right way. They took that route, and continued their course the same day
and the next night until they had traversed a wide tract of country. And
as they were proceeding, one day, they came to a pillar of black stone,
wherein was a person sunk to his arm-pits, and he had two huge wings,
and four arms; two of them like those of the sons of Adam, and two like
the fore-legs of lions, with claws. He had hair upon his head like the
tails of horses, and two eyes like two burning coals, and he had a third
eye, in his forehead, like the eye of the lynx, from which there
appeared sparks of fire. He was black and tall; and he was crying out:
"Extolled be the perfection of my Lord, who hath appointed me this
severe affliction and painful torture until the day of resurrection!"
When the party beheld him, their reason fled from them, and they were
stupefied at the sight of his form, and retreated in flight; and the
Emeer Moosa said to the Sheikh Abd-Es-Samad: "What is this?" He
answered: "I know not what he is." And the emeer said: "Draw near to
him, and investigate his case: perhaps he will discover it, and perhaps
thou wilt learn his history." So the Sheikh Abd-Es-Samad drew near to
him, and said to him: "O thou person, what is thy name, and what is thy
nature, and what hath placed thee here in this manner?" And the person
answered him: "As to me, I am an efreet of the genies, and my name is
Dahish, and I am restrained here by the majesty of God." Then the Emeer
Moosa said: "O Sheikh Abd-Es-Samad, ask him what is the cause of his
confinement in this pillar." He therefore asked respecting that, and the
efreet answered him: "Verily my story is wonderful; and it is this:
"There belonged to one of the sons of Iblees an idol of red carnelian,
of which I was made guardian; and there used to worship it one of the
Kings of the Sea, of great glory, leading, among his troops of the
genies, a million warriors who smote with swords before him, and who
answered his prayer in cases of difficulty. These genies who obeyed him
were under my command and authority, following my words when I ordered
them: all of them were in rebellion against Solomon, the son of David;
and I used to enter the body of the idol, and command them and forbid
them. Now the daughter of that king was a frequent adorer of the idol,
assiduous in the worship of it, and she was the handsomest of the people
of her age, endowed with beauty and loveliness, and elegance and
perfection; and I described her to Solomon, on whom be peace! So he sent
to her father, saying to him: 'Marry to me thy daughter, and break thy
carnelian-idol, and bear witness that there is no deity but God, and
that Solomon is the Prophet of God. But if thou refuse, I will come to
thee with forces that shall leave thee like yesterday that hath passed.'
And when the messenger of Solomon came to him, the King of the Sea was
insolent, and magnified himself and was proud. Then he said to his
viziers: 'What say ye respecting the affair of Solomon? For he hath sent
demanding my daughter, and commanding me to break my carnelian-idol, and
to adopt his faith.' And they replied: 'O great King, can Solomon do
aught unto thee, when thou art in the midst of this vast sea? He cannot
prevail against thee; since the genies will fight on thy side; and thou
shalt seek aid against him of thine idol that thou worshippest. The
right opinion is, that thou consult thy red carnelian-idol, and hear
what will be his reply: if he counsel thee to fight him, fight him; but
otherwise, do not.' And upon this the king went immediately, and, going
in to his idol, after he had offered a sacrifice and slain victims, fell
down before it prostrate, and began to weep, and to seek counsel.
"Thereupon I entered the body of the idol, by reason of my ignorance,
and my solicitude respecting the affair of Solomon, and recited this
couplet:
'As for me, I am not in fear of him; for I am acquainted with everything.
If he wish to wage war with me, I will go forth, and I will snatch his
soul from him.'
So when the king heard my reply to him, his heart was strengthened, and
he determined to wage war with Solomon the Prophet of God and to fight
against him. Accordingly, when the messenger of Solomon came, he
inflicted upon him a painful beating, and returned him a shameful reply;
and he sent to threaten Solomon, saying to him, by the messenger: 'Dost
thou threaten me with false words? Either come thou to me, or I will go
to thee.'
"Then the messenger returned to Solomon, and acquainted him with all
that had occurred. And when the Prophet of God heard that, his
resolution was roused, and he prepared his forces, consisting of genies
and men, and wild beasts, and birds and reptiles. He commanded his
vizier, Ed-Dimiryat, the king of the genies, to collect them from every
place: so he collected for him, of the devils, six hundred millions. He
also commanded Asaf, his vizier of men, to collect his soldiers of
mankind; and their number was one million, or more. He made ready the
accoutrements and weapons, and mounted, with his forces, upon the magic
carpet, with the birds flying over his head, and the wild beasts beneath
the carpet marching, until he alighted upon his enemy's coast, and
surrounded his island, having filled the land with the forces. He then
sent to our king, saying to him: 'Behold, I have arrived: therefore
submit thyself to my authority, and acknowledge my mission, and break
thine idol, and worship the One, the Adored God, and marry to me thy
daughter according to law, and say thou, and those who are with thee, I
testify that there is no deity but God, and I testify that Solomon is
the Prophet of God. If thou say that, peace and safety shall be thy lot.
But if thou refuse, thy defending thyself from me in this island shall
not prevent thee: for God hath commanded the wind to obey me, and I will
order it to convey me unto thee on the carpet, and will make thee an
example to restrain others.' So the messenger came to him, and
communicated to him the message of the Prophet! But the king said to
him: 'There is no way for the accomplishment of this thing that he
requireth: therefore inform him that I am coming forth unto him.'
Accordingly the messenger returned to Solomon, and gave him the reply.
The king then sent to the people of his country, and collected for
himself, of the genies that were under his authority, a million; and to
these he added others, of the devils that were in the islands and on the
mountains; after which he made ready his forces, and opened the
armouries, and distributed to them the weapons. And as to the Prophet of
God, he disposed his troops, commanding the wild beasts to form
themselves into two divisions, on the right of the people and on their
left, and commanding the birds to be upon the islands. He ordered them
also when the assault should be made, to tear out the eyes of their
antagonists with their beaks, and to beat their faces with their wings;
and he ordered the wild beasts to tear in pieces their horses; and they
replied: 'We hear and obey God and thee, O Prophet of God!' Then Solomon
set for himself a couch of alabaster adorned with jewels, and plated
with plates of red gold, and he placed his vizier Asaf on the right
side, and his vizier, Ed-Dimiryat, on the left side, and the kings of
mankind on his right, and the kings of the genies on his left, and the
wild beasts and the vipers and serpents before him.
"After this, they came upon us all together, and we contended with him
in a wide tract for a period of two days; and calamity befell us on the
third day, and the decree of God was executed among us. The first who
charged upon Solomon were I and my troops; and I said to my companions:
'Keep in your places in the battle-field while I go forth to them and
challenge Ed-Dimiryat.' And, lo, he came forth, like a great mountain,
his fires flaming, and his smoke ascending; and he approached, and
smote me with a flaming fire; and his arrow prevailed over my fire. He
cried out at me with a prodigious cry, so that I imagined the heaven had
fallen, and the mountains shook at his voice. Then he commanded his
companions, and they charged upon us all together: we also charged upon
them: the fires rose and the smoke ascended, the hearts of the
combatants were almost cleft asunder, and the battle raged. The birds
fought in the air; and the wild beasts in the dust; and I contended with
Ed-Dimiryat until he wearied me and I wearied him; after which my
companions and troops were enervated, and my tribes were routed. I flew
from before Ed-Dimiryat; but he followed me a journey of three months,
until he overtook me. I had fallen down through fatigue, and he rushed
upon me, and made me a prisoner. So I said to him: 'By Him who hath
exalted thee and abased me, pity me, and take me before Solomon.' But
when I came before Solomon, he met me in a most evil manner: he caused
this pillar to be brought, and hollowed it, and put me in it, and sealed
me with his signet; after which, he chained me, and Ed-Dimiryat conveyed
me to this place, where he set me down as thou seest me; and this pillar
is my prison until the day of resurrection."
The party therefore wondered at him, and at the horrible nature of his
form; and the Emeer Moosa said: "There is no deity but God!" And the
Sheikh Abd-Es-Samad said to the efreet: "O thou, I ask thee concerning a
thing of which do thou inform us." The efreet replied: "Ask concerning
what thou wilt." And the sheikh said: "Are there in this place any of
the efreets confined in bottles of brass from the time of Solomon?" He
answered: "Yes, in the Sea of El-Karkar, where are a people of the
descendants of Noah, whose country the deluge reached not, and they are
separated there from the rest of the sons of Adam." "And where," said
the sheikh, "is the way to the City of Brass, and the place wherein are
the bottles? What distance is there between us and it?" The efreet
answered: "It is near." So the party left him, and proceeded; and there
appeared to them in the distance a great black object, with two fires
corresponding with each other in position; whereupon the Emeer Moosa
said to the sheikh: "What is this great black object, and these two
corresponding fires?" The guide answered him: "Be rejoiced, O Emeer; for
this is the City of Brass, and this is the appearance of it that I find
described in the Book of Hidden Treasures; that its wall is of black
stones, and it hath two towers of brass, which the beholder seeth
resembling two corresponding fires; and thence it is named the City of
Brass." They ceased not to proceed until they arrived at it; and, lo, it
was lofty, strongly fortified, rising high into the air, impenetrable:
the height of its walls was eighty cubits, and it had five and twenty
gates, none of which would open but by means of some artifice. They
stopped before it, and endeavoured to discover one of its gates; but
they could not; and the Emeer Moosa said to the Sheikh Abd-Es-Samad: "O
sheikh, I see not to this city any gate." The sheikh replied: "O Emeer,
thus do I find it described in the Book of Hidden Treasures; that it
hath five and twenty gates, and that none of its gates may be opened but
from within the city." "And how," said the emeer, "can we contrive to
enter it, and divert ourselves with a view of its wonders?"
Then the Emeer Moosa ordered one of his young men to mount a camel, and
ride round the city, in the hope that he might discover a trace of a
gate. So one of his young men mounted, and proceeded around it for two
days with their nights, prosecuting his journey with diligence, and not
resting; and when the third day arrived, he came in sight of his
companions, and he was astounded at that which he beheld of the extent
of the city, and its height. Then he said: "O Emeer, the easiest place
in it is this place at which ye have alighted." And thereupon the Emeer
Moosa took Talib and the Sheikh Abd-Es-Samad, and they ascended a
mountain opposite the city, and overlooking it; and when they had
ascended that mountain, they saw a city than which eyes had not beheld
any greater. Its pavilions were lofty, and its domes were shining; its
rivers were running, its trees were fruitful, and its gardens bore ripe
produce. It was a city with impenetrable gates, empty, still, without a
voice but the owl hooting in its quarters, and the raven croaking in its
thoroughfare-streets, and bewailing those who had been in it.
And the Emeer Moosa fainted with sorrow; his tears ran down upon his
cheeks, and he said: "By Allah, indifference to the world is the most
appropriate and the most sure course!"
And when they came back to the troops, they passed the day devising
means of entering the city; and the Emeer Moosa said to those of his
chief officers who were around him: "How shall we contrive to enter the
city, that we may see its wonders? Perhaps we shall find in it something
by which we may ingratiate ourselves with the Prince of the Faithful."
Talib replied: "Let us make a ladder, and mount upon it, and perhaps we
shall gain access to the gate from within." And the emeer said: "This is
what occurred to my mind, and excellent is the advice." Then he called
to the carpenters and blacksmiths, and ordered them to make straight
some pieces of wood, and to construct a ladder covered with plates of
iron. And they did so, and made it strong. They employed themselves in
constructing it a whole month, and many men were occupied in making it.
And they set it up and fixed it against the wall, and it proved to be
equal to the wall in height, as though it had been made for it before
that day. So the Emeer Moosa wondered at it, and said: "God bless you!
It seemeth, from the excellence of your work, as though ye had adapted
it by measurement to the wall." He then said to the people: "Which of
you will ascend this ladder, and mount upon the wall, and walk along it,
and contrive means of descending into the city, that he may see how the
case is, and then inform us of the mode of opening the gate?" And one of
them answered: "I will ascend it, O Emeer, and descend and open the
gate." The emeer therefore replied: "Mount. God bless thee!"
Accordingly, the man ascended the ladder until he reached the top of it;
when he stood, and fixed his eyes toward the city, clapped his hands,
and cried out with his loudest voice, saying: "Thou art beautiful!" Then
he cast himself down into the city, and was destroyed. So the Emeer
Moosa said: "If we do thus with all our companions, there will not
remain of them one; and we shall be unable to accomplish our affair, and
the affair of the Prince of the Faithful. Depart ye; for we have no
concern with this city." But one of them said: "Perhaps another than
this may be more steady than he." And a second ascended, and a third,
and a fourth, and a fifth; and they ceased not to ascend by that ladder
to the top of the wall, one after another, until twelve men of them had
gone, acting as acted the first. Therefore the Sheikh Abd-Es-Samad said:
"There is none for this affair but myself, and the experienced is not
like the inexperienced." But the Emeer Moosa said to him: "Thou shalt
not do that, nor will I allow thee to ascend to the top of this wall;
for shouldst thou die, thou wouldst be the cause of the death of us all,
and there would not remain of us one; since thou art the guide of the
party." The sheikh, however, replied: "Perhaps the object will be
accomplished by my means, through the will of God, whose name be
exalted!" And thereupon all the people agreed to his ascending.
[Illustration]
_And when they had ascended that mountain they saw a city than which
eyes had not beheld any greater._
Then Abd-Es-Samad arose, and, having said: "In the name of God, the
Compassionate, the Merciful!"--he ascended the ladder, repeating the
praises of God, and reciting the Verses of Safety, until he reached the
top of the wall; when he clapped his hands, and fixed his eyes. The
people therefore all called out to him, and said: "O Sheikh
Abd-Es-Samad, do not cast thyself down! If Abd-Es-Samad fall, we all
perish!" Then Abd-Es-Samad sat a long time repeating the praises of God,
and reciting the Verses of Safety; after which he rose with energy, and
called out with his loudest voice: "O Emeer, no harm shall befall you;
for God hath averted from me the effect of the artifice of the Devil."
So the emeer said to him: "What hast thou seen, O Sheikh?" He answered:
"When I reached the top of the wall I beheld ten damsels, like moons,
who made a sign with their hands, as though they would say: 'Come to
us!' And it seemed to me that beneath me was a sea of water; whereupon I
desired to cast myself down, as our companions did: but I beheld them
dead; so I withheld myself from them, and recited some words of the book
of God, whereupon He averted from me the influence of those damsels, and
they departed; therefore I cast not myself down. There is no doubt that
this is an enchantment which the people of this city contrived in order
to repel from it every one who should wish to obtain access to it."
He then walked along the wall till he came to the two towers of brass,
when he saw that they had gates of gold, without any sign of the means
of opening them. Therefore the sheikh, looking attentively, saw in the
middle of one of the gates a figure of a horseman of brass, having one
hand extended, as though he were pointing with it, and on it was an
inscription, which the sheikh read, and, lo, it contained these words:
Turn the pin that is in the middle of the front of the horseman's body
twelve times, and then the gate will open.
So he turned the pin twelve times; whereupon the gate opened
immediately, with a noise like thunder; and the sheikh entered. He was a
learned man, acquainted with all languages and characters. And he walked
on until he entered a long passage, whence he descended some steps, and
he found a place with handsome wooden benches, on which were people
dead, and over their heads were elegant shields, and keen swords, and
strung bows, and notched arrows. And behind the next gate were a bar of
iron, and barricades of wood, and locks of delicate fabric, and strong
apparatus. Upon this, the sheikh said within himself: "Perhaps the keys
are with these people." Then he looked, and, lo, there was a sheikh who
appeared to be the oldest of them, and he was upon a high wooden bench
among the dead men. So Abd-Es-Samad said: "May not the keys of the city
be with this sheikh! Perhaps he was the gate-keeper of the city, and
these were under his authority." He therefore drew near to him, and
lifted up his garments, and, lo, the keys were hung to his waist. At the
sight of them, Abd-Es-Samad rejoiced exceedingly; and he took the keys,
opened the locks, and pulled the gate and the barricades and other
apparatus, which opened and the gate also opened, with a noise like
thunder. Upon this the sheikh exclaimed: "God is most great!" and the
people made the same exclamation with him, rejoicing at the event. The
Emeer Moosa also rejoiced at the safety of Abd-Es-Samad, and at the
opening of the gate of the city; the people thanked him for that which
he had done, and all the troops hastened to enter the gate. But the
Emeer Moosa cried out to them, saying to them: "O people, if all of us
enter, we shall not be secure from accident. Half shall enter, and half
shall remain behind."
The Emeer Moosa then entered the gate, and with him half of the people,
who bore their weapons of war. And the party saw their companions lying
dead: so they buried them. They saw also the gate-keepers and servants
and chamberlains and lieutenants lying upon beds of silk, all of them
dead. And they entered the market of the city, and beheld that the shops
were open, and the scales hung up, and the utensils of brass ranged in
order, and the stores were full of all kinds of goods. And they saw the
merchants dead in their shops: their skins were dried, and they had
become examples to him who would be admonished. And they left this
place, and passed on to the silk-market, in which were silks and
brocades interwoven with red gold and white silver upon various colours,
and the owners were dead, lying upon skins, and appearing almost as
though they would speak. Leaving these, they went on to the market of
jewels and pearls and jacinths; and they left it, and passed on to the
market of the money-changers, whom they found dead, with varieties of
silks beneath them, and their shops were filled with gold and silver.
These they left, and they proceeded to the markets of the perfumers;
and, lo, their shops were filled with varieties of perfumes, and bags of
musk, and ambergris, and aloes-wood, and camphor; and the owners were
all dead, not having with them any food. And when they went forth from
the market of the perfumers, they found near unto it a palace,
decorated, and strongly constructed; and they entered it, and found
banners unfurled, and drawn swords, and strung bows and shields hung up
by chains of gold and silver, and helmets gilded with red gold. And in
the passages of that palace were benches of ivory, ornamented with
plates of brilliant gold, and with silk, on which were men whose skins
had dried upon the bones; the ignorant would imagine them to be
sleeping; but, from the want of food, they had died, and tasted
mortality.
And the Emeer Moosa went on into the interior of the palace. There he
beheld a great hall, and four large and lofty chambers, each one
fronting another, wide, decorated with gold and silver and with various
colours. In the midst of the hall was a great fountain of alabaster,
over which was a canopy of brocade; and in those chambers were fountains
lined with marble; and channels of water flowed along the floors of
those chambers, the four streams meeting in a great tank lined with
marbles of various colours. The Emeer Moosa then said to the Sheikh
Abd-Es-Samad: "Enter these chambers with us." So they entered the first
chamber; and they found it filled with gold and with white silver, and
pearls and jewels, and jacinths and precious minerals. They found in it
also chests full of red and yellow and white brocades. And they went
thence to the second chamber, and opened a closet in it, and, lo, it was
filled with arms and weapons of war, consisting of gilded helmets, and
coats of mail, and swords, and lances, and maces, and other instruments
of war and battle. Then they passed thence to the third chamber, in
which they found closets having upon their doors closed locks, and over
them were curtains worked with various kinds of embroidery. They opened
one of these closets, and found it filled with weapons decorated with
varieties of gold and silver and jewels. And they went thence to the
fourth chamber, where also they found closets, one of which they opened,
and they found it full of utensils for food and drink, consisting of
various vessels of gold and silver, and saucers of crystal, and cups set
with brilliant pearls and cups of carnelian, and other things. So they
began to take what suited them of those things, and each of the soldiers
carried off what he could. And when they determined to go forth from
those chambers, they saw there a door inlaid with ivory and ebony, and
adorned with plates of brilliant gold. Over it was hung a curtain of
silk worked with various kinds of embroidery, and upon it were locks of
white silver, to be opened by artifice, without a key. The Sheikh
Abd-Es-Samad therefore advanced to those locks, and he opened them by
his knowledge and excellent skill. And the party entered a passage paved
with marble, upon the sides of which were curtains whereon were figured
various wild beasts and birds, all these being worked with red gold and
white silver, and their eyes were of pearls and jacinths: whosoever
beheld them was confounded.
They then passed on, and found a saloon constructed of polished marble
adorned with jewels. The beholder imagined that upon its floor was
running water, and if any one walked upon it he would slip. The Emeer
Moosa therefore ordered the Sheikh Abd-Es-Samad to throw upon it
something that they might be enabled to walk on it; and he did this, and
contrived so that they passed on. And they found in it a great dome
constructed of stones gilded with red gold. The party had not beheld, in
all that they had seen, anything more beautiful than it. And in the
midst of that dome was a great dome-crowned structure of alabaster,
around which were lattice windows, decorated, and adorned with oblong
emeralds, such as none of the kings could procure. In it was a pavilion
of brocade, raised upon columns of red gold, and within this were birds,
the feet of which were of emeralds; beneath each bird was a net of
brilliant pearls, spread over a fountain; and by the brink of the
fountain was placed a couch adorned with pearls and jewels and jacinths,
whereon was a damsel resembling the shining sun. Eyes had not beheld
one more beautiful. Upon her was a garment of brilliant pearls, on her
head was a crown of red gold, with a fillet of jewels, on her neck was a
necklace of jewels in the middle of which were refulgent gems, and upon
her forehead were two jewels the light of which was like that of the
sun; and she seemed as though she were looking at the people, and
observing them to the right and left. When the Emeer Moosa beheld this
damsel, he wondered extremely at her loveliness, and was confounded by
her beauty and the redness of her cheeks and the blackness of her hair.
Any beholder would imagine that she was alive, and not dead. And they
said to her: "Peace be on thee, O damsel!" But Talib said to the emeer:
"May God amend thy state! Know that this damsel is dead. There is no
life in her. How then can she return the salutation?" And he added: "O
Emeer, she is skilfully embalmed; and her eyes have been taken out after
her death, and quicksilver hath been put beneath them, after which they
have been restored to their places; so they gleam; and whenever the air
putteth them in motion, the beholder imagineth that she twinkleth her
eyes, though she is dead."