferred to JMocha. When Sharpey
visited it (1609), " it belonged to the Great Turk,
and was the key that let him into all the treasures
and sweetnesses of the Happy Arabia." A hundred
years afterward the French, who put into the har-
bour, describe the town as of considerable extent,

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 141

and containing several elegant buildings. Of these
the finest were the public baths : they were all lined
with marble or jasper, covered with a handsome
dome, open at the top for the admission of light,
and adorned inside with galleries, supported by
magnificent pillars. The markets were stored with
meat, fish, and other provisions of excellent quality.
Many of the houses were handsome, and two stori*s
high ; but the heaps of rubbish and ruins testified
that its ancient splendour was gone. The town lies
at the foot of high rocky mountains, which surround
it almost on every side ; on their summits and in
the narrow passes were several forts. Towards the
sea, by which alone the city can be approached by
a very narrow causeway or peninsula, the access
was guarded by five or six batteries of brass can-
non. The bay is eight or nine leagues wide at the
opening, and affords good anchorage, from eighteen
to twenty fathoms. The scenery around is of a
wild and savage character, giving few indications
of that felicity or delight of which its name is said
to be the expression. Cape Aden is a very lofty
and steep rock, which the mariner can descry at the
distance of 15 or 20 leagues. To this small state
pertain a number of inferior towns and castles.

The principality of Kaukeban was ruled by imams
of its own, claiming their descent from Mohammed,
until they were obliged to yield up the title to Khas-
sem, the new Arabian conqueror. The chiefs of
Kobail compose a sort of confederacy (Heschid-u-
Bekel) for their mutual defence ; their subjects
make excellent soldiers. The territory of Jafa is
surrounded by that of Aden, and was under the
dominion of Sanaa until the end of the 17th century,
when the inhabitants revolted from the imam. In
these districts are a multitude of petty sovereigns,
the chief of whom take the title of sultans ; Jafa and
Jof being the only part of Arabia where that name
is used. Abu-Ari&h and Mareb are governed by
sheriffs ; the latter lies 16 leagues north-east from

142 CIVIL HISTORY AND

Sanaa, and, though containing only about 300 houses
of mean appearance, is the capital of the province.

The province of Hadramaut is ruled by a num-
ber of petty independent sovereigns, of whose his-
tory or dominions little has been recorded beyond
the names of a few cities on the coast. These have
their particular sheikh, many of whom may have
descended in patriarchal succession from the most
remote antiquity. Among those princes, some have
been dignified by travellers, but improperly, with
the title of kings. The city of Doan is said to be
more elegant than the capital of Yemen, from which
it is distant five-and-twenty days' journey. The
most powerful of these sovereigns is the Sheik of
Keshin, whose dominions composed the imaginary
kingdom of Fartach, as laid down in the older maps ;
— an error which may, perhaps, have arisen from
his occasional residence in the town of that name.
He possesses the island of Socotra, of which the
heir-presumptive of the reigning family is always
the governor. Dafar and Shibam have their resi-
dent sheiks. Aidan used to be celebrated for its
annual fair, and the pilgrimage to the tomb of
Kahtan.

The province of Oman is governed by an imam,
but contains a number of petty sovereigns, of
whom the princes of Jau, Gabria, Gafar, Rank,
Gabbi, Dahara, IMakaniat, and Seer have the title
of sheik. Seer, which the Persians call Julfar, ex-
tends from Cape Mussendom along the Gulf, and
is ruled by a chief of considerable maritime power.
It is one of those districts wiiich withdrew from
the authority of the imam. Of the cities and towns
of Oman little is known. Rostak was formerly the
capital of the sovereign. Sohar and Kalbat were
once flourishing cities, but now greatly decayed.

The modern capital, from which the sovereign
takes his title, is Muscat. The Portuguese made
themselves masters of it in 1508, and built two

GOVKUNMENT OF ARABIA. 143

churches, one of which was afterward converted
into a magazine, and the other into the residence
of the waH, or governor. From this possession they
were driven by the Arabs about the middle of the
seventeenth century, through the treacherous aid
of a Banian, wlio had been robbed of his daughter
by the Portuguese commander. In IT 10, Oman was
invaded by Nadir Shah, who subdued all the coun-
try as far as Muscat, whicli he also took, with the
exception of two forts. On the death of that war-
like prince the Persians abandoned their conquests.
The ancient reigning families, the Gaffri, the Ha-
mani, and the Arrabi (the latter pretended to be the
descendants of the Koreish), again resumed the su-
preme power. It was at this period that Ahmed
ibn Said, ancestor to the present imam, succeeded
in establishing his independence, after a feeble re-
sistance from the Gaffri. Several years ago, when
the government of India was engaged in suppress-
ing Arab pirates (the Joassamees) who infested the
Persian Gulf, this prince acted in alliance with the
British ; and it is to this circumstance that w^e ow^e
much of our recent information as to the state of his
capital, and the resources of his government.*

The town of Muscat is romantically situated,
being built on a small sandy beach, and lying in
a sort of glen or recess behind the bay. On eiiher
hand it is surrounded with bleak and rugged cliffs ;
without a tree, a flower, or a blade of grass to break
their uniformity of nakedness. Occasionally their
tops are shrouded in mist, with here and there a
hoary w^aterfall, dashing from rock to rock until it
reaches the ocean below\ The harbour, the best and
almost the only one on that part of the Arabian

* Buckingham's Travels in Assyria. Eraser's Journey. Sir
J. Malcolm's Sketches of Persia. An interesting account of
Seid-Said, who mounted the throne in 1807, is given by his phy-
Bician, Vincenzo, a native of Italy, under the name of Sheik
Mansour.

144 CIVIL HISTORY AND

coast, has a singular appearance. It is bounded on
each side with bold and abrupt rocks, from two to
three hundred feet high, on which are numerous
small forts. The town is protected by several bat-
teries ; but the greater part of the city is composed
of ill-built houses, and huts of date-tree leaves of
the most wretched description, all huddled together
in the greatest confusion. The streets are rough,
narrow, and crooked. The windows, which are
without glass, resemble loopholes, and the walls
are covered with a white plaster or cement. The
water is good ; the fruit of the best quality, — grapes
mangoes, peaches, plantains, figs, pomegranate?^
limes, melons, and dates. Nowhere is there greater
variety of fish ; in the bay they swarm like gnats
in a summer evening ; the rocks supply oysters and
other shell-fish, all of which are sold at a very
cheap rate. As the pasturage is scanty in this
neighbourhood, dried fish a little salted, and pounded
date-stones, form the chief articles of food for their
cattle, of which they are very fond. Horses and
sheep as well as cows are fed on this diet.

The property of the inhabitants consists for the
most part in their live-stock ; but the most valu-
able species is the date-tree, the price of which,
individually, varies from seven to ten dollars ; and
by this standard they estimate landed estates, which
are said to be worth three, four, or five thousand
date-trees, according to the number that grows upon
them. Property of every kind descends by inherit-
ance, the son possessing the liberty of disposing of
it as he pleases. The sovereign has no right in the
soil, further than the tenth of its produce ; nor can
he in any way interfere with the privileges of the
owner. Lands are commonly let on lease, or for an
annual rent, usually payable in produce. Slaves are
here, as in all other parts of Arabia, employed in
agricultural labour ; but they are treated with uni-
form kindness aiid indulgence. Oman is by no means

GdVlSRNMENT OF ARABIA. 145

celebrated for its manufactures. Turbans and waist-
bands, or girdles of cotton and silk, striped or checked
with blue ; cloaks, cotton, canvass, gunpowder, and
arms of inferior quahty; earthen jars, called murtu-
ba7i, for the Zanguebar market, — comprise almost all
their fabrics. They also prepare an esteemed sweet-
' meat, named huhvah, from honey or sugar, with the
gluten of wheat, and ghee, and a few almonds.

The price of live-stock at Muscat is extremely
various. Camels, according to their blood and qual-
ity, will bring from thirty to three hundred dollars
apiece ; goats from four to six ; sheep from one
and a half to six ; mules are not reared, neither are
horses abundant ; but the asses of Oman are cele-
brated as the finest in Arabia. The price of the
common kind varies from one to forty dollars ; but
the best breeds sell for very extravagant sums.

The present imam is considered the richest and
rhost powerful sovereign on the Persian Gulf. Such
of the British officers and merchants a? have visited
that port represent him as a man of amiable dis-
positions, and possessed of superior talents and in-
formation ; being much superior to the Arab chiefs
in general, and adored by his subjects. He admin-
isters justice daily in person, sitting under a portico
in the vicinity of his palace ; and his decisions in
general are received without a murmur. Mr. Fraser
describes his countenance as of mild and pleasing
features, — his complexion of a light yellow, — his
eyes dark and expressive, though rendered almost
sleepy at times by their heavy lids and long dark
lashes ; his beard was full and black, without the
assistance of die ; his mustachios being clipped rather
short, and allowing part of the cheek to be seen.
His dress was the plain Arab costume, — a white
cotton gown with wide sleeves, opening down the
breast, but buttoned to the throat, and reaching to
the ankles; round his waist was a scarf of blue
checked cotton, in which was stuck a silver-hilted

Vol. II.— N

146 CIVIL HISTORY AN©

dagg-er or jambea. A blue checked cotton handker-
chief was wound round his head, the ends han^ng
down, and bordered with red, green, and yellow.
His sword was of the Persian form, in a plain black
scabbard. The chief minister, Said Abdul Kaher^
was as plainly dressed as his master. Neither of
them wore jewel or oi'iiament of any kind.

The palace is the most conspicuous edifice in the
town : it stands close by the sea, is three stories
high, and might be mistaken for a merchant's count-
ing-house and store-rooms. The hall of audience
is a veranda overhanging the water, under the ter-
race of which boats pull up to land visiters. The
floor was covered with a common Persian carpet^
and the furniture consisted of a table and a few plain
chairs m the European fashion. A collation was
served of fruits, sweetmeats, and sherbets, set out
in cut crystal of the most elegant fabric. Though
naturally gentle, this prince is not deficient in energy
and decision when occasion requires. His courage
in battle was frequently signalized while co-operating^
with the British forces ; particularly in the expedi-
tion with Sir John INIalcolm against the Arab pirates
in the Gulf, where his assistance materially con-
tributed to their suppression. At the attack of one
of the towns, when the British were compelled to
retire, the imam observed at some distance a sergeant
alone, and surrounded by a detachment of the enemy.
Unsupported as he was, he did not hesitate a mo-
ment ; returning instantly, he dashed singly among
the rebels, and, after killing several of them, brought
off the man in safety.

The revenues of the imam are derived from various-
sources. Besides receiving a tenth of the produce
of the soil, he possesses considerable landed prop-
erty of his own, and rents extensive tracts of
country from the Persian government, including
valuable mines of sulphur. A more lucrative source
of income is the duty of one-half pei* cent on all

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 14?

merchandise passing iip the Gulf in Arab bottoms.
From the province of Oman alone, it has been
reckoned at more than 120,000 dollars (26,250/.)
annually; and from all other ports of Arabia, and
from Zanguebar, to about 30,000 or 10,000 dollars
more. Commerce, however, is the chief fountain
of his wealth. Besides the ports on the Gulf, he
trades to all parts of the East ; to the coasts of
Arabia and Africa ; to Madagascar and the Mauritius.
His capital is the great entrepot for warehousing and
exchanging the produce of various nations ; and in
such a traffic, the sovereign doubtless possesses
many advantages over his subjects. His expendi-
ture is light compared to his income ; he has no
regular military establishment to keep up, nor any
expensive machinery of government ; and after all
his outlay, it is supposed that he may deposite an-
nually a surplus of nearly 100,000 dollars.

In addition to his hereditary dominions on the
Arabian coast, the imam holds in possession the
islands of Kishma and Ormuz ; and rents, from the
crown of Persia, Gombroon with its dependencies,
including a tract of coast of about ninety miles in
extent. The inhabitants of Muscat, in point of
manners, cleanliness, and liberality to strangers, are
reckoned the most civilized of their countrymen ;
and, though not addicted to war, they are esteemed
the best mariners in Arabia. They use small mer-
chant-vessels called trankis, the sails of which are
not formed of matting, as in Yemen, but of linen.
The planks are not nailed, but tied or sewed toge-
ther. A little to the north-west of INIuscat, and seated
at the bottom of a cove nearly resembling its own,
lies the town of Muttra. Though a place of less
business, it contains a greater number of well-built
houses, and affords a cooler and more agreeable
residence than the capital.

The province of Hajar, or El Hassa, belonged to
the sheiks of the Beni Khaled, one of the most

148 CIVIL HISTORY AND

powerful tribes in Arabia, whose jurisdiction ex-
tended so far through the Desert as often to harass
the caravans passing between Bagdad and Aleppo.
Katif, or EI Katif, is a port and a large trading
town, with a deep bay and the rains of an old Por-
tuguese fortress. The inhabitants share with the
Bahrein islands in their pearl-fishery as well as in
their general commerce, though the governments
are independent of each other. Graine is a large
and populous town, seated on a fine bay ; though the
sandy desert presses close upon its walls, and not
a blade of vegetation enlivens the dreary scenery
around. It stands about fifty miles from the bar
of the Euphrates ; and is chiefly inhabited by mer-
cantile and trading people, who engage in all the
branches of conmierce carried on throughout the
Gulf. Their principal employment is fishing, and
Niebuhr states that more than 800 boats were
engaged in this species of naval industr}^

The isles of Bahrein may be considered as part
of Hajar, and were formei^ly subject to the lords
or kings of Lahsa. They were taken possession of,
after many revolutions and changes of masters, by
the combined arms of the Portuguese and Persians ;
and Antonio Correa, the leader of the former, added
the title of Bahrein to his name. The cause of
this expedition was the refusal of Mocrim, sheik of
Lahsa, to pay tribute. The chief was beheaded,
and the Portuguese commander, in memory of the
share which he had in this event, was authorized to
bear a king's head in his coat-of-arms, which the
historians of his own country say is still borne by
his descendants. These islands are two in number ;
the larger is called Bahrein, an appellation which
seems modern, for Abulfeda, and the Arabs of the
coast call it Aval; the smaller retains its ancient
name of Arad. The length of the former is about
ten miles, and its breadth five. Its general appear-
ance is low ; but it is everjrvvhere fertile, well

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 149

watered, and supports a numerous population. The
whole soil is industriously cultivated, producing
dates, figs, citrons, peaches, and other fruits. It
is reckoned to contain no fewer than 300 villages.
Minawah, the principal town, is large and populous,
and has a good harbour, with twelve caravansaries.
Here many wealthy merchants reside, and carry on
an extensive connnerce with India, as well as in
supplying the Arabian markets with the manufac-
tures and productions of that country.

This island is remarkable for its springs of fresh
water arising in the sea. One of these gushes up
with great force through a sandy bottom, at the depth
of three fathoms. A jar is fitted to the mouth of
this spring ; and to procure the water a person dives
with an empty bag of goat's skin rolled under liis
arm : this he dexterously places over the mouth of
the jar, and being filled in a few seconds, it floats
up with him to the surface. There are four or five
springs of this kind round the island, and in this
way is obtained all the water that is drunk at Arad.
Strabo mentions a similar spring near the Phenician
island of Aradus, on the coast of Syria, from which
the ingenious inhabitants contrived to draw a supply
by means of a leaden ball and a leathern pipe.

The chief celebrity of these islands is derived from
their valuable pearl-fishery, which is carried on in
June, July, and August. In the sixteenth century,
the produce was estimated at five hundred thousand
ducats (147,3957.) ; at present it is calculated to
yield annually pearls to the value of about twenty
lacks of rupees' (193,7507.) : the greatest portion of
which is shipped for India, and the remainder are
dispersed throughout the Persian and Turkish em-
pires, by way of Bushire, Bussora, and Bagdad.
From thence the best specimens are conveyed to
Constantinople, Syria, Egypt, and even the great
capitals of Europe. The bank on which this fishery
18 carried on ex ends nearly southward to Ras el

N2

150 CIVIL HISTORY A.N0

Khyma, and the finest of the pearls are found amon^
the group of Maude's islands, near Haloola, so called
probably from loolo, the Arabic name for a pearl.

About two thousand boats are annually employed
in this trade, of which the islands of Bahrein fur-
nish one-half, and the small ports on the coast the
remainder. In the summer months the bank pre-
sents a busy scene. The divers are Arabs and negro
slaves, who are generally trained to the practice
from their youth. They go down in all depths,
from five to fifteen fathoms, remaining from two to
five miniites, and bringing up from eight to twelve
oysters in both hands. On reaching the surface
they merely take time to recover breath, and then
dive again immediately. The largest and finest
pearls are brought up from the deepest water ; and
all of them are said to be as hard when taken out
of the fish as they are ever afterward. At first
they are of a purer white than after they have been
exposed to the air ; and in this respect they are
calculated to lose annually one per cent, in value.
Of the two kinds, the yellow are chiefly sent to
India, where this tinge is preferred ; the pure white
are most esteemed in Europe, and even find a better
market in all the great Turkish and Persian towns.
The pearl of Bahrein is considered very superior to
that of Ceylon, both in quality and colour. Before
sending them off from the island, they are carefully
assorted as to size, shape, and tint ; then, being
drilled through, are strung on threads, and made up
into round bundles of about three inches diameter,
sealed and directed, and sent in that form to their
various destinations. They are then called by the
metaphorical name of Roomaan el Bahr, or " pome-
granates of the sea," to which these bundles bear a
pretty exact resemblance.

All the gains of the fishery are divided in the most
equitable way, by shares in proportion to the capital
embarked in the boats. The food of the divers

GOVERNMENT OF ARAniA. 151

during the season is chiefly fish, dates, and a small
allowance of bread, rice, and oil. Their earnings are
barely enough to support them through the winter,
which they pass in a state of indolence and dissipa-
tion. They use the precaution of oiling the orifice
of their ears, and placing a horn over the nose when
they dive, to prevent the water from entering by
these apertures ; but when they have been long
engaged in this service, their bodies are subject to
break out in sores, their eyes become bloodsiiot and
weak, and all their faculties seem to undergo a pre-
mature decay.*

The coast from Cape Mussendom to Bahrein has
been, from time immemorial, occupied by a piratical
tribe of Arabs called Joassamees, already alluded
to. Their local position necessarily engaged them
in maritime pursuits, either as traders in their own
vessels, or as pilots and sailors hired to navigate
the small craft of the Gulf. From their superior
skill and industry, and fidelity to their engagements,
they maintained a high reputation, until subdued by
the arms of the Wahabees, after a resistance of three
years. Their principal towm, Ras el Khyma, with
all its dependencies along the coast, submitted to
the yoke, and embraced the new doctrines of the
conquerors.

This revolution wrought a total change, not only
in the faith but in the character and habits of these
refractory tribes. Instead of living quietly on the
scanty productions of their own soil, and the fish
of their own waters, the Joassamees directed their
views to war and plunder. Their first captures were
the small coasting traders which, from their defence-
less state, soon fell an easy prey. Imboldened by
success, they directed their efforts to higher em-
prises, until their prowess was felt and dreaded from
the mouth of the Euphrates to the Indian Ocean.

♦ Buckingham's Travels in Assyria, chap, xxiii. Morier's
Travels through Persia.

152 CIVIL HISTORY AND

It was about the year 1797 that they first came
iiito colUsion with the British government in the
East ; for as they had hitherto waged war only
against what are called native vessels, no hostile
measures had been taken against them by the Eng-
lish. In that year they had the boldness to violate
this neutrality by attacking, under pretext of obtain-
ing a supply of ammunition, one of the East India
Company's cruisers, the Viper, of ten guns, while
lying at anchor in the imier roads of Bushire. The
pirates were beaten off; but with the loss of the
gallant Lieutenant Carruthers and a considerable
number of the crew. This act of daring treachery,
however, did not call forth the immediate vengeance
of the India government. In 1804, fresh aggressions
were commenced, and continued for a series of years
with increasing insolence and barbarity. Not fewer
than nine British cruisers or ships of war, — the
Fly, Shannon, Trimmer, Fury, Mornington, Teign-
mouth, Minerva, Sylph, and Nautilus, — were suc-
cessively attacked or seized by these daring maraud-
ers, and numbers of their crews and passengers put
to the sword.

This system of lawless aggression, and the seri-
ous injury suffered by the Gulf trade, at length in-
duced the British government to have recourse to
vigorous measures for maintaining the national
character, and clearing the seas of these brigands.
In 1810, Lieutenant-colonel (afterward Sir Lionel)
Smith and Captain Wainwright were sent against
them with a considerable armament, which sailed
from Bombay in September, and soon anchored off
Ras el Khyma, where the troops were landed under
cover of the boats and ships. This metropolis of
the pirates stands in latitude 25° 47', and longitude
55° 34', on a narrow tongue of sandy land, with a
safe harbour, extending about half a mile in length
and a quarter in breadth — having several strong
points of defence with towers and batteries. Their

OOVERNiMF.NT OF ARAIUA. 103

maritime force was considerable ; and if concen-
trated might have amounted to at least 100 vessels,
with perhaps 400 pieces of cannon, and about 8000
fighting-men, well armed with muskets, swords, and
spears. On the landing of the English, the inhabit-
ants assembled in crowds to repel the invaders ; but
the regular volleys and steady charge of the troops
overcame every obstacle, and multiplied the heaps
of slain. A general conflagration was ordered, with
unlimited permission to plunder. The town was
instantly set on fire in all parts, and about sixty sail
of boats and dows, including the captured Minerva,
were burned and destroyed. The complete con-
quest of the place was thus effected with very trifling
loss to the assailants.

The expedition then proceeded to Linga, a small
port of the Joassamees, on the opposite side of the
Gulf, which was taken w^ithout resistance. Luft,
another of their harbours in the island of Kishma,
was attacked ; and, though severely galled with
musketry, the British succeeded in getting posses-
sion of the place. The town and fortress were de-
livered over to the Imam of Muscat, as this was a
settlement which had been taken from him by the
pirates. Their next exploit was the recovery of
Shenaz, a fort that had also belonged to the same
prince, nearly midway between Muscat and Cape
Mussendom. When about four thousand shot and
shells had been discharged, a breach was reported to
be practicable, and the castle was accordingly
stormed. The resistance made in the town was
still desperate — the Arabs fighting as long as they
could wield the sword ; and even thrusting their
spears up through the smoking fragments of towers
and houses, in whose ruins they remained irrecov-
erably buried. Their loss in killed and wounded
was computed at upwards of 1000 men. The ex-
pedition, having now sw^ept round the bottom of the
Gulf, and believing their object was accomplished,

]54 CIVIL HISTORY AND

returned to India. But the sequel proved that their
task was far from being completed. In a few years
the piracies were renewed, accompanied with the
usual atrocities, and extended as far as the en-
trance of the Red Sea.

A second expedition was fitted out, which sailed
from Bombay in November, 1819. Ras el Khyma
and the fort of Zyah were again reduced — the Arabs
during these operations displaying a courage and per-
tinacity that excited the astonishment of the troops
opposed to them. To bind them more strictly, and
to try the effect of moral influence, a treaty was con-
cluded, which guarantied the cessation of plunder
and piracy by sea and land. Matters being so far
adjusted, the squadron returned to Bombay, leaving
a force of 1200 native troops and artillery at Ras el
Khyma, the occupation of which was merely in-
tended as a temporary measure. The service's of
this detachment were soon rendered necessary
against a tribe of Arabs called the Beni bu Ali, oc-
casioned chiefly by the complaints of the Imam of
Muscat. The settlement of this fierce tribe lay near
Cape Ras el Hud; but the first attempt of the Brit-
ish, who were commanded by Captain Thomson,
entirely failed. By a sudden and overwhelming
attack of the natives the detachment was totally
destroyed. Out of three hundred and eleven that
went into action, seven officers and 249 men were
murdered on the spot. Scarcely a wounded man
escaped, as the khunjer, or dagger, finished what
the sword began.

This disaster, however, was speedily repaired by
a third expedition fitted out at Bombay next year,
and which succeeded in getting possession of the
town of Bu Ali ; the works were blown up, and such
of the guns and heavj^ stores as could not be carried
off were destroyed. The inhabitants defended their
fortress with a bravery approaching to phrensy,
which an eyewitness compared to that of the Scotch

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 155

Highlanders at Prestonpans, both as to the mode of
warfare and the deadly weapon, the broadsword,
used on these occasions with such desperate execu-
tion. " All," says he, " who beheld this extraordi-
nary attack concur in declaring that more deter-
mined courage and self-devoting resolution never
was displayed by any men than by the Arabs. On
that day, not only were they totally unchecked in
their advance by the heavy and well-sustained fire,
which mowed them down in multitudes every in-
stant ; but, despising the lines of bayonets opposed
to them, they threw themselves upon the troops,
seizing their weapons with both hands to break their
ranks, and sacrificed themselves to cut do^vT their
enemies, even with the bayonet sticking in their
bodies. All the Indian and European troops that
fell were cut down with the broadsword, the match-
lock being scarcely used during the whole affair.
Before the firing had entirely ceased, women were
to be seen walking among the dead and dying, totally
regardless of the danger that surrounded them :
their object was, according to custom, to drag off
their friends who had been killed or wounded ; and
it appeared that some of them were actually en-
gaged in the attack. Notwithstanding the loss of
husbands and children, they bore no outward signs
of grief; nor did they utter one lamentation, or
shed openly one tear of regret or apprehension, at
the very moment when their fortress was blown up,
and they believed themselves to be included in the
work of destruction."* Part of the prisoners were
delivered over to the Imam of Muscat, and part car-
ried to Daristan, on the island of Kishma, to which
the troops left at Ras el Khyma had been trans-
ferred, on account of bad health and the scarcity
of provisions.

On the opposite coast of the Gulf, from the mouths

♦ Fraser'e Journey to Khorasan. Appendix A.

156 CIVIL HISTORY AND

of the Euphrates nearly to those of the Indus, nu-
merous Arab tribes have formed settlements, where
they live in a state of independence under their own
laws. They lead a seafaring life, employing them-
selves in fishing and gathering pearls. The Beni
Houl, a powerful and formidable clan, occupy the
barren tract from Gombroon to Cape Berdistan.
They are highly esteemed for their valour • but
their mode of government renders that quality of
little avail. Bushire and Bendereek are chiefly in-
habited by different tribes, originally from Oman.
Their fondness for the sea contrasts remarkably
with the disposition of the Persians, of whom all
classes have an unconquerable antipathy to that
element.

The territory round the point of the Gulf, extend-
ing from the Arabian Desert to Endian, is occupied
by the tribe of Kiab, whose sheik, Solyman, acquired
some celebrity in consequence of his disputes with
the English, in which he captured some of their ves-
sels. His principal residence was Ghilan, a town
near one of the outlets of the Euphrates. The
Beni Lam, a numerous tribe, occupy the banks of the
Tigris from Korna to Bagdad. They exact duties
on goods conveyed by that route, and sometimes
pillage caravans, in spite of the chastisements they
occasionally receive from the Turkish pashas. One
of the most powerful tribes, both as to the extent
of their territories and the number of their depend-
encies, is that of Montefik, who possess all the
country on both sides of the Euphrates from Korna
to Arja. In winter they pasture their cattle in the
desert ; and in summer, when the grass is burnt
up, they remove to the banks of the river. They
trace their genealogy beyond the era of Mohammed
and from time immemorial have been sovereigns of
that country. Their nobility is divided into m-dny
branches ; and Niebuhr observes that the family
then reigning consisted of 150 persons, all of whom

GOVERNMENT OF ARADTA. 157

might aspire to the supreme power, and were in-
trusted with a certain share of authority. More
than twenty inferior trihes lived in a state of subjec-
tion to them, who all, in the event of war, joined
the troops of the principal chief.

The rich plains of Mesopotamia, once cultivated
and populous, are now inhabited, or rather desolated,
by wandering Arabs under their respective sheiks,
who, if they knew to concentrate their strength,
might set the Ottoman governors at defiance. The
Beni Khasaal are agriculturists, and have a great
many petty tribes subject to them, some of which
are again subdivided into thirty Or forty inferior
clans. They can muster a force of 2000 cavalry,
and a proportionate number of infantry. The Beni
Temin and Beni Tai roam between Bagdad and
Mosul, paying a small annual tribute for their As-
syrian possessions. The whole extent of country,
including the frontiers of Persia almost to the source
of the Euphrates, the Hauran or Syrian Desert, Pal-
estine, the peninsula of Sinai, the greater part of
Nejed, and the central wilderness of Arabia, are oc-
cupied by migratory hordes of Bedouins. To detail
all the names and minor branches of these tribes
would be to fill our pages with a barbarous nomen-
clature. Burckhardt, who stands so honourably dis-
tinguished as an oriental traveller, has not only
enumerated their various classes, but furnished a
minute account of their local establishments and
military force, as well as of their extraordinary cus-
toms, manners, arts, and institutions.*

The most celebrated and powerful tribe, perhaps,
in the whole Arabian peninsula, is that of the
Aenezes. In winter they generally take up their
quarters on the plain between the Hauran and Hit, a
position on the Euphrates ; though sometimes they
pass that limit and pitch their tents in Irak. In

• Burckimrdt's Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabys, 2 vols.
Vol. II.— 0

158 CIVIL HISTORY AND

spring they approach the Syrian frontier, and form
a line of encampment, extending from near Aleppo
to eight days' journey southward of Damascus.
The whole summer they spend in seeking pasture
and water ; in autumn they purchase their winter
provision of wheat and barley, and return after the
first rains into the interior of the Desert. They are
divided into four principal clans, — the Wold Ali, the
El Hessenne, the El Rawalla, or more properly El
Jelas, and the El Besher ; and these again are sepa-
rated into numerous inferior bodies. The Sheik of
the Wold Ali occupies the first rank among their
chiefs, and is therefore styled Abu el Aeneze, or the
Father of the Aenezes. The Rawall-^ '"^nerally oc-
cupy the desert from Gebel Shammar towards Jof ;
but they frequently encamp beyond the Tigris and
the Euphrates. In point of mihtary strength they
are formidable, possessing more horses than any of
the Aenezes. The El Besher are the most numer-
ous of these grand divisions, and liave their resi-
dence chiefly in Nejed.

To ascertain the population of each of the differ-
ent tribes is rendered very difficult, from a prejudice
which forbids them to count the horsemen ; as they
believe, like the Eastern merchants, that whoever
knows the exact amount of his wealth may soon ex-
pect to lose part of it. Exclusive of those in Nejed,
Burckhardt reckons their forces at about 10,000 cav-
alry, and perhaps 90,000 or 100,000 camel-riders;
and thinks that the whole northern Aeneze nation
may be estimated at from 300,000 to 350,000 souls,
spread over a country of at least 40,000 square miles.
Most, though not all, of the great Aeneze tribes are
entitled to passage-money from the vSyrian caravans.
The Hessenne take a yearly surra, or tribute, of fifty
purses (about lOOOZ.) ; the Wold Ali levy to the same
amount ; while the Fedaan, one of the strongest of
these clans, receive nothing in the way of annual
impost from the pilgrims.

OOVERNMF.NT OF ARABIA. 159

The Arabs northward from Palmyra call them-
selves Ahl el Shemal, or Northern Nations ; a name
which the natives of Hejaz apply, from their relative
position, to the whole of the Aeneze tribes. The
El Mauali inhabit t he district near Aleppo and Hamah.
Their emir or sheik receives an annual sum from the
Governor of Aleppo, for which he protects the vil-
lages of the pashalic against the aggressions of the
other Arabs. They are reckoned treacherous and
faithless ; an example of which is recorded in one of
their chiefs, who murdered at a convivial feast in
his own tent above 200 Aeneze guests, that he might
get possession of their mares. The Hadedyein, the
El Seken, who reckon about 600 tents, the El Berak,
and various other tribes, wander in that neighbour-
hood. The mountains from Horns towards Pal-
myra, the extensive territory of the Hauran, the
plains of Leja and Jolan, are traversed by numerous
hordes, who are tributary to the Pasha of Damascus ;
though circumstances often induce them to throw off
their allegiance, and appropriate to their own use
the miri, or tax from the peasants, and other dues
they are employed to collect. The Beni Sakkar, a
tribe of free Arabs, are celebrated for their courage
and their robberies. They have a force of about
500 horsemen, who find constant occupation in plun-
der, or in defending their possessions from the
inroads of the Aenczes. The Arabs of Belka, whose
camps extend to the eastern margin of the Dead
Sea, comprise about forty small tribes, amountmg
in all to between 3000 and 4000 tents. They drive
cattle for sale to Jerusalem ; and their great sheik
pays an annual tribute of 2000 sheep to the Pasha
of Damascus. The plains about the Dead Sea and
the Lake of Tiberias are inhabited by the Ghour
Arabs. The Ahl el Kebly, or Southern Nations,
comprehend the various tribes that dwell south of
Palestine, and along the borders of the Red Sea

Gebel Shera is peopled by the Hejaje, who num-

160 CIVIL HISTORY AND

ter about 400 horsemen. The Howeytat, tlie Mo-
waH, the Omran, Debourt, Bedoul, Hekoiik. and
various others, occupy the desert from Suez to
Akaba. The Omran are a strong clan, and of very
independent spirit. Their frequent depredations
render them objects of terror to the pilgrims pro-
ceeding to Mecca, who are under the necessity of
passing through their territories. Five tribes, called
the Towara, or Arabs of Tor, inhabit the peninsula
of Sinai ; these are the Sowaleha, the Mezeyne, the
Aleygat, the Tayaha, and the Terabein, who feed
their flocks in the Petrsean deserts. They maintain
very little intercourse with their eastern neighbours,
and can muster together a force of more than 600
matchlocks. In dry seasons they occasionally ap-
proach towards Gaza or Hebron ; and some have a
caravan called Kheleit, of more than 4000 camels,
which sets out every year to Cairo, where they pur-
chase wheat, barley, and articles of dress.

Most of these, with various other branches, called
the Sherkyeh Arabs, have colonized the western
shore of the Red Sea, from Suez as far as Nubia.
During the time of the Mamlouk reign in Egj'pt,
they might be said to have been masters of a con-
siderable part of the country. They exacted tribute
from the peasants, and engrossed a great share of
the transport-trade. The Maazy sometimes pasture
their cattle near the Nile, but generally reside in the
mountains. From 500 to 600 horsemen constitute
the utmost force of all the Sherkyeh tribes. Some
years ago, if their own reports are to be credited,
they could muster at least 3000 ; but their numbers
have been considerably reduced by their wars with
the Pasha of Egypt, who at present levies a tribute
on them, and observes their movements with so
much vigilance that they are not even permitted to
make war upon each other, — the most galling re-
striction under which an Arab can be placed.

On the eastern coast of the Gulf, the Bedouins

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 161

extend from the deserts of Akaba to the northern
confines of Yemen. The Beni Okaba and the El
Bily possess the small town of Moilah and the
neighbouring country. The Hateym are one of tlie
most widely dispersed of all these wandering hordes.
In Syria, in Lower and Upper Kg^'pt, along the Te-
hama, in Nejed and Mesopotamia, encampments of
them are always to be found. They are despised as
a mean race, with whom the other Bedouins refuse
to intermarry ; and for one man to call another a
Hateymi is considered an unpardonable insult. The
great tribe of the Jeheyne inhabit the country round
Yembo, and constitute the chief portion of its popu-
lation. They are much addicted to war, and can
raise a force amounting to 8000 matchlocks. They
acknowledge a nominal allegiance to the Sheriff of
Mecca, and, like all the other tribes southward of
Akaba, are entitled to the surra or passage-money
from the Egyptian pilgrims.

The Beni Shammar inhabit the mountains of that
name, and are mortal enemies to the Aenezes. They
are subdivided into numerous branches, some of
which have settlements in Irak, and make fre-
quent plundering incursions into the Hauran. The
greater part of the country extending from Kasym
to Medina is occupied by the Beni Harb, who have
also possessions on the coast from Yembo down to
Jidda and Leith. In summer they migrate to Pales-
tine and Mount Lebanon, on the summits of which
they pitch their tents and feed their cattle. From
the aggregate of this formidable race, there might
perhaps be reckoned a body comprising between
30,000 and 40,000 men armed with matchlocks ; and
such is the numerical strength of their main tribes,
that each of them is rather to be considered as a dis-
tinct clan. Among their branches extending to the
east and south of Medina, are the Mezeyne, the
Beni Safar, Beni Ammer, El Hamede, Beni Salem,
Sobh, El Owf, and Dwy Daher. The Sheik of El

02

162 CIVIL HISTOJIV AND

Hainede is at present considered as chief of all the
Beni Harb ; to the Sobh belong the town and district
of Bedr, where a market is held, at which some of
them are wont to sit during- the whole day in their
small shops, and in the evening they momit their
camels and return to their families in the Desert.

The principal station of the Zebeyde tribe is to
the north of Jidda ; but, as their country is in gene-
ral poor, they are obliged to seek for other means
of subsistence than what can be derived from pas-
ture alone. Many of them are active fishermen,
and serve as sailors and pilots to ships navigating
the Red Sea. A certain number have established
themselves in this capacity on the Shut El Arab
below Bagdad. In consequence of their commer-
cial pursuits the other Harbs look upon them with
disdain.

The excellent pasture- ground about Taif, and
the chain of mountains eastward, are inhabited by
the Ateybe, who formerly were the inveterate ene-
mies of the Harb tribe, and could muster a force of
from 6000 to 10,000 matchlocks. The Lahyan and
other Bedouin tribes about Mecca are all poor, owing
to the sterility of the soil and the high price of com-
modities. The Beni Fahem regularly supply the
city with charcoal and sheep. Of the once cele-
brated Koreish, only 300 matchlock- men now re-
main, who encamp about IMount Arafat. They are
but little esteemed by the other Bedouins, and derive
their chief subsistence from the charity of the pil-
grims, or the price of the milk andbutter which they
carry to Mecca. The Adouan, an ancient and power^
ful tribe, have been nearly exterminated by a series
of continual wars with their neighbours. Many of
tlie other tribes in these mountainous regions were
known in Arabian history prior to the era of Mo-
hammed ; such as the Hodhail, who muster 1000
matchlocks, and are reputed the best marksmen in
the whole country ; the Thakif, who compose half

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 163

the inhabitants of TaiT; the Beni Sofian, Beni Ra-
biah, Beni Abs, Beni Kelb, and Beni Asyr, who can
assemble 15,000 men-at-arms. The Beni Saad and
Beni Kahtan are famons from the most remote anti-
quity ; the former bein^ the tribe amon^ whom the
Prophet himself was educated, and the latter es-
teemed more wealthy in camels than any Bedouins
of the Eastern desert. A man is reckoned poor
who has only forty ; and some even of the middle
classes possess 150. The Abyde, the Senhan, Wa-
daa, Sahar, Begoum, Hamadan, Shomran, and Zoh-
ran border on the territory of the Imam of Sanaa.

Among all these nomadic tribes one form of gov-
ernment seems to prevail ; and though at first view
it may not seem calculated to secure that grand
object of legislation — the protection of the weak
against tlie strong, — yet from the experience of
ages, during which their political state has not suf-
fered the smallest change, it appears that their civil
institutions are well adapted to their habits and
mode of life. Every tribe has its chief sheik, or
emir as he is sometimes styled; and every camp
(for a tribe often comprises many) is headed by a
sheik, or at least by an Arab of some consideration.
All the sheiks, however, that belong to the same
tribe, acknowledge the common chief, who is called
the sheik of sheiks. The dignity of grand sheik is
hereditary in a certain family, but is not confined to
tlie order of primogeniture ; on his death the inferior
sheiks choose his successor, more for his personal
qualities than from any regard to age or lineal suc-
cession. This right of election, with other privi-
leges, obliges the object of their choice to treat them
rather as associates than subjects ; and the only
ceremony attending the election is the simple an-
nouncement to him, that henceforth he is to be
regarded as head of the tribe. Disputes occasion-
ally arise in choosing between a son, a brother, or
some other distinguished relation, and each party

164 CIVIL HISTORY AND

adheres to its own favourite. A sheik is sometimes
deposed, and a more brave or generous man elected
in his place. He has no actual authority over the
individuals of his tribe beyond what he derives from
his superior abilities ; and though they may pay
deference to his advice, they would spurn his com-
mands.

The real government of the Bedouins maybe said
to consist in the separate strength of their different
families, who constitute so many armed bodies, ever
ready to punish or retaliate aggression ; and it is
this mutual counterpoise alone that maintains peace
in the tribe. The most powerful Aeneze chief dares
not inflict a trifling punishment on the poorest of hisr.
subjects, without incurring the risk of mortal ven-
geance from the injured party. The sheiks, there-,
fore, exercise a very precarious sway, and must not
be regarded as princes of the Desert, — a title with
which some travellers have dignified them. Their
prerogative consists in leading their troops against
the enemy, in conducting public negotiations, and
superintending the general economy of the encamp-
ment ; and even these privileges are much limited.
The sheik cannot declare war or conclude peace
without consulting the chief men of his tribe ; if he
wish to break up the camp, he must previously ask
the opinion and concurrence of his people ; and if
the spot which he fixes for the new encampment
does not please them, they pitch their own tents at
some distance, or join the camp of another tribe.

The sheik derives no yearly income from his
subjects ; on the contrary, he is obliged to support
his title by considerable disbursements, in the way
of presents to his friends, and hospitality to strangers.
His means of defraying these expenses are the sums
which he levies in tribute and plunder, or obtains
from the pilgrim-caravans. He acts in a legal as
well as in a political capacity ; but in cases of liti-
gation he has not the power to execute any sen-

GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 165

tence. The Arab can only be porsuaded by his own
relations ; and ifthoy fail, war commences between
the two families and all their kindred respectively.
The parties sometimes agree to abide by his deci-
sion, or to choose umpires ; but they cannot on any
occasion be compelled to yield, though an adversary
may be cited before the cadi or judge. The fees of
this officer are considerable, and always paid by the
gainer of the cause, never by the loser.

In cases where difficulties occur which baffle his
powers of sagacity to unravel or decide, the cadi
sends the litigating parties before the mebesshae, or
chief judge, who subjects them to the trial by or-
deal, similar to that employed formerly in Europe.
Should his endeavours to reconcile the disputants
prove vain, he directs a fire to be kindled in his pres-
ence ; he then produces a long iron spoon (used by
the Arabs in roasting coffee), and having made it
red-hot, he takes it from the fire and licks with his
tongue the upper end of the spoon on both sides.
After this ceremony he replaces it in the fire, and
commands the accused person first to wash his
mouth with water, and then to lick the spoon as he
had done. If the accused escape without injury to
his tongue he is presumed to be innocent ; other-
wise, he loses his cause. Persons have been known
to lick the beshaa, as it is called, above twenty times
without the slightest harm. In cases of manslaugh-
ter or murder, where the accused denies the charge,
appeal is always made to this tribunal.

Corporal punishments are unknown, pecuniary
fines being always awarded, of whatever nature the
crime may be. An insulting expression, a blow
according to its violence or the part struck, the in-
fliction of a wound from which even a single drop of
blood flows, have each their respective fines ascer-
tained. Calling a man a dog incurs the penalty of
a sheep ; a wound on the shoulder, three caniels.
The forfeit for killing a watch-dog is remarkable :

166 CIVIL HISTORY AND

the dead animal is held up by the tail, so that its
nose just touches the ground ; its length is then
measured, and a stick of equal dimensions is fixed
into the earth. Over this the delinquent is obliged
to pour as much wheat as will wholly cover it. The
wheat is the fine due to the owner of the dog. The
evidence of a witness may be given verbally or in
writing; and where there are none, the accused
party is acquitted on solemnly attesting his imio-
cence by an oath.

There are several kinds of judicial oaths in use
among the Arabs: one of the most common is to
lay hold with one hand of the wasat or middle tent-
pole, and swear " by the life of this tent and its
owners." The " oath of the wood" is more serious,
and consists in taking a piece of stick or stone, and
swearing " by God and the life of him who caused it
to be green and dried up." The " oath of the cross
lines" is only used on very important occasions, —
suppose stolen goods, or where the fact of the guilt
cannot be proved by witnesses. The accuser leads
the suspected person a distance from the camp ; and
then wath his sekin or crooked knife draws on the
sand a large circle with several cross lines inside.
The defendant is obliged to put his right foot, some-
times both feet, within this magic ring, the accuser
doing the same, and charging him to repeat the fol-
lowing words : — " By God, and in God, and through
God, I did not take it, and it is not in my posses-
sion." To make this ceremony still more solemn,
a camel's udder-bag {shemle) and an ant {nemle) are
placed together within the circle, indicating that
the accused swears by the hope of never being de-
prived of milk and winter provision. It is called
" the oath of the shemle and nemle ;" and to swear
falsely by it would for ever disgrace an Arab.

Generally speaking, the political institutions of
the Bedouins may be traced to that natural authority
which the primitive fathers of mankind exercised

GOVERNMENT OF ARAHIA. 167

over their families, and which viewed the duty of
obedience as founded less on any legal obligations
than upon the opinion of benevolence in the ruler.
The office of their sheiks and elders, the maxims
which they observe in war and in negotiating peace,
must have arisen from the common wants and the
common consent of the tribes. They are so simple
— so well adapted to the spirit of their free and
wandering life — that every nation not yet reduced
to slavery, if thrown at large upon this wide desert,
might be expected to observe the same laws and
usages. The case, however, is very different with
their civil institutions ; and it is not easy to imagine
how so mai''""' arbitrary regulations in their social
economy — bo niany nice distinctions in estimating
the price of wounds and insults — could have sprung
up by chance, or originated in the gradual improve-
ment of a wild and warlike multitude. Their politi-
cal code differs from that most generally prevalent
throughout the rest of the Moslem world, and musx
have been the work of a legislator older than the,
revolution achieved by Mohammed. The Prophet
obliged the Bedoiiin Arabs to renounce their idola
try, and to acknowledge the unity of a Divine Crea
tor ; but he seems to have been less successful in
forcing his laws upon his own nation than in estab
lishing them with their assistance in the surrounding
countries.

168 HEJAZ

CHAPTER V.

HEJAZ, OR HOLY LAND OF THE MOSLEM.

Government of Hejaz — Succession and Power of the Sheriffs —
Reign of Ghaleb — Sheritf Families at Mecca — Cities and
Towns in Hejaz — Jidda — Yembo — Ta'if— Mecca — Descrip-
tion of the BeituUah or Grand Temple — The Court and Col-
onnades—The Kaaba— The Black Stone— The Tob or Cover-
ing of the Kaaba — The Zemzem Well — Servants and Reve-
nues of the Mosque — Inhabitants of Mecca — Their Character,
Domestic Manners, and Employments — Low State of Arts and
Learning in Hejaz.

The government of Hejaz, which includes the
territories of Medina, Jidda, Yembo, Taif, and Gon-
fode, belongs to the Sheriff of Mecca. The honour
attached even to a nominal authority over the holy
cities had led, in former times, to frequent disputes
between the caliphs of Bagdad, the sultans of Egypt,
and the imams of Yemen ; although the possession
of that dignity, instead of increasing their income,
obliged them to incur great expenses. The sole
benefit they derived was the right of clothing the
Kaaba, and of having their names inserted in the
prayers of the mosque. The supremacy of Egypt
over Mecca, so firmly established from the beginning
of the fifteenth century, was transferred by Selim I.
to the sultans of Constantinople ; in whose hands,
with the interruption of a few years, it has since
continued. The sheriflfwas invested annually with
a pelisse from the grand seignior, from whom he
held his office ; and in the Turkish ceremonial he
was ranked among the first pashas of the empire.
When the Porte became unable, even by means of
large armies, to secure its command over that coun-

GOVF.RNMKNT OF THE SHERIFFS. 169

try, these subordinate rulers threw off their depend-
ence ; although they still called themselv.-s ihe
servants of the sultan, prayed for him in the great
mosque, and received the wonted investiture.

The succession to the government of this prov-
ince, like that of the Bedouin sheiks, is not heredi-
tary ; though it usually remained in the same tribe
so long as the power of that tribe preponderated.
The election was always made from one of the
sheriff families descended from the Prophet, settled
in Hcjaz. They were divided into various subordi-
nate branches, of which sometimes one sometimes
another enjoyed the sovereignty of the holy cities.
There were no ceremonies of installation or oaths
of allegiance. The new governor received compli-
mentary visits; his band played before the door, —
an honour significant of royalty ; and his name was
inserted in the public prayers. Succession rarely
took place without disputes ; but the contests were
in general neither sanguinary nor of long duration.
The rivals submitted, or rather withdrew in gloomy
silence ; and atonement for the blood shed on both
sides was duly made by fines paid to the relations
of the slain.

The result of these political quarrels was attended
with bad consequences to the community ; for
though they checked the power of the reigning
sheriff, they weakened the state by the frequent
occurrence of wars, feuds, and intestine broils.
The vicissitudes of fortune to which they gave rise,
and the arts of popularity which the chiefs were
obiged to employ, gave to the government of Hejaz
a character different from that of most other coun-
tries in the East. None of that haughty ceremony
was observed which draws a line of distinction be-
tween oriental sovereigns or vicegerents and their
subjects. The court of the sheriff was small, and
almost entirely devoid of pomp. He was addressed
bv the plain title of soidna (our lord), or sadeikum
' VaL, II.— P

170 HEJAZ.

(your highness) ; and the meanest of the people
considered it no violation of etiquette to represent
their grievances personally and boldly though re-
spectfully to demand redress. No large body of
regular troops was kept up, except a few Mamlouks
or Georgians as a body-guard ; and when war was
determined upon, he summoned his adherents and
partisans to meet the emergency ; but they received
no regular pay.

The dress of this great functionary is the same
as that of all the chiefs of the sheriff families at
Mecca, consisting usually of a silk gown, over which
is thrown a white abba of the finest manufacture
of El Hassa ; the head is enveloped in a Cashmere
shawl, and the feet in sandals, or yellow slippers.
When he rides out on state occasions, he holds
in his hand a short slender stick, called metrek ;
and over him a horseman carries the umbrella or
canopy.

To present an account of the sheriffs of Mecca
were only to describe the petty wars of rival fac-
tions. Burckhardt shrank from the task of tracing
their intricate pedigrees, and the historical notice
of them given by D'Ohsson is chargeable with sev
eral errors. About the middle of the last centur}-
the sovereignty was held by Mesaad ; and after hi>
death (in 1770) it was seized by Hossein, the leade*
of an adverse party, but again returned to liis fam
ily in the person of Serour, who slew his rival in
battle (1773), and whose name is still venerated in
Hejaz on account of his extraordinary courage and
sagacity, which were frequently called into exercise
in repressing the turbulence and depredations of the
inferior chiefs. His death, which happened in 1786
was bewailed as a public calamity, and his remain?
were followed to the grave by the whole population
of Mecca. Two of his brothers aspired to the su
preme power, of which Abdelmain kept possession
for five days only, when the younger brother, Gha

GOVERNMENT OF THE SHERIFFS. 171

leb, by liis superior skill and intrigue, and by the
great reputation which he had acquired for wisdom
and valour, supplanted him in the government.

During the first years of his reign the slaves and
eunuchs began to indulge in their former disorderly
behaviour and acts of oppression ; but the new
sheriff soon freed himself from their influence, and
acquired at length a firmer authority over Hejaz than
any of his predecessors had ever enjoyed. His
nephews, the sons of Serour, attempted to wrest
from him the reins of power, but without success.
His government, on the whole, was lenient and
cautious, although his extreme avarice betrayed
him into many acts of individual oppression. The
whole of his private household consisted of fifty or
sixty servants and officers, and as many slaves and
eunuchs. His harem contained a small establish-
ment of wives, being about two dozen of Abyssinians,
and twice that number of female attendants to wait
upon them and nurse their children. When in the
full enjoyment of his power, he possessed a con-
siderable influence over the Bedouin tribes of Hejaz,
but without any direct authority.

The income of the sheriff is derived chiefly from
the customs paid at Jidda and Yembo, which were
much increased by Ghaleb, who had also engrossed
a large share of the commerce to himself, having
eighty dows constantly engaged in the coffee trade.
He also levied a tax upon all cattle and provisions,
carried either to the coast for exportation, or into
the interior of the country. The other branches of
his revenues were the profits realized from the sale
of provisions at Mecca ; a capitation-tax on all Per-
sian hajjis ; presents, both gratuitous and compul-
sory ; part of the money sent from Constantinople
fbr the use of the temple ; and rents to a consider-
able amount from landed property, consisting of
gardens around Taif, and plantations in many of the
neighbouring wadis ; besides houses and caravansa-

172 IIEJAZ.

ries at Jidda, which he let out to foreigners. Burck-
hardt calculates the annual receipts of Ghaleb,
during the plenitude of his power, to have amounted
to about 350,000/. sterling ; but when the Wahabees
occupied Hejaz, it probably did not exceed half that
sum. The maintenance of his household did not
perhaps require more than 20,000/.- per annum,
'liic small force he kept up in time of peace did
not exceed 500 men, whose pay was from eight to
twelve dollars per month. During war, the increase
of his army to 3000 or 4000 troops rendered some
additional expense necessary ; but there is reason
to conclude, that never at any period of his power
did this governor live up to the full amount of his
income. The reign of this sheriff has acquired con-
siderable importance in Europe from its connexion
with the history of the Wahabees ; and his name
will again be necessarily introduced in our notice of
these fanatical warriors.

Of the sheriff families at Mecca, who may be re-
garded as the former Mamlouks or janizaries of
Arabia, only a small number (Burckhardt enumerates
twelve) now remain, who serve as auxiliaries under
their respective chiefs, either in the armies of their
friends or their enemies. Their great versatility
of character and conduct has destroyed their credit
for honesty ; and this popular distrust is increased
by the suspicion that they belong to the heterodox
sect of the Zaidites ; while the Meccawees follow
the doctrines of Shafei. In personal appearance
and gallant bearing they surpass most other tribes
of their countrymen. Those whom Burckhardt had
an opportunity of seeing were distinguished by fine
manly countenances, strongly expressive of noble
extraction ; they had all the bold and frank manners
of the Bedouins ; were fond of popularity ; and en-
dowed with an innate pride which, in their own
eyes, set them far above the Sultan of Constantino-
ple. They form a distinct class, into which no for-
eigners are admitted. They are spread over several

GOVERNMENT OF THE SHERIFFS. 173

other parts of Arabia, and acknowledge most of the
sheriffs of Yemen and Hejaz as their distant rela-
tions. Tliey delight in arms and ciyl broils ; and
have a singular custom, which was practised in the
days of INIohammed, of sending eveiy male child
eight days after its birth to the tent of some neigh-
bouring Bedouin, where he is brought up with the
children for eight or ten years, or till he is able to
manage a mare, M^hen the father takes him home.
During the whole of this period, except a short visit
in his sixth month, the boy never sees his parents,
nor enters the town ; nor is he in any instance left
longer than thirty days after his birth in the hands
of his mother. By this hardy education he becomes
familiar with all the perils and vicissitudes of the
desert life ; his body is inured to fatigue and priva-
tion ; and he acquires an influence among the
Bedouins which afterward becomes of much im-
portance to him. He acquires for his foster-parents
ill the affection of relationship ; and sometimes the
sheriff boys steal away from their own homes to
rejoin the friends and associates of their infancy.

At Mecca, and in ever)?" town throughout Hejaz,
justice is administered by the cadi. The fees are
enormous, and generally swallow up one-fourth of
the sum in litigation. The most barefaced acts of
corruption, bribery, and oppression occur daily in
the Mehkames (halls of judgment), and these dis-
orders are countenanced by the Turkish sultan, who
had long been in the habit of paying the judges 100
purses per annum out of his treasury, in consider-
ation of the emoluments he received from the office.
In lawsuits of importance, the muftis of the four
orthodox sects have considerable influence on the
decisions.

Within the dominions of the sheriff" are compre-
hended, as has already been noticed, the cities of
Mecca, Medina, Yembo, Taif, .Jidda, Gonfode, Hali,
and several other places less considerable.

174 HEJAZ.

Jidda, views of which are given by Head and
Niebuhr, is described by travellers as a pretty town,
built upon a slightly-rising ground, the lower part of
which is washed by the sea. It extends along the
shore more than half a mile. On the land- side it is
surrounded by a wall in a tolerable state of repair,
but of no strength. Its watch-towers are mounted
with a few rusty guns, one of which is famous over
all the Red Sea, and may be called the Mons Meg of
Arabia, as it is said to carry a ball of 100 lbs. weight.
A ditch ten feet wide and twelve deep is carried
along its whole extent ; and there is a battery, which
guards the entrance from the sea and commands the
harbour. The approach from the shore is by the
quays, where small boats discharge the cargoes of
the large ships ; the latter being obliged to anchor
in the roadstead, at the distance of two miles. The
entrance is shut every evening at sunset ; and thus,
during night, all communication is prevented be-
tween the town and the shipping.

On the land-side are two gates leading to ]\Iecca
and Medina ; opposite these the ditch is filled with
rubbish, which serves instead of a drawbridge. The
suburbs contain only huts formed of reeds, rushes,
or brushwood, inhabited by peasants, labourers, and
Bedouins. The streets of the town are unpaved,
but, on the whole, regular, spacious, and airy. The
houses are two or three stories high, handsome, and
generally built of large blocks of very fine madre-
pore ; though uniformity of architecture is not o'o-
served. There is usually a spacious hall at the
entrance, where strangers are received, and whicli,
during the heat of the day, is cooler than any other
part of the house, the floor being kept continually
wet. There the master, with all his male attend-
ants,' hired servants, and slaves, may be seen at
noon enjoying the siesta. The doorways are ele-
gantly arched, and covered with zigzag fretwork
ornaments carved in the stone. The windows aro

JIDDA. 175

numerous, sometimes largo sometimes smnll, \vith
wooden shutters. Tlie bow-windows exhibit a great
display of joiners' and carpenters' work, which is
often painted with the most gaudy colours. Travel-
lers have been struck with the resemblance between
the arches at Jidda and those in the English catlie-
drals ; some being pointed, like the Gothic ; others
flat, and retiring one within another, like the SaxoD.
The most respectable inhabitants have their resi-
dence near the sea, where a long street running
parallel to the shore appears lined with shops, and
presents many khans constant^ and exclusively
frequented by the merchants. The pasha's palace
is delightfully situated on the water's edge ; yet the
edifice itself is rather paltry than handsome, Tliero
are many small mosques, and two of considerable
magnitude. Water is scarce ; but in all the public
places there are persons who sell it in glasses, and
have near them a small chafing-dish, in which they
burn incense and aromatics ; by this means the air
is constantly perfumed. The same custom is ob-
served in the khans, shops, and even private houses.
The markets are well supplied ; but vegetables and
other provisions require to be brought from a dis-
tance, there being no gardens near the town or
verdure of any kind, except such as is aflbrded by a
few shrubs and date-trees. Beyond the gate is held
the market for corn, cattle, wood, charcoal, and
fruits. Eastward lies the principal burying-ground,
containing the sepulchres of several sheiks : here,
too, is shown the tomb of Eve, the motlier of man-
kind, whicl\ Burckhardt was informed is a rude
structure of stone, about four feet in length, two or
three in heigrht, and as many in breadth. The prin-
cipal commercial street of Jidda has a vast number
of shops, which, as in all parts of Turkey, are raised
several feet above the ground ; before them aro
stone benches, on which purchasers seat themselves,
and where they are sheltered from the sun by an

176 HEJAZ.

awning usually made of mats fastened to high poles.
The pipe is the constant companion of the lower
classes, and of all the sailors on the Red Sea. The
head or bowl consists of an unpolished cocoanut
shell which contains water, and the smoke is inhaled
through a thick reed, or a long serpentine tube. The
coffee-houses are generally filthy, and never fre-
quented by the better class of merchants. The
dealers in other commodities are very numerous ;
sellers of butter, honey, oil, and sugar; of vege-
tables, fruits, and confectionary of all descriptions.
There are pancake-makers and bean-sellers, who
furnish these articles for breakfast ; soup-sellers,
shops for roasted meat or fried fish, stands for bread
and lehen or sour-milk (which is sold by the pound,
and extremely dear), for Greek cheese, and salted
or smoked beef from Asia Minor, to accommodate
visiters at mid-day. Corn-dealers have their shops,
where Egyptianwheat, barley, beans, lentils, dhourra,
rice, and biscuits maybe purchased. The druggists,
who arc mostly natives of India, have their labora-
tories ; where, besides medical compounds, they
retail wax, candles, pepper, perfumery, sugar, and
spices of all sorts. A considerable article of their
trade consists in rosebuds brought from the gardens
of Ta'if : these the inhabitants of Hejaz, especially
the ladies, infuse in water, which they afterv\^ard
use for their ablutions. Tailors, clothiers, and bar-
bers are not numerous ; the latter act here as sur-
geons and physicians, as they formerly did in Eng-
land. There are a good many shops where small
articles of Indian manufacture are sold. Very little
European hardware finds its way to these markets,
except needles, scissors, thimbles, and files ; copper-
vessels, water-skins, and other domestic utensils are
generally imported. In a street adjoining the great
market-place live a few artisans, blacksmiths, silver-
smiths, carpenters, and some butchers, chiefly na-
tives of Egypt.

JIDDA. 177

Jidda may be called a modern town ; for, although
known in ancient times as the harbour of Mecca, its
importance as a market for Indian goods cm\ only
be traced to the beginning of the fifteenth century.
During the predominance of the Wahabees it had
been in a declining state ; its trade was much de-
pressed, and many of the houses had gone to ruin.
Since the conquests of the Eg^-ptians, however, it
has recovered its former condition, and is now as
flourishing as at any period in its histor3^ In 1823
it had a Turkish governor, Rustan Aga, who lived in
great state, and kept a considerable military estab-
lishment. Burckhardt states the number of inhab-
itants generally at from 12,000 to 15,000; but about
the time of the pilgrimage, and during the summer
months, there is a great influx of strangers, which
increases that amount perhaps one-half: they are
almost exclusively foreigners. The settlers from
India, Kgypt. Sj^ria-, Barbary, Turkey, and other
nations may be still recognised in the features of
their descendants, who are all mixed in one general
mass, and live and dress in the same manner. The
aboriginal tribes who once peopled the town have
either perished by the hands of the governors, or
been driven to other parts of the country ; those
who can be truly called natives are merely a few
families of sheriffs, who arc attached to the mosques
or the courts of justice. This mixture of races is
the effect of the pilgrimage, which every year adds
fresh numbers to the population. The Jiddawees
are almost entirely engaged in commerce, and pur-
sue no majiufactur^s or trades but those of immediate
necessity. Their traffic by land is confined to Mecca
and Medina. A caravaii departs for the latter place
once in forty or fifty days, and consists of from 60
to 100 camels, conducted by Harb Bedouins. The
more common route of intercourse, however, is by
Yembo, to which goods are conveyed by sea. The
caravans to Mecca set out almost evejry evening, and

178 HEJAZ.

perform the journey in two nights ; the camels rest
ing at a station midway during the day. In addition
to these, a small caravan of asses lightly laden starts
also every evening, and arrives regularly next morn
ing. This conveyance is the usual mail for post-
letters. The inhabitants evince in their appearance
the extremes of wealth and indigence ; there is a
great deal of luxuiy in the costume and apartments
of the rich ; while among the lower orders many are
almost naked, and in the greatest misery. Ali Bey
remarked a prodigious number of dogs and cats in
the streets, howling and roaming without owners,
but says there are few flies, and no gnats or other
insects,

Yembo serves as the port to Medina, Though
the sheriffs of INIecca were in the habit of appoint-
ing their vizier as governor of the place, he had in
most cases little authority be3-ond that of collecting
the customs ; the government being exercised by
the great sheik of the Jeheine tribe, to which many
of the inhabitants belonged. The town is built on
the northern side of a deep spacious bay, which
affords good anchorage ; and is protected from the
violence of the wind by an island at its entrance.
A creek of the bay divides it into two parts, both of
which are enclosed by a wall of considerable strength.
The houses are lov/, built of a coarse white calca-
reous stone full of fossils, and have a mean and
wretched appearance. The inhabitants are prin-
cipally Arabs, no foreigners having settled here
except two or three Indian shopkeepers, or a few
Turks who occasionally take up a temporary resi-
dence. Yembo possesses about forty or fifty ships,
which engage in all the branches of the Red Sea
trade ; but they are daring smugglers, — often eluding
the heavy duties of the government by sending a
considerable part of their cargoes ashore by stealth.
The transport to Medina is chiefly in provisions, and
occupies a great number of carriers. Tlie Yeniba-

Y£MBO TAIF. 179

wees arc all armed witli a dapirer and spear, although
they seldom appear so in pubhc, and they usually
carry a heavy bludgeon in their hand. The situation
is healthy, and the markets cheap ; but as a resi-
dence it must be extremely disagreeable, from the
incredible quantity of flies that infest the coast.
The inhabitants never walk out without a fan to
drive off these troublesome vermin.

Taif is under the government of a subordinate
officer, with little authority, appointed by the sheriff.
The town stands in the middle of a sandy circular
plain, encompassed by low mountains, called Gebel
Ghazoan. It is in the form of an irregidar square,
of about two miles in circumference, surrounded by
a rampart and ditch, and defended by several towers.
The castle occupies a rocky elevated site ; but has
no claim to the title of a fortress, except that it is
larger than the other edifices, and has stronger walls.
Tlie houses in general are small, but well built, and
supplied with two copious springs. Taif is cele-
brated over all Arabia for its beautiful gardens,
v/hich are situated at the foot of the hills. In some
of them are neat pavilions, where the inhabitants
pass their festive hours, and to which the great
merchants of INIecca occasionally retire in summer.
Here the fruits of Syria bloom in the centre of the
Arabian desert ; and from this circumstance tra-
dition has assigned to it the fabulous origin of
having been detached from that country, either at
the general deluge, or by virtue of the prayers of
Abraham, who in this miraculous way obtained for
the natives and pilgrims at Mecca that subsistence
which their own barren hills refused them.

Taif suffered much in the Wahabee war, and
since that period it has remained in a state of com-
parative ruin. Every thing has the aspect of mis-
ery ; the principal streets swarm with beggars ;
and the trade, which consists chiefly in drugs and
perfumes, cannot support above fifty shops. For-

180 IIEJAZ.

merly it was a flourishing commercial town, to
which the Arabs from a great distance resorted to
dispose of their caravans of wheat and barley, and
to purchase articles of dress. Under the Pasha of
Egypt it may perhaps recover from its present de-
cay.* The indigenous inhabitants of the place are
Arabs of the ancient tribe of Thakif, so famous in
the wars of ^Mohammed-; and in their possession are
all the neighbouring gardens, and most of the pro-
vision-shops in the town. A few Meccawees are
settled here ; but the far greater part of the foreign-
ers are Indians by extraction.

Mecca, the holy city of the Moslems, so long for-
bidden to the profane eyes of Christians, is now
familiar to every reader of Arabian travels ; and,
notwithstanding the growing indifference of the
Mohannnedans to their religion, it is still visited
and revered b}^ all orthodox followers ot the Pro-
phet. Among the natives it is dignified with many
high-sounding titles, — The IMother of Towns, — The
Noble,— The Region of the Faithful. The city lies
in a narrow winding valley, the main direction of
which is from north to south, and its breadth vary-

* Here Ali Pasha had his head-quarters in 1814 when visited
by Burckhardt, with whom he held a long and interestuig con-
versation respecting the affairs of Europe, of which he appeared
to have a tolerable knowledge. He had already heard of the
treaty of peace concluded at Paris, and the captivity of Bona-
parte in Elba ; and made some curious comments on the new
arrangements, both colonial and continental, of the Allied Pow-
ers. That the English should be guided in their policy by the
laws of honour, or a sense of the general good of Europe, he
could not comprehend. "A great king," he exclaimed with
much warmth, "knows nothing but his sword and his purse;
he draws the one to fill the other ; there is no honour among con-
querors !" Of the British parliament he had some notion ; and
the name of Wellington was familiar to him. He admitted he
was a great general ; but doubted whether if his grace had
commanded such bad soldiers as the Turkish troops, he would
have been able to do what be himself had done in conquering
i^gypl and Ilcjaa.

MECCA. 181

mg from 100 to 700 yards. Tlic buildings cover a
space of about 1500 paces in length ; but the sub-
urbs, from one extreme to the other, extend to
nearly 3500. The mountains, enclosing the valley
and overhanging the town, rise from 200 to 500 feet
111 height, rugged, and completely barren. Mecca
may be styled a handsome town ; its streets are in
general broader than those of Eastern cities ; the
houses lofty, and built of stone, which, being of a
dark-gray colour, looks more agreeable than the
glaring white that offends the eye at Jidda and Mor
cha. The numerous windows that face the streets
give them a lively and European aspect ; the greater
number project from the wall, and have their frame-
work elaborately carved, or painted with brilliant
colours. In front hang blinds made of slight reeds,
which exclude flies and gnats while they admit fresh
air. The doors are generally approached by a few
steps, and have small seats on each side.

The city is open on every side ; though in former
times its extremities were protected by three walls,
ruins of wliich are still visible. Except four or five
large palaces belonging to the sheriff, two colleges,
and the great mosque, it cannot boast of any public
edifices ; and in this respect it is perhaps more defi-
cient than any other oriental town of the same size.
Nearly all the common houses are divided into
small apartments, for the accommodation of lodgers
during the pilgrimage. The terraces on the roof
are concealed from view by slight parapet walls;
for, throughout the East, it is reckoned discredit-
able for a man to appear where he might be accused
of looking at the women, who pass the greater part
of their time on the terraces, employed in hanging
up linen, drying corn, and various domestic occu-
pations. The streets, being sandy and unpaved, are
disagreeable in summer, and equally so from mud in
the rainy season, during which they are scarcely
passable ; and the lower parts of the town, where

Vol. 11.— Q

182 UKJAZ.

the water does not run off, are converted nito pools,
and allowed to remain till they dry.

The police of the city is badly regulated : as there
are no lamps, the streets are totally dark, and en-
cumbered with the rubbish and sweepings cast from
the houses. The inhabitants are but poorly sup-
plied with water ; the best is conveyed from the
vicinity of Arafat, six or seven hours distant, by an
aqueduct of vast labour and magnitude, first erected,
according to the AiTibian historians, by Zobeide, the
M'ife of Haroun al Raschid, and frequently repaired
at great expense by the Turkish sultans. In some
quarters of the town there are handsome shops, for
the sale of all sorts of provisions. The baths, three
in number, are of an inferior order, and chiefly fre-
quented by foreigners.

The only public edifice worthy of note is the
Great ^Mosque or Temple, which the Moslem call
Beitullah (the House of God), or El Haram (the
Temple of Excellence). This celebrated structure
has been so often ruined and repaired, that no traces
of remote antiquity are to be found about it. From
the days of Omar, who laid its first foundations, to
the present centmy, various caliphs, emperors, sul-
tans, and imams have signalized their piety by
renewing, altering, or adding to its buildings. Al-
mansor enlarged the north and south side to twice
its former extent ; Mahadi, Motassem, Motaded,
and others of the Abbassides, expended immense
sums in the erection of columns, new gates, and
marble pavements. After its restoration from the
disasters it experienced at the hands of the hereti-
cal Karmathians, no changes or additions were
made for several centuries. The Sultan Solyman
caused all the domes to be raised wdiich cover the
roof of the colonnades, and laid the pavement that
is now round the Kaaba. From the year 1627,
when it was rebuilt, after being partly destroyed by

MECCA. 183

a torrent from the hills, no other material altera-
tions or improvements took place till the cifrhteenth
centurj^; so that the building, as it now appears,
may be almost wholly ascribed to the munificence
of the last sultans of Ec^ypt and the Turkish empe-
rors. In the autumn of 1816, several artists and
workmen sent from Constantinople were employed
in repairing the damage done by the Wahabees.

The Temple stands near the middle of the city :
it is a quadrilateral building, much resembling in
form, according to Pitts,* that of the Royal Ex-

* Joseph Pitts of Exeter was tlie first Englishman -we know
of that visited either of the holy cities. The ship in which he
sailed being captured in 1678 by a Moorish pirate, he was car-
ried to Algiers, where he remained in slavery fifteen years. By
rniel treatment he was compelled to become a Mussulman : —
in that capacity he accompanied his master, an old Turkish
bachelor, on his pilgrimage to Mecca, who gave him his liberty
on their return. His narrative is homely, but surprisingly accu-
rate. It is curious that GiVjbon seems not to have seen or known
of it. A much earlier traveller, and the first Christian in modern
times that gave a tolerable account of Arabia, was Ludovico
Barthema of Bologna, who, in 1503, &c. visited Egypt, Sj'ria,
Arabia, Persia, and India. At Damascus he contrived, in the
guise of a Mamlouk soldier, to accompany one of the pilgrim
caravans to Mecca and Medina, where he paid his devoirs at
the tomb of Mohammed, and went through the whole ceremo-
nies of the haj ; after which he escaped to Jidda, and thence by
way of Aden to Persia. The caravan, he says, consisted of
35,000 persons, and 40,000 camels. (See his travels in Ramu-
sio's Raccolla delle Navigat. et Viaggi, tome i.) The Sheik Ibn
Batuta, whose travels have been recently tran.slated by Pro-
fessor Lee of Cambridge, performed the pilgrimage in 1332 ;
but they contain few facts concerning Arabia. His whole ac-
count of Mecca is "May God ennoble it !" He observes the
same brevity regarding Sanaa, Aden, Muscat, and other towns
which he visited. Seetzen was also at Mecca during the time
of the pilgrimage, under the protection of a Moorish merchant ;
but his stay was short, and his description differs little from
those of Ali Bey and Burckhardt. He went to Sanaa, which
lie represents as superior to most cities that he had seen in
Palestine, Syria, or Arabia.

184 HEJAZ.

change in London, but nearly ten times larger. It
has properl}' no external front, the walls being con-
nected on the outside with the adjoining houses,
some of which have windows that look into the
interior. These tenements belonged originally to
the mosque, but tlie greater part of them are now
the property of individuals, who let out the different
apartments to the richer hajjis at very high prices.
The gates of the mosque are nineteen in number,
^listributed without any order or symmetry. Most
of them have high pointed arches, though some are
round, or almost semicircular ; and as each gate
consists of two or three divisions, the whole num-
ber of these arches is thirty-nine. They are without
any ornament except the inscriptions on the exte-
rior, which commemorate the merits of the builder.
There being no doors, the mosque is open at all
hours, night and day.

The great inner court of the Temple forms a
parallelogram or oblong of about 250 paces in length
and 200 in breadth. Ali Bey's measurement is 536
feet 9 inches by 356. The Avhole square is sur-
rounded by a colonnade or double piazza, the fronts
of the two longer sides presenting thirty-six and
the two shorter twenty-four arches, supported by
columns of different proportions, and amounting in
all to nearly 500. On the eastern side the row of
pillars is four deep, and three deep on the others ;
they are above twenty feet in height, and generally
from U to If feet in diameter. Some of them are
of white marble, granite, or porphyry ; but the
greater number consist of common stone from the
neighbouring mountains. No regular order of archi-
tecture is observed, and no two capitals or bases are
exactly alike. The former are of coarse Saracen
workmanship, while, from the ignorance of the
workmen, not a few of them have been placed
upside down. Some of the shafts in the weaker

■*»-' 'r

8l<>m.:

fe?.iS

MIXTA. 187

Earts are .slrpngtlioned with broad iron lioops or
ands, as in ninny other bnildiny-s in llie Kast.*
The arches lluit front the g^reat court are all
crowned with small conical domes, plastered and
whitened on the outside ; beyond these is a second
row of low spherical cupolas, amounting- in all to
15C ; and above them rise seven minarets or steeples,
from the summits of which a beautiful view is ob-
tained of the busy crowd below. These are irreg-u-
iarly distributed, one being at each angle, and the
rest at ditforent parts of tlie mosque. Some parts
of the walls and arches, as well as the minarets, are
gaudily painted in stripes of yellowy red, or blue.
Around the whole colonnade lamps are suspended
from the arches, part of which are lighted every
night. The floors of the piazza are paved with large
stones, badly cemented. The area of the court is
below the level of the street, and surrounded by a
flight of stairs eight or ten steps in descent. From
the colonnades seven paved footpaths lead towards
the centre, elevated about nine inches above the
ground, and of sufficient breadth to admit four or
five persons to walk abreast. The intermediate
spaces are covered with fine gravel or sand.

* The annexed engraving of Mecca and the Temple is from
the splendid work of D'Ohsson (Tableau de I'Emp. Ottoman).
The appearance of the town has altered materially since the
ravages committed by the Wahabees in the present century ;
but the view of the temple Burckhardt has pronounced to be
tolerably accurate, only the Kaaba is somewhat large in propor-
tion to the rest of the building. The view given in Kiebuhr,
copied from an ancient Arabic drawing, is less accurate than
that by D'Ohsson. The ground-plan of the mosque in Ali Bey
IS perfectly correct ; but his views in Mecca and the Hejaz are
not faithful. The view of Medina (vol. i. p. 262) is also from
D'Ohsson. That city has also been altered in its appearance
by the fate of war. The .suburbs are entirely omitted by the
latter writer ; and the mosque of the Prophet, being copied from
an old Arabic drawing, differs in several particulars from the
modem structure. It is to be regretted that Burckhardt was
prevented by severe illness from giving a correct plan of it

188 IlEJAZ.

Nearly in the middle of the court stands tho
Kaaba, ihe " navel of the world,'' as Ibn Haukal
calls it, the most remarkable building' about the
mosque, and the only part which lays claim to high
antiquity. It is an oblong' massive structure, the
sides and angles of which are unequal, so that its
plan forms a trapezium ; but the flat roof, the size
of the edifice, and the black cloth covering, give it
the appearance of a perfect cube. It is constructed
of the gray IMecca stone, in large unpolished blocks
of different sizes, and remains as it was when rebuilt
in 1627. The length, according to Burckhardt, is
eighteen paces, the breadth fourteen, and the height
from thirty-five to forty feet. The only entrance
is by a door on the north side, v.iiich is opened but
two or three times in the year, and elevated about
seven feet above the ground. In entering it a
wooden staircase is used, mounted on six large rol-
lers of bronze, with hand-railings on each side, and
broad enough to admit four persons abreast. It con-
sists of ten steps, and is moved to the wall when
visiters ascend. The present door, v\diich was sent
from Constantinople in 1633, is wholly coate-d with
silver, and fastened with an enormous padlock of
the same metal. It has several gilt ornaments ;
and upon the threshold are placed every night va-
rious small lighted wax-candles, and perfuming-pans
filled with musk, aloes-wood, and other aromatics.

On the western side projects the myzab or water-
spout, through which the rain collected on the roof
is discharged. It is about four feet in length, and
reported to be of pure gold, but is more probably of
gilt bronze. The water falls on two large slabs of
fine verde antique, which are said to mark the spot
where Ishmael and his mother Hagar were buried.
This is enclosed by a semicircular wall (called El
Hatitn) nbout three or four feet from the side of
the Kaaba. It is built of sohd stone, five feet in
height and four thick, cased all over with white

MECCA. 189

marble, and inscribod witli prayers and invocations.
The interior of tlie Kaaba consists only of a hall,
the lloor of which is paved with the finest marble ;
and the lower part of the walls is ornamented with
inscriptions, arabesques in relief, and similar deco-
rations. The ceiling- is supported by two columns,
and there is a door through which persons ascend
to the roof. The hall is lighted by an infinite num-
ber of gold lamps, and almost entirely covered with
cloth of a rose-coloured silk, lined with white, and
sprinkled with flowers embroidered with silver.

Near the entrance, at the north-eastern corner, is
the famous Black Stone, called by the Moslems
Hajra el Assovad, or Heavenly Stone. It forms a
part of the sharp angle of the building, and is inserted
four or five feet above the ground. The shape is an
irregular oval, about seven inches in diameter. Its
colour is now a deep reddish brown, approaching to
black ; and it is surrounded by a border of nearly
the same colour, resembling a cement of pitch and
gravel, and from two to three inches in breadth.
Both the border and the stone itself are encircled
by a silver band, swelling to a considerable breadth
below, where it is studded with nails of the same
metal. The surface is undulated, and seems com-
posed of about a dozen smaller stones of different
sizes and shapes, but perfectly smooth, and vv-ell
joined with a small quantity of cement. It looks
as if the whole had been dashed into many pieces
by a severe concussion, and then reunited ; — an
appearance that may perhaps be explained by the
various disasters to which it has been exposed.
During the fire that occurred in the time of Yezzid I.
(A. D. 682), the violent heat split it into three pieces;
and when the fragments were replaced, it was neces-
sary to surround them with a rim of silver, which is
said to have been reneAved by Haroun al Raschid.
It was in two pieces when the Karmathians carried
it away, having been broken by a blow from a soldier

190 HEJAZ.

during the plunder of Mecca. Hakem, a macj sultan
of Eg}-pt, in the eleventh century, endeavoured,
wliile on the pilgrimage, to destroy it vvith an iron
club which he had concealed under his clothes : but
was prevented and slain by the populace. Since
that accident it remained unmolested until 1674,
when it was found one morning besmeared with
dirt, so that every one who kissed it returned with
a sullied face. Though suspicion fell on certain
Persians, the authors of this sacrilegious joke were
never discovered. As for the quality of the stone,
it does not seem to be accurately determined.
Burckhardt says it appeared to him like a lava, con-
taining several small extraneous particles of a
whitish and a yellovdsh substance. Ali Be}' calls
it a fragment of volcanic basalt, sprinkled with small-
pointed coloured crystals, and varied with red feld-
spar upon a dark black ground like coal, except one
of its protuberances, Avhich is a little reddish. The
millions of kisses and touches impressed by the
faithful have worn the surface uneven, and to a con-
siderable depth. This miraculous block all orthodox
Mussulmans believe to have been originally a trans-
parent hyacinth, brought from heaven to Abraham
by the aiigel Gabriel ; but its substance, as well as
its colour, have long been changed by coming in
contact with the impurities of the human race.

The four sides of the Kaaba are covered with a
black silk stuff called the lesoua, and the tob or shirt,
which is brousfht from Cairo, and put on every year
at the time of the pilgrimage. The roof is left bare,
and during the first days the new kesoua is tucked
up by means of cords, so as to leave the lower part
of the building exposed ; but in course of a short
time it is let down so as to cover the whole struc-
ture, and is then fastened to strong brass rings
below. On tliis curtain various prayers and passages
of the Koran are interwoven ; and a little above the
middle is a line or band of similar inscriptions (called

MECCA. 191

El Hazem, or the; belt) worked in i^njld thread, and
running round the entire edifice. An opening is
niiide for the blark stone ; but the part of the ke.-soua
which covers the door is richly embroidered with
silver.

In the first centuries of Islam the tob was never
taken away, — the new one beint:^ always put over
the old ; but this custom was at length abolished, —
the Meccawees fearing that the Kaaba might sink
under such an accumulation of clothing. The re-
moval of the old kesoua was performed in a very
indecorous maimer; — a contest always ensued
among the pilgrims and the people for the shreds
or rags. Even the dust that adhered to the wall
under it was collected and sold as sacred relics.
The curtain and belt belong to the slierifF, who cuts
them up and disposes of them at five francs a cubit.
Pitts says that a piece the size of a sheet of paper
cost nine or ten shillings : it is esteemed an excel-
lent amulet, and many have it laid on their breast
when dying.

The clothing of the Kaaba was a practice of the
pagan Arabs, who used two coverings, — one for
winter and the other for summer. It appears to
have always been considered as an emblem of
sovereignty over the Hejaz ; and has in consequence
been furnished by the princes of Bagdad, Egypt, or
Yemen, according as their influence prevailed at
Jdecca. It is now supplied at the expense of the
grand seignior ; and such a sacredness attaches to
it, that the camel which transports it to Mecca is
ever after exempted from labour. The black colour
of the vestment, and the size of the building, give
it at first sight a veiy singular and imposing appear-
ance. Seventy thousand angels have this edifice
in their holy care, and are ordered to transport it to
paradise when the trumpet of the last judgment shall
be sounded. The colour of the tob was not always
black ; in ancient times it was white, and sometimes

192 KEJAZ.

red, consisting of the richest brocade. Tlie VVaha-
bees covered it with a red camlet stuff', of which the
fine Arabian abbas are made. The new kesoua is
put up fifteen days after the old one has been
removed, during which interval the Kaaba continues
without a cover. At the moment when the building
is clothed, crowds of women surround it, rejoicing
Avith shouts or cries, called ivalwalou.

The ground for about forty feet round the Kaaba
is paved with fine marble, variously coloured, and
forming a very handsome specimen of Mosaic. This
space, on which the pilgrims perform the towaf or
circuit, is of an elliptical figure, and surromided with
a sort of railing or enclosure of thirty-two slender
gilt pillars, about seven feet and a half in height ;
between every two of which are suspended seven
lamps of thick green glass of a globular shape, w^hich
are always lighted after sunset.

Opposite the 'four sides of the Kaaba, and in the
circular line of the pillars, stand four other small
buildings, called makams, where the imams of the
four orthodox sects, namely, the Hanifees, Shafees,
Hanbalees, and Malekees, take their station, and
guide the congregation in their prayers. The Ma-
kam Ibrahim, or Place of Abraham, faces the door
of the Kaaba, and is supported by six pillars. Near
this structure stands the mambai\ or pulpit of the
mosque, which is of fine wliite marble, with many
sculptured ornaments. A straight narrow staircase
leads up to the post of the khatih or preacher, wdio
ofiiciates, Avrapped up in a white cloak, w^hich covers
his head and body ; two green flags are placed on
each side of him, and in his hand he holds a stick ; —
a practice also observed in Egypt and Syria in
memory of the first ages of Islam, when the preacher
found it necessary to be armed for fear of being
surprised. Here sermon is delivered every Friday,
and on certain festivals. It is near the mambar
that visiters on entering deposite their shoes ; none

MECCA. 193

being permilted to walk round the Kuaba with cov*
ered feet.

The only other building within the court worthy
of notice is the Bir Zemzem or Zemzem Well. This
building, which was erected about the end of the
seventeenth century, is a square of massive con-
struction, with an entrance opening into the apart>-
nient which contains the spring. The room is
tastefully ornamented with marbles of various col-
ours : it is rather more than seventeen feet square,
and lighted by eight windows. The depth of the
well is said to be fifty-six feet to the surface of the
water ; its mouth is surrounded by a brim of fine
white marble, five feet high, and about ten in diam-
eter. Upon this the persons stand who draw the
water in leathern buckets attached to pulleys ; — an
iron railing being so placed as to prevent their fall-
ing in. The chief of the well has the somewhat
alarming title of the Poisoner ; but Ali Bey assures
us, he was a very handsome person, of the most
winning and graceful manners. The number of
pitchers is immense ; they are of unglazed earth, so
porous that the hquid filters through. Their form
is long and cylindrical, terminating in a point at the
bottom, so that they cannot stand unless placed
against the wall. The Turks consider it a miracle
that the supply never diminishes, notwithstanding
the continual demand ; for it serves the whole town,
and there is scarcely a family that does not daily
use it for drinking or for ablution ; but it is deemed
impious to employ it in culinary or common occa-
sions. This phenomenon, however, is explained
by Burckhardt, who discovered that the water was
supplied by a subterraneous rivulet. When first
drawn up it is slightly tepid, resembling in this re-
spect many other fountains in Hejaz. It is heavy
10 the taste, and sometnnes of a colour resembling
milk ; but it is wholesome and perfectly sweet, difT

Vol. II.— R

194 HEJAZ.

fering in this respect from the brackish wells in the
town.

On the north side of the Zemzem stand t\vo small
ugly buildings, one behind the other, called kobhe-
tein, in which are kept water-jars, lamps, carpets,
brooms, mats, and other articles. They are covered
with painted domes ; but are not considered as
forming any part of the mosque, no religious im-
portance being attached to them. The gravel-
ground, from the circular pavement to the colonnade,
is covered at the time of evening prayer with carpets
of Egyptian manufacture, from sixty to eighty feet
in length and four in breadth, which are rolled up
after the devotions are over. It is only, however,
during the time of pi-ayer, that the sanctity of the
mosque is regarded. Every hour of the day per-
sons may be seen under the colonnades reading the
Koran, or hearing lectures delivered by the ulemas
on religious subjects. There many poor Indians
and negroes spread their mats, where they are al-
lowed to eat and sleep ; and at noon loiterers come
to repose under the cool shade of the piazza. In
other parts of it are public schools, where the stick
of the pedagogue is in constant action among noisy
groups of children. Winding-sheets and other linens
washed in the Zemzem water, are constantly seen
hanging to dry between the pillars ; for many pil-
grims purchase their shrouds {keffen) at Mecca, be-
lieving that if their corpse be wrapped in linen
which has been wetted in holy water, the peace of
the soul after death will be more effectually secured.
The square is used as a play-ground for boys ; and
servants carry luggage across it, to pass by the
nearest route from one quarter of the city to another.
Here, too, men of business meet and converse on
their affairs ; and sometimes the precincts are so full
of mendicants and diseased people lying about in
the midst of their tattered baggage, as to make the

MECCA. 195

place resemble an hospital rather tlian a temple ; —
even the Kaaba itself is rendered the scene of such
indecencies as cannot be particularly described, and
which are practised not only with impunity, but it
may be almost said without concealment.

Near the gate of Bab es Salem, a few Arab sheiks
daily t-ake their seat, with their paper and inkstands,
ready to write for any applicant, letters, accounts,
contracts, amulets, billet-doux, or any similar docu-
ments. They are principally employed by the Be-
douins, and demand an exorbitant remuneration.
One species of inviolable property belonging to the
mosque are the tlocks of wild pigeons with which
Mecca abounds, and which nobody dares venture
to kill. Several small stone basins are regularly
filled with water for their use ; and as it is consid-
ered an act of piety to feed them, there are women
who expose corn and dhourra for sale on small
straw mats, and who occasionally embrace the op-
portunity of intriguing with the pilgrims, under
the pretence of selling them corn for the sacred
pigeons.

The service of the temple employs a vast number
of people, consisting of khatibs, imams, muftis, mu-
ezzins, ulemas, eunuchs, lamp-lighters, raetowafs, or
guides, with a host of other menial servants, all of
M^hom receive regular pay from the mosque, besides
their share of the presents made to it by the hajjis.
The first officer is the Naib el Haram, or guardian,
who keeps the keys of the Kaaba, and superintends
the repairs of the building. Burckhardt says he
was one of the heads of the three only families de-
scended from the ancient Koreish, then resident in
Mecca. Next to him is the aga or chief of the eu-
nuchs, who performs the duty of police-officer in
the temple. His attendants prevent disorders, and
daily wash and sweep the pavement round the
Kaaba. Their dress is the Turkish kaouk, and they
carry a long stick in their hand, with which they

196 HEJAZ.

lay freely about them in cases of quarrels or riots.
Their number exceeds forty, and most of them are
negroes or copper-coloured Indians. The aga is a
personage of great importance, entitled to sit in the
presence of the pasha and the sheriff.

The revenue of the mosque is considerable, al-
though it has been deprived of the best branches of
its income. There are few towns or districts in the
Turkish empire in which it does not possess prop-
erty in land or houses ; but the annual amount is
often withheld by the provincial governors, or dimin-
ished by the number of hands through which it
passes. Formerly the sultans of Egypt and Con-
stantinople sent it large sums every year ; but at
present it is reduced to a state of comparative pov-
erty. Notwithstanding the stories about its riches,
it possesses no treasures except a few golden lamps.
The history of the Beitullah has occupied the pens
of many learned Arabs ; but in its construction it
differs little from many other buildings of the same
kind in Asia. Those of Aleppo, Damascus, and
Cairo are exactly on the same plan, with an arched
colonnade round an open square.

The inhabitants of Mecca may all be called for-
eigners or the offspring of foreigners, except a few
Hejaz Bedouins or their descendants, who have set-
tled there. Though a mixed population, they have
nearly the same manners, and wear the same dress ;
so little tenacious are they of their national cus-
toms. There are few families in moderate circum-
stances that do not keep slaves ; the male and female
servants are negroes ; and most of the wealthier in-
habitants, in addition to their lawful wives, keep
Abyssinian mistresses. It is considered disgraceful
to sell a concubine : if she bears a child, and the
master has not already four legally-married wives,
he takes her in matrimony ; if not, she remains in
liis house for life ; and in some instances the num-
ber of concubines, old and young, is increased to

MECCA. 197

several dozens. The middling and lower classes
make a lucrative trafiic in young Abyssinians,
whom they bring up on speculation, and sell to
strangers.

The Meccawees are very expensive in their
houses ; the rooms being embellished with fine car-
pets, and abundance of cushions and sofas covered
with brocade. Their furniture is costly — their
tables well supplied — and in receiving visits, which
are frequent, every mistress makes it her endeavour
to surpass her acquaintances in show and magnifi-
cence. The great merchants, most of whom have
country-residences at Jidda or Taif, live very splen-
didly, maintaining an establishment of fifty or sixty
persons. Every native delicacy is to be found at
their tables ; the china and glass ware in which the
viands are served up are of the best quality ; rose-
water is sprinkled on the beards of the guests after
dinner ; and the room is filled with the odours of
aloes-wood. The usual custom is two meals daily,
— one before midday, the other after sunset. Their
mutton is of inferior quality ; they hardly know the
existence of fish ; and their pot-herbs are brought
from Taif and other neighbouring places.

In personal appearance the Meccawees are thin
rather than robust ; their features are expressive,
particularly in the vivacity and brilliancy of the
eyes; their colour is a yellowish sickly brown,
lighter or darker according to the origin of the
mother, who in many cases is an Abyssinian slave.
The lower classes are stout and muscular ; but the
numerous retainers of the temple appear to be the
most meager and emaciated beings imaginable. Ali
Bey represents them as absolutely walking skele-
tons, clothed with a parchment to cover their bones.
From their lean and scraggy frame, their hollow
cheeks, large sunken eyes, shrivelled legs and arms,
they might be mistaken for true anatomical models ;

R2

198 HEJAZ.

and but for the prospective felicities of paradise^
their existence on earth would seem intolerable.

One singular practice has been remarked by trav-
ellers, that all the male natives both of Mecca and
Jidda, except Bedouins, are tattooed in a particular
\vay, which is performed by their parents when they
are forty days old. It is called meshaU, and con-'
sists of three long incisions down both cheeks, and
two on the right temple, the scars of which remain
through life. Instead of a deformity, this is reck^
oned a beauty ; and they pride themselves on a
local distinction, which precludes the other in-
habitants of Hejaz from claiming in foreign coun-
tries the honour of being born in the holy cities.
This tattooing is very seldom inflicted on female
children.

In disposition, the Meccawees are lively ; in the
Streets, bazars, and even in the mosque itself, they
love to laugh and joke. In talking or dealing with
each other they often introduce proverbs, puns, and
witty allusions ; and as they possess, with all this
vivacity of temper, much intellect, sagacity, and
suavity of manners, their conversation is very agree^
able ; so tliat whoever cultivates even a merely su-
perficial acquaintance with them seldom fails to be
delighted with their character. They have a natu*
ral politeness, which the}^ display not only to stran-
gers, but in their daily intercourse with each other.
In exchanging civilities on the streets, the young
man kisses the hand of the elder, and the inferior
that of his superior in rank ; while the latter returns
the compliment by a salute on the forehead. In-
dividuals of equal rank and age in the middle classes
mutually kiss each other's hand In the ceremony
of shaking hands, they lay liold of the thumb with
the whole hand, pressing it, and again opening the
hand three or four times : this is said to have been
the practice of Mohammed.

MECCA. 199

l^he vices of pilferini? and theft are not prevalent
at Mecca; robberies are seldom heard of; although
rogues avail themselves of such opportunities during
the pilgrimage, and are tempted by the negligence
of the inhabitants in not using locks or bars. The
streets abound with beggars, who are entirely sup-
ported by the charity of strangers. Many adopt
mendicity as a profession, and have a ready stock
of pious sentences, which they address to all pas-
sengers. Some of them are extremely importunate,
and demand alms in a tone of authority little ac-
cordant with their condition. Mecca is called the
paradise of begerars, and this may account both for
the number and the insolence of that class. The
Meccawees are proud of being natives of the Holy
City and countrymen of their Prophet. In this re-
spect they consider themselves favoured beyond all
other nations, and under the special care of Provi-
dence. The consequence is, that they are haughty
land intolerant towards Christians and Jews, who
profess a different creed ; and though they do not
openly persecute them, their name is always coupled
"with some opprobrious and contemptuous epithet.
The sincerity of their own profession, however,
does not correspond with their outward zeal. Such
of them as have no particular interest in assuming
the appearance of extreme strictness are very neg-
ligent in observing both the forms and precepts of
their religion, thinking it enough to utter pious
ejaculations in public, or comply in trivial matters.
In imitation of the Prophet, their mustachios are cut
short, and their beard kept regularly under the scis-
sors : in like manner they allow the ends of the tur-
ban to fall loosely over the cap : they put antimony
on their eyelids, and have always a messouak, or
toothbrush, in their hands, because such was the
custom of Mohammed. They know by heart many
passages of the Koran and the sacred traditions, and
quote or allude to the^n every moment ; but they

200 HEJAZ.

forget that these precepts were given for rules of
conduct, and not for mere repetition. They excuse
themselves from the duty of almsgiving, by saying
that Providence ordained them to receive charity,
not to bestow it ; and instead of attending the Fri-
daj^'s prayers, as every Moslem is bound to do, the
mosque is filled chiefly with strangers, while the in-
habitants are seen smoking in their shops. The
law prohibiting wine is evaded, so as to become al-
most a dead letter. Intoxicating liquors are sold at
the very gates of the temple ; neither the sanctity
of the place nor the solemn injunctions of the Koran
can deter them from indulging in all tlie excesses
which are the usual consequences of drunkenness.
The Indian fleet imports large quantities of raki in
barrels ; and when mixed with sugar and an extract
of cinnamon, it is sold under the name of cinnamon-
water. The rich merchants, ulemas, and grandees
are in the habit of drinking this liquor, which they
persuade themselves is neither wine nor brandy, and
therefore not prohibited by the law. The less
wealthy inhabitants, who cannot purchase so dear a
commodity, use a fermented liquor made of raisins,
while the lower classes drink bouza. Tobacco,
hashish, and other intoxicating substances are
openly smoked, and cards played in almost every
coffee-house.

The inhabitants of IMecca have but two kinds of
employment — trade and the service of the Beitullah.
Many of the latter calling, which may be said to in-
clude one-half of the population, engage privately in
commercial afl"airs ; but the greater proportion have
no other support than their wages, or what they
can extort from the charity of pilgrims. The most
impudent, idle, and worthless individuals adopt the
profession of guides ; and as there is no want of
these qualities, nor of a sufficient demand for their
services, this class of rogues is very numerous.
They besiege strangers with their importunities

MECCA. 201

ftom mom to night ; invite themselves to eat and
drink at their expense ; and generally contrive in a
month to wheedle from the simplicity or piety of
their employers as much as will suffice for the ex-
pense of their famihes during the remainder of the
year. The position of Mecca, as it is not situated
in the direct route to any country of consequence,
and surrounded with perpetual sterility, is unfavour-
able to commerce : and but for its being the centra
of the religious enthusiasm of the Moslem w^orld.
it must have long ago sunk into poverty and insig-
nificance. In ordinary times there is a consider-
able trade with the Bedouins and inhabitants of
Nejed, who are in want of India goods, drugs, and
articles of dress. The less opulent merchants usu-
ally employ their capital in the traffic of corn and
provisions ; and, though the Pasha of Egypt has
made these articles a strict monopoly of his own,
the grain-dealers, after paying freight, have usually
a profit of fifteen or twenty per cent. The consump-
tion of this species of commodity, it may be ob-
served, is much greater in Arabia than in any of the
surrounding countries ; the great mass of the people
living almost entirely on wheat, barley, lentils, or
rice ; using few vegetables, but a great deal of butter
and spicery.

The natural disadvantages of the place are coun-
terbalanced by a source of opulence possessed by
no other city in the world. During the pilgrimage,
and for some months preceding it, the magazines
of foreign commerce are opened, as it were, by thou-
sands of wealthy hajjis, who bring the productions
of every IMoslem country to Jidda, either by sea or
across the desert, exchanging them with one an-
other, or receiving from the native merchants the
goods of India and Arabia, which the latter have
accumulated the whole year in their warehouses.
At this period Mecca becomes one of the largest
fairs in the East, and certainly the most interesting,

202 HEJAZ.

from the variety of nations that frequent it. The
value of the exports is, however, greatly superior
to that of the imports, and requires a considerable
balance in dollars and sequins, part of which find
their way to Yemen and India, and about one-fourth
remains in the hands of the Meccawees, So profit-
able is this trade, that goods brought from Jidda
yield a clear gain, varying from thirty to fifty per
cent.

Much profit is also fraudulently made ; great num-
bers of pilgrims are ignorant of the Arabic lan-
guage, and are in consequence placed at the mercy
of brokers or interpreters, who are generally In-
dians, and never fail to make them pay dearly for
their services. It is a practice with dealers, when
they wish to conceal their business from others, to
join their right hands under the corner of the gown
or wide sleeve ; where, bj'^ touching the different
joints of the fingers, they note the numerals, and
thus silently conclude the bargain. The wealth that
aimually flows into Mecca might render it one of
the richest cities in the East, were it not for the
prodigal and dissipated habits of the people, espe-
cially of the lower orders, who are loose and disor-
derly spendthrifts, squandering away their gains in
dress, gluttony, and the grossest gratifications.
Marriage and circumcision feasts are celebrated in
a very splendid style ; so that a poor man will some-
times in one day throw away the expenditure of
half a year.

It is owing to their dependence on foreign com-
merce that the arts and sciences are so little cul-
tivated at Mecca. Travellers have remarked how
few artisans inhabit its streets — such as masons,
carpenters, tailors, or shoemakers ; and these are
inferior in skill to the same class in other parts of
the country. With the exception of a few potteries
and die-houses, there is not a single manufactory.
There are braziers for working in copper, and tin-

MECCA. 203

smiths, who make small vessels for the hajjis to
carry away some of the Zemzem water ; but not a
man is to be found capable of engraving an inscrip-
tion, or fabricating a lock and key. All the doors
are fastened with large wooden bolts ; and the skill
of the cutler is only adequate to the manufacture
of matchlocks, lances, and halberds, which are
forged in the rudest manner ; a hole in the ground
serving for a furnace, and one or two goat-skins,
waved before the fire, supplying the place of bel-
lows. The swords, watches, and other hardware to
be found in the bazars are imported from Europe.
In different shops are sold strings of coral and false
pearls, rosaries made of aloe, sandal, or kalambar
wood, brilliant necklaces of cut carnelions, seals,
rings, and similar jewelry ; but all these are kept
by Indian merchants. Here, too, are to be seen
grocers, druggists, tobacconists, haberdashers, san-
dal-makers, and a great many dealers in old clothes.
There are a few large flour-mills worked by horses ;
but the common practice is to use hand-mills, which
are usually turned by women or the slaves of the
family.

It cannot be expected that learning can flourish
in a place where every mind is occupied in the
search of gain or of paradise ; and in this respect
Mecca is perhaps inferior to any city of equal popu-
lation in the East. The whole knowledge of the
inhabitants is confined to reading the Koran, and
writing but indifferently. There are no public libra-
ries, and not a single school or seminary ; the mosque
being the only place where boys are taught the ele-
mentary parts of education. Children from their
infancy learn to repeat prayers and ceremonies ; but
this is merely to make money by officiating as guides
to the pilgrims. The crafts of bookselling and book-
binding are of course unknown. The language of
the Meccawees, however, is still more pure and ele-
gant, both in phraseology and pronunciation, than

204 HEJAZ.

that of any other town where Arabic is spoken. It
approaches nearest to the oldvv^ritten Arabic, and is
free from those affectations and perversions of the
original sense which abound in other provinces. As
the sciences form no lucrative profession, they are
in consequence totally neglected. The astronomer
of the mosque learns to know the exact time of the
sun's passing the meridian, to regulate the hours
of prayer ; and the few druggists, or venders of
medicine, deal in nothing but miraculous balsams
and infallible elixirs ; their potions are all sweet and
agreeable, while the musk or aloes-wood, which
they burn in their sliops, diffuses a delicious odour
that tends to establish their reputation.

As for the number of inhabitants in Mecca, trav-
ellers have found it very difficult to calculate with
any degree of certainty ; registers are never kept,
and even the amount of houses is not ascertained.
In former times it is said to have contained more
than 100,000 souls ; and when sacked by the Kar-
mathian chief in 936, his ferocious soldiers are sup-
posed to have put more than 30,000 to the sword.
Ali Bey reckoned that it did not shelter more than
from 16,000 to 18,000; Burckhardt, a later • author^
ity, gives as the result of his inquiries, for the popu-
lation of the city and suburbs between 25,000 and
30,000 stationary inhabitants, besides from 2000 to
4000 Abyssinians and black slaves. The dwellings,
however, are capable of containing three times that
number, some quarters of the suburbs being entirely
deserted and in ruins ; so that, unless the zeal of the
hajjis revive, the capital of Islam must gradually
sink into decay.

THE MOHAMMEDAN I'lLGRIMACE. 205

CHAPTER VI.

THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

The Pilgrim-caravans — Their different Routes — Description and
Number of Pilgrims — The Mahmal — The Ihrani — Duties of
the Pilgrims on arriving at Mecca — Walk to Safra and Omra
— Journey to Arafat — Sermon of the Cadi — Curious Appear-
ance of the Scene — Stoning of the Devil — The Feast of Sa-
crifice— Return of the Procession to Mecca — Visit to the Inte-
rior of the Kaaba— Departure of the Caravans — Altered
Appearance of the City — Holy Places round Mecca — Pil-
grimage to Medina — Description of the City — Its Inhabitants
— Their Character and Occupation — The Mosque of the
Prophet — The famous Tomb of Mohammed — Ceremonies
required of the Hajjis — Servants and Revenues of the Mosque
— Sacred Places near Medina — Return of the Pilgrims — Bedr
— Suez — Convent of St. Catherine — Regulations and Hospi-
tality of the Monks^Places of Superstitious Resort about
Mount Sinai— The Cave of Elijah— The Rock of Meribah—
Gebel Mokkateb or the Written Mountains — The Convent
near Tor — Gebel Narkous or Mountain of the Bell.

The law of the Koran, as is well known, enjoins
on every Mussulman, who has the means, to per-
form a pilgrimage to Mecca once at least in his life.
Dulhajja, as the name imports, is the month pecu-
liarly set apart for the performance of this solem-
nity. To those whom indispensable occupations
confine at home, the law permits a substitution of
prayers ; but even this is often evaded, and the
duty executed by commission at the expense of a
few dollars. Formerly, Avhen devotional zeal was
more ardent, the difficulties of the journey were
held to increase the merit of the act ; but at pres-
ent many, instead of encountering the perils of des-
.erts and robbers by land, adopt the more cheap and
easjymodeoi" travelling by sea. The regular haj-

YoL. II.— S

206 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

caravans are six or seven in number, though they
do not always make their appearance together, nor
even perform the visit annually. That from Syria,
which used to be accompanied by the caliphs in per-
son, sets out from Constantinople, and collects the
pilgrims from Northern Asia until it reaches Da-
mascus. During the whole route, for the sake of
safety and convenience, it is attended from town to
town by the armed force of the district. From Da-
mascus to Medina it moves with great pomp across
the desert, — a journey of thirty days ; and here a
change of camels, for which the Bedouins contract,
is necessary ; the Anatolian breed being unable to
bear the fatigues of such an expedition. The Pasha
of Damascus, or one of his principal officers, always
attends it, and gives the signal for encamping and
departing by firing a musket. The different classes
of hajjis know their exact stations, and always
place their tents according to their town or prov-'
ince. At every stage is a castle or storehouse for
provisions, with a small garrison, and a large tank
at which the camels water. These stations are sel-
dom farther distant from each other than a march
of eleven or twelve hours. The usual time of trav-
elling is from three o'clock in the afternoon to an
hour or two after sunrise next day, torches being
lighted during the night. The Egyptian caravan,
which starts from Cairo, is under the same regula-
tions as the Syrian. Its route is more dangerous
and fatiguing, lying by Suez and Akaba, along the
shore of the Red Sea, through the territories of wild
and warlike tribes, who frequently attack it by open
force. The Persian haj departs from Bagdad, and
traverses Nejed by Deraiah. As the Persians are
reckoned notorious heretics, and are generally per-
sons of property, they are subjected to severe im-
positions, and have occasionally been prohibited
from entering the Holy City. The Moggrebin cara-
VcUi brings the pilgrims from Barbary aud Morocco.

THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE. 207

It is usually accompanied by a relative of the king",
and proceeds from his capital by slow marches to-
wards Tunis and Tripoli, thence along the Mediter-
ranean shores to Alexandria or Cairo, collecting the
hajjis in every district through which it passes. Ye-
men sent two caravans ; one from Saade, which
took its course along the mountains to Taif, and the
other travelled by the coast, taking up such of the
Persians and Indians as had arrived in the harbours
of the country. A caravan of Indian pilgrims is said
to have started from Muscat and travelled through
Nejed ; but this route, it appears, has been long dis-
continued. Of late the greater portion of the hajjis
do not travel with the regular caravans, but arrive
by sea at Jidda. Those from the north, including
Turks, Tartars, Syrians, Moors, and Africans, em-
bark at Suez or Cosseir; but the wretched and
crowded state of the vessels renders the passage
disagreeable and often dangerous. Crowds of devo-
tees arrive in the opposite direction from Yemen,
the borders of Persia, Java, Sumatra, and the distant
realms watered by the Indus : these comprise Hin-
doos and Malays — people from Cashmere and Guze-
rat — Arabs from Bussora, Oman, and Hadramaut —
natives of Nubia and Upper Egypt — and those from
the coasts of Melinda and Mombaza. All Moslems
dwelling near the ocean are certain of finding, to-
wards the period of the haj, ships departing from
some neighbouring harbour to tlie Red Sea ; but the
greater number come with the regidar Indian fleet.
From all these regions swarms of beggars flock to
Mecca ; they get a free passage from charitable in-
dividuals among their own countrymen, or their ex-
pense is defrayed by those who employ them as
proxies in performing the indispensable duties of the
pilgrimage. But on landing they are thrown en-
tirely on the benevolence of the hajjis, and the alms
they collect must serve to carry them back to their
homes. All the poorer class of Indians turn mendi*

208 THE MOHAMMKDAN PILGRIMAGE.

cants ; and their wretched appearance would make
them worthy objects of commiseration, were it not
known that they assume a tone and character of
outward misery, because it ensures them a subsist-
ence without labour.

None of these paupers bear a more respectable
character for industry than the negroes of Tek?-ouris,
as they are called, who employ themselves as por-
ters for cariying goods, cleaning the court-3'ards, or
fetching firewood from the neighbouring mountains.
Some of them manufacture small baskets and mats
of date-leaves, or little hearths of clay painted yel-
low and red, which they sell to the hajjis, who boil
their coffeepots upon them. Others serve as water-
carriers, or prepare bouza, or occupy themselves in
any species of manual labour.

Among the pilgrims are to be found dervises of
every sect and order in the Turkish empire ; many
of them are madmen, or at least assuming the ap-
pearance of insanity; and as the Mohammedans
regard them as saints or inspired beings, sent as a
blessing to them from Heaven, they are much re-
spected by the devotees, who scruple not to fill their
pockets with money. The behaviour of some of
them is indecent, and so violent, that many willingly
give them a trifle to escape from their importuni-
ties. Most of the pilgrims that arrive in detach-
ments and before the caravans, are professed mer-
chants, who occupy the interval very pleasantly in
disposing of their wares, praying, smoking, reading
the Koran, enjoying the gratifications of sense, and
anticipating the happiness of futurity. Except men-
dicants, almost every hajji combines with his reli-
gious duties some little mercantile adventure, with
a view to lessen his expenses. The Moggrebins,
Xor example, bring their red bonnets and woollen
cloaks ; the Western Turks, shoes and slippers,
hardware, embroidered stuffs, sweetmeats, amber,
trinkets of European manufacture, knit silk purses,

THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE. 209

and other small wares ; the Anatolians brinp^ car-
pets, silks, and Angora shawls ; the Persians, Cash-
mere shawls and large silk handkerchiefs ; the Af-
ghans, toothbrushes made of the spongy boughs of
a tree in Bokhara, yellow beads, and plain coarse
shawls of their own manufacture ; the Indians im-
port the numerous productions of their rich and
extensive regions ; and the people of Yemen bring
snakes for the Persian pipes, sandals, and various
articles in leather.

In general, the regular caravans have fixed periods
for their arrival. Those from Syria and Eg}T)t unite
their routes at Bedr, whence they proceed to Mecca
at a short distance from each other. The approach
of the foremost is announced by a horseman, who
•comes galloping through the town to the governor's
house ; a prize being always awarded to him who
brings the first tidings of its safety.

The pomp and magnificence of this moving so-
lemnity are still considerable, though much dimin-
ished since the time of the caliphs, both in point of
splendour and attendance. When Solyman per-
formed the pilgrimage (A. D. 716), 900 camels were
€mployed in transporting his wardrobe alone. Ma-
hadi, besides the vast sums he expended in presents,
built fine houses at every station between Bagdad
and INIecca, and caused them to be splendidly fur-
nished. He was the first caliph that carried snow-
water with him to cool his sherbet on the roari; a
luxury in which he was imitated by many of his
successors. Haroun al Raschid, who performed the
haj nine times, spent in one of his visits nearly a
million and a half of gold dinars (693,750/.) in
presents ; in another, he and his wife ZolDeide ac-
complished the journey from Bagdad (nearly 1000
miles) on foot ; but the merit must have been les-
sened, as the whole road was covered daily with fine
carpets on which they walked. The retinue of the
mother of Mostasem, who visited Mecca in 1231,

S2

210 THE MOHAMMEDAN PtLGIlIMAGE.

was composed of 120,000 camels. On a similar
occasion the equipage of the Sultan of Egypt con-
sisted of 500 of these animals for the transport solely
of sweetmeats and confectionary ; 280 for pomegra-
nates, almonds, and other fruits ; besides having his
travelling-larder provided with 1000 geese and 3000
fowls.

In 1814, the Syrian caravan, which was reckoned
small, amounted only to 4000 or 5000 persons, and
was attended by 15,000 camels. The Barbary ca-
ravan sometimes contained 40,000 men ; but it has
not of late exceeded 6000 or 8000. That from Egypt
used to be extremely numerous : Barthema states
that when he was at INIecca it had 64,000 camels. In
1814, it consisted principally of Mohammed All's
troops, with very few pilgrims ; but in 1816, a single
grandee of Cairo joined the haj with 110 camels for
the transport of his baggage and retinue ; and his
travelling expenses alone, Burckhardt supposes,
could not have been less than 10,000Z. The wife of
Ali had a truly royal equipage, comprehending 500
beasts of burden. The tents of the public women
and dancing-girls were among the most splendid in
this caravan. Females are not excluded from per-
forming the pilgrimage ; but the law prescribes that
they shall be married women, and accompanied by
their husbands or some very near relation. Rich
old widows, and such as lose their husbands by the
way, are provided with delils or guides, who facili-
tate their progress through the sacred territory, and
act also in a matrimonial capacity ; but these unions
are only temporary, and at the conclusion of their
devotions the man must divorce his companion,
otherwise the marriage would be considered binding.

There is one distinction formerly common to all
large caravans, but now used only by the Syrian and
Egyptian ; each of these has its holy camel, carry-
ing on its back the mahmal with presents for the
Kaaba, and which also serves the purpose of a sign

THE MOIIAMMKDAN I'lLGRiMAGE. 211

or banner to their respective companies. This ap-
pendage is minutely described by Maundrell and
D'Ohsson as a high hollow wooden frame, in the
sliape of a cone, having a pyramidal top covered
with fine silk brocade, and adorned with ostrich-fea-
thers. A small book of prayers and charms is
placed in the middle, wrapped up in a piece of silk.
It was not used by the caliphs, having been first
introduced (A. D. 127-4) by the Sultan of Eg>-pt.
Since that time the different INIussulman sovereigns
have considered' the mahmal as a privilege, and a
badge of their own royalty.* On the return of the
caravans, the sacred camel, which is never after
employed in labour, and the book of prayers, are
objects of great veneration among the lower class,
or such as have not been at Mecca ; men and women
flock in crowds to kiss it, and obtain a blessing by
rubbing their foreheads upon it.

The awful sanctity of Mecca and its territory
renders it necessary that every traveller, whether
on a religious visit or not, shall undergo a certain
transformation in dress the moment he enters the
Belled el Haram^ or Holy Land of Islam. f From

* " The mahinal (of Damascus) is a large pavilion of black
fiilk, pitched upon the back of a very great came!, and spreading
us curtains all round about the beast down to the ground. This
•camel w^ants not also his ornaments of large ropes of beads, fish-
shells, fox-tails, and other such fantastic finery, hanged upon
his head, neck, and legs. All this is designed for the Alcoran,
which thus rides in state both to and from Mecca, and is accom-
panied with a rich new carpet sent every year by the grand
seignior for the covering of Mahomet's tomb, — having the old
one brought back in return for it, which is esteemed of an ines-
timable value, after having been so long next neighbour to the
Prophet's rotten bones." — MmmdrelVs Travels.

t The Belled el Haram is properly the sacred district round
Mecca, which has the privileges of a sanctuary or asylum, — the
law having forbidden the shedding of blood, killing of game, or
cutting of trees within it. This sanctity, however, is but little
regarded ; criminals are slain without scruple, — persons have
been asjfossinated evea undei the walls of the Kaaba, — land bat-

212 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

v/hatever quarter the hajjis arrive, they are instantly-
required to strip themselves naked, throw away
their garments, and put on the ihram or pilgrim's
cloak, which consists of two pieces of linen, woollen,
or cotton cloth ; one of which is wrapped round the
loins, and the other thrown over the neck and shoul-
ders, so as to leave part of the right arm uncovered.
The law ordains that there shall be no seam in it,
no silk, nor ornament of any kind. White Indian
cambric, that being considered the preferable colour,
is generally employed for the purpose ; "but rich
hajjis use Cashmere shawls without flowered bor-
ders. In assuming it, certain ceremonies are ob-
served ; such as making a general ablution, saying
a prayer w^hile naked, taking a few steps in the
direction of Mecca, and uttering pious invocations,
called telhi.

The ihram, whether taken in summer or in winter,
is equally inconvenient and prejudicial to health.
The head remains totally unprotected, and exposed
to the sun's rays : the instep of the foot must like*
wise be uncovered ; so that those who wear shoes
instead of sandals cut a piece out of the upper lea-
ther. The northern Moslem, accustomed to thick
woollen clothes, find it a severe experiment on their
religious zeal to remain sometimes for months, night
and day, with no other vestment than this thin garb.
The ihram of the women consists of a cloak, so
close that not even their eyes can be seen. Old age
and disease are excuses for keeping the head cov-

ties, both with infantry and cavalry, fought within the enclo-
sure of the Temple. The limits of this sacred territory are dif-
ferently represented. At present it is generally supposed to be
bounded within those positions where the ihram is assumed in
approaching Mecca, viz. Hadda, on the west ; Asfan, on the north ;
Wadrj Mohrem, on the east ; and Zat Ork, on the south. Ali
Bey mistokes when he considered this district a particular prov-
ince. Medina has the same privileges, but they are held m as
little veneration.

THE MOHAMMEDAN TILORIMACE 213

ered ; but this indulgence must be purcnased by
giving alms to the poor. Umbrellas are not forbid-
den, and are used by most of the visiters from colder
climates ; but the natives of the south either brave
the sun's rays, or screen tliemselves by means of a
rag tied to a stick. Though many have died in con-
sequence of this exposure, nobody utters a com-
plaint. There are no restrictions now as to parti-
cular diet ; but the rnohrem, as the vested pilgrim is
called, is enjoined to behave decently, not to curse
or quarrel, nor to kill any animal, not even the ver-
n»in that may infest his own person ; although, ac-
cording to Pitts, " if they cannot well be endured
any longer, it is lawful to remove them from one
part of the body to another." The laxity of modern
times occasionally dispenses altogether with the
ceremony of the maharmo, especially among the
servants and camel-drivers.

All the caravans, as they arrive, pass through the
town in procession, accompanied by their guards of
soldiers, with martial music. The equipage of the
emirs is very splendid. They are mounted in pa-
lanquins or taktrouans, — a kind of close litter or
cage, carried by two camels, one before and the
other behind. The heads of the camels are deco-
rated with feathers, tassels, and bells ; the streets
are lined with people, who as they move along greet
them with loud acclamations.

On entering Mecca, the first dutj^ of the pilgrim is
to visit the mosque immediately ; and this injunc-
tion applies to all strangers whatever. The pre-
scribed ceremonies are, first to repeat certain prayers
in different parts of the Temple ; namely, at the
entrance under the colonnade, two rikats and four
prostrations are addressed to the Deity in thankful-
ness for having reached the holy spot, and in saluta-
tion of the mosque itself: then, advancing into the
court, certain ejaculations are uttered while passing
under the insulated arch in front of the Kaaba, and

214 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

two rikats are pronounced opposite the black stone ;
at the conchision of which it is touched with the
right hand, or kissed, if the pressure of the crowd
will admit. The devotee then performs the towaf,
keeping the Kaaba on his left-hand ; this ceremony,
which was done by the Pagan Arabs in a state of
nudity, is repeated seven times, the three first in a
quick pace, in imitation of the Prophet ; each circuit
is accompanied with prescribed prayers and a salu-
tation of the black stone. This done, after a few
more rikats, he proceeds to the Zemzen Well, in
honour of which he addresses some pious ejacula-
tions, and then drinks as much water as he wishes
or can get. Some have it poured over them in
bucketfuls, " and then," says Barthema, "the fools
tliink their sins are washed into the well." Others
swallow it so unreasonably, that they lie for hours
extended on the pavement, while their flesh breaks
out into pimples : and this, as Pitts wittily re-
marks, they call " the purging of their spiritual cor-
ruptions." These are the different ceremonies ob-
served wuthin the Temple, which the pilgrims repeat
after their guides.

The next ceremony that the hajji has to perform
is the sai, or holy walk between Safa and Meroua ;
which is done along a level street about six hundred
paces in length, and terminated at each end by a stone
platform covered with open arches, and ascended by
a flight of steps. This perambulation, which for a
short space must be run, is to be repeated seven
times ; prayers are incessantly recited in a loud
voice ; and on the tw^o platforms the face must be
turned to the mosque. A third ceremony is that of
shaving the head ; and the barbers, whose shops
abound in the vicinity of Meroua, during the opera-
tion utter a particular prayer, which the hajjis repeat
after them. This religious tonsure is followed by
the walk to Omra, a place about an hour and a half 's
distance from Mecca, where the pilgrim prays two

THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE. 215

rikats in a small chapel ; and must chant the iclbi or
pious ejaculations all the way. After this the towaf
and sai must be again performed, which closes the
preliminary ceremonies. Some have only part of
the head shaven before the visit to Omra, and the
rest completed immediately afterward. The walk
round the Kaaba may be repeated as often as the
pilgrim thinks fit : and the more frequently the more
meritorious. Most foreigners do it twice daily, — in
the evening and before daybreak.

When all the necessary rites have been gone
through at Mecca, the whole concourse of visiters
repair in a body to Mount Arafat, which is the gi-and
day of the pilgrimage. This mountain is a principal
object of Moslem veneration ; and some even assert,
that a pilgrimage to it would be equally meritorious,
though the Kaaba ceased to exist. Tradition says
it was here that the common father of mankind met
Eve after the long separation of 200 years conse-
quent on the Fall ; that he built the chapel on its
summit before he retired with his wife to the island
of Ceylon ; and was f here instructed by the angel
Gabriel how to adore his Creator ; the spot still
bears the name of Modaa Seidna Adam, or Place of
Prayer of our Lord Adam. It was here, too, that
Mohammed is said to have addressed his followers,
— a practice in which he was imitated by the caliphs,
who preached on the same spot when they per-
formed the haj. This hill, or rather granite rock,
which is about 200 feet high, stands about six hours'
journey to the eastward of Mecca, at the foot of a
higher mountain, in a sandy plain about three quar-
ters of a league in diameter. On the eastern side
broad stone steps lead to the top, and these are cov-
ered with innumerable handkerchiefs for receiving
the pious gifts which are claimed by the families of
the Koreish, in whose territory this sacred eminence
stands.

On the Day of Arafat, or Feast of Sacrifice as it is

216 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

called, and which can only be performed at a certain
time, the pilgrims take their journey, some on ca-
mels, others on mules or asses ; but the greater
number walk barefooted, wliich is esteemed the most
pious mode of travelling. The crowd is so vast, that
several hours elapse before they can clear the nar-
row outskirts of Mecca. Beyond the town a few
miles the road widens, in passing through the valley
of Muna, where the law enjoins certain prayers and
ceremonies (paring the nails, and cutting the hair)
to be observed. This march is necessarily attended
with great confusion. " Of the half-naked hajjis,"
says Burckhardt, " all dressed in the white ihram,
some sat reading the Koran upon their camels ;
some ejaculating loud prayers ; while others cursed
their drivers, and quarrelled with those near them
who choked up the passage."

Leaving Muna, the plain of Arafat opens through
a rocky defile in the mountains; on reaching which
the caravans and numerous detachments of pilgrims
disperse in quest of their respective places o"f en-
campment. It was about thi^e hours after sunset
when Burckhardt arrived ; but stragglers continued
to pour in till midnight. Numberless fires were
now seen lighted up over an extent of ground three
or four miles in length ; while high and brilliant
clusters of lamps marked the different places where
Mohammed Ali, Solyman Pasha, and other emirs of
f the haj, had pitched their tents. Pilgrims Avere seen
wandering in every direction from camp to camp^
in search of their companions whom they had lost
on the road; and it was several hours before the
noise and clamour had subsided. Few persons
slept ; the devotees sat up praying and uttering their
loud chants ; the merry Meccawees formed them-
selves into parties, singing the jovial songs called
jok, accompanied by clapping of hands ; while the
coffee-tents were crowded the whole night with
customers.

TIU-: MOHAMMEDAN PJLGRIMAGF. 217

The dawn was amioiiiiced by a discharge of mus-
ketr5% which summoned the faitl)lul to make ready
for Iheir morninj^: prayers. After sunrise Burck-
hardt ascended the summit of the mount, which
presented a very extensive and singular prospect.
Long- streets of tents, fitted up as bazars, furnished
the busy crowds with all kinds of provisions. The
Syrian and Egyptian cavalry were exercised by their
chiefs ; while thousands of camels were feeding on
the dry shrubs all around the camps. About 3000
tents were dispersed over the plain ; though the
greater number of the assembled multitudes had no
such accommodation. The caravans were placed
without order ; and many of them in the form of
large circles or dowars, in the inside of which their
camels reposed.

Of these encampments the most rich and magnifi-
cent were those of Yahia, the sherilTof Mecca, the
pasha of Damascus, the viceroy of Egypt, and more
particularly his wife, who had lately arrived from
Cairo. Her equipage included a dozen tents of dif-
ferent sizes, inhabited by her women : the whole
was surrounded with a wall of linen cloth 800 paces
in circuit, the sole entrance to which was guarded
by eunuchs in splendid dresses. Around this enclo-
sure were pitched the tents of the men who formed
her numerous suite. The beautiful embroidery on
the exterior of this linen palace, with the various
colours displayed in every part of it, must have re-
minded the spectator of the gorgeous descriptions
in the Tales of the Thousand and One Nights. Some
of the Mecca merchants, especially the family of
Jelani, had very elegant tents ; this being almost
the only occasion when the Arabian grandees ever
venture to display their wealth in the presence of a
pasha.

Burckhardt estimated the whole persons assem-
bled on the plain at about 70,000 ; and the number
of camels from 20,000 to 25,000 This seems af

Vol, II.— T

218 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

favourite number with the Mohammedans ; but it is
deserving of remark, that he is the third traveller
who has made the same calculation. Pitts and All
Bey mention this as being the smallest number that
must necessarily attend at any pilgrimage on Mount
Arafat ; and, in every case where there are fewer,
angels are sent down from heaven to make up the
deficiency, Burckhardt's 70,000 appears a tolerable
assemblage, even without the addition of celestial
recruits ; yet he says that two only of the five or
six regular caravans had made their appearance that
year. When the Spanish Mussulman performed
this ceremony, he reckoned the number of hajjis at
80,000 men, 2000 women, and 1000 children ; who
must have presented a curious spectacle, with their
60,000 or 70,000 camels, asses, and horses, marching
through the narrow valley in a cloud of dust, carry-
ing a forest of lances, guns, swivels, and other arms,
and forcing their passage along as they best could.

The law ordains that the true position of the haj
should be on Arafat ; but it wisely provides against
any possibility arising from its scanty dimensions,
by declaring that the mountain includes the plain
in the immediate neighbourhood. A similar provi-
sion is made with regard to the great mosque, which
can accommodate at prayers about 35,000 persons.
There is, however, an opinion prevalent at Mecca,
founded on a holy tradition, that it is capable of con-
taining any number of the faithful — even the whole
Mohammedan community, who might all enter at
once, and find ample room. The guardian angels
are gifted with the power of invisibly extending the
limits of the building, or diminishing the size of the
worshipper ; but in modern times there is no occa-
sion for this miracle, as the temple is never half
filled, and seldom visited, even during the haj, by
more than 10;000 individuals at once.

About three o'clock the chief ceremony of the day
takes place, that of the khoteb or sermon, which is

THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE. 219

usually preached by the Cadi of Mecca. The whole
multitude now unpitch tlwir tents, press forward to-
wards the mountain, and cover its sides from top to
bottom. The orator takes his stand on the stone-plat-
form near the top, whence he addresses the crowd.
The discourse lasts till sunset, and no pilgrim,
although he may have visited all the holy places
of IMecca, is entitled to the name of hajji unless he
has been present on this occasion.

The cadi, whom Burckhardt describes as mounted
on a richly-caparisoned camel, read his sermon from
a book in Arabic, which he held in his hand ; at inter-
vals of every four or five minutes he paused, and
stretched forth his arms to implore blessings on his*
hearers ; while the congregation around and before
him waved the skirts of their ihrams over their
heads, and rent the air with shouts of " Lebeik, Al-
lahuma, lebeik !" (Here we are at thy commands,
O God !) During the wavings of the white garments
by the dense crowd, the side of the mountain had
the appearance of a cataract of water, and the green
umbrellas of the myriads of hajjis sitting on their
camels below bore some resemblance to a verdant
lawn. The sermon lasted nearly three hours, dur-
ing which the cadi was constantly wiping his eyes ;
for the law enjoins the preacher to be moved with
feelings of compunction, and to consider tears as
evidence that he is divinely illuminated, and that his
prayers are acceptable.

The effect of this scene upon the audience was
extremely various. Some of the pilgrims were cry-
ing loudly, weeping, and beating their breasts for
their sins ; others stood in silent reflection, with
tears of adoration in their eyes. But these peni-
tents were mostly foreigners. The natives of Hejaz,
and the Turkish soldiers, spent the time in convers-
ing and joking, and imitating the waving of the
ihrams by violent gestures as if in mockery. Par-
ties of Arabs were quietly smpking their nargiles ;

220 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

while the frequenters of the cafes, some of which
were kept by piibhc women, by their loud laughter
and riotous conduct, gave great annoyance to the
devotees in their neighbour?iood.

To every stranger, whether Mohammedan, Jew,
or Christian, such an assemblage must furnish a
curious and impressive spectacle. " It was a sight,"
says Pitts, " enough to pierce one's heart, to behold
so many in their garments of humility and mortifi-
cation, with their naked heads, and cheeks watered
with tears ; and to hear their gi'ievous sighs and
sobs, begging earnestly for the remission of their
sins." Many of the poor pilgrims are in an ecstasy,
•and believe themselves in actual possession of para-
dise. " It is here," observes Ali Bey, " that the
grand spectacle of the Mussulman pilgrimage must
be seen. An innumerable crowd of men from all
nations, and of all colours, coming from the extremi-
ties of the earth, through a thousand dangers, and
encountering fatigues of every description, to adore
together the same Deity ! The native of Circassia
presents his hand in a friendly manner to the Ethio-
pian, or the negro of Guinea ; the Indian and the
Persian embrace the inhabitants of Barbary and
Morocco ; all looking upon each other as brothers,
or individuals of the same family united by the bonds
of religion, and the greater part speaking or under-
standing more or less the same language. What a
curb to sin," adds this zealous Mussulman, " what
an encouragement to virtue ! but what a misfortune,
that with all these advantages we should not be
better than the Calvinists !"

By the time the cadi had finished his discourse, the
greater part of the audience seemed to be wearied.
The sun was descending behind the western moun-
tains as he shut the book and pronounced the last
greeting of " Lebeik." Instantly the crowds pre-
pared to quit Arafat on their return ; those behind
hurrying and pressing on those before ; so that with

THE MOHAMiMEDAN PILGRIMAGE. 221

many it is a trial of strength and speed. Formerly,
bloody affrays took place almost every year ; each
party endeavouring to outrun and carry its mahmal
in advance of the other. Two hundred lives have
on some occasions been lost in supporting what vv^as
thought the honour of their respective caravans.

The cause of this precipitation is, that the ritual
orders the mogreb or prayer of the setting sun, to be
said at Mezdelifa, a mosque or oratory tvv^o hours
distant. The departure and march is a scene of
splendid confusion ; many pilgrims had lost their
companions, others their camels, who were heard
calling loudly for their drivers, or searching for them
over the plain. As it was dark, innumerable torches
were lighted, emitting sparks of fire ; there were
continual volleys of artillery ; sky-rockets were let
off ; and bands of martial music played till they
arrived at the mosque. Here another sermon is
preached by torchlight, commencing with the first
dawn, and continuing till the sun rises above the
horizon, when the pilgrims move onward to Wady
Muna, a distance of three miles.

This narrow valley, enclosed on both sides by
steep barren cliffs of granite, contains a single street
of houses, built of stone, some of which are inhab-
ited, but the greater part in ruins. It abounds with
sacred relics. Here is the mosque of Meshed el Kheif\
in which the Arabs assert that Adam was buried ;
here Abraham intended to sacrifice his son, and a
granite block is shown, alleged to have been cleft in
two by the stroke of his knife ; here Mohammed was
favoured with many of his revelations ; and here the
devil had the malice to whisper Ishmael in the ear
that he was about to be slain ; — other traditions say,
he attempted to obstruct his father in his passage at
three different places, which are marked by as many
stone pillars. The first duty of the pilgrim is to
provide himself with twenty-one small pebbles of
the size of a horse-bean : these he must throw at the

T2

222 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

proper times and places, seven at each pillar, ex-
claiming, " Bismillah ! God is great ! this we do to
secure ourselves from the devil and his troops!"
This ceremony, as may easily be imagined, is at-
tended occasionally by accidents. Ali Bey tells us,
he came off with two wounds in his left leg. It
appears also to be the subject of jocularity ; for a
facetious hajji observed to Pitts, "You may save your
labour at present, if you please, for I have hit out the
devil's eyes already."

After the " stoning," which is repeated three days,
and without which the pilgrimage is imperfect, comes
the grand sacrifice of animals, — a rite that all Mus-
sulmans are bound at this time (the 10th day of the
month) to perform. In the space of a quarter of an
hour, thousands of sheep and goats are slaughtered
in the valley ; some of which are brought by the
hajjis, others purchased from the Bedouins, who
demand high prices for them. The law requires
that the throats of the animals be cut in the name
of the most merciful God, with their faces towards
the Kaaba. The number of victims has sometimes
been very great. The Caliph Moktader sacrificed
50,000 sheep, besides 40,000 camels and cows. Bar-
thema speaks of 30,000 oxen being slain, and their
carcasses given to the poor, who seemed " more
anxious to have their bellies filled than their sins
remitted." We are apt to wonder how so many
myriads of animals can subsist in so desolate a re-
gion, or how they can be contained in so contracted
a space as Wady Muna ; but the Moslems explain
it, by pretending that the valley can expand its
dimensions ; and that on the Day of Sacrifice, neither
vultures nor flies molest the votaries by carrying
ofl* the lambs or tainting the raw flesh, vast quantities
of which remain unconsumed.

On the completion of the sacrifice, the pilgrims
throw off the ihram, and resume their ordinary at-
tire ; many of them putting on their best dresses to

THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE. 223

celebrate the day of the feast or heiram. The long
street of IMuna is converted into a fair ; sheds, booths,
and tents being fitted up as sliops for provisions and
merchandise of all kinds. The S)Tian bargains for
the goods of India ; the stranger from Borneo and
Timbuctoo exhibits his wares to the natives of Geor-
gia and Saninrcand ; while the poor hajjis cry their
small stock, which they carry on their heads. Tlie
niixture of nations and tongues, costumes and com-
modities, is more striking here than at Mecca, At
night the valley blazes with illuminations, fireworks,
discharges of artillery, and bonfires on the hills.
The second day of the feast ends the pilgrimage to
Arafat ; when the devotees return, to Mecca, testify-
ing their delight by songs, loud talking, and laugh-
ter. Many of the indigent pilgrims remain behind
to feast on the offals and putrefying carcasses of the
victims that strew the valley. The starved Indians
cut the meat into slices for their travelling-provi-
sions, which they dry in the sun, or in the mosque,
where they are spread on the pavement, or suspended
on cords between the columns.

On arriving at Mecca, a repetition of the previous
ceremonies takes place. The pilgrims must visit the
Kaaba, which, in the mean time, has been covered
with the new black clothing. The visit to the inte-
rior of this building is performed by immense crowds,
though it forms no part of the religious duty of the
hajjis. On opening the door, which takes place an
hour after sunrise, a rush is made up the steps, and
sometimes over the heads of the people, in spite of
the eunuchs, who endeavour to keep order with their
sticks, which fall particularly heavy on such as omit
to drop a fee into their hands ; for all the officers,
from the sheriff who holds the silver key to be kissed
at the entrance, to the lowest menial, expect to be
paid. The hall is immediately filled, when every
visiter must pray eight rikats, and perform sixteen
prostrations. Nothing but sighing and moaning is

224 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

heard, — the effect of pressure, perhaps of sincere
repentance ; but it is easy to imagine how these de-
votions are performed, for while one is bowing down
another walks over his back ; some are unmercifully-
crushed, and many are carried out with difficulty
quite senseless from heat and suffocation.

On the first and second days the men and women
enter alternately ; on the third, the sheriff, the sheiks,
and illustrious hajjis, perform the holy ceremony of
sweeping and washing the floor. All the water-
carriers in Mecca advance with pitchers and besoms,
which are passed from hand to hand until they reach
the guards at the entrance. The negroes then throw
the water on the pavement, while the devotees
sweep and scrub with both hands, until the floor
appears polished like glass. The water flows out
by a hole under the door ; and foul as it is, it is
eagerly drunk by the Faithful ; while those who are
at a distance have quantities of it thrown over them
by the eunuchs. It must require no common pitch
of fanaticism to reconcile the stomach of the wor-
shipper to this practice ; but the Moslem excuse it
by alleging, that although the liquid is very dirty, it
has the benediction of God, and is besides much per-
fumed with the essence of roses. The brooms of
palm-leaves, as well as the shreds of the cloth that
surrounds the door and bottom of the hall, are di-
vided among the pilgrims, and treasured up as relics.
Pieces both of the exterior and interior coverings
are constantly on sale at a shop before the Bab es
Salaam ; the latter are most esteemed, and waist-
coats are made of it, which the Believers reckon the
safest armour they can wear.

During the Ramadan, and especially on the last
day, the mosque is particularly brilliant. At the
celebration of the evening orisons, the whole square
and colonnades are illuminated by thousands of
lamps; and in addition to these, most of the hajjis
have each his own lantern standing before him. The

THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE. 223

agreeable coolness of the place induces them to
walk about or sit conversing till after midnight. As
the legal period of abstinence now terminates, every
one brings in his handkerchief a few dates or grapes,
with bread and cheese, waiting in suspense until the
imam from the top of the Zemzen proclaims, " Al-
lah Akbar," when they hasten to break their fast
(the lesser beiram) and drink a jar of the holy
water. The whole scene presents a curious mix-
ture of the gay and the grave. The mind is struck
with some degree of awe to witness so many thou-
sands performing the towaf, or prostrating them-
selves on their carpets ; while the mingled voices
of the metowafs, intent on making themselves heard
by those to whom they recite their prayers, — the
loud conversation of idle spectators, — and the run-
ning and laughing of boys, some of whom are divert-
ing themselves with swinging machines, or the feats
of jugglers in the streets, make the Temple more
like a place of public amusement than a sanctuary
of religion.

Before the caravans take their final departure, the
pilgrims, from the highest to the lowest, are occu-
pied with commercial transactions, either buying
provisions for their journey or engrossed in the pur-
suits of gain. The termination of the haj changes
the entire aspect both of the town and the Temple.
Of the brilliant shops lately filled with the produc-
tions and manufactures of every climate in the world,
Burckhardt remarks, that not more than a fourth
part remained. The streets were deserted, covered
with rubbish and filth, which nobody seemed dis-
posed to remove, and swarming with beggars, who
raised their plaintive voices towards the windows
of the houses they supposed to be still inhabited.*

* The streets and mosques of Mecca resound with the cries
of beggars : — " O Brethren ! O Faithful ! hear me ! I ask twenty
doll-irs from God to pay for my passage home; twenty dollars only !
Ciod is all boiintifal, and may send me a hundred dollars : biit

226 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

The suburbs were crowded with the carcasses of
dead camels, of which above 10,000 are supposed to
perish annually ; the smell rendering the air offensive,
and spreading pestilence among the inhabitants.

The mosque itself is not free from these pollu-
tions. Poor hajjis, worn out with disease and hun-
ger, are seen dragging their emaciated bodies along
the colonnades ; and when no longer able to stretch
forth their hand to ask the passengers for charity,
they place a bowl to receive alms near the mat on
which they lie. All the sick, when they feel their
last moments approach, are carried to the Temple,
that they may either be cured by a sight of the
Kaaba, or have the satisfaction of expiring within
the sacred enclosure. The friendless stranger thinks
paradise secure if he can obtain a sprinkling of the
Zemzen water, and breathe his latest sigh " in the
arms of the Prophet and the guardian angels." For
a month subsequent to the conclusion of the haj,
dead bodies are carried forth almost every morning,
and buried by persons in the service of the mosque.

Before bidding adieu to the capital of Islam, there
are several holy spots in the town and suburbs
which the pilgrims visit. Among these are the
mouleds, or birthplaces of Mohammed, Fatima, Ali,
Abu Beker, and Abu Taleb who is the great patron
of the city, and whose name is held most sacred.

it is twenty dollars only that I ask ! Remember that charity is the
sure road to paradise !" Burckhardt mentions a Yemen beggar
at Jidda who mounted the minaret daily after noon pra3'er, and
exclaimed, loud enough to be heard through the whole bazaar,
*' I ask from God fifty dollars, a suit of clothes, and a copy of the
Koran. O Faithful, hear me I I ask of you fifty dollars," &c.
This he repeated for several weeks, when a Turkish pilgrim
offered him thirty dollars to discontinue his cries : — " No," said
the beggar, " I will not take them, because I am convinced God
will send me the whole." At length the same hajii gave hmi
his full demand without being thanked for it — " Pull my beard,"
the needy suppliant will say to the scrupulous pilgrim, "if God
does not send you ten times more than what I ask !"

MEDINA. 227

The tombs of Kadijah and Amina the Prophet's mo-
ther are also objects of veneration. The guardian-
ship of these ph\ces is shared by several families,
principally sheriffs, who attend by turns with a train
of servants, and generally expect a contribution
from the purse of the visiters. Most of the hills in
the vicinity are held as consecrated ground, from
being the scene of the miracles or revelations of the
Apostle. On the top of Gebel Kobeis, the hajjis are
shown the place were the moon was split ; at Gebel
Tor, the cavern where the fugitive Prophet and his
companions took shelter in their flight to Medina;
and at Hira," now called Gebel Nour, or the Mountain
of Light, the small grotto is pointed out in the red
granite rock, where several passages of the Koran
were revealed by the angel Gabriel. But the tales
applied to these places are not supported by any au-
thentic traditions ; and a journey to them is enjoined,
less out of any feeling of reverence than from a
desire to extort money.

A more attractive object of devotion is the tomb
of Mohammed at Medina ; and such of the hajjis as
do not immediately disperse to their homes, usually
join the Syrian caravan, or form themselves into
small detachments, who are supplied with camels
by the Bedouins. Their mode of travelling is not
the most convenient ; some being mounted on the
back of the loaded animal, and others sitting, one on
each side, in panniers Or machines {she /cdafs), which
must be balanced with great care. According to
the usual practice in Hejaz, the camels walk in a
single row, those behind being tied to the tails of
those that precede them ; so that a mistake com-
mitted by the foremost leads the whole astray. A
journey of ten or eleven days (about 270 miles),
through sandy plains, irregular ridges of mountains,
and cultivated valleys, brings the pilgrims to. the
city of the Prophet. On the whole of this route
there is not a public khan ; nor is any provision

228 THE MOTIAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGfi.

made for the accommodation of travellers, except
the watering-places, which are kept in tolerable
repair. Although reckoned sufficiently safe for
larg-e bodies, yet daring robberies are occasionally
committed by the Arabs.

The sacred city of Medina lies on the edge of the
Great Arabian Desert. According to the strict pre-
cept of Mohammed, a circle of twelve miles round
the place should be considered as holy territory ;
but this injunction is completely set aside. The
town itself is well built : the houses are generally
two stories high, entirely of stone ; and not being
whitewashed, they have for the most part a gloomy
aspect. The main streets are paved ; the rest are
narrow, often only tAvo or three paces across. The
wall, which completely surrounds the city, forms a
kind of oval of about 2800 paces in circumference,
ending in a point or small rocky elevation, on which
stands the castle. This latter is enclosed by a thick
stone rampart, between thirty-five and forty feet
high, flanked by about thirty towers, and defended
by a ditch. It contains sufficient space for 600 or
800 men, has many arched rooms bomb proof, and
is supplied with excellent water.

The suburbs extend on the v/est and south, and
tover more ground than the town itself, from which
they are separated by an open space occupied with
huts, coffee-shops, markets, and gardens. There are
very few fine edifices or public buildings, and those
here, as v/ell as at Mecca, are the works of the sul-
tans of Egypt and Constantinople. There is an
abundant supply of water by means of subterra-
neous canals and Avells, which are scattered over the
town. The number of inhabitants Burckhardt sup-
posed might be between 16,000 and 20,000 ; the
greater part of whom are of foreign origin, and pre-
sent as motley a race as those of Mecca. No year
passes without an influx of new settlers, attracted
by the hope of making gain in their religious traffic

MEDINA. 229

with tlie piljarrims. Few descendants of the original
Arabs who lived here in the time of Mohammed now
remain. Of the Ansars not more than ten families
can establish their pedigree ; and these are of the
humbler class, living as peasants in the suburbs and
gardens. The number of sheriffs descended from
Hussein and Hossein were formerly considerable :
the latter are reduced to about a dozen families, who
live apart by themselves, and still rank among the
grandees of the town, A few individuals claiming
the honour of descent from the Abbassides still
reside at Medina in a state of poverty, and are
known by the appellation of Caliphi, implying the
illustrious source whence they are sprung.

The mixed race, of which the greater portion of
the inhabitants are composed, all become Arabs as to
features and character in course of the second or
third generation. In their disposition they are less
lively and cheerful than the Meccawees ; but, though
they appear outwardly more religious, and display
more gravity and circumspection in their manners,
their moral character is not better, nor are their
vices fewer than those of their neighbours. Their
style of living is poor ; though their houses are well
furnished, and their expense in dress and entertain-
ments is very considerable. As many of them are
descended from northern Turks, they retain much
of the costume as well as the habits of that nation.
Everybody, from the highest to the lowest, carries
in his hand a bludgeon or long heavy stick. The
rich have theirs headed with silver ; others jfix iran
spikes to them, and thus make a formidable weapon,
which the Arabs handle with great dexterity in their
frequent bloody affrays.

No great or wealthy merchants are settled here ;
the trade is merely retail, and those who possess
capital generally invest it in goods ; their not being
any public institution like banks, or commercial
companies, or national funds, from which the capi-

Vol. II.— U

230 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

talist might derive interest for his money. As the
law rigorously prohibits usury, this source of gain is
left wholly in the hands of Jews and Christians, the
outcasts of Europe. The produce of the lands around
the to\vn is said to be barely sufficient for four
month's consumption, which is estimated at the rate
of twenty-five or thirty-five camel-loads per day.
The rents of fields and gardens, if the crop be good,
is very considerable ; the proprietor in ordinary
years being able to sell at such a rate as to leave a
profit of from twelve to sixteen, and sometimes even
forty per cent, upon his capital, after giving up, as
is generally done, half the produce to the actual cul-
tivators. The middling classes, who have small
funds, require exorbitant returns, — none of them are
content with less than fifty per cent, annually ; and
in general they contrive, by cheating foreigners, to
double their fortune in the course of a single pil-
grimage. Most of the merchants have trifling capi-
tals of 400Z. or 500Z. : there are only two or three
families that can be considered wealthy, and these
are reported to be worth 10,000Z. or 12,000Z. sterling,
half of which perhaps is vested in land, and the rest
in trade.

The principal support of the place is drawn from
the mosque and the hajjis. The former, from con-
taining the tomb of Mohammed, is reckoned the
precious jewel of ^Medina; which on this account is
esteemed equal, and even preferred by some wri-
ters and sects of the Arabs, to Mecca itself. This
venerated edifice is situated towards the eastern ex-
tremity of the town. It is built much on the same
plan with the Temple at Mecca, forming an open
square, which is divided by a partition into two sep-
arate compartments, and surrounded on all sides
by covered arcades ; but its dimensions are much
smaller, being 165 paces in length and 130 in breadth.
The colonnades are less regular, being composed of
ten rows of pillars behind each other on the south

MEDINA. 231

Side ; four rows on the west ; and only three on the
north and part of the east side. The cohimns are
of stone, of different sizes, and all plastered white.
The small domes on the roof are whitewashed, as
are the interior walls, except that on the south side,
which is cased with slabs of marble nearly up to the
top, and adorned with several rows of inscriptions,
one above another, in large gilt letters, which have
a very brilliant effect. Spacious windows with glass
panes, some of which are finely painted, admit the
light through this wall : the floor of the colonnade
is here formed of marble, one of the best specimens
of Mosaic to be seen in the East ; the other parts,
as well as the open court, are laid out with a coarse
pavement, or merely covered with sand.

The history of this mosque resembles that of the
Beitullah. It received many donations and im-
provements from the caliphs ; and was repeatedly
plundered, destroyed, and repaired. In 1250 A. D.,
a few months after the eruption of a volcano near
the toA\Ti, it caught fire, and was burned to the
ground, — an accident which was ascribed to the
heterodox Sheahs, who were then the guardians of
the tomb. More than 200 years afterward it was
again reduced to ashes by a conflagration occasioned
by lightning. All the walls, the roof, and 120 col-
umns, fell ; the books were consumed, and the only
part that escaped was the interior of the tomb. Its
restoration was undertaken by the Sultan of Egypt,
to whom Hejaz owed a number of public works.
The whole mosque then assumed its present form,
and since that period (A. D. 1487) only a few imma-
terial improvements have been made by the Turks.

The approach to the temple is choked up on all
sides by private buildings, some of which are sepa-
rated from it only by a narrow street, while others
are close upon the walls. There are five minanets
and four gates ; the principal one, by which the haj-
jis are obliged to enter on their first visit, is ex-

232 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

tremely handsome, — its sides being inlaid with mar-
ble and glazed tiles of various colours, which give it
a very dazzling appearance. Immediately before it
is a small fountain, where it is usual for the devotees
to perform their ablutions. There are a few steps
of ascent at all the entrances, — the area of the court
being on a higher level than the streets. In the
centre of the northern division of the square stands
a small building with a vaulted roof, where the lamps
of the mosque are kept. Near it is an enclosure of
low wooden railings, which contain some palm-trees
held sacred by the Moslem, because they are believed
to have been planted by Fatima. There are no sa-
cred pigeons as at Mecca; but the quantity of woollen
carpets spread on different parts, where the most dirty
Arabs and the best-dressed strangers kneel side by
side, have rendered this " inviolable Haram" the
favourite abode of millions of other animals less
harmless than turtle-doves, and a great pest to all
visiters, who transfer them from their persons to
their private lodgings, which in consequence swarm
with vermin.

It is in the south-east corner of this division that
the famous sepulchre of Mohammed is placed, so
detached from the walls as to leave a space of about
twenty-five feet on the one side and fifteen on the
other. To defend its hallowed contents from the
approach of the impure, or the superstitious adora-
tion of the visiter, it is surrounded by an enclosure
called El Hejra, in the form of an irregular square
of nearly twenty paces, arched overhead and sup-
ported by columns. This space is encircled by an
iron railing about thirty feet high, of good work-
manship, painted green, which fills up the intervals
between the pillars, and rises to about two-thirds of
their height, leaving the upper part entirely open.
The railing is in imitation of filagree, interwoven
with inscriptions of yellow bronze, supposed by the
vulgar to be of gold, and of so close a texture that

MEDINA. 233

ho view can be gained into the interior, except
through several very small windows, wliich are
placed on each of the four sides, about five feet
above the ground. The two principal windows,
before which visiters stand when they pray, are on
the south side, where the iron fence is thinly plated
over with silver, having the often-repeated inscrip-
tion of " La Illha" carried across it in silver letters.

Four gates lead into this cage-like enclosure,
three of which are kept continually shut, — one only
being open night and morning to admit the eunuchs,
whose office it is to clean the floor and light the
lamps. What appears of the interior is merely a
curtain carried round on all sides, resembling a bed,
which is of the same height as the railing, and fills
nearly the whole space, leaving only an open walk
between of a few paces in breadth. This veil is
a rich silk brocade, of various colours, interwoven
with silver flowers and arabesques ; with a band of
inscriptions in gold characters running across the
middle, like that on the covering of the Kaaba.
Within its holy precincts no person is allowed to
enter except the chief eunuchs, who take care of it,
and whose business it is to put on during the night
the fresh curtain, which is sent from Constantinople
whenever the old one is decayed, or when a new
sultan ascends the throne. The venerable remnants
of this sacred brocade are sent back to the Turkish
capital, and serve to cover the tombs of the sove-
reigns and princes of the empire.

It is within this double frame of silk and rails that
the ashes of the Prophet repose, along with the
remains of his two earliest friends and immediate
successors, Abu Beker and Omar. Authors differ
as to the respective position of the three tombs ;
but they are said to be of plain masonwork, in the
form of a chest, and covered with precious stufl^s.*

* The vulgar story lonar prevalent in Christendom, vvhich sus-
pended the Prophet's cofiln in the air at Mecca by the action of

U2

234 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

The historian of Medina, Samhoudi, says, that the
coffin which contains the dust of Mohammed is
cased with silver and overlaid with a marble slab,
inscribed, Bismillai Allahumd Salli alei (In the name
of God bestow thy mercy upon him). Glass lamps
are suspended all round the curtain, which are kept
burning every night : the floor of this part of the
mosque is paved with various-coloured marbles in
Mosaic. The whole of this enclosure is surmounted
by a fine lofty cupola, rising far above the domes on
the roof of the colonnades, and visible at a great dis-
tance from the town ; it is covered with lead, and
has on the top a globe of considerable size and a
crescent, both glittering with gold.

In the immediate neighbourhood are the tombs of
Fatima and other Mohammedan saints. Tradition
even alleges, that, when the last trumpet shall sound,
the Saviour of the Christians, after having announced
the great day of judgment, M'ill die, and be buried by
the side of the Arabian apostle ; and that, when the
dead are raised from their graves, they shall both
ascend to heaven together. These and other fables
have been invented merely to confer an ideal im-
portance on the city and tomb of the Prophet. The
same may be said of the exaggerated accounts of its
wonders and riches, which have been long propa-
gated among strangers. It was in this sanctuary,

two powerful magnets, was a ridiculous invention of the Greeks
and Latins, and is unknown in Arabia. The Moslem of the
present day snule at the credulity of foreigners who talk of these
marvels. The fable may easily be explained without the aid of
piiilosophy, and seems to have originated, as Niebuhr supposes,
from the rude drawing sold to strangers, in which WBA

the figures of three golden coffins were represented, ^^m

not as lying horizontally, but placed one above the
other, to mark their position within the railing in the
anne.xed order. Chalcondyles (De Reb. Turc, lib.
iii. p. 66) ; Bayle (Diet. Art. Maliomet) ; Reland (De Relig. Mah.
lib. ii. c. 19) ; Gagnier (Vie, hb, vi. c. 20) ; and Pococke (Speci-
men, p. 180), will satisfy the curious student of tlie iron tomb.

MEDINA. 236

indeed, that the treasures of Hejaz were formerly
kept, either suspended on silken ropes drawn across
the interior of the building, or placed in large chests
on the ground. The whole nnist have formed a col-
lection of considerable value, though far from being
to that immense extent which many have pretended.
Next to the hejra, the most holy place in the mosque
is the rodha, where the pulpit is placed, and the two
mehrabs. On the sides of the former and of both
the mehrabs huge wax-candles are fixed, twelve feet
high and as thick as a man's body, which are lighted
every evening with the aid of a ladder kept for the
purpose.

The ceremonies required of the hajjis are here
much easier and shorter than at Mecca. On enter-
ing the mosque he must pass his right foot first over
the threshold ; while reciting certain supplications he
steps forward into the rodha, where he is enjoined
to repeat two short chapters of the Koran, and a brief
prayer, with four prostrations. His next process is
to advance slowly towards the railing of the hejra,
before the window of which, on the south side, he
takes his stand. With arms half raised he addresses
"his invocations to the Prophet, repeating the words
of the Moslem creed, besides about twenty of the
different surnames or honourable titles of ^loham-
med. Then follows a prayer solieiting the apostle's
intercession in heaven, in which he includes such of
his friends and relations as he pleases ; and if he is
delegated in the pilgrimage for another, he is bound
here to mention the name of his principal. This
done, the visiter must remain a few minutes with
his head pressed close against the window in silent
adoration ; nfter which he goes through the snme
entreaties and humble attitudes at the other win-
dows opposite the tombs of Abu Beker ai>d Omar.
A prayer and four prostrations is also addressed
before the tomb of the " bright bloomiiig Fatima,''
as she is always called ; and this, with -a -salutation

23S THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

to the Deity on returning- to the rodha before leaving"
the mosque, completes the ceremony of the ziara
or visit, the performance of which occupies at most
about twenty minutes.

Certain gifts and gratuities are exacted of every
pilgrim ; the eunuchs and porters expect their fees as
a matter of right ; privileged persons sit at different
stations to receive his donations : and beggars beset
him at the gate imploring his charity. The whole
visit cost Burckhardt fifteen piasters ; though he
states that he might have accomplished it for half
the expense. An additional sum is paid by those
who enter within the railing of the hejra : admission
is granted free to pashas, emirs, and persons of rank ;
but others must purchase this favour of the eunuchs
at the price of twelve or fifteen dollars. Few, how-
ever, avail themselves of this indulgence, because
there is little to gratify the prying eye of curiosity
beyond what falls under their external observation.
" All the privileges the hajjis have," says Pitts, " is
only to thrust in their heads at the windows between
the brass grates, and to petition the dead juggler^
which they do with a wonderful deal of reverence,
affection, and zeal." Though the visit to the mosque
and tomb are not obligatory on the faithful, it is
thought to be an act highly acceptable to the Deity,
and to expiate many sins, while it entitles the visiter
at the same time to the patronage of the Prophet in
heaven. Tlie Moslem divines affirm, that a prayer
said in sight of the hejra is as efficacious as a thou-
sand said in any other place except Mecca, and that
whoever recites forty prayers in this mosque will be
delivered from the torments of hell-fire after death.
These reputed virtues attract swarms of pilgrims
almost every month in the 3^ear, and from all parts
of the Mohammedan world.

The entire superintendence of watching, cleaning,
and lighting is intrusted to the care of forty or fifty
eunuchs, who have an establishment of khatibs,

MEDINA. 237

BMfelzins, or mezowars and guides, similar to that of
their brethren of the BeiluUah. They are persons
of far higher importance, and are more richly
dressed, though in the same costume. Their usual
title is aga; the chief, or Sheik el Haram, is styled
Highness, and considered the principal person in
the town. They have large stipends sent yearly
from Constantinople, besides a share of the fees and
donations of the hajjis. Their number is fixed at
500, and they have correspondents dispersed over
the whole Turkish empire. Besides their share of
the income of the mosque, they have their surra or
annuity, which is transmitted from Constantinople
and Cairo ; many of their families receiving as much
as 100/. or 200/. st-erling per annum, without per-
forming any duty whatever. It is from this source
chiefly that the city, with its public and pious founda-
tions, is supported, though the greater portion of
these annuities is often misapplied, aaid only serves
to pamper a swarm of idle hypocrites.

Notwithstanding some valuable presents, its repu-
tation for wealth, and its splendid exterior, the
mosque of the Prophet ranks only as a poor estab-
lishment. The gaudy colours displayed on every
side, the glazed columns, fine pavements, aiid gilt
inscriptions, dazzle the sight at first ; but after a
short pause it becomes evident Xo the spectator that
this is an exhibition of tinsel decoration, and not of
real riches, " It will bear no comparison," says
Burckhardt, " with the shrine of the most insignifi-
cant Catholic saint in Europe, and may serve as a
convincing proof that, whatever may be their super-
stition and fanaticism, the INIoslem are not disposed
to make the same pecuniary sacrifices to their reli-
gious foundations, as the Popish or even the Prot-
estant Christians do for theirs."

There are several other places in the neighbour-
hood which are also included in these pious visita-
tions, among which are the sepulchres of the son

238 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

daug-hters, wives, aunts, uncles, relations, and im->
mediate successors of the Prophet. So rich indeed
is iNIedina in the remains of great saints, that they
have almost lost their individual importance, although
the relics of any one of the persons just mentioned
would be sufficient to immortalize any other Moslem
town. A visit is made to Gebel Ohud to pray at the
tombs of Hamza and the seventy martyrs who fell
there in battle. A small cupola marks the spot
Vv^here ?.Iohammed was struck by the stone which
knocked out four of his front teeth. Koba, the vil-
lage where he first alighted on his flight from Mecca^
and the place where he changed the kebla from
Jerusalem to the Kaaba, are the only other spots
that the pilgrims are enjoined to visit.

As to the government of Medina, it has always
been considered since the commencement of Islam
as forming a separate principality. Under the ca-
liphs it was ruled by persons appointed by them,
and independent of the sheriffs of Mecca. When
the power of the Abbassides declined, these deputies
threw off their allegiance, and exercised the same
influence in the northern Hejaz that the governors
of Mecca did in the southern. The sheriffs, how-
ever, often succeeded in extending a temporary au-
thority over Medina, and when Selim I. mounted the
throne, he planted here a garrison of Turkish sol-
diers, under the command of an aga, who was to be
the military chief of the city ; while the civil jurisdic-
tion was placed in the hands of the Sheik el Haram,
or Prefect of the Temple, who was to correspond
regularly with the capital, and to have the rank of a
pasha. This mode of government, with the excep-
tion of a short period when the whole territory fell
under the power of Mecca, continued till the time
of the Wahabee invasion, about thirty j^^ears ago.
After the subjugation of that sect, Medina Avas again
placed under the authority of a Turkish commander.
The Aga el Haram takes the management of the

SUEZ. 239

pecunniry business of the mosque,. and of all eccle-
siastical affairs. Next to hiui in importance is the
cadi, though many of the native sheiks still enjoy
great respect and consideration.

After a stay of three days at the City of the Pro-
phet, the caravans take their departure — the Syrian
returns to Damascus, and the Egyptian to Cairo, by
way of Bedr, Akaba, and across the desert to Suez.
The entire route of the former from Mecca occu-
pies forty days, that of the latter thirty-seven : the
caravan to Sanaa requires forty-three days. Bedr,
famous for the battle fought by Mohammed in the
second year of the Hejira, contains upwards of five
hundred' houses, and still boasts many relics of that
miraculous engagement. Tlie celebrated field which
laid- the foundation of the Moslem empire lies south
of the town about a mile distant, at the foot of the
hills.

Suez, about seventy miles from Cairo, and once a
city of considerable wealth and splendour, is now
reduced to a paltry half-ruined village — a state of
desolation chiefly owing to the ravages committed
by the French, who thus avenged the opposition
they experienced from the beys of Egypt. The
walls and fortifications, which never were of much
strength, are rapidly falling into decay. The har-
bour is spacious and safe, and near the shore are
some well-built khans. The water is brackish and
the air bad, occasioned by the extensive salt-marshes,
which are filled with stagnant waters.* The influ-
ence of this malaria the inhabitants endeavour to
counteract by drinking brandy ; but the mortality is

* A well was discovered in 1831, near Suez, by two English
engineers, who made several experimental borings before they
succeeded. A reservoir containing 1200 cubic feet of good water
is now resorted to by the Bedouin and the pilgrim. By the ap^
phcation of science, the deserts of Arabia might perhaps be ren-
tiered habitable — Transact, of the Royal Asiat. Soc. Capt. Head's
Journey, p. 44.

240 THE MOHAMMEDAN PiLGRIMAGFir

not diminished, and fevers of a mali^ant kind pre-
vail during the spring and summer. It is very thinly
peopled, containing a mixture of Greeks, Copts, and
Arabs. At the time of the pilgrimage and the de-
parture of the fleet there is an influx of strangers ;
but nobody will reside permanently except from the
temptation of gain. There are neither merchants
nor artisan-s, except a few Greek shipwrights, — this
harbour being one of the few in the Gulf where ves-
sels can be repaired. In ancient times the naviga-
ble canal (the bed of which, 115 feet wide, is still
visible) that comiected it with the fertile banks of
the Nile made it an emporiimiof considerable celeb-
rity ; but the disadvantages under which it labours
from its situation at the extremity of a nari-ow sea,
dowqi which the winds blow with great force nine
months in the year, render it unfit for the purposes
of extensive trade. The government was formerly
mtrusted to a bey from Cairo, who kept a numerous
household, though the Bedouins might be called
complete masters of the place. Since the power
of AM Pasha has been established in Egypt, the au-
thority of the native sheiks has ceased, and a dow-
lah nominated by the Turkish sultan is now the resi-
dent governor.

In travelling from Akaba to Suez, the hajjis often
turn aside fron'k the great route to visit the shrine
of St. Catherine and the pious monuments about
Mount Sinai. The convent, though bearing the
name of that saint as its ^dee-patroness, is dedicated
to the Transfiguration. According to the accredited
tradition of the place, it dates its origin from the
fourth century. Helena, the mother o-f Constantine
the first Christian emperor, is said to have erected
here a small church to commemorate the spot where
the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush;
and in the garden of the convent a small tower or
chapel is still shown, the foundation of which is
said to have been laid by her. The piety of the

CONVENT OF MOUNT SINAI. 241

empress was imitated by others, and in course of the
next century simihir buikUngs were erected in dif-
ferent parts of the neighbourhood ; but the ill treat-
ment which the monks and hermits suffered from
the Bedouins induced them to apply to Justinian ;
and in compliance with their request, he built a for-
tified convent, capable of protecting them against
theiroppressors. Monastic establishments had then
become prevalent ; and the generous emperor is
said to have assigned the whole pieninsula in prop-
erty to the monks.

It was not till some years afterward that it got
possession of the corpse and obtained the name of
St. Catherine, who had suffered martyrdom at Alex-
andria, and was transported thence by angels to the
highest peak of the adjacent mountains. Of this
miracle one of the friars was informed in a vision ;
and search being made, the body was fomid and
entombed in the church, which thus acquired an
additional claim to the veneration of the Greek
Christians.

At the time of the Saracen conquests the number
of priests and hermits belonging to this and other
neighbouring establishments is said to have amounted
to 6000 or 7000. Notwithstanding the continued
danger to which they must have been exposed from
these bigoted zealots, they contrived to defend their
possessions against the attacks of the hostile tribes,
not by any military array, but by the more success-
ful arms of patience, meekness, and money. Under
the sultans of Egypt, they were charged with the
protection of the haj-caravans to Mecca, on that
part of the route which lay along the northern
frontier of their territory. The increasing power
of the Bedouins gradually impaired their influ-
ence and encroached on their possessions, until
they were at length confined to the walls of their
monastery.

The situation of the convent is wild and pic-

VOL. II.— X

242 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

turesque. It stands at the southern extremity of a
green valley, in a narrow recess which is terminated
by steep impending rocks. Its form is an irregular
quadrangle of about 130 paces, having the appear-
ance of a fortress, enclosed with high and solid walls
of granite, and defended by several small towers.
When the French were in Egypt, a part of the east-
ern wall, which had fallen down, was rebuilt by
order of General Kleher. Within there are eight or
ten small court-yards, some of which are neatly laid
out in beds of flowers and vegetables ; a few date-
trees and cypresses also grow there, besides a quan-
tity of vines. The distribution of the interior apart-
ments is very irregular. There is a great number
of small rooms in the lower and upper stories, most
of which are at present unoccupied. The principal
edifice is the church, which was built by Justinian,
though it has since undergone frequent repairs. It
forms an oblong square ; the roof is supported by a
double row of fine granite pillars, coated with white
plaster : and the floor is paved with beautiful slabs
of marble. An abundance of silver lamps, paintings,
and portraits of saints adorn the walls round the altar;
among the latter is a large picture of the Transfigura-
tion, portraits of Justinian, Theodora, and St. Cathe-
rine, and a St. Christopher, with a dog's head. The
silver lid of a sarcophagus likewise attracts attention ;
upon which is represented at full length the figure
of the Empress Anne of Russia, who entertained
the idea of being interred here, although the monks
were disappointed of that honour. There are twenty-
seven smaller churches or chapels dispersed over
the convent, in many of which daily masses are
read, and in all of them one at least every Sabbath.
None of them have steeples ; and as there is but one
bell, which is rung onl}^ on Sundays, it is customary
to summon the monks to daily prayers by striking
with a stick on a long piece of granite suspended
from ropes, the sound of which is heard all over the

CONVENT OF MOUNT SINAI.

243

premises. The call to vespers is made by sinking
a piece of dry wood in the same manner.

In former times, every principal Christian sect,
except Lutherans and Calvinists, had its chapel in
the convent of Sinai ; but most of these have lon^f
been abandoned by their owners. What may be
considered more remarkable is, that close by the
great church stands a Mohammedan mosque, spa-
cious enough to contain two hundred people at pray-
ers. It is said to have been built in the fifteenth or
sixteenth century, to prevent the destruction of the
monastery, and is sometimes visited by straggling
pilgrims. The greatest number of these is perhaps
from sixty to eighty annually ; but so late as the
last century, regular haj-caravans used to come from
Cairo as w'ell as from Jerusalem ; 800 Armenians
are stated to have arrived in one day, and 500
€opts on another occasion= Adjoining the con-
vent is a pleasant well-stocked garden, which is en-
tered by a subterraneous passage. It produces fruits
and vegetables of various kinds, and of the finest

quality.

The number of monks, most of whom are natives
of the Greek islands, does not now exceed twenty
or thirty. They have a president or prior ; but the
economos or steward is the true head of the com-
munity, and manages all its affairs. The superior
of the whole order is the archbishop or reis, w^ho is
chosen by a council of delegates, and formally con-
firmed by the Greek patriarch of Jerusalem. In an-
cient times he resided in the convent ; but since its
affairs have been on the decline, it has been found
expedient that he should live abroad ; the Bedouins
considering his presence as entitling them to exact
very high fees, especially on his entering the estab-
hshment. On this occasion 10,000 dollars (2156/.)
were sometimes demanded ; hence the monks, rather
than purchase this honour so dearly, shut up the
gate, and have dispensed with the archbishop's pres-

244- THE moiiamjMedan pilgrimage.

ence since the middle of the last century. Their
discipline -with regard to food and prayer is very se-
vere. They all employ themselves in some profes-
sion; and their little fraternity can boast of a cook,
a distiller, a baker, a shoemaker, a tailor, a carpen-
ter, a candle-maker, a mason, and other handicrafts,
each of whom has his workshop, with a stock of
rusty utensils, which still indicate traces of the for-
mer industry of the establishment. Brandy made
from dates is the chief solace these recluses enjoy ;
andithey are permitted, even during their fasts, to
indulge in this domestic beverage. They have a
library, which contains about 1500 Greek volumes
and 700 Arabic manuscripts ; but of this they make
little use, as they can read or Avrite no language
except their vernacular tongue. Notwithstanding
their ignorance, they are fond of seeing strangers in
their wilderness, and always receive them with hos-
pitality and kindness. As the gate has been long
walled up, visiters and provisions are hoisted up by
a windlass with a rope and a noose ; a stick being
fixed transversely to the lower end, which is let
down from a window about forty feet from the
ground.

The only habitual frequenters of the convent are
the Bedouins. They are never indeed admitted
within the walls ; but they have established the
custom, that Avhoever among them, whetlier man,
woman, or child, comes here, must be supplied with
bread for breakfast and supper, which is lowered
down in a basket. Scarcely a day passes that the
inmates have not to feed thirty or forty persons ;
and during the last century the demand w^as still
heavier, as the Arabs had a privilege to call for a
dish of cooked meat in addition to their allowance
of bread. In consequence of this practice disputes
continually happen : if the Bedouins are not satisfied
with the distribution of food or fuel, they assail the
monks, lay waste the garden, and throw stones, or

CONVENT OF MOUNT SINAI. 245

even fire their muskets from tlie surrounding heights
into the convent. The priests in their turn' are
sometimes obhged to retaliate, for they have a
well-furnished armoury and two small cannon ; but
they take great care never to kill any of their
assailants.

Notwithstanding the daily claims on their char-
ity, the expenses of the monastery are supposed to
be very moderate. The yearly consumption of corn
Burckhardt estimates at 2500 bushels, and theii
annual expenditure at 1000/. sterling. A consi-
derable revenue must arise from their possessions
abroad ; for besides the convent at Cairo, which
contains a prior and about fifty monks, they have
establishments and landed property in many other
parts of the East, especially in the Archipelago and
at Candia. They have also a small church at Cal-
cutta, and another at Surat.

The mountains and deserts in the neighbourhood,
being the sceneiy of many events in Scripture his-
tory, are pointed out by the hermits to the attention
of their visiters. On Gebel Mousa is show n a small
church dedicated to the Virgin ; a convent which
bears the name of St. Elias, erected on the spot
w^here Elijah was fed by the ravens ; and a poor
mosque without any ornaments, where the Bedouins
slaughter sheep in honour of Moses, making vows
to him, and entreating his intercession with Heaven
in their favour. At a small distance, a place is
shown in the rock, somewhat resembling the print
of the forepart of the foot, which is said to be that
of the Prophet, and is devoutly kissed by all the
Moslem. The head of the golden calf which the
Israelites worshipped, now changed into stone ; the

Elace where the brazen serpent was erected ; the
urial-place of Moses and Aaron ; the grotto where
St. Athanasius lived ; the spot touched by the foot
of Mohammed's camel on its way to heaven ; the
pulpit and petrified pot or kettle of Moses ; and the

X2

246 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

granite rock, resembling a chair, on which he sat
and beheld the fight between Joshua and the Amale-
kites, — are among the sacred spots pointed out to
the credulity of pilgrims, and identified by the bro-
therhood, who find it their interest to multiply objects
of curiosity and veneration.

On the very summit of Gebel Mousa stands a
church, which, though now much dilapidated, is an
object of great attraction. The Arabs believe that
the original tables of the commandments are buried
under the pavement ; and they have made excava-
tions on every side in the hope of finding them.
They more particularly revere this spot from a be-
lief that the rains which fall on the peninsula are
under the immediate control of Moses ; and they
are persuaded that the monks of St. Catherine are
in possession of the taourat^ or book which he sent
down from heaven ; upon the opening and shutting
of which depends the state of the weather. The
reputation which the holy men have thus obtained
of having the dispensation of ram in their hands
sometimes becomes rather troublesome to them,
especially as they have encouraged that superstitious
belief with a view to enhance their o^vn credit. By
a natural inference the Bedouins have concluded,
that if they can bring rain, they have it likewise in
their power to withhold it ; and, in consequence,
w^henever a dearth happens, they accuse them of
malevolence, and often tumultuously assemble to
compel their prayers. The same imputation they
lay to their charge wiien violent floods happen to
burst down the hills and destroy their cattle or date-
trees. A peasant some years since, whose sheep
and camels had been swept off by the torrent, went
in a fury to the convent and fired his musket at it,
exclaiming, " You have opened the book so much
that we are all drowned V The monks pacified him
with presents ; but, on departing, he begged that in

ROCK OF MERIBAir. 247

future they would only open half the taourat, in
order that the rains miglit be more moderate.

In a valley between Mount Moses and Mount
Catherine stands the convent of the Forty Martyrs,
with a good garden and an orchard of olive-trees.
Near it is the Fountain of the Partridge {Bir Sho-
ma?), so named from having been revealed by one of
these birds to the priests when they were removing
the body of their patroness, and fainting with thirst.
In the same valley a block of granite is shown as
being the Rock of Meribah, out of which water
issued when struck by the rod of Moses. It lies
quite insulated by the side of the path, and seems to
have formerly belonged to Mount Sinai, which hangs
in a variety of precipices all over the valley. Burck-
hardt says the block is about twelve feet in height,
of an irregular shape, approaching to a cube. There
are about twenty apertures on its surface, lying
nearly jn a straight line round its three sides,
througk which the water is said to have burst out.
These fissures are, for the most part, ten or twelve
inches long, two or three broad, and about the same
in depth ; some of them appearing to be incrusted
all over like the inside of a teakettle.

This stone is greatly venerated by the Bedouins,
who put grass into the crevices as offerings to the
memory of Moses, in the same manner as they place
it upon the tombs v£ their saints ; this vegetable
being to theni the most precious gift of nature, and
that upon which their existence depends. Shaw,
Pococke,'and the earlier travellers, in describmg this
rock, seem credulously to have adopted the extrava-
gant legends of the monks. The former regards
the incrusted apertures as the lively and demon-
strative tokens of their having been anciently so
many fountains; and is of opinion that art or chance
could by no means be concerned in the contrivance,
-^evidently afraid to injure the reputation of the
Scripture miracle. More recent visiters have ven-

248 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE,

tured, without impugning the truth of Sacred History,
to question the antiquity and identity of this sur-
prising block, and consider it one of the deceptions
invented by the brothers of the convent, who have
a personal interest in encouraging this superstition.
Every observer, Burckhardt has remarked, must be
convinced, on the slightest examination, that most
of the crevices are the work of art, — three or four
of them perhaps are natural, — and these may have
given rise to the tradition. That the incrustation
is the effect of moisture may be quite true ; for the
adjoining rocks, where water is still dripping, are
marked in the same manner ; so that if a fragment
of the cliff were to fall down, it might be dilficult in
a few.years to make a distinction between the two.
What renders the locality of this venerated stone
more suspicious, is the fact that this part of the
desert abounds with perennial springs, which seems
to prove decidedly that it cannot be the ^Darched
vale of Rephidim, " wjiere there was no water for
the people to drink." While, therefore, the^iiracle
of Moses remains untouched, we may be permitted
to doubt the accuracy of the monks and Bedouins,
who are naturally pleased to see strangers struck
with religious surprise at the same objects which
they themselves revere, perhaps with all the sincer-
ity of a conscientious belief.

Not far from Sinai a valley was discovered about
the beginning of the eighteenth century, which
created a considerable sensation in Europe from the
rocks being covered with inscriptions in unknown
characters and uncouth figures; this was the famous
Gehel Mokkateh, or Written Mountain. Learned soci-
eties and several governments encouraged travel-
lers to examine them ; and Mr. Clayton, bishop of
Clogher, offered 500/. to defray the expenses of the
journey, provided any man of letters would undertake
to copy them. Expectations were entertained that
these inscriptions might furnish some testimony

THE WRITTEN MOUNTAIN. '249

concerning Uie passage of the Israelites through
the Desert, or their residence in that country. But
on nearer inspection tliese sanguine hopes vanished.
The carvings were found by those who examined
them to be for tlie most part little else than the
names of travellers or pilgrims, ill-engraven in Greek,
Jewish, and Arabic characters. Crosses wxre seen
among these hieroglyphics, and a great many draw-
ings of mountain-goats and camels, the latter some-
times laden, or with riders. The whole sandstone
chffs, occasionally to the height of twelve or fifteen
feet, are thickly covered with such delineations,
which are continued for several miles with only a
few intervals.

Different opinions have been entertained as to the
age and purport of these writings ; the most proba-
ble is that which ascribes them to the hajjis in the
sixth century, who were in the habit, during the
pilgrimage, of visiting the holy places about Sinai,
or rather Mount Serbal ; which Burckhardt sup-
poses to have been ancientlj'- the principal place of
devotion, from the circumstance that, though similar
inscriptions abound in other parts, none are to be
found at Gebel INIousa or Gebel Katerin. Pococke,
Montague, Niebuhr, and other travellers, copied
them ; but little success has been made in decipher-
ing their meaning, though, from what is known, the
general opinion is that they are of no great import-
ance. The top of the Written Mountain is covered
with large stones inscribed with hieroglyphics, some
of them standing upright, while others are lying flat.
They appear to be sepulchral monuments with epi-
taphs, and may either indicate that the ruins in the
neighbourhood were once populous cities, or be
attributed to the well-known propensity of the Arabs
to bury their dead on high places. There are few
of the Bedouin tribes who have not one or more
tombs of sheiks or protecting saints on the top of
the hills, in whose honour they still offer sacrifice.

250 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE.

A goat is piously slain at the sepulchre of Aaron on
Moiiht Hor ; and the tomb of Sheik Saleh, near
Sinai, ranks next in veneration to the Mount of
Moses. On its rude Myalls are suspended silk tassels,
handkerchiefs, ostrich-eggs, halters, bridles, and
similar articles, as votive gifts. Once a year all the
tribes of the Towara Arabs in their best attire repair
to the spot, and remain encamped three daj^s ; during
which many sheep are sacrificed, camel-races run,
and the nights spent in dancing and singing. Mer-
cantile transactions are usually connected with these
sepulchral pilgrimages ; and fairs are annually held
on the spots where the bones of the patriarchs and
prophets are supposed to rest.

The only other place in this interesting peninsula,
connected with the hermits of Sinai, is the small
convent of El Bourg near Tor. Here they possess a
spacious enclosure, stocked with date-trees, whence
the fruit is conveyed to their monastery, where it is
used for making brandy. A solitary monk inhabits
the little fort built close to the garden-wall ; and,
notwithstanding his care in drawing up the ladder
by which he ascends to his habitation, he is not
unfrequently subjected to the visits of the Bedouins,
who from time to time levy a contribution of bread
and provisions as the price of their protection. Tor
has been identified, on account of its springs and
palm-groves, with the ancient Elim ; but this seems
to rest on no better authority than many other tra-
ditions. The tOAvn is described as a Avretched
assemblage of huts, in the occupation of a few
families drawn together by its waters and fruit-trees.
The fortress is said to have been built by the Por-
tuguese, but is now in a state of decay. A few
miles tp the north, and within a short distance of
the sea, lies the Gebel Narkous, or Mountain of the
Bell, which is said to emit a sound " sometimes
resembling musical glasses, sometimes like one
piece of metal struck against another." This phe-

MOUNTAIN OF THE BELL. 253

nomenoii is vHriously explained by travellers. The
Arabs believe that the bell belongs to a convent
buried under the sand. The Greeks have their
legends about saints, demons, and genii, who cele-
brate their respective mysteries under this incom-
prehensible precipice. Mr. Fazakerley says the
sound was louder or softer, according as the sand
was more or less pressed ; and that at the same
time a quivering or vibration was very sensibly felt.
Burckhardt observed nothing that could throw any
light on it ; nor did he discover the slightest mark
of volcanic action, to which he supposed the thun-
dering noise might be attributable. Perhaps the
miracle may be explained by the existence of a
cavity underneath, in which steam or rarefied air is
generated ; or by the moving of the fine white sand,
of which the bank is composed, over the moister
and harder sand beneath.*

* Similar sounds are not uncommon in other parts of the
world. (See Family Library, No. LIV.) In a paper lately read
before the Geological Society in London, Sir John Herschel
suggests as the only probable explanation which occurred to
him of the sounds at Narkous, that they are caused by the
generation and condensation of subterraneous steam ; and be-
long to the same class of phenomena as the combustion of a jet
of hydrogen gas in glass tubes. He makes the general remark,
that wherever extensive subterraneous caverns exist, commu-
nicating with each other or with the atmosphere by means of
small orifices, considerable difference of temperature may occa-
sion currents of air to pass through those apertures with sufficient
velocity for producing sonorous vibrations. The sounds described
by Humboldt, as heard at sunrise by those who sleep on certain
granitic rocks on the banks of the Orinoco, may be explained on
this principle.
Vol. II.— Y

254 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES.

CHAPTER VII.

HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES.

Origin of the Wahabees — Their Founder, Abdel Wahab— Ac-
count of their Doctrines — Success of Ibn Saoud and Abdela-
zeez in Nejed — Siege and Plunder of Kerbela — Submission
of Mecca and Medina — Destruction of rehgious Monuments
— Murder of Abdelazeez — Accession of Saoud — His Charac-
ter— Government — Revenues — Military Tactics — Revival of
the pilgrimage — Predatory Incursions of the Wahabees — At-
tempts of the Turkish Government to suppress them — Expe-
dition from Egypt lands at Yembo — Defeat of Toussoun Bey
at Jedeidn — Recapture of Medina by the Turks — Thomas
Keith, a Native of Edinburgh, made Governor of the City —
Recovery of Mecca and Hejaz — Mohammed Ah takes the
Command in Person — Arrest and Death of Ghaleb — Repulse
of the Turks at Taraba — Capture of Gunfode — Death of
Saoud — Accession of Abdallah — Strength of the Turkish
Army — Defeat of the Wahabees at Bissel — Surrender of Ta-
raba and Beishe — Cmelties of Ali — His Return to Egypt —
Campaign of Toussoun in Nejed — Treaty of Peace with Ab-
dallah— Treachery of Ali and Renewal of Hostilities — Expe-
dition under Ibrahim Pasha— His success in Nejed— Siege
and Surrender of Deraiah^Death of Abdallah — Suppression
of the Wahabees and Destruction of their Capital — Reflec-
tions on the Character of their Government and Religion.

One of the most remarkable revolutions which
Arabia has witnessed since the days of Mohammed,
was that effected by the Wahabees, a religious sect,
who evinced in their military enthusiasm all the
ardour and intolerance of the early Saracens. Their
founder, from whom they took their name, was Ab-
del Wahab, of the pastoral tribe of Tcmin, in Nejed,
and of the clan called El Wahabe, of which his
father was sheik. He was born in 1691 at the vil-
lage of El Ayeneh, in the province of El Ared. In
his youth he had visited Mecca, Medina, Biissora,

HISTORV 01- THE ^VAIrABKF.^5. 25i5

Baf^dad, and various other schools of the principal
L-ities in the East ; and being convinced, by what he
had observed during his travels, that the primitive
faith of Islam had become totally corrupted in prac-
tice, and that by far the greater part of Turks and
Persians were heretics, he determined to assume
the character of a reformer. His manners were
naturally grave and austere ; while his talents and
learning secured for him the respect of his country-
men, among whom he made several converts by
means of his writings and his reputation for wisdom.

The religion and government of this sect may be
Very briefly defined, as a Mohammedan puritanism
joined to a Bedouin phylarchy, in which the great
chief is both the political and religious leader of the
nation. In their creed they are perfectly orthodox.
The unity of God is the fundamental principle of
their faith. They believe in the Prophet, but re-
gard him as a man essentially mortal, though gifted
with a divine mission. They reject the fables and
false glosses of the Koran, acknoAvledging only the
traditions of the Sonnees. As they consider all men
equal in the sight of God, they hold it sinful to in-
voke the intercession of departed saints, or to honour
their mortal remains more than those of any other
person. Hence chapels, cupolas, and monuments,
where reverence was paid to their memory, they
condemned as an abomination; and forbade them to
be visited. To swear by Mohammed is criminal ;
and they accuse the Turks of idolatry when they
give him the title of lord in their prayers, or revere
him in a manner which approaches adoration.

In morals they were pure and rigid ; they repro-
bated the use of spirituous liquors and other exhil-
arating substitutes ; they condemned all sensual
indulgences, the neglect of justice and almsgiving,
the common practice of fraud and treachery, usury,
games of chance, and the other vices with which
even the sacred cities were polluted. In the true

256 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES.

spirit of fanaticism, they were as zealous about the
inferior as the weightier matters of the law. Next
to the war which they declared against saints and
sepulchres, their indignation was principally turned
against dress and luxury : they strictly forbade the
wearing of silk and the smoking of tobacco ; and cut
from their heads the only tuft of hair which their
early Moslem discipline had left them. Among
other unwarrantable acts which they abolished, was
that of praying over the rosary, and lamenting the
dead, thinking it impious to mourn for the soul of a
brother in heaven. They did not, however, so far
strip themselves of all superstition as to abolish the
ceremonies of ablution and the Meccan pilgrimage,
or even those of kissing the black stone and throw-
ing pebbles at the devil.

The doctrines of Abdel Wahab, it will be seen,
were not those of a new religion ; though they were
so represented by his enemies, and have been de-
scribed as such by several European travellers.*
His sole guide was the Koran and the orthodox tra-
ditions ; and his efforts were entirely directed to
remove corruptions and abuses, and restore the faith
of Islam to its original purity. Whether this great
reformer, when he preached to his countrymen in
the villages of Nejed, had any idea of establishing a
new dynasty to reign over the proselytes of Arabia,
is much to be doubted. Neither his birth, nor the
strength of his tribe, could authorize him in enter-
taining such a design. But it cannot be denied that
his doctrines had a favourable effect on the people,
by suppressing the infidel indifference which uni-
versally prevailed, aud which has generally a more

* The tenets of the Wahabees were erroneously stated by
Rousseau (1808) in his " Description of the Pashalic of Bagdad ;"
and in a Memoir of this Sect in the " Mines de I'Orient." What
is said of them in Niebuhr and Valentia is not very correct.
The best and fullest account of them is given by Burckhardt,
Mons. Coraneez, and Mengin (Append, tome ii).

inSTORV OF THE WAHABF.Efe. 257

baneful effect on the morals of a nation than the
decided acknowledjinient even of a false religion.

To trace the history of this sect, from its origin
to the vast ascendency uhich it gained in Arabia,
were merely to record events similar to those which
daily occur in the feudal wars of the desert. It was
about the year 1716, when Abdel Wahab was com-
pelled, by order of the governor of El Hassa, to
quit his native village, where for eight years, in the
capacity of sheik, he had peaceably disseminated his
opinions, and made converts of several neighbouring
chiefs. Having escaped the poniard of an assassin,
he repaired to Deraiah, and obtained a friendly asy-
lum from Mohammed ibn Saoud, sheik of the Beni
INIokren, a branch of the Wold Ali belonging to the
Aencze tribe. Here he continued to inculcate his
doctrines, which soon gained credit enough to en-
courage the extension of his project, and enable him
to employ force to subdue the refractory. Of the
numerous hordes scattered over the central wastes,
some offered their voluntary submission,while others
combined against him, and refused to acknowledge
either his temporal or spiritual authority. To in-
crease the activity of the new missionaries, they
were diligently instructed in regard to the merit of
using arms to convince heretics and infidels. The
temptations of plunder were added to the stimulants
of religious zeal ; and a share of the booty taken in
battle was always distributed among the conquerors,
according to the strict law of the Koran.

It does not appear that the great founder of the
sect himself assumed any other character than that
of their apostle or ecclesiastical ruler. His constant
residence was at Deraiah until his death in 1787,
when he had reached the advanced age of 95. He
possessed in a high degree the art of persuasion,
and is said to have captivated all hearts by his elo-
quence. Equally distinguished as an able politician
and an intrepid warrior, he maintained to the last

Y2

258 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES.

the influence which he had gained by his sword over
the destinies of Arabia. He had all the uxorious
propensities of Mohammed, and his twenty wives
produced him eighteen children.

The first military champion of the new doctrines,
and the political founder of the Wahabee govern-
ment, was Mohammed ibn Saoud, who had married
the daughter of i\bdel Wahab. When he commenced
his missionary exploits under the title of emir, ac-
companied by his eldest son Abdelazeez, his force
was so small, that in his first skirmish with the
enemy he had with him only seven camel-riders.
While the venerable apostle contented himself with
making proselytes at Deraiah, the two warriors
successively conquered Nejed, and most of the great
Bedouin tribes w^ho annually visited that territory
in quest of pasturage. The earliest and most formi-
dable of their opponents was Erar, sheik of El Hassa.
The first army which he sent against them, in 1757,
was defeated. Again he made his appearance in
person, at the head of 4000 men, with four pieces
of artillery, and laid siege to Deraiah ; but he was
again repulsed, and compelled to retreat in great
disorder. The death of Ibn Saoud, in 1765, left
Abdelazeez sole commander of the sectarian army ;
and by his bravery and indefatigable efforts their
victories were pushed to the remotest provinces of
Arabia. Mekrami, sheik of Nejeran, from being an
enemy, became a devoted folio vv^er ; the sheriff of
Abu-Arish was also reduced to obedience, and by
their means the new doctrines were spread from
the coast of Bahrein to the confines of Mocha and
Aden. As the cattle and spoils of the unconverted
were unceremoniously seized by the Wahabees, a
title by which they now became known, numbers
turned proselytes to save their property, and testified
the sHicerity of their faith by attacking and plun-
dering their neighbours.

After many hard struggles the whole of the Nejed

HISTORY OF THE M AHABEES. 260

had embraced the reformed doctrines. It had also
assumed a new political condition ; and instead of
being divided as formerly into a number of small
independent territories or clanships, perpetually at
war with each other, it became the seat of a formi-
dable power, under a chief whose authority, like
that of the first caliphs, was supreme both in civil
and spiritual affairs. Yet hostilities had not been
declared ; nor did the Wahabees encroach upon the
rights of the two governments nearest to them, —
Bagdad and Hejaz. The pilgrim-caravans passed
through their land without molestation. They were
even on friendly terms with Serour, sheriff of Mecca,
?ind, in 1781, obtained leave to perform their devo-
tions at the Kaaba. Their increase of power seems
at first to have excited the jealousy of Sheriff Gha-
teb ; and within a few years after his accession to
the government he had declared open war against
them, which was carried on in the Bedouin style,
interrupted only by a few shortlived truces. Being
then in regular correspondence with the Porte, he
left no means untried for prejudicing the Ottoman
government against the sectarians. He represented
them as infidels ; and their treatment of the Turkish
hajjis did not remove this unfavorable opinion.
Similar accounts were given by the pashas of Bag-
dad, who had seen the neighbouring country assailed
almost annually by these invaders, who exacted a
capitation-tax from all Persian devotees that crossed
the desert.

No place on the eastern border seemed better
adapted than Bagdad for pushing the war into the
heart of the enemy's territory ; and, in 1797, Soly-
:man Pasha despatched an expedition to attack De-
raiah, consisting of 4000 or 5000 Turkish troops,
and twice that number of allied Arabs, under the
command of his lieutenant-governor. Instead of
advancing directly to the capital, they laid siege to
the fortified citadel of Hassa, which resisted their

260 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEE3.

efforts above a month, until the arrival of a strong
force under Saoud, the son of Abdelazeez, deter-
mined them to retreat. The Wahabee chief antici-
pated this measure, and endeavoured to intercept
their return, by throwing camel-loads of salt, which
he had brought for the purpose, into the wells on
their line of march. The soldiers of Bagdad were
thus compelled to halt ; and for three daj^s the two
armies continued within sight of each other, but
without venturing on an attack. A truce for six
years was at length concluded, and both parties
quietly dispersed to their homes.

The failure of this expedition was fatal to the suc-
cess of the Turks, as the Wahabees had now learned
to despise them. The peace was soon broken ; and,
in 1801, Saoud at the head of 20,000 men attacked
Kerbela, so famed for the magnificent tomb or
mosque of Hossein, which had long attracted the
devotion of the !\Ioslem. The town was entered,
after a very slight resistance, by means of palm-
trunks placed against the w^all, and five thousand
persons were massacred. While executing this
horrible butchery, a fanatical doctor cried from tlie
top of a tower, " Kill, strangle all infidels who give
companions to God !" In their fury they spared
none but old men, women, and children. Their
indignation was specially directed against the sepul-
chre, which was filled with the riches of Turkey and
Persia. The cupola, with its golden ornaments, was
thrown down ; and in this act the spoilers were
heard to exclaim, " God have mercy upon those who
destroyed, and none upon those who built them !"
Treasures were found to a vast amount, which had
accumulated in proportion to the excessive venera-
tion of the pilgrims. Over the tomb was suspended
a huge pearl ; near it were deposited twenty sabres
hiounted with precious stones ; these, together with
vases, lamps, rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and ar-
ticles of gold and silver, trecame the property of

HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES. 261

Saoiid. The houses were stript of their valuable
furniture ; 4000 Cashmere shawls, 2000 swords, and
as many muskets, were piled in one heap for dis-
tribution when the troops evacuated the place,
which in five days they had reduced to a mass of
smoking ruins.

While the Wahabees were occupied on the banks
of the Euphrates, Ghaleb penetrated into Nejed and
took possession of Shara, a small town in the prov-
ince of Kasym. In his campaigns he had hitherto
heen alternately victor and vanquished; but Ab-
delazeez, extending his views with his conquests,
now began to invade Hejaz with more zeal and
perseverance than he had ever before manifested.
Already Saoud had carried the arms and the faith
of his father among the mountain-tribes on the
confines of Yemen, where Abu Nocta, the sheik of
Azir, was left in charge of the new proselytes. The
tribes eastward of Mecca were obliged to yield ; and
the country was intrusted to the command of 0th-
man el Medaife, brother-in-law to Ghaleb, but who
had for some years been at enmity with his kinsman.
In 1802, he besieged Taif, which was taken after a
vigorous resistance, and condemned to share the
fate of Kerbela ; — with this difference, that the sol-
diers had orders to spare neither old age nor infancy.
Eight hundred males were put to the sword ; but the
harems were respected. Many houses were burnt,
and the whole were plundered. All the holy tombs
were destroyed ; among others that of Al Abbas, the
uncle of Mohammed, celebrated throughout Arabia
for its beauty and its sanctity. The palace and fine
gardens of the sheriff were desolated ; but his trea-
sures had been carried to Mecca. These successes
emboldened the Wahabees, and for the first time
they interdicted the pilgrim-caravans.

In the following year, they effected the total con-
quest of Hejaz. Saoud and Othman, after several
battles with Ghaleb. approached Mecca, and pitched

262 HISTORY OF THE VVAHABEES.

their camp within an hour and a half's distance of"
the city. The eastern suburb was attacked and
taken possession of, and from that point frequent
saUies were made into the town. The governor,
undismayed, defended himself with great bravery.
He laid a mine near his palace, which obliged the
assailants to make a temporary retreat. But the
supply of water was cut off by diverting the canal
of Arafat; and the inhabitants, after a siege of two
or three months, were reduced to extreme necessity
for want of provisions. Dogs and cats were eagerly
devoured ; the only stores were at the disposal of
the sheriff and his warriors ; and when these were
consumed he retired towards Jidda, carrying off the
whole of his family and baggage, having previously
set fire to his palace to destroy such furniture as
was not easily portable. The city was now aban-
doned to its fate. On the next morning, the chief
inhabitants went out to capitulate, or rather to sur-
render at discretion ; and on the same day (April 27)
Saoud made his entrance. Not the slightest excess
was committed ; and the Meccawees still remember
with gratitude the excellent discipline observed by
the wild Bedouin soldiers. All the shops were
immediately opened by order of the victorious chief,
and every article which his troops required was
purchased with ready money. This forbearance
was doubtless the effect of policy ; but the artful
conqueror ascribed it to a miracle. He told the
ulemas, in full council, that he had seen Mohammed
in a dream, who threatened him that he should not
survive three days if a single grain of corn were
forcibly taken from the holy city. But the dis-
pleasure of the Prophet did not extend to those
objects of idolatry which offended the religious
prejudices of the Wahabees. Above eighty splendid
lombs, which covered the remains of the descend-
ants of the Apostle, and formed the great ornaments
of Mecca, were levelled with the ground ; nor was

HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES. 263

the monument of the favourite and venerable Kadi-
jah saved. The coflee-houses, or rather shops for
spirituous Hquors, next felt tlie desolating- zeal of the
reformers. Piles of hookahs and Persian pipes
were collected from these haunts and burnt in the
presence of 8aoud. The use of brandy and tobacco
were prohibited under severe penalties; and the
inhabitants were obliged to conform, outwardly at
least, to the new creed, by abandoning their lux-
uries and rich dresses, and being more punctual in
their devotions. Prayers for the sultan in the grand
mosque were ordered to be abolished ; the govern-
ment was placed in the hands of Abdel Main, the
brother of Ghaleb ; and in the following epistle this
memorable conquest was communicated to the Otto-
iiian Porte : —

"Saoud to Selim. — I entered Mecca on the 4th
day of Moharram, in the 1218th year of the Hejira.
I kept peace towards the inhabitants. I destroyed
all the tombs that were idolatrously worshipped.
I abolished the levying of all customs above two and
a half per cent. I confirmed the cadi whom you
had appointed to govern in the place, agreeably to
the commands of Mohammed. 1 desire, that in the
ensuing years you will give orders to the pashas of
Sham (Damascus) and Mesr (Cairo) not to come
accompanied with the mahmal, trumpets, and drums,
into Mecca and Medina. For why ? Religion is not
profited by these things. Peace be between us;
and may the blessing of God be unto you !— Dated
on the 10th day of Moharram." (May 3, 1803.)

From Mecca the reformer turned his arms against
Jidda; but the interval had allowed Ghaleb time to
prepare for his reception by mounting the walls
with cannon from the vessels in the harbour. For
eleven days the town was besieged; the supplies
of water were cut ofT, in consequence of which
numbers perished of thirst. But the inhabitants
fought bravely, and the Waliabee chief, despairing

251 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES.

of victory, wa,s obliged to retreat ; though some
allege this forbearance was purchased with a bribe
of 30,000 dollars (6496Z. 155.). While Saoud directed
his march towards the northern desert, the other
issued from his stronghold, and resumed the govern-
ment of Mecca. Knowing that he could not defend
the place for any length of time, he compromised
matters with the invader ; and in consideration of
his influence and high station, he obtained more
favourable terms than were usually granted to other
proselyte chiefs. The capture of this city was the-
signal for other advantages in Hejaz. The power-
ful tribe of Harb were compelled to yield, but not
without a severe contest ; and their submission was
followed by the surrender of Yembo.

Early in the spring of 1804, Medina was added to
the Wahabee conquests. The inhabitants, being
more attached to the Turkish interest than the
Meccawees, were not so leniently treated. The
usual tribute was required, but private property was-
not injured. Saoud's first care was to demolish the
tombs and strip them of all their valuable ornaments.
During the siege, a considerable part of the treasures
of the great mosque, more especially the golden
vessels, had been seized by the governor of the
town, Hassan el Khalaji, ostensibly for the purpose
of relieving the general distress; but they were
finally distributed among his own friends. The
remainder fell a prey to the Wahabee general, who
entered the sacred hejra himself, and penetrated
behind the curtain of the Prophet's tomb, where
he laid his sacrilegious hands on every thing valu-
able that could be found. Among these hoarded
treasures the most remarkable is said to have been
a brilliant star set in diamonds and pearls, which
was suspended directly over the cofRn. Around it
were deposited many costly vessels set with jewels,
earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and other ornaments,
sent as presents from all parts of the empire, but

HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES. 265

princip-ally brought by llie prcat liajjis who jiassed
through the city. Of this collection he sold part to
the sheriff of Mecca, and carried the remainder with
him to Deraiah, which is said to have consisted
chiefly of pearls and corals. The total value of the
booty was estimated at more than 300,000 dollars
(64,687/. 105.) ; though there is good reason for sup-
posing that the donations of the Faithful, accumu-
lated there for ages, must have amounted to a much
greater sum, had not the governors of the town or
the guardians of the sepulchre occasionally relieved
their necessities by large drafts from this religious
exchequer. Allured by its glittering appearance,
the Wahabees attempted to destroy the lofty dome,
and tln-ow down the gilded globe and crescent which
surmount it ; but the solid structure and the leaden
covering rendered this a difficult undertaking : and
as two of the workmen slipped from the roof and
were precipitated to the ground, the M'ork of de-
struction was abandoned ; — a circumstance ascribed
to a visible miracle wrought by the Prophet in favour
of his monument. The tomb itself was left un-
injured ; but Saoud prohibited as idolatrous all visits,
prayers, or adorations addressed to it ; no other mark
of devotion being allowed but the regular pilgrimage.
Here, as at Mecca, the due observance of prayer, and
the negation of silk and tobacco, were imposed with
great strictness. At the appointed hours a body of
Arabs, armed with large sticks, had orders to patrol
the streets and drive the inliabitants to the common
place of worship. The names of all the adult males
were called over in the mosque after morning, noon-
day, and evening prayers, and such as did not answer
to the roll were punished. A respectable woman,
accused of having smoked a hookah, was paraded
through the streets on a jackass, with the pipe sus-
pended from her neck, round which was twisted the
long flexible tube.

Between the capture of Mecca and that of Me-

Vol. II.— Z

266 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES.

dina happened the death of Abdelazeez, who was
assassinated, in October, 1803, by a Persian W'hose
relations the Wahabees had murdered. His eldest
son Saoud was unanimously elected his successor ;
and in the necessary qualities of a religious leader
he far surpassed his father. He had been trained
to war from his youth, having carried arms in battle
when only at the age of twelve. For many years
he had conducted all the w^ars ; and to him may be
ascribed the conquest of Hejaz. From the time,
however, that his reign began, it was remarked that
he never fought personally in any engagement, but
always directed his army from a position at some
distance in the rear. In person, he is said to have
been remarkably handsome ; he had a fine coun-
tenance, and wore a longer beard than is generally
seen among the Bedouins ; — a peculiarity which ob-
tained him the name of Abu Shoiiareb, or Father of
Mustachios. All the Arabs, even his enemies,
praised him for his wisdom and moderation, his
love of justice and skill in deciding litigations.

For several years after his father's death he wore
a coat-of-mail under his shirt, and never went abroad
except with a chosen guard around him. His do-
minions he divided into several districts or provinces,
over which he placed the great Bedouin sheiks, with
the honorary title of emirs ; whose principal duty it
Avas to execute public justice, to assist the tax-
gatherers, and recruit troops for the army. The
vigilant and rigid policy which they were compelled
to maintain tended to secure the country against
robbers, and to check the sanguinary feuds of hos-
tile parties ; but the new system was not popular,
and the frequent revolts of the Bedouins proved how
impatient they were of restraints so directly opposed
to their habits of wild and lawless independence.
The several tribes were made responsible for
every depredation committed within their terri-
tory, should the perpetrator be unknown ; and if

History of the wahabees. 267

they had neglected to repel or resist the agg^ression,
they were amerced in a fine equivalent to the
amount of the cattle or other property that had been
carried oft".

The revenues of the Wahabees had been estab-
lished on a plan similar to that prescribed by Mo-
hammed. On fields watered solely by rain Saoud
levied a tithe of the crops ; but he was content with
only a twentieth part from grounds where the labour
and expense of artificial irrigation were necessary.
Merchants paid yearly two and a half per cent, on
their capital, though they seldom returned an ac-
count of more than one-fourth of their property.
The most considerable portion of his revenue was
drawn from his own domains. As he made it a rule,
whenever any of the conquered cities or districts
rebelled, to plunder them for the first offence, and
confiscate for the second, most of the landed pro-
perty in Nejed had accrued to the public treasury
(Beit el Mai), and was let out to farmers, who were
obliged to pay a third, or a half, of the produce,
according to circumstances. ]Many villages of He-
jaz, the pastures near the Syrian Desert, and the
mountains towards Yemen, were thus attached to
the exchequer at Deraiah. The sheiks were not
allowed any concern in the taxes ; Imt they met the
collectors at the spots appointed for payment, which
were generally watering-places, where the people
were directed to repair.

The income of Saoud was much more than suflS-
cient to defray the public expenditure, though it was
by no means so great as was generally reported.
The largest amount, according to Burckhardt's in-
formation, in one year w^as 2,000,000 of dollars
(431,250/.) ; but on an average it did not exceed
1,000,000 annually. The outlay for military pur-
poses must have been trifling, as there was no stand-
ing army and no regular pay. The costliest part of
the establishment were his guests and his horses.

268 msTORY OF the wahabees*

Of the latter he had no fewer than 2000 as his own
property; for some of which he gave the extravagant
price of 500^. or GOOZ. When an expedition was me-
ditated against the enemy, the sheiks levied soldiers
by a kind of conscription, from every village, camp,
or family, under their control, according to its pop-
ulation ; and the corps was again dissolved as soon
as the campaign was over. All from the age of
eighteen to sixty, w^hether married or unmarried,
were required to attend. On pressing emergencies
no numbers were mentioned ; the chief merely said,
" We shall not count those who join the army, but
those who stay behind ;" a summons which was
understood to include every man capable of bearing
arms.

The necessary provisions for a soldier durhig one
cam.paign were reckoned to be 100 lbs. of flour, 50
lbs. or 60 lbs. of dates, 20 lbs. of butter, a water-
skin, and a sack of wheat or barley for the camel.

Stratagems and sudden invasions being most fa-
vourable for their purpose, no other mode of v/ar-
fare was practised. When Saoud planned an incur-
sion, the object of it was known to himself alone.
He assembled the emirs at a certain point, gener-
ally a watering-station, which was always selected
so as to deceive the enemy. If the march was in-
tended for the northward, the place of rendezvous
was appointed several days' journey to the south ;
the foe was then taken completely by surprise ; and
such were the caution and celerity with which these
attacks were executed, that they seldom failed of
success. They were made at all seasons of the
year, even in the sacred month of Ramadan. The
army was always preceded by a vanguard of 30 or
40 horsemen ; and if they were obliged to advance
under night, the chief and all the principal sheiks
had torches carried before them. In coming to
close action, the troops were divided into three or
four squadrons, one behind another ; the first com-

HIStORV OF THft WAttAfifiEK. 2G0

posed of horsemen, and the second of camel-riders^
these being reckoned the main strength of the army.
The bravest and most renowned of Saoud's warriors
were his body-griard, about 300 in number, who were
constantly kept as a corps of reserve. They usually
fought in complete armour, and had their horses
covered with a quilted woollen stuff called lebs^
impenetrable to lances or swords. To all who fell
in battle he ensured the enjoyment of paradise ;
and when the mare of a slain sheik galloped back to
the ranks with an empty saddle, it was hailed as
the happy tidings that a true believer had exchanged
his cotton keffie for a crown of martyrdom.

At the time of his accession nearly the whole
extent of Arabia had been reduced to submission.
It was seldom thought advisable to garrison any
district that he had subdued, the influence of the
sheik whom he placed over it, and the terror of
his own name, being generally sufficient to keep
the vanquished in subjection. When some of the
more powerful tribes relaxed in their allegiance, or
became irregular in the payment of tribute, three
or four flying expeditions w^ere sent against them,
which soon brought them back to obedience. The
dread of losing their crops and their cattle overcame
the scruples of the most refractory ; and Saoud was
often heard to say, " That no Arabs had ever been
stanch Wahabees until they had suffered two or
three times from the plundering of his troops.''
Medina was the only instance where it was found
necessary to keep a constant military force, the in-
liabitants being naturally hostile to his religion and
his government. In Mecca, the power of Ghaleb
was still considerable, and at Jidda his authority
remained in full force : but his great talents for in-
trigue, his venerable office, and his personal influ-
ence over several Bedouin tribes, induced his rival
to keep on amicable terms with him.

Since the conquest of Hejaz most of the regular

Z 2

270 HISTORY OF THE WAIIABEES*

pilgrim-caravans had ceased, rather than submit to
the conditions which the reformers exacted. Only
a few succeeded in makings their way, and these
were chiefly Moggrebins, Abyssinians, and Indians^
who showed more humility than the other Moslem.
For several years this state of matters continued ;
but the pilgrimage, so far from being abolished, as
some travellers have alleged, might have continued
without interruption, had the terms and safe-con-
duct of the Wahabees been accepted. Saoud was
punctual in his annual visits to Mecca, and was
always accompanied with numbers of his followerSj
whose enthusiasm, as described by an eyewitness
(Ali Bey), must have put laxer ^lussuimans to the
blush. Columns of half-naked men, with match-
locks on their shoulders and khunjers in their belts,
pressed towards the Temple to perform the towaf
and kiss the black stone. Impatient of delay, they
precipitated themselves upon the spot, some of
them opening their way with sticks in their hands.
Confusion was soon at its height ; and in the tumult
the devotees were prevented from hearing the
voices of their guides or the commands of their
chiefs.

In making the seven circuits, their movements
were accelerated by mutual impulse, until they re-
sembled a swarm of bees flitting in rapid disorder
round the Kaaba ; and by their tumultuous pressure
breaking all the lamps near it with the muskets
which they carried on their shoulders. These cere-
monies done, they rushed to the Zemzem Well, but
in such crowds, and with such precipitation, that
in a few moments, ropes, buckets, and pulleys, were
laid in ruins. The servants abandoned their posts ;
and in this emergency the Wahabees contrived to
obtain the miraculous liquid, by forming a chain of
each other's hands, which enabled them to descend
to the water. Unfortunately for the numerous char-
ities of the mosque the reformers had brought no

HISTORY OF THE WAIIABEES. 271

money with them. The well required alms, ami
the officers of the Temple expected their gratuities;
and these pious debts the Bedouins discharged by
giving them twenty or thirty grains of very coarse
gunpowder, small bits of lead, or a few grains of
coffee. The guides that repeated their prayers, and
the barbers who sliaved their heads, were paid in
the same coin. On these occasions Saoud, perhaps
dreading the fate of his father, always kept himself
surrounded with his chosen guard, even while mak-
ing his turns round the Kaaba ; and, instead of seat-
ing himself during his devotions in the usual place,
he mounted on the roof of the well, as being a more
safe position.

While Hejaz thus remained tranquil, the Waha*
bees chiefly directed their expeditions against their
neighbours in the east and the north. The district
about Bussora being rich in cattle and dates, the
banks of the Shat el Arab and of the Euphrates up to
Anah, were the scenes of their annual attacks. A
iiegro slave of Saoud's, called Hark, at the head of a
strong detachment, made various incursions into the
Syrian Desert, and frightened the Arab tribes in the
vicinity of Aleppo. In 1810, the plains of Houraii
were invaded by the commander in person ; and so
rapid and unexpected were his movements that, al-
though it required more than a month to arrive at
the point of attack, thirty-five villages were sacked
and laid in ashes by his soldiers before the Pasha
of Damascus, who had only t\vo day's notice of liis
approach, could make any demonstrations of defence.
Towards the south the Wahabees were not idle in
extending the influence of their arms over some of
the still unconquered provinces. Abu Nokta^ near
the close of 1804, descended with a numerous body
of Arabs from the mountains, and spread dismay
over the country. The towns of Loheia and Hode-
ida were plundered ; after which he retired to the
hills, where he kept the whole frontier of Yemen in

272 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES.-

fcheck till Ills death in 1809. Sanaa, however, does
not seem to have been made the object of attack.
Saoud had repeatedly offered the plunder of that rich
city to Hamoud and Abu Nokta, by way of attaching
them to his interest ; but he never actually ordered
either of them to undertake the conquest of it, proba-
bly from a Avish to reserve that enterprise for him-
self. The extensive districts of Hadramaut and
Oman offered a tempting booty, and were harassed
by frequent plundering incursions. The sovereigns
of these principalities had tendered their homage to
the Wahabee chief, and agreed to pay an annual
tribute ; but in a single year they threw off their
submission to him, and his arms were then too much
occupied in another quarter to effect their reduction.
The isles of Bahrein and the Joassamee pirates had
embraced the new doctrines, and carried them into
profitable operation by harassing the commerce on
the Gulf; but the power of Saoud on that coast
sustained an irreparable loss in the destruction of
Ras el Kh3mia, by the English expedition from
Bombay.

Although the Wahabees had come to open hostiU
ities with the Turkish government since they had
interrupted the haj-caravans, and forbidden the peo-
ple to pray in their mosques for the welfare of the
sultan, yet the Porte had hitherto remained almost
inactive. Yussuf, pasha of Damascus, in 1809, made
indeed some faint preparations for attacking the
district of .Tof. But this was merely a vain demon-
stration of his zeal, as the expedition never took
place. The immense deserts that extended between
the Syrian and Arabian capitals rendered it impos-
sible to transport sufficient provisions and ammuni-
tion for a regular campaign ; and made it obvious
that, if ever the Turkish influence was to be restored
over the holy cities, the effort for dispossessing the
Wahabees must proceed from Egypt, on which the
Hejazees almost exclusively depended for the com-

HISTORY OF TIIK WAIIABEES. 273

mon necessaries of life. The turbulent state of that
country, and the insubordin;ition of the Manilouk
beys, for some time prevented Mohammed Ali,
who had been appointed pasha by the Porte in
1804, from adopting any warlike measures against
a foreign enemy. Much might have been done,
however, towards the reduction of Hcjaz, by merely
shutting the ports of Suez and Cosseir against the
Arabian shipping ; but the viceroy, notwithstanding
the firmans from Constantinople, had too deep an
interest in the traffic of the Red Sea to sanction a
prohibitory system, which would have cut off the
gains that flowed into his cofiers from that channel.

Ambition at length overruled the passion of ava-
rice in the breast of Ali. The deliverance of the
sepulchres was likely to add a celebrity to his name
that would exalt him far above all the pashas in the
Turkish empire. To -stimulate his exertions the
sultan promised him the pashalic of Damascus for
one of his sons as soon as he should obtain posses-
sion of Mecca and Medina. As it was essential to
have a sufficient flotilla at his command for the con-
veyance of troops and provisions, he caused 28 large
and small vessels (from 100 to 250 tons burden) to
be built at Suez, which kept about 1000 workmen
for three years in constant employment.

In August, 1811, this armada was ready for depar-
ture. Toussoun Bey, the second son of the pasha, a
youth of eighteen, v/ho had given proofs of extraor-
dinary courage in the Mamlouk war, was placed in
command. The expedition consisted of two parts,
cavalry and infantry ; the former amounting to a
body of about 800 men, Turks and Bedouins ; and
the latter, composed principally of Arnaout soldiers,
to the number of 1500 or 2000, under the direction
of Saleh Aga and Omar Aga. In October, the fleet
reached Yembo, which capitulated after a feeble
resistance of two days. The town was not gar-
risoned by Wahabees, but by some troops belonging

274 HISTORY dF THE Vv'AHABEES.

to the sheriff, who had declared himself a proselyte
and an ally of Saoud.

Several months were consumed in negotiations ■
for Ghaleb, when he heard of the formidable arma-
ment of Ali Pasha, had thought it advisable to enter
into a secret correspondence with him, in which he
communicated much information as to the actual
state and force of the enemy ; and promised to throw
off his allegiance to them on the first appearance of
a respectable Turkish army in Hejaz. Toussoun,
however, soon discovered that the state of the coun-
try Was by no means such as he had expected from
the representations of the sheriff, who was evidently
not sincere in his offers of friendship, and only wait-
ing to join the stronger party. The inhabitants were
too much overawed by the vigilance and power of
Saoud to stir without some more decided prospect
of ultimate success. A few of the Bedouins in the
neighbourhood of Yembo were all he Avas able to
detach from the Wahabees.

To put an end to this state of fruitless inactivity,
Toussoun resolved to attack Medina, wisely judging
this step more prudent than marching towards Jidda
or Mecca, where the stratagems of the sheriff might
have been as fatal to him as the arms of Saoud.
Leaving a garrison at Yembo, he set out on his ex-
pedition in Januarys 1812. The towns of Bedr and
Safra were taken after a slight skirmish. At the
village of Jedeida the road leads through a narrow
passage between steep and rugged mountains. In
this defile, wiiich extends in length about one hour
and a half, the Turkish army was at once assailed
by the united force of the Harbs and Wahabees, who
thickly covered the precipices on both sides, to the
number of 20,000 infantry, and from 600 to 800
horsemen, commanded by Abdallah and Faisal, two
of the sons of Saoud Instead of retreating to the
village, where they might have defended themselves,
the invaders, on the first cry of alarm, took to flight ;

HISTORY OF THE \VA1IABEES. 273

while their nimble enemies pressing from behind,
and outrunninfT them alonpr the hills, poured inces-
sant volleys upon their disordered ranks. About
1200 were killed ; and the whole body might have
been annihilated had the Wahabees instantly pushed
over the mountains, instead of contenting themselves
with seizing the baggage and artillery.

Under such disastrous circumstances Toussoun
did not forfeit his reputation for bravery. With tears
gushing from his eyes, he was heard to exclaim to
his flying squadrons, " Will none of you stand by
me ?" and after vainly endeavouring to rally his
troops, he hastened to the rear with only two horse-
men of his own suite, and plunged into the midst of
the enemy, to make them desist from the pursuit.
Having set fire to his camp at Bedr, and left his mili-
tary chest, which he had not the means to remove,
he embarked at the nearest port, where some of his
ships lay at anchor, and proceeded to Yembo, where
in a few days he was joined by the wreck of his
army. These losses completely disheartened the
troops ; the Bedouins deserted, Saleh Aga. and Omar
Aga declared they would no longer fight in Hejaz,
and were sent back to Cairo. The W'ahabees
scoured the country to the shores of the Red Sea,
being joined by the Sheriff Ghaleb in person.

When the intelligence of this failure was known
to Ali Pasha, he lost no time in preparing for a new
expedition. Fresh reinforcements of men and am-
nuniition daily arrived : while large sums of money
were sent for distribution among the Bedouin sheiks ;
bv which means a considerable number of them were
detached from the interest of Saoud. In October,
1812, Toussoun thought himself sufticiently strong to
make a second attempt upon Medina. The gold of
Egypt had opened the dangerous pass of Jedcida ;
and the Turkish army arrived v/ithout opposition
under the walls of the city of the Prophet, The
tpv/n and castle were occupied by a Wahabee gar»

276 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES.

rison, well supplied Avith ]5rovisions for a long sieg-e;
but the chief and his soldiers were so elated with
their former success, and so confident in the strength
of their fortress, that they seemed to have abandoned
themselves to a state of the most culpable inactivity.
Ahmed Aga, an officer of acknowledged bravery,
but whose idle boasting had procured him the sur-
name of Bonaparte, entered the suburbs with little
resistance, and drove the enemy into the inner town.
As the Turks had nothing but light field-pieces to
batter the wall, the siege was protracted to fourteen
or fifteen days. At length a mine was laid, and
while the inhabitants were engaged in their mid-day
prayers part of the fortifications was blown up, and
the Arnaouts marched into the city. The Wahabees
fled in surprise towards the castle : above 1000 of
them were butchered in the streets, and about 1500
sought refuge in the citadel, which, from its situation,
might have set the Egyptian artillery at defiance.
The place was instantly plundered ; and after stand-
ing out for three weeks, the garrison, finding their
provisions exhausted, were forced to capitulate, —
Ahmed Bonaparte having promised to grant them a
safe conduct, and provide camels for carrying the
baggage of such as wished to return to Nejed. These
stipulations, however, were shamefully violated.
Only fifty camels instead of 300 were procured,
which obliged the emigrants to leave behind them
the greater part of their eifects ; and no sooner had
they quitted the precincts of the town, than the
Turkish soldiers pursued, stopped, and slaughtered
as many of them as they could overtake. In the
true style of Tartar barbarity, Ahmed collected the
sculls of all the AVahabees killed at Medina, and
constructed tliem into a kind of towe.r on the high
road to Yembo.

Among the soldiers in the pasha's army who
signalized their bravery at the siege of Medina was
a young Scotchman, about twenty years of age, a

HISTORY OF Tilt WAHABEES. 277

native of Edinburgh, iv.imcd Thomas Keith. He
had served as a p^iinsmilh in the 92d Highlanders,
during .the English expedition into Egj-pt, where he
was taken prisoner, and purchased from a common
soldier by Ahmed Bonaparte, in whose service he
chauged his religion and became a Mussulman. A
favourite Sicilian IMamlouk of his master having
offered iiim some insult, the indignant Scotchman
drew his sword ; blows ensued, and the aggressor
fell. To escape tba consequences, Keith, who now
bore the name of Ibrahim Aga, implored the protec-
tion of Alohammed Ali's lady, who befriended him,
and recommended him to her son, Toussoun Bey.
Here again, on account of some trilling neglect of
duty, he incurred the displeasure of his master, who
gave orders that he should be put to death. His
room was beset with slaves, read}^ to execute the
capricious mandate of the prince ; but the brave fel-
low defended the entrance with his sword for half
an hour against the assailants, and then threw him-
self out of the window, and escaped to his kind pro-
tectress. Toussoun was soon reconciled ; and being
sensible of Ibrahim's merit and approved courage, he
made him chief of his ^Nlamlouks. Keith was one
of the two horsemen that stood by the young. prince
at the pass of Jedeida, on which occasion he was
promoted to the office of treasurer, — the second in
rank at the court of a pasha. At Medina he fought
with equal courage, being the first man that mounted
the breach, and after distinguishing himself on several
other occasions, he was made governor of that city
in April, 1815.

The success of the expedition in northern Hejaz
encouraged Ali Pasha to despatch another of 1000
horse and 500 foot against Jidda and Mecca, under
the command of his brother-in-law Mustapha Bey.
The Sheriff Ghaleb, intimidated by the fall of Me-
dina, had renewed his offers to the Turks, and sent
messcncrers inviting their chief to enter the town

Vol. II. — ^A a

278 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES.

under his charge. Thus deserted by his relation,
Medaifa, who commanded the Wahabee forces in
that district, found himself too weak to hazard a
battle, and retired towards Taif. Jidda was seized
by a detachment of a few hundred men, while Mus-
tapha, with the principal corps, entered ^Mecca in
January, 1813. The property of the citizens was
respected, as it had formerly been by the soldiers
of Saoud; while 1000 Arabs and black slaves, with
the sheriff at their head, were added to the ranks
of the Egyptian army. Taif immediately fell, and
its brave defender, ?»Iedaifa, v>-as soon after seized
by the partisans of Ghaleb, and despatched to Con-
stantinople, where the youngest son of Mohammed
Ali presented him to his sovereign, with the keys
of the holy cities, together with many valuable offer-
ings. The noble captive was immediately beheaded ;
and thus the reformers lost their most active and
intrepid ally in Hejaz.

The recovery of this province opened a free pas-
sage for the haj-caravans, which had been inter-
rupted for several years ; but it had not broken the
power of the Wahabees. All the tribes eastward of
the mountains that bound the great desert parallel
with the sea still acknowledged the supremacy of
Saoud. The Turks never encountered them in the
open country without being defeated ; and as the
conduct of Ghaleb was by no means such as to in-
spire his new allies with confidence, Mohammed Ali
thought it necessary to visit m person the scene of
action, that he might establish his authority on a
more secure and permanent footing. Egypt had
long been in a state of complete subjection ; so that
he could allege no excuse to the Porte for disobe-
dience to its peremptory commands. He embarked
at Suez with 2000 infantry, while an equal number
of cavalry, accompanied by a train of 8000 camels,
proceeded by land. Of the latter only five hundred
survived; the rest having perished on the roa<J,

HISTORY OF THF. WAIIABKES. 279

ovving to the scarcity of herbage. On his arrival
at Mecca lie inprratiated himself with the inhabit-
ants, by distributing]: presents, and ordering the
mosques to be repaired. His first interviews Avitli
Ghaleb were on friendly terms, but he soon became
cool in his demonstrations of amity. Although both
had sworn on the Koran never to attempt any thing
contrary to the interest, safety, or life of each other,
these vows were not considered binding longer than
it was convenient to keep them. Both were equally
suspicious, and accused each other of insidious
machinations. It now became the principal object
of the Egyptian pasha to arrest and imprison his
rival : — an enterprise of no small difficulty, con-
sidering the sheriff's influence over the neighbour-
ing Arabs, and the strength of the castle where he
resided, which was well supplied with provisions,
and defended by a garrison of 800 men. This feat
was at length accomplished by a stratagem ; Ghaleb
w^as seized, while paying a visit of ceremony to
Toussoun, by a detachment of soldiers, who lay con-
cealed in the apartments adjoining the court-yard of
the house which he had just entered. After a short
captivit}^ at Mecca, he M'as conveyed by way of Cos-
seir to Cairo, where he was joined by his wives and
a retinue of eunuchs and slaves ; but he died of the
plague in the summer of 1816 at Salonica, the place
which the Porte had assigned for his residence.
The fate of this chief spread terror among all his
partisans, and caused a revolution in the whole
political affairs of the country. Yahia, a distant
relation of his, and formerly an antagonist, was ap-
pointed governor of the city, with a monthly stipend
from the pasha.

Among the hostile tribes near Mecca, none had
displayed a more resolute opposition than the Be-
goum Arabs who inhabited Taraba, where most of
Ghaleb's troops had taken refuge ; and which thus
became a point of units? for all the southern Waha*

280 HISTORY OF TKE WAHABEES.

bees, as Deraiah was of the northern. Their leader
at this time was a widow, named GhaUa, whose 1ms-
band had been one of the principal men of the place.
She was possessed of great wealth, which was dis-
tributed liberally among all the poor of the tribe who
were willing to fight against the Turks. The Egyp-
tian soldiers entertained the most absurd notion of
her powers as a sorceress, and believed that she had
the faculty, by means of certain personal favours,
of rendering the Wahabee chiefs invincible.

In the beginning of November, 1813, Toussoun
was despatched from Taif v/ith 2000 men, and on
his reaching Taraba the troops Avere immediately
ordered to attack the place. The Arabs defended
their walls with great spirit, being animated by the
presence and exhortations of the heroic widow.
The assailants were easily repulsed ; and next day
they commenced their retreat, closely pressed by
the Bedouins, who harassed them so severely that
they were obliged to abandon their baggage, tents,
arms, and provisions. Upwards of 700 men were
slaughtered in the flight ; many more died of hunger
and thirst ; and the whole must have been annihi-
lated but for the intrepidity of the celebrated Thomas
Keith, who with a handful of horsemen retook a
piece of artillery, which he pointed so v/ell that he
gave the fugitives time to cross the defile before the
enemy could advance. After a variety of hardships
and hairbreadth escapes, Toussoun arrived at Taif
with the wreck of his army ; and for eighteen
months all hostile operations in the field were sus-
pended.

As Alihad seen every expedition into the interior
fail, except that against Medina, a naval armament, ac-
companied by 1500 soldiers and numerous transports
with provisions, under the command of Hossein Aga
and Zaim Oglu, was fitted out at Jidda, and directed
to make an attack on Confode, which for five years
had been in the possession Pf tlie Sheik Tami, chief

HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES. 281

of the Azir A nibs and successor of Abu Nockta
The town, wliich was without a natural supply of
water, and defended only by a small garrison, was
taken in March, 1814 ; not, however, witliout a brave
defence and a great expense of blood. The walls
and bastions being composed of earth or unbaked
bricks, yielded to the cannon-balls, which sunk into
them without destroying them. From tlie small-
ness of the space^ and the close contact of the par-
ties, the scene of carnage within became dreadful
in the extreme. Not only the swords and knives,
but even the teeth and nails of the combatants were
made use of in their fury ; several of the besiegers
were killed, or rather torn to pieces, in this horrid
encounter ; while not one who had been engaged on
the other side was left alive. Tlie brutal Zaim, ox-
asperated at their obstinacy, published a reward of
200 piastres (3^. 6^. 8d.) for every Arab head^ or pair
of ears, that should be brought to him by his troops.
The Arnaout soldiers, naturally greedy, dispersed
themselves in every direction to reap their bloody
harvest, dragging their wretched victims from their
lurking-holes, some of whom consented to save their
lives at the expense of mutilation. The Turks, hav-
ing got possession of the place, were ordered to
maintain it as a military post. But their triumph
was short. Early in May they were surprised by
the descent of a corps of 8000 "or 10,000 Wahabees,
under the personal command of Tami. Their ap-
pearance spread general consternation ; the Arnaout
guard at the well were cut to pieces ; and the panic-
struck commander, with most of the troops, fled to
the ships that lay in the harbour. The invaders en-
tered the town, where they put all that could be
found to the sword ; and such was their eagerness
in pursuit, that they swam after the fugitives, and
actually killed numbers of them iai the xvater under
the ginis of the vessels.

These repeated disasters grcatlv displeased, but

Aa2

282 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES.

they did not discourage Ali Pasha, who had now
established his head-quarters at Taif. Zaim Oglu
was appointed governor of Jidda; and Toussoun,
who by his inconsiderate attack on Taraba had in-
curred liis father's displeasure, remained stationed
at ]Mecca. At this time the state of Turkish affairs
in Hejaz did not by any means promise a favourable
issue to the contest. The certain death that awaited
ail prisoners rendered the very name of Wahabee a
terror among the pasha's troops. The arrears of pay
for two or three months, and the extreme dearth of
provisions, which had risen to such a height that a
soldier could barely afford to purchase a subsistence
of bread and onions (his only food), spread consider-
able discontent in the army.

Under these circumstances, Ali was perhaps the
only individual of his own court or army that did
not despair of ultimate success. Relying on the
powerful auxiliaries of money and patience, he had,
since his residence at Ta'if, endeavoured to reopen
a friendly intercourse with the Bedouins ; and in
this he partially succeeded. The profusion with
which he scattered dollars around him was felt in
the heart of the Wahabee host ; and although the
attachment thus procured was perhaps not very sin-
cere, yet numbers affected to be so, and at least re-
mained neuter, that they might partake of his bountyv
His policy towards the inhabitants of Hejaz was
equally conciliatory. He abohshed or diminished
the customs on various articles, particularly coffee ;
he gave liberal donations to the holy places ; and
even performed at the Kaaba the tedious and absurd
ceremonies of the Moslem ritual.

At this important crisis an irreparable misfortune
befell the Wahabees in the death of Saoud, who ex-
pired of a fever at Deraiah in April, 1814, at the age
of sixty-eight. In him they lost an indefatigable
leader, possessing all the talents necessary for the
eminent situation which he held. Victory never

HISTORY OF THE WAlIABEES. 283

abandoned his colours while he was at the head of
his troops ; and to his loss may be attributed the dis-
asters which soon after befell his nation. His last
words, it is said, were addressed to his eldest son
and successor, Abdallah, advising him never to en-
gage the Turks in open plains — a principle which,
if strictly followed, would have ensured in all proba-
bility the recovery of Hejaz.

Abdallah had been trained to arms from infancy;
and it is recorded of him, that at the early age of
five years he could gallop his mare. He was even
more distinguished for courage than his father, as
he made it a constant rule to fight everywhere hi
person. His mental qualities were considered to
be of the first order — and so long as Saoud filled the
throne, he occupied the second place in his domin-
ions ; none of his other brothers being allowed to
exercise any hifluence in public afiairs. With all
his superior reputation for bravery and skill in war,
however, he knew not so well as his predecessor
how to manage the political interests of the tribes
under his command, whose general strength was
now Aveakened by the quarrels of the great sheiks ;
while the measures v/hich he adopted in oppos-
ing Mohammed Ali seemed to prove that he by no
means possessed the wisdom and sagacity of his
father.

The prospects of the Turks began to assume a
brighter aspect. Their army had been strengthened
by various reinforcements : 20,000 men were now
at the command of the viceroy, and distributed over
different parts of the country. At Mecca 350 were
stationed under Ibrahim Agaand the Sheriff Yaliia ;
between 300 and 400 were at Medina, where Divan
EftVndi had the command ; 300 formed the garrison
of Yembo and Jidda. The remainder Avere either
with Ali himself, or with Hassan Pasha and his
brother Abdin Bey, acting as the advanced posts of
the army to the southward of Taif. Four hundred

2S4 History of the waiiabkiis.

Bedouin soldiers were placed under the charge of
Sheriff Rajah, a relation of Ghaleb, and a distin-
guished leader of the V\'ahabecs in Hejaz, who had
been won over to the side of the enemy.

One obstacle alone retarded the immediate adop-
tion of offensive measures. The campaign had
proved most destructive to the Egyptian camels :
hundreds of their dead bodies strewed the roads be-
tween Jidda and Taif, and occasioned such a pesti-
lential stench that the inhabitants were obliged to
consume them to ashes with dry grass from the
adjoining mountains. At a moderate calculation,
during the three years of the war, 30,000 of these
animals belonging to the army had perished in Hejaz.
The arrival of the pilgrim-caravans in November
brought a reinforcement of 6000 or 7000, chiefly of
the Syrian breed, which were better adapted than
the others for military purposes.

While these measures were in preparation, the
Wahabees had made frequent incursions towards
Taif, and against the tribes which had espoused the
cause of the pasha. To intercept the communica-
tion between Jidda and Mecca, they attacked the
camp at Bahra, which they pillaged of its baggage,
carrying off a small caravan, and massacring all the
inhabitants they could find. The pride of the Turks
was still farther humbled by another defeat. Abdin
Bey, with his Arnaouts, who occupied certain dis-
tricts in the province of Tehama, had laid desolate
the country to the extent of forty miles, that by
means of this artificial desert he might prevent the
sudden incursions of the enemy. Notwitlistanding
these cruel precautions, the Sheik Bakrouj, at the
head of his Arabs and a strong detachment from
Tami, stole by surprise into the Turkish camp at
Barush about daybreak, and fell upon the sleeping
soldiers, of whom they slaughtered 800, besides 80
horsemen. Bakrouj pursued the fugitives during
two days ; and not an individual would have es-

HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES. 285

caped destruction liad not Hossein Bey, with a
troop of cavalry, covered their retreat. Such of
them as foil alive into the hands of the pursuers
were cruelly nuitilated, by having their arms and
legs cut off, and then left to perish in that horrid
condition.

The whole effective strength of the Egyptian
army, reinforced by 800 horsemen of Libyan Bedou-
ins from Cairo, was now collected near Taif ; and
from the state of his storehouses and the number
of his camps, Mohammed Ali considered his success
no longer doubtful. He resolved to place himself at
their head, and to take command in person of the
next expedition, Avhich was directed against Taraba,
in revenge for the disgrace and losses that had been
sustained there by his favourite son. A well-ap-
pointed artillery, consisting of twelve fieldpieces —
500 axes for cutting down the palm-groves near the
town — a company of masons and carpenters for the
purpose of opening a mine to blov/ it up at once —
encouraged the soldiers to believe that the walls of
Taraba could not long remain standing. To crown
the work of desolation, a load of watermelon seeds
was brought from Wady Fatima, and paraded through
the ranks, indicating his intention of sowing them
on the spot which the devoted place still occupied.
The Wahabees were nothing daunted at these pomp-
ous demonstrations. Confident in the strength of his
position, Bakrouj wrote a sneering epistle to Ali,
advising him to return to Eg^-pt, or provide better
troops if he meant to fight with him.

In January, 1815, the pasha, with all the forces
and camels he could muster, left Mecca and pro-
ceeded towards Kolach, where Hassan Pasha, Ach-
med Bonaparte, Topouz Oglu, Sheriff Rajah, and
other chiefs were already assembled; and where
sufficient provisions had been collected for fifty or
sixty days. While here, information was brought
that' the enemy had seized upon Bisscl, a strong

286 HISTORY OF THE WAHAttEES

position in their rear, which would enable them to
interrupt the communication between Kolach and
Taif. Bissel is a level spot of ground, encircled by
a natural rampart of hills, through wliich are seve-
ral narrow passes or entrances. On these emi-
nences the Wahabees were posted, while the area
within contained their stores and ammunition, be-
sides a great quantity of private property. Their
whole force was reckoned at 25,000 infantry, ac-
companied by 5000 camels ; but they had few cav-
alry, and were entirely destitute of artillery. Among
the distinguished leaders of this army were Faisal,
brother of Abdallah, the renowned heroine Ghalia,
the vSheik Tami, with all the chiefs of the Yemen
mountains, and some whose dwellings were as far
eastward as the borders of Hadramaut.

When the pasha's cavalry approached they wisely
remained on their hills, and repulsed with some loss
an attack made on a valley where the Turks wished
to plant one of their fieldpieces. A whole day was
consumed in fruitless attempts ; and such was the
terror inflicted by the lances of the Wahabees, that
numbers deserted the ranks and fled to Mecca, where
they spread the alarming news of the pasha's death,
and the total defeat of the expedition. Finding he
could have no chance of success so long as the
enemy kept the mountains, the policy of Ali was to
decoy them into the plain. He sent during the
night for reinforcements from Kolach, and early
next morning renewed the assault ; commanding
the officers to advance with their columns closer to
the enemy's position, and after the first fire, to re-
treat in seeming disorder. The stratagem had the
desired effect. The Arabs, seeing their adversa-
ries fly, thought they were panic-struck, and that
the fortunate moment for completely crushing them
had arrived. They imprudently abandoned the steeps
and gave chase over the plain ; and when they had
advanced to a sufficient distance from their strong-

HISTORY OF THE WAIIABEES.* 287

holds, the pasha wheeled round with liis cavalry,
outflanked the pursuers, and, after a hot engagement
of five hours, gained a decisive victory.

In this action the pasha fought in person at the
moment when he ordered his cavalry to wheel and
repel their pursuers. In order to keep alive the
spirit of resistance, he dismounted, commanded his
carpet to be spread on a little level spot in presence
of the whole line, and seating himself ui)on it,
he called for his pipe, declaring that from that
ground he would not move, but there await victory
or death as fate might determine. A reward of six
dollars was proclaimed to every soldier who should
present him witli the head of an enemy ; and in a
few hours 5000 of these ghastly trophies were piled
up before him. Mere courage was all the Wahabees
had to oppose to military skill and experience ; and
this noble quality did not forsake them to the last, for
even in the most "desperate condition they maintained
the fight during a considerable time. The Turkish
infantry at length turned their position ; when She-
riflf Rajah, who had just arrived with his corps, like
another Blucher, fell upon their rear, and compelled
them to fly in the utmost disorder. He beset the
narrow valley through v/hieh they attempted to re-
treat, and here 1500 of them were surrounded and
cut to pieces.

The slaughter Avas prodigious, the whole field
being strewed over with headless bodies ; for there
were few of the mercenary Turks who did not
claim and receive the recompense promised them by
their commander-in-chief. About 300 were taken
alive at the express desire of Ali, who ordered his
troops to offer them quarter, as very few of the
Arabs had condescended to beg for mercy. A body
still remained on the heights with a vievv^ to guard
the baggage; they stood their ground with desperate
bravery, but their position was at length carried,
aud not a man left alive. Tami fled with onlv a

288 *• HISTORY OF THE VvAHABEES.

very few followers, as did also Faisal and Ghalia.
The escape of this aniazoii was a disappointment
to Ali, who was anxious to send her as a trophy
to Constantinople ; but no proposals could induce
her to desert the Bedouins, or confide in the offers
of the Turks. The whole camp of the Wahabees,
— their provisions, ammunition, camels, women,
and all that belonged to them, — became the prey
of the victors. The tent of Faisal, which contained
about 2000 dollars (437/.), was bestowed on Rajah,
who had especially distinguished himself. Mounted
on a famous mare, he had galloped far in advance
of the lines through the enemy's ranks, and striking
his lance into the ground immediately before the
door of the tent, he defended himself with his sword
until he Avas rescued by the approach of his friends.
The loss of the Turks was reckoned only between
400 and 500 men, chiefly owing to the skilful dispo-
sitions of the pasha. Individual instances are re-
corded of the most romantic valour among the Arabs.
Bakrouj killed two of the pasha's officers with his
own hand ; and when his mare was shot under him,
he fought on foot among the Turkish cavalry until
he found an opportunity of pulling a trooper from
his horse, which he instantly mounted, and by this
means escaped. IbnShokban, chief of Beishe, with
a few hundred men, cut his way through the whole
body of the enemy's infantry. Numerous parties
of the Azir Arabs had sworn by the oath of divorce
not to fly, but if possible to return to their families
victorious. After the battle, whole ranks of them
vvere found lying dead upon the hills, tied together
by the legs with ropes. Having fought as long as
their ammunition lasted, they had resolved to perish
to the last man rather than disgrace their tribe by
running away.

Tidings of this important victory were imme-
diately despatched to Constantinople and Cairo,
Elated with success, the Turks resumed their na"

HISTORY OF THE VVAHABEES. 280

tional fierceness and insolence, which had in some
degree been checked. AYi stained his laurels with
the most revolting cruelties. The 300 prisoners to
whom he had promised quarter fell by the hand of
the executioner. Fifty of them were impaled alive
before the gates of Mecca ; twelve suffered a like
horrible death at the halting-places on the road to
Jidda; and the rest mider the walls of that town.
Their carcasses were allowed to remain until the
dogs and vultures devoured them.

Without suffering the ardour of his troops to cool,
the pasha directed his march on Taraba, where he
arrived within four days after the battle. Faisal tied
at his approach ; and the deserted inhabitants, who
consisted chiefly of old men, women, and children,
were glad to capitulate and beg for protection. A.
panic had seized the whole country, and the Turk-
ish army met not the slightest opposition. As the
strength of the enemy lay in the southern countries,
Ali resolved to follow them into their own territo-
ries, and if possible to exterminate their party.

Several of the chiefs and fugitives who had made
their escape from Bissel posted themselves at Beishe,
a fertile comitry eastward of the Yemen moun-
tains. Here they had assembled to a considerable
number, and seemed determined to maintain a very
obstinate resistance, — having defended themselves
by a line of mud-fortifications, pierced everywhere
with loopholes for the discharge of fire-arms. A
cannonade was kept up without effect for two days,
when a discharge of shells put an end to the con-
test. One of these having exploded, set fire to some
combustibles, which communicating to all the dry
woodwork and thatching of reed and palm-branches
in the interior, had the effect of spreading almost
immediately into one general blaze ; — the heat and
smoke of which became intolerable even to the as-
sailants, and soon drove out the besieged to a pre-
cipitate flight,- when they were instantly pursued by

Vol. II.— B b

290 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES.

the Turkish horsemen. Among those who escaped
was the heroine Ghaha. Having no longer any se-
cure place of retreat, she led her followers into the
desert, and ultimately reached Deraiali. The castle
of Ranniah, with several others, capitulated.

One formidable enemy yet remained in the field,
the Sheik Tami, who was resolved to try a second
battle, and had assembled a considerable army be-
yond the rugged mountains of Azir, twelve or four-
teen days' journey westward from Beishe. Towards
this district Mohammed Ali next directed his at-
tempts. On the march, his army suffered the ex-
tremities of "hunger and fatigue. A hundred horses
sometimes died in one day, and out of more than
10,000 camels only 300 survived the expedition.
The sinking spirits of the troops were kept up by the
pasha, who promised them a glorious booty in plun-
dering the towns of Yemen. Tami had collected a
force of 8,000 or 10,000 men at a mountain-fortress
called Tor, so strong as to be deemed by the Arabs
impregnable. In two days the Turkish artillery
forced the Wahabees to yield, though the combat
was more vigorously maintained than at Bissel.
In the castle were found considerable stores of
provisions, which proved most seasonable to the in-
vading army.

Tami fled ; but he was the last to quit the field.
Having taken refuge in the house of a friend, he
was betrayed and delivered up in chains to Sheriff
Rajah, who was roaming about the mountains in
search of the fugitive. Bakrouj was at the same
time defeated in Zohran, and being hemmed in
between two fires, was taken prisoner. The two
noble captives were sent to the pasha, and both suf-
fered the death of traitors. Bakrouj was never
forgiven the insulting letter which he wrote from
Taraba. He maintained a sulky silence under his
misfortunes. Once he made his escape on finding
his guards asleep- but was retaken, after killing

HISTORY OF THE WATIABBES. 291

two men and wounding another with a poninrd
which he had seized. His death was accomplished
with a studied cruelty, — such as might at once gra-
tify the revenge of Ali, and furnish a barbarous en-
tertainment to his soldiers. The prisoner, with his
hands bound, was placed in the midst ; and they
were directed with their sabres to cut him slightly,
that he might die as it were by inches. His tor-
ments were severe and protracted ; but he expired
at last without having uttered one complaint.

The fate of Tami was equally tragical. This
chief is represented as a man of strong natural
powers; short in stature, with a long white beard,
and eyes darting fire. His conduct inspired the
wiiole army with respect. The pasha often con-
versed with him for amusement ; but it was like
the treachery of the tiger, who sports with his prey
before he seizes it in his grasp. He promised to
write to the sultan in his favour, and procure him
permission to live in retirement in the mountains of
Roumeha ; but this solemn pledge was violated.
The captive sheik was sent to Cairo, were he was
paraded through the streets, seated on a camel,
loaded with an immense chain about his neck, and
the head of Bakrouj in a bag suspended from his
shoulders. From this city he was conveyed to Con-
stantinople, where he was immediately beheaded.

After vanquishing the most renowned chiefs of the
southern Wahabees, it seemed to be the eager desire
of Ali to riot in the far-famed wealth of Yemen ; and
with this view he opened a correspondence with the
Imam of Sanaa. But the soldiers, worn out with
disease and fatigue, and considering the object of
the expedition as accomplished, openly declared
their wish of returning to Mecca. Instead of ad-
vancing southward, Ali directed his march towards
Gonfode, which surrendered without the slightest
resistance. Thence he proceeded to Mecca, with a
remnant of only 1500 men, moneyless and in rags,

292 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES.

being all that remained of an army of 4000. In April
he visited Medina, where Toussomi was governor ;
probably with a design to obtain information re-
specting the affairs of the northern Hejaz, and to
concert with him measures for their future proceed-
ings. But the state of Egypt afforded a sufficient
reason for his immediate departure. Apprehensions
were entertained of an attack being made on Alex-
andria by the capitan-pasha of the grand seignior.
An insurrection of the troops had also broken out at
Cairo, originating in their dislike to the attempted
introduction of the European system of discipline ;
and when the pasha reached his capital in June, 1815,
after an absence of nearly two years, he found every
thing in tumult and confusion.

The remainder of the Arabian war was now left
in the hands of Toussoun Pasha, who, while his
father was subduing the southern tribes, had con-
ducted operations in the north against Abdallah ibn
Saoud. When the news of All's success became
known to the Arabs on the frontier of Nejed, many
of their sheiks came to Medina, and made proposals
to Toussoun to join him against the Wahabees,
whose power they had felt more severely than others
at a greater distance. With these assurances he
conceived hopes of conquering the province of Nejed
and emulating his father's fame. Setting out with a
small expedition of 2500 men, infantry and cavalry,
he resolved to try his fortune by making an attack
on Kasym. After a march of ten or eleven days, he
arrived at Rass, a considerable town defended by a
wall. This, with several other large villages, gave in
their submission. But here he found himself in a
precarious situation ; and discovered that, like most
Turks, he had not sufficiently calculated his means.
The light troops of the Wahabees were hovering
around, and rendered his army wholly dependent on
two or three villages for their daily subsistence.
The road to Medina was occupied by the enemy ;
and it was on this occasion that the gallant Thomas

HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES. 293

Keith, while hasteninf^ with 250 horsemen to the
assistance of his commander, was surrounded by a
superior force, and fell at the head of his troops,
who were all cut to pieces. In this action the brave
Scotchman killed four of the enemy with his own
hand.

In the mean time, Abdallah had not neglected
his duty, having likewise entered the province of
Kasym with his army, and fixed his head-quarters
at Shenana, only five hours distance from Khabara,
where Toussoun was now encamped. In this di-
lemma the adventurous pasha wished to terminate
all suspense by a battle ; but his officers and soldiers
declined, — deeming it more prudent for persons in
their situation to compromise than to fight ; the
more so as Mohammed Ali had written to Abdallah
before quitting Hejaz, exhorting him to submission,
and offering terms of peace ; at the same time au-
thorizing his son to conclude the truce, if that could
be done on favourable conditions. Abdallah on his
part had reasons for bringing matters to a pacific
termination. He foresaw that the destruction even
of Toussoun's entire force would be of little real
advantage to him so long as the Turks could repair
their losses from the abundant resources of Egypt.
He knew also that they possessed the means of
bribery ; and that some of his companions in arms
were in their hearts the allies of his enemies.

Negotiations were speedily concluded ; and in
ratifying the treaty Abdallah renounced all claim to
the holy cities ; affected to style himself the dutiful
subject of the sultan ; and obtained a free passage
for the Wahabees whenever they wished to perform
the pilgrimage Toussoun restored those towns of
Kasym which he held in his possession, and dis-
missed from his party all the sheiks of that country
who had joined his standard.

The exchange of ratifications was conducted with
considerable ceremony. The manifesto in which

Bb2

294 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES.

the chief of the desert acknowledged his allegiance
to the Porte ran in these words : — " To Toussoun. —
I lie at the gate of your mercy, sire ; I ask pardon
of God and your highness ; I desire to be received
into the number of the faithful subjects of the sul-
tan ; and from this day hence we shall obey his
orders, in making prayers for his august person
every Friday in our mosques and on the mountain-
tops. Finally, on our part there shall be no attempt
at rebellion." On this being read to the Wahabee
army, they shouted, with one voice, " Yes, we will
obey !" and instantly the air was rent with prayers
for the health of the sultan and the glory of his arms.
The envoy of Toussoun then invested Abdallah with
the emblems of his submission, — a pelisse, a sabre,
and several horses richly caparisoned. " This,"
said he, in presenting him with the sword, " is the
pledge of your fealty ; it will be your protector so
long as you are faithful to your promises ; but if
you disobey the orders of the sultan, our master, it
will be his avenger." Again the whole camp re-
sounded with shouts for the prosperity of the grand
seignior, and promises to repeat his name in their
Friday's prayers.

Toussoun quitted Arabia in the beginning of No-
vember. At Cairo he was w^elcomed with all the
honours due to his rank and bravery. Salvos of ar-
tillery announced his approach, and crowds thronged
the streets to behold the deliverer of the holy
cities. By his father alone he was coldly received.
His subsequent history is short : he was appointed
to command a large body of troops encamped at
Rosetta for the defence of the coast, and died there
next year (September, 1816) of the plague.

Mohammed Ali was evidently not sincere in his
offers of peace : and pretexts were easily found for
renewing hostilities. His letters of acquiescence
to Abdallah were extremely ambiguous. He de-
uaanded the restitution of the treasures w^hich his

flISTORY OF Tin: NVAHABF.ES. 295

father had takon Irom Ihc lonib of the Prophet; he
required tliat Deraiah sliould submit to the jurisdic-
tion of the governor of Medina ; and he refused to
confirm the treaty, unless the Wahabees would cede
to him the province of Hassa. Deceit was one of
the most prominent and reprehensible features in
the character of All ; and although his son, his equal
in rank (both being pachas of three tails), had con-
cluded a peace that was considered binding on his
whole party, he represented matters under a differ-
ent point of view at Constantinople. As he had
pledged himself to annihilate the heretics by de-
stroying their capital, he found it necessary to per-
suade the sultan that he had not yet abandoned that
object ; the treaty agreed to by Toussoun being only
a temporary armistice.

It now became manifest to Abdallah, either that
the young prince had deceived him, or that the fa-
ther, by his extravagant demands, had given a fresh
proof of the contempt in which he held all engage-
ments. He summoned a council of his kinsmen and
principal officers, and their opinion was, that they
had no alternative but arms if they wished to pre-
serve their religion and their independence. De-
fensive preparations were everywhere made ; stores
of provisions and ammunition were thrown into the
cities and fortresses : the sheiks were obliged to
renew their oaths of fidelity ; the imams in the pul-
pits discoursed of war and the treachery of the
Turks. Thirty thousand troops were raised, and
the command assigned to officers whose talents and
courage had been tried in the preceding campaigns.
The rich sold their property to pay the army and
purchase the necessary supplies. All were animated
with the most patriotic enthusiasm : " God,"" said
they, " will give us, who profess his unity, the vic-
tory over those who admit a plurality." Abdallah
visited the provinces ni person, and obtained rein-
forcements from Bahrein and Hassa ; some tribes

296 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES.

from Oman joined his standard, and the Arabs of
Yemen sent him 2000 combatants.

The pasha on his side had displayed equal activity.
When the alarm of invasion and revolt in Egypt had
subsided, he ordered a powerful expedition to be
fitted out for Hejaz, which he intrusted to the com-
mand of his adopted son Ibrahim, a prince of emi-
nent bravery, and who had already distinguished
himself in suppressing the mutinous Mamlouks.
Six months were devoted to the transport of mili-
tary stores. In September, 1816, the general left
Cairo. He was accompanied by about 2000 infantry,
who went by Cossier to Yembo, and 1500 Libyan
Bedouin hersemen, who proceeded by land. In his
train were some French officers, and the Arab hero
Sheik Rajah, who had been sent to Egypt in chains,
but was now released, as his services might prove
useful to the expedition. His orders were to attack
Deraiah, by way of Medina and Kasym. In ten
days after his landing he reached the city of the
Prophet. Here he took a vow never to sheath his
sword, nor to drink wine or other forbidden liquor,
until he had entirely extirpated the enemies of his
religion. Following the route of Toussoun, he took
up his position at Henakiah, where several weeks
were spent in skirmishing and plundering. Some
of the neighbouring chiefs joined his ranks, among
whom was Ghanem, sheik of the Harbs, who brought
over 500 of his tribe. Nothing could have been
more seasonable than such reinforcements, as his
troops were suffering from epidemic diseases and
the harassing warfare of the desert ; for the Arabs
found means to steal at night into the Turkish camp,
where they killed or cut the legs of their horses and
camels.

Abdallah was encamped in the vicinity of Aenezeh.
He had conceived the bold project of marching
directly on Medina, at the head of 30,000 men ; while
his brother Faisal should make a descent on Mecca,

HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES. 297

Jidda, and Vembo, and tlius intercept the convoys
of troops and provisions from EjO^ypt. From this
enterprise he was diverted by the revolt of some of
his allies, and the defeat of a body of 10,000 troops,
which he commanded in person. The town of Rass
was the first that offered any serious obstacle to
the advance of Ibrahim. It was strongly fortified,
and the inhabitants exerted themselves with signal
courage. The women in the garrison assisted their
brave defenders, and the besiegers were repulsed at
all points. Already 3000 Turks had fallen, and the
mortality daily increased. Hundreds of the heads
of the slaughtered Wahabees were exposed to the
view of the inhabitants, in the hope that this hideous
spectacle might terrify them into a surrender ; but
it only increased their desire of revenge.

In this perilous situation, and reduced to extreme
distress, Ibrahim was compelled to raise the siege,
after wasting three months and seventeen days in
useless efforts. This, however, was the only reverse
which he experienced. As if the fortunes of his
father had suddenly returned, he advanced from
victory to victory, and in the blood of the heretics
speedily washed out the affront which his arms had
received under the walls of Rass. Khabara surren-
dered after a cannonade of a few hours. Aenezeh
followed the example ; the greater part of the troops
having fled, without waiting to obtain articles of
capitulation. All the towns and tribes of Kasym
had now submitted to the Turks ; Abdallah retired
from place to place before, the invaders, and saw all
his strongholds fall into their hands. Boureidah,
Shakara, and Dorama, were successively invested,
taken possession of, and demolished by the enemy.
Shakara was a handsome commercial to^vn, and
reckoned the strongest fortress in the country.
The obstinacy which the Turks had experienced at
Dorama led to a cruel retaliation. All the inhabit-
ants were put to the sword ; the soldiers had orders

298 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES.

to fire upon them in their houses ; and in two hours
the work of indiscriminate carnage was completed.

Nothing now remained to consummate the triumph
of Ibrahim but the capture of Deraiah. With a
force nearly 6000 strong he directed his march to-
wards that capital, which he reached on the 6th of
April. The place was immediately invested, redoubts
were constructed, intrenchments thrown up, and
every preparation made for a resolute siege. This
city, famous as the metropolis of Nejed and the seat
of the power and government of the Wahabees, lies
about 400 miles eastward of Medina, in a fertile val-
ley called Wady Hanifa, rich in fruits and grain, and
watered by a stream (El Baten) which, though dry
in summer, in the rainy season runs a course of con-
siderable extent. Its position is naturally strong,
the mountains enclosing it on either hand ; and the
only entrances to the valley being through two in-
lets, of which that on the west side is so narrow as
to admit but of one camel at a time, and might
easily be defended against any number of assailants.
Though formerly a place of some note, its true
situation and importance were now for the first
time known to Europeans. The town was com
posed of five small villages or quarters, each sur-
rounded by a wall fortified with bastions. The
suburbs were unprotected, and covered with gardens
and fruit-trees. The houses were chiefly of stone
or brick, and the bazars consisted of shops made
of reeds, which could easily be transported from one
place to another. There were twenty-eight mosques
in it and thirty colleges, but no baths, khans, or
public inns. The inhabtants, proverbial for their
hospitality, were estimated at 13,000.

Five months were consumed in the siege of this
important capital; both parties maintaining the con-
test with undaunted resolution, and with alternate
advantages. Abdallah did his utmost by word and
action to animate his troops ; money and presents

HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES, 299

were lavishly distributed ; and the women braved the
fire of the besiep-ers to fetch water to the wounded.
Ibrahim meanwhile made little prog-ress, and the
accidental explosion of a magazine threatened to
defeat entirely the object of the expedition. More
than 200 barrels of gunpowder, and as many loaded
shells, blew up in the midst of his camp ; thus leav-
ing him almost destitute of ammunition, and sur-
rounded with enemies in the heart of a desert 500
leagues from Egypt. No resource remained for
the Turks but their courage and their sabres until
fresh supplies were obtained from Medina and the
neighbouring garrisons. The governors of Bagdad
and Bussora sent large caravans with provisions,
while recruits with ammunition and artillery-stores
arrived in successive detachments from Cairo. The
combat was renewed ; and to inspirit the languid
soldier, fifty piastres were promised for every head
or pair of ears he should bring to his commander.

Abdallah now found that his capital could no
longer be defended. All his sorties had been attended
with loss ; two of his sons were taken prisoners,
and one of them put to death. The fortresses on the
adjoining heights, in the gardens, and on the banks
of the dry bed of the river, had fallen into the hands
of the assailants. Three of the five quarters of the
city made a conditional surrender, and the rest were
cut off from communicating with the villages that
supplied them with provisions. In this forlorn po-
sition, Abdallah, with his guard of 400 black slaves,
still maintained a brave resistance in his palace,
determined to sacrifice his life on the ruins of his
expiring country ; but he was at length compelled,
by the impatient clamours of the citizens, to hoist a
flag of truce and demand a conference, which was
immediately granted. With a retinue of 200 men,
he repaired to the tent of Ibrahim, and offered terms
of surrender, which the pasha consented to accept ;
at the same time acquainting him, that in compliance

300 fflSTORY OF THE WAHABEES.

with the order of his father, the Wahabee chief must
immediately take his departure for Egypt. The
condition was alarming ; but it seemed to be the only
means of averting a more tragical catastrophe, and
the generous Abdallah accepted it.

Trusting to the hopes of security expressed by the
conqueror, and that his family and capital would be
saved from destruction, in token of which he had
received a white handkerchief, the emblem of peace,
he quitted his palace amid the tears and regrets of
his friends, crossed the desert with a small train of
attendants, and was received at Cairo by the vice-
roy with every outward demonstration of respect.
After a short conference he was despatched to Con-
stantinople under an escort of Tartars. The parti-
sans of Ali give him the credit of interposing with
the sultan to pardon the obnoxious captive ; for
such was now the situation of the too credulous
Abdallah. But the Ottoman divan were implacable,
Mercy is no attribute either of the religion or the
policy of the Turks ; and, after being paraded over
the city for three days, the unhappy chief, with his
two companions in misfortune, his secretary and
treasurer, were beheaded (December 19, 1818) in
the public square of St. Sophia. The pasha and his
son were complimented on their victories by the
Sublime Porte, and honoured with several costly
presents.

The fall of the Wahabee capital may be said to
have completed the conquest of Nejed. The prov-
ince of Haryk was reduced after a slight resist-
ance. Other districts sent deputies offering volun-
tary submission. The want of sufficient provisions,
rendered more severe by the destructive operations
of the siege, occasioned a very general mutiny in
the Turkish army. The soldiers committed all sorts
of excess, plundering the houses and pillaging the
country. Ibrahim himself narrowly escaped assas-
sination ; but his well-timed intrepidity, and the

;

Abdal^ah ibn Saoud, Chiefofthe Wahabees.

Vol. II.— C o

HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES. 303

decapitation of some of the insurgent chiefs, liad the
effect of restoring order. One of the Arab sheiks
was punished by liaving his teeth drawn, and another
was blown from the mouth of a cannon.

The news of Abdallah's death spread universal
grief among the inhabitants of Deraiah : and their
consternation was increased when the orders of Ali
were communicated, that the place must be razed to
the ground, and the whole family of their chief sent
captives to Egypt. A group of 500 exiles, including
several of the brothers, uncles, and sons of Abdallah,
were transported to Cairo, where small pensions ,
were assigned them. As it became desirable to
evacuate the place, an epidemic, the consequence
of fatigues and privations of all kinds, having begun
to commit the most frightful ravages, the work of
demolition was enjoined without delay. The date-
trees in the gardens and suburbs were cut down ;
and the soldiers set fire to the houses the moment
the inmates had made their escape, many of whom
clung affectionately to their homes until they were
nearly buried in the ruins. As the season of the
year was at the hottest, and disease and devastation
doing their work at the same time, the spectacle
was truly afflicting. In the space of twenty days
Deraiah was completely unpeopled, and not one
stone left upon another.

Before quitting the scene of devastation, Ibrahim
traversed the country to ascertain that the extermi-
natory decree had been executed against all the
fortresses that might serve as future strongholds or
rallying-points for the heretics. This done, he
repaired to Medina, having already despatched the
artiller}'' and part of the troops to that place. Here
and at Mecca he returned thanks to the prophet for
this signal triumph over his enemies ; after which
he departed with the sickly and exhausted remains
of his army for Eg}'pt.

The disturbances which had broken out in the

304- HISTORY or TUT", WAHABF.K?;.

south of Hejaz were suppressed by Halil Pasha,
who had been sent with a reinforcement to Deraiah ;
but on findnig that the place had surrendered he
directed his march on Abu-Arish, of which he took
possession ; and in reward for his services was made
governor of Mecca. It was at this time that the
British authorities in India, in consequence of the
depredations committed by the Wahabees on the
conmierce of the Persian Gulf, made proposals to
Ibrahim, through Captain Sadlier, to co-operate with
the Egyptian army by sending an expedition against
El Katif, which might produce a diversion in favour
of the Turks ; but, as the campaign had already been
brought to a favourable conclusion, the aid of an
English fleet was declined as unnecessary.
■ It may appear surprising that a power so widely
extended and so firmly established as that of the
Wahabees should have been so rapidly overthrown.
Saoud had not only laid the foundation, but organ-
ized the political system of a great empire. He
would have made himself master of all Arabia had
not death arrested him in the midst of his conquests.
Bagdad and Bussora would have opened their gates
to him ; Syria and Egypt, torn by jarring factions
and weakened by revolution, might again have fallen
an easy prey to the hordes of the desert.

Such was the splendid legacy which he bequeathed
to his successor ; and never, perhaps, had any prince
greater facilities for securing the independence of
his nation than Abdallah. But, unfortunately, he
inherited not the qualities necessary for following
up the brilliant career which his father had pointed
out to him. He was brave ; but courage is not the
only virtue essential to a sovereign. His inflexible
severity alienated the aff'ections of his people ; and
his want of military tact was evinced in the numer-
ous errors he committed in the progress of the war.
Had he known to profit by his advantages, he might
have annihilated the Ottoman army, exhausted with

IlISTORV OF THE WAHABEE9. 305

disease and fatigue in tlie midst of burning sands,
instead of being compelled to sue for a dishonour-
able and fatal peace. The desertion of the Bedouins
no doubt weakened his power, which may be said
to have yielded to the gold of Ali rather than to the
valour of his troops. 13ut the influence of a popular
chief could have prevented or counteracted these
seductions ; and had the hardy tribes of the desert
found such a prince in Abdallah, the carcasses of the
Turks might have fed the eagles, and the fate of
Arabia been entirely changed.

Some writers lament the suppression of the Wa-
habees, from a belief that the downfall of Islam was
to follow the propagation of their doctrines, and
that a purer religion would be established in its
stead. ■ These regrets appear to be inspired by erro-
neous conceptions of the principles of this sect,
which are nothing else than the gross and primitive
superstitions of the Koran enforced with greater
rigour. Their creed was even more sanguinary and
intolerant than that which the first followers of Mo-
hammed offered to the nations on the points of their
swords. Their reform extended only to a few ab-
surd or scandalous practices, and the more strict
injunction of certain moral precepts ; but they left
untouched all the impious and heretical dogmas of
the Moslem faith. Their chief merit consisted, not
in their teaching their countrymen a more refined
and rational theology, but in suppressing their infidel
indifference to all religion ; in improving their poli-
ical condition ; and in subjecting their wild passions
to the restraint of law and justice.*

♦ It was the opinion of Burckhardt that the suppression of the
Wahabees and the conquest of Nejed are merely temporary ;
and that these warlike fanatics, who are dispersed rather than
subdued, will take the earhest opportunity to effect the restora-
tion of their empire. This of course must greatly depend on
the character of the future pashas of Egypt ; but it is not likely
to happen in the reign of Mohammed All or his son, to whom

Cc3

306 SOCIAL «!TATr OF THF ARABS,

CHAPTER VIH.

SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

National Character oF the Arabs— Their Family Pride— Orders
of Nobility— Their Domestic Life— Their Tents— Furniture-
Mode of Encamping — ^^Dress — Personal Appearance — Acute-
ness of their Senses— Sagacity in tracing Footsteps — Their
Arms — Food and Cookery — Manner of Eating — Diseases —
Wealth and Industry — Marriage — Divorce — Education of
their Children — Funerals — Modes of Salutation— Hospitality
Warfare— Robbery and Theft — The Blood-revenge — Amuse-
ments— Poetry and Music— Learning — Medicine — Supersti-
tions— Language — Arts— Commerce — Proposed Steam Route
Dy the Euphrates and the Red Sea — Px:)pulation— Cloncludmg
Reflections.

Climate, government, and education are in every
country the great agents that form and modify the
character of nations. Nowhere are their effects
more strikingly exempHfied than in Arabia. To the

the Porte has ceded by a recent treaty (May, 1833) the whole
of Syria, including Tripoli, Aleppo, Damascus, and Jerusalem ;
besides the command of the harbours in the Red Sea, and the
sacred privilege of conducting the pilgrim-caravans. Ibrahim,
by pushing his victories in* the late S>Tian campaigns almost to
the gates of Constantinople, has acquired fresh laurels as a
conqueror, and a new title to be Sheik el Haram of Mecca.
Under these circumstances the Bedouins, of whom not fewer
than 5370 are now serving in the armies of the pasha, can have
no immediate prospects of reasserting their independence. The
successes of Ibrahim led to a serious conflict, in the month of
June, 1832, between the Turkish and Arab regiments stationed
at Mecca. Of the former UOO were sabred in the streets. The
battery that overlooks the city was made to play upon the
mosque, where the mutinous Turks had taken fuge, and with
such effect, that the walls were pierced, one of the pillars broken
down, and several persons killed.

SOCIAL STATF. OF THF ARARS, 307

first of these causes may be ascribed many of the
socinl virtues for which tlie unlives have been always
disti«truishcd ; while most of th<' crimes, vices, and
prejudices by which they are deg-raded are the
natural fruits of the two latter. On the seacoasts
and in the towns, their maimers have been corrupted
by conuiierce and a free intercourse with foreigners.
Travellers, who have formed their opinions from
mixing exclusively with those classes, have drawn a
very unfavourable picture of the inhabitants in gen-
eral, as a nation of tyrants, hypocrites, and deceiv-
ers, plunged in a lower state of ignorance and de-
bauchery than the most barbarous islanders of the
South vSeas. These representations are no doubt
partially true, but they are far from being universally
just. A longer residence among them and better
opportunities of judging have contributed to remove
many erroneous impressions as to their social and
domestic habits.

No people are more remarkable than the Arabs
for their spirit of nationality and family pride. The
poorest of them glory in their birth, and look witli
disdain on the natives of other countries. They
boast of the accuracy with which they have pre-
served their genealogies ; yet the lower, and most
even of the middle classes, keep no register of their
parentage, and would often be at a loss to know their
fathers or grandfathers were it not regulated by
custom that the son frequently joins their names to
his own. The sheiks and sherifis are the true aris-
tocracy of Arabia ; and these have reason to be vain
of their ancestry, which some of them can trace in
regular descent from the days of Mohammed or
Moses. The oldest nobility in Europe are but of
yesterday compared to these petty princes of the
desert.

Though the title of sheik is the most ancient and
most common in use among the Arabian grandees,
the sheriffs, being the descendants of Mohammed,

308 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

hold the first rank in point of dignity. This has
arisen doubtless from the singular veneration in
Avhich the family of the Prophet is held, and it has
entailed on his posterity the double honour that
always attaches to splendid descent and superior
sanctity. The sheriffs are very numerous, and mul-
tiplied over all Mohammedan countries. Whole
villages are peopled with them ; and they are fre-
quently found in the lowest state of misery. Still
their presence commands universal respect ; in a
fray no arm would violate their person, — their char-
acter is held sacred, and furnishes a better protec-
tion for their property against thieves than bolts or
bars. The reason why these families are so numer-
ous is that the honour is hereditary both by male
and female descent. The son of a Turk or Syrian is
ennobled if his mother can reckon kindred with Fa-
tima. To this class belong the seyeds and mollahs ;
but between these and the sheriffs there is this dis-
tinction, that the latter are constantly devoted to a
military life, while the former engage in the pursuits
of trade and science. There are, besides these, other
noble families at Mecca, such as the Koreish and
muftis of certain sects, who have hereditary em-
ployment about the mosque, and for the retention
of which they are obliged to prove the genuineness
of their pedigree.

In the domestic life of the Arabs there is little to
attract the admiration of strangers. Their best
houses display little exterior magnificence, and are
still more deficient in point of internal accommoda-
tion. The tent forms the cherished home of the
larger proportion of the inhabitants, and when they
remove they transport their dwellings with them.
The height of this dwelling is generally seven feet,
its length from twenty-five to thirty, and its breadth
about ten. It is divided into two apartments, one
for the men and the other for the women ; and these
are separated by a white woollen carpet of Damas-

SOCIAL STATF. OF TIIF, ARAUS. IU»1)

cus manufacture drawn across, and fastened to the
three middle posts.

Tlie furniture comprises pack-saddles, as well as
those for riding, large water bags made of tanned
camel-skins, goat-skins for nnlk and butter, the
little bag into which the hair or wool is put that falls
from the sheep and camels on the road, the leather
bucket for drawing up water from deep wells, a cop-
per pan, coffee-pot, mortar, hand-mill, wooden dishes,
the horse's feeding bag, and the iron chain which
fastens their forefeet while pasturing about the
camp. The Arabs seldom allow their women to be
seen ; and when a stranger is introduced, the cry of
tank (or retire) warns them instantly to disappear.
It is reckoned a breach of decorum to salute a lady,
or even to look her steadfastly in the face.

The mode of encamping diflers according to cir-
cumstances. When the tents are but few, they are
pitched in a circle {doicar) ; if the number is con-
siderable they extend in a straight line, perhaps
along a rivulet, in rows three or four deep. The
sheik's is always on the side where danger is ap-
prehended, or where travellers.are expected ; it being
his particular business to oppose the former and to
honour the latter. Every chief sticks his lance into
ground in front of his tent, to which he ties his
horse or camel ; the pack-saddles forming the couch
on which he and his guests recline. When wan-
dering in search of water or pasture, they move in
parties slowly over the sandy plain. The armed
horsemen ride foremost, as a reconnoitring detach-
ment ; the flocks with their young follow ; beliind
come the beasts of burden, loaded with the women
and children, tents, baggage, and provision.

The ordinary costume of the Bedouins is ex-
tremely simple, consisting of a coarse cotton shirt,
over which is worn a thin, light, white woollen man-
tle {komhaz)^ or sometimes one of a coarser kind (the
abba), striped white and brown. The wealthy sub-

310 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

stitute for this a long gown of silk or cotton stuff.
The mantles worn by the sheiks are interwoven
with gold, and may be valued at lOZ. sterling. The
common abba is without sleeves, resembling a sack,
with openings for the head and arms, and requires so
little art in the making that blind tailors earn their
livelihood by this employment. Public taste, how-
ever, is occasionally more capricious, especially as
to the headdress, which is often expensive, and in
a hot country must be extremely inconvenient. A
fashionable Arab will wear fifteen caps one above
another, some of which are linen, but the greater
part of thick cloth or cotton. That which covers
the whole is richly embroidered with gold, and in-
wrought with texts or passages from the Koran.
Over all there is wTapped a sash or large piece of
muslin, with the ends hanging down, and orna-
mented with silk or gold fringes. This useless en-
cumbrance is considered a mark of respect towards
superiors. It is also used, as the beard was for-
merly in Europe, to indicate literary merit; and
those who affect to be thought men of learning dis-
cover their pretensions by the size of their turbans.
No part of oriental costume is so variable as this
covering for the head. Niebuhr has given illus-
trations of forty-eight different ways of wearing it.
The Bedouins use a keffie, or square kerchief of
yellow or green cotton, with two corners hanging
down on each side to protect them from the sun and
wind, or to conceal their features if they wish to be
unkno\vn. A few rich sheiks wear shawls striped
red and white, of Damascus or Bagdad manufacture.
The Aenezes and some other tribes do not use
drawers, which they consider as too effeminate for
a man ; and they usually walk and ride barefooted,
though they have a particular esteem for yellow
boots and red shoes.

In Mecca and other large towns the winter suit of
the higher classes is the henish or upper cloak, and

SOCIAL SI ATE OF THL AKAB8. 311

the jubbe or under one, — botli of cloth such as is
worn in all parts of Turkey. The rest of their dress
consists of ii showy silk gown, tied with a thin Cash-
mere sash, a white muslin turban, and yellow slip-
pers. In summer the benish is composed of a very
slight silk stuff of Indian manufacture. Beneath
the jubbe some wear a gown, called beden^ of white
muslin, without lining or sleeves, and very short.
The Meccavvees are remarkable for being cleanly and
tasteful in their attire. On feast-days and other public
occasions their finery is displayed in the highest de-
gree. The common shopkeeper, who walks about
the whole year in his short gown with a napkin
round his loins, appears in a pink-coloured benish
lined with satin, a gold-embroidered turban, rich silk
sash, and jambea with its scabbard ornamented with
gold and silver. His wives and children are decked
in the gaudiest coloui's ; but after the feast is over
the fine suits are laid aside. At home in his disha-
bille, the citizen seats himself near his projecting
latticed window, holding in one hand the long snake
of his Persian hookah, and in the other a small
square fan made of the chippings of date leaves, with
which he drives away the flies. *The women's dress
is generally Indian silk gowns, and very large blue
striped trousers reaching down to the ankles, em-
broidered below with silver thread. Over these they
throw a sort of cloak called -^a^ra or mellaye, of black
or striped silk, which covers the head, and has a
graceful effect. The wealthy wear gold necklaces,
bracelets, and silver ankle-rings, while the poorer
classes have similar trinkets of horn, glass, or am-
ber. A ring is sometimes passed through the car-
tilage of the nose, and hangs down upon the upper-
lip. The face is concealed with a white or light-
blue piece of cloth called borko, in which there are
two holes worked for the eyes, but so large that
nearly the entire features may be seen. This piece
of female vanity, according to Ali Bey, had better be

312 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

spared, as the illusion of hidden charms is com-
pletely dispelled when a sight is obtained of their
lemon-coloured complexions, their hollow cheeks
daubed all over with black or greenish-blue paint,
their yellow teeth, and their lips stained of a red-
dish tile-colour. Though custom has reconciled
them to these artificial means of heightening their
beauty, their appearance is frightful and repulsive to
strangers. It ought to be added, however, that in
general they have fine eyes, regular noses, and
handsome persons. The women at Loheia wear
large veils, which conceal their faces so entirely
that only one of their eyes can be seen. In the in-
terior, females are less shy than in cities ; they con-
verse freely with strangers, and have their counte-
nance quite uncovered. The Arabs of the Hauran
use a coarse white cotton stuff for their kombaz or
gown, and have their keffie tied with a rope of
camel's hair.

In Avinter, the Bedouins throw over the shirt a
pelisse made of sheep-skins stitched together. Many
even in summer wear these skins, as they learn from
experience that thick clothing is a defence from
heat as Avell as cold. The dress of the women con-
sists of a wide cotton gown of a dark colour, blue,
brown, or black, and on their heads a kerchief. They
go barefooted at all seasons, have the same affec-
tion for ornaments as their more polished rivals in
the city, and employ similar arts to increase their
beauty. Silver rings are much worn both in their
ears and noses. Round their naked waists both
sexes wear from infancy a leathern girdle, or cord,
consisting of four or five thongs twisted together,
which they adorn with amulets or pieces of riband.
They all puncture their lips, and die them blue.
Some of them also tattoo their cheeks, temples,
forehead, breasts, arms, and ankles ; and in these
practices they are sometimes imitated by the men.

A Young Female of the Coffee Mountains

Vol. II.— Dd

SOCIAT. STATE OF THE ARABS. 315

Their eyes and eyelashes they paint black, with a
preparation of lead ore called kohel.

Fashion has a powerful influence in determining
the various modes in which the hair and beard are
worn. Within the Imam of Sanaa's dominions all
men of whatever station shave their heads ; in other
parts of Yemen the hair is carefully preserved and
knotted up behind. The Aenezes never cut their
long black tresses, but cherish them from infancy
until they hang in twisted locks over their cheeks
down to the breast. Everybody without exception
wears the beard of its natural length ; being con-
sidered as the ensign of honour and dignity, it is
reckoned disgraceful to appear without it. Shaving
is often prescribed as a penance for some fault, and
it is one of the severest punishments that can be
inflicted. By threatening this chastisement, Saoud
kept in order many a rebellious sheik. A favourite
mare which he wished to purchase, belonging to a
chief of the Beni Shammar, and valued at 2500 dol-
lars (546/.), was yielded up by the reluctant owner
the moment the barber produced his razor. Some
old men still die their beards red ; but this practice
is generally disapproved.

in personal appearance the Arabs are of the
middle size, lean and athletic. Their complexion
is brown, their eyes and hair dark. When young
they have a mild but expressive countenance ; in
advanced age their aspect is truly venerable. The
Aenezes are rather diminutive in their stature, few
of them being above five feet two or three inches
in height ; but their features are good, their persons
extremely well formed, and not so meager or slight
as some travellers have represented. Their deep-
set but lively dark eyes sparkle from under their
bushy black eyebrows with a fire unknown in our
northern climes.

From living constantly in the open air the Arabs
acquire a remarkable acuteness in all their senses.

316 . SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

Their powers of vision and of hearing improve by
continual exercise ; and on their vast plains they
can descry distant objects far beyond the ken of a
less practised eye. Their sense of smelhng, too, is
extremely nice ; hence their dislike to houses and
towns, where they are disgusted with the nauseous
exhalations which dense collections of people always
generate. One of the most singular faculties they
possess is the athr, or the power of distinguishing
the footsteps of men and beasts on the sand, in the
same manner as the American Indians discover im-
pressions made upon the grass. This art is carried
to a perfection that appears almost supernatural.
From inspecting the footstep an Arab can tell whe-
ther the individual belonged to his own or some
neighbouring tribe, and thus he is able to judge if
he be a stranger or a friend. He likewise knows
from the faintness or depth of the impression whe-
ther the person carried a load or not ; whether he
passed the same day or several days before. From
examining the intervals between the steps, he judges
whether or not he was fatigued, as the pace becomes
then more irregular and the intervals unequal ;
hence he calculates the chances of overtaking him.
Every Arab can distinguish the footmarks of his
own camels from those of his neighbours ; he knows
whether the animal was pasturing or loaded, or
mounted by one or more persons ; and can often
discover, from marks in the sand, certain defects or
peculiarities of formation that serve him as a clew
to ascertain the owner. This sagacity becomes
extremely useful in the pursuit of fugitives, or in
searching after stolen cattle. Instances occur of
camels being traced by their masters to the residence
of the thief, at the distance of five or six days' jour-
ney. A Bedouin shepherd can track his own camel
in a sandy valley where thousands of other foot-
steps cross the road in all directions, and sometimes
he can tell the name of every one that has passed

SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS. 317

in the course of the morning. Many secret trans-
actions are brought to light by this curious art : an
oftender can scarcely hope to escape detection in
any clandestine proceeding, as every footstep may
be a witness against him, by iTcording his guilt on
the public road, and in characters which he that
runs may read. Of their remarkable acuteness in
hearinc, some wonderful but well-attested anecdotes
are told of those who act as pilots in the Red Sea.
They know very nearly the time when ships from
India arrive ; and going dow^n to the water's edge
every night and morning, they lay their ear close to
the surface for three or four minutes ; and if the ship
is not more than 2 or 2^ degrees distant (120 or 150
miles) they can hear the report of the signal-gim,
or feel the ground shake, upon which they imme-
diately set off with their pilot-boat.*

The Arabs are thoroughly inured to fatigue, and
can endure hunger and thirst to a surprising degree.
They sometimes travel five days without tasting
water, and can discover a brook or a natural spring
by examining the soil and plants in the environs.
They are dexterous horsemen, swift of foot, expert
in handling their arms, and reckoned good marks-
men since they became familiar with the use of the
musket. Their most common arms are lances,
sabres, matchlocks, pistols, and daggers. The shep-
herds have slings, Avith which they throw stones
with great precision. The lance is made of wood
or bamboo, twelve feet long, with an iron or steel
pointed head. Occasionally they are covered with
workmanship in gold and silver, but are often with-
out any ornament except two balls or tufts of black
ostrich-feathers placed near the top. In striking,

* Captain Newland mentions an instance of a ship which,
after firing the morning gun, ran 95 miles by the log ; and when
the pilot came on board in the evening, he declared he had heard
the signal at sunrise, on the faith of which he had put off with
his boat. — Phihsoph. Trarisact. vol. Ixil.

Dd2

318 SOCIAL STATF OF THE ARABS.

they balance it for some time over their head, and
thrust forwards, or backwards if hard pressed by an
enemy. Should a horseman be without a lance, he
arms himself with a club or mace, which is made
either wholly of iron or w ith a wooden handle. The
foot-soldiers sometimes carry a small round target,
made of the Avild-ox hide, and covered with iron
bars. Some wear iron caps and coats-of-mail, which
either cover the whole body to tlie knees, like a long
gown, or reach only to the waist.

The hardy and athletic frame of the Bedouins is
to be ascribed in part to their abstemious habits.
They are models of sobriety, and never indulge in
luxuries except on some festive occasion, or on the
arrival of a stranger. Their usual articles of food
are rice, pulse, dates, milk, butter, and flour. The
coinmon people eat bread made of dhourra, which
is coarse and insipid. When they have no gridiron
they roll the dough into balls and cook it among
embers. They generally eat their bread while hot
and only half-baked. Though not strangers to the
invention of mills, they grind their flour with the
hand, or merely bruise the grain between two stones.
The daily and universal dish of the Aenezes is the
ai/esh, which is flour and sour camels' milk made into
a paste and boiled, l^he hoiirgoul is wheat boiled
with some leaven and then dri^d in the sun ; and in
this state it is preserved for the w^hole year. Bread
is used at breakfast, whicli they bake in round cakes
either upon gridirons or on heated stones, over which
the dough is spread and immediately covered with
glowing ashes ; sometimes the fire is put into glazed
earthen pots, and the paste spread over the outside.
In some districts they have abundance of poultry
and garden-stuffs. Butter is used to excess. It is an
ingredient in every dish; all their food swims in it;
and they freqiientl}^ swallow a whole cupful before
breakfast. The operation of churning is performed
in a goat-skin bag, which is tied to the tent-pole or

SOCIAL STATE OF TIIK ARAll«5. 319

the branch of a Iroe, and movrtl consUintly back-
wards and forwards until coagulation takes place.
Animal food iss less used than vegetable, as it is not
reckoned so wholesome in jiot countries. Camels'
tlesh is rarely eaten ; it is more esteemed in winter
than in summer, and that of tlie female is preferred.
If a man (»f rank happens to be a visiter, a kid or a
lamb is prepared : a guest of less distinction is treated
with cortee, or bread and melted butter. Sometimes
an entire sheep is roasted in a hole, dug in the sand
and lined with heated stones. Upon these the flesh
is laid, and then covered closely up with cinders
and the wet skin of the animal. In an hour and a
half the meat is cooked ; and as it loses none of its
juices it has an excellent flavour. It is customary
in the desert, when a sheep or goat is killed, to
eat the liver and kidneys raw, with the addition of
a little salt.

^The Arabs drink little during meals; but when
camels' milk is plentiful it is handed round after
dinner. In their style of eating, they are slovenly
a'nd disagreeable, if tested by the standard of Eu-
ropeans. They tear the meat with their fingers, if
not cut into small pieces before it is set down. A
wooden bowl containing the melted grease of the
animal is placed in the middle, into which every
morsel is dipped. They thrust the whole hand into
the dish at once, which is soon emptied of its con-
tents, as they eat with great avidity. The food being
always very hot, it requires some practice to enable
a stranger to keep pace with the company and yet
avoid burning the fingers. They have only two
meals, breakfast in the morning, and dinner or sup-
per at sunset. They wash their hands just before
eating, but seldom after ; merely licking the grease
off their fingers, rubbing them on the scabbards of
their swords or a corner of the tent-covering. Among
the better classes table-napkins are used, or a long
linen cloth which is spread under their knees. The

320 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

women and slaves eat what is left by the men ; and
it is seldom they have the good fortmie to taste any
thing but the fragments and refuse of the table. It
is accounted a mark of respect towards superiors
not to eat out of the same dish.

From their regular and temperate life the Arabs
are subject to few diseases. Leprosy seems always
to have been an endemic in that country. Of the
three varieties, two are reckoned more disgusting
than dangerous ; but the third is infectious, and very
malignant. The ravages of the small-pox have long
been arrested by artificial means ; as the practice
of inoculation has been in use among the Bedouins
from time immemorial. IMothers perform this opera-
tion on their children, by opening the skin of the
arm with the prickle of a thorn or the point of a
needle charged v/ith infected matter. There are
many tribes, however, where this art is unknowni,
and in consequence whole encampments have fallen
victims to this unsparing malady. Vaccination has
been lately introduced, and met with a favourable
reception. Attacks of the Guinea-worm (the Vena
Medinensis) are common in Yemen ; and supposed to
originate from the use of putrid waters in which the
eggs of the insect have been deposited. The dis-
order is not fatal if the person affected can extract the
worm, which is slender as a thread, and two or three
feet long, without breaking it. This is done by roll-
ing it gradually on a small bit of wood as it comes
out of the skin. Toothache is rare ; but ophthalmic
disorders are very common. Jaundice, bilious com-
plaints, and agues or intermittent fevers are of fre-
quent occurrence, though seldom fatal. At Medina,
Burckhardt reckoned the mortality at about 1200
deaths annually, which may be considered a large
proportion for a population of 10,000 or 12,000. The
plague is the most terrible scourge of Arabia, though
it is less destructive there than in some other East-
ern countries. NotAvithstanding the belief of the

^OCIAT, STATK OF THE ARAKS. 321

Hejazees, that the Ahiiiglity has cxchided it from
the holy territory, it made its appearance in 1816.
At Yembo, forty or fifty persons expired daily ; while
at Jidda the prof)ortion was as hi^h as two hundred
and fifty. The Arabs seldom employ medicine for
it; but, though predestinarians, the common belief
in Europe is erroneous that supposes they use no
precautionary measures. Burckhardt states that
many of the townsmen fled to the desert ; alleging
as an excuse, that although the distemper was a
messenger from Heaven, sent to call them to a bet-
ter world, yet being conscious of their unworthiness,
and that they did not merit this special mark of grace,
they thought it more advisable to decline it for the
present, and make their escape from the town. The
Yembawees have a superstitious custom of leading
a she-camel through the town, covered with feathers,
balls, and all sorts of ornaments, after which it is
slaughtered, and the flesh thrown to the dogs. By
this process they hope to get quit of the malady at
once, as they imagine that it has been concentrated
in the body of the devoted animal. The cholera
morbus, now fearfully familiar to British ears, is no
stranger in Arabia. At Mecca, in the month of May,
1831, it raged with the greatest violence ; having car-
ried off" above 5500 persons in the course of twenty
or thirty days. Of 50,000 pilgrims assembled that
year nearly one-half are said to have perished. The
dead were buried in their clothes indiscriminately,
in large trenches dug for the purpose. Medina,
Yembo, and Suez were visited at the same time by
this dreadful epidemic.

An Arab's property consists chiefly in his flocks ;
the profits of which enable him to procure the ne-
cessary provisions of wheat and barley, and occa-
sionally a new suit of clothes for his wife and
daughters. No family can exist without one camel
at least ; a man who has but ten is reckoned poor, —
thirty or forty place him in easy circumstances, and

322 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

he who possesses sixty is rich. The annual expend-
iture for an Arab possessed of moderate affluence
is calculated by Burckhardt at between 351. and 40/.
sterling-. The lower classes spend less in propor-
tion. Wealth in sucli a fluctuating state of society
is extremely precarious, and the most rapid changes
of fortune are daily experienced.
r Domestic industry is little known among the Be-
douins ; the husband enjoys his amusements, while
all the household cares devolve on his females. This
degradation of the weaker sex is common to the
Arabs with most other Asiatic nations. Women
are regarded as beings much inferior to men, and tp
them exclusively all the labour and menial offices in
the tent are assigned. In these employments there
is sometimes a curious inversion of character, —
women work at the loom, while the nien milk the
cattle and handle the distaff, without regarding
these effeminate duties as in the least derogatory to
their masculine dignity. The loom, called nutou, is
extremely simple, being merely two sticks fixed into
the ground with a third placed across them.

The Arabs practise polygamy in common with
most other Eastern nations ; but in general they are
content with one wife, and rarely avail themselves
of the legal privilege of marrying four. The rich
espouse as many wives and keep as many concu-
bines as they can maintain ; though this luxury is
too expensive to be generally adopted. But those
who restrict themselves to one wife make amends
for this self-denial by indulging in variety, or enter-
taining at the same time a number of female slaves.

In courtship the Arabs often display a great deal
of gallantry ; for the constraint to M^hich their
women are subjected does not altogether prevent
intrigues. But tlie opportunities of the lover's meet-
ing or seeing his mistress are more rare ; and the
youth who is bold enough to trespass on the sanc-
tuary of the meharrem finds his path encompassed

SOCIAL STATE OF TIIK AllABS. 323

with perils, battles, and death. Tlie desert is the
genuine theatre of those keen passions depicted in
the Arabian tales, and perhaps the Bedouins nre the
only people in the East that can with justice be en-
titled true lovers. While Europeans merely lan-
guish and sigh, and while the townsmen compose
amorous verses, the Bedouins sometimes cut and
slash their arms with knives to show the violence
of their affections. The pastoral life is favourable
to forming acquaintances ; and there are occasions
when the youth of both sexes mingle in parties to
sing and dance iir the open space before or behind
the tents.

The marriage ceremony in general is very simple.
— Negotiations commence with the father of the
maiden, wiio usually consults the wishes of his
daughter, and if her consent is gained the match
takes place. The marriage-day being appointed
perhaps five or six days after, the bridegroom comes
with a lamb in his arms to the tent of his betrothed,
and there cuts the animal's throat before witnesses,
and as soon as the blood falls upon the ground the
ceremony is regarded as completed. It is accom-
panied with feasting and singing ; all the guests
present must eat bread and meat ; for t-his is a cir-
cumstance absolutely necessary on such occasions.
The form of betrothing differs in different tribes;
sometimes the friend of the lover, holding the girl's
father by the hand, merely says before witnesses,
" You declare that you give your daughter as wife
to — — ." Among the Bedouins of Sinai the father
of the bride gives to the suitor a twig of a tree or
shrub, or something green, which he sticks in his
turban and wears for three days, to show that he
has taken a virgin in matrimony. The betrothed is
seldom made acquainted with the change that is to
take place in her condition. On returning home in
the evening with the cattle, she is met at a short
distance from the camp by her future spouse and a

324 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

couple of his young friends, who carry her by force
to her father's tent. If she entertains any suspicion
of their designs she defends herself with stones, and
often inflicts wounds on the assailants though she
has no dislike to the lover; for the more she
struggles, bites, kicks, cries, and strikes, the more
she is applauded ever after by her own companions.
Sometimes she escapes to the neighbouring moun-
tains, and several days elapse before the bridegroom
can find her ; her female friends, meantime, being
apprized of her hiding-place, furnish her with pro-
visions. When brought to her father's tent she is
placed in the women's apartment, where one of the
young men immediately throws over her an abba in
the name of her future husband ; and this is often
the first time she learns who the person is to whom
she is betrothed. She is then dressed by her mo-
ther and female relations in her wedding-suit, which
is provided by the bridegroom ; and being mounted
on a camel ornamented with tassels and shreds of
cloth, she is conducted, still screaming and strug-
gling in the most unruly manner, three times round
the tent, while her companions utter loud exclama-
tions. If the husband belong to a distant camp the
women accx)mpany her ; and during the procession
decency obliges lier to cry and sob most bitterly.
These lamentations and struggles continue after
marriage ; and sometimes she repeats her flight to
the mountains, refusing to return until she is found
out, or is even far advanced in pregnancy.

Marriages are generally solemnized on the Friday
evenings, and the contracts are drawn up by the
cadi ; if the bride be a widow or a divorced woman
it is attended with little ceremony or rejoicing. This
sort of connexion is always reckoned ill-omened ;
no resistance is made, — no feast takes place, — no
guest will eat of the nuptial bread ; for thirty days
the husband will not taste any provisions belonging
to his wife, and visiters when they come to drink
coffee bring their own cups, because to touch any

SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS. 325

vessel belonsfiiij? to the newly-married widow would
be considered tiie sure road to perdition. Sheiks
and rich citizens display more splendour in their
dresses and entertainments. The bride is decked
out in the finest attire, perfumed with essences, and
every part of her body painted with figures of
' flowers, trees, and houses, as well as antelopes and
other animals.

Instead of receiving- a marriag-e portion, the hus-
band pays for his wife, — the sum varies according
to rank and circumstances. Among- the Arabs of
Sinai it is from five to ten dollars ; but sometimes
thirty if the girl is handsome and well connected.
At Mecca the price paid for respectable maidens is
from 40 to 300 dollars (81. I5s. to 65/. 125. 6d.) ; and
on the borders of Syria young men obtain their mas-
ters' daughters by serving a number of years. Part
of the money only is paid down, the rest standing
over as a kind of debt, or as a security in case of
divorce. The price of a widow is never more than
half, generally but a third, of what is paid for a
virgin.

The sacred tie of marriage has but a slender hold
on the Arabs, and may be dissolved on slight occa-
sions at the pleasure of the husband. This facility
of separation relaxes morality, though it reflects no
dishonour on the woman or her family. She may
be repudiated three or four times, and yet free from
any stain or imputation on her character. It is not
imcommon for a Bedouin before attaining the age
of forty or forty-five to have had fifty wives. If the
woman depart of her own accord she receives no-
thing, and even forfeits the unpaid portion of her
dowry ; but if she is turned away without any valid
reason or proof of misconduct, she is entitled to a
small sum of money, a camel, a goat, a copper
boiler and handmill, with some other articles of
kitchen furniture. This operates as a check upon
the evil, and makes the customs in some degree cor-

VoL. IT— E e

326 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

rect the laws. The form consists of two words,
" Etit tnJeka .'" (Thou art divorced) : when once pro-
nounced it cannot be revoked ; but it does not pre-
vent tlie man from a^^ain marrying the same person,
though she may in the interval have had several
other husbands. IMany instances occur of conjugal
fidelity ; and a Bedouin has been known in a fit of
distraction to commit suicide on seeing his wife give
her hand to a second bridegroom.

The law also allows females a kind of divorce. If
ill used, or not happy, they may fly for refuge to their
father's tent, and their husbands have no right to
reclaim them. The extreme jealousy of the Arabs
leads them to speak but seldom or indirectly on this
subject ; and instead of saying " my wife" or " my
daugliters," they say " my house," and " those at
home." In domestic quarrels the loquacity of the
spouse very often triumphs over the just cause of
her partner ; and rather than see himself overpow-
ered by so contemptible an instrument, and exposed
to ridicule in the presence of his neighbours, he pro-
nounces in a moment of irritation the fatal " Ent
taleka !" which is always -applauded by the specta-
tors. These broils are the most frequent cause of
divorces, which are perhaps to be ascribed rather to
the unruly temper of these wild sons of the desert
than to any want of conjugal feeling.

Children are brought up in the most hardy man-
ner ; the name is given immediately on their birth,
and at the age of six or seven the boys undergo the
ceremony of circumcision. This is always cele-
brated with feasting and rejoicing; and it is gene-
rally arranged by those who have families in a camp
that the operation shall take place on the same day.
On these occasions the boys are dressed in the rich-
est stuffs, set upon fine horses highly adorned, and
are, carried in public procession with drums beating
before them ; the men exhibit equestrian feats and
warlike evolutions : the common people liave sham

SOCIAL STATF OF THE ARABS 327

fights and other buflfoonerics ; while tho youiiff
women join in the sonir and the dance, taking- care
by removing their veils to allow their lovers a hasty
glance of their beauty as they pass.

Funerals in Arabia are attended with certain
peculiar circumstances. Some tribes bury with the
dead man his sword, turban, and girdle. From t-ie
scarcity of linen the Ijedouins not uufrcqucntly
wrap the body in an abba, which serves as a wind-
ing-sheet. Women, but not men, wear mourning.
Females are hired on these occasions, and paid a
small sum by the hour, to howl in the most heart-
rending accents : sometimes they dance before the
house of the deceased with sticks and lances in their
hands, tearing their arms, faces, and hair, and be-
having like furies. IMcdina, according to Ihirck-
hardt, is the only place Miiere this absurd custom is
Hot practised. The female relatives of the family
accompany the bier through the streets dressed in
black ; and, as a further demonstration of their grief,
they stain their hands and feet with blue indigo, which
they suffer to remain for eight days. During all
that time they abstain from milk, alleging that its
white colour but ill accords with the gloom of their
minds.

Tiiough rude in manners and fierce in their gene-
ral character, the Arabs are not without civility and
politeness. Their usual salutation is tlie Salamn
aleikum (Peace be with you). Shaking hands and
kissing after a long absence are everywhere prac-
tised, and sometimes it is customary to quote a pas-
sage of the Koran. The Bedouins know nothing of
those numerous court phrases and ceremonious ex-
pressions current in the towns. They simply wish
a good morning when they meet their friends upon
the road, or a farewell when they depart. When an
Egyptian hails an acquaintance, he says, " INIay
your day be white ;" and there is absolutely no other
reply but " May yours be like milk." These studied

328 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

and superfluous conspliments a Bedouin would con-
sider at once ridiculous and ill-bred. They attach
no indelicacy to the disgusting practice of eructa-
tion after meals ; but they are shocked beyond mea-
sure at an involuntary accident which is the natural
consequence of indigestion on certain articles of diet.
An habitual offender in this way is deemed unwor-
thy of being admitted as a witness before the cadi ;
and some for this reason have been obliged to betake
themselves to voluntary banishment. In towns
there is a greater ostentation of politeness : — " Wel-
come !" says the obsequious shopkeeper of Mecca
to his foreign customer ; " a thousand times wel-
come ! 5^ou are the guest of the holy city ; my whole
property is at your disposal !" In Yemen, persons
who value themselves on their good breeding use
many compliments. In ordinary visits pipes and
coffee are always presented. Sometimes the beards
and clothes of the guests are sprinkled with rose-
water and perfumes. Men salute each other by
kissing the beard or hand, and women by kissing the
forehead, chin, and both cheeks. Even in quarrel-
ling among themselves the Arabs do not use the ill
names and scurrilous language so frequently heard
in the mouths of more polished nations.

Hospitality, the ancient and hereditary virtue of
the nation, is still exercised in all its primitive
cordiality. A hungry Bedouin always divides his
scanty meal with a still more hungry wanderer. If
a stranger be seen coming from afar towards the
camp, he is reckoned the guest of the first person
that descries him ; and for this honour there is often
a generous rivalry which leads to serious alterca-
tions. When he alights, the friendly carpet and the
ready meal are spread for him. So long as he re-
mains his life and property are perfectly secure ;
and should a robbery occur, the host, if he possess
the means, will indemnify him for whatever loss he
may sustain while under his protection, His person

SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS. 329

is sacred, and lie may inist the fidelity of liis enter-
tainer tlie moment he lia.s eaten bread and salt under
his roof. An Arab considers no emergency so ur-
gent or embarrassing as to palliate the neglect, nuich
less the violation, of that social virtue. He has
been heard to declare, that if his enemy should pre-
sent himself at the door of his tent carrying the
head of his own son, it would not exclude him from a
hospitable reception.

These generous dispositions have been subjected
to certain regulations ; and it cannot be denied that
in some instances they proceed less from goodness
of heart than from vanity or the fear of reproach ;
for the greatest insult that can be offered to a Be-
douin is to tell him that he does not treat his guests
well. The hours of hospitality arc numbered, —
three days and eight hours are the term, after which
a stranger ceases to be a ward, and becomes a sim-
ple visiter. He is not dismissed ; but if he prolong
his stay he is expected to assist in the domestic
business of the tent — in fetching water, milking the
camel, or feeding the horse. Should he decline
these menial offices he maj^ still remain, but he will
be censured for ingratitude ; or he may go to an-
other tent, where he will receive a fresh welcome ;
and if he has a distant journey to perform, he may,
by changing liis residence every third or fourth day,
be comfortably entertained until he reach his des-
tination.

It is a received custom in every part of the Desert,
that a woman may entertain strangers in the ab-
sence of her husband; when this is not permitted,
some male relation does the honours of the table.
In certain parts of Nejed, a guest is welcomed by
pouring on his head a cup of melted butter. Among
the Azir tribes a practice exists not very consist-
ent with our ideas of female honour': when a
stranger arrives, he is required to be the companion
of his hostess for the night, whatever be her age or

EeS

330 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

condition ; and it depends upon his rendering him-
self agreeable, whether he is to be honourably
treated or dismissed with disgrace. This custom
the Wahabees abolisried ; but on a representation
being made by the tribe to Abdelazeez, of the mis-
fortunes that had befallen them for having abandoned
the good old practice of their forefathers, permission
was granted to honour their guests as before. The
established laws of the Desert sanction manners that
to European nations must appear extravagant and
unnatural. But the influx of foreigners, and espe-
cially the gold of Mohammed Ali, have had a perni-
cious effect on the virtues of the Bedouins.

Another singular institution is that of the wasy, or
guardianship. An Arab may, in the prime of life,
request a friend to act as guardian to his children.
If the trust is accepted, the friend is solemnly in-
stalled in his otRce ; and one family is thus con-
stituted the hereditary protectors of another. To
the weak, such as minors, women, and old men, this
practice affords some security, however imperfect,
against the oppressions of the strong. It is observed
by all the Arabs of Nejed, but not generally through-
out the Desert ; and affords another instance of those
peculiar ties, domestic as well as political, by which
a fierce and warlike community are held together
and protected amid the lawless ravages occasioned
by their own dissensions.

That the Arabs are brave, and capable of display-
ing exalted courage, was confirmed by numerous
exploits in the Turkish campaign. Examples might
easily be adduced of the most heroic personal val-
our. The Wahabee soldiers fought with despera-
tion, encouraged by the songs of the female war-
riors. It was the custom for the favourite wife of
the sheik, on the day of battle, to ride in front on a
swift dromedary splendidly caparisoned ; and on oc-
casions of extreme importance she had her legs tied
under the belly of the animal — a sign||to the troops

SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS. 331

that they must either conquer or perish by her side.
She formed the rallyins^-point when the combat was
at the hottest, and to kill or take her captive was
reckoned the proudest achievement of the enemy.
When an Arab is hotly pursued, he may save his
life by throwing' himself from his steed and begging
for mercy ; but he does it at the expense of his hon-
our, and forfeits his mare and his clothes. If he
refuses to yield after repeatedly hearing the cry of
'■'■ Howell hoivel .'■'' (Get down !) the pursuer instantly
stabs him with his lance. Some tribes use battle-
banners ornamented with ostrich-feathers ; but these
are never displayed except in important actions ;
and their loss is regarded as a signal of defeat. All
Bedouin tribes without exception have their agyd,
who acts as commander-in-chief ; for it is a remark-
able circumstance in the policy of the Desert, that,
during a campaign in actual warfare, the authority
of the sheik is completely set aside, and the soldiers
are wholly under the control of the agyd. This
person is esteemed as a kind of augur or saint ; he
often decides the operations of the war by his
dreams, visions, or prognostications, and announces
the lucky or unlucky day for attack. His office is
hereditar\^ ; but he possesses no more coercive
power than the sheik, and his authority ceases
whenever the combatants return to their homes.
This curious institution doubtless was intended to
check any increase of power in the person of the
chief of the tribe, by rendering it difficult for him to
engage in feuds merely from private motives.

In the Desert the character of the soldier passes
by an easy transition into that of the brigand. The
Arabs may be styled a nation of robbers (horami) ;
but they are far from attaching to this practice any
ideas of criminality or disgrace. They consider the
profession as honourable, and one of the most flat-
tering titles that could be conferred on a youthful
hero. They rob, indiscriminately, enemies, friends,

332 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

and neighbours ; and these acts are daily committed
in their own tent without entailing any permanent
disgrace on the offender. The defenceless travel-
ler is waylaid, seized, and stripped of eveiy thing ;
but his life is not taken unless he resist, or shed the
blood of a Bedouin. There are many instances of
their extreme ignorance in appreciating the value
of their booty. A peasant has been known to boil
a bag of pearls, mistaking them for rice, and after-
ward throw them away as useless.

The Bedouins have reduced robbery to a science,
and digested its various branches into a complete
and regular system. In distant excursions every
horseman chooses a companion (za/nmal), and |ioth
are mounted on a young and strong camel, carrying
a provision of food and water, that the mare may
be fresh and vigorous at the moment of attack. If
the expedition is to be on foot, each of the party
takes a small stock of flour, salt, and water. They
clothe themselves in rags, to make their ransom
easier if they should be taken. In this guise they
approach the devoted camp under cloud of niglit,
and when all are fast asleep. One of them endeav-
ours to irritate the watch-dogs ; when they attack
him, he flies and artfully draws them off, leaving
the premises unprotected. The harami then cuts
the cords that fasten the legs of the camels, when
they instantly rise from their kneeling posture, and
walk away, as all unloaded camels do, without the
least noise. To quicken their pace, the tails of the
foremost or strongest are twisted, and the rest fol-
low at the same trot. The third actor in the rob-
bery keeps watch at the tent-door with a heavy
bludgeon, to knock down such of the inmates as may
venture to interfere. In this manner fift}^ camels
are often stolen, and driven by forced marches to a
safe distance during the night. An extra share of
the prey is always allowed to these three principal
adventurers.

SOCIAL STATE OF THL ARABS. 333

It frequently happens tliat the robbers are sur-
rounded and seized ; and the mode of treating their^
prisoners affords a curious iUustralion of the influ-*
ence which custom, handed down through many
generations, still exercises over the minds of these
fierce barbarians. It is an established usage in the
Desert, that if any person who is in actual danger
from another can touch a third person, or any in-
animate thing which he has in his hands, or with
which he is in contact ; or if he can touch him by
spitting, or throwing a stone at him, and at the same
time exclaim, " I am thy protected !'' the individual
is bound to grant him the protection he demands.
This law or point of honour is called the dakheil ;
and however absurd or capricious, it seems naturally
to arise out of those scenes of violence, the ferocity
of which it is calculated to soften. A robber de-
tected in the act of plundering is always anxious to
avail himself of the privileges of this artificial con-
vention ; while the inmates of the tent are equally
desirous to prevent him. The person who first
seizes the prisoner demands on what business he is
come. " I came to rob : God has overthrown me ;"
is the common answer. The captor {rabat) then
binds him hand and foot, and beats him w-ith a club,
mitil he exclaims, Yeneffa I " I renounce !" (namely,
the benefit of any protector). But this renunciation
being only valid for one day, the prisoner (rabiet) is
secured in a hole dug in the ground, Avith his feet
chained to the earth, his hands tied, and his twisted
hair fastened to tw-o stakes at both sides of his
head. This temporary grave is covered with tent-
poles, corn-sacks, and other heavy articles, — a
small aperture only being left through which he
may breathe. Here he is detained, and every en-
deavour used to extort from him the highest possible
ransom.

Still the buried captive does not despair ; and cir-
eumst4j)ces sometimes favour his escape. If he

334 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

can contrive through the aperture to spit upon a
man or a child, or receive from their hand the
smallest morsel of food, he claims the rights of the
dakheil. To obtain his release gives rise to many-
adventurous intrigues and ingenious stratagems.
His mother or his sister will often enter the camp
in the garb of a beggar, or during night, and having
put the end of a worsted thread in his mouth, she
retires, still unwinding the clew, to some neighbour-
ing tent, and places the other end in the hand of the
owner, who by this means is guided to the prisoner,
and claims him as his " protected." The right of
freedom is at once allowed ; the thongs which tied
his hair are cut, his fetters are struck off, and he is
entertained by the captor as his guest, with all the
honours of Arabian hospitality. To avoid paying a
ransom, a prisoner will often remain six months
under this rigorous custody, always concealing his
real name, and giving himself out for a poor mendi-
cant. He is, however, generally recognised, and
obliged to purchase his liberty at the expense of all
his property in horses, camels, sheep, tents, pro-
visions, and baggage.

Should the robbers fail in their enterprise, and
meet, when returning, a hostile party of the tribe
they intended to pillage, their declaration, " We
have eaten salt in such a tent," is a passport that
ensures them a safe journey.

The Arabs are the most adroit and audacious
thieves in the world : their address, indeed, in this
art is proverbial. They spring behind the horse-
man, seize him with one hand by the throat, and
with the other rifle him of his money. They stole
the sw-ords from the sides of the French officers in
Egypt, and even purloined clothes and valuable arti-
cles from under their heads while sleeping. These
acts of rapacity they always prJliate by using a soft-
ened and delicate 'language wlien relating them.
Instead of saying, I robbed a man of this or that

FOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS. 335

article, tlicy say, " I gained it." They even pretend
a sort of kindred or relationship between themselves
and the vietim they plunder. " Undress thyself,"
exclaims the brigand of the Desert, as he rides furi-
ously upon the wayfaring stranger ; " thy aunt'
(meaning his own wife) " is without a garment !"
This license they regard rs a sort of birthright or
natioiral prerogative. If they are reproved for their
depredations, " You forget that I am an Arab" is al-
ways the reply; which is spoken with a tone and
expression of countenance that shows how little the
haughty marauder is affected by the supposed op-
probrium. But the chivalry of pillage, like that of
hospitality, has been impaired by their intercourse
with strangers. The honourable asylum of the tent
has often been violated, and the sacred shield of the
dakheil has not always screened the unfortunate
who sought its protection.

The natural jealousy and fiery temperament of the
Arabs have always proved a source of the most im-
placable enmity among themselves. They betray
the quickest sensibility to any affront or injury;
and instances might be multiplied where a con-
temptuous word, an indecent action, or the most
trifling violation of etiquette, can only be expiated
by the blood of the offender. If one sheik say to
another, "Thy bonnet is dirty," or "The wrong
side of thy turban is out," it is considered a mortal
of!ence. To spit on the beard of another, even ac-
cidentally, is an insult scarcely to be forgiven.
Murder is the deepest injury that can be committed.
The Arab code regidates the revenge for blood
(called thar) by the nicest distinctions ; and it is per-
haps owing to this salutary institution more than to
any other, that the Avarlike tribes of the Desert have
been prevented from exterminating each other.

It is a universal law among them, that he who

sheds blood owes on that account blood to the fam-

ly of the slain person ; and this debt may be required.

336 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

not only from the actual murderer, but from all his
relations. The right of the thar is limited within
certain degrees of kindred. In the case of a slain
parent, his lineal descendants to the fifth generation
inherit the sacred duty of revenging his death on a
corresponding series of descendants on the other
side. This right is never lost by prescription, but
devolves on both sides to the latest posterity. If
one death is simply avenged by another, the account
is considered to be cleared ; but if two of the assas-
sin's family be killed by the relatives of the deceased,
the former retaliates. Tliough murder may be ex-
piated by fine or confiscation, it depends upon the
next relations of the slain to accept or reject the
penalty. If the offer is deemed unsatisfactory, the
homicide, and all his kin comprised within the law
of vengeance, make their escape to some friendly
tribe. A sacred custom allows the fugitives three
days and four hours, during which their enemies
abstain from the pursuit : the exiles are permitted
to return so soon as a reconciliation can be ef-
fected.

The dye, or fine for a murdered man, varies among
the diff'erent tribes from 1000 to 500 piastres (50/. to
25/.), and the sum is often made up by contributions
in money or cattle from the friends of the guilty
person, who are generally liberal with their assist-
ance on such occasions. The Beni Harb in Hejaz
fix the price of blood at 800 dollars (175/.). Among
the Aenezes it is rated at fifty she-camels, one
riding camel, a mare, a black slave, a coat-of-mail,
and a gun. The quality of these articles is not
much regarded, and it is seldom they are all de-
manded, as the wives or daughters of the slayer
petition earnestly for some abatement. The matter
being finally settled, a she-camel is brought to the
tent of the adversary and there killed, that blood
may be expiated by blood. The parties, now re-
conciled, feast upon the flesh of the animal ; and at

SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS. 337

parting- the homicide floiirislies a white liaiiclkerchief
on his lance, as a public notification that he is " free
from blood." This mode of arrangement is not
common among: the more wealthy and independent
tribes. Most of the great sheiks regard it as shame-
ful to compromise in any degree for the slaughter
of their relations.

Amid the continual hostilities in which the Arabs
are involved, debts of blood are frequently incurred,
when the slaughter is accompanied with treachery,
or contrary to the law of nations. When a tribe
violates the rights of war by killing their enemies as
they lie wounded on the field, the adversary retal-
iates by killing double the number with the same
circumstances of cruelty. However revolting tills
policy may appear, an Arab would be censured were
he not to follow the general practice.*

The amusements of the Arabs are comparatively
few, — chess, draughts, and mangela are the only
games they play ; the latter consists of a wooden
table with a dozen holes, into which two players
drop so many little stones, beans, or shells. The
vacant unvaried life which they lead, and the mo-
notonous scenery amid which they dwell, must
often render existence irksome. It is to relieve
this weariness and want of novelty that they have
recourse to tobacco, kaad, hashish, and other intoxi-
cating stimulants. Smoking is universal among all
classes, notwithstanding the warmth of the cli-
mate and the natural dryness of their constitution.
Persons of opulence and fashion always carry with
them a box filled with odoriferous wood, — a bit of
which, when put into the pipe, communicates to

* Hence we may extenuate the slaughter of the captive kings
(who were Bedouin sheiks) by the Israehtes, as being dictated
less by a wanton desire of bloodshed than by the necessity of
adhering to the lusages of the land where they dwelt ; a derelic-
tion from which must have diminished the respect in which
they were held by their neighbours. — Judges, chap. viii.
Vol. it.— F f

338 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

the tobacco a fragrant smell and a very agreeable
taste. Throwing the jereed is a kmd of rude
tournament which they frequently practise. This
is a blunt spear, made of heavy wood, about a
yard long and the thickness of a mopstick. Tlie
object of the game, in which they evince the most
astonishing dexterity, is for one party to pursue
and the other to fly, and try to elude being struck
with the weapon. Sometimes they amuse them-
selves with sham-fights ; and nothing can be more
picturesque than to see a group of wild men hud-
dled together in the greatest apparent confusion,
with drawn swords and couched lances. The more
domestic pastimes are dancing, singing, and story-
telling, for which they have a singular passion, and
which fill up all their leisure hours. There is a
species of song common all over the Desert, in which
the youths of both sexes join in the chorus, accom-
panying it with clapping of hands and various mo-
tions of the body. It is called the mesamer, and is
the only opportunity which the lover has of serenad-
ing his mistress ; the verses are often composed ex-
tempore, and relate to the beauty and qualities of
the beloved object. They have war-songs, called
hadou, in praise of their chiefs, and chants to enliven
their camels; for it is well known that that animal
never moves with so much ease as when he hears
his master sing.* When an Aeneze recites verses
or ancient poetry, he accompanies his voice with
the rehaba, a kind of guitar, the only musical instru-
ment used in the Desert. Some tribes are more
famous than others for their poetical and vocal

* Of the Asamer, or Camel-driver's Song, Burckhardt gives
the following specimen : — " Lord preserve them from all threat-
ening dangers ! Let their limbs be pillars of iron !"

In their amatory songs the lover sometimes expresses his
passion in epithets that sound rather oddly in European ears : —
"O, Ghaha! if my father were a jackass, I would sell him to
purchase Ghalia !"

SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS. 3:J9

talents. Tlie people of Jof sing among the tents of
the Aenezes foratritlingreniuncralion; and in towns
there are regnlar professors of the art, who attend
at the coflee-houses and lend their aid on festive
occasions. A common entertainment among the
Bedouins is the reciting of tales after the manner
of the Arabian Nights.

Notwithstanding the natural abilities of this peo-
ple, the arts and sciences are neither cultivated nor
encouraged. The literary splendours of the caliph-
ate liave long been quenched. Except Abulfeda, in
whom the sun of Arabian learning appears to have
set, no historian, philosopher, or writer of any ce-
lebrity, has risen to dissipate the gloom with which
the Tartars in the thirteenth century overspread the
East under the banners of Zingis Khan. In almost
every mosque there is a school, having a founda-
tion for the support of teachers and the instruc-
tion of poor scholars in the common elements of
reading, writing, and arithmetic. In large towns
there are academies, colleges, and other seminaries
of education, in which astronomy, astrology, medi-
cine, and some other sciences are taught ; but, from
^he want of books and competent masters, extremely
little progress is made. The principal employment
among men of letters is the interpretation of the
Koran and the study of ancient Mohammedan his-
tory. All the Bedouins throughout Arabia are en-
tirely ignorant of letters. The Wahabee chief took
pains to instruct them, by establishing schools in
every village of Nejed, and obliging parents to su-
perintend the education of their children. Deraiah
w^as made an attractive seat for learned ulemas, by
collecting valuable libraries from all parts of the
country ; but, in spite of every effort, these warlike
tribes still remain, as might be expected, a most
illiterate race. Among a people so superstitious as
the Arabs no science is so much cultivated as astrol-
ogy, which is held in high repute. Though tho

340 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

Koran expressly forbids the prying into futurity by
any form of divination, yet a Moslem seldom con-
cludes a bargain without consulting the stars.

In a country where there are so few patients, it
cannot be expected that the healing art should be
much studied, or held in great esteem. The com-
mon practitioners know little more than the use of
simples, and the technical terms, such as they find
them in the books of Avicenna. Physicians are
obliged to act as chymists, apothecaries, surgeons,
farriers, and cattle-doctors ; and yet, with all this
variety of employments, they can scarcely earn a
livelihood. If the sick man die they get no reward ;
and this custom has taught them to use many petty
and disgraceful artifices to obtain payment before-
hand. There is not a single individual of this pro-
fession in the whole of Nejed. The natives cure
themselves, and their mode of treatment is suffi-
ciently rude. They heal sabre-wounds by applying
raw flesh taken from a camel newly killed. In
bowel-complaints they have recourse to senna. For
headache, colic, and sore eyes, the most approved
remedy is a red-hot iron. In cases of rheumatism the
patient is rubbed with warm oil or the fat of mut-
ton ; in dropsical complaints the water is drawn off
by means of setons in the back. Toothache is some-
times cured by inhaling the smoke of a certain
plant ; and the bite of venomous serpents by suck-
ing out the poison. Blood-letting is performed
with a common knife, and the lower classes some-
times scarify their legs, being of opinion that this has
a tendency to improve their strength. From th©
same persuasion the inhabitants of Yemen anoint
their bodies with oil, which protects them from the
heat of the sun, and by closing the pores of the skin
is supposed to check the debilitating effects of too
copious perspiration. The Arabs have many family
nostrums, and are implicit believers in the efficacy
of charms and other mystic arts. No species of know-

SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS. 341

Icdjre is more liifrlily venerated tlianthat of the occult
sciences, wliich aflbrd a nraintenance to a vast
number of quacks and impudent pretenders. The
science of Ism Allah (or Name of God), enables the
possessor to discover what is passing in his absence,
to expel evil spirits, cure diseases, and dispose of
the winds and seasons as he chooses. Those who
have advanced far in this study pretend to calm
tempests at sea by the rules of art, or say their
prayers at noon in Mecca, without stirring from tlieir
own houses in Aden or Bagdad. The Smna is not
quite so sublime a science, as it teaches merely the
feats and illusions of jugglers. Dervises and mol-
lahs practise it, and appear to the astonished spec-
tators to pierce their bodies with lances, strike
sharp-pointed instruments into their eyes, or leap
from the roofs of houses upon a pole shod with iron,
which seems to run through their body, while they
are carried like spitted victims about the streets.
The Kurra is the art of composing billets or amu-
lets, which secm*e the wearer from the power of
enchantments and all sorts of accidents. They are
also employed to give cattle an appetite for food,
and clear houses from flies or other vermin. The
practice of fortune-telling, which they call ramie,
is very common. The natives of Oman are pecu-
liarly skilled in sorcery {sihr) ; they are inferior,
however, to the witches and wizards of Europe, as
they know notliing about the art of riding through the
air on broomsticks, sailing to India in cockle-shells,
or holding nocturnal revelries in their mosques,
under the visible presidency of Satan.

The Arabs pay great attention to their language,
which they speak and write with the utmost care.
No tongue, perhaps, is diversified by so many dia-
lects : the pronunciation in Yemen differs from that
of Tehama ; and both are distinct from the Bedouin
phraseology. It is a mistake, however, to suppose,

Ff^

342 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

as Niebuhr and Michaelis have done, that these
dialects differ as widely as the Spanish or Italian
does from the Latin. Burckhardt, who had the best
opportunity of judging, says, that notwithstanding
the vast extent of country in which the language
prevails, whoever has learned one dialect will easily
understand all the rest. According to this traveller,
it is in the Desert where the purest Arabic is spoken.
The Bedouins, though they have different idioms,
are remarkable for the grammatical accuracy as
well as the elegance of their expressions. Next to
them are the Meccawees and natives of Hejaz, whoso
language approaches nearer to the old written dialect
than that of any other district. The inhabitants of
Bagdad and Sanaa, and the Yemenees in general,,
speak with purity, but have a harsh accent. At
Cairo the pronunciation is worse ; and it gradually
degenerates among the Libyan and Syrian Arabs.
After them come the tribes on the Barbary coast, —
at Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers ; and, lastly, the natives,
of Fez and iNIorocco, whose rough articulation is
considered the extreme point from the pure Bedouin
stand-jrd ; yet this difference is not greater, perhaps^
than between the spoken language of England and
Scotland. All the Arabs pay much attention to pen-
manship, though there is great diversity in their style
of writing. The several countries have also their
peculiar method of folding letters. In Hejaz they
are sealed with gum-arabic, and a small vessel filled
for the purpose is suspended near the gate of every
khan or public-house. Wax is never used, as the
heat prevents it from retaining the impression.

In the mechanical arts the Arabs are extremely
deficient. The Bedouins know little else than the
tanning of leather and the weaving of coarse fabrics.
They have a few blacksmiths and saddlers ; but all
handicraft occupations are considered degrading.
There is only one watchmaker at Jidda, and not a

SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS. 343

single shoemaker in Hejaz. In Yemon there are
workers in glass, gold, and silver ; but the artificers
in the precious metals are all Jews and Banians.

The want of home manufactures obliges the na-
tives to supply their markets by means of foreign
trade. Though their ports have long lost tlieir
celebrity as the grand entrepots for the commodities
of the East, they still continue to enjoy a portion
of the commerce between India and Europe. Jidda
has become the principal emporium of the Arabian
trade. It is perhaps the wealthiest town of the
same extent in the Turkish dominions ; hence its
name, which means " rich," is well bestowed. A
few years ago it employed about 250 ships in the
Red Sea, The two main branches of its commerce
^re coffee and Indian produce. In May the annual
lleets from Calcutta, Surat, and Bombay make
their appearance, bringing different kinds of goods,
— Cashmere shawls, cocoanuts, rice, sugar, drugs
of all sorts, china and hardware, pipes, glass beads,
rosaries, mirrors, and cards. These commodities
are mostly sold for cash to India merchants, some
of whom possess capital to the amount of 150,000/.
or 200,000/. sterling ; while several inferior houses
have capitals of 40,000/. or 50,000/. Sales of entire
cargoes are often made in the course of half an hour,
and the money paid down next day. Trade is there
carried on chiefly by barter, or by cash transactions.
Credit is with difficulty obtained ; hence no Arabian
merchant can contract debts which he is unable to
pay, and consequently there are no mercantile fail-
ures in speculations such as daily occur in Europe.
From Jidda the India goods are sent to Suez and
Cairo, whence they are dispersed over Egypt and
the ports of the Mediterranean. The returns from
these countries are made either in dollars or sequins,
or in produce, such as wheat and barley, for which
Arabia depends on Egypt ; an inferior sort of to-
bacco, which is called tambak ; Bedouin cloaks,

344 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

coarse Turkish carpets, cotton quilts, linen for shirts,
red and yellow slippers, and other articles of dress ;
besides a variety of commodities which are not
manufactured in Arabia. Ships laden with coffee
are constantly arriving from Mocha, and their car-
goes are generally converted into dollars. This
branch of trade suffered, when the Mocha coffee was
supplanted, in the markets of European Turkey,
Asia Minor, and Syria, by that produced in the East
and West Indies; but there is little doubt that it
will revive under the auspices of Mohammed Ali,
who may be said to command the entire commerce
of the Arabian Gulf, now that he has become the
independent sovereign of Egypt and Syria. With
this view he has already proposed to augment his
navy ; to construct a canal from Suez to the Nile ;
to establish regular marts on the Mediterranean
coast ; and open a communication between the
Orontes and the Euphrates. Should these mighty
projects be carried into effect, a few years may be-
hold a total revolution in the mercantile intercourse
between the nations of the East and the West. The
annual exports of coffee at present, from Jidda,
Mocha, Hodeida, and other contiguous ports, is
estimated at 12,000 tons. The duties on the best
are 100 per cent., and fully 150 per cent, on the
inferior sorts. Independently of coffee, the export-
trade of Mocha is very considerable in gum-arabic,
myrrh, and frankincense. Muscat carries on a val-
uable trade with India and the Persian Gulf. Its
inhabitants are reputed excellent seamen.

There is one circumstance connected with the
commerce of Arabia that deserves notice, from the
attention which it has recently excited in this coun-
try ; we mean the communication with India by
steam conveyance. Two routes have been proposed,
both of which are practicable, but attended with
obstacles that it maybe difficult to overcome. One
of these is by the Persian Gulf along the Euphrates

Miles.

Diyi.

2300

15

800

4

1349

12

1587

8

3J

SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS. 346

to Bir or Beles, and thence across the Desert to the
Mediterranean at Scanderoon, or the mouth of the
Orontes, a distance of sixty-seven miles. Captain
Chesney, who surveyed that celebrated river, con-
sidered it navifrable for steamers as high as Bir ;
and that a constant supply of fuel might be found in
the wood, charcoal, bitumen, and naphtha, of which
abundance is to be had throughout the whole line.
The distances and time necessary to accomplish
this route he estimates thus : —

From Falmouth to Malta,

— Malta to Scanderoon, . - -

— Scanderoon to Bussora,

— Bussora to Bombay,
J^ecessary or incidental delays,

6036 42 i

The other route is by the Red Sea, the advantages
-and practicability of which have been advocated by
Captain Head. The only physical point on which
there seems to be any doubt or difference of opinion
is the overland conveyance between Egypt and the
Arabian Gulf. Suez and Cosseir are certainly the
most favourable ports ; but the former has the dis-
advantage of shallow water, while the other would
occasion a delay of ten or twelve days in ascending
the Nile to Keneh, and crossing the intervening
desert. The following is the calculation as to time
and distance by this line of conveyance : —

From Falmouth to Malta, ...

— Malta to Alexandria,

— Alexandria to Suez (by Cairo),

— Suez to BabelMandeb,

— Bab el Mandeb to Socotra, -

— Socotra to Bombay,

The most formidable impediment in the way of
this project, as we have already stated (vol. i. p. 79),

Miles.

DlTS.

2040

16

860

5

175

6

1200

7

600

4

1200

7

6075

45

346 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

is the article of expense, which has been estimated
at 40,000/. or 50,000/. per annum, if the communica-
tion is made monthly. But, though in abeyance in
the mean time, it is highly probable that the plan
will be carried into effect.* The changes at present
contemplated in the government and policy of India
will render it of vast importance to establish a
shorter and cheaper line of intercourse than by the
Cape of Good Hope ; and perhaps the period is not
very remote when the commerce of the East will
resume its ancient channel, and the great trading
capitals of Europe and Asia be brought, by the mar-
vellous agency of steam, within a few days' journey
of each other.

The population of Arabia cannot, perhaps, be very .
accurately ascertained. In the towns and districts
belonging to Nejed, Mengin reckons 50,945 males,
and 231,020 women and children. Its whole mili-
tary force consisted of 41,100 infantry and 8620
cavalry. The population of Hejaz, Burckhardt com-
puted at 150,000, the greater proportion of which
are Harb Bedouins. The territory of Sinai, south
of a line drawn from Suez to Akaba, he supposed
might contain nearly 4000 ; but the number dimin-
ishes in years when pasturage is scarce. Yemen
is reckoned to have about a million of inhabitants,
most of whom belong to the sect of the Zeidites.
The entire population of the Arabian peninsula
Head states at 11,000,000; Malte Brun thinks it
may probably amount to 12,000,000 ; a number
which, if united by a system of regular government
and acting under one political head, might prove a
formidable enemy to the countries once overrun by
their warlike ancestors. That this vast region was
anciently more rich and populous than it is now there
is undeniable evidence in its own deserts. The

* Captain Head estimates that a monthly voyage would leave
balance of no less than 52,486/. of annual profits.

SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS. 347

tribes on the northern frontiers, in the days of the
Hebrew judges, are represented as coming up and
encamping against Israel, with their camels, their
cattle, and their tents, like grasshoppers for multi-
tude. The plains of Hauran are strown with the
ruins of towns and villages ; and many places which
arc susceptible of culture, and must once have been
thickly peopled, are overgrown with wild herbage.
It may even be doubted whether these regions have
always existed in the same state of hopeless sterility
Avhich they at present exhibit. Numbers of petrified
trunks have been discovered in desolate tracts,
where neither tree nor shrub has grown within the
remembrance of history ; but of the same species —
the date and the sycamore — which still abound in
the more fertile parts of the same district. These
facts seem to demonstrate a more flourishing con-
dition of soil and population in certain places than
are now witnessed by modern travellers, but at a
period of which antiquity is silent.

In casting a retrospective view over the manners
and habits of the Arabs, we are struck with the con-
tradictory features which they discover, both in their
social and moral character. Independently of the
grand distinction between natives and settlers, shep-
herds and citizens, which naturally creates a differ-
ence in their modes of life, other anomalous circum-
stances are found to exist among the pure aboriginal
tribes. The spirit of patriotism among them is strong
and universal, yet they have no home but the path-
less waste and wretched tent. They are a nation
of brothers, yet live continually at war ; jealous of
their honour, and at the same time addicted to the
meanest vices. Though fierce and sanguinary in
their temper, they are not strangers to the virtues
of pity and gratitude. They are faithful where
they pledge their word, and charitable to the needy ;
but they are covetous, and by no means of good
faith in pecuniary transactions.

348 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS.

Their religious character is marked by the same
irreconcilable extremes. Their fanaticism is coupled
with infidelity ; their prayers and devotions are
mingled with the pursuits of commerce and the
ideas of worldly lucre. Islam has but very little
hold on the reverence of its disciples, even under
the domes of its own temples. In the Desert there
is a still more lax observance of its precepts and
ceremonies. In a pleasant indifference about the
"tatter, the Bedouins remark that the religion of
Mohammed never could have been intended for
them. "In the Desert," say they, "we have no
water ; how then can we make the prescribed ab-
lutions ? We have no money, and how can we
bestow alms 1 Why should we fast in the Ramadan,
since the whole year with us is one continual
abstinence ; and if God be present everywhere, wh}''
should we go to Mecca to adore him ]" The whole
of their social and moral economy remarkably illus-
trates the truths of Holy Writ, that " Ishmael shall
be a wild man, whose hand is against every mau^
and every man's hand against him." Enemies alike
to industry and the arts, they dwell " without bolts
and bars," the wandering denizens of the wilderness.
Religiously opposed to the luxuries and refinements
of civilized life, these rude barbarians present the
phenomenon of a people living in a state of nature,
unsubdued and unchanged ; yet, in their acknow-
ledgment of the true God, still preserving evidence
of their lineage as the children of Abraham.

NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA. 349

CHAPTER IX.

NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA

Want of Information on the Natural History of Arabia — Scien-
tific Discoveries of the Danish Travellers — Geology — Mount
Sinai — Hills of Hejaz and Yemen — Volcanic Rocks — Hot
Spnnsfs — Soil— Agriculture — Crops — Harvest — Comparative
Fertility of diflierent Districts — Mineralogy — No Gold or
Silver Mines in Arabia — Precious Stones — Botany — Vegeta-
bles—Plants— Coloquintida — Tobacco — Hemp — Trees and
Shrubs — Fruit-trees — The Palm — Date-groves — Manna —
Gum-arabic — Honey — S hrubs — The Nebek — Tamarisk —
Balsam of Mecca — The Gharkad — Henna — Acacia — Incense
Tree — Coffee — Zoology — Wild Animals — Hyenas — Mort-
keys — Rock-goats — Hares — Jerboas — Domestic Animals —
Cows — Buffaloes — Asses — Horses — Camels — Dromedaries —
Sheep — Goats — Dogs— yiice— Birds — Poultry— Birds of Game
— Birds of Prey — The Ostrich — The Lapwing — The Samar-
man — Field-sports of the Arabs — Reptiles — Tortoises — Scor-
pions— Serpents — Fishes — Insects — Trie Locust — Ants — Te-
nebriones — Shells — Coral Banks.

As few travellers comparatively have visited Arabia, it
cannot be supposed that its natural history has been very
minutely investigated. The knowledge of the ancients on
this subject was extremely imperfect, consisting chiefly of
fabulous or exaggerated reports as to some of the more cele-
brated of its mineral and vegetable productions. Several
useful observations, not indeed referring pecuharly to that
country, occur in the works of Kaempfer, Bochart, Norden,
Belon, Pauw, Rauwolf, and Tournelbrt. Shaw and Hassel-
quist were both distinguished for their attainments in physi-
cal science ; but the reader will look in vain in their works
for that systematic arrangement or accuracy of description
which modem philosophy has introduced into every depart-
ment of natural knowledge. It is to the Danish travellers,
Niebuhr and his componions, who have done so much to illu.>-
trate the geoGrraphv, manners, and civil iiistitutions of Arabia,

Vol. lf~Gg '

350 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

that we are indebted almost exclusively for whatever is
known in Europe of its minerals, animals, and- plants.

That literary ex]3edition, which owed its foniiation to the
patronage of Frederick V. and his minister Count Bemstorff,
sailed from Copenhagen in January, 1761, and, after a short
stay at Constantinople, reached the coast of Yemen, by way
of Egj'pt, in December, 1762. Each of the academicians who
composed it had his particular task assigned him. Professor
Von Haven was appointed linguist ; Mons. Baurenfiend acted
as draughtsman ; Dr. Cramer had the office of physician ;
Mons. Forskal was charged with the department of natural
history ; and Niebuhr with that of geography. The novelty
of the undertaking excited a lively interest among the learned
associations of Europe. A series of questions, embracing
many intricate points both physical and philological, was pro-
posed for solution by Michaehs, professor of theology at Got-
tingen. A similar list was drawn up and addressed to these
accomplished travellers by M. de Brequigny of the Royal
Academy of Inscriptions at Paris, with a view to obtain au-
thentic information respecting the antiquities, chronology,
government, religion, and language of Yemen. Of the his-
torical treasures brought to light in the answers to these
interrogatoreis we have not failed to avail ourselves in the
preceding chapters of our work.

It is to be regretted, however, that from a concurrence of
unfavourable circumstances, the hopes of the scientific world
were in a great measure frustrated. Von Haven died at
Mocha within five months after their arrival. Forskal sur-
vived him but a few weeks, having expired at Jerim on the
11th of July ; but not before he had visited Sanaa, and made
various professional excursions among the Coffee Mountains
near Taas. In the course of the following year Niebuhr lost
his two remaining companions : Baurenfiend died at sea near
the island of Socotra, and Cramer ended his days at Bom-
bay. By this melancholy catastrophe, numerous valuable
discoveries were doubtless left unaccomplished ; yet it is
truly surprising how much was effected in so short a time by
the ardent zeal and indefatigable industry of M. Forskal. He
collected and gave descriptions of more than 300 species in
the animal kingdom, and upwards of 800 in the vegetable ;'
and this number might have been considerably increased had
he not scrupulously adhered to the resolution of admitting

GEOLOGY. 351

notliing which he had not examined with the greatest care.
These fragments were afterward reduced to order by Nie-
bulir, according to the Linnaaan arrangement, and published
in Latin in two quarto volumes.* Owing to the rigour with
which Christians were then exchided from the Holy Land of
tlie Moslem, the observations of the Danish travellers were
necessarily restricted to the southern provinces, and those
parts of the country through which Niebuhr passed in his jour-
ney from Bagdad to Aleppo. Since that time Mohammedan
bigotry has relaxed ; but this tolerance has not much in-
creased the information of naturalists ; and a few geological
remarks gleaned from the pages of Burckhardt and Ali Bey
are all that have been added to the scientific treasures of the
northern philosophers. In collecting and arranging the ma-
terials which we have drawn from these various sources, we
have been less anxious to follow a particular system than to
present the general reader vnth a simple and intelligible trea-
tise on the subject.

SECTIOX I. GEOLOGY.

Mmmtains. — It has been already stated in the description
of Arabia, that the mountain-chain which traverses that
peninsula from north to south is a continuation of Lebanon in
Palestine. Passing eastward of the Dead Sea, it runs to-
wards Akaba, and from thence extends as far as Yemen ; in
some places approaching the shore of the Arabian Gulf, and
in others being separated from it by the intervening plain of
Tehama. On the eastern side the descent of this range is
less by one-third than on the western, owing perhaps to the
constant accumulation of sand ; so that the great central
desert is considerably elevated above the level of the sea. The
lofty summits, that tower to the clouds when viewed from the
coast, dwindle into mere hills when seen from the interior.
At Wady Arabah the surface of the western plain is perhaps
1000 feet lower than the eastern. The structure of Gebel
Shera (Mount Sen) is principally of calcareous rock ; there
are also detached pieces of basalt, and large tracts of breccia,
formed of sand and flint. About Mount Hor and Wady
Mousa sandstone of a reddish colour prevails ; and from this

♦ Flora Arabica, 4to Hafhiae, 1775. Descriptiones Anima-
lium, ibid. 1775.

352 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

all the tombs and temples of Petra have been excavated. To
the southward it follows the whole extent of the great valley.
'1 he summits of these cliffs are so irregular and grotesque,
that when seen from a distance they have the appearance of
volcanic mountains. Their naked perpendicular sides pre-
sent calcareous rocks, sandstone, and flint lying over each
other in horizontal layers. In several parts of the caravan-
route between Suez and Akaba, Burckhardt observed large
insulated masses of por-ous tufwacke. The famous Gebel
Mokkateb, or Written Mountain, is of sandstone ; but at
Wady Borak the formation changes to porphvrv, alternating
with strata of greenstone.

The peninsula of Sinai exhibits a considerable diversity of
structures, differing in their ingredients from the ridges in
other parts of Arabia. On approaching the central summits
of the Sinai group, the traveller encounters abrupt cliffs of
granite from. 600 to 800 feet in height, whose surface is
blackened by the sun. These precipices enclose the Holy
Mountain on three sides, leaving for a passage a narrow defile
about forty feet in breadth. The upper nucleus, including
the rugged peaks of St. Catherine, is composed almost entirely
of granite. Among the lower ridges porph}T>' and green-
stone begin to appear. In many places the latter takes the
natiu-e of slate. The layers of the former are sometimes
ver)' striking, rimning pei-pendicularly from the top to the
base of the mountain in strata of about twelve feet in width,
and projecting slightly from the other rocks. The porphyry
of Sinai, Burckhardt rem.arks, is usually a red indurated ar-
gillaceous substance. Some specimens had the appearance
of red felspar. In the argil are imbedded small cn-stals of
hornblende or of mica, and thin pieces of quartz, the colour
of which is universally red. The granite is gray and of the
small-grained species, of which the Towara tribes manufac-
ture hand-mills, which they dispose of to the northern Arabs,
or export for sale. The intervening valleys are interspersed
with blocks of chalk-rock ; on each side, beds of red or white
sandstone present their smooth perpendicular surface.

Shaw remarks, that on the route between Cairo and Suez
an infinite number of flints and pebbles are to be met with,
all of them superior to the Florentine marble, and frequently
equal to the Mocha stone in the variety of their figures and
representations, having the images of little trees, shrubs, or

GEOLOGY. 353

plants impressed upon them, — and hence they have obtained
the name of dendrite stones. The porphyry of Sinai and St.
Catherine is distinguished by the same remarkable appear-
ances,— a circumstance which has induced some naturalists
to call it marmor embuscatum, or b\ishy marble. It was this
singular feature that led Buxtorf to derive the name of Sinai
from the bushes (the tamarisks and acacias) figured in the
rocks ; although it seems more natural that the appellation
should have originated from the shrubs themselves, as they
are known to abound in these deserts.* Shaw noticed some
branches of this fossil tamarisk that were nearly half an inch
in diameter ; the constituent matter appeared rather of a
mineral substance, not unlike the powder of lead-ore, which
crumbled into dust when touched or rubbed with the fingers.
The porphyry, he says, is sometimes of so small and compact
a grain that the contexture is not inferior to the ophites or ser-
pentine marble ; and he thought it probable, that out of this
rock were hewn the two tables of the law on which the Ten
Commandments were written with the finger of God.

On the shore towards Akaba rise numerous promontories
of black trap and basalt, the bases of which have been
scooped by the sea into creeks, resembling small lakes with
very narrow entrances. Some of these clifTs, which run close
by the water's edge for upwards of a mile, present granite
and red porphyry crossing each other horizontally or perpen-
dicularly in irregular layers. The granite of this peninsula
exhibits the same numberless varieties, and the same beautiful
specimens, of red, rose-coloured, and almost purple, that are
to be found nearEs Souan and above the cataract of the Nile.
The transitions from primitive to secondary rocks, partaking
of the nature of greenstone or graywacke, or hornstone and
trap, present also an endless diversity, the description of which
would only tire the patience of the reader. Om Shomar con-

* Sinai mentis nomen a sine, rubus, quod lapides inventi in ea
figuratum in se habuerint rubum, &c. Buxtorf in voce nJD-
Other commentators say that sme also signifies a breast ; and as
Mounts Sinai and St. Catherine are the highest peaks in that
quarter, they might be so called from their likeness to that part
of the human body ; a derivation far less probable than the other.
The dendritic appearance of these rocks is mentioned by Pros-
pero Alpino (Hist. Nat. Egypt, cap. vi. p. 147), who speaks of
the "silices sylviferae, in quibus lapidibus sylvag, herbaruin,
fruticum, &c. pictae imagines cemuntur."

Gg2

354 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

sists of granite ; the lower stratum is red ; at the top it is
almost white, so as to appear from a distance like chalk.
This arises from the large portion of white felspar in it, and
the minute particles of hornblende and mica. Towards the
middle of tlie mountain and between the granite rocks are
broad strata of brittle black slate, mixed with layers of quartz,
felspar, and micaceous schistus. The quartz includes, thin
strata of mica of the most brilliant white colour, which
is quite dazzlmg in the sim, and forms a striking contrast with
the blackened surface of the slate and the red granite.

The hills that branch oft' from this great chain betweert
Medina and Mecca diff'er little in their formation. Granite,
both of the gray and red species, limestone, and porphyry are
the prevailing rocks. Ohud, famous for one of Mohammed's
battles, consists of different-coloured granite. On its sides
Burckhardt found flint, but no lava. Its entire extent from
west to east is about four miles. The lowest ranore above
Jidda, which is seldom more than 400 or 500 feet high, is
calcareous ; but the rock soon changes into gneiss and a spe-
cies of granite, with schorl in the place of felspar, accompa-
nied by masses of quartz and some mica. This fonnation
continues with little variety as far as the vicinity of Gebel
Nour, near Mecca, where granite begins. The mountains
enclosing the valley of Muna are composed of variously
coloured granite, mixed in a few places with strata of green-
stone, trap, and porjihyry scliistus. Although there are some
beds of hornblende, felspar, mica, and schorl to be found
accidentally among them, yet, according to Ali Bey, quartz
forms in general the principal masses. Their beds are
oblique, and in different angles of declination, dipping west-
ward from thirty to forty-five degrees. White marble is said
to be found in the neighbourhood ; and some travellers sup-
pose that there is abundance of valuable minerals, which are
only hid because the inhabitants want skill or enterprise to
discover them.

The geological description of the country northward of
Hejaz applies, with little variation, to the lofty chain that
extends along the coast for nearly 1800 miles, from Mecca
to Muscat ; except that, in the ridge behind Tehama, schis-
tus and basalt predominate, instead of granite. At Kahhme,
near Beit el Fakih, Niebuhr saw a hill composed entirely of
pentagonal basaltic columns, each about eight inches in diain-

GEOLOGY. 355

€ter, and so uiiifonnly rr^ilar, that they might be mistaken
for the work of art. They rise vertically one over the other,
sometimes sj)re.ading in parallel rows to a considerable extenL
in different parts of Yemen, especially among the Coffee
Mountains, similar phenomena were observed, which contrib-
uted greatly to the beauty of the landscape ; particularly in
the rainy season, when the water was seen rushing over their
summits, and forming cascades, which had the appearance
of being supported by rows of artificial pillars. These basalts
were useful to the inhabitants, serving as materials for build-
ing steps to climb the hills where the ascent was difficult, and
also as walls to support the plantations of cofTee-trees on the
steepest declivities. The mountains southward of Muscat,
behind Ras el Hud, are chiefly of granite, and according to
Captain Owen rise to the height of 6000 feet.

Volcanic Rocks. — The first and only appearance of volcanic
action which Burckhardt detected in the peninsula of Sinai
was on the coast near Sherm. For a distance of about two
miles the hills presented perpendicular cliffs from sixty to
eighty feet in height, some of them nearly circular, others
semicircular. The rocks were black, slightly tinged with
red, of a rough surface, and full of cavities. In other places
there was an appearance of volcanic craters. No traces o*
lava were observed towards the higher mountains, which
seemed to prove that the discharged matter was confined to
that spot. The hills round Medhia, as well as the lower
ridge of the great northern chain, exhibit a layer of volcanic
rock. It is of a bluish-black colour, very porous, yet heavy
and hard, not glazed, and intermixed with small white sub-
stances of the size of a pin-head, but not crystallized. The
whole plain is blackened by the debris, with which it is over-
spread. This traveller observed no lava, although the nature
of the ground seemed strongly to indicate the neighbourhood
of a volcano. The inhabitants gave him an account of an
earthquake and a volcanic eruption, which took place there
about the middle of the thirteenth century. They described
it as bursting forth eastward of the town, with a smoke that
completely darkened the sky ; at the sanie time a fiery mass
of immense size, resembling a large citv with walls, battle-
ments, and minarets, was seen ascending to heaven. The
number of hot-springs found at almost ever}' station of the
road to Mecca seems to authorize the conjecture that simi-

356 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

lar volcanoes have existed in many other points of the moun-
tain-ridge between Syria and Yemen. Ah Bey remarked
seven groups of volcanic hills near Jedeida, which were en-
tirely black, and had the appearance of very picturesque ruins.
The islands of Kotembel and Gebel Tar, in the Red Sea,
have been already noticed as exhibiting traces of eruptions
now extinct ; and travellers have remarked that the rocky
peninsula on which Aden is situated resembles the fragment
of a volcano, the crater of which is covered by the sea.*

Hot Springs. — The fountains already mentioned, called
Ayoun Mousa or the Wells of Moses, are lukewarm and sul-
phureous, boiling three or four inches above the surface, as
if they were • agitated below by some violent heat. The
water brings up the sand with it ; yet the inhabitants about
the place drink it in preference to the brackish springs near
Suez, l-'ococke says that the ground around them is like a
quagmire, and dangerous if approached too near. Several
of these springs appeared to be dried up : one only affords
sweet w^ater ; but it is so often rendered muddy by the camels
of the Arabs that it is rarely fit to supply the wants of the
thirsty traveller. Tlie waters of Hammam Faraoun or Baths
of Pharaoh, near Wady Gharendel, are extremely hot. Shaw
was assured that an egg might be boiled hard in one minute ;
but he had no opportunity of making the experiment himself.
These baths he within a cavern or grotto in the rock, and
have a low narrow entrance leading to them. " As soon as
one enters this passage," says Pococke, " there is heat
enough to make anybody sweat xerj plentifully, and many
people have died that have gone as far as the water,T3y a vapour
that extinguishes the lights. The water rmis through the
rocks and sandbanks in a great number of little streams into
the sea for a quarter of a mile, and it is even there exceed-
ingly hot, and so are the stones, which are incrusted with a
white substance, apparently of salt and sulphur." This trav-
eller gives an analysis of the fluid, which was found to be
impregnated -with much earthy gross sulphur, a neutral salt,
a small quantity of alum, but no vitriol. The taste is nau-
seous ; but its virtues are much esteemed in cutaneous and
nervous disorders, as also for removing sterihty. The pa-
tients, male or female, who desire a family, have this fertihzing

* Vol. i. p. 66. Valentia's Travels, vol. ii. p. 86.

SOIL. 357

element copiously pooled over tliem ; cluriiiii forty days tlieir
sole food must bo oil, honey, and bread baked wilhoul salt,
and their drink water with dates steeped in it.

Soil. — Araliia presents great diversities of soil. In (he
highlands of Yemen its general character is clay mixed witli
sand ; hut the conformation of those schistous hills is unfa-
vourable to the growth of plants. They are usually so craggy
and precipitous as to aflbrd neither room nor aliment for vege-
table productions ; the nutritive earth being continually
washed down by the rains. This circumstance has also had
the effect of rendering culture in these districts extremely
difficult and expensive ; water must be supplied either from
wells, or by terraces constructed along the sides of the
mountains. The barren sands of Ilejaz resemble pulverized
quartz ; the calcareous stoiie from tiie hills is decomposed
into a blackish earth, which in time becomes fit to bear coarse
vegetables. The cultivable soil around Medina is clav,
mixed with a good deal of chalk and sand, and is of a grayish
white colour. In other parts it consists of a yellow loam,
and also of a substance resembling bole-earth ; of the latter,
small conical pieces about one and a half inches long, dried
in the sun and suspended on a piece of riband, are sold to
the pilgrims, who cany them home in commemoration of a
miracle said to have been performed by Mohammed, who
cured several Bedouins of a fever by washing their bodies
with water in which this earth had been dissolved. The
plain of Tehama contains large strata of salt. Lord Valen-
tia states, that in digging a well at Mocha Mr. Pringle found
the first eight feet to he the rubbish of buildings,— the next
two of clay, — one of sea-mud and WTeck, — six of broken
madrepores, and eleven of sand and shells ; thus showing
tliat, to the depth of twenty-eight feet, the earth was entirely
composed of marine exuviae,, with the exception of clay.
Near the surface the water was highly mephitic ; lower dow'n
it became less brackish, and yielded only one per cent, of
salt. ■ The wadis are generally formed of alluvial depositions ;
and are in consequence the most rich and beautiful spots in
the peninsula.

The extreme variety of soils admits of a corresponding
diversity in the modes of cultivation, as well as in the kind
and quantity of the crops produced. In the greater part of
Arabia agriculture may be said to be eailirely unknowTi. In

358 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

Yemen, where there is a settled government, husbandry is in
a more prosperous condition than in Syria or Mesopotamia.
"Wliole fields are cultivated like gardens. Great pains are
taken in watering them, though the Arabs have not adopted
the hydraulic machinery which is used by their neighbours in
Eg}'pt and India. Their plough is of a very rude construc-
tion. It is dragged over the ground in every direction by
oxen, until the surface is sufficiently broken and loosened
for the reception of the seed. On the banks of the Eu-
phrates sometimes asses and mules are employed in this
labour, ^\^:lere the ground is hilly and not accessible to the
plough it is dug by the hoe ; and this implement is some-
times so large as to require the management of two men,
one of whom presses it into the earth, while the other pulls
forward with a cord.

The crops most common in Arabia are wheat, barley, rice,
millet, maize, dhourra, dokoun, and safra. The two latter
yield small round yellow grains, which the Bedouins grind to
flour, and subsist on during winter. No oats are sown in
any part of Hejaz ; but they grow in other districts of the
country. There is great variation in the season both of
sowing and reaping. In Nejed wheat and barley are sown in
October and gathered in April. Rice is sown in June, and
comes to maturity in September. The seedtime for dhourra,
maize, dokoun, and safra is May ; and they are reaped in
August. No rice is cultivated in Nejed, owing to the aridity
of the climate ; but it grows abundantly in El Hassa, Oman,
and Yemen, where nature has supplied the means of irriga-
tion. In the Hauran, where there is plenty of water, the
peasants sow winter and summer seeds ; but where they
have to depend entirely upon the rainy season nothing can
be cultivated in sununer. The first harvest is that of horse-
beans, at the end of April, of which vast tracts are sown ;
next comes the barley harvest, and the wheat towards the
end of May. In abundant years this grain sells at fifty
piastres the gharara, or about 21. 10s. for fifteen cwt. In
the southern provinces there is a material change both as to
the time and the relative produce of the harvest. At Mus-
cat wheat and barley are sown in December, and reaped
about the end of March ; while dhourra is sovm in August,
and ripens in November. This difference of seasons may be
remarked even within the narrow extent of the province of

AGRICULTURE. 359

Yemen. At Sanaa, Niebuhr observed that the barley was
cut down on the 15th of July, whila the inhabitants of the
neighbouring mountains were occupied in sowing their pulse
and lentils. In the plain of Beit el Fakih the dhourra was
seven feet high in the beginning of August ; and at the same
time the peasants in the valley of Zebid, distant only a veiy
short day's journey, were ploughing and watering their fields
for a second crop. Along the banks of the Euphrates barley
is cut early in May, and wheat about six weeks later. All
kinds of grain ripen at Bagdad twenty-four days sooner than
at Mosul. This singular diversity of season is nowhere more
remarkable than in the districts bordering on Syria. Burck-
hardt observed, that while the Hauran was ever^'where cov-
ered with the richest verdure of wild herbage, every plant in
Wady Ghor was already dried up. To the north Gebel Sheik
was covered with snow ; to the east the fertde plains of
Jolan were clothed in the blossoms of spring ; while towards
the south the withered vegetation indicated the etfect of a
tropical sun.

The usual mode of sowing is with the hand : the seed is
then covered with the plough or with a large rake, and
watered every ten days, either by manual labour or with the
aid of a simple machine, called viahalah, placed over the
mouth of a well furnished with buckets, and wrought by
asses or oxen. The Arabs use a small quantity of seed :
they are disposed to trust in the bounty of Heaven and the
regularity of the seasons, rather than lose a superfluous par-
ticle. In some districts of Yemen, maize, dhourra, and
lentils are planted with the hand in furrows or drills : and
these crops Niebuhr represents as the finest and most luxu-
riant he had ever seen. As the planter went on he covered
the grain by pushing in the mould with his feet on both sides.
In other places he followed the ploughman, who in his turn
covered the seed by coming back upon the same furrow ; a
method which, though economical, must be exceedingly
troublesome. Noxious weeds are rooted out with the hand
while the corn is in the blade ; and sometimes this operation
is performed by a small plough, to which the oxen are so
yoked, that they pass between the rows without injuring the
plants, even when these are eight or ten inches high. For
preserving the young crops the peasants watch their fields by
turns, to drive away birds and granivoroiis animals. In the

360 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

hicrhlands of Yemen the conilierd treats himself an a tree ;
in Tehama a sort of scaffold is raised, having a roof or awn-
inor spread over it. They are not, however, all equally care-
ful ; and Niebuhr remarks, that he passed fields between
Mofhak and Sanaa very iiTegnlarly sown, and overrun with
cockle-weeds.

In Nejad reaping is performed with the sickle ; but in Ye-
men the ripe grain is pulled up by the roots ; the instrument
beincr only used in cutting grass or other forage for cattle.
Like the Indians, the Arabs have a simple method of sharp-
enino- this implement bv rubbhig the blade with moistened
sand. In thrashing their corn they have made no advance
beyond the ancient and patriarchal fashion of which we read
in "the books of Moses. The sheaves are laid down on the
floor in a certain order, and over them eight or ten oxen,
fastened to an upright post in the centre, are driven, until the
'JTain is completely separated from the ear. The straw is
removed with pitchforks, and preser^^ed as food for horses
and cattle. In Yemen this operation is performed by two
oxen dragging a large stone over the sheaves ; and in the
Hauran a heavy plank is used for the same purpose. Com
of all kinds is cleared from the chaff by being thrown up
against the wind with a shovel (the /cm of the sacred writers),
and then passed through a sieve ; after which it is ready for
the process of grinding.

Travellers have remarked a very gi-eat difference with
regard to the comparative increase of certain crops, and the
productive powers of the soil. In Oman, according to Nie-
buhr, wheat yields ten to one ; while in the best-cultivated
lands of Yemen it gives a return of fifty fold. In the vicin-
ity of Bussora and Bagdad the increase seldom exceeds
twenty to one ; at Mosul it varies from ten to fifteen ; and
in Diarbekir the ordinary wheat-crop produces from four to
fifteen fold. In the Hauran this grain yields in middling
years twenty-five, and in good seasons one hundred and
twenty fold ; while barley gives fifty, and in some instances
eighty fold. But the corn of those districts which are watered
solely from the clouds is of better quality, and produces more
flour than what is gro^^^^ on fields irrigated by artificial
means : hence a return of fifteen in Syria is reckoned more
than equivalent to twenlv fold in Mesopotamia. A govern-
ment-tax of ten per cent on all grain is les'ied in Xejed ;

MINERALOGY. 361

but where the labour of irrigation is rf^quired this impost is
reduced one-half, in consideration of the additional expense.
Of all kinds of grain dhourra is the most productive. On
the hills of Yemen it gives a return of 140 ; and in Tehama,
where the inhabitants reap three successive crops from the
same field in the same year, this increase varies from 200 to
400 : an exuberance that appears almost incredible, but
which is chiefly owing to their mode of sowing "and their
industrious irrigation. As this grain forms the staple arti-
cle of food, not only in Arabia, but in other Eastern countries,
its extraordinary fertility must be regarded as one of those
benevolent arrangements of Providence, whose economy is
adapted with such exquisite wisdom to the wants and circvmi-
stances of iJian in all climates and in every region of the earth.

SECTION 11. MINER.1L0GY.

We have noticed elsewhere, that the mineral treasures
ascribed by the ancients to Arabia have almost entirely van-
ished ; although the positive and unanimous testimony both
of the Greek and Latin authors will not permit us to doubt
as to the fact of the wealth formerly drawn from the veins
of Yemen. We have the authority of Niebuhr, that the
precious metals are not found or known to exist in Arabia,-
which has no mines either of gold or silver. The rivulets
no longer wash down the yellow grains from the hills ; nor
do their sands exhibit any trace of so rich an intermixture.
All the gold circulating in that country comes from Abys-
sinia or Europe, and is generally received in payment for
coffee or other merchandise. When the Imam of Sanaa last
century attempted to introduce a gold currency, he was obliged
to melt down foreign money (Venetian sequins) for the pur-
pose. There are still enthusiasts in alchymy who pretend
to know the art of transmuting metals, and imagine them-
selves sure of success could they but discover a certain herb,
called haschischct cl dab, which gilds the teeth and gives a
yellow colour to the flesh of the sheep and goats that eat it.
At Beit el Fakih the Danish travellers found two alchymists
who had ruined themselves by their researches into the mys-
tery of gold-making ; and they mention a philosopher of
Loheia, who endeavoured to persuade them that mines of

Vol. II.— H h

362 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

that precious article were known to him, and to nobody else ;
an assertion to which they paid not the slightest credit.

No veins of silver are known to esist ; but a small quan-
tity of that metal is extracted from the rich lead-mines in
Oman. As the lead of that province is extremely fusible,
the inhabitants export it in great abundance ; and it forms
an article of considerable traffic from the port of Muscat.
In "Wady Osh near Sinai the Arabs collect native cinnabar,
which is usually found in small pieces about the size of a
pigeon's egg. It is ver\' seldom crystallized, though there
are sometimes nodules on the surface. The fracture is in
perpendicular fibres ; and it stains the fingers of a dark
colou?.

Of precious stones, strictly so called, Niebuhr could learn
nothing ; and he supposes that in ancient times they must
have been all imported from India. Though the onyx is
common in Yemen, especially between Taas and Mount Su-
marra, he did not think it probable that Ihe emerald was in-
digenous. There is a hiF ^that bears this name, but it is on
the Egyptian side of the Gulf, and forms part of that large
chain of granitic mountains that runs parallel with the Red
Sea. The agate, called the Mocha stone, comes from Surat,
and the finest carnelions are brought from the Gulf of Cam-
bay. The smaragdzts cholos, or inferior emerald, which ac-
cording to Pliny was used in building to ornament the walls
of houses, was probably diallage ; and some wTiters (Make
Brun) have conjectured that the aromaiites, or aromatic stone
of the ancients, was amber. In a mountain near Dan:iar is
found a stone which the Arabs call ayek yemani, and which
they hold in the highest estimation. It is of a red or rather
a light brown colour, and seems to be a carnelion. The
natives set it in rings or bracelets, and ascribe to it the taiis-
manic virtue of healing wounds, and stanching blood when
instantly applied. The topaz belongs to Arabia, and derived
its name, according to Pliny, from the island Topazos (now
called Zemorget) in the Ked Sea. He also mentions Gytes,
another islet where good specimens were found.

Stones of less value are by no means rare. In the neigh-
bourhood of Loheia, the Danish travellers found a bluish
gypsum, a gray schistus, and spheroidal marcasites, in beds
of grit-stone, which are used in building. Near Kahhme
they saw a ferruginous spar, mixed with brown and white

MINERALOGY. 363

selenite, almost transparent. The dark granitic rocks of
Sinai contain jasper, amethyst, and syenite ; magnets are
frequently to be met with in the province of Kusma ; and at
Saade there are iron-mines which are still worked. Par-
ticles of this ore are also to be found among the sands that
are washed down from the hills by the ram. It was the
belief of the ancients that Arabia was entirely destitute of
iron ; but this opinion proves to be unfounded. Niebuhr
confesses, however, that it is coarse and brittle : and, from
the scarcity of wood, it sells at a higher price than that which
is imported from other countries.

At Loheia, and near the isle of Kameran, to tlie north of
Hodeida, there are hills consisting almost entirely of fossil
salt. These masses are piled up in large transparent strata,
and enclosed in a crust of calcareous stone. The Arabs for-
merly wrought these mines ; but the galleries have been
allowed to sink down, although a considerable quantity of
that article is still quarried in the neighbourhood.* Burck-
hardt states, that rock-salt is found in the mountains south
of the Dead Sea, and in the sandstone strata in Wady Rom-
man, near Gebel Mokkateb. Oman possesses copper-mines ;
and in the neighbourhood of Mecca Ali Bey observed some
veins of sulphur that were open. In the northern Ghor, pieces
of native sulphur are discovered at a small depth beneath the
surface, which are used by the Bedouins for curing diseases in
their camels. Shaw was of opinion that lead-mines existed
near Sinai.

The Arabs, in general, still believe in the foolish old super-
stitions respecting their gems and precious stones ; and are
more apt to wonder at their miraculous virtues than to turn
them to account in the way of commerce. In ancient times
they were used as antidotes, to which the wearer piously
ascribed his safety when surrounded with invisible danger.
Among other absurdities, it is recorded of the Caliph Soliman
that he wore constantly round his arm a bracelet composed of
ten of these magical stones, which never failed to strike. one
against the other, and make a slight noise when any poison
was near.f The carbuncle was believed to possess many
wonderful qualities. It was supposed to be an animal sub.

* Capt. Head's Journey, p. 7.

t Marigny, Hist, des Arab, tome ii.

964 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

Stance foiined in the serpent, which had a most ingeiiioua
method of preserving it from the song of the charmer. The
distinction of sex was also ascribed to it ; the females threw
out their radiance, while the males appeared within like bril-
liant and burning stars.*

* The historian De Thou mentions a marvellous carbuncle
that was brought by an Eastern merchant to Bologna. Among
its surprising properties, he states, "that being most impatient
of the earth, if it was contined it would force its way, and imme-
diately fly aloft. Certain shape it had none, for its figure was
inconstant, and momentarily changing ; and though at a distance
it was beautiful to the eye, it would not suffer itself to be han-
dled with impunity, but hurt those who obstinately struggled
with it, as many persons, before many spectators, experienced.
If by chance ariy part of it was broken off, for it was not very
hard, it became nothing less." — Thuanus, lib. viii. ix. Besides
the power of charming against spells, some of them were be-
lieved to have the virtue of rendering their possessor invisible or
invulnerable, of enabling him to see through rocks, and to dis-
cover hidden treasures. Of their medicinal properties, we are
told that the amethyst could remove the effects of intoxication ;
*' for being bound on the navel, it restrains the vapours of the
wine, and so dissolves the inebriety." The boraa: or crapondmus
was reckoned of unfailing efficacy in poisons. It was said to be
extracted from a dead toad, and described as of a black or dun
colour, with a cerulean glow, ha-\dng in the middle the simili-
tude of an eye. The kimcteus was employed to cast out devils ;
and the corvina, a stone of a reddish colour, found in crows'
nests, was supposed to make boiled or addled eggs fresh and pro-
Mfic; besides having the virtue "to increase riches, bestow
honours, and foretel many future events." The alectoria, a
stone of a darkish crystalline colour, was said to be found in the
intestines of capons that had lived seven years. Its size was no
bigger than a bean ; but its qualities are represented as of a very
potent and miscellaneous nature. " It could render the person
who carried it invisible ; being held in the mouth it allays thirst,
and therefore is proper for wrestlers ; it makes a wife agreeable
to her husband ;' bestows honours, and presences those already
acquired ; it frees such as are bewitched ; it renders a man elo-
quent, constant, and amiable ; it helps to regain a lost kingdom
and acquire a foreign one." — Mirror of Sto7ies. " In the coun-
trey called Panten or Tathalamasin, there be canes, called cas-
san, which overspread the earth like grasse, and out of every knot
of them spring foorth certaine branches, which are continued
upon the ground almost for the space of a mile. In the sayd

BOTANY. 365

It was customan' with the Arabian physicians, during the
highest era of Saracen learning, to administer precious stones
in the way of medicine, as remedies for certain diseases ; but
their miraculous properties have been long since exploded.
It is now generally admitted, as has been already observed,
that the greater part of the gems, jewels, and precious metals,
with which the ancient Hamyarites embellished their cities,
temples, and palaces, were obtained from the Indians, Per-
sians, and Romans, in exchange for the spices and perfumes
wh.ich they imported from the Happy Arabia.

SECTION HI. BOTANY.

Throughout the greater part of Arabia neither the soil nor
the climate is favourable to vegetation ; the botany of such a
country cannot therefore be either varied or extensive. The
heat of the sun is so intense that the flowers no sooner blow
than they are withered ; so that the naturalist is not only
circumscribed as to the number of plants, but limited as to
the proper time for observation ; and if he miss the particular
moment in examining certain species when they are in bloom,
he can have no subsequent opportunity until another season.
Besides these physical inconveniences there are others aris^
ing from the character of the inhabitants. The Arabs, who
are an ignorant, jealous, and avaricious people, cannot com-
prehend how foreigners should be prompted by mere curiosity,
or a love of science, to expose themselves to so much danger
and fatigue ; hence the idea prevalent among them is, that
Europeans are attracted by motives of interest and the desire
of discovering hidden treasures, either in their mountains or
among the ruins of ancient cities. This belief operates
stronorly against scientific investigations ; as travellers are
exposed to the risk of being plundered or murdered, on ac-
count of the imaginary wealth which they are supposed to

canes there are found certaine stones, one of which stones who-
soever carryeth about with him cannot be wounded with any
yron ; and by the vertue of these stones, the people aforesaid doe
for the most part triumph both on sea and land." — Odoricus in
Hakluyt. This evidently refers to the Tabasheer, a siliceous
substance found in the joints of the bamboo, and to which great
virtues are attributed in India.

Hh2

366 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

possess. In Yemen there is less of this prejudice, and con-
sequently less interruption, than in other provinces.*

There are in Arabia a considerable number of vegetable
productions common to other regions, both of a colder and a
warmer climate. In the highlands plants grow which are
found in the northern parts of Europe ; while in the plains
and valleys may be seen species that are to be met with in
India and Africa, and which have probably been introduced
by settlers from these countries. Niebuhr has remarked,
however, that where there are in Europe various species of
any genus of plants, the Arabian species of the same genus
are almost all new ; while no such diversity is observed in
those which are common to Arabia with India. So little
known were the indigenous plants of Yemen, that Forskal
was obliged to form no less than thirty new genera, besides a
variety of doubtful species which he could hardly venture to
include under any generic arrangement. Of the 800 speci-
mens which he has described, it is unnecessar)- for our pur-
pose to do more than allude to a few that may be considered
remarkable for their novelty or their usefulness.

Vegetables. — The Arabs cultivate several pot-herbs that
are common in our gardens, — s^ich as carrots, turnips, beans,
onions, leeks, garlic, asparagus, beet, spinach, lettuce, a very
delicate purslain with sharp leaves, a sort of radish of which
the leaves only are eaten, water-cresses, besides an immense
variety of gourds, cucumbers, pumpkins, and melons ; of the
two latter there is a sort that grows wild in the woods, and
serves for feeding camels. The proper melons are reared in
the fields, and in such abundance that the natives of all ranks
use them for some part of the year as their chief article of
food. ^f^Tien nearly ripe the fruit is pierced into the pulp ;
this aperture is then stopped with wax, and the melon left
upon the stalk. By means of this simple process, the pulp in
a few days is converted into a delicious liquor. Of Indian
vegetables naturalized in Arabia, Forskal enumerates a Sida

* Much was anticipated from the talents and attainments of
Seetzen, who expected to make several discoveries in the min-
eral as well as in the animal and vegetable productions of the
country ; but the hopes of the scientific world were disappointed
by his premature death at Akaba (supposed by poison). A short
correspondence between him and M. de Zach of Saxe Gotha
was translated and printed in 1810 by the Palestine Association.

BOTANV. 307

and Hibiscris, resembling our mallows ; a Jussicea, the Betel,
a beautiful species of Acanthus, and Bunias somewhat like
our cabbages, the leaves of which are eaten boiled. Tliere
are other Indian plants which the Arabs eat raw by way of
salad ; a Stapclia, a Clcome not unlike mustard ; a Dolichos
and Glycyne, resembling French beans, are very common in
Yemen, and so beautiful when ripe that they are strung
into necklaces and bracelets, which are highly esteemed.
There are some culinary vegetables that require no culture,
such as the Corchorus, the Salanthus, the leaves of which,
when boiled, have a pleasing acid taste ; and the celebrated
Colocasia (a species of Arum), which flourishes abundantly
in all marshy places.

Plants. — Of these the variety is not great ; and they are
chiefly of the saline or succulent kind. The sandy plains
produce the same genera as Northern Africa, which serve as
agreeable objects to the traveller, as well as to alleviate the
thirst of the camel in the weary journeys of the caravans
through the Desert. Ditferent kinds of Zygophyllum, Hedy-
sarum, Colutea, Mescmbryanfhcmum, Salsola, with other
prickly herbs and shrubs, are browsed by these animals,
which are content with the driest and hardest fare. The ass
eats a species of the Scorzonera, so rough and bitter that even
the camel refuses to taste it. There is a species of Mesem-
bryanlhcmum, the grain of which the Bedouins prepare into
a sort of bread, and eat it as readily as if it were made of
wheat. It is in the wadis and recesses of the mountains that
Arabian botany ought to be studied ; and here, as Burck-
hardt remarks of the Sinai group, the naturalist would find a
rich harvest. He mentions in particular the tatlar (Ocymuin
tatarhendi), as affording the best possible food for sheep ;
and the nooman (the Euphorbia retusa of Forskal), bearing a
pretty red flower, which abounds in these valleys, and is seen
among the cliffs of the most barren granitic rocks. The
monks of St. Catherine collect various herbs when in full
bloom, which they dry and send to their archbishop, who dis-
tributes them to his friends and dependants, as they are sup-
posed to possess many virtues conducive to health. This
barren peninsula is the favourite soil of the rose of Jericho,
an Apocynum or dog's bane, the Absinthium santonicumjudai-
cum, the Asteriscus trianthophorus, Astragalus perennis, and
several others, which Shaw has enumerated in his " Speci-

368 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

men Phytographiae." The Ocymum, the most beautiful spe-
cies of the Basilic, is much valued for its perfume, as are
also an Inula, a sort of elecampane ; a Cacalia from the heart
of Africa ; and the genus Dianthera, of which Forskal dis-
covered eight species. The same traveller gave the name of
Moscharia to a plant of a new genus, on account of its musky
smell. Among the odoriferous herbs of which he collected
specimens were lavender, marjoram, lilies, and pinks. The
most fragiarit, as well as the most remarkable for their fine
flow^ers, were those common to India and Arabia, such as an
IpomcBa, resembling the rope-weed ; a Pancraticum, with a
flower of the purest white, which he called the sea-daffodil,
and a species of Hibiscus, whose flower is singularly large,
and of the brightest red colour. The Arabs are by no means
indifferent to the beauties of Flora, as the peasants in many
parts retain the ancient custom of crowning themselves ou
festive occasions with chaplets and garlands.

There are certain plants used for purposes of domestic
economy, while others are universally esteemed for their me-
dicinal qualities. A mean-looking herb like orache is men-
tioned by Forskal, and ranked by him as a distinct genus, by
the name of Suceda, vv'hich affords abundance of an alkaline
salt excellent for whitening linen, and employed instead of
soap by the common people. Burckhardt states, that the
Bedouins of Wady Genne, near Sinai, use for the same pur-
pose the herb ajrern, which they dr\' 9,nd pound between two
stones. In the same valley he found several people occupied
in collecting shrubs, v.'hich they burn into charcoal for the
Cairo market. The thick roots of the rethern (the Genista
ratan of Forskal), which grows there in great plenty, is the
kind they prefer. For its well-known properties in d-ying,
the indigo-shrub {Indigofera, Linn.) is universally cultivated
here, blue being the favourite colour of the Arabs. We are
told, that when this plant happens to be scarce the natives
contrive to extract indigo from a species of Polygala. The
common kali {Salsola kali, Linn.) grows in great abundance
on the coasts and in the islands of the Red Sea. There is
one plant which, though not a native of Arabia, deserves to
be noticed, as it serves a very important economical purpose
both in that country and in Eg}^pt. It is a gray-coloiired herb,
called schcebe, an infusion of which, mixed with a certain quan-
tity of meal, forms a leaven for the fermentation both of bread

BOTANV. 369

and beer. This is considered essential to the process of
brewing, and it communicates an agreeable taste to the
Jiquor. Upon examinmg this herb, Forskal found it to be a
lichen of the plum-tree, of which several ship-loads were then
annually imported from the Archipelago into Alexandria.
Among the new genera discovered by the Danish botanist,
several were distinguished for their curious properties. The
Polyccphalus suaveolcns, which resembles the thistle, has at a
distance the appearance of a heap of loose balls each of
which encloses a bunch of flowers. The Nerium obesum, a
sort of laurel-rose, is remarkable for a singular bulb close to
the earth about the size of a man's head, which forms all its
trunk, and out of which the branches spring. The Volutella
aphylla (Cassyta Jiliformis, Linn.) appears like a long slen-
der thread, without root or leaves, which entwines itself about
trees. It bears, however, a sort of flower, and berries w^hich
are eaten by children. The caydbeja (called Forskalea by
Linnseus, in honour of its discoverer) grows in the driest parts
pf the country. It has small feelers, with which it fixes
itself so tenaciously upon soft or smooth substances, that it
must be torn in pieces before it can be removed.

Arundinaceous plants are necessarily limited to certain
districts. In most parts of Yemen, a sort of panick-grass or
bulrush {Fanicum and Scirpus, Linn.) is used in roofing
houses ; and as rains are not frequent, these slender cover-
ings are found to be sufficient. There is a particular sort of
rush on the borders of the Red Sea, of which the natives
work carpets so fine that they are exported to other countries,
even as far as Constantinople, and form a considerable branch
of trade. There is also a species of field-reed, which rises
to the gigantic height of twenty-four feet, and is found in
great abundance in the district of Ghobebe, near Suez. It is
an article qf commerce, being exported to Yemen, where it
is uged in the ceiling of houses. In the same neighbourhood
Niebuhr was surprised to see a Conferva growing at the bot-
tom of the Hammam Faraoun, the temperature of which was
at 142^° of Fahrenheit's scale. That the sugar-cane was
from a very early period cultivated in Yemen has been already
noticed.* ^V^:>pn the Arabs conquered Spain and the Medi-

Pliny mentions it. "Saccharon et Arabia fert, sed lauda-
tiua India," Lib. xii. cap. 17-

370 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

terranean islands they introduced it among their other im-
provements. The experiment succeeded ; and in Sicily the
duty imposed on its exportation produced a very large reve-
nue to the government. The ancient records of Calabria
inform us that seven villages were entirely employed in this
commerce. Av ith the Portuguese discoveries the Indian cane
travelled to America, where its extensive plantations so low-
ered the price of sugar that it became impossible to support a
competition ; in consequence of which its cultivation was
gradually abandoned.

Medicinal Plaiits. — Vegetables were evidently the first
medicines ; and among all primitive nations a traditionary
knowledge of their virtues has been preserved. The Arabs
used them with a wonderful degree of success, though the
greater part of these simple remedies is a mystery to stran-
gers. It is unnecessary to describe plants belonging to such
well-known genera as Aloe and Euphorbia ; of the latter the
species are exceedingly numerous in Arabia. In hot coun-
tries infested with venomous animals, the inhabitants learn
from experience what plants are salutary to man by operating
as counter-poisons ; among the Arabs these from time imme-
morial have been held in the greatest esteem. They appear,
however, according to Forskal, to be ignorant of the proper-
ties of the Ophiorrhiza (serpent-root), which is very common
on their hills ; but they highly value the evergreen Aristolo-
chia, which thev consider, not only as a remedy, but a pre-
servative against the bite of serpents. Whoever drinks a
decoction of this herb six weeks successively is fortified, in
their opinion, against all future danger from these noxious
reptiles. It is not improbable that jugglers, who in the East
expose themselves so daringly to be bitten by serpents, have
recourse to some such artificial protection. The prickly
caper is reckoned an excellent antidote against all kinds of poi-
sons. Senna (Cassia Senna, Linn.) and other sorts of cassia,
are prescribed in various diseases. Cassia fistula, or black
cassia, is reckoned by the Arabian physicians the best cure for
cholera morbus, and other alTections of a similar nature,
which in warm climates are peculiarly dangerous. Though
its favourite soil seems to be Upper Egypt, it abounds on the
opposite side of the Red Sea. That which we call Senna of
Alexandria grows in the territory of Abu-Arish ; the natives
sell it at Mecca and Jidda, whence it passes by way of Eg}'pt

BOTANY. 371

to the Mediterranean ports. Tlirre are several species ; and,
judging from the differently-shaped leaves, it would seem
that what is imported into Europe is not all the produce of
the same plant. The Bedouins of Sinai use coloquintida,
which abounds in all the wadis of that peninsula, in syphilitic
complaints. They fill the bulk with camel's milk, roast it
over the fire, and then administer to the patient the contents
thus impregnated with the essence of the fruit. They like-
wise manufacture it into tinder, which is done by the follow-
incr process : — After roasting the root in the ashes, they wrap
it in a wetted rag of cotton cloth ; it is then pounded between
tw^o stones ; and by this means the juice is expressed and
absorbed by the cloth, which imbibes a tint of a dirty blue
colour. The rag, when dried in the sun, ignites with the
slightest spark of fire.

In the same districts tobacco is raised in considerable
quantities, and forms a profitable branch of traffic. The
Towara tribes are all great consumers of this luxuiy ; and
whether they smoke or chew, they always mix with it natron or
salt. They draw their chief supply from Wady Feiran^
where its quality is ver)' strong, and of the same species as
chat grown on the other mountains of Petraea, near "VVady
Mousa and Kerek, which retains its green colour even when
dry. Such is the currency which this commodity has ac-
quired in trade, that the moud, or measure of tobacco, forms
the standard by which the Tebna Arabs buy and sell minor
articles among themselves.* Hemp, as has been already
observed, is cultivated and used as a narcotic over all Arabia.
The flowers, or small leaves surrounding the seed, when
mixed with tobacco, are called hashish ; and with this the
common people fill their pipes. The higher classes cat it in
a jelly or paste called maujoun, and made in the following
manner : — A quantity of the leaves is boiled with butter for
several hours, and then put under a press until the juice
exudes, which is mixed with honey and other sweet drugs,
and publicly exposed for sale in shops kept for the purpose.

* A moud, according to Burckhardt, is equal to 18 or 19 lbs.
English ; 3| rotolo (about b\ lbs. each) make a moud, and 80
mouds are a gharara. The rotolo or pound of Mecca contains
144 drachms ; at Jidda it is nearly double. The erdeb is equiva-
lent to about 15 English bushels. At Mecca it is divided into
50 keilf or measures, and at Medina into 96.

372 ISATURAL HISTORY 0*" ARABIA.

The hashish paste is pohtely termed bast (cheerfulness), and
the venders of it are called basti, or cheerful-makers. It
exhilarates the spirits, and excites the imagination as power-
fully as opium. Many persons of the first rank use it in one
shape or other ; and there are some who mix with it seeds
of the benj, ■v'S'hich is brought from Syria.

SECTION IV. TREES AND SHRUBS.

Forests are neither common nor extensive in Arabia ; they
are only to be seen in the wadis, and where the hills retain
fenough of earth for vegetation. In general, however, trees
are either absolutely unknown, or at least different from those
of the same genera and species in Europe. As the interior
has been little explored by travellers, it is not surprising that
we should remain comparatively ignorant of its indigenous
productions. But from what Forskal accomplished in his
hasty excursion, it would appear that Yemen possesses a
great variety of trees, as these alone comprehend more than
half of the new genera proposed by that naturalist. He
likew^ise enumerates eighteen others which he saw, but whose
genus he had no opportunity of ascertaining. Of most of
these he merely learned the Arabic names and a few i^f their
properties. Noemaiu a native of the Coffee Mountains, is
often confounded with the cassia-tree. Bceka and anas are
common in the hills ; their juice is narcotic and poisonous.
Schumama bears a fruit that tastes and smells like a lemon ;
gharib el bcckc abounds in Abu-Arish, and distils an agreeable
substance, of which the birds appeared to' be particuhrly
fond. Segleg, in the same district, bears leaves, the sap of
which when expressed is esteemed an excellent remedy in
cases of weak sight. In Yemen Forskal saw two trees, one
of which resembled the lemon, and the other the apple-tree ;
but the inhabitants knew neither their names nor their quali-
ties. The sym el horal (or poison of fishes) is the fruit of
an unknown tree in Southern Arabia, and exported in con-
siderable quantities. Fishes swallow it eagerly, after which
they float in a state of seeming intoxication on the surface
of the water, and are easily taken. Among the new genera
described by the Danish traveller, and considered peculiar to
Arabia, are the katha^ cl kaya, keurn, and onkoba. The
katha^ which is imprrovable by cultivation, is commonly

FRUIT-TREES 373

planted on the hills among the coflee-shrubp. The natives
constantly chew the buds of this tree, which they call kuad,
and to which they ascribe the virtues of assisting digestion,-
and of fortifying the constitution against nifoctious distempers.
The taste, according to Niebuhr, is insipid, and the only
effects he experienced from eating them was the interruption
of sleep. The kuera and el kaya are celebrated for their
perfume. The former bears some resemblance to the palm,
and produces flowers of a rich and delicious odour. They
are scarce, and draw a high price ; but a small quantity, if
preserved in a cool place, will continue for a long time to
diffuse its fragrance through a whole apartment. The latter
is common on the hills of Yemen ; the women steep its fruit
in water, which they use for washing and perfuming the hair.
Tlie onkoba is a large tree, yielding an insipid fruit, which
children, eat. Of the khadara, the antura, and the kulhamia
we know nothing, except that they are new species discov-
ered by Forskal, and that their wood is used in building. The
chestnut and sycamore grow to a gigantic size in Hejaz. The
Arabs, however, have little timber suited for this purpose,
their trees being generally of a light porous texture. The
skeura, a new genus, which grows on the shore of the Red
Sea, is so soft that it is entirely useless. The el all, which
abounds in Nejed, resembles the oak, and is employed in the
construction of houses. The samnr, sareh, salein, icahaf,
and kaihad serve only for firewood ; their leaves afford shel-
ter for the cattle, and form the chief nourishment of the
camels.

Fruit-trees. — Most of the fruit-trees reared in the gardens
and hot-houses of Europe are indigenous to Arabia. The
apple, pear, peach, apricot, almond, quince, citron, pome-
granate, lemon, orange, olive, mulberry, and filberts are to be
met with in the wadis and irrigated plains, from the borders
of the Dead Sea to the Euphrates and the shores of Oman.*"
The Arabs likewise eat the fruit of several common shrubs,
such as Asclepias and the Rhamnvs ; but they have a spe-
cies of pear and a cornel peculiar to themselves. From com-

* Burckhardt doubts whether apples or pears grow in Arabia
(Travels, p. 367) ; but he seems to have forgotten that he men-
tions them elsewhere among the fioiits in the garden of the con-
vent at Mount Sinai. Niebuhr speaks cf them as common in
Vcmen, tome iii. 130.

Vot.IL— li

374 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

mon oranges, cut through the middle while green, dried in
the air, and steeped forty days in oil, they prepare an essence
famous among old women for restoring a fresh black colour
to gray hairs.* Though wine is forbidden, they plant vines,
and have a gi-eat variety of grapes, a small kind of which,
without stones, called zebib or hschmis, they dry and export
in considerable quantities. They also prepare from mint a
syrup known by the name of dubs or debs, which they find a
lucrative article of commerce.

The Banians have imported, many fruit-trees from India,
which have all become naturalized in their adopted country ;
such are the banana {Muf^a, Linn.), the mango {Mangifcra
indixa, Linn.), the papaya {Carica papaya, Linn.), a Cissus,
an excellent counterpoison, the cocoa, and the Indian fig-
tree {Ficus religiosa). The singular property that the latter
possesses of propagating itself by means of filaments shoot-
ing from its boughs, which take root on reaching the ground
and spring up into new trunks, is well known. Forskal saw
more than a dozen species of fig-trees, not one of which are
mentioned by Limiagus ; but their fruit was far from being
agreeable, and seldom eaten as food. The bark of one spe-
cies was used in tanning leather ; and the leaves of another
were so rough that they served for cleaning and polishing'
iron. At Beit el Fakih he found some fine ornamental trees^
which he supposed to be of Indian origin ; but, as their char-
acteristics were different from those of an}' other known spe-
cies, he classed them in two new genera, under the names
of Hyper anther a and Binectaria {Mimusops obtusifolia of
botanists).

By far the most common and important of the palm tribe
is the date-tree, the fruit of which constitutes the staple
nourishment of the Arabs during the greater part of the
year. In Hejaz the places chiefly renowned for this valu-
able production are the gardens of Medina, and the valleys
at Safra and Jedeida on the route to Mecca. Almost every
district, however, has its own variety, wliich grows nowhere

* From the name Portughan, given to the orange both in Ara-
bia and Italy, travellers and naturalists have supposed that it
was brought into Europe by the Portuguese. This is a mistake.
The orange was cultivated by the Arabs in Sicily and Spain
many centuries before the Portuguese vi.sited the East. — See p.
102 of this volume. Cod. Diphm. Arab. Sicil., tome i. p. 114.

THE DATE-TREE. 375

else. BurckharJt was informed that upwards of a lumdred
different sorts grow in the immediate neighbourhood of Me-
dina ; and a native historian in his description of that city
has enumerated one hundred and thirty. The cheapest and
most common kinds are the jebcli, the hcloua, the hclcya, a
verv small date not larger than a mulberry ; it has its name
iVoin its extraordinary sweetness, in which it equals the
linest tigs from Smyrna ; and, like them, when dried is cov-
ered with a saccharnie crust. This was the date with which
Mohammed is alleged to have performed a very great mira-
cle, by planting a kernel in the earth, which instantly took
root, grew up, and in five minutes became a full-grown tree
loaded with fruit. Another miracle is related of the species
called el syhani, which hailed the Prophet as he passed under
it with a loud Salaam Aleikoom ! The birni is esteemed
the most wholesome and the easiest of digestion ; Moham-
med, with whom it was a favourite, recommended the Arabs
to eat seven of them every morning before breakfast. The
jcbcU, which is scarce, is about one inch in breadth, three
in lenorth, and has a very agreeable taste. The price of the
birni is twenty paras, or 2.0S3d. per keile (a measure con-
taining about 120 dates), while the jebeli are sold at the rate
of eight for the same money. They are in great request
with the hajjis, who always carry some of them home as
presents to their friends : they are bought in small boxes
holding about a hundred. One species of the Medina date
remains perfectly green even when ripe and dried ; another
retains a bright saffron colour. These are threaded on
strings, and worn as ornaments by children, or sold under
the name of Kalayd es Sham, or Necklaces of the North.
Dates are dressed in a variety of ways ; they are boiled,
stewed with butter, or reduced to a thick pulp by simmering
in water, over which honey is poured. It is a saying of the
Arabs, "that a good housewife may furnish her husband
every day for a month with a dish of dates differently pre-
pared."

The many purposes to which almost every part of this tree
is applied have been mentioned by several travellers. The
timber serves for rafters or firewood, the fibres for cordage,
and the leaves for cages, boxes, bedsteads, baskets, cradles,
and other articles of the hurdle species. The Hejazees, like
the Egvptians, make use of the leaves, the outer and inner

376 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

bark, and the fleshy substance at the root of the leaves where
they spring from the trunk. The kernels, after being soaked
for two days in water until they become soft, are given as
food to camels, cows, and sheep, instead of barley, and are
said to be much more nutritive than that grain. In Nejed
the kernels are ground for the same purpose ; but this is not
done in Hejaz. At Medina there are shops where nothing
else is sold but date-stones ; and in all the main streets beg-
gars are occupied in picking up those that are thrown away.
The fruit does not all ripen at the same time, each species
having its particular season. The harvest at Medina con-
tinues for two or three months (from July till September),
but dates are eaten by the beginning of June. This epoch
is expected with as much anxiety, and attended with the
same general rejoicings, as the vintage or the harvest-home
in Europe. " What is the price of dates at Mecca or Me-
dina!" is always the first question asked by a Bedouin who
meets a passenger on the road. A failure of the crop, either
from the ravages of the locusts or the exhaustion of the
trees, w^hich are seldom known to produce abundantly more
than three or four successive years, causes a general dis-
tress, and spreads a universal gloom over the inhabitants.
The process of impregnating this tree artificially, by scatter-
ing the pollen over the female flowers, is still practised by
the modern Arabs, exactly as described by Pliny and Ammi-
anus. The date-groves around Medina are cultivated by
farmers, called nowakhcle, who were assessed by the Waha-
bees according to the number of trees in each field. For
every crdeb of dates the Nejed tax-gatherers levied their
quota either in kind or in money according to the current
market-price. At Safra the plantations, which extend to four
miles in length, belong partly to the inhabitants of the vil-
lage and partly to the neighbouring Bedouins (the Beni
Salem). Every small grove is enclosed by a mud or stone
wall, and interspersed with hamlets or low insulated huts.
The trees pass from one individual to another in the course
of trade ; they are sold singly, according to their respective
value, and often constitute the dowry paid by the suitor to
the girl's father on marrying her. The sand is heaped up
round their roots, and must be renewed every year, as it is
usually washed away by the torrents from the hills, which
Bometimes form a brook twenty feet broad and three or four

MAWA. 377

deep. Here the Waliabees imposed heavy assessments,
taxing not only the produce of the groves and gardens, but
the very water used in irrigating them. In Wady Feiran
Burckhardt mentions the jamya as the best species, of which
the monks of Sinai send large boxes annually to Constanti-
nople as presents, after having taken out the kernel and put
an almond in its place. Among these date-groves he ob-
served several doun-trees, as well as in other parts of the
peninsula. They belong to the Tebna Arabs, and during the
five or six weeks of harvest the vallev is crowded with peo-
ple, who erect temporary huts of palm-branches, and pass
their time va. great conviviality. At Dahab the plantations
have a very different appearance from those in Hejaz. The
lower branches, instead of being taken off annually, are suf-
fered to remain, and hang down to the ground, forming an
almost impenetrable barrier round the tree, the top of which
only is crowned with green leaves.

Manna. — The true nature and origin of this substance,
celebrated as the miraculous food of the Israelites, have not
yet been very satisfactorily ascertained. The observations
made by travellers and naturahsts do not accord with the
Scripture nairative, nor do they afford any explanation of the
phenomena as recorded by Moses (Exod. xvi., Numb, xi.)
That it is a vegetable production is generally admitted. Rau-
vvolf has described a thorny plant called algul, which yields
-a species of manna ; and Michaelis mentions another under
;the name of alhagc. Niebuhr neglected to inquire after this
:Sub3tance, and what he heard from a monk near Suez was an
:idle legend not worth repetition. He was told that in Meso-
potamia manna is produced by several trees of the oak genus ;
that it covers the leaves like flour, and is obtained by shaking
the branches. July or August are the months in which it is
gathered, and it is found in greater abundance in moist than
in dry seasons. When fresh it is white and saccharine, but
it melts in the sun. At Bussora this traveller was shown
another species called taranjubil, which is gathered from a
prickly shrub near Ispahan : the grains were round and yel-
lowish. Both of these Boxis were used by the inhabitants as
sugar in preparing several dishes, especially pastry. Burck-
hardt is clearly of opinion that the manna of Scripture is
that which distils fi-om the iarfa or tamarisk-tree, a shrub
.abounding in the peninsula of Sinai. This remarkable fact,

115

378 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

he observes, remained unknown in Europe until it was first
mentioned by Seetzen. It is called mann by the Bedouins,
and accurately resembles that described by the Jewish his-
torian.* In the month of June it drops from the prickles of
the tamarisk upon the fallen leaves and twigs, which always
cover the ground beneath the branches, in its natural state.
The Arabs collect it in the morning, when it is coagulated,
but it dissolves as soon as the sun shines upon it. They
clean away the leaves and dirt v/hich adhere to it ; and, after
being boiled, it is strained through a coarse piece of cloth
and put into leathern skins, in which it is preserved till the
following year. They do not seem to make it into cakes or
loaves ; but they dip their morsel into it, or pour it as they do
honey over their unleavened bread. It is found only in sea-
sons when copious rains have fallen, and sometimes it is not
produced at all. When kept in a cool temperature it is hard
and solid, but becomes soft if held in the hand or exposed to
the sun. The colour is a dirty yellow ; but the taste is
agreeable, somewhat aromatic, and sweet as honey. If
eaten in considerable quantities it is said to be slightly pur-
gative. The Bedouins esteem it as the greatest dainty
which their country affords : the produce, however, even in
the best years, is trifling, perhaps not exceeding 500 or 600
pounds. The harvest is usually in June, and lasts about six
weeks. Though the tamarisk abounds in Hejaz, on the Eu-
phrates, and in every part of Arabia, Burckhardt never heard
of its yielding manna except in Mount Sinai. He was in-
formed that in Asia Minor near Erzeroum, the kind men^
tioned by Niebuhr was still collected from the tree which
produces the galls ; but this is probably the gum-tragacanth,
which is obtained from a spinous shrub of the genus Astra-
galus, and which is so strong that a drachm will give to a pint
of water the consistency of a s}T:up. This gum is indigenous
in Natolia, Crete, and Greece. There is, however, a confu-
sion in his different accounts of the mamia, which he appears

* Josephus derives the name from the Hebrew particle 7?w?i,
which, he says, means What is it ? this being the exclamation
of the Jews when they first beheld that divine and wonderful
food. — (Antiq. b. iii. c. 1.) Whiston, in a note on the text,
rather thinks it comes from the verb mannah, to divide ; and
mentions that in an old heathen waiter, Artapanus, it is corn--
pared "to oatmeal, and hke snow in colour."

MANNA. 379

sometimes to have mistaken for other vegetable substances.
The modern officinal drug sold under this name comes from
Italy and Sicily, where it is obtained from a species of ash,
with a leaf resembling that of tiie acacia. The Calabrian
manna is said to exude after the puncture of an insect, — a
species of grasshopper that sucks the plant ; and this fact
led Michaelis to propose the question to the Danish travel-
lers, whether the Arabian species might not be produced in
a simdar manner. But notwithstanding the identity of the
name, the resemblance in the description, and the concur-
rence of learned naturalists, it is impossible to reconcile the
manna of Scripture with any species of vegetable gum, much
less to explain the preternatural circumstances connected
with its appearance. We are expressly told that it was
rained from heaven ; that it lay on the ground when the dew
was exhaled, round and small as the hoar-frost, like coriander-
seed, and its colour like a pearl ; that it fell but six days in
the week ; that it became otfensive and bred worms if kept
above one day ; that the double quantity provided for the
Sabbath kept sweet for two days ; that it continued falling
for forty years, but ceased on the arrival of the Israelites at
the borders of Canaan. These and other facts all indicate
the extraordinary nature of the production ; and in no one
respect do they correspond with the distillations of the tarfa,
the gharrab, or the talh-tree. These gums are collected
only for about a month in the year ; they do not admit of
being ground in a hand-mill, nor baked" ; they are not sub-
ject to putrefaction if kept, nor are they peculiar to the Pe-
traean wilderness ; besides, the constant .and daily supply in a
desert often barren of all vegetation must have been impos-
sible, except on the supposition that the trees accompanied
them on their march. Whatever the manna was, it was
obviously a substitute for food ; and the pecuUarities con-
nected with its regular continuance, its corruption, and peri-
odical suspension are facts not less extraordinary than the
mysterious nature of the substance itself. It is in vain to at-
tempt any explanation of these phenomena by natural causes,
A skeptical philosophy may succeed in reconciling preter-
natural appearances with its own notions of probability ; but
this gives not a particle of additional evidence to the credibility
of the sacred narrative. The whole miracle, as related by
jyjoses. admits but of one solution — the interposition of 4

380 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

Divine power. As for local traditions or modern practices,
these, we have already shown, are unsafe guides in matters
of history ; much less can they be admitted as authorities in
support of revealed truth.

Gum-Arabic. — According to Burckhardt this substance is
the produce of the talh, which he calls the gum-arabic-tree'.
In describing Wady Lahyane, between Akaba and Gaza, he
pays that the Bedouins feed their camels upon the thorny
branches of this shrub, of which they are extremely fond.
In summer they collect the gum, which they sell at Cairo for
about 125. or \bs. per cwt. The taste he represents as in-
sipid, but he was assured it was very nutritive. Of this lat-
ter fact Hasselquist mentions a strildng confirmation, in the
case of an Abyssinian caravan crossing the African desert to
Cairo in 1750. Finding their provisions consumed while
thev had yet sixty days to travel, they had recourse to gum-
arabic, of which they carried a considerable quantity with
them ; and upon this alone 1000 persons subsisted for two
months. Burckhardt, however, in another place says, that
in Wadv Nebk he found the acacia-trees thicklv covered
with this gum, which the Towara tribe sell at Cairo, though
its quality is inferior to that from Sennaar or Soudan. The
Bedouins use it as a substitute for water. Some have sup-
posed the gum-arabic-tree to be the Acacia vera (the Mi^
mosa Nilolica, Linn.), which Hasselquist says the Egyptian
Arabs call charrad (perhaps the gharrab of Burckhardt), and
which he represents' as also producing the thus or frankin^
cense, and the Succus acacice. The thus he describes as
pellucid and white, or rather colourless ; while the gum is of
a brownish or dirt}"" yellow. This exactly agrees with the
accounts given of the manna ; hence it is probable these
substances are nearlv, if not altogether, identical. In col-
lecting the leaves of the acacia for the use of their camels,
the Bedouins spread a straw mat under the tree, and beat
the boughs with long sticks, when the youngest and freshest
buds are broucrht down ; and these are sold in the markets
as fodder.

Honey is an article much used in Arabian cookery, and
found in various districts of the country. The mountains
near Safra swarm with bees, of which the Bedouins take pos-
session by placing wooden hives upon the ground. This
honey is of the fine.'^t quality, white, and clear as water. One

SHRUBS. 381

of the most interesting productions of Wady Ghor is the
beyrouk honey (the Assal bcyroiik of the Arabs), which
Burckhardt supposed to be manna. It was described to him
as a juice dropping from the leaves and twigs of the gharrab-
tree, about the height of an ohve, with leaves like those of
the poplar, only somewhat broader. Tlie honey is sweet
when fresh, but turns sour when kept for two days. It is
gathered in May and June, either from the leaves, on which
it collects like dew, or from the ground under the tree. The
colour is brownish, or rather of a grayish hue.

Shrubs. — Tiie deserts and mountains of Arabia produce
a variety of shrubs, with the uses and qualities of which we
are but imperfectly acquainted, and many of their names
might have remained utterly unknown had they not been acci-
dentally noticed by the passing traveller. Several new gen-
era were discovered by Forskal, but he had little opportunity
for examining their properties. Of the mama, kadaba, and
masa nothing particular has been recorded. The fruit of
the sadada is eaten ; and from the berry of the kcbalha is
extracted a ver)' strong kind of brandy, the acid taste of
which is counteracted by a mixture of sugar. Dolichos, a
species of that false phaseolus already mentioned, grows up
to a bushy shrub, so as to form hedges in a short time which
are almost impenetrable. The wood of the Cynanckum,
called march by the Arabs, is used for fuel ; it has all the
lightness and combustibility of tinder ; and Forskal observed
that the peasants near Loheia kindled it by rubbing one piece
against another. The nebek {Rhamnus Lotus), the fruit of
which the Arabs sometimes eat in preference to dates, is veiy
common in the plain of Medina ; large quantities of it are ex-
posed in the market, where a person may obtain enough to
satisfy himself for a pennyworth of corn, which is readily
taken in exchange instead of money. The inhabitants of
Wady Feiran grind the dried fruit together with the stone,
and preserve the meal, which they call bryse, in leathern skins
in the same way as the Nubian Bedouins do. It forms an
excellent provision for journeying in the desert, as it only
requires the addition of buttermilk to make a most nourishing,
pleasant, and refreshing diet. Among the rocks of Mount
St. Catherine, Burckhardt observed, besides other shrubs, the
Sorour nearly in full bloom ; its fruit is about the size of a
amall cherr\', and has very njuch the flavour of the stravy-

382 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

berry. In AVady Mousa junipers grow in considerable num-
bers. The tamarisk and talh-tree abound in the same region.
The tree called asheyr by the Arabs is very common in Wady
Ghor. It bears a fruit of a reddish yellow colour, about three
inches in diameter, which contains a white substance resem-
bling the finest silk, and enveloping the seeds. The Bedouins
collect this stuff, and t\^^st it into matches for their muskets,
preferring it to the common match, as it ignites more readily.
Burckhardt says that more than twenty camel-loads of this
substance could be annually procured, and perhaps might be
found useful in the silk and cotton manufactures of Europe.
This tree, when incisions are made into the branches, yields
a white juice, which the natives collect, by putting a hollow
reed into the aperture, and sell to the druggists at Jerusalem,
who are said to use it in medicine as a strong cathartic. In
the gardens of Medina the ithel, a species of tamarisk, is
cultivated for its hard wood, of which the Arabs make camels'
saddles, and every utensil that requires strong handles. The-
burial-grounds round Mecca are adorned with a low shrub of
the aloe genus called sahber (or patience), which is planted
at the extremity of almost every tomb opposite the epitaph.
It is an evergreen, requiring very little water ; and is chosen
for this purpose in allusion to the patience necessary in wait-
ing for the resurrection. Of the Mimosa genus there are
several species in Arabia. One of these {Mimosa selam)
produces splendid flowers of a beautiful red colour, with
which the natives crown their heads on festive occasions.
The flowers of another {Mimosa Lehbeck ; Acacia Lebbeck,
Linn.) are no less remarkable for a fine silky tuft formed by
their pistils. There is another so sensitive that it droops its
branches whenever any person approaches it, appearing to
salute those who retu'e under its shade. This mute hos-
pitality has so endeared it to the Arabs, that the injuring or
cutting of it down is strictly prohibited. The pod of the
si/ale and the tender shoots of the branches serve as fodder
for cattle, while the bark is used in tanning leather. The
leaves of the Mimosa orfora {Acacia horrida, Linn.) preserve
camels' milk sweet for several days ; the smoke of the wood
is said to expel a worm, which fixes itself in the flesh of the
human neck and produces epileptic fits. The tamarisk is
cultivated as an object equally useful and agreeable ; its
shade is a protection from the scorching heat of the sun ; and

BALSAM OF MECCA. 383

its graceful ligurc adorns the scenery of the country. It is
one of the most common productions of the desert from
Mecca to tJie Euphrates, and in the driest season, when all
vegetation around is withered, it never loses its verdure.

The balessan or celebrated balsam of Mecca (the balm of
Gilead in Scripture) has been already noticed in the Botany
of Abyssinia. According to Burckhardt, Safra and Bedr are
the only j)laces in Hejaz where it can be obtained in a pure
state. The tree from which it is collected (called by the
Arabs heshcm) grows on Gebel Sobh and the neighbouring
mountains, and is said to be from ten to fifteen feet high, with
a smooth trunk and thin bark. In tiie middle of summer
small incisions are made in the rind ; from these the juice
immefliately issues, which is then taken off with the thumb-
nail and put into a vessel. The gum appears to be of two
kinds ; one of a white colour, which is most esteemed, the
other of a yellowish-white. The latter, which the Bedouins
bring to market in small sheepskin bottles, has a bitter taste
and a strong turpenthie smell. The people of Safra gen-
erally adulterate it with sesamum-oil and tar. When they
try its purity, they dip their finger into it and apply it to the
fire ; if it burn without giving pain or leaving a mark, they
judge it to be of good quality ; — if otherwise, they consider
it bad. The test mentioned by Bruce of letting a drop fall
into a cup of water, when the good falls coagulated to the
bottom and the bad swims on the surface, is unknown to the
Hejazees. The Bedouins, who sell it to the Safra Arabs, de-
mand two or three dollars a pound for it when quite genuine ;
\vhile the latter dispose of it to the hajjis, chiefly the Per-
sians, in an adulterated state, at five or six times the prirr/?
cost. The richer classes put a drop into the first cup of
coffee which they drink in the morning, from the notion that
it acts as a tonic. That which is sold at Mecca and Jidda,
for the (^airo market, always undergoes several adultera-
tions. The seeds are employed to procure abortion, but the
balm itself is used medicinally, and highly valued in the
harems on account of its cosmetic qualities. Forskal, who
gives a botanical description of this tree as a new species of
Atnyris, found one of theni in the open fields. Its appear-
ance was not beautiful ; but what seems very remarkable is,
that the inhabitants of Yemen, according to his account, were
ignorant of its qualities. They only burn the wdod as a

384 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

perfume in the same manner as they do the kafal, another
sort of Amyris, which is exported to Egypt, and there used
as fuel, to communicate an agreeable odour to the vessek and
the liquors which are boiled in them.

Gharkad (the Peganum retusum of Forskal), a thorny
shrub, bearing a small red berry about the size of a pome-
granate-seed, is common in the peninsula of Sinai, especially
in Wady Gharendel. It comes to maturity in the height of
summer, and surprises the traveller by the delicious refresh-
ment which it affords in the parched and solitary wilderness.
The fruit is juicy and pleasant, much resembling a ripe
gooseberr\' in taste, but not so sweet ; and when the crop
is abundant, the Arabs make a conserve of the berries. This
is the shrub which Burckhardt supposes might have been
used by Moses to sweeten the bitter waters of Marah (Exod.
XV. 25) ; but as he made no inquiries on the spot, his sup-
position rests on mere conjecture.

Another shrub, of high celebrity in the East as an article
for the toilette, is the henna-tree {Lawsoniaiyicrmia, Linn.),
whose leaves and odoriferous flowers, when pulverized and
wrought into a paste, are universally used by the ladies for
staining the face, hands, feet, and nails, of a reddish or yel-
lowish colour ; lighter or deeper according to the manner in
which this fashionable pomatum is applied. The tincture
requires to be frequently renewed. This shrub, which in
size and character resembles privec, is \exy abundant in
Wady Fatima, and sold to the hajjis at Mecca in small red
leathern bags. A species of Glycyrrhiza. or liquorice-shrub,
is common in Yemen, as is also a sort of caper-tree (Cap-
paris spitiosa, Linn.), which is reckoned the only antidote
against the effects of a shrub (called Aderiia by Forskal),
whose buds, when dried and given in drink as a powder, are
strongly poisonous. Tlie rose-laurel {Nerium), the cotton-
plant, the acacia, and various others, spring in the sandy
plains, and form scattered tufts of verdure in the cliffs of the
barren rocks. The acacia being one of the largest and most
common shrubs in the desert, Shaw conjectures that it must
have been the shithm-icood of which the planks and several
utensils of the tabernacle were made. Exod. xxv. As it
abounds with flowers of a globular figure, and of delicious
fragrance, it is perhaps the same as the shitlah-trce, which
(Isaiah xli. 19) is joined wiih the niATtle and other sweet-

iNCENSE-TREE COFFEE. 383

smelling plants. Of the cotton-tree Niebuhr mentions two
species, one of which grows to some size, and the other bears
red flowers. The profits from the culture of this article are
inconsiderable, as most of the Arabs wear the cotton-cloths
of India and Egypt.

The incense-tree, so famous in all antiquity, is not once
mentioned by Forskal : the travellers could learn nothing of
it, except that it was to be found in a part of Hadramaut.
where it is called oliban. The soil of the hills where it grows
is said to be of a clayey texture, impregnated with nitre.
Ibn Batuta, who visited Dafar and Hasec (A. D. 1328), says,.
" We have here the incense-tree, which is about the height
of a man, with branches like those of the artichoke ; it has
a thin leaf, v^hich, when scarified, produces a fluid like milk ;
this turns into gum, and is then called lahan, or frankin-
cense." Some French naturalists suppose it to be Bos^ccUia
dentata of Roxburgh, which is described as growing to a
considerable height on the mountains of Coromandel ;* but
this account does not agree with what the ancients say of
the incense-tree. According to Lord Valentia, the frankin-
cense is chiefly produced near Cape Guardafui, and is ex-
ported from a harbour of the Somaulies called Bunder Cas-
sim. It forms an article of trade with the Red Sea, and is
principally consumed in Catholic countries. As the natives
hold their own produce in no estimation, and make use of that
only which comes from India, we deem it unnecessary to add
any farther remarks to what has been already said of this
substance, as well as of myrrh, cassia, spikenard, with other
resinous and aromatic plants, in treating of the commerce of
the ancient Arabs. The name thus, by which it was known
to the Greeks and Romans, was superseded in the decline
of the Latin language by that of incense {incensum), from
the universal practice of burning it in the temples of their

gods.t

Coifee {Coffea Arabica) is a native of Abyssinia, and has
been noticed among the vegetable productions of that coun-
try. That it was introduced into Yemen by the Abyssinian
conquerors is highly probable ; and when the Koran prohib-

* Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Hist. Nat. art. Encens. Roxburgh,
Plants of Coromandel.

t Vol. 1 chap.v. p. 1G2. Eutrop. Rer. Rom. lib. xi.
Vol. II.— K k

386 NATIJRAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

ited the use of wine, this supplementary drink would take its
place, and propagate itself, by degrees, over the regions which
embraced the creed of Islam. This supposition is not
founded on mere conjecture. We learn from Poncet, who
travelled in Ethiopia in 1698, that the opinion then univer-
sally prevalent in the East \yas, that coffee had been origin-
ally transported from that kingdom into Arabia Felix. The
etymology of the name itself is a strong presumption that it
was at first intended as a substitute for the juice of the grape.
Cahuueh (or cahvch,-as the Turks pronounce it with a v,
whence our word coffee is derived) was used by the old Arabs,
in its primary sense, to denote wine or other intoxicating
liquors. It was afterward applied to the decoction of the
Abyssinian berry, to which thev gave the name of biiun,
while they called the shrub on which it grew the baun-tree.
The earlv Mohammedan authors furnish us merely with a few
details about the supposed qualities of this liquid, and the
disputes that occurred conceniinff its lawfulness as an article
of diet. jVvicenna, Ibn Jazlah of Bagdad, and some other
professional writers of that time, speak obscurely of buun ;
hence we may presume that coffee, like sugar and chocolate,
was then prescribed as a medicine. Its use, however, w^as
long peculiar to the East ; and the city of Aden is the first
on record that set the example of drinking it as a common
refreshment, about the middle of the fifteenth centmy. A
drowsy mufti, called Jemaleddin, had discovered that it dis-
posed him to keep awake, as well as to a more lively exer-
cise of his spiritual duties. On his authority coffee became
the most fashionable beverage in the place. The leaves of
the cat (tea) were abandoned ; and all classes, — ^lawyers, stu-
dents, loungers, and artisans, — adopted the infusion of the
roasted bean. Another discover}' of the same individual
rendered it still more popular. Having contracted some in-
firmity during a voyage to Persia, on returning to Yemen he
applied to his favourite stimulant, and in a short time found
his health perfectly restored. This pious doctor, to whom
Europe perhaps owes one of the most useful luxuries of the
East, died A. D. 1470 ; and such was the reputation which his
experience had given to the virtues of coffee, that in a short
time it was introduced by Fakeddin at Mecca and Medina,
and became so agreeable to the general ta^te, that public
«a]oons^v6rG c^ned, where crowds assembled to finjcy the

COFFEE. 387

amusements of chess, singing, dancing, gambliiig, and other
recreations not very consistent with the rigour of the Koran.

About the beginning of the sixteenth century it \v;is brought
by certain dervises of Yemen to Cairo, where its qualities
recommended it to general use. But the innovation of drink-
ing it in the mosques gave rise to a bitter controversy, wliich
seemed to threaten the East with a new revolution. In the
year 1611, it was publicly condemned at Mecca by an assem-
bly of muftis, lawyers, and physiciang, who declared it to be
contrar}- to the law of the Prophet, and alike injurious to soul
and body. The pulpits of Cairo resomided with the anathe-
mas of the more orthodox divines ; all the magazines of this
" seditious berry" were laid in ashes ; the saloons were shut,
and their keepers pelted with the fragments of their broken
pots and cups. This occurred in 1523 ; but by an order of
Selim I. the decrees of the muftis were reversed ; the
tumults both in Egypt and Arabia were quashed ; the drink-
ing of coffee was pronounced not to be heretical ; and two
Persian doctors, who had declared it to be pernicious to the
health, were hanged by order of the sultan. From Cairo
this contested liquor passed to Damascus and Aleppo, and
thence to Constantinople (in 1554), where it encountered and
triumphed over the persecution of the dervises, who de-
claimed vehemently against the impiety of human beings
eating charcoal, as they called the bean when roasted, which
their Prophet had declared was not intended by God for food.

From the Levant it found its way by degrees to Europe,
and was probably imported by the Dutch and Venetian mer-
chants. Pietro de la Valle, who travelled in 1615, seems
the first that made it known in Italy. Mons. Thevenot, on
his return from the East in 1657, brought it with him to
France as a curiosity, though it appears to have been used
privately at Marseilles ten years earlier ; and in 1679 the
medical faculty of that city made its deleterious effects the
theme of a public disputation. The first coffee-house opened
in Paris was in 1672, by an Armenian named Pascal (or
Pasqiia), who sold this beverage at 25. 6d. a-cup ; but the
want of encouragement obliged him to remove to London.
The government of Charles II. atternpted in vain to suppress
these places of entertainment as nurseries of sedition ; and in
a few years they became general throughout the country.
The first European author that wrote expressly on coffee was

388 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

Prospero Alpino, a celebrated botanist and physician of Pa-
dua, who resided at Cairo in 1580. It is not mentioned by
Belon, who has described the most remarkable plants of
Egypt and Arabia (A. D. 1546-49). Lord Bacon, who died
in 1626, and Dr. John Ray, both speak of it ; but in a man-
ner which shows that they had a very superficial knowledge
of the subject. Its qualities, however, were soon afterward
celebrated both by naturalists and poets. Delia Valle in-
sisted that it was the nepenthe of Homer, while Mons. Pels-
chius alleged that it w=as among the articles presented to
David by Abigail. In France it became a theme for the
dramatic muse ; and in 1694, Le Cafe was the most fashion-
able comedv in Paris. A national song under the same name
was written by Fuzelier, and set to music by Bernier. The
following stanza will suffice as a specimen :

" Favorable liqueur, dont mon ame est ravie,
Par tes enchantemens augmente nos beaux jours ;
Nous domptons le sommeil par ton heureux secours ;
Tu nous rend les momens qu'il derobe a la vie.
Favorable liqueur, dont mon ame est ravie,
Par tes enchantemens augmente nos beaux jours."

The method of roasting and sweetening it, and the praises
of the cups and saucers into which it was poured, were sung
in a heroic poem by a Jesuit of the name of Father Vaniere,
who thus speaks in the eighth book of his Prczdium Rus-
ticum : —

" Tritaque mox validis intra mortaria pilis,
Diluitur Ijrmpha ; facihque parabilis arte
V'ulcano coquitur, donee vas pulvis ad imum.
Venerit, et posito mansueverit oUula motu.
Fictilibus rufis pateris defunde liquores,
Adde peregrina dulces ab arundine succos.
Ora sapore calix ne tristia laedat amaro."

This shrub has long maintained a vast importance as an arti-
cle of commerce ; and though it has been transplanted to
various countries in Asia, Africa, and America, its chief celeb-
rity is derived from Arabia, where its cultivation seems to be
best understood. It appears originally to have grown wald iri
Abyssinia, where the natives were in the habit of eating the
J)ean as food. They roasted and pounded it, and then mixed

COFFEE. 389

the powder with grease or butter to give it consistency. A
small quantity of this preparation was sufficient to support
them during a march of several days. In Upper Egypt this
practice is still common. Reynier often saw the soldiers
prefer this mixture to their rations when they had long fa-
tigues to support ; facts which leave no doubt as to the nutri-
tive qualities of coffee.

In Arabia the fruit of the tree, when allowed to grow wild,
is so bad as to be unfit for use. It is only in certain parts of
that country that the soil is adapted for its production.
Burckhardt was informed that it does not grow farther north
than Mishnye, in the district of Zohran, and that it improves in
quality towards the south. The plantations are found to thrive
best on the western side of the great mountains of Yemen.
Thev abound in the provinces of Heschid-u-Bekil, Kataba, and
Jafa ; but the climate about Udden, Kahhme, Kusma, Jebi,
Jobla, and Taas, is reckoned the most favourable, as the
shrub on these hills yields the berry in greater quantity and
of better flavour. The coffee produced in the neighbourhood
of Sanaa is esteemed the best. Europeans are mistaken in
supposing the tree should be planted in a dry soil, and under
a torrid sun. Though it is cultivated only in the hilly
regions, it requires both moisture and coolness ; and it is for
this reason that the Arabs plant other trees in their coffee-
grounds in order to afford it shade. In times of intense heat
the plantations are regularly irrigated ; wliich is the more
easily done, as they usually stand upon terraces in the form
of an amphitheatre, where they are so densely crowded that
the rays of the sun can hardly penetrate among the branches.
Most of them are only moistened by the rain ; but others
have the benefit of large reservoirs (birkels) upon the heights,
from which water is conveyed and sprinkled over the steep
declivities. The coffee-shrub is an evergreen ; its average
height is from twelve to fifteen feet ; the branches are elas-
tic, the bark rough and of a whitish colour ; the flowers re-
semble those of the jasrnine, and though bitter to the taste,
they diffuse a strong balmy fragrance. At Bulgosa, Niebuhr
found the trees in full bloom in the beginning of March, and
the whole atmosphere perfumed with their dehcious odour.
When the blossom dies the fruit appears in its place, green
at first, but red and resembling a cherry when ripe ; in the
centre of which lies the bean, enclosed in a thin membrane,

390 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

and easily separated into two halves. There are two or three
crops in the year ; . and it is quite common to see fruit and
flowers on the same tree ; but the first produce is always the
best. May is the proper harvest month ; the berries are
shaken from the branches on cloths spread underneath ; they
are then dried in the sun ; after which a heavy roller of
wood or stone is passed over them, to separate the bean from
the husk.* All the Arabs are extravagantly fond of coffee •
yet less of it is drunk in Yemen than in the other provinces.
The flavour is greatly improved by their mode of preparing
it : instead of grinding the beans in a mill, they pound them
to an impalpable powder in a close mortar, which seems bet-
ter to express and preserve from evaporating those oily par-
ticles that give the decoction its peculiar relish. They also
use a preparation from the husks, called caft a la sultane,
which is made by pounding and roasting them, and is es-
teemed an excellent beverage. The greatest care is taken
of the powdered coffee, which is kept closely pressed down
in a wooden box, and the quantity required for use is scraped
from the surface with a w^ooden spoon. Two small pots are
often used ; in the one the water is boiled (generally mixed
with the remains of the preceding meal) ; into the other is
put the fresh coffee, and it is sometimes heated by standino-
near the fire before the boiling water is added. This lattet-
mixture is then boiled two or three times ; care being taken
to pour a few drops of cold water upon it the last time, or to
place over it a linen cloth dipped in cold water. After this
process it is allowed to subside, and then emptied into the

* In the West Indies this operation is performed by a mill
composed of two wooden rollers furnished with iron plates
eighteen inches long and ten or twelve in diameter. These
moveable rollers are made to approach a third, which is fixed,
called chops ; between these the fruit falls from a hopper, where
it is stripped of its first skin, and divided into two parts. Out of
this machine it falls into a brass sieve, which separates it fron;
the husks. It is then thrown into a vessel full of water, where
it soaks for one night, and is afterward thoroughly washed and
dried. Another machine, called the peeling-miU, which is a
wooden grinder, turned vertically upon its axis by a mule or
horse, is employed to strip the thin pellicle from the bean ; and
after this process it is winnowed by slaves, who set the air in
motion by turning rapidly four tin-plates fixed upon an axle.

WILD ANIMALS. 391

pot containing the boiling water. All classes use it without
milk or sugar ; people ol" rank drink it out of porcelain cups ;
the lower sort are content with coarser ware. In Hejaz it is
served up to travellers in small earthern pots like bottles, con-
taining from ten to fifteen cups. This vessel has a long nar-
row neck, with a bunch of dry herbs stuck into its mouth,
through which the liquor is poured. At Mocha, Mrs. Lush-
ington observed that every lady, when she pays a visit, car-
ries on her arm a little bag of coffee, which is boiled at the
house where she spends the evening ; and in this way she
can enjoy society without putting her Iriends to expense. The
Bedouin cooks this meal in the same rude manner that he
does his cakes and his mutton. He roasts a few beans on an
iron shovel, hammers them to atoms in a wooden mortar with
his bludgeon, and boils his pot between two stones, over a
fire lighted with tinder, and composed of dry shrubs or camel's
dung.

SECTION IV. ZOOLOGY.

Wild Animals. — The zoology of Arabia differs but little
from that of other Eastern countries. Most of the animals
found there being described in works which are familiar to
the reader, it will not be necessary here to enter into any
lengthened details on their natural history. Lions, leopards,
panthers, lynxes, wolves, foxes, boars, antelopes, and various
domestic animals in a wild state, are to be met with in
almost every district in the peninsula. The small panther
(called fath) is more common than the large one (the nemer
of the Arabs) ; but it is not regarded with the same terrjor, as
it only carries away cats and dogs, never venturing to attack
man. It is the Felis jubala or hunting-tiger of naturalists.
The jackall {el vavi) abounds in the mountains ; but its habits
and appearance are too well known to require particular
notice. The hyena inhabits the solitary caverns of the Pe-
traean range, and is also common round the shores of the Per-
sian Gulf. It assails men and beasts with the same ferocity :
stealing out at night, it seizes on the natives wlio sleep in
the open air, and frequently carries off children from beside
their parents. In the forests of Yemen, and on the hills
around Aden, are swarms of monkeys without tails, and whose
hind-quarters are of a bright red. They are extremely docile,
Ami iearu readily any tricks that are attempted to be taughj

392 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

them. On this account vast numbers of them are exported
to Ecn'pt, Persia, and Syria, where itinerant jugglers make a
livehhood by exhibiting them to the people. The sandy
plains, and the valleys of the mountains, are stocked with
gazelles. So common is this beautiful creature, that as a
beast of chase, it furnishes amusement and food for the Arabs
of the desert, and supplies the poets with many of their finest
similitudes. On the Eastern frontier there are seA'eral places
allotted for the hunting of this animal, enclosed with a high
wall. Gaps are left, with a broad ditch on the outside, where
they are caught in hundreds while attempting to escape.
The rock-goats {Capra Ibex, the steinbok or bouquetin of the
Swiss) abound in the Alpine districts, especially among the
clifis of Sinai, where they are hunted by the Bedouins. Their
flesh is excellent, and has nearly the same flavour as that of
deer. In the plains dogs are employed to catch them ; but
among the rocks it is difficult to come near them, as they
occasionally take a leap of twenty feet, and are so keen-
scented, that on the slightest change of wind they smell the
pursuer at a great distance, and take to flight. They pas-
ture in herds of forty or fifty together, having a leader who
keeps watch ; and on any suspicious sound, odour, or object,
he makes a noise, which is a signal to the flock to make their
escape. The chase of the beden, as the wild-goat is called,
resembles that of the chamois of the Alps, and requires as
much entei-prise and patience. Burckhardt was assured, that
when hotly pursued they would throw themselves from a
height of fifty or sixty feet upon their heads without receiving
any mjury. The Arabs make long circuits to surprise them,
and endeavour to come upon them late, or early in the morn-
ing when they feed. Their skins are made into water-bags,
and their long, large, knotty horns are sold to the merchants,
who carry them to Jerusalem, where they are made into
Randies for knives and daggers.

Hares are plentful, and hunted by the Arabs, who knocic
them down with small sticks or clubs, which they throw to a
great distance, and with admirable dexterity. As the line
of a caravan sometimes extends nearly a mile in length, they
are often started in considerable numbers, and scarcely one
of them ever escapes the shower of missiles to which they
are exposed. The more orthodox, however, object to dress
pr eat them until they have undergone the operation of liulaid,

WILD ANIMALS. 393

or being made lawful ; a ceremony wliich is performed by
cutting the throat with the neck turned towards the Holy
City. Forskal mentions several wild animals of which he
knew nothing except what he learned from the indistinct ac-
counts of the natives. The jczar was said to resemble the
the ass in shape and size, and the flesh is reckoned excellent
food. The bakar icash, from the vague descriptions given by
the Arabs, seemed to be the wild ox. They mentioned an-
other quadruped of a similar form, which was without horns,
and fed only by night. One of the most singular of these
anonymous animals was described as resembling a cat, which
fed on grass, and was eaten as a great dehcacy. The Be-
douins of Sinai frequently mentioned to Burckhardt a beast
of prey called wober, which inhabited only the retired parts
of the desert ; they represented it as being about the size of
a large dog, with a head like a hog. He was told of another
voracious creature called shijb, stated to be a breed between
the leopard and tlie woU", but their accounts as to this origin
are not much to be trusted, their common practice being to
assign parents of different known species to any animal which
they seldom meet with. The jerboa or Pharaoh's rat is
seldom to be found in great numbers in the sandy tracts
among the hills, and on the banks of the Euphrates. Its
appearance and manners have already been noticed in the
Zoology of Abyssinia and Egypt. - Its size is that of a large
rat ; the upper part is of a light-fawn colour, striped with
black ; and this dusky hue contrasts agreeably with the fine
shining white of the belly. The body is short, — broader
behind than before, and well provided with long, soft, silky
hair. According to Hasselquist, the tail is three times longer
than the whole body ; Sonnini says he never found it much
more than half its length. Its thickness hardlv exceeds ths
circumference of a large goose-quill ; but it is of a quadran-
gular, and not of a round shape. The fore-legs, which have
five toes, are white and short, scarcely extending beyond
the hair ; but they are less serviceable in walking than in
conveying food to the animal's mouth, or digging his subter^
ranean habitation ; hence the name dipus or two-footed
mouse, erroneously applied to the jerboa. The hind-legs are
covered with white and fawn-coloured hair ; but its long feet
are almost entirely naked. Its motion, especially when pur-
sued^ is that of leaping and bounding like the kangaroo which

394 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

it performs with great rapidity, assisted by its long muscular
tail. It is this peculiarity which induced naturalists to give
tliis species the name of Mus joculus, or flying mouse. The
flesh is eaten by the Arabs, and its taste is said to be very
little different from that of a young rabbit.

Domestic Animals. — The Arabs rear in abundance all the
domestic animals common to hot countries. They breed
horses, mules, asses, camels, dromedaries, cows, buffaloes,
hogs, sheep, and goats.* Their cows and oxen are distin-
guished by a hump or bunch of fat on the shoulder, imme-
diately above the fore-legs. Those in Hejaz are described by
Burckhardt as small, but of a stout bony make ; they have
for the most part only short stumps of horns, and bore a
strong resemblance to those he had seen on the banks of the
Nile in Nubia. Of the instinct ascribed to these animals, of
forming into circular bodies to defend themselves against
beasts of prey, Niebuhr could obtain no information, nor did
he think the story probable. Buffaloes are found in all
marshy parts of the country and on the banks of the rivers,
where they are more numerous than the common horned
cattle. The male is as fit for the yoke as the ox ; his flesh
is inferior, being hard and unsavoury ; but when young, it
has much the taste and appearance of beef. The female
yields more milk than the ordinar}' cow. The Arabs have a
mode of forcing her to peld more than she would do vohm-
tarily : while one person milks, another tickles her ; a custom
which the ancient Scythians practised with their mares.

Asses. — There are two sorts of asses in Arabia, — one
small and sluggish, which is there as little esteemed as in
Europe ; the other a large and noble-spirited breed, which
sells at a high price. Niebuhr thought them preferable to a
horse for a journey, and reckoned their progress in half an
hour equal to 3500 paces of a man. In Yemen, the soldiers
use them on patrol, as well as in every military service in
which parade is not an object ; the pilgrims employ them in
considerable numbers ; and Ali Bey mentions, that they
sometimes travel the distance from Jidda to Mecca (fifty-five
miles) in twelve hours. In various parts of the country these

* Strabo must have been misinformed when he excepted
mules, horses, and hogs ; as also geese and hens. " In Arabia
pecorum, omnis generis copia, exceptis mulis, equis,.et porcis ;
avium etiam omnium prseter anseres et gallinas." — Lib. xvi/

THL WILD-ASS. 395

animals abound in a wild state. To the norlliward ofXejod,
adjoining the district of Jof, they are found in great numbers.
The Sherarat Arabs hunt them and eat their flesh (though
forbidden), but not before strangers.* They sell their skins
and hoofs to the pedlars at Damascus and the people of the
Hauran. The hoofs are manufactured into rings, which arc
worn by the peasants on their thumbs or under the annpits as
amulets a^jainst rheumatism.

According to Butibn, the domesticated breed of asses used
in Europe came originally from Arabia. The uniform aspect
of this animal, when compared with the great variety of
colour exhibited by the domestic races of the horse, has in-
duced some to suppose that the former has not been so long
nor so generally under ttie dominion of man. In the time of
Aristotle the ass was not found in Thrace, nor even in Gaul ;
but, on the other hand, we know from the Sacred Writings,
that it was used as a beast of burden in the remotest ages of
Jewish history, and was therefore, in all probability, reduced
to servitude by the Eastern nations fully mere early than any
other animal not immediately necessary to the existence of a
pastoral people.! Its comparatively recent reduction, then,
cannot, as Buffon has alleged, be assigned as the cause of
its greater uniformity of colour. This must be sought for in
the different natures of the two animals when acted upon by
the influence of climate, leading the one to vary only in form
and stature, and the other in colour as well as form. The
domestic ass of our northern climes being never improved by
crosses from a purer race, the inferiority of the animal is
scarcely to be wondered at. But under the warm and serene
climates of Asia, where the breed is not only carefully tended,
but frequently improved by intercourse with the fleet and fiery
onager, it is an animal of great strength and considerable
beauty.

The onager or wild-ass, called koidan by many of the tribes
of Asia, is distinguished from the domestic kind by the

* Ibn Batuta says, that the flesh of the domestic ass was con-
sidered lawful in Oman, and publicly sold in the streets. —
Travels, p. 62.

t The first mention of mules is in the time of David, previous
to which time asses seem to have been used for riding. The
word rendered mules in Geneei.'^ xxxxi. 24, eignifies springs of
water.

396 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

greater kngth and finer form of its limbs, its straight chest*
and somewhat compressed body. Its head is better put on^
and more erectly carried, than, in the common ass ; and the
ears, which are shorter by one-third, are slender and sharp
pointed. The true source of our domestic race, though well
known to the ancients, appears to have been lost sight of
during the middle ages, and was indeed but obscurely known
for some centuries after the revival of leaniincr. We owe
the best modem elucidation of its histor>% as we do that of
several other species, to the researches of Pallas. The
Romans were familiar with the aspect of this animal. Julius
Capitolinus, in the life of Gordian (in Hist. August.) observes,
that that emperor brought up thirty onagers and as many wild
horses ; and in the secular games of Phihp, twenty of the
former and forty of the latter were exhibited.

The Turkish name of the wild ass, Dagh Aischaki or moun-
tain-ass, points out its natural locality : — " Wliose house I
have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings.
— The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he search-
eth after every green thing."* Even the choice which the
domestic ass makes of the naiTOw and irregular paths by the
wayside has been regarded as a renuiarrt of natural instinct. t
A good ass of Arabian origin sells, according to Chardin, for
as high a sum as 18/. sterUng. That the breed is capable of
supporting great fatigue was e^-inced by the young female
mentioned by Pallas, which travelled from Astracan to Mos-
cow, attached to his post-chaise, with only an occasional
night's repose. It afterward proceeded in the same manner,
and without being incommoded by the journey, 700 wersts
(464) miles) from Moscow to Petersburgh.t

The Horse. — Arabia has been called the native comitry of
the horse ; and certainly if the most valuable conquest of man
over the animal creation be that of this noble quadruped,
which shares with him the fatigues of industr}^ and the glory
of war, — no nation better merits that distinction than the
Arabs. The care and affection wliich they bestow in breed-
ing and rearing it, and the decided predilection with which
it is constantly regarded, are founded not merely on its utihty
to them in their predatory and wandering life, bvit also on an

* Job xxxix. 6-8. f Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat. t. iii. p. 563.
X Edinburgh Journal of Agriculture, No. VII,

THE HORSE. 397

ancient prejudice, which induces them to consider horses as
beings endowed with generous sentiments and an inteUigence
superior to that of other animals. They suppose that these
spirited creatures, so serviceable in the cause of Islam, have
obtained, through Mohammed, the blessing of Grod, and an
occult capacity to read or repeat tacitlv every day some verses
of the Koran. It was one of their old proverbs, that after
man, the most eminent creature is the horse ; the best em-
ployment is that of rearing it ; the most delightful posture is
that of sitting on its back ; the most meritorious of domestic
actions is that of feeding it. They were taught by their pro-
phet to believe that it was originally predestined for their
special service. " When God," said he, " wished to create
it, he called the south wind, and said, ' I desire to draw from
out of thee a new being ; condense thyself bv parting with
fluidity,' — and he was obeyed. He then took a handful of this
element, now become tangible, and blew upon it, and the
horse was produced. ' Thou shalt be for man,' said the
Lord, ' a source of happmess and wealth ; he will render
himself illustrious by ascending thee.' " The " brood mares"
were particularly recommended by Mohammed to his disci-
ples, '• because their back is the seat of honour, and their
belly an inexhaustible treasure. As many grains of barley as
are contained in the food we give to a horse, so many indul-
gences do we daily gain bv giving it."

The care which the Arabs take in classifying and preserv-
ing the pedigrees of their horses, to a European must appear
almost incredible. The collective term whereby they desi^
nate them in general is Kohayl or Kochlani ; but they com-
monly distribute them into five great races, all originally from
Nejed. Some authors trace them back to the most remote
times of paganism, assigning as their sire the famous stal-
lion Mashour, the property of Okrar, chief of the Beni Obeida.
Others assert that they are merely the issue of the five
favourite mares of the prophet, named Rhabda, Nooma,
Waja, Sabha, and Hezma. "Wliatever be the fact as to
these genealogies, history has certainly commemorated from
a very ancient period the names and noble qualities of some
of the Arabian horses. With the beautiful description of the
war-steed in Job (chap, xxxix. 19-26) every reader is fami-
liar : " His neck is clothed with thunder ; and the glory of
his nostrils is terrible : He paweth in the valley, and reioiceth

Vol. n— LI

398 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

in his strength : He mocketh at fear ; neither turneth he back
from the sword : He swalloweth the ground with fierceness
and rage, and smelleth the battle afar off." The famous
racers Dahes and Ghabra have been already noticed (vol. i,
p. 170), from which it would appear that the amusements of
the turf were among the national festivals of the ancient
Bedouins. D'Herbelot speaks of the Kamel el Sana/eyn^
an old work which treats of the keeping and physick-
ing of horses. Another on the same subject, still more
curious, bears the title of "Summary' of all that can be
desired to be learned respecting the different Races of
Horses.'' According to the author of this treatise, all the
breeds already alluded to sprung from a stallion and a mare,
called Zad al Rckeb and Serdet Shekban, which belonged to
Muthayer Ibn Oshaim, chief of one of the primitive tribes of
Yemen. He has given a table, which contains 136 races of
Arabian horses, — three Persian, nine Turkoman, and seven
Kurd, — and mentions the Safenet as being of the same spe-
cies with those presented to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba.
The modern Bedouins repose implicit faith in the traditions
of antiquity, and still reckon their five noble breeds to be
descended from the stud of the prophet. The following are the
names : — Taveyse, Manekeye, Kohcyl, Saklaicye, and Julfa;
which, according to the ^-ulgar notion, are deiived from the
different districts of Nejed, where they were born. These
principal races diverge into innumerable ramifications. The
Saklavvye is subdivided into the Jcdran, Abriyeh, and Nejm
cl Subh ; the Koheyl into Ajuz, Kerda, Sheikha, Dabhah, Ibn
Khueysha, Khumeyseh, and Abii Moarraff ; the Julfa has
only a single branch, that of Eslemblalh. Besides these,
they have various others of a secondary or less-esteemed
breed, such as the Henaydi, Abu Arkub, Abayan, Sheraki,
Shueyman, Hadaba, Wedna, Medhemch. Khabitha, Omeriak,
and Sadalhukan. The different races have not any charac-
teristic marks by which they can be distinguished from each
other. Every mare particularly swift and handsome, with
noble blood in her veins, may give origin to a new stock, the
descendants of w'hich are called after her ; so that the cata-
logue of distinct races in the desert is almost endless. The
only means of recognising them is bv certificates of their
genealogy, which are drawn up by the proprietors, and at-
tested by witnesses : in theoe the is^o, both mascujine an4

THE HORSE. 399

feminine, arc specified with great exactness ; so that an
Arabian horse ofi'ered for sale is usually provided with his
title of nobility. The pedicrree is often put into a small
piece of leather, covered with waxed cloth, and suspended
round the animal's neck. Burckhardt has given one of these
curious documents, which he translated from the original in
the handwriting of the Bedouins. It is as follows : —

" GOD.
" Enoch.

*' In the name of the most merciful God, the Lord of all
creatures, peace and prayers be with our Lord Mohammed
and his family and his followers until the day of judgment ;
and peace be with all those who read this writing, and
understand its meaning.

" The present deed relates to the grayish-brown colt, with
four white feet and a white mark on the forehead, of the
true breed of Saklavyc, called Oheyan, whose skin is as
bright and unsullied as milk, resembling those horses of which
the Prophet said, ' True riches are a noble and pure breed
of horses;' and of which God said, ' The war-horses, those
which rushed on the enemy with full blowing nostrils, — those
which plunge into the battle early in the morning.' And God
spoke the truth in his incomparable book. This Saklawye
gray colt was bought by Khoshrun, the son of Emheyt, of
the tribe of Zebaa, an Aeneze Arab. The sire of this colt
is the excellent bay horse called Mcrdjan, of the breed of
Koheylan ; its dam is the famous white Saklawye mare
known by the name of Djeroua. According to what we have
seen, we attest here, upon our hopes of felicity and upon our
girdlps, 0 Sheiks of Wisdom and Possessors of Horses I
this crray colt, above mentioned, is more noble even than his
sire and dam. And this we attest, according to our best
knowledge, by this valid and perfect deed. Thanks be to
God, the Lord of all creatures I — Written on the 16th of
Saphar, in the year 1223 (A. D. 180S). Witness," &c.

This purity of blood and descent the Bedouins are extremely
careful to preserve uncontaminated. During twenty days, at
a certain season, the mare must be watched to secure her
from the approaches of any common horse, which she is not
allowed to see, even at a distance ; for the Arabs are be-
lievers in the effects of imagination on the progeny of their
cattle. When the foal is produced, the same witnesses must

400 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

be present, and within seven days a notarial certificate o^
its legitimacy is made out, in which is written an account of
the colt's distinctive marks, with the names of its sire and
dam. These genealogical tables, called Hujeh, never ascend
to the granddams, because it is understood that every Arab
of the tribe knows by tradition the purity of the whole breed.
Nor are such testimonials at all necessary in the interior of
the desert, where many horses are of such illustrious descent
that thousands can attest their nobility. A Bedouin would
laugh at being asked by an inhabitant of Nejed for the pedi-
gree of his mare ; written evidence he never thinks of pro-
ducing, except when attending distant markets, such as Bus-
sora, Bagdad, Damascus, Aleppo, Medina, or Mecca. A
colt, at the moment of birth, is never allowed to drop upon
the ground ; they receive it in their arms, and so cherish it
for several hours, washing and stretching its tender limbs,
and caressing it as they would a baby. After this they
place it on its legs, and w^atch its feeble steps with par-
ticular attention, prognosticating from that time its future
excellencies or defects. The ears are tied together over
its head with a string, that they may assume a fine pointed
direction ; the tail is pressed upwards, and other mea-
sures taken at the same time, in order that it may be
carried high. The only care taken of the dam is to wrap a
piece of linen cloth round her body, which is removed next
day. At the end of a month the foal is weaned, and for the
space of a hundred days thereafter it is permitted no other
food than camel's milk. "VVTien that period has elapsed it
receives a daily portion of wheat diluted with water. A
handful only is given at first ; by degrees this quantity is
increased ; although milk still continues to be its principal
food. This diet continues a hundred days more ; and when
this second period has expired, it is allowed to eat grass, and
is fed on barley ; receiving every evening, along with that
proA-ender, a bucket of camel's milk, should the tent happen
to be well supplied with it. The Nejed Arab gives his colts
neither barley nor wheat, but nourishes them with a paste of
dates and water ; and sometimes to a favourite he will give
the fragments or leavings of his own meals. In that province
horses are regularly fed upon dates ; at Deraiah and in EI
Hassa the dates are mixed with birsim, or dried clover.
The wealthier classes often give them flesh, raw as w^ell as

THE HORSfe. 401

boiled ; and sometimes before the commencement of a long
journoy they get roasted meat, that they may be the better
able to endure fatigue. A native of Hamah told Burckhardt,
that in order to prevent a favourite horse from falling into
the hands of the governor of that town, he fed it for a
fortnight exclusively on roasted pork, which excited its mettle
to such a degree that it became absolutely unmanageable,
and could be no longer an object of desire to the avaricio\is
functionary. In Egypt, vicious horses are cured of the habit
of biting by having a leg of mutton presented to them newly
taken from the fire ; the pain which- the animal feels in seiz-
ing the hot meat with its teeth teaches it in a few lessons
more gentleness of temper. The Arab steed, like its mas-
ter, is accustomed to the inclemency of all weathers. During
the whole year they are kept in the open air, benig seldom
taken into a tent even in the rainy season. The Bedouins
never rub or clean their horses ; but take care to walk them
gently whenever they return after a ride. They generally
rest in a standing position, and have been known to remain
on theif legs for years in succession without lying down.
Yet with so little attention to health they are seldom ill.
The most prevalent diseases are the gripes, farcy, warbles,
surfeit jaundice, strangles, mange, broken wind, and water)-
swellings upon the stomach. Burning is the most general
remedy. To cme the strangles they rub the tumours with a
paste made of barley, chart", and butter ; at the same time
the smoke of a linen rag died with indigo is inhaled up the
animal's nostrils, which occasions a copious discharge. In
cases of surfeit they bleed the horse's feet, and wrap the
skin of a sheep newly killed round its body. They have no
use for farriers, except for making shoes, which are of a soft
fiexible iron, hammered cold, and very small, that the swift-
ness may not be impeded. They give different names both
to fillies and colts every year Until the age of four.* In gen-
eral, they do not allow their mares to breed until they have

* So extremely accurate are the Arabs in every thing relating
to their horses, that they have invented appropriate names for
distinguishing the several competitors in a race, according to
their respective merits. Instead of saying the first, second,
third, &c. as we do, they call the foremost the outrunner of the
outrunners : the next the back-presser ; the third the tranqtuiUzer i
and thia distinction tiioy continue as far aa the eleventh,

LIS

402 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA

completed their fifth year ; but the poorer class sometimes
wait no longer than the fourth, as they are eager for the pro-
fits arismCT from the sale of the foals. The colts are usually
ridden aft^r the completion of the second year, and from the
time they are first mounted the saddle is but rarely taken off
their backs. In winter a coarse sackcloth is thrown over them^
and in summer they stand exposed to the mid-day sun. Their
saddles are of wood, covered with Spanish leather ; but they
have no pommels, instead of which they make use of stitched
felt. The stirrups are very short, with flat square bottoms
and sharp-pointed corners, which answer the purpose of spurs ;
the slightest touch makes the animal fly like the wind, while
the rider bears himself upon the stirrups that he may use his
lance with greater vigour. The Nejed Bedouins have nd
other saddles than a stuffed sheep-skin ; they all ride without
stirrups or bridles, guiding the horse merely with a halter-.
This is nowise surprising, when the extreme docility of the
animal is considered, — without vice of any kind, — and more
the friend and companion than the slave of his master. When
not employed in war or travelling, they loiter about the tents,
often going over heaps of children lying on the ground, and
carefully picking their steps lest they should hurt them.
They allow themselves to be kissed tmd toyed with, or
hugged round the neck, without doing the smallest injury.
The different colours of Arabian horses are clear bay {ahmar)^
brown bay (adhem), sorrel (ashekwar), white {abiad), pure
gray (azrek), mottled gray (raktha), bluish gray (akhdar)^
black (udhem), and dark chesnut {ulmar mukruk) : black and
light bays (aswad and ashehab) are unknown in Arabia, and
only found in Persia, Tartary, and Turkey.

In general, these animals are of a middle size, of a slender
delicate shape, light and act've, rather lean than fat, but of
surprising swiftness, and accustomed to the fatigue of long
marches. They have small ears, little belly, and a short
scanty tail. They are almost invariably free from apparent
deformities, and so gentle that women or children may man-
age them. The physical qualities which the Arabs prize
most in this animal are the following : — Neck long and arched,
—head small, — ears tapering and almost meeting at the
points,-— eyes large and full of fire, — lower jaw thin, — muzzle
bare, — wide nostrils, — belly not too broad, — sinewy legs, —
pasterns short and flexible, — hoofs hard and ample,— chest
br<^, — ^rump high and rdundtid. 'S^TieneVcr the ihx^e beau-

THE MORSE. 403

ties of head, neck, and rump, are found combined, the horse
is considered as perfect. There are several particular marks
or natural signs which the Arabs regard as sinister and un-
favourable ; while others are esteemed the reverse, and capa-
ble of producing happiness to the owner. They reckon about
twenty evil indications ; but the only bad eflfect they have on
the animal is that of depreciating its value by two-thirds or
more. The Persian and Turkoman horses, whose figures
are much alike, diflfer from the Arabian in this, that they are
more corpulent, and their coat is not so soft to the touch. It
i6> moreover, an opinion pretty generally received in the
East, that the latter are especially distinguished from the
>others bv the repugnance they evince towards clear water ;
while that which is turbid pleases them to such a degree,
that they never fail to prance about in any that happens to
icOme in their way. The price of Arabian horses is variable,
and often depends much on the caprice of the buyer and
seller: in Syria, it fluctuates from 10/. to 120/. A good
mare can scarcely be obtained under 60/. ; and even at that
price it is difficult to purchase one, as the Bedouins always
prefer the females to the males for riding, because they are
not accustomed to neigh, and thus expose them in their am-
buscades to the risk of detection. For a celebrated mare a
Bheik has been known to pay 200/. ; sometimes the price
has amounted to 500/., and even to 800/. The favourite
mare of Saoud, named Koraye, which he constantly rode on
his expeditions, was purchased from a Kahtan Bedouin for
1500 Spanish dollars. Kinneir states that 1200/. was refused
for one at Aleppo. At Bussora, where they form an import-
ant article of trade with India, the average price is about 300
rupees, though the cost is thrice, or even five times as much
at Bombay or Calcutta. Over all Arabia, as also in Egypt
and Syria, horses are possessed by several owners in partner-
ship ; each is divided into a number of shares (kcral), of
which several may be purchased by a single individual. If
an Aeneze has a mare of remarkable breed, he seldom or
never consents to sell her without reserving one-half or two-
thirds for himself. The ownership of the progeny is regu-
lated by special compact : the fillies of the first or second
year belong to the seller ; those of the subsequent years
become the property of the buy en This contract is called

404 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

" selling the mare's belly ;" and in this manner most 6f the
Arabian breeders are held in joint property. Sometimes the
dam and her offspring are disposed of in equal shares, or on
condition that the booty shall be equally divided between the
oritrinal owner and the man who rides her. As the Bedouins
are ignorant of those frauds by which a European jockey-
deceives his customers, a stranger may take a horse on their
word, at first sight or trial, v/ithout much risk of being
cheated. Niebuhr alleges that no instance of false testi-
mony was ever given in respect to the descent of a horse, —
the Arabs, in his days, being persuaded that they and their
families would be cursed should they prevaricate in giving
an oath on ia matter of such consequence ; but the moderns
do not scruple to tell falsehoods if they find they can make a
hotter market by it. The affectionate terms in which families
live with their horses sometimes occasion extreme regret
when they are Obliged from necessity to sell them. D'Ar-
vieux mentions a Syrian merchant who cried m.ost tenderly
while caressing his mare, whose genealogy he could trace
for 500 years. Rubbing her with his shirt-sleeves, and wip-
ing her forehead whh his handkerchief, "My eyes," he
would say to her, " my heart, must I be so unfortunate as
to have thee sold to so many masters, and not to keep thee
all myself! I am poor, my antelope ; but I have brought
thee up like my child : I never beat nor chid thee : God pre-
serve thee, my dearest, from the looks of the envious ; thou
art pretty, thOu art sweet, thou art lovely."' It may be re^
marked, that the Arabs have great faith in certain supersti-
tious charms, which they suppose will protect their horses
from accidents. They use talismans written on a piece of
triangular paper, which are put into a leathern purse of the
same shape, and fastened round the anin.al's neck as a
defence against witchcraft from unlucky eyes. A couple of
boar's tusks, joined at the extremities by a silver ring, is sus-
jpended from their mane, to keep them from the farcy.
Thoush the Arabs jusly boast of their horses, it is a common
error that supposes them to be very abundant in that coun-
try. In the Sacred Writings, and down to the time of
Mohammed, they are seldom mentioned ; camels being
mostly used both in their warlike and predatory excursions.
*rhe breed is limited to the fertile pasture-grounds, and it is
thoro only that they Harlvo ; w]3ik) tho Bt-^ouins who occupy

THE CAMEL. 405

ferid districts rarely have any. In Nejed, they are not nearly
so numerous as in the rich plains of Syria and Mesopotamia.
In Hejaz, they become scarcer ; and thence towards Yemen
they become fewer still, both the climate and pasture there
being reckoned injurious to their health. The great heat of
Oman is also deemed unfavourable to them. In the district
of Gebel Shammar there are many encampments that possess
none ; in Medina they arc not seen, and in Mecca there are
perhaps not more than sixty belonging to private individuals ;
BO that the estimate of Burckhardt is perhaps correct, when
he affirms that, from Akaba to the shores of Hadramaut,
comprising the great chain of mountains and the western
plains towards the sea, the amount of horses is not more than
5000 or 6000 ; while the aggregate number in the whole
peninsula does not exceed 50,000, — a number far inferior to
what the same superficial extent in any other part of Asia or
Europe would furnish. The rich pastures are not only
stocked more abundantly, but likewise produce the finest and
most select race. The best Kohcyls of the Khamse, or noble
breed, are found among the Aenezes and the Rowallas in
Nejed and the Hauran, towards the Euphrates. They are
not all of the most perfect or distinguished quality ; and per-
haps not above five or six in a whole tribe deserve the name
of first-rate in respect to size, bone, beauty, and action. But
still their numbers are considerable ; each of which may be
bought, if purchased in the desert, at from 150Z. to 200/.
Taking the comparative excellence of the different races on
an average, Nejed is generally reckoned to produce the
noblest ; Hejaz, the handsomest ; Yemen, the most durable ;
Syria, the richest in colour ; Mesopotamia, the most quiet ;
Egypt, the swiftest ; Barbary, the most prolific ; Persia and
Kurdistan, the most warlike.

The Camel. — This useful animal is esteemed by Eastern
nations one of the most precious gifts of Providence to man.
It seems formed and qualified by nature for a life of patient
drudgery. Justlv has the Arab, to whose comfort and ac-
commodation it is indispensable, named it the Living Ship of
the Desert, as without it he could neither transport himself
nor his merchandise across those oceans of sand with which
his country i.s covered. Descriptions of its habits and uses
have been so often given, since the times of Aristotle and
Pliny, who have treated with remarkable accuracy of the

40t» NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

only two distinct species of this genus which are known, thdt
we shall restrict our account to what may be considered
peculiar to it as an inhabitant of Arabia. Between the races
of camels in the northern and southern provinces there is a
considerable difference. On the borders of Syria and Meso-
potamia they are covered with thick hair, and in general
attain to a much greater size than in Hejaz, where they have
very little wool. The prevailing colour of the Arabian breed
is brown or black : further south, as in Eg\T)t, the hue be-
comes lighter ; and towards Nubia they are mostly white.
The largest kind are from Anatolia, of the Turkoman race ;
and the smallest from Yemen. Those of the Eastern Desert
near the Euphrates are reputed the best for carriage ; the
Eg}'ptian are less qualified than any other to undergT) fatigue,
bemcr too well fed to endure the privations of the wilderness.
The Syrian camel, though smaller than the Anatolian, bears
heat and thirst much better. The natives of Nejed are not
only remarkable for their fecundity, but are less susceptible
of epidemic diseases than most others ; hence they are pre-
ferred by the Bedouins, who repair thither from all quarters
that they may renew their flocks. So rich and abundant is
that province in the produce referred to, that it has obtained
the appellation of Om el Bel, or the Mother of Camels. In
Yemen they are plentiful ; but in Hejaz, where pasture is
scanty, their number is very limited.

The Arabs are in the habit of producing a variety of kinds
by crossing the breed. The young ones are weaned in the
beginning of the second year, and they call them by different
names according as they are one, two, three, or fouiv years
old ; the latter being the period when they begin to propagate.
To prevent them from sucking, a small piece of wood, four
inches long and sharp pointed, is driven up the palate and
comes out at the nostril, which pricks the mother. Some-
times the teats are covered with a thin ro\md board, or a
camlet bag, which is fastened with a string tied round the
body. After the fore-teeth have reached their full length, the
first pair of grinders appear, about the commencement of the
sixth year ; the second, third, and last pair make their ap-
pearance at the end of two years successively ; so that the
animal does not complete its full growth until the age of
twelve, when it is called ras. It will live as long as forty
years : but after twenty-five or thirty its acti\aty begins to

THE CAMi:L. 407

t

fail, and it is no longer capable of enduring much fatigue.
If it become lean after passing the sixteenth year, the Arabs
say that it can never again be rendered fat ; and in that case
they generally sell it at a low price to the peasants. When
fed upon tender verdure, this animal improves so much that
he seems no longer to belong to the hard-working or caravan
species ; and when he has attained the full degree of fatness,
his hump assumes the shape of a pyramid, extend ino- its base
X)ver the entire back. None of this description, however, are
found except among the wealthy Bedouins in the interior, who
keep whole herds solely for the purpose of propagating the
species. In some provinces butter is made of the camel's
milk ; the Aenezes and otlier northern tribes use it as drink,
and also as food for their horses. About the end of spring
the wool, which seldom exceeds two lbs. a-head, is easily
taken off the skin with a person's hand. All the flocks of
the different owners are branded with a hot iron, that they
may be recognised should they stray or be stolen. The prop-
erty A each has a peculiar mark, — a ring, a cross, or a tri-
angle, which is usually placed on the neck or the left shoul-
der. AMien called home in the evening, which is done by
uttering a sound resembling that of the letter r, every ani-
mal knows its master's face, and putting its own to his, drops
<lown upon its knees as if to ask for supper.

The two grand services in which camels are employed are
riding and carriage. Among the Bedouins females are
always more esteemed and dearer than the males : the latter,
on the contrary, are most valued in Egypt and Syria, where
the quality chiefly wanted is strength in bearing hea\'y loads.
The wandering tribes in Nejed prefer he-camels for riding,
while the peasants use only the females on their journeys,
because they support thirst better. The term deloul is ap-
plied to those that are trained to the saddle, of which the
most swift and easy-paced are said to be from Oman, though
some of the Aenezes have likewise excellent breeds. They
differ little from the others in appearance, except that their
legs are somewhat more straight and slender ; but there is a
noble expression in their eye and in their whole deportment,
by which the generous among all animals may be distin-
guished. In Egypt and Nubia, the delouls are called hejein ;
Uiey are very docile, and have a pleasant amble. The deloul
^dle, throughout over}' part of Arabia, is called shciad ;

408 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

and in the equipping of this article the Arab women on all
occasions make a great display. In Hejaz, they use a kind
of palanquin named skcbriah, having a seat made of twisted
straw, about five feet in length, placed across the saddle,
with cross-bars above, over which mats or carpets are spread
to screen the traveller from the sun. Similar machines, but
shorter and narrower, are occasionally suspended lengthwise
on each side of the animal : these are called shekdef, and
contain one person each ; but they do not admit of his
stretching himself at full length, as in the other vehicle.
These conveyances are chiefly used for women, who pay
great attention to fashion and etiquette in their equipage-.
A lady of the Aenezes prefers a white or a gray camel, while
a belle in the Nejed would think herself degraded were she-
to ride any other than a black one. In Syria and Mesopota-
mia the Arabs are in the practice of mounting their saddles
with small swivel-guns, which turn upon the pommel and are
found to be as serviceable in the way of inspiring terror as
the heaviest pieces of artiller}'. The first thing that a Be-
douin examines about his camel when preparing for a long
journey is the hump. Should he find it large, he knows that
the animal will endure considerable fatigue, even with a very
moderate allowance of food ; for he believes in the proverb,
that " the camel can subsist for one expedition on the fat of
its own hump !" This index is indeed an infallible criterion
as to the ability for exertion, for whenever it subsides the
beast gradually yields to fatigue. A long journey will cause
the hump almost entirely to disappear : it is easily restored,,
however, by a few weeks of good nourishment and repose.
The favourite pace of the riding-camel is a kind of gentle
and easv amble at the rate of 5 or 5^ miles an hour ; arid this
speed the more robust will continue for six days in succes-
sion. " His back is so soft," an Arab will say in commenda-
tion of this agreeable trot, " that you may drink a cup of
coffee while you ride him."

Many stories were related to Burckhardt concerning the
wonderful performances of a breed in Eg}'pt and Nubia called
oshari, implying a camel that could travel ten days' journey
in one ; but these exploits he considered to be inventions of
the Bedouins to amuse credulous strangers. The greatest
feat of this kind that ever came to his knowledge was that
cf a camel which was to go for a wager from Esneh to Genne

THE CAMEL. 409

and back again between sunrise and sunset ; the whole dis-
tance being equal to one hundred and thirty miles. In eleven
hours its strcn£Ttli failed, after having finished about one hun-
dred and fifteen miles, and lost twenty minutes in twice
crossing the Nde in a ferry-boat ; but had it not been urged
to forced exertion, it would probably have performed one hun-
dred and eighty or even two hundred miles within the space
of twejity-four hours. Messengers have travelled in seven
days from Bagdad to Aleppo, which is a journey of twenty-
five ; and from Cairo by land to Mecca, which is forty-five
stations, in eighteen days, without chancing their camels.
But the swiftness of this animal never approaches for short
distances even to that of a common horse : though if is per-
haps unrivalled for the ease with which it will despatch an
unintennipted journey of several days and nights if allowed
its own natural pace. Twelve miles an hour is reckoned its
utmost degree of celerity in trotting ; at full speed it may gal-
lop from sixteen to eighteen, but it cannot support so violent
an effort for more than half an hour without showing symp-
toms of distress. Niebuhr calculates that the larger ones
make nine hundred and seventy-five paces in half an hour,
and the smaller one thousand and fifty. In those used for
carriage, strength is the principal quality desired. In com-
mon cases the load is from four hundred to five bundled
pounds for a short journey, and from three hundred to four
hundred pounds for one of any considerable distance. Some
will carry fifteen cwt. ; but the longer the journey, and the
fewer wells on the route, the lighter is the burden. The
capability of bearing thirst varies considerably among the
different races. The Anatolian camel requires water every
second day : in Arabia, the utmost extent to which they can
endure in summer without diinking is four days, and in cases
of absolute necessity they may perhaps go five : but in the
caravans from Darfur they travel nine or ten days without
water. Burckhardt never heard that the Arabs, even in the
extremity of their distress, slaughtered this animal for the
sake of finding a supply in its stomach to allay their thirst ;
nor did he think it likely that they would resort to this expe-
dient, as their own destruction was involved in that of the
beast on which they rode. In Egvpt they are guided by a
cord attached to a nose-ring ; but those of Arabia seldom
have their nose perforated, and ars more obedient to the
Vol. II — M m

410 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

she* «tick of the rider than to the bridle. The drivers have
a song full of guttural sounds that they chant, and by which
the animals know to halt, walk, trot, eat, drink, stop, or lie
down. In loading or unloading they are taught to obey a
particular signal, crouching down upon the ground with their
legs bent under them, so that the rider may get off and mount
again without trouble. They are content with the scantiest
fare, — a bunch of dry grass or the stunted shrubs of the
desert. Their ordinary food is a ball of paste (maabQitk)
weighing about a pound, made of barley-meal and water,
which each receives in the evening ; and this is all the daily
expense of these useful creatures. The value of the camel
depends of course on its kind and quality. In Hejaz, Burck-
hardt states that the price of a good one was sixty dollars, or
14:1. ; but they sometimes cost 150, or 35/. ; and Saoud has
been known to pay as much as 300, or 70/., for one of the
Oman breed. They are subject to various defects and dis-
eases, which very much affect their value ; such as stiffness
of the neck, tremor and swellings in the hind-legs, pustules
about the mouth, ulceration below the chest, and colic and
diarrhoea, which generally prove fatal. To most of these
distempers the Arabs apply cautery, as well as to the wounds
or injuries which are often occasioned by bad pack-saddles,
or burdens of too great a weight. No pain, however, pro-
vokes the generous animal to refuse the load or throw it on
the ground. Overcome with hunger and fatigue, it spends
its latest breath in its master's service, and leaves its bones
to whiten and rot in the desert.

Dromedary . — This animal was considered by the ancients
as a distinct species of the camel. Diodorus and Strabo
gave it the appellation of dvomos or the runner, to distinguish
it from the Bacht, or Bactrian camel, which was reckoned best
adapted for carrj'ing burdens. It is, however, rather a va-
riety of the same species, and is found sometimes with a
single and sometimes with a double hump. It breeds readily
with the common came!. The Anatolian or Turkoman race
are produced between an Arab she-camel and the double-
humped dromedrary from the Crimea. A dromedary and a
she Turkoman produce a small handsome camel (called
taous), which has a very tlixk growth of long hair under the
neck reaching almost to ihe ground ; and two humps, one of
which the natives cut pii' to render it more fit for bearing a

SHEEP GOATS DOGS. 411

load. The Arabs have none with a double hump ; nor did
Burckhardt meet with any of them in Syria ; and the only
one seen by Niebuhr was in a town in Anatoha, to which it
had been brought from the Crimea. "It differs," says Hcn-
niker, " in its make, its uses, and its master, only as a hunter
differs from a pack-horse." Chenier says this animal can
travel si.xty leagues in a day, or 145 J miles ; and some of
the African Bedouins have offered to ride 400 miles through
the Great Sahara in four days. His motion is so violent and
rapid that the rider must be girded to the saddle, and have a
handkerchief before his mouth to break the current of the
wind.

Sheep and goats form a considerable part of the pastoral
wealth of the Arabs, but there seems to be nothing very
peculiar in the breed. Russell and Barthema relate that the
sheep have a thick and broad tail, which they drag behind
them, supported on a small carriage. In Hejaz, Ali Bey
remarked that the tail, though large, was less so than in the
southern countries ; while Burckhardt informs us, that in the
northern deserts this appendage is of the ordinary size.
The ears, however, are rather bigger than those of the com-
mon Enghsh kind. In the neighbourhood of Mecca and
Medina he noticed a diminutive species with a white and
brown spotted -ekin. They are purchased as rarities by
foreigners. At Cairo, where they are kept in the houses
of the grandees, they are painted red with henna, and
have a collar with little bells hung round their neck to
amuse the children. The Aenezes shear their flocks yearly
about the end of spring ; they generally sell the wool before
it is cut from the sheep's back, at so much per hundred
The greater part of them are black, having the head and
neck, or sometimes only the face, white. The goats also
are mostly black, with long ears. The male lambs and kids
are sold or slauglitered, except two or three which are kept
for breeding. The ewes and goats are milked morning and
evening during the three spring months. From the milk of
one hundred (which is always mixed together) the Bedouins
expect, in common years, about eight pounds of butter per
day ; of this a single family will consume about two quintals
(about two hundred and twenty pounds) a year ; the remain-
der is carried to the market.

Of dogs tliere are several varieties in the domesticated

412 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

State. There is a wild kind called dcrboun, of a black col-
our, wnich is found in the countn^ -near Syria, and eaten by
the Fellahs. Those which Ali Bey saw at Mecca appeared
to be of the shepherd breed ; and as they had no owners
they roamed about the streets at pleasure. This animal
being declared unclean by the Koran, the Mohammedans
v-ill not allow it to enter their houses. Linnaeus, speaking
of the dog, says, " a Mahometanis expellitur." In Egypt,
they are obliged to resort to the house-tops ; and Burckhardt
observes, as a circumstance worthy of remark, that Medina,
so far as he knew, was the only town in the East from which
they were entirely excluded. They are never admitted
within the gates, but must remain in the suburbs, lest they
should chance to pollute the sanctity of the mosque. The
watchmen assemble and make a regular search once a year
for the purpose of driving out such intruders as may have
crept into the city unperceived. The Bedouins, as we learn
from Sonnini, who are less superstitious than the Turks,
have a fine breed of very tall greyhounds, wliich serve not
only for the chase, but likewise mount guard around their
tents. They have a great affection for them, and to kill one
of these useful domestics incurs a heavy penalty. Keppel,
on his route from Korna to Bagdad, saw some of tliis species :
they ai-e beautiful animals, somewhf\,t less *in size than the
English ; the ears hang down ; and these, as well as the
tail, are covered with fine silky hair. He mentions an odd
circumstance, that the Faithful are not allowed to touch a
dog except on the crown of the head ; that being the only
part free from pollution, as he cannot lick it with his tongue.
The cat is held in good repute, from the belief that it was a
favourite with Mohammed. It seems to be the sam.e speciea
as the European, only a little smaller. The domestic mouse
of the Arabs resembles our own : but, accordincr to Ali Bev,
they are more fierce and troublesome. " I never saw,"
says he, " any mice so bold as those of Mecca. As I had
my bed on the floor, they danced and leaped upon me every
night. I gave them some blov/s, which m.ade them fly." In
spite of, this warning, however, they returned to the charge
and bit his fingers, having been attracted by the smell of
6ome bahn of juniper wiiich he had been handling, and had
neglected to v/ash off. Even when his bed was suspended,
these imperturbable vermin leaped from the nearest furniture

BIRDS. 413

on the coverlid, and quietly stared him in the face, but would
not permit themselves to be touched.

Birds. — Travellers have had but few opportunities of ex-
amining the winged tribes of Arabia ; though that country is
by no means deficient in the number or variety which it
produces. In the fertile districts, tame fowls are very plen-
tiful, and all sorts of poultry, — hens, ducks, geese, and tur-
keys,— are bred in great abundance. The pintado or guinea-
fowl is not domestic ; but they inhabit the woods in such
numbers, that children kill them with stones, and sell them
in the towns. The pheasant, and several varieties of the
pigeon species, abound in the forests of Yemen. In the
plains are to be seen the gray partridge, the common lark,
and a sort of white crane with the under part of the belly of a
beautiful red. About Mount Sinai, Henniker found many
coveys of partridges ; some the red-legged of the Grecian
Isles ; others brown, and differing but little from the Eng-
lish ; and a third sort speckled like the quail. Over all that
peninsula, and in every part of Syria, the kalla (a kind of par-
tridge) is met with in immense numbers, especially in May
and June. They fly in such large flocks, that the Arab boys
often knock down two or three at a time, merely by throwing
a stick among them. Burckhardt thinks it not improbable
that this bird is the seluca, or quail of the Children of Israel.*
The Bedouins mentioned to him a large eagle, which carried
off their lambs, and whose outspread wings measured six
feet. The one called rakham is very common in these
mountains ; and the fields are infested by vast numbers of
crows, which are sometimes eaten, although forbidden both
by the Mohammedan and the Levitical law. Of birds of
prey, the Arabs have falcons, spunow-hawks, bustards, and
vultures. The latter are of great service to the natives by
clearing the earth of all carcasses, which corrupt very rap-
idly, and are extremely noisome in warm climates. They
also destroy the fieldmice, which multiply so prodigiously in
some districts, that were it not for this asoistance the pea-
sant would find it absolutely in vain to cultivate his fields.
It was gratitude for these important offices that induced the
ancient Egyptians to pay them divine honours ; and even at

* It has been particularly described in Russell's Hist, of
Aleppo, voL ii. p. 94.

Mm 2

414 NATURAL HISTORY Or ARABIA.

present it is held unlawful to liill them in all hot countries
which they frequent.

The Ostrich. — Ostriches (called by the Arabs Naamah and
Thar es Jemmel, or the camel-bird) are to be met with in the
deserts ; the Bedouins, however, do not tame them when
young, nor take the trouble of hunting them. Burckhardt
saw two in Wady Tyh ; but on a shot being fired, they were
out of sight in an instant. They chiefly inhabit the plains
towards Gebel Shammar and Nejed. "WTien full grown, the
neck, particularly of the male, is covered with beautiful red
feathers. The plumage upon the shoulders, back, and some
parts of the wings, from being of a dark grayish colour, be-
comes black as jet ; while the tail and the rest of the feathers
are of an exquisite whiteness. The belly, thighs, and breast
do not partake of this covering, being usually naked. The
female is of a spotted gray colour. Under the joint of the
great pinion, and sometimes upon the smaller, there is a
strong pointed excrescence like a cock's spur, with which,
accordino- to certain naturalists, it stimulates itself when
pursued. In speed it outstrips the fleetest horse, being
aiisisted by the quick vibratory motion of its wings. In
feeding it is voracious, devouring every thing indiscrimin-
ately, insects, reptiles, leather, rags, wood, stones, and even
iron. Shaw says he saw one swallow, without any apparent
uneasiness, several leaden bullets as they were thrown upon
the floor scorching hot from the mould ; a proof that they
are well furnished with pov/erful digestive organs. Though
naturally shy, they are fierce and mischievous when tamed,
especially to strangers ; they peck with their bills, and strike
so violently with their feet, that they have been knovni to
rip open a man's belly with their pointed angular claw at a
single blow. This bird breeds in the middle of winter, and
lavs from twelve to twenty-one eggs, — some say from thirty
to fifty, — while others make them amount to eighty. The
nest is made on the ground, generally at the foot of some
isolated hill. The eggs are placed close together in a circle,
half-buried in the sand to protect them from rain ; and a nar-
row trench is drawn round, which carries off' the water. At
the distance of ten or twelve feet from this circle the female
is said to place several other eggs, which she does not hatch,
as these are intended for the young ones to feed upon ; in-
stinct having taught her to make this provision for her oif-

THK SAMARMAN. 415

spring, which might otherwise perish of hunger In the desert.*
The parents sit by turns ; for it is an error to suppose that
they leave their eggs to be hatched in the sun ; and while
one is on the nest the other keeps watch on the summit of tlie
adjacent hill, which circumstance sometimes enables the
Arabs to kill tliem. The usual mode of taking them is by
digging a hole in the ground near the eggs, into which the
Bedouin puts his loaded gun pointed towards the nest, and
having a long burning match fastened to the lock. After he
has retired for some time, the ostrich returns, and ncrt per-
ceiving any enemy it rejoins its mate sitting upon the eggs.
In a short while, the match being burnt down, the gun 13
discharged ; and the two birds are frequently killed at one
shot. The inhabitants in the district of Jof purchase and
eat their flesh ; the eggs are reckoned delicious food, and
are sold for about a shilling each. The shells are hung in
rooms as ornaments ; and the feathers are carried to the
markets of Aleppo and Damascus, where they bring about
two shillings a piece. Sometimes the whole skin is sold with
the feathers upon it : the price, when Burckhardt was at
Aleppo in 1811, was from 250 to 600 piastres the rotolo,
being from 21. lOs. to 6/. per lb. A beautiful lapwing
(called hudhud) is common on the shores of the Persian Gulf.
The Arabs have a fabulous tradition, perhaps descended from
Solomon, that its language may be understood.

There is a bird named Samarman or Samarmog, to which
the Arabs pay a degree of respect bordering on adoration.
It is thought to be a native of Khorasan, and is ranked among
the thrashes by Forskal, who calls it Turdus celeucus. It
comes annually into Arabia in pursuit of the locusts, of
which it destroys incredible numbers. The service done
bv it, in protecting vegetation from the desolating ravages of
these insects, has given rise to several ridiculous and super-
stitious practices. The Syrian Arabs believe that it is
attracted from Persia by means of water, which for tiiis pur-
pose they bring from a distance with great ceremony, and
preserve in a stone reservoir on the top of the tower of a
mosque at Mosul, ^^^len this consecrated liquid fails, the in-
habitants are in despair. The periodical visits of the samar-

* This instinctive habit of the female ostrich is, however,
doubled by some authors.

416 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA

man are easily accounted for on the principle of instinct,
which prompts it not only to feed on locusts, but to kill as
many of them as possible ; and hence, it naturally follows
them in the course of their passage. The Arabs named to
Forskal several other birds which he could never see, and
of which, consequently, he did not ascertain the genus. Of
these were the Sumana ; the Salra, which he understood to
be the rail, a bird of passage which frequents some districts ;
the Thar d Hind, remarkable for its gilded plumage, and
supposed from the name to come from India ; the Achjal,
famous for the beautiful feathers with which the Highlanders
adorn their bonnets : so careful is the bird about their growth,
that it is said to bore a hole in the nest to preserve them un-
injured. Game is abundant in Arabia, especially on the plains
along the Euphrates, — the ancient kingdom of' Nimrod, that
" mighty hunter before the Lord." The inhabitants, how-
ever, regard neither the exercise nor the amusement of fowl-
Jng. "With a people living in a climate where animal food
is injurious to health, game is despised. The precepts of the
Koran are inimical to the diversion of field-sports. The
labours of the huntsman or the fowler are lost, and his prev
becomes impure, if he has but neglected the repetition of one
short prayer when he killed the animal ; if it has not lost the
exact quantity of blood required by the law ; if the beast or
bird struggled with any remains of life after it was shot ; or
if it fell upon a place which was either inhabited or in any
manner defiled. These causes will explain why the Arabs
have an apathy or aversion for those sports of which savages
in other countries are so passionately fond. From the nature
of the climate, it cannot be expected that Arabia possesses
any great variety of waterfowl. In marshy places, however,
cranes, herons, snipes, storks, swans, pelicans, and a beauti-
ful species of the plover, are found. Sea-birds are numerous
on the coasts, especially those of the Red Sea, which is co-
piously stored with fish. Besides gulls, of which there are
a variety of species, Niebuhr saw in one of the islands of
that gulf pelicans which had built nests, and laid eggs as
large as those of the common aroose.

Reptiles. — The Danish travellers never met with the sea-
tortoise ; but the land-tortoise was not uncommon. In sev-
eral places they saw the peasants bring them in loads to the
market The Eastern Christians eat them in Lent, and

REPTILES. 417

drink their blood wilh great relish. The lizard-tribe nro 7iu-
merous. On the coast and in the valleys of Petraea, Burck-
harJt saw a species called dhob, that has a scaly yellow-col-
oured skin, of which the natives make tobacco-pouches. Tiie
largest are about eighteen inches in lengtli, and the tail mea-
sures nearly one-half. Another sort of lizard is that called
jccko, the saliva of which, falling upon victuals, is said by
the Egyptians to infect the person that eats them with Icp-
rosv. Scorpions are numerous in the deserts, particularly
on the confines of Palestine, which they have continued to
infest since the time when the Children of Israel " passed
through that great and terrible wilderness." Dent. viii. 15.
Ali Bey saw a very large one in the great court of the Tem-
jp4e at Mecca. It was of a sallow colour, and walked with
the tail bent over its back. Its length appeared to be about
fiix inches. Of serpents there are several sorts whose bite
is mortal ; though the harmless are more numerous than the
dangerous. The only kind that is truly formidable is that
called bcztan^ a small slender creature, spotted black and
white. The bite is said to cause instant death ; while the
dead body is swelled by the poison in a very extraordinary
mamier. It has been remarked that, in general, life is en-
dangered by the woimd of such only as have a distinct set
of teeth larger than the rest, which serve to conduct the
poison. Of this peculiarity the Arabs are av^-are ; and they
scruple not to play freely with these reptiles after the fatal
teeth are extracted. In some species, tlie bite occasions
merely a disagreeable itching, which the Bedouins cure by
applying the leaves of the caper-tree. Serpents are very
common in the Petraean deserts. -On the shore near Akaba
Burckharut observed the sand everywhere bearing impres-
sions of their passage crossing each other in all directions ;
and from the traces it appeared that the bodies of some of
tliem could not be less than tv.-o inches in diameter. He
was told that the fishermen were much afraid of them, and
.ahvavs extinguished their fires in the evening before going
to sleep, as the light was known to attract them. It was
while traversing these wilds, " from Hor to the Red Sea, to
compass the land of Edom," that many of the Israelites were
destroyed by these venomous reptiles (^sumb. xxi. 4-6. Deut.
viii. 15), called somewhat inaccurately fiery or flying serpents.*

* The meaning of the original is " serpents whose bite cause*

418 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

Fishes. — The Arabian seas swarm with a-ll sorts of fishes.
In the short passage between Suez and Jidda, Forskal ob-
served more than a hundred new species, only a part of which
he could rank among the known genera. Of these were
some with which he was familiar ; such as crabs, oysters,
cod, mackerel, mullet, scarus, perch, and ray, but of species
unknown in our seas. Others, such as the Chcetodon and the
Scia:na, are peculiar to the waters of hot climates. Troops
of flying-fishes w^ere seen, which rose from time to time
above the surface. Of those observed by Captain Head near
Loheia, some were spotted with glowing green and blue,
others tinted W'ith bright red. The Arabs on the coast, as
well as their cattle, subsist almost entirely on this kind of
food ; but the fishermen always kill their prey before bring-
ing them ashore, for fear of violating some precept of the
Mohammedan law.*

Insects. — The locust, both from its numbers and its de-
structiveness, is the most formidable of all the Arabian in-
sects. There appears to be various species. Forskal calls
that which infests Arabia GrylLus gregarius, from their liv-
incr and travelling in coninanies : and thinks it different from
the Gryllus migralorius of Linnaeus, which passes from its
native deserts of Tartary into Poland and Germany. Nie-
buhr found nests of these insects near Mosul, which
he thought, with proper care, might easily have been de-
stroyed. They are said to breed three times in the year.
When young, they are about the size of a fly, but grow
with great rapidity, and attain their natural size in a few
days. The prodigious quantities in which they take their
flight is almost incredible. Their swarms darken the air,
and appear at a distance like clouds of smoke. The noise

death by inflammation." Burckhardt observes, that the Arabic
■* ersion of the Pentateuch is more correct than our translation,
by rendering it "serpents of burning bites, instead of "fiery
serpents."

* All Bey has noticed a battle of fishes in the Red Sea, be-
tween Jidda and Yembo. The scene of action, — a circular
space of twenty feet diameter, — was indicated by the bubbling
and noise of the water, which e.xtended to a considerable dis-
tance. During the finny combat, swarms of seafowl hovered
over the spot, with a viev,- no doubt to feast on the slain, — Trav-
tls, vol. ii. p. 148.

LOCUSTS. 419

they make in flying is like the rush of a waterfall, and stuna
the inhabitants with fear and astonishment. Wlien they
alight upon a field, it is wasted and despoiled of its verdure
in an instant. The palm-trees are stripped of every leaf and
green p;irlicle. — nothing being loft but naked boughs as in
the dead of winter. Pulse and succalent crops are devoured ;
but grain, either ripe or nearly so, is preserved, being too
hard for their use. No pen has so beautifully depicted their
ravages as that of the Prophet Joel : — " The land is as the
garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate
wilderness."* Africa, Egypt, Persia, and the whole of Asia,
are subject to their visitations. In Arabia the locusts come
invariably from the East, which makes the Arabs suppose
that they are produced by the water of the Persian Gulf.
Nejed is particularly exposed to their ravages ; and when
they have destroyed xhe harvests, they penetrate bv thou-
sands into private dwellings, and devour whatever they can
find, — even the leather of the water-vessels. The Bedouins
of Sinai are frequently driven to despair by the multitudes of
these vermin, which remain generally during a space of
forty or fifty days, and then disappear for the rest of the sea-
son. They arrive towards the end of May, when the Plei-
ades are setting, which leads the natives to suppose that
locusts entertain a dread .for that constellation. A few visit
the country annually ; but the great flights take place every
fourth or fifth year. All Arabs, except those of Sinai, wher-
ever they reside, are accustomed to eat locusts. In almost
every town there are shops where they are sold by measure.
In preparing them the cook throws them alive into boiling
water, with which a good deal of salt has been mixed. After
a few minutes they are taken out, and dried in the sun ; the
head, feet, and wings, are then torn off; the bodies are
cleansed from the salt, and perfectly dried, after which they
are put up into sacks or bags. Sometimes they are broiled
in butter, and spread on the unleavened bread used at break-
fast. The Jewish Arabs believe that the food of which the
Israelites ate so abundantly in the desert was showers of
locusts ; and they laugh at our translators, who suppose that
quails were rained where quails were never found.

♦ See Africa, in Edinburgh Cabinet Library, 2d edit. p. 500,
501.

420 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

Another scourge of Arabia, and of hot countries in gen-'
eral, is a small insect named arda {Termes faiale, Linn.), of
the bulk of a grain of barley. On account of some general
resemblance, this insect is represented as an ant. Its instinct
disposes it to travel only by night ; it forms a sort of galleiy
or mine in the earth ; and, after reaching the end of its jour-
ney, it destroys every thing, — victuals, clothes, and furni-
tiu-e. At Beit el Fakih, the Danish travellers were griev-
ously annoyed by them ; they invaded their chambers, and
persisted in their attacks with singular obstinacy. They are
very destructive to trees, the sweetness of whose leaves and
fmit is extremely gratifying to them. To preserve their gar-
dens from ruin, the natives are obliged to surround the trunks
with sheep's dung, the smell of which this insect cannot en-
dure. In Arabia there are many species of ants, all of which
are harmless, except two ; one of thes^ attacks the natives,
and its bite is little less painful than that of the scorpion ;
the other settles upon their victuals with great avidity, and
can only oe driven away by the odour of camphor. They are
likewise much infested by a sort of scolopendra, which tor-
ments with a burning pain those on whom it fixes. This
insect inserts its feet into the tiesh, so that it is imp€>ssible to
get rid of it, othei-wise than by successively burning all the
parts affected with a hot iron. Ajiother venomous insect,^
resembling a spider, which infests the deserts, is that to which
the Bedouins give the name of abou hanekein, or the two-
mouthed. Its length is about three inches ; it has five long
legs on both sides, covered hke the body with salcz or bris-
tles, of a light-yellow colour. The head is long and pointed,
with large black eyes ; the mouth is armed with two pairs
of fangs, one above the other, recurved and extremely sharp.
It makes its appearance only at night, and is chiefly attracted
by fire. The Arabs entertain the greatest dread of them ;
their bite, if not always mortal, produces vomiting, swelling,
and the most excruciating pains. Among the tenebrioncs is
one species which destroys reeds and attacks the stalks of
corn, where it deposites its eggs. Another icnebrio, found
among the filth of gardens, is used as an article of female
luxury Plumpness being thought a beauty in the East, both
the Turkish and Arab wonaen, in order to obtain this envi-
able obesity, swallow every morning and evening three of
these insects fried in butter.

SHELLS. 421^

Shells. — It would he difficult to enumerate the vast diver-^
sity of shells that adorn the banks, or lie in the shallows of
the Arabian Seas. Cijprcce are seen in the Gulf of Suez,
beautifully spotted, and in a great variety of sizes. Turbin-
ated and bivalve shells are also common, remarkable not
only for the luxuriance of their colours, but so exceed-
ingly capacious that Burcina have been found a foot and a
half long, while some of the bivalve specimens are as much
in diameter. There are three kinds of shell-tish highly val-
ued on account of the pearls which they contain. The first
of these is a muscle, which is found ciiiefly on the Egyptian
coast of the Gulf; the second is a Pinna, rough, brittle, and
of a beautiful red colour ; the third bears a resemblance to
our oyster. The pearl of the first is seldom of a clear col-
our, but esteemed for its form and lustre ; the second yields
a rich mother-of-pearl, of a white colour, tinged with a deli-
cate shade of red ; the third, called lulu el berber, is most
sought after. Vast quantities of it are carried to Jerusalem,
where it is used in veneering, or formed into boxes, beads,
and crucifixes. Bruce says that he observed none of these
shells on either side of the Gulf southward of the parallel of
Mocha. Edrisi mentions a place on the western arm of the
sea where pearls were found ; and Burckhardt states that the
Bedouins still pick up a considerable quantity there, which
they sell to advantage to the ships that anchor at Moilah.
Nor is this the only benefit which the Arabs derive from their
marine wealth ; much of the furniture and utensils of their
liouses, as well as their personal ornaments, are supplied from
this watery magazine. The Nautilus serves them instead of
a cup ; the Buccinum instead of a jar ; and a bivalve is the
dish or platter from which they eat their food. Fossil shells
are not very common ; yet at Wady Gharcndel, Ayoun Mousa,
Tor, and Suez, Shaw found quantities of ChamcE, Pcclun-
culi, Echini, and other species ; most of which corresponded
exactly with their respective families still contained in the
Red Sea. Most of the echini are remarkably beautiful, —
some being flat and unarmed, of the pentaphylloid kind ;
others oval or globular, very elegantly studded with little
knobs, and covered with prickles, which are sometimes
thicker than a swan's quill. The Astcrias or star-fish is an-
other of these marine productions. Shaw observed some of

Vol. II.— N n

423 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARABIA.

them nine inches in diameter ; but there seemed to be nothing
peculiar in their habits or conformation.

Coral Banks. — AVe have already spoken of those immense
masses of submarine rocks, formed by myriads of minute
creatures of the polypus kind, called Polypes a polypiers by
the French naturalists, which traverse and almost fill up the
Arabian Gulf. In some places they rise ten fathoms above
the surface of the water. Being soft, and easily wrought,
they are preferred to all other stones for the purpose of
building. Most of the houses in Tehama are constructed of
this material ; so that every cottage is a cabinet of natural
history. The island of Kameran is formed entirely of coral
rock, which rises without the slightest inquality of surface to
the height of twenty feet above the level of the sea. The
quantity of madrepores, iiiillepores, algje, and other sub-
stances, which procured for that gulf the name of the Weedy
Sea, is immense. When rowing gently along in a calm day,
they appear to the eye much the same as in the time of Strabo
and Pliny, who described them as forests under water. Nor
is the comparison inapposite. Shaw remarks that several of
them were eight or ten feet high, growing sometimes pyra-
midal like the cypress ; at other times their branches spread
more open, resembling the oak ; while the entire bottom waa
overlaid with a rich green carpet of creeping plants. At
low water, especially after strong tides or high winds, these
marine productions are cast ashore in great quantities. The
coralline bodies increase to an extraordinary size. Several
of them, such as the yneandrma^ or brainsto7ic, are observed
to retain constantly a certain specific form ; while the astroite
madrepores have each their different asterisks or starlike fig-
ures impressed upon their surface. They assume the most
fantastic shapes, as m course of their increase they mould
themselves into the figures of rocks, shells, and other ob-
jects that lie within the reach of their growth. With respect
to the other inhabitants of the waters, it is sufficient to state
that both the Red Sea and especially the Arabian Gulf
swarm with species of Medusa, Salpce, FistulancB, and other
kinds, which led Forskal to believe that the phosphorescence
of the seas was owing to the immense mmibers of these
animals.

THE END.

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