For a short time the vast dominion which the Saracens had conquered held
together, and a single caliph was obeyed in Spain and in India. But soon
disputes arose as to the right of succession to the caliphate: wars and
secessions took place, and in A.D. 755 the Saracenic empire was
divided,--one caliph reigning in Spain and another in Bagdad.
In the East, the most distinguished of the Saracenic rulers was
Haroun-al-Raschid (Aaron the Just), who became caliph in A.D. 786, and
was a contemporary of Charlemagne. In the _Arabian Nights_ we find a
vivid picture of the city he ruled and the life he led. After the death
of Haroun, the Eastern dominion of the Saracens was rent by civil
strife; one province after another broke off from the caliphate, till in
the eleventh and twelfth centuries it fell a prey to the Turks.