The Roman emperor soon regained possession of the city; but
scarcely was it beginning to recover the shock sustained from the
fire-worshippers, when it became the prey of a much more powerful race
of fanatics. In 635, the Saracens, under the command of Khaled, the
most redoubtable general of Arabia, laid siege to it. The first attack
lasted ten days, and the Christians defended themselves with heroic
courage. During four months, every day brought its sanguinary conflict;
but at length, the unfortunate citizens, being without hope of succour,
yielded to the perseverance of the Mussulmans, and by the means of the
Patriarch Sophronius, capitulated with the Caliph Omar in person. The
following are the conditions of this treaty, which afterwards served
as a model to the Mahometans: “In the name of the All-Merciful God,
Omar Ebn-Alkhetlab, to the inhabitants of Ælia (the name given to it
by its restorer, Ælius Adrianus). They shall be protected; they shall
preserve their lives and their property. Their churches shall not be
destroyed, but they shall erect no new ones, either in the city or its
territories: they alone shall enjoy the use of them. They shall not
prevent Mussulmans from entering them, by day or night; the doors of
them shall be open to passers-by and to travellers. If any Mussulman,
who may be travelling, should pass through their city, he shall be
entertained gratis during three days. They shall not teach the Koran to
their children, they shall not speak publicly of their own religion,
and shall make no efforts to induce others to embrace it. They shall
not prevent their kindred from becoming Mussulmans, if they should be
so disposed; they shall show respect to Mussulmans, and shall rise up
when they wish to be seated. They shall not be clothed like Mussulmans;
they shall not wear the same caps, shoes, or turbans. They shall not
part their hair as the Mussulmans do; they shall not speak the same
language, or be called by the same names. On horseback, they shall use
no saddles; they shall carry no sort of arms, and shall not employ
the Arabian language in the inscriptions upon their seals. They shall
not sell wine; they shall be distinguished by the same description of
clothes, wherever they go, and shall always wear girdles. They shall
erect no crosses upon their churches, and they shall not exhibit their
crosses or their books publicly in the streets of the Mussulmans. They
shall not ring their bells, but shall content themselves with tolling
them. They shall never take a domestic who has served a Mussulman.”
They were obliged to ratify this act of servitude, and to open the
gates to the Saracens, who took possession of their conquest.