_Bozrah_--First Syrian mosque--The physician the reconciler--The
“House of the Jew”--The great mosque--Cufic inscription--Boheira
and Mohammed--The fortress--Bridal festivities--Feats of
horsemanship--History--Origen’s visit--Capture by Moslems.
[Illustration: BOZRAH. BAB EL-HOWA]
A DRUZE peasant who accompanied us part of the way from _ʿIry_ to
_Bozrah_ professed to know the country well throughout a wide area,
and declared that he could conduct us to a hundred ruins, south and
east of _Bozrah_, as great and beautiful as _Bozrah_ itself. This was
exaggeration, of course; but that district beyond _Umm el-Jamâl_ is
still unexplored, and we regretted much that we could not accept his
proffered guidance. Ere descending into the _Wady Zeideh_, we came
in full view of _Bozrah_, spreading darkly under a light haze on the
plain beyond, like the ruins of a great city that had passed through
fire. The massive castle of _Salkhad_ had long been visible, sitting
proudly on the very crest of the giant ridge of _Jebel ed-Druze_,
commanding a wide prospect over all the land of Bashan, and far over
the inhospitable deserts eastward. The sheikh whom we met at _ʿIry_
pressingly invited us, and fain were we to go and stand upon the most
easterly border of the land held by ancient Israel. As this could
not be, we satisfied ourselves for the time by gazing at the fine old
fortress through the telescope. It forms a magnificent landmark. With
this grand old stronghold, and the volcanic cone of _Jebel el-Kuleib_,
just above _Suweida_, towering high over all, the traveller in the
plains need be at no loss to discover his whereabouts. Some of the
villages to the right are inhabited by Christians, between whom and
their Druze neighbours there is nearly always strife.
Approaching _Bozrah_ from the north, just outside the town, we reach
a mosque called _el-Mebrak_--“the place of kneeling.” Here knelt the
camel which bore the Korʾân before _Othman ibn ʿAffan_, third caliph
after Mohammed, on his entering Syria. This determined the spot where
the first Syrian mosque should stand. On a basaltic slab within is
shown the alleged impression made by the kneeling camel. The house
where Mohammed should alight in Medina when he fled from Mecca was
indicated by the kneeling of his _naqa_, or female camel; and there
was raised the first Mohammedan mosque in the world. This method of
selecting particular spots by the kneeling of the camel is illustrated
among other Eastern peoples; for example, among the Jews. They say that
Maimonides, the great doctor of the twelfth century, gave instructions,
before his death, that he should be laid to rest in the Holy Land. His
body was laid on a camel, which, starting from Alexandria, marched day
and night until it reached a spot outside the walls of Tiberias. There
it kneeled down. With difficulty it was made to rise, but it only
moved round in a narrow circle. The phenomenon roused the interest of
the spectators. Inquiring, they found that the great doctor’s father
was buried there; and they laid his body in his father’s grave!
Our tents were pitched under the shadow of the castle, on a
threshing-floor, still green with the grass of spring. Our first
visitor was a Christian, one of _Bozrah’s_ few inhabitants, whose mouth
was full of blasphemies against the Druzes. A companion had received a
gunshot wound in a recent skirmish, and now they were plotting revenge.
The governor’s letter secured for us a kindly welcome from the officer
commanding the garrison, who invited us to drink coffee with him and go
over the old castle. It was already known throughout the mountain that
we should not move till Monday. Early on Saturday the Druzes began to
gather from _Salkhad_, _Kerîyeh_, and other villages. A second company
of fellahîn from the neighbourhood at the same time assembled at our
camp. Their mutual enmities were laid aside or forgotten. Their one
anxiety was to get a word of the good _hakîm_, who might help them in
their sickness, or give such advice as might relieve relatives and
friends too ill to come themselves. These groups of men, but yesterday,
perhaps, engaged in loud quarrels, wounding each other in wrath, now
gathered peacefully together, docile as lambs in the hands of the man
whom they felt they could trust, formed a striking scene, not soon to
be forgotten. Nor can one fail to see what a powerful mediator and
reconciler one true representative of the Great Physician among these
wild peoples might prove.
Most of the remains of interest are gathered in little space near the
crossing of the two main streets, which, as in all the Roman cities
we visited, cut the city at right angles. Triumphal arch, baths, tall
Corinthian columns with beautiful capitals still in position, and
the remains of an old temple lie closely together. Going from the
crossing towards the great mosque, we pass an old doorway, all that now
remains of what the Arabs call _Beit el-Yehûdy_--“House of the Jew.”
_ʿOmâr_, second from Mohammed, was and is justly celebrated for the
impartiality of his judgments. Tradition saith that during his reign
the Moslem governor of _Bozrah_ ruined this Jewish house and built a
mosque on the site. The oppressed Jew made his way to Medina, where
he found the caliph surrounded by neither pomp nor circumstance that
could daunt the poorest client. Hearing his case, _ʿOmâr_ gave him an
order, written on the jawbone of an ass, which he found to his hand.
Immediately on receiving this order, the governor of _Bozrah_ directed
the mosque to be pulled down and the Jew’s house rebuilt and restored
to him. Such an incident should be remembered with pride by all worthy
Moslems, as illustrating the purity of their early rulers. On the
contrary, the Jew who sought simple justice is held as “an execration,
and an astonishment, and a reproach.” The inquirer will seek long
and diligently ere he find such lofty principle among the judges of
_Islâm_ to-day.
The great mosque, tradition says, was built by order of _ʿOmâr_. Old
materials have been freely used in its construction. The court within
is adorned with marble columns. These and many stones in the walls
bear Greek inscriptions, often sadly mutilated--evidence enough of
the antiquity of the materials; for the Arabs knew no Greek, and were
often profoundly irritated because Greek prisoners, from whom they
hoped to learn something of the enemy, knew no Arabic. One column,
bearing in an inscription the Saviour’s name, was doubtless taken from
a Christian church. For the building of this latter, in turn, it was
probably brought from a heathen temple, more ancient still. The column
immediately east of this bears the date 383 Bostrian era = A.D. 489.
Only traces remain of the frieze and ornamentation in Cufic and Arabic
characters--the adornment chiefly affected by the Moslems. The minaret
commands a beautiful view of the surrounding country, but its rickety
appearance deterred us from the ascent. The centre of the mosque is
filled with debris. Long deserted, its silent court and ruined walls
mutely illustrate the decay which ever swiftly follows the advancing
shadow of _Islâm_.
We secured a copy of a long Cufic inscription found on a basaltic
slab, by the door of a small mosque. It has been photographed by the
American Exploration Society, but I have seen no translation. With
the assistance of an intelligent Syrian I went carefully over it,
and I think the following fairly represents the sense. It begins as
usual, “In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate,” and goes
on to enumerate His attributes. He is “the blessed, the opulent, the
owner of the world, the just, the incomparable, the invincible, the
victorious.” It tells of certain properties devoted by one “Serjenk,”
or “Serjek”--for the name seems spelled both ways--“the humble servant
of God,” for the benefit of those “who have set free the helpless and
friendless from the prisons of infidels, of the widows and orphans
of Moslems, of the poor and the sons of the highways,” under certain
conditions. It concludes with the declaration that whoever infringes
these conditions in the future “will do himself injustice, will prove
himself an infidel, and partaker in the blood of _Hassan_ and _Husein_,
and an accomplice of those who do despite to the statutes of God.” Then
comes the signature--“the humble servant of God, Serjenk.”
The church and dwelling-house of _Boheira_ are shown here. Of _Boheira_
it is said that he was a monk in this city, and was the first to hail
the youthful Mohammed as a coming prophet. Of this event, Ockly has
translated the following account given by one Basil: “The caravan of
the Koreish came by, with which were Kadijah’s camels, which were
looked after by Mohammed. He [Boheira] looked towards the caravan,
in the middle of which was Mohammed; and there was a cloud upon him
to keep him from the sun. Then the caravan alighted, and Mohammed
leaning against an old withered tree, it immediately brought forth
leaves. Boheira perceiving this, made an entertainment for the caravan,
and invited them into the monastery, Mohammed staying behind with the
camels. Boheira, missing him, asked if there were all of them. Yes,
they said, all but a little boy they had left to look after their
things and feed the camels. ‘What is his name?’ says Boheira. They told
him Mohammed ibn ʿAbdullah. Boheira asked if his father and mother were
not dead, and if he was not brought up by his grandfather and uncle.
Being satisfied that it was so, he said: ‘O Koreish! set a great value
upon him, for he is your lord, and by him will your power be great both
in this world and in that to come: for he is your ornament and glory.’
They asked him how he knew that. ‘Because,’ answered Boheira, ‘as you
were coming, there was never a tree nor a stone nor a clod but bowed
itself and worshipped God.’ Boheira, besides, told this Basil that a
great many prophets had leaned against this tree, and sat under it, but
it never bore any leaves before since it was withered. ‘And I heard
him say,’ says this same Basil, ‘this is the prophet concerning whom
ʿIsa [Jesus] spake, Happy is he that believes him, and follows him, and
gives credit to his mission.’”
That Mohammed met Boheira seems certain. But exactly what their
relations were it is not easy to say. The Syrian Christians believed
that he followed “the prophet,” and largely assisted him in the
composition of his “messages” or “revelations.” They say he supplied
the biblical information used for Mohammed’s purposes in the Korʾân.
The number of Jews, however, who long ere Mohammed’s time had settled
in _el-Yemen_ suggests a more convenient source for his knowledge, such
as it was, of the Torah; but for his acquaintance with Christianity he
may possibly have been indebted to some renegade like Boheira. And if
his (Boheira’s) understanding of the words of Jesus be illustrated in
the phrase quoted above, what wonder if his religion did not greatly
impress such a mind as Mohammed’s! In any case, it was in his Syrian
journeys that he must have come into contact with Christianity. However
bootless, it is impossible to help regretting that the master mind of
the Arabian peninsula should have seen our religion only in the debased
form then prevalent in these regions. Had it been ordered otherwise,
the whole history of the East might have run in nobler channels.
Close by a second Roman archway stands a large ruined house, abounding
in carved and sculptured stones, known as _Kasr-Melek el-Asfar_. At
_Zorʿa_ there is also a “palace of the yellow king.”
The fortress is built around and upon the old Roman theatre, which,
contrary to expectation in such circumstances, is well preserved. There
are vast underground apartments, and cisterns which would supply water
for a large garrison through a siege of many months. Subterranean
passages, the natives say, lead to a great distance in several
directions.
Such an important place as _Bozrah_ was bound to claim to be the
birthplace of Philip; nor would it be complete without some relation to
Job. Accordingly, an “ancient tradition” is forthcoming to the effect
that the patriarch dwelt in the country near the city.
On Saturday afternoon we heard the sounds of music and drums proceeding
from the town, and high over all the peculiarly shrill, wavering cry
uttered by Eastern women in times of excitement, whether of grief or
joy. The tramp of horses on the pavement, and the tread of many feet,
told of the approach of a procession. Soon a company of horsemen swept
into view, youthful, well mounted, armed with the long _rumh_, or Arab
spear, accompanied by a crowd of all ages, clad in holiday attire
of brilliant colours. Riding in the procession were several little
boys, who seemed to have little interest in the affair, and to be, on
the whole, not a little bored by it. It was a bridal procession--an
occasion of special joy, since not one but four marriages were being
celebrated. The enthusiasm lacking on the part of the dressed-up,
solemn-looking little bridegrooms was made up for amply by the excited
people who surrounded their horses, dancing, singing, shouting, and
clapping their hands. A band with drums and timbrels went in front.
On the wrists and ankles of the women glittered rude bracelets; heavy
rings ornamented their fingers; nor was the nose-jewel entirely absent.
Their heads were covered with light kerchiefs of varied hues, the
corners tied under the chin, while the hair hung down in long, heavy
plaits behind, often loaded with coins, which might be the dowry of
the women who wore them. The men wore the _kufîyeh_ and _ʿakal_--the
“kerchief” and “thick hair fillet”--on their heads, with the Arab coat
of goats’-hair over their under-garments. Those who were not barefooted
wore the common red shoes so dear to the Arab.
The horses pranced and capered. The procession advanced with singing,
clapping of hands to the music, and at times in a kind of stately
dance. They headed toward a wide stretch of level ground behind our
camp. Passing within the enclosure, those on foot drew themselves up
along one side; the horsemen dashed forward at full gallop, and began
a series of evolutions which, to Western eyes, seemed to involve every
man of them in imminent danger. Not a few of the performances in which
they pride themselves are obviously cruel to the animals. Riding at
full speed, it is a mark of horsemanship to bring the animal to an
absolute stop in an instant, throwing him back on his haunches. In
starting, he must spring forward at full speed, like an arrow from
the bow. If either of these movements cannot be performed, horse or
rider, or both, are condemned. In driving the horses peculiar spurs
are employed. The bottom of the Arab stirrup is a broad piece of light
iron, the hinder part of which is sharpened. When the foot is slipped
forward, this piece of iron projects behind the heel. Driven into the
sides of the animal, it cuts almost like a knife. And another mark
of horsemanship is that these cuts be as far back as possible. The
bridle, too, is an instrument of torture. From the centre of the bit
a sharp piece of iron projects inward; a ring attached to the same
point drops over the under jaw; the reins are attached to iron rods,
which, from the ends of the bit, extend a little way in front of the
horse’s mouth, forming thus a curb of terrific power. It is with this
instrument the rider can arrest his horse in a moment in mid-career.
One can hardly help wishing that, for the sake of the poor animal, he
had a touch of its quality himself. An exceptionally “hard-mouthed”
horse may require exceptional treatment, but the universal employment
of this bridle seems gratuitous cruelty.
Many of their feats, however, are very graceful, and in their
performance no little skill is required. Their beautiful wheeling and
curving on the level, in which horse and rider seem moulded together,
remind one of nothing so much as the fine circlings of an expert
skater. Good proficiency is attained when the rider can stoop from the
saddle at full gallop and pick up his staff from the ground. In this
and similar exercises the horseman on the _medân_, or racecourse, is
always engaged, in intervals of play. Loud were the challenges of the
men of _Bozrah_ that festal day, and hearty the responses. Prancing
forward, one would touch another with his _rumh_, and, turning, spur
his steed and fly, hotly pursued by the man thus challenged. Then
ensued a series of evolutions in which all the skill of the horsemen
and all the speed of the horses were brought into play. If the pursuer
could put his _rumh_ on the shoulder of his challenger, he received
the victor’s meed of applause; but should the challenger’s steed
outstrip that of the pursuer, the latter swerved off, and sought to
redeem his defeat by a display of skilful horsemanship; and he might
count himself fortunate if he reached his place again without a second
touch from his conqueror’s _rumh_. The play over, the procession formed
again, the solemn-looking little men in the centre, as before, marched
back to the city with music and dancing, and passed away from our
sight. We heard, at intervals, the distant roll of the drums and the
shrill cry of the women, from which we knew that the festivities were
still going on.
On Sundays more than other days one was impressed with the abnormal
quiet reigning over the land. Verily, the word of the Lord has been
fulfilled: “And you will I scatter among the nations.... Then shall
the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be
in your enemies’ land, ... even the rest which it had not in your
sabbaths when ye dwelt upon it.” Temple, church, and mosque have risen
in succession in her cities, have flourished awhile in splendour, then
crumbled into ruin. At last the sabbath rest has fallen upon her.
The name _Bozrah_ signifies a fortress, and must have described the
city from very ancient times. It would be of the highest importance
to dwellers in the cultivated lands to have here, on their border,
a strong defence against the wild rovers from the deserts. So true
is this, that it came to be said, “The prosperity of Bozrah is the
prosperity of Haurân.”
[Illustration: BOZRAH]
This city is probably intended by Jeremiah as included in the
denunciation of wrath against Moab and all her cities, “far or near.”
It is mentioned in close connection with _Kerioth_ and _Beth Gamul_,
which correspond as nearly as may be in name to _Kerîyeh_ and _Umm
el-Jamâl_--ruined cities in the neighbourhood. _Bozrah_ appears in
the Apocrypha and Josephus as _Basora_. Hither came the heroic Judas
Maccabeus. He delivered from imprisonment many of his unfortunate
brethren, and destroyed the city, burning it, as far as that was
possible, with fire. But withal there were yet glorious days in store
for _Bozrah_. The land passed under the dominion of the Romans. The
transjordanic provinces were subdued by Aulus Cornelius Palma. _Bozrah_
he made capital of the province, calling it _Nova Trajana Bostra_, in
honour of the emperor Trajan. This was in A.D. 105, from which date
was reckoned the Bostrian era. The old city took a new lease of life,
and worthily assumed her place as by far the most important stronghold
east of Jordan. Her streets were graced with public buildings of which
the proudest city need not have been ashamed. A network of magnificent
roads, which even yet are traced across the plains, leading to all the
principal towns and cities in the province, found in her its centre.
The merchandise of the East, by way of the road from the Persian Gulf,
stocked her marts, and the gold and frankincense caravans from Arabia
the Happy brought their stores to increase her wealth. The time of
her greatest splendour probably fell in the short reign of Philip
the Arabian, who, with the wealth of Rome at his command, guided by
his Oriental pride and taste, would lavish adornment on the chief
city of his native province, embellishing her streets and squares
with triumphs of architectural art. Hither came the great Origen, to
consult with the Bishop Beryllus, who had gone astray in matters of
faith and doctrine; and he met with far greater success than the most
doughty warriors for orthodoxy may ever hope for, if they regard the
heretic as one only to be hunted out and prosecuted. Something might
be learned from the methods of Origen, who, in brotherly and friendly
converse, convinced the erring bishop, and saved him to the Church.
Subsequently the city became the seat of an archbishop. It maintained
its fame as a commercial and military centre down to the Mohammedan
conquest. _Bozrah_ was the first Syrian city invested by the Arabians.
The intrepid and skilful soldier, Khâlid, surnamed “The sword of
God,” commanded the Moslems. While planted before the fortress, the
Mohammedans, in the absence of water, performed their ablutions with
sand. In the first encounter with Christians outside the walls, the
Moslems were entirely victorious. The former shut themselves up in the
city, and mounted banners and crosses upon the walls, as if expecting
divine intervention, by this means, in their favour. The governor,
Romanus, counselling surrender, was deposed as a traitor, and another
put in his place. Smarting under the double insult, he resolved
to revenge himself by selling the city to the enemy. Through his
treachery many valorous Moslem youths were introduced into the city,
in the garb of ordinary citizens, and posted in various quarters. At
a given signal, the Moslem war-cry, _Allah Akbar_, resounded over the
city. The defenders were thrown into confusion, the inhabitants into
consternation and despair. The gates were thrown open, and the city,
with little bloodshed, passed into the hands of the Mohammedans, who
retain it still. In the days of the Crusades it was still an important
stronghold, practically the key to the possession of the eastern
provinces. Baldwin III. cast his forces in vain against the rock-like
walls. But the blight of _Islâm_ had fallen upon it. Gradually its
splendour faded; its well-stocked marts were emptied; the sound of
busy footsteps on its pavements died away; earthquakes shook down
its temples and destroyed its public buildings; no hand was raised
to arrest its decay. And now for centuries it has lain mouldering in
mournful ruins under the fierce heat of the Syrian sun, blackening in
the breath of Time. But surely her season of solitude and desolation
must be nearly over. When the long sabbath of the land is past, new
life pulsing in all her furrows, the hills and vales resounding with
the song of the husbandman, _Bozrah must_ awake from her weary sleep,
and put on once again the pleasing garments of prosperity.