arabs in spain

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THE

ARABS IN SPAIN;

HISTORICAL ROMANCE.

1 Whilome on those banks did legions throng' Of Moor and Knight, in mailed splendour drest:' Here ceased the swift their race, here sunk the strong ;' The Ptiynivn turban and the Christian crest' Mixed on the bleeding stream."

IN TWO VOJtUAIKS,VOL. II.

LONDON :E. CHURTON, 26, HOLLES STREET.

1843.


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London Sohulze A Co. 13, Poland Street


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THE

ARABS IN SPAM.

CHAPTER I.The command given to Ocba His death

.^fv' :"-

of the Berbers Abdelmalec reinstated He ismurdered El Buktar's division of the cpuntryRebellion of Samail Ben HutemConvocation ofHie Nobles Jussuff Ben Fehr elected ruter Rc

of civil war,

victory of Charles Martel inflicteda heavier blow on his enemies, than thefcaere dispersion and retreat of their army.I* ^"t impressed on the minds of this ardentVOL. 11, B


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2 THE ARABS IN SPAIN.

and up to this moment, all conqueringpeople, a feeling of disappointment, rage,and even astonishment, which, added tothe

principlesof fatalism, inculcated by*their prophet, produced a general des-

pondency, that neither the ferventeloquence of their new Emir, AbdelmalecBen Kotam, nor the memory of theirlong career of uninterrupted conquest,were able to dissipate. Languidly theylistened to his exhortations to

rallytheir

spirits, and resume their arms. TheFrench troops surprised the retreatingMoslems amidst the defiles of thePyrenees, and again defeated their lasthope ; and the disappointed and alarmedCaliph issued the order for divestingAbdelmalec of the command, and placedOcba, the conqueror of Mauritania, in his


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THE ARABS IN SPAIN. 3

stead. The celebrity of this warrior*was owing to his signal integrity, andto a happy combination of qualities whichrendered him as able a statesman, as hewas a skilful commander. His assump-tion of the reins of government wasinstantaneously felt among all the Cadisand unjust lieutenants of provinces, whowere replaced by magistrates of sounderprinciples, and of more benevolent inten-tions. The administration of the Waliswas carefully examined into, and theirrapacity effectually checked ; the Emirthen gave his attention to the project ofa new invasion of the Gallic *territories,conformably to the instructions of hissovereign ; but at this time a fresh revolt

* Hist, de la Domin. des Arabes en Espagne, Car-donne, torn. 1.

B 2


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of the Berber tribes claimed his moreimmediate attention, and. his return toAfrica. In that district, victory crownedall his efforts, and justice accompaniedhis progress, but when he returned toSpain, he found that country in theopening ferment of civil dissension, andhe was also aware that his end wasrapidly approaching. He retired toCordova, where, on his death bed, herecommended his virtuous predecessor tothe Caliph, and expired amidst the sincereregrets of a people,, whom he had endea-voured to benefit by redressing theircomplaints, and by Consolidating the

if*

forces of the ^kingdom for their protec-tion. The death of Ocba appeared thesignal for a general revolt ; the Berbershad waited but his departure, again tounfurl the standard of rebellion. The


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THK ARABS IN SPAIN, 5

Emir of Africa was defeated, and thepower of the Caliph was further insultedin the person of his lieutenant inEgypt.

Everywhere the rebels were victorious,and the Caliph's troops retreated to theAfrican coast, under the command of theirofficers Ben Bakr, and Thalab, whencethey passed over into Spain. The Caliphhad confirmed the wish of Ocba, and theEmir Abdelmalec heard, with deep con-cern, of the arrival of a force, whosepresence would of necessity be hailed bythe factious, and who would be easilyinduced to espouse that pa^ty whoseprospects of sufccess Appeared most im-

'$ '! ***'mediate or flatting. Nor were his fearsgroundless :* the instructions which he

* Novairi, torn. 1. El Gessn, MSS. Bibl. duroiE.


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O THE ARABS IN SPAIN.

sent to the African generals not toadvance further from the coast, but tohold themselves in readiness to returninto the revolted provinces of Africa,were construed by his enemies into awish of rendering himself independent,and hence, that he dreaded their pre-sence. The result was, the advance ofBen Bakr and Thalab, at the head of animposing force, with the hope of seizingon Toledo, ere the Emir, who was inSaragossa, could arrive to its assistance.Abdelmalec, on these tidings, lost no time-A *'in appe^ng' Before, xits walls, and no

;''

'; w , rfffit r ff *sooner j^JwyjB^ftiM Tvhb commanded itsS'

1"; 1 *, ' -v '" f\ '>*.< , ,' -*,'"garrison, "%0afdi, his father's arrival,

*,


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factious foe from before the walls ofCordova ; but inflamed by victory, hewas tempted to a too precipitate pursuit,and the rallying shock of Ben Bakr'scavalry being too impetuous for theyoung hero to resist, his troops wereconsequently defeated. On this, theEmir retreated to Cordova, and placedhimself in apparent security within itsgates. But his confidence was betrayed,and while he wrote to reproach theAfrican generals with their faithless andmost unpatriotic conduct, and to offerthem peace on the mildest terms, theirvanity argued that Hits frjwpeetfinK wasdictated by timidity, ail IheiErfefused tolisten to his proposals. The appearanceof their army before CordoVft ititpired areal or an

imaginaryfear ; the cowardice

of the Cordovans suggested, what their


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baseness performed, and by the deliveryof Abdelmalec into the hands of his ene-mies, they sought and obtained a dis-honourable security for themselves. Thevirtuous Abdelmalec was murdered bythe savage Ben Bakr, and civil war wasdeclared in Spain, by his proclaiminghimself its Emir, The jealousy of hisbrother in arms, Thalab was aroused bythis conduct ; he declared his adherenceto the legitimate sovereign at Damascus,and that in him alone resided the choiceof an Emir.

In the plain of Calatrava, the pride ofBen Bakr was doomed to suffer both acheck and an extinction. The valiantAfederahmen Ben Ocba met him at thehead of his forces, and accepted his

challengeof

singlecombat ; he slew the

factious tyrant, gained for himself the


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proud name of Al Mansor, and pursuedthe flying enenpty with rapidity, perseve-rance, and success.

Thalab pursued his career with some-what better success ; he entered thegates, and seized the city of Cordova, andwas about to indulge his humane propen-sities by the slaughter of one thousand ofhis prisoners, but they were saved by thetimely arrival of the Caliph's Emir thecelebrated Hossein El Buktar, to whomthey were presented as sign of homage byThalab. On the same day, they wereset at liberty, while he was arrested andreconducted to Tangiers.

El Buktar's government was marked bymeasures of mild policy, and a greatwish for the reconciliation of all parties inSpain. In the division which he made ofthe country, he attempted to assimilate


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the climate and its products to theaboriginal qualities of those of its destinedoccupiers.*

His plans met with the highest ap-proval from all classes, and many othersof his acts tended to heal the woundswhich civil war had inflicted ; nor can wesuppose they would have failed, if thespirit of faction had not already taken toodeep a root to be banished from theland. El JBuktar deemed it necessary todepose Samail Ben Hutem from theWaliha or provincial government whichhe had degraded by his extortions and

* He gave Beledi and Ossnoba to the Egyptians ;Tadmirah or Murcia to the Arabs of Kahtan ; Seville,and its district to the Syrians ; and to the Africanprovincials he gave Medonia and Algeciras &c, &c.Vide, Conde Hist. Arab, torn, 1. Casiri, torn, 2, andCardonne, torn, i.


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THE ARABS IN SPAIN, 11

injustice; and this man, burning withvengeance, rushed into open rebellion,and by his valour and influence, plungedthe kingdom into civil discord.

El Buktar was surprised, taken pri-soner, and confined in the citadel ofCordova, and the people were ordered tobelieve that this was by the commandof the Caliph at Damascus. At lengththe sons of Ocba and of Abdelmalec,effected the deliverance of El Buktar, andthis hero heading the Cordovans, andothers who had joined his standard, in avigorous charge of the troops of Samail,met his death on the field, and left thekingdom to anarchy and rapine.The convocation of the leading nobles

of the tribes of Yemen, Egypt andCahtan discussed the

propriety,and

succeeded with difficulty in assembling a


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large body 6f the people to devise somemethod which, should deliver the couhtryfrom a state of tyranny, and mis-rule,no longer supportable* Their generalopinion expressed the necessity of elevat-ing to the government one ruler ; theymight h^ve referred the choice to the

Caliph, fcut the affairs of the east were inthe greatest confusion, and the communi-cation through the revolted provinces ofMauritania, and Egypt was difficult anduncertain. They elected one JusguffBen Fehr, of the Korish tribe, and whoclaimed a direct descent from the pro-phet.

All Spain approved the choice of theassembly, and the mild and peacefulcharacter of Jussuff gave every reason to

presumethe utmost

advantagesfrom his

government. The death also, of more


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thaa one turbulent chieftain, smoothedaway difficulties, and Jussuff, with popu-lar opinion in his favour, was enabled toeffect many reforms, and to restore orderthroughout the Andalousian district.*To the rebellious Samail, and the highadmiral,! Amer Ben Amrou, he conced-ed the governments of Toledo, and Se-ville, dreading perhaps the turbulence ofthe former, and the vast riches and ambi-

* Cardonne, torn. 1.f The admiral's office had, at this time, become a

sinecure, owing to the total cessation of intercoursebetween the east and west. Amer Ben Amrouclaimed a high descent, and maintained a princelyestablishment. His palace was in or near Cordova,and was one of the largest and richest then in exis*

tence in Spain, his retinue was immense. Al Kebr.Bibl. du roi K.


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tion of the latter. During the adminis-tration of Jussuff, the communicationsbetween the different towns and provinceswere reopened and perfected, and in thecities of his government he reconstructedthe bridges, and increased, and facilitatedpublic convenience and luxury. Herepaired the ruin caused by civil war, andset apart for the erection and mainte-nance of public edifices throughout the

kingdom three quarters of the tributemoney of each province. He took acensus of the population, and dividedthe country into five* great departments.The conquests, or encroachments of the

* Vide Gdogr. de Danville Baetis &c. Pinkerton's

Geography vol. 1. (Spain,) and Cardonne's Hist,torn. 1, p. 381.


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Asturian Christians extended to thebanks of the Douro, and the able talentsof their leader Don Alphonso the Greatwas daily cementing, and extending theirpower by the means which Arab dissen-sion and lawlessness so amply afford-ed.The Arabian historians

giveus to un-

derstand that the mind of Jussuff wasseized with the wild schemes of Gallicinvasion, and European conquest ;schemes, which he was only preventedfrom attempting, by a recurrence of civilwar, which, fanned and fomented by thejealousy, and ambition of Samail, Amer,and their followers, again raged withrenewed fury, and with a violence whichthreatened to destroy the monarchy, thename, and the religion of the prophet, inthe fair regions of the west. The weak


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policy of Jussuff proved the means ofextending the war from one end of Spainto the other.

Convinced of the treasonable designsof Amer Ben Amrou by interceptedletters, he wanted the courage openly toresent, or the policy prudently to dissem-ble. By half measures, he excited hissuspicions, ' and hastened his revolt, andby a proceeding whose rigour was onlyequalled by its baseness, he cancelled thegood opinion of the public, and appliedthe match to that flame, which eventuallyconsumed himself, and thousands of hiscountrymen.

Concerting with Samail, he plannedthe seizure and the death of Amer. Athis palace of Siguenza, Samail learnt andawaited the approach of the admiral, andsent out to salute and invite him to


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partake of his hospitality. The unsus-pecting Amer accepted the offer, but nosooner were they at table, than the ap-pearance of SamaiFs soldiers warned himof the danger in which he stood. Thevaliant Arab, sword in hand, cut a pas-sage for himself, and having thus savedhis life, he raised the banner of war andthe cry of revenge, and openly proclaim-ed the defeated treachery of Samail andJussuff, while he carefully exaggeratedthe massacre of Siguenza. The nobles ofthe tribes of Yemen, and Kahtan, dis-gusted with the conduct of Samail,espoused his cause. Ben Amrou raiseda large force in Toledo, and soon greatlyaugmenting it, advanced to Saragossa,which he reduced. Jussuff hastened onhis side, to levy troops from all the citiesand districts; the whole country split


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into the factions of Amer, Sainail, orJussuff took up arms. The frontierswere deserted by the coast forces, whosegenerals had fled to join the rival armies,and enjoy a share of the combat and theplunder.The towns and fields were the scenes of

continued warfare ; pillage, violence, andmurder, were everywhere conspicuous.The total suspension of laws or justice,the devastation in the plains, the smok-ing ruins of the city bespoke the fright-ful presence of anarchy, and Spain givenup to this cruel power, received thedesolating marks of faction, which aftertimes could never obliterate, and whichthe smiles of a rich prosperity, in a laterperiod, only served to render more ap-parent,

and moreappalling.At this epoch also the east was


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covered with the armies of rebelliousEmirs, alarmed by the quick successionof her revolted provinces, and worn outand divided by the fierce strugglebetween the houses of Ommiah and ofAbbas. The former had owed its exist-ence to that cunning and intriguingOmmawyah, who had established histhrone in blood, and his popularity inSyria. The indolence of his successorsor their vices, had alike disappointedand disgusted the Arabians, and theywere equally fatigued by the likeness ofthe Walids, or the ferocity of the Yezids,and Suleimans of that race. Thoughthe memory and the death of Othmanhad raised and confirmed the power ofOmmwyah, the murder of Hussein, aiylthe crimes of Yezid were equally unfor-


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gotten and now cried out for vengeance.The Caliph Mervan II, was the last andmost unfortunate ^ of his race. Theinfluence of the Abassides

spreadrevolt

and dissension around his throne, andthe ambitious Azfah, openly proclaiminghimself Caliph, defeated and pursued thefugitive Mervan from the banks of theEuphrates to the depths of Egypt.There, the descendant of Ommwyah wasdiscovered in his retreat, his life wassacrificed and his remains cruelly muti-lated. The house of Abbas everywheretriumphant, raised their black banner oncitadel and town, and Azfah was at lengthacknowledged as the twentieth cousin ofthe prophet, and the Caliph of theqast.The rites of hospitality have been ever


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held sacred among the civilised and thebarbarous tribes of earth, and amongnone, more so than 4he ancestors andposterity of Mohammed. But revengeand factious ambition are potent minis-ters to the worst passions of mankind,and while they stifle the voice of con-science, induce the violation of the mostaffecting duties of life.

It was considered, that while an Om-miade remained alive, the power ofAzfah was insecure. Their fallenfortunes, their cruel treatment, mightawaken the pity and the indignation ofthe people. It was determined thereforeto proceed to their total extermina-tion.

In the sumptuous halls of Abdallah,the Caliph's uncle, a grand festival wasproclaimed, to which, in common with


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22 -THE ARABS IN SPAIN.

many others, the race of Ommwyah wasinvited, and the unsuspecting victimswere seduced by tlVe tones of peace andharmony, and by the security which thesacredness of Arabian hospitality gave,to accept the proffered entertainment.Xiabil the bard or ministrel of theAbbassides was

shortlyintroduced into

the banquet hall. In his chaunt, he ex-cited his ferocious chieftain to revengeand murder, by recalling the fate ofHussein, and the crimes of the Om-miades. Overcome with fury, the toowilling Abdallah gave the signal ; eightyguests were sacrificed to his base ven-geance, their warm and bleeding bodiesare reported to have served as the tableto the remaining partakers of Abdallah'shospitality, and the power of the Abas-sides was cemented by the bloody feast.


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of Damascus, and by the subsequentdispersion of all its foes. The tombs ofthe Ommiadan princes were broken,their bones dispersed, their memoriesaccursed, and the hapless remnant ofthe race prowled in the deep forest or inthe unknown glens of that vast empirewhich his ancestors had

acquired bytheir valour and ennobled by their deedsand victories.*

* See the whole story of the fall of the Ommiadesin the Arabian Historians. MSS. Escurial, transla-tion ; Cardonne and many others, in D'Herbelot Bibl.Orientale ; articles, Abbas, Mervan, Abdallah, &c.&c. &c. and Saffah vel Azfah.The families of Moahwyah and of Mohammed were

of the same tribe, but according to the principles oflegitimacy, the throne belonged to the descendants ofFatima, and even the children of Abbas, the uncle ofthe prophet, had a claim prior to that of Moahwyah.

Vide Mill's Mohammedanism, C. 2.


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24 THE ARABS IN SPAIN*

From the coasts of India to the bordersof the Atlantic ocean, and from the rockofTaricto the defiles of the Pyrenees,Asia and Europe had oheyed theirsceptre, received their laws, and hadsworn obedience to their crown underthe powerful energy and aid of theirhouse ; all Arabia had obeyed the com-mands of their prophet, and had extend-ed her power and his creed ; under thehouse of Abbas, the pride of the Caliph,

If the exertions of military talents were alwayscrowned with success, Mervan would have retainedthe throne. In the life of his father he had beengovernor of Mesopotamia, where the warlike breed ofasses who never fly from the enemy, attach to theword ass the popular idea of the perfection of a man.Mervan was honoured with this singular appellation,and his abilities deserved every epithet of praise.Ibid and d'Herbelot, art. Mervan.


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the war cry of the Arab, and the stan-dard of the Moslem were destined towither, to decline, and at last to perishin streams of blood, and in the ruinof dissension, of time, and worldlyvicissitude.

VOL. IT.


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CHAPTER II.Conspiracy of the noble Scheiks They nominate Ab-

dalrahman sovereign He lands at AlmunesarBattle of Musara Battle of Lorca and death ofJussuff Samail put to death Invasion of Spainby Aly Ben Moqueir He is defeated arid slainEnd of the War Spain invaded by Charlemagne

Is defeated and retires Death of AbdalrahmanHaschem ascends the throne The holy war

published Accession of Al-Hakim.

" WE recognize your authority," wrotethe Emir Jussuff and the rebellious Amerto the usurper Azfah, " and now swearallegiance to your crown." Such werethe dispatches received at Damascusfrom the hands of the Spanish courier.The obiect of the two belligerents was


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evident ; for, by so doing, they foundmeans to continue their struggle forpower, alike regardless of the troubles ofthe eastern, or of the misery of thewestern portions of the Arab empire.But in the Alcazar of Cordova a scenewas enacting, equally unknown and un-suspected, that was to develope a powerwhich would lay theirs prostrate in thedust, and terminate the office of Emir andthe reign of the Caliphate for ever in Spain.In that council chamber the noble scheiksand elders of the Arabians had met insecret and weighty deliberation ; theirobject was to terminate the misery andcivil wars of the country, and the meansproposed was the election of an indepen-dent sovereign in Spain. To these theinteresting news was communicated, thatone royal descendant of Omwyah had

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escaped the fury of the Abbassides, andhis life and actiial circumstances minutelydetailed. " Orders arrived," said a noblescheik, " from that cruel Saffah to immo-late two Ommiades who had taken uptheir residence at his court on the faithof his solemn promise to spare and toprotect them. The one was named Suli-man, the other Abdalrahman. Thedeed was perpetrated on the person ofthe former, while chance caused the ab-sence and the safety of the latter. Re-ceiving tidings from his friends, Abdal-rahman fled to the desert, and lived withthe Bedouin Arabs, the safe and wander-ing life of these primeval tribes. Yet hedreaded the vigilance and the vengeanceof the usurp'er, and therefore retired stillfurther into Africa, where, however, the

governor sent out soldiers to seize hisperson, by the instructions of Saftah and


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the description which had been sent ofhis person throughout the kingdom." Inthe humble tent of a Bedouin tribe, whilethe future founder of a splendid kingdomenjoyed the deep repose which he somuch needed, the emissaries of the tyrantarrived to demand his person or hisdeath. The holy ties of hospitality wereregarded ; his benevolent protectors de-ceived the soldiers with a pretendedhunting match in which they declaredhim occupied ; and they sped his flightacross the desert of Sahara,* and to the

* The tribe of Zaneta and their city, Tahart, havenow disappeared from the page of the historian, andfrom the map of the geographer. It becomes, there-fore, difficult, if not impossible, to fix the exact neigh-bourhood of the refuge of the Ommiade ; but, fromall the authorities I have been able to obtain, theprobability is that the tribe occupied the southern ex-

tremity of the Beled-ul-Djerhid, or" Pays de dattes"

and at the western extremity of the Sahara, or great


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warlike tribe of Zaneta. Here his birthand misfortunes claimed respect and com-passion ; and they swore to live for hisservice or to die in his defence. " Andthere," concluded the orator, " amidstthe Berber tribe of Zaneta, he still re-sides. I nominate him for our king, thelast descendant of our illustrious house,the last survivor of our Caliph Haschem.Scheiks, I propose to you Abdalrahmanas our Emir and our sovereign."

His nomination was confirmed. Tha-man and Wahib Ben Zoar were chosenas deputies to Abdalrahman, and theydeparted with the utmost secrecy on theireventful mission. In the desert theydesert which separates the states of Timbuctoo fromBarbary and the Mediterranean shores. Vide d'An-viile, G6ogr. vol. ii, p. 589. Pinkerton's Geograph.p. 590-595. Geographic Descriptive, Malte-Brun, p.709, and the opinion of Coridi, vol. i, p. 150.


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sought and soon found the Omrniade ;and while they informed him of theirobject, they did not conceal the difficul-ties attending its completion. But, as-sured that the Spanish Arabs were readyto meet him, and uphold his cause, theyouthful Abdalrahman consulted with hisfriends, the Zanites, who implored himto accept the offer, and proposed to forma body guard for his protection. Sevenhundred and fifty chosen horsemen weresoon in readiness to accompany him, andAbdalrahman signified to the messengersfrom Cordova his resolution to accede totheir proposal.

Meanwhile, fortune had declared forJussuff, who was now conducting ArnerBen Amrou and his sons prisoners toCordova. The possession of his rival'sperson he owed to the fears or the trea-


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chery of the people of Saragossa. As heapproached Cordova, rumour of the com-ing event reached his ears, and anothermessenger soon arrived, bringing thefatal tidings of Abdalrahman's landing,and of the revolution of all the govern-ment. Rendered almost frantic, Jussuff

barbarously wreaked his vengeance onAmer and his sons, who expired in tor-ments ; and then, after writing to. hisally Samail, he marched on through va-rious parts, to levy and assemble forces.

In the beginning of the year 755, Ab-dalrahman landed at Almunecar, a sea-port, about fifteen miles from Granada.An immense concourse of Andalusiannobles, and a countless multitude of thepeople, received the young hero on hislanding, and loudly cried : " God protectAbdalrahman Ben Moawyah, King of


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Spain !" The noble person and hand-some features of the new sovereign, wonfor him favour on all sides, and the peo-ple of the southern provinces flocked ingreat masses to his standard ; 25,000men, besides his faithful Zanites, ac-companied his march from Almunecar toSeville, into which town he made hisentry, amidst universal acclamations.These fearful tidings were received bythe astounded Jussuff with the fiercestindignation ; and he immediately pro-ceeded to take such measures as wouldbring the struggle between him and thenew pretender to an issue. He attemptedto secure Cordova, Valencia, and Tad-morah in their obedience, by sending histhree sons respectively to these pro-vinces, while he raised large leviesthroughout Merida and Toledo. The

c 3


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34 THB ARABS IN SPAIN.

misfortunes of Abdalrahman had givenhim, in youth, the lessons of a sad expe-rience ; and he possessed that importantfaculty by which an accurate judgment isformed from an intimate knowledge ofmankind. He was, therefore, well awareof the difficulties which attended his en-terprise ; and he resolved to enlist popularfavour in his cause, by the achievementof feats of valour and energy, which, whilethey excited the admiration of the people,should leave no time for it to subside.After a slight and successful skirmish withthe son, he proceeded to attack the father,Jussuff, with an impetuous valour, on theplains of Musara : 7,000 dead were lefton the field of battle ; Samail and Jussufffled in consternation, and the surrenderof Cordova crowned the victory of Abdal-rahman. The town of Seville followed


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the example. The adherents of Jussutfwere either discouraged or faithless ; thevarious towns sent deputies, who wereenchanted at their courteous reception ;and while the valour of Abdalrahman ob-tained successive victories, his mannersgained, and his virtues secured, the affec-tions of his subjects.

After vainly attempting to stem thestream of his success, Samail and Jussuffcondescended to treat for terms withthe Adhagel,* whom they had at firstdespised ; their submission easily pro-cured what their valour might long havecontested. From Merida the King re-turned to Cordova, which henceforthbecame his favourite residence, and which

* Ad-H'Agel : implying the intruder, pretender,adventurer. Vide Lexicon de Sacy, letter Aleph.


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he established as his capital. The cle-mency which he had extended to Jussuffwas unable to conciliate or to appeasehim ; and though Samail accepted officeunder the King, Jussuff again broke outinto rebellion, exciting the people, where-arer he passed, till near Lorca he met hisdefeat and death, after three years ofcontinued tumults and insurrection. Thesame spirit of revenge, the same desirefor sedition, occupied the minds of hischildren. The generals of Abdalrahmanwere sent against them, and one wasslain in battle. Although clemency wasvain, the generous monarch hesitated toshed the blood of the rebels. His king-dom continued to be alarmed and op-pressed by revolt, till, at last, a fresh

conspiracyof the ungrateful Samail hav-

ing been discovered, he was put to death


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in Toledo, about the year 760. TheGothic states of Asturia were governedby Froila, the son of Alphonso : too weakto offer resistance, they proposed a treaty,and submitted to a heavy tribute to thecrown of Cordova. The kingdom at thistime enjoyed a short peace, which was,however again broken by the rebellion ofHixein, a relation of Jussuff. This com-menced at Toledo, and though sustainedby the worst portions of the army, em-ployed the forces of the King duringmany years. A more important event,however, soon occurred. A scheik ofthe ever-faithful tribe of the Zanites sentword through Temam, the hajib or cham-berlain* to the King, of the projected

*This office, when first instituted, meant the keeper

of the presence chamber, or more properly, master of


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invasion of Spain by one Aly Ben Mo-queir, Emir of one of the African depen-dencies, who intended to proclaim oncemore the name and authority of theCaliph of Bagdad. The arrival of Aly,and his abuse of the king, threw the pro-vinces into great excitement, and alien-ated many from their allegiance ; and hemarched with a considerable force throughmany towns*, in order to arrive at Toledo,

the curtain or door, bat in later times, in Bagdad andEgypt, it became an office of high distinction. InSpain, the ministers or prime Vizirs always held it ;and it must, therefore, be understood by the modernreader in quite a different sense from the commonword, chamberlain. Vide, Ce're'monies de P Orient,vol ii, p. 73, and Bib. Or. vol ii, p. 17 1. " El Vaziry el Hageb del rey de Corduba," answers more pro-perly to our terms of Prime Minister and first Lordof the Treasury to the King of Cordova.


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where he expected the surrender of thatcity, from the promises of the seditiousHixem. But before he arrived there,the army of Abdalrahman opposed hisfurther progress. The troops of Alywere totally defeated, himself slain, andhis head placed on a pillar in the placeof Cordova, proclaimed that thus perishedthe enemies of Abdalrahman, the suc-cessor of the Ommiades.The lingering siege of Toledo was suc-

cessfully put an end to by the skill andenergy of Temam. The successor of theGoth Froila had attempted to infringethe treaty and refuse payment of the tri-bute. A decisive engagement with theroyal forces induced him to adopt a morepolitic course ; and on payment of therequired sum into the treasury of Cor-dova, the treaty was renewed, and peace


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re-established. A rebellious spirit seemedstill to prevail, which proved alike theinstability of the government, and theremains of a faction not yet annihilated.The valour of Abdalrahman, however,the faithful energy of his Zanites, andthe persevering constancy of his generals,Tamam and Abdalmalec, proved toostrong for any adventurer to gain greator lasting advantages.The most celebrated of these latter,

Aboulgafar, attempted to seize Toledo ;the sagacity of Abdalmalec prevented hissuccess, and on the banks of the Guadal-quiver, near Seville, he gave battle to therebel, and defeated him. Abdalmalecwas here seriously wounded ; and Abdal-rahman, wearied of these repeated wars,resolved at once to terminate them. Hemarched, therefore, in person against the


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insurgents, and met them on the field ofLorca, A fierce contest ensued ; Abdal-rahman was crowned with victory, and along and tedious warfare ended, after sixyears' duration, in the death of Abdoul-gafar, and those of many others of theparty henceforth extinct.Thus was the new sovereignty of Spainconfirmed. Circumstances, it must be

allowed, had favoured the cause. First,the unsettled power of the Abassides,and their continual struggle for dominion,rendered them both unwilling and unableto give attention or assistance to the dis-tant province of Andalouz. Abdalrahmanhad, for a time, feared the power of theemirs of Africa ; but his alarms mustsoon have been appeased and dispersedby the state of that continent, in whichevery petty governor was aiming at inde-


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pendence, and either contending againsteach other, or rebelling against the au-thority of the caliphs. The seat of thecentralgovernment had also been changed.The Abassides hated Damascus as thechoice of the rival house, perhaps as thetheatre of their own atrocities ; and theyhad removed to the city of Bagdad, onthe remote banks of the Tigris, and thusadded to the difficulty of governing Spain.Secondly, Abdalrahman had come into aland where the valour and the name ofhis family had always been held in highestimation ; where the leading nobles hadevery old prejudice enlisted in his favour,and where the people, tired out with thefurious madness of civil war, hailed him,not only as the sovereign, but as thesaviour, of their country.

The war hav-ing thus far terminated, Abdalrahman


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retired to Cordova, where the cares ofprivate life, the charms of domestic affec-tion, and the noble occupation of publicembellishments and improvement filledup the measure of his time.From the favourite Sultana, Havara,

he had his youngest son, Haschem ; twoother sons, Suliman and Abdalla, com-posed the monarch's family. The eldestwas sent to learn the rudiments of goodgovernment in Toledo ; the second wasdispatched to Merida, for the same pur-pose, while Haschem, endeared to hisfather by his simplicity and his virtues,shared the pleasures of the palace, andenjoyed the advantages of the capital.In the enjoyment of the chace, or in hisretirement amidst the luxuriant gardensof Cordova, the King forgot,

in the artsof peace, the stern excitement of war, and


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the desolating effects of even victory.From this happy dream, of four years'duration, Abdalrahman I. was awakenedby the trumpet of a new, a foreign,and an unexpected invader. Charle-magne, King of the Franks, appearedon the heights of the Pyrenees, andthence descended, with a numeroushorde, to the banks of the Ebro, sweep-ing all opposition before him, and layingwaste the fertility of that district.The motives for his strange appearance

have been variously stated ; the petitionsof some emirs to the King to render themindependent, has been supposed and as-serted ; the complaints of the GallicianChristians have been assigned as thecause ; while the greater probability liesin the warlike character of Charlemagne,and the roving life of plunder so much


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loved and followed by the Franks. But,whatever might have been his motives,his success was negative : after perform-ing the Spanish inarch, he again retiredfrom Spain. Mussulman and Christian,Asturian and Gascon, equally rose againsthim ; and in the passes near Roncevauxhis army was defeated, and the Spaniardswon back the vast spoils with which theFranks had enriched themselves duringtheir excursion from the Pyrenees to theEbro.The expedition itself is now a subject

of little or no importance. WhetherCharles was called by some party intoSpain, or whether his love of activityand pillage led him there, is now a pointtotally uninteresting ; and excepting thatRoncevalles and the fall of Rolando, orOrlando, have furnished both Arab and


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Christian with the theme of chivalry andromance, the march and retreat wouldprobably both have been forgotten. TheSpaniards* are too proud of a victorywhich history ascribes to the Gascons,and romance to the Saracens. The ruinsof Palmyra derive a casual splendourfrom the nakedness of the surroundingdesert, and the genius and * bravery ofCharlemagne were the more conspicuous,since they were without a rival in hisown times, and were a wondrous contrastto the tame imbecility of his degenerateposterity.!

* Fall and Decline, vol. ix. p. 177.t For this, as well as the general events of this and

the succeeding chapters, the reader may consult Dep-ping, Hist. Gener. Mariana, Historia Hispan. Ascar-

gosta, Hist. d'Espagne. Casiri, Bib. Arab. Hisp.Efcen Maus MSS. 371*$%$. Bib. du Roi. Kotkab.


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The last band of the Christians hadhardly disappeared among the gorges ofthe Pyrenees ere Abdalrahman regainedpossession of Zaragossa and other north-ern towns of Spain, and everywhere re-established order and law. Called bythe request of the uncle of Alphonso, heinterfered to arrange the rival pretensionsofMaragottos* and his nephew, and aidedby a partiality which it was hardly possi-

No, 383, ibidem, and Conde, Los Arabes en Espana,with the agreeable history of Cardonne, de la Domi-nation des Arabes en Afrique et en Espagne, Gib-bon's Fall and Decline, vol. x., and at times theeloquent but too partial narration of the Archbishopof Toledo.

* The Maragottos here mentioned was the offspringof mixed parents, and hence, perhaps, his name,Maurogothos ; and henCfe certainly the partiality oiAbdalrahman.


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ble for his justice to repress, he decidedfor the former, who entered into thetreaty already existing, paying the tri-bute to the king, and thereby maintainingpeace. The sparks of revolt, again kin-dled by the last remnants of the expiringfaction of Jusseff, Samail and their adhe-rents, were quenched by the skilfulenergy of Abdalrahman and his generals.The foreign invader was successfully re-pulsed, the domestic traitors effectuallyexterminated. Thus, the remainder ofthe monarch's life was rendered happy ;and, occupied with the internal polity ofthe state, and the general happiness ofhis people, Abdalrahman enjoyed theserenity of peace in the close of an event-ful reign. Agriculture was resumed,public

confidence wasgradually re-esta-

blished, and the name of Omwyah's


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descendant deserved and received theblessings of his people. The laws weremodified, extended, and consolidated, theroads were re-opened, arid fully main-tained, a greater number of magistratesadded to the municipality of the towns,and a vast plan for public instructionsuggested and commenced. The religionof the state was endowed with numerousmosques, and the institution of a bodyof readers, or expounders of the Koran,were attached to each temple. Emulousof the mosque of Bagdad, Abdalrahmanresolved to rival it by a similar erectionin his favourite city. His energy andhumility were conspicuously displayed,since he drew out the plan, and workedevery day at its construction with hisown hands. The son of his faithful ge-neral, Abdalmalec, had the credit of

VOL. II. D


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destroying some rebel bands, and theKing condescended to bestow on him thehand of his grand-daughter, the child ofhis favourite, Haschem. The marriageof Abdallah and Kathira was celebratedin Cordova with the greatest splendour,and the inhabitants entertained for manydays, with a brilliant succession of fetesand tournaments.The sagacious mind of Abdalrahman

foresaw all the dangers which his peoplewould incur, in case of his death happen-ing without his having fixed a successorto his throne. In a constitutional mo-narchy the laws would have called theeldest son to the crown, and, in default,then the next by priority of birth ; butin the despotic government of the East,the throne was filled by election,

and thecustoms of Asia were respected and fol~


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lowed by the Arabs of Spain . Under thesecircumstances Abdalrahman yielded tohis own predilection in favour ofHaschem.He nominated him as his successor ; andin an assembly of all the provincial go-vernors, convoked in Cordova, he ob-tained a ratification of the act. Amongthem were seen Suleiman and Abdalla,who testified neither surprise nor resent-ment at the proceeding. The king thenleft Cordova for Merida, leaving Abdallaas his lieutenant at the former city. Thestruggles of his early life, the anxietiesof government, and the harassing eventsof his reign, had undermined his health.

Thirty yearsAbdalrahman held the scep-

tre of Spain, and his death (in 787 or788) was deeply regretted by all its inha-bitants. The greatest honours were paidto his memory, and a large concourse


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followed the remains and mourned thenational loss, from the walls of Merida tothe sepulchre of the kings at Cordova.*

* The year which announced death to Abdalrahmanbeheld the rise of Edris Ben Ahdalla, a descendant ofAli, (the son-in-law of Mohammed), and the founderof the capital of Fez and the empire of Morocco. TheEdressah family reigned for upwards of a century,and counted among its honours not the least, thepossession of the erudite Sherif Al-Edrissi, whoseample work on Geography and descriptions of coun-tries enjoyed a high and lasting reputation. SeeCasiri, Cardonne, and D'Herbelot, vol. i, p. 624-655.The confusion (and it must indeed be great) whicharises in the reader's mind when he peruses the namesof the provinces and cities of Spain, as given by theArabians, and compares them with either the Gothicor Spanish appellations, may find some relief by thestudy of the detailed account of that country givenby the Sherif, and translated into Spanish and valu-ably annotated by Conde, in 1 vol. 8vo. Madrid 1 799.Aledris, Bib. du roi.


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The Khotbah* was pronounced forHaschem, who ascended his father'sthrone, and appeared determined to fol-low in his footsteps. Temperance, hu-manity, and a love of justice were thecharacteristics of the new sovereign,which acquired for him the honourabletitles of Al-Hadi-Rhadi

;the just and

* After the morning service in the mosque, thepreacher delivered his khotbah, or sermon ; at theconclusion, he offered up praise to God, celebratedand blessed the memory of the Prophet, and offeredup a prayer for the reigning sovereign, saying : " OAllah, protect and prosper our caliph, and thy people,who by thy grace had Mohammed for their Prophet. 1 'This formed the khotbah, and the performance at theaccession of a new sovereign was customary. Thus,we see Saffah, the founder of the Abassides, hearingthe khotbah, as one of the first marks of public sove-reignty. Vide Bib. Orientale, vol. ii, p. 448-449,and vol. iii, p. 152.


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good " Hceres." But while all seemedto augur a peaceful and a prosperousreign, the brothers of Haschem, Sulei-man and Abdalla, raised the standard ofindependence, and assumed the right ofexercising, in their own provinces ofToledo and Merida, the qualities ofsovereigns. An amiable weakness in thebrother triumphed, for a time, over thejustice of the prince, and the two Waliswere allowed to concert, to conspire, andto rebel. At length, in the valley ofBuktar, Suleiman and Haschem met totry their respective force, and the defeatand flight of Suleiman confirmed thepower of the king. Again the formerunited with the banditti of the moun-tains, and was again defeated by thefaithful Abdallah, the son-in-law of Has-chem. Another attempt to raise a party


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in his favour was equally fruitless ; andthe authority of the king being generallyrespected, and his forces everywherevictorious, compelled Suleiman to acceptthe offer of large sums of " peace money,"and to retire to Tangiers. The momen-tary excitement, caused by these revolts,soon subsided, and the different lieute-nants of the King, from time to time,entered Cordova with all the ensigns ofvictory.

In the recent division of Spain, Ab-dalrahman had ceased to enumerate theprovince of the Narbonese Gaul ; andthus, at a sacrifice of his own vanity,had preserved the peace of his people.But the idea of retaking northern Spain,and the towns of the Narbonne, nowinflamed the mind of Haschem. Inorder to effect this object^ large armies


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were indispensable, and to procure thoseresources there was but one mode. Has-chem published the Alighed, or holy war.At the hour of prayer, from the Imaum'spulpit, in every mosque throughout thesuperb dominions of the Ommiades, theproclamation resounded, and a general en-thusiasm answered to the King's wishes,while those who were disabled, from in-firmities or other causes, from enlistingunder the holy standard, contributedmoney, horses, and supplies for the wantsof the faithful, on this solemn occasion.Vain were the attempts to discover whatthe true motives were in this proceedingTwo hundred years after this period, thehistorian smiles while he relates the sameenthusiastic folly, when the RomanImaum unfurled his banner; yet whenhe states the pretext then urged, he can


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THE ARABS IN SPAIN, 57

be at no loss to account for the mo-tive.But the enthusiasm of the Moslem has

ever been more conspicuous and his fana-tism more persevering than those of thechildren of the cross, and we may perhapsbelieve that a religious fervour only in-

spired the King and people, yet coolerreflection leads to the more rational con-clusion that the policy of Haschem wasto inflame the ardour of the Arabs againstforeign enemies, and thus to extinguishthe brand of civil discord in the purerflame of national glory, and religiousenthusiasm.A body of 85,000 men in two divisions

inarched northwards in the cause, onehalf to attack the Asturians, the other to

invade the Pyrenees. The latter wasD3


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58 THE ARABS JN SPAIN.

commanded by the King's son-in-lawAbdalla.The army of the Asturias was at

first successful; Gallicia was ravaged,Leon was invaded, and the Gothsfearfully alarmed j the feeble son ofFriola divided the throne of the SpanishChristians with an aged uncle or relation.The warriors of Asturias called for Al-phonso to lead them to the conquest, andhe answered to their summons. At hisappearance the scene was considerablychanged : by his skill and bravery theroyal troops were harassed, and if notdefeated, at length forced to retire, andthe Goths regained possession of all thebooty seized.The son in-law ofHaschem had greater

success among the Pyrenean mountains.


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The successful siege of Gironda attestedhis skill and activity but the seizure ofNarbonne, was followed by a barbarousslaughter of its inhabitants, and a generaldevastation of the surrounding country.These severe measures served only toexasperate the Narbonnese ; they all roseto repulse so cruel and so formidable anenemy, and the fierce battle of Carcas-sonne, though decided in the Arab'sfavour led to no further result, since heinstantly returned into Spain, Theenormous booty, which amounted to morethan one million sterling, was devoted tothe works of the great Mosque at Cordova,and the prudent Haschem disgusted with aholy war, put down the Alighed, and gaveall his attention to cultivate the arts ofpeace and the noble science of augment-ing his people's prosperity.


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Now, perhaps for the first time sinceTaric landed on the rock of Spain, thekingdom enjoyed the fruits of goodgovernment in a time of peace, andunder a prince, whose virtues, sagacity,and love of justice were so conspicuous.The city of Cordova began to show marksof that future splendour which she wasafterwards destined to possess. Thepalaces, the gardens, the new streets,the mint,* the library, the great bridge,

* The money coined at the Cordova mint was thesame as that struck at Damascus. The coin bore theinscription " Allah is God and there is but oneGod," and on the reverse the words " In the name ofAllah, this piece was struck in Andalousia," &c.Vide Casiri, Conde, and Numismatic memoirs of theeast. Bib. du roi, vol. 2."Up to this year," says Richardson, 695,

" thereceipts and disbursements of the treasury of the


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THB ARABS IN SPAIN. 61

all had been repaired, augmented, orreconstructed ; and Haschem finished thelabours which his father had commencedby completing the grand Mosque. Thisnoble monument of the Spanish capital,*was 600 feet long by 250 wide, 1500pillars of polished marble supported itsstupendous roof, and nineteen doors ofbronze, of the most exquisite workman-ship, formed the grand entrance. At

Caliphs were written in the Greek tongue, and thecoins were invariably with Greek inscriptions, and thePersian coins of the Ashcaman or Arsacidae had alsoGreek inscriptions which were probably introduced byAlexander or his successors." Dissertation, p. 64.

* For a more minute description see Casiri,Cardonne, and Ximenes Roderick. " Nul autrepeuple que les Arabes n'aurait pu concevoir oa

ex^cuter de pareils ouvrages," says Millot speakingof their Mosque. H. U.


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night, upwards of 6000 silver lamps, fedwith sweet scented oil, diffused a per-fume and a holy radiance throughout thevast structure, and the sanctum or sacredoratory of the Imaurn was of massivegold.The King also brought water into all

parts of the city by the erection of orna-mental fountains, while the constructionof canals spread around health and generalutility. Schools for the Arabic lan-guage were founded in many cities of thekingdom, and the people were command-ed or persuaded to acquire a knowledgeof its rich and harmonious dialect, andto abandon the bald latinity, rude rem-nant of a former age. Yet while Haschemso greatly encouraged the elegant andthe useful, he did not forget those insti-tutions which contribute to the mamten-


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ance of justice and good will among anation,The laws were most impartially ad-

ministered, and the King gave, in his owninstance, a striking example,* while hefollowed up his father's wise policy byencouraging to the utmost the intermar-riage of his Arabian and Christian sub-jects. The remainder of his virtuous life

* They proposed to the prince to buy a propertywhich was up for public competition ; but Haschemrefused, fearful that the appearance of his factorsmight depress competition, and injure the proprietor,and Haschem inspired by this act ofjustice, gave ventto his feelings in a poetic effusion where he declareshis love for gardens and flowers, yet avows thathis people far take precedence in his soul. VideCasiri, Cardonne, and for the verses, Conde, LosArabes en Espana vol 1 , and the appendix to thesevols.


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was spent in the calm contemplation ofthe past, the present, and the future, andhis hours of relaxation were employed inthe innocent pastime of gardening andbotany. An astrologer is reported tohave warned him, in the ambiguous lan-guage of prophecy, of his approachingdeath. Although Hasohem might havedoubted the art of the magician, he couldnot deny the chances of humanity, andremembering the wise conduct of hisfather on a parallel occasion, he esta-blished, as his successor, his son Al-Hakim. After this event, his health sensi-bly diminished, and when at last warnedof the approach of the silent and relent-less foe, he composed his mind for thechange about to take place and eased hisconscience by delivering the followingdiscourse to his son :


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" May the advice of a father be listen-ed to. O my beloved son, the kingdomsof this world belong to God, from whomwe receive all things ; may we conform tohis wish, may we act up to his laws, fortherefore are we placed in high authority.May thy impartial justice bless andprotect thy people, and may thy ministersfear to use thy name as a shield for anyiniquity ; be gentle, be merciful, for thusis God. Let the choice of thy gover-nors be guided by thy knowledge of theirable virtues, and be mindful to resent allinjuries done to thy people by their ortheir agent's means. In the army pre-serve a strict, yet mild discipline, andbeware the extremes of ferocity andweakness ; the one will induce the hatredof thy soldier,

the other, his contempt." Be above all things assured of this


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great maxim, that a man only really is aking when he reigns in the hearts of hispeople. Where he is a tyrant or a fool,there will be civil discord or generalinsecurity ; but that throne based on theaffections of the subject is built upon arock against which the arts of the wickedtraitor, the arms of the stranger shallnever avail.

" Protect agriculture and all classes ofthy industrious people,

and so live, thatthy numerous subjects may rest securebeneath the shadow of thy throne, and inthe full enjoyment of property and peace,they and their children's children maybless my son Al-Hakim's name."

Such were the virtuous precepts of theexpiring Haschem, and if not superior,they are at least equal to any that are so


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highly vaunted, either in a Pagan or aChristian age.The year 796 completed the life of

Haschem, and his son ascended histhrone to prove the strength which theseadmirable maxims had on his conductand to run his destined course. What-ever might have been the result, had thegood fortune and peaceful reign of hisfather been accorded to the new monarchit is impossible to determine; since, aseries of intestine feuds and rebellions,and a persevering war which ravaged andalarmed the frontiers commenced at thedeath of Haschem, and continued to thatof his son.The two uncles of the King were no

sooner apprized of his accession, than

theyonce more raised the standard of

revolt. Suleiman assembled a large


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force of barbarians at Tangiers, and sailedimmediately for the Spanish coast, whileAbdalla, in his government of Seville, bycorrupting the integrity of the Walis,obtained possession of that province.The valour and the youth ofAl-Hakim

saw these proceedings without dismay,and vigorously prepared to defeat them.But, while marching for this purpose hereceived tidings of the recapture of va-rious towns in the Narbonne, and deem-ing this of more importance, he hastenedin person to the frontiers. His presencechanged the scene ; in a succession of themost rapid and gallant manoeuvres lieregained the whole of the towns seizedby the Christians, and returned loadedwith booty and slaves. Leaving one ofhis

generalsto act in check on the fron-

tier operations, he appeared with the


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rapidity of lightning before Toledo ; hethus astounded and alarmed his enemieswhile he soon after overthrew their pre-tentions and their hopes in a pitchedbattle.

Suleiman and Abdalla escaped intoValencia, where they busied themselvesin again collecting forces to maintaintheir cause.

But their nephew allowed them norespite, he arrived in Murcia, soughtthem out, and by a signal defeat, dispers-ed their army ; and while the death ofSuleiman confirmed the power of Al Ha-kim, the tears he shed on his uncle'sbody attested the natural goodness of hisheart. Abdalla sued for and easily obtainedpardon ; he was advised to retire in ho-nourable exile to Tangiers, while his twosons Esfah and Casim were received at


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the monarch's court, whose generousyouth obliterated the past by bestowingon his cousin the hand of his sisterAlinska.The war of the frontiers still continued.

The brave leader of the Asturians, Al-phonso, had sought the assistance of

Charlemagne, and the son of that hero,Louis, known to history only by hissurname of Debonnaire, headed theFranks on this expedition. Partial suc-cess attended his operations : the ab-sence of almost all the great Arab gene-rals, and the treachery of one, Maklouh,enabled them to ravage the Barcelonneseterritory, to capture Gironne and Tor-tosa, and, at length, Barcelona itself.The King advanced against them, to ter-minate the expedition. He prudentlyprovided for the safety of the towns


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through which he passed on his route,and then proceeded to the seat of war.His army, however, fought few battles,and Al-Hakim was contented by the defeatand execution of Maklouh, whose trea-son had so much contributed to the suc-cess of the Franks. Thence the Kingreturned to Cordova, without even ap-proaching Barcelona.

Joussouff, the son of Amrou, one of theroyal generals, had been entrusted withthe Waliship of the fickle Toledo, andhad, as much from inexperience, as fromany other cause, incurred the hatred ofthe citizens ; for, confounding the inno-cent with the guilty, he had at lengthpushed his severity so far, that the popu-lace rose tumultuously against him, andseized his person. Their urgent petitionto the King occasioned the necessity of


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Joussouff's removal to the smaller townof Tudela ; and he was replaced as Wallby the greater experience of his father,Amrou. The new governor watched forand seized the earliest opportunity ofrevenging this insult on the Toledans.Four hundred inhabitants were sacrificedto his malignant revenge ; and the namesof Amrou and Al-Hakim were joined inthe common curse. The city of Meridaexperienced some agitation at the dis-grace of Esfah, who at this period seemsto have incurred the anger of his cousin ;but the affection of a wife and the in-fluence of a sister, in this instance, pre-vailed, and public order and domesticpeace were shortly restored.From this epoch, however, the cha-

racter and the occupations of Al Hakimunderwent an entire and inexplicable


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change. Although war still raged onthe Gallician and the Narbonnese fron-tiers, we see him no more commandinghis armies, or heading the assault. Theyouthful Abdalrahman, his son, figuredin his place ; his success was brilliant,rapid, and continuous ; and, althoughCatalonia was at last lost to the Arabianpower, yet Narbonne, Gironne and manyimportant places, were won back, by hisvictorious arms, to the crown of Cordova.Al-Hakim had retired to that city. Onhis arrival, his suspicions had beenalarmed by the details of a serious con-spiracy against his throne and life ;* andthree hundred executions, which tookplace in that capital, were deemed neces-

* Laid before the King by Casim, who had, duringhis absence, been appointed governor of Cordova.

VOL. II. B


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sary to secure his safety, or to satisfyhis vengeance. The alarmed peopleforgot their respect for the prince in theirindignant hatred at the tyrant, who,henceforth plunged in sensuality, in-dulged the impulses of his gloomy suspi-cions by the continual slaughter of hissubjects.Abdalrahman was publicly declaredheir to the crown, and his cousins, Esfahand Casim, were the first to swear fide-lity to him. The young prince continuedto be the support of his father's power,the commander of his armies, and thedefender of the kingdom. In order toraise his dignity, or provide for hissafety, a body guard was formed for him,and to render their fidelity more secure,a fixed pay was ordained to them. Themethod of raising this sum was by a tax,


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exactly similar to the Octroi.* Thismode was an innovation, and excitedgreat murmurs among the rich andthriving inhabitants of Cordova.f A

* By laying a tax on all articles of consumption onentering the gates of the city. It was then, and isnow, a mode of contribution universally hated. Thesystem of the French octroi is at once paltry, irritat-ing and obnoxious ; and Cordova is not the onlyplace and kingdom where this tax has raised angryfeelings and tumultuous demonstrations.

t Perhaps the greater part of the crimes of theearly Caesars arose from their having to support alarge power and a luxurious establishment, with verylimited means. Murder was the only ways and meansallowed the Emperors ; and as only the rich fell, andtheir spoils were divided among the princes and thepeople, these latter in that monstrous age cared littlehow, so they enjoyed their shows. A philosopher ofthat period might have calculated with nicety thenumber of murders in each reign by the virtuous eco-nomy or luxurious expenditure of the Emperor. AB 2


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politic prince would have timely con-ceded, but Al-Hakim evinced only hislove of despotism, by ordering ten of themost seditious to be executed. A rescueof these unfortunate victims was effectedby the populace, and both the city andsuburbs revolted in open mutiny. Thevengeance of Al-Hakim knew no bounds.The streets of Cordova run with blood ;the suburbs were given up to fire andpillage ; and the infuriated despot atlength terminated the horrid scene, by anenactment so monstrous, that were it not

new tax also, in despotic governments, and attemptedon the inhabitants of the capital, has rarely been suc-cessful ; and when the wily Augustus attempted thelegacy tax, all concurred that it was a completefailure. See the erudite dissertation on the works ofTacitus, by Bureau de la Malle, vol. i, p. 105, andRcederer, vol. ii, Depping, Hist. G6nrale, etc.


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well authenticated, it would not bedeemed credible, and for which insanitycan plead the only excuse. Al-Hakimgave orders, " that all the inhabitants ofthe ill fated suburbs should quit for evertheir homes, taking with them theirfamilies !" * The exiles of Cordova"wandered, in pursuance of this cruel

mandate, in search of a home and of aresting place," Toledo received some,eight to ten thousand of them acceptedthe offer of the Emir of Morocco, andthe new Fez received the children of theMosarabians, and the industrious sub-jects of Al-Hakim.f Some adventured

* Arab. MSS. of Toledo, translated, No. 1873 B.Bib. du Roi.fThe Edrissites were a sagacious family, and knew

how to profit by the madness of another. A reflec-tion will occur, in viewing the fierce and inexplicable


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on the ocean, and the conquest of Creteis due to their valour and enterprize.*The maniac who had caused the dis-

aster, passed the wretched remainder of

vengeance of Al-Hakim and that is, that he mayhave heen urged and excited by treachery. Casimwas the governor of the city ; from him the Kinglearnt all, and though he was bound by the ties ofgratitude, by his oath, and by relationship, Abdallamight write and suggest that were Al-Hakim re-moved, Esfah might reign, or the claims of Casim bestrong on the suffrages of the nobles.

* Cardonne, Novaire. They sailed in twenty gal-lies, and therefore, says Gibbon, this warfare mustbe branded with the name of piracy ! Their chiefwas Abou Kab, or Cahab. They first pitched theircamp in the bay of Suda ; but led on by an apostatemonk to the more desirable and eastern part of theisland, their fortress Candax extended to the wholeisland, under the corrupt and modern appellation ofCandia. Vol x. c. 51, Fall and Decline, Depping.


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his days in the passions of sensuality,fear, and frenzy ; the torments of hismind allowed him no rest, and the dis-turbed fancies of his guilty conscienceundermined his health, and prostratedhis mortal strength. Life dragged on aheavy and unceasing curse, till the mi-serable and misguided sovereign found atlength that relief in death, as acceptableto himself as the news of it proved to beto his terrified, indignant, and alienatedpeople.


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CHAPTER III.Abdalrahman II ascends the throne Abdallah's re-

bellion and death Frontier War Rebellions inMerida and Toledo Norman pirates MohammedBen Abdalrahman's accession Religious sectsOmar Ben Haffsoun the Bandit Peace with theAsturians Sudden death of Mohammed Al-moiidhir's reign and death Abdallah.

SPONTANEOUS fetes proclaimed the hap-piness of the Spanish Arabs, and wel-comed Abdalrahman II to the throne.The favourite of the army by his valour,of the people by his kind^* heart and up-right mind, and highly gifted by natureand education, he seemed destined to rulewith vigorous justice, and to embellishhis reign with all that was eminent inarts or sciences. Poets, musicians, phy-sicians and astronomers flocked to the


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palace of Cordova, where the young mo-narch welcomed them with honour, andentertained them with liberality, andwhere they received a still higher plea-sure in feeling that their works werejustly appreciated, and their importanceduly acknowledged. The state of thecapital, at this period, was one of greatsplendour and much interest. In a city,whose natural situation was most lovely,*

* Cordoba, situated within five to six miles of thelateral chain of the Sierra Morena, stands on theGuadalquivir, and in the heart of one of the richesttracts of land, both for culture, pasturage, and mine-rals, in Europe. The climate, otherwise sultry, isrefreshed by the mountain breezes. The Arabiansbuilt immense fortifications, which still remain, andthe great mosque, now the catholic cathedral, atteststhe magnitude of their designs and execution. Thewalls of the latter are encrusted with verses from theKoran, which are regarded by the present age with

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the palaces of the king and of the chiefnobility vied with each other in eleganceand design, while the mosques and pub-lic buildings, interspersed with largeand richly cultivated gardens, extending

an ignorant disdain. Corduba, so called by the Ro-mans, and Corthobah by the Arabs, was ever a placeof great importance in Spain, and in those remotetimes was the scene of a certain magnificence, sincewe find Scapula, who revolted against Sextus Pom-peius (A. U. C- 709), resided some time in this town,where he displayed his riches and his taste in feastingon gold plates, and drinking from gold cups filledwith beer, and wine mixed with spikenard and rosin !Cordora is the country of the two Seneca, and oftheir relation, the author of the Pharsalia. Of Ava-roes, Avicenna, and the Christian soldier Hernando,called Gonsulvo de Cordova. Vide Danville, vol. 2,p. 209. Al Edris, p. 113. Strabo, Lib. 3, Pin-kerton, p. 138. Malte-Brun, Geogr. Descript. p..503. Bibl. Or., vol. 1, p. 545.


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over a vast surface, added health andcheerfulness to the scene. The wellpaved streets, the highly-carved and salu-brious fountains, the noble aqueducts,and the marble edifices struck the pleasedbeholder with surprise, nor was he lessastonished at the affluence of the courtthan at the easy prosperity of the citizens.In the interior of that court the arts ofmusic and sculpture, poetry, and history,and the abstruse sciences were cultivatedwith assiduity and success. The cele-brated El Lahti (the learned Andalouz,as he was styled in the East from whenceh*3 had just returned) was the friend ofAbdalrahman, and the tutor of his sons.The skill of the master was proved in theexcellence of the scholars, who receivedwith pride, and displayed with equal


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ability the offices of poet and orator atthe funerals of their illustrious race*.

But from the midst of these elegantand honourable occupations which, whilethey add to the enjoyment, increase theutility of life, Abdalrahman was sum-moned to the harsh*sound and pestiferousatmosphere of war and rebellion. In thecity of Tangiers the aged Abdallah stilllived to dream of visions of greatnesswhich he was never destined to enjoy,and to concert schemes of invasion and

* Conde, vol. 1, p. 278. Bibl. Or., vol. , p.53 1 . Owing to the suggestions of Laiti, the po-lished Abdalrahman invited Zeriab, the famous musi-cian of Persia, over to Spain, and founded a school ofmusic in Cordova, and a band for the palace, whichwas carefully fostered by his successors. Vide Car-donne, tome 1, p. $83-5. Conde and Casiri, Bib.Arab. Hisp.


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conquest, if not for himself, for the gran-deur of his family. The clemency ofhis nephew had been forgotten, thecc peace money," received from the gene-rous father was now employed to de-stroy the authority of the son, and Ab-dallah reappeared ih Spain with hisusual pretexts of the rights of birth,*

* This right, among the Asiatics, was purely ima-ginary, among the Mussulman contrary to the lawand practice of the Prophet. The Arabs and theFranks have equally entertained the law of electionas the symbol of national liberty, and both may havefound in practice that it was the root of tyranny. For,after all, as has been remarked by Gibbon, " the ac-knowledged right of birth extinguishes the hopes offaction, and its conscious security disarms the crueltyof the monarch. To the firm establishment of thisidea we owe the peaceful succession of our Europeanmonarchies. To the defect of it, we must attributethose frequent civil wars through which an Asiatic


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and of justice for himself and fair pro-mises for the ears of the populace.Backed by the Berbers and the banditsof Africa and Andalouz, he again raisedhis standard. The royal legions of Cor-dova met him in Valencia, defeated, andforced him to retire to the city of thatprovince, and there the feeble old manhad recourse to the special invocationof heaven, to decide the justice of hiscause. The credulity or the vanity ofthe Arabian historians give us to under-stand that his vows were heard : at theend of his prayer he was struck sud-denly to the earth, and the fit of ill-ness or enthusiasm was construed by hisdispirited followers as the answer from

despot is obliged to cut his way to the throne of hisfathers. Vol. 1, p. 271. F and D.


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God. Abdallah acquiesced, and rising,cried : " O Allah ! I resign myself to thydecrees ;" and the news of his submis-sion was eagerly carried to the King. Athis court, Esfah and Casim had appearedas intercessors for their father, the mindof Ahdalrahman was* generous, the sub-mission of Abdallah seemed sincere, andto the pardon which was extended to him,was added an oblivion of his past life bya mark of confidence in his remainingdays, since he was given Tadmorah, withthe power, during his own life, of ex-clusive sovereignty in that province.Abdallah died the following year, andthe King seized that occasion to investthe property of his great uncle in thehands of his children, and to make thatimportant law, which allowed hereditarysuccession to children, release of dowry


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to widows, and the right of testators tobequeath away one third of their propertyto any stranger they might choose toselect*.The war on the frontiers had again

commenced. The Christians had chosenthe moment of intestine commotionamong the Arabs to push their advan-tages, and extended their conquests inthe North. But the activity of Abdal-

* Arab MSS. of Toledo. Leges Hispan. No. 71,Bib. du Roi. The succession of children, in right ofinheritance, was no dangerous innovation, and one onthe contrary Abdalrahman would have been glad toestablish in his own family. The second point wasan old acknowledged custom among the women ofArabia. (Vide Richardson's Dissertations, Part II.,Sect. 2, p. 331-2. The third was a just and liberalenactment. It does not appear that more than per-sonal property descended to the children by the lawof Abdalrahman. Vide Leg. Hisp.


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THE ARABS IN SPAIN. '89

rahman defeated their views. He ap-peared at Tortosa, forced the enemy toretire within the walls of Barcelona,besieged, and took that city, and thenpursued the fugitives to the Pyrenees.Hence he returned to Cordova with theensigns and the fruits of victory. Obeidatla, the youngest

son of Abdallahatoned for the conduct of his father byhis services of fidelity in the field. In-vested with the command, he led theroyal forces against the Asturians andNavarese, and obtained many decisiveadvantages, and in the battle of Pampe-luna he gained so complete a victory,that he sent the generals of the enemyprisoners to Cordova as proofs of hisvalour and success. The five followingyears

were employed byObeidalla in

checking the aggressions of the frontier,


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by Abdalrahman in the prosecution ofthe arts, sciences, and works of publicutility, and by the factious in fomentingdiscontent, exciting discussions and tu-mults, and successfully preparing theprovinces for long and open rebellion.The great cities of Spain were governedby two officers in the King's name, theWali*, or governor of the province, and

* Besides the Wall and the Wazir, the otheroffices seem to have been in the civil administrationof affairs : the Wazir Medini or councillor of state inthe capital, of which there were many, and indeed allthe King's immediate ministers, were Wazirs. TheCadi or Alcaide, whose name and office still exist atthis day in Spain, the Fakhirs or Faquirs, juriscon-sults, and doctors of law, the Mollahs or moderatorsof the assembly of the preachers. The Imam or headof the assembly of the preachers, and the Khathiebsor Chetibs preachers and expounders in the mosques.In the military department, we find the Al Hadi or


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the Wazir or Lieutenant of the city,which last if the Wali was forced toabsent himself, ruled in both for thetime. Each new king, at his accession,always confirmed or annulled the list ofgovernors throughout the kingdom, andin the latter case nominated fresh ones.The most important duties of the Walistwere to raise, " as by royal ordon-nances," the taxes from each province,and to remit such portions of them aswere decreed by law to the King's ex-chequer at Cordova. They were enjoinedheir to the throne, who was generally commander-in-chief of the land forces, the grand admiral, the Emirsor generals of the armies by sea and land, and thesubordinate grades. Vid Bibl. Or. Passim. Casiri,Cardonne, Escurial MSS. El Gamri. Bib, du Roi,Conde, Aseargota. Dynasties d'Abulpharge LatinePocock, &c.


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to reside constantly in their governments,(unless specially summoned to the capi-tal, or to join the holy standard in war),and to give their best attention to theadministration of the province, accord-ing to the special or general policy ofan Asiatic Government.As this was despotic in Cordova, itwas equally so in all the other great

towns, such as Toledo, Merida, Sara-gossa, Murcia and Lisbon, and as thepeople knew not how to distinguish themeasures ordained by the central govern-ment, from those which sprung from thecaprice or inability of the Wali, they musthave evidently been in a better or worseposition, according to the good or evilcharacter of their officer. Although inCordova, the people were from the pre-sence of the court and the privileges of a


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capital in general loyal and contented,the provincial cities were subject to op-pression, corruption, and constant revolt.Each city was also castellated or forti-fied, and this, though an advantage, asfar as general security was concerned,was, when intestine commotion prevailed,a great and growing evil. It gave a dis-contented emir every facility to rebel,and offered every obstacle to the sup-pression of revolt. The wise suggestionsof different statesmen to dismantle thetowns, had been often and vainly re-peated. The Spanish monarchs disre-garded the advice, and either from pre-judice or some undefined fears, refusedto allow the destruction of these strong-holds, thus seeming to prefer repressingthe recurrence of civil war, by force ofarms, to checking it by a sagacious poli-


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cy. This mistake and its results alikefatal to King and people, continued toprevail, and the Christian enemies of theArab, seizing* each occasion with happyability, at last succeeded in suppressingthe creed and the banner of the Prophetthroughout the Peninsula. The lenientpolicy of the Arabians after victory hadallowed, from the commencement, theexercise of their religious faith and world-ly professions to their Christian subjects ;bjf the former privilege these had becomecemented into one body, which grew inriches, strength, and spirit by the enjoy-ment of the latter. The followers ofMoses, also a large and influential class,had suffered to a great extent in thatpoint, where they have ever been mostsensitive, and their skill in amassingriches had been too often abused by the


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violence with which it had been wrestedfrom them. These two powerful bodieswere therefore always ready to lend theirassistance to the factious ;% and the dis-contented Wali was sure of their aid tofoment and keep up rebellion, and allthese elements of discord combined, nowappeared in array against the power ofAbdalrahman II.Mohammed Ben Abdoulgabar headed

the people of Merida in a violent assaulton the authorities of the town, in whiththe houses of the magistrates werebroken into, and themselves sacrificed topopular fury. The King's governor re-tired in haste, and the factious Abdoul-gabar entrenched in the fortifications ofthat splendid city, flattered himself inthat

positionand with the aid of all the

bandits of the neighbourhood, he might


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wait the arrival of the royal troops tocontest and overturn the power of thesovereign. The King instantly sentAbdalrouf otfe of his generals with theAlgarve legions to suppress the mutiny.The inflated vanity of Mohammed in-duced him to defy all terms of submis-sion, and thtf siege had been long anddoubtful, had not the good sense of thecitizens put an end to it and reestablish-ed the King's authority.*They sent six of their eminent men to

treat the terms of capitulation ; thestrictest orders had been given by theKing not to pillage or injure either personor property. In silence, the legions ofAbdalrouf entered the gates, and with themost rigid discipline ; they obeyed theorders . of their general and ere twelvehours had passed, 700 bodies of the


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rebels lay dead in the streets, whileorder and peace reigned undisputed in^lerida. This was immediately followedby a similar explosion in Toledo, where*private revenge gave the chief impulseto the rebellion. Haschem Ben Atik, arich and powerful citizen, complained ofthe injustice done him by Abmaffah,the King's Wazir ; he spread vast sumsof money among the people, and bribedthe Berber guards of the Alcazar to es-pouse his cause. These affected to *bealarmed at the fury of the people, whobesieged the gates, and fled in trepida-tion before the multitudes ; those whoremained faithful were slain, and theWazir would also have fallen a victim,had not chance favoured him. Absentfrom the town, when the revolt brokeout, he fled to Calatrava, and thence

VOL. II. F


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dispatched a messenger to Cordova withthe news. The Prince Ommiah, with alarge body of the royal horse guards,proceeded towards Toledo, while Ab-maffah advanced on his side with a

*strong body of troops. Within Toledo,the rebels took energetic measures toresist the attack. A

sallyfrom the

gates against Abmaffah's detachmentwas successful, and the vanity ofHaschemand the hopes of his soldiers, augmentedin equal proportion. The General Ab-dalrouf had fully succeeded by mild andpolitic measures in calming the rebel-lion in JMerida, and when he quitted thatcity to march 01* Toledo, he left thepoor fully employed, the police and mili-tary well provided, and the rebels drivenfar from its environs. The King hadnaturally hoped that the same happy


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results might attend Abdalrouf at Toledo,but these hopes were not fulfilled at thattime, since the only advantage obtainedby Abdalrouf against the Toledan muti-neers was in an onset near the banks ofthe small river Alberca. No sooner toohad this general retired from Merida,than the rebellious bands re-entered thattown, inhumanly murdered two of themagistrates, and planted the flag of sedi-tion on its ramparts. Abdalrahman de-termined to put an end to these scenes,advanced to the siege in person, and hisarmy prepared to carry the town by as-sault, when the King adopted a mildercourse. Written paMons attached toarrows were shot into the town, andthe many who read, reflected, laid downtheir arms, and sought the standard oftheir sovereign.

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The rebels were dismayed and silentlydeparted, and when the inhabitants senta deputation to offer their excuses and tosue for pardon, the generous King replied,that he rejoiced, the stern sword of jus-tice was sheathed on a day of so muchjoy, when the affections of his peoplewere restored to him ; and if God wouldnot turn the hearts of the rebellious, heat all events hoped he should have thepower to prevent their disturbing thepeace of his people. The stay of Abdal-rahman in Merida was prolonged formany days, during which, his presenceconfirmed the wavering, and cheered theloyal, and the dnly want of sagacitywhich he displayed was in the mandateto rebuild the fortifications, which hadbeen destroyed in the siege. For ninemonths the skill and audacity of Ha-


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schem defied the royal arms, famine, atlength, forced his valour to submit, hisguilty head was the only one that fell,and the King having appointed Abdal-rouf, Wall of the province, recompensedthe misfortunes and fidelity of Abmaffah,by a place at court.The affairs of the Asturias were

glided by the double sovereignty of Al-phonso and his cousin Ramiro. The in-trigues of the Christians were numberless,their treasons incessant, their perfidycomplete. They aided with money andwith men the rebel of the Arabian cities,and the Bishop of Christ was frequentlyseen fighting under thg standard of Mo-hammed. The Arabs resented this trea-chery by open and sly covert means, thebribes of the court of Oviedo, were dulypaid back among the seditious Christians,


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and the warriors of the Prophet joinedin the sally and conspired against thesafety of the Asturian kings. A vainand wretched policy, which weakenedeach people, and fed the flame morefiercely, which inwardly consumed thebest prospects both of the King of Astu-rias and of Cordova. The remainder ofAbdalrahman's reign was far from hap-py ; the powers of nature, as well as thearts, seemed conspired to prevent it fromclosing in prosperity. Two bands ofNorman pirates ravaged the shores ofLusitania, and massacring all the inha-bitants of either sex, and of every age inthe villages, they encamped before Lis-bon, where these vile marauders re-mained, till on the news of an advancingarmy, they fled with their booty to

their

ships. Again appearing under the walls


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of Seville, they laid its suburbs in ruins,and then fearing the results, decampedin haste from their murderous occupa-tions. The rapidity with which these ex-cursions had been effected was such,that the Norman robber had plunderedand departed before the capital wasaware of his existence. To remedy soimportant a defect in his government,Abdalrahman established a

arabs in spain

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