alliance between Mahomet and the people of Medina was ratified by the latter protesting in the name of their wives, children, and absent brethren, that they would for ever profess the creed, and observe the precepts of the Koran. When Mahomet was established at Mecca, he assumed the exercise of the regal and sacerdotal office; and having acquired, either by gift or purchase, a piece of ground, built upon it a temple of worship, and a residence for himself. His proselytes increased with amazing rapidity, and being now exalted by the choice of an independent people to the rank of a sovereign, he was invested with the offices of waging offensive or defensive war: he accordingly assumed a fiercer and more sanguinary tone than he had been accustomed to use, when his moderation was the effect of his weakness. In announcing his revelations, he pretended to have received commands for propagating his religion by the sword, for destroying the monuments of idolatry, and for pursuing the unbelieving nations of the earth. He carefully and diligently trained his followers for the warfare, to which he intended to conduct them, and displayed his white banner before the walls of Medina; uniting the professions of a merchant and a robber, his petty excursions for the attack of a caravan gradually prepared his troops for the conquest of all Arabia. The distribution of the spoil was regulated, as he pretended, by a divine law; onefifth of it being reserved by himself for pious and charitable uses, and the remainder distributed amongst such of his troops as had lent their assistance in gaining it. From all sides the Arabs were allured to the standard of superstition and plunder: "the prophet" indulged the disposition of his countrymen by sanctifying the commission of the grossest indignities upon the captives, and the enjoyments afforded by such a system of merciless rapine were pronounced by him to be but a feeble type of the joys of paradise prepared for " the martyrs of the faith."

30. The first military expedition undertaken by Mahomet, and which in the event served to establish his reputation, was against the Koreish, whom he completely reduced to obedience. He subsequently marched against a Jewish tribe who had assisted them, and after having conquered them, he compelled 700 of them to descend alive into the grave prepared for their execution and burial: plunder and cruelty marked his future footsteps against this people, and the seat of their power in Arabia was speedily reduced. It is somewhat singular that a hatred of the Jews, to whose Scriptures he was indebted for the best parts of his religion, should have formed so distinguishing a feature in the character of the Arabian prophet. Subsequent to this he marched against Mecca, of which he finally gained possession, not only by his superior force but by the affected devotion and crafty policy, which he found it useful amply to display: the inhabitants of the city obtained their pardon by the profession of Islam, and, after an exile of seven years, the fugitive missionary was enthroned as the prince and prophet of his native country. The 360 idols of the Kaaba were ignominiously demolished; the temple was purified and adorned; and an unchangeable law was enacted, that no unbeliever should dare to set his foot on the territory of "the holy city." The conquest of Mecca determined the faith and obedience of the Arabian tribes, who being awed, or divided, or subdued, severally submitted, and thus increased the power of Mahomet. The temples and idols of the country were every where destroyed, and the ambassadors, who prostrated themselves before the throne of Medina, were as numerous, according to an Arabian proverb, as the dates that fall from the maturity of a palm-tree. The whole nation submitted to the God and the Sceptre of Mahomet, and 114,000 Moslems accompanied the last pilgrimage of this successful impostor. On this occasion he took with him all his wives, fifteen in number, to this, the people had been accustomed to compute from the commencement of a particular war, the day of a remarkable battle, or other occasional event of importance to their little communities. In order to remedy this confusion, the Calif enjoined the observance of a determinate era, in which the strongest prejudices of the people should be made to concur with the sovereign authority: the date of the Hegira was therefore from that time forward always expressed in every public act and letter. Owing to the difference between the length of our year and that of the Mahometans, the commencement of each year of the Hegira never falls on the same day of the month according to our calendar, but anticipates about eleven days: the year of our Lord 1840 corresponds with the years 1255-6 of the Hegira, the Mahometan new year commencing about the 4th of March.

for however he might restrict his disciples as to polygamy by the precepts of his religion, he claimed a special exemption for himself in this matter, and pretended a special revelation which dispensed with his observance of the laws imposed by him upon his nation: and he even carried his hypocrisy so far as to insert new chapters in the Koran, containing these special dispensations. He likewise took with him a number of camels intended for sacrifice, and the ceremonial which he observed at the sacred city, has served as a model to the Moslems of succeeding ages.

31. It was in the 7th. year of the Hegira that Mahomet began to think of propagating his religion beyond the bounds of Arabia, and deputed messengers to invite the neighbouring princes to embrace Mahometanism. The Persians, with their sovereign, after some hesitation, avowed themselves proselytes. The emperor Heraclius at first treated his message with respect, and it has been idly said of him, that he would have professed the new faith if he had not been afraid of losing his crown. Mahomet prepared to effect by conquest what he failed to accomplish by a peaceful message, but he was obliged to desist from the undertaking as too hazardous, and indeed impracticable. The first conflict between the troops of Mahomet and the emperor Heraclius took place in Palestine in the 8th. year of the Hegira, when the three chief leaders of the army of " the faithful" were left dead on the field: but the Mahometan name spread such terror around, that the prophet received the submission of the tribes and cities from the R. Euphrates to Ailah at the head of the Red Sea. In the confidence of his power he had declared war against Heraclius, and commenced marching towards the Syrian frontier, but the fatigues which he encountered induced him to rest satisfied with writing to the emperor urging his conversion, after which he returned to Medina. Till the age of 63 years, Mahomet retained a vigour of constitution which enabled him to endure the corporeal and spiritual fatigues of his mission; in the course of this imposture, he had fought in person at nine battles or sieges, and fifty military enterprizes had been achieved by himself or his lieutenants. He ascribed the cause of his death to poison administered to him by a Jewish woman, from a motive of revenge, as some have said, or according to others, from a desire of putting his prophetic character to the test: however this may be, his mortal disease was a fever of 14 days, which at intervals deprived him of the use of his reason. He died A.D. 632, in the 11th. year of the Hegira, at the age of 63. He was interred at Medina, in a grave dug in the chamber where he died, over which a magnificent building was erected by one of the succeeding califs. It is hardly necessary to mention, unless with a view of exposing it, the vulgar and ridiculous story invented and propagated by the Greeks and Latins, that Mahomet's tomb is suspended in the air at Mecca by the action of equal and potent load-stones: for he was not buried at Mecca, and his tomb at Medina, which has been visited by millions, is placed on the ground. He was succeeded, agreeably to his wishes, by his friend and favourite Aboubeker, who, after a reign of two years, was followed by Omar: the latter, in the 12th. year of his reign, received a mortal wound from the hand of an assassin, and made way for the succession of Othman, the secretary of Mahomet. After the third Calif, and 24 years after the death of the prophet, the popular choice fell upon Ali, who was accordingly invested with the regal and sacerdotal office.

32. After the death of Mahomet, a schism arose amongst his followers, which divided them into two great factions, whose separation not only gave rise to a variety of opinions and rites, but also excited the most implacable hatred, and the most deadly animosities. Of these factions, the one acknowledged Aboubeker, the fatherin-law of Mahomet, as his successor and the true calif, and its members were distinguished by the name of Sonnites; while the other adhered to Ali, the prophet's sonin-law, and were known by the name of Schiites. Both adhered to the Koran as a divine law, and the rule of faith and manners; to which indeed the former added, by way of interpretation, the Sonna, i. e. a certain law, which they looked upon as descended from Mahomet by oral tradition, and which the Schiites refused to admit. The Sonnites are sometimes called the Sect of Omar, from their following the interpretation of the Koran given by Omar; whilst the Schiites are termed the Sect of Ali, from their having followed the doctrines of Ali on the same subjects. The Turks, Tartars, Arabians, Africans, and the greater part of the Indian Mahometans are Sonnites; whereas the Persians and many of the subjects of the Grand Mogul are generally considered as Schütes, though the latter seem rather to observe a strict neutrality

in this contest. Besides these two grand factions, there are other subordinate sects among the Mahometans, which dispute with warmth concerning several points of religion, though without violating the rule of mutual toleration.

33. Several califs succeeded Mahomet, and ruled with powerful sway in different parts of Arabia, but their families were gradually extinguished: they were succeeded by various sovereigns, who made themselves masters of several districts, till at last the Turks overran almost every province in the country. About the year 1720, a shekh, named Abd-ul-Wehhab, was born in the district of Nedsjed, in the central part of Arabia, and studied there, or at Medina, those branches of science and learning which are usually cultivated in the country. Having travelled in several of the surrounding countries, he returned to his native place to propagate his opinions amongst his countrymen, and succeeded in converting several shekhs, whose subjects became followers of this new teacher. Abd-ul-Wehhab, whilst acknowledging fully the authority of the Koran, professed obedience only to the literal text of this book, rejecting all the additions of the imams and doctors of law, and condemning many superstitions which had gradually crept into the faith. He forbade all devotion to the person of the prophet, and pilgrimage to his tomb at Medina; regarding him simply as a man charged with a divine mission, which being completed, he became again an ordinary mortal. The story of Mahomet's ascent to Paradise, together with a host of miraculous events related in the life of the prophet, he wholly denied: he equally rejected the indirect worship of certain saints, who had been gradually insinuated into the Mussulman calendar, destroying the chapels and tombs consecrated to them. He prohibited not only the use of opium and tobacco, but that of silk and the precious metals, and ordained that their religious services should be performed underneath the open sky, rather than below the roofing of a mosque. The grand doctrine of this sect, and what they regard as the basis of true Islamism, is the unity of God: this forms their cry when they go to war, and justifies to themselves the violences they commit upon the corrupters of the faith. While forbidden to make some pilgrimages, others are permitted to them; they kiss the stone of the Kaaba, drink of the water of Zemzem, and throw stones against the pillar said to have been built by the devil at Mina. Notwithstanding these changes, however, and the general spirit of their doctrine, they still retain many superstitions common to all Mussulmans: their creed in general may be regarded as a reformed Mahometanism, stripped of many of those things which strike the senses, and to which, owing to the rude ignorance of the Arabs, the impostor of Mecca owed much of his success. The Shekhs, who first joined Abd-ul-Wehhab, had been previously in a state of hostility against one another, but they became reconciled by his mediation, and agreed for the future to undertake no enterprize without the advice of their new teacher. They were by degrees joined by many others, and became at last a very formidable body, assuming the name of Wehhabis or Wahabees, after that of the founder of their sect, and established the great seat of their power at Deriah, in the very heart of Arabia. They made themselves masters of the whole interior part of the country, and exacted a tribute for the purpose of carrying on war against the infidels: they obtained possession of Mecca and Medina, and extended their military excursions as far as the vicinity of Bagdad. The conquest of all Arabia was at last nearly completed, and the prince of the Wahabees became a very formidable neighbour to the surrounding pachas of Egypt, Damascus, and Bagdad. The first of these governors, however, at the commencement of the present century sent a strong army against them, in order to liberate the holy city and shrine from the power of these heretics, as well as to gain favour with the Sublime Porte, and reputation among all true Mussulmans. He succeeded in retaking Mecca, Medina, and Jiddah, but his victory was far from being complete, as were its consequences from being permanent; and though the Wahabees retired for a time from the coast to their desert recesses in the interior of Arabia, they resumed by degrees their boldness and authority.

34. Akaba, or Kalaat-el-Accaba, stands at the head of the G. of Akaba, which is the North Eastern arm of the Red Sea: it occupies the site of the ancient Elana, or Ailath, and is now rather a strong fort in the occupation of the Pacha of Egypt, but the garrison pay him little respect, as they generally take part with the Arabs. Medina lies in the midst of a fertile country, about 80 miles from the Red Sea, and on the banks of a little rivulet called the Wadi el Akik. It is sur

rounded by a slight wall, most of the houses are meanly built, and the place is of no importance except from its containing the sepulchre of Mahomet. This tomb is not superior to those usually erected by the founders of mosques to perpetuate their own memory, and is placed between two others containing the remains of the first califs Aboubeker and Omar. It once possessed an immense treasure of pearls, precious stones, &c., accumulated during a series of ages by the contributions of rich Mussulmans, but they were carried off some years ago by the Wahabees, during one of their predatory excursions into this part of the country. These treasures were constantly guarded by forty eunuchs, whose chief duty, however, now consists in keeping off such of the populace as attempt to carry away relics from the place. The building enclosing the tomb is adorned with beautiful silk hangings, which are renewed every seven years. The mosque founded by the prophet is said to be very magnificent; it is supported by four hundred columns, and contains three hundred lamps, which are kept continually burning. The port of Medina is Yambo. About 200 miles to the S. of Medina lies the city of Mecca, nearly midway between Suez and the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, and at a distance of 40 miles from the sea: it was known to the ancients by the name of Macoraba, and is styled by the Mussulmans Omm-Alcora, or Mother of Cities, from its having been the birth-place of Mahomet. It is situated in a narrow valley enclosed by mountains, and in the midst of a dry, barren, and rocky country: the water is brackish, and every thing is unfavourable to the support of a large population, though the number of its inhabitants is said to have once amounted to upwards of 100,000 souls, or more than five times as many as it at present contains. The city is about five miles in circuit; the streets are regular and rather handsome, though many of them are now merely heaps of ruins; and of the houses that remain, more than two-thirds are unoccupied. Mecca is a city of the greatest celebrity amongst "the faithful;" it contains the three holiest things in the Mahometan world: the well Zemzem; the Kaaba, or house of God; and the Black Stone. Zemzem is believed, by the followers of Mahomet, to be the identical spring which gushed forth in the wilderness for the relief of Hagar and Ishmael; and wonderful efficacy is ascribed to its water, in giving health to the sick, imparting strength of memory, and purifying from the effects of sin. The Kaaba is of great antiquity, and is supposed to have existed, in some rude form, above 700 years before the birth of Mahomet. It was then a kind of pantheon, devoted by the Arabs to the worship of 360 idols: it is now a spacious portico, or piazza, adorned with cupolas and minarets; in the centre of the area stands the most highly venerated part of the building, which is the Kaaba, properly so called, and is a quadrilateral tower of unequal sides, covered with a black cloth, which is annually renewed by the Turkish sultan. According to the Mahometan legend this temple was built by Abraham; but the stones were contributed by every mountain in the world, and came ready fitted for the place they were to occupy. The Black Stone, the principal wonder of the place, and now generally thought to be a meteoric stone, is said to have been brought by the angel Gabriel to form the foundation of the edifice, and to have been originally of a dazzling whiteness, though its colour has since changed to black. The grand ceremony, through which the pilgrims pass, is that of going seven times round the Kaaba, repeating certain verses or psalms in honour of the prophet, and kissing the sacred stone each time. Mecca is entirely supported by pilgrims from every part of the Mahometan world; but their number is now much smaller than formerly, owing partly to the decay of religious zeal, and the gradual decline of the power and wealth of the Mahometan States; and partly to the dread of the Wahabees. No Christian is allowed to enter Mecca, and its territory is regarded as sacred to a certain distance round the city, which is indicated by marks set up as a warning. The whole country in the neighbourhood of Mecca and Medina, is sometimes called Beled-el-Haram, or the holy land of the Mahometans.

35. Sana, the capital of Yemen and the residence of the Imam, is situated in the South Western corner of Arabia, about 90 miles from the shores of the Red Sea, and is probably the most populous place in the whole country: it is surrounded by a strong mud wall, and, owing to the number of its fine edifices, and the regularity with which it is built, it is reckoned one of the handsomest cities of Asia. To the S. W. of it, about 50 miles from the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, stands Mocha, the principal port on the Red Sea, and the channel through which almost all the inter

course of Europe with this part of the world is carried on. It was founded about four centuries ago, in a most dreary situation, in a plain bounded by mountains, consisting entirely of arid sand. The climate is intensely hot, owing to a SouthEastern wind blowing for eight months in the year from over the burning sands of Africa. The town makes a handsome appearance from the sea, but on entering it, the streets are found to be dirty, the houses meanly built, and many of them decayed. It is inclosed by a wall, 16 feet high on the sea-side, and more than 30 towards the land. Mocha is famous for its coffee, which is its chief article of export, and is of unrivalled excellence. Its population is estimated at about 6,000 souls. On the Southern coast of Arabia there are many considerable towns; such as Aden, Hargiah, Kesseen, Doan, and Hasec; but little is known concerning them. Muscat, or Mascat, on the Eastern coast at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, is the capital of Oman, and the residence of the Imam: it is a place of considerable strength, being walled round and well fortified, and possesses an excellent harbour formed by the mainland and the island of Muscat. The government of Oman is said to be more civilized and orderly than any other either in Arabia or Persia, though the people were formerly much dreaded on account of their piratical disposition. Muscat is the great rendezvous of all ships trading between Hindoostan and the ports of the Persian Gulf: it is said to contain 12,000 inhabitants. One of the chief places on the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf, is El-Katif, situated near the centre, and not far from the mouth of the R. Aftan. Some distance up this river stands Ul Ahsa, and towards its source is Iemama, both of which are the capitals of the districts respectively so called. To the N. of the latter lies Deriah, the capital of the Wahabees, and a town of considerable strength and consequence; it is nearly in the centre of the whole country, and its situation, in the midst of deserts, renders it a convenient place of refuge and legislation for the powerful sect to which it belongs.

CHAPTER XXIV.

IMPERIUM PERSICUM.

1. The province of PERSIS OF PERSIA1 was bounded on the E. by Carmania, on the N. by Parthia and Media, on the W. by Susiana, and on the S. by the Persian Gulf; it contained 70,100 square miles, and corresponded generally with the modern province of Fars. It is called Elam in the Bible, prior to the time of Cyrus, after Elam, the son of Shem, who settled hereabouts2; under this name also parts of Susiana and Media appear to have been originally included, as the profane authors mention in these the district Elymais and the tribe Elymai: subsequent to the reign of Cyrus, the term of Persia, or Paras, may also be found in Holy Writ3. This was Persia in its confined sense, or properly so called, and must not be confounded with the mighty Empire of Persia, founded by

I Placat equo Persis radiis Hyperiona cinctum,

Ne detur celeri victima tarda Deo.

Ovid. Fast. I. 385.

2 Gen. x. 22; xiv. 1. 2.--Isaiah, xxi. 2.--Jer. xlix. 34. et seq.-Ezek. xxxii. 24. -Dan, viii. 2.

Ezra, i. 1. et seq.--Esther, i. 3.--Ezekiel, xxvii. 10; xxxviii. 5.-Daniel, x. 13. 4 Nec Crosi fortuna unquam, nec Persica regna

Sufficient animo,

Juv. Sat. XIV. 328.

Y