THE SARACENIC CONQUEST.
CAUSES OF TRIUMPHS--ABOU-BEKER ELECTED CALIPH--WAR DECLARED--FALL OF
BOZRAH--BATTLE OF AIZNADIN--SIEGE OF JERUSALEM--DEPARTURE OF ROMAN
EMPEROR--SARACEN FLEET--EASTERN CONQUESTS--FALL OF ALEXANDRIA--CONQUEST
OF NORTHERN AFRICA--CONQUEST OF SPAIN--BATTLE OF POICTIERS--EXTENT OF
SARACEN EMPIRE.
After the death of Mahomet, his followers assumed the name of Saracens,
by which title they were afterwards generally known. This term, it
is said, is derived from two Arabic words which signify eastern, or
oriental, and conquerors.
Scarcely was Mahomet buried, when it was found necessary to form
a civil and political constitution and code of laws, by which his
followers were to be governed. This government was called the Caliphate.
Mahometanism, even during the life of its founder, gave unmistakable
indications of overpassing the bounds of Arabia.
A few years later it entered upon a system of conquest unparalleled in
the history of the world.
One cause of this phenomenon is to be found in the moral and social
condition of the world. The influence of religion had long before
ceased. Christianity was completely paganized. Her popes were busy
denouncing and excommunicating each other, in their rivalry for
earthly power; or bribing royal females and courtesans to influence
the decision of councils, that were supposed by the masses to speak
with the voice of God. Her bishops no longer sought to feed their
flocks with the bread of life. On the other hand they were concerned in
assassinations, poisonings, adulteries, riots, treason and civil {28}
war. The religious teachers of those days never raised their voices in
the sacred cause of liberty, or spoke in defense of the outraged rights
of man.
No wonder then that, in the midst of the wrangling of sects, and
unintelligible jargon of Arians, Augustinians, Nestorians and
Marianites, society stood in breathless awe, when it heard the terrible
Arabian battle cry, "There is but one God, and Mahomet is His prophet!"
enforced as it was by the tempest of Saracen armies. These warriors,
armed with lances and cimeters, and mounted on fleet Arabian steeds,
passed swiftly from city to city, and frequently found the masses of
the people so crushed by tyranny, so worn out by wrangling and civil
wars, that they welcomed the Saracens as deliverers.
Mahomet's life had been almost entirely occupied in the conquest or
conversion of his native country. It is true, in the latter part of his
career he felt himself strong enough to threaten Persia for the aid
she had given his enemies; and he even declared war against the Roman
Empire for the same reason. But failing health frustrated his designs.
He had made no provision for the perpetuation of his own power. Hence,
a struggle ensued before a successor was appointed. At length, Abou
Beker, the father of his wife Ayesha, was selected. He was proclaimed
the first Caliph, and immediately attacked both the Romans and the
Persians.
The renowned general, Khaled, commonly called by Saracen historians,
"the sword of God," was despatched into Syria. His name struck terror
into the hearts of the inhabitants. The fortified town of Bozrah
fell into his hands without a struggle. This was the same town where
fifty years previous the youthful Mahomet had been entertained at the
Nestorian convent. Marching northward seventy miles, to Damascus,
Khaled laid siege to the Syrian capital. A decisive battle took place
on the plain of Aiznadin. The Roman army was overthrown and dispersed.
A few days later Damascus surrendered to the Saracens.
Guarded on the right by the beautiful river Orontes, and on the left
by the snow-clad peaks of Lebanon, they still continued their march
northward. To resist their further progress, the Roman emperor,
Heraclius, collected an army of one hundred {29} and forty thousand
men. A great battle took place on the plains of Yermuck. At the first
onset the Saracens were repulsed; but driven back to the field by the
heroism of their women, who also aided them, they ended the conflict by
the complete overthrow of the Roman army.
The whole of Syria now fell into the hands of the Saracens.
They then turned south and laid siege to the city of Jerusalem. After
a defense of four months the patriarch, Sophronius, appeared on the
wall and asked the terms of capitulation. It was stipulated that the
surrender should take place in the presence of the Caliph himself.
Accordingly, he came all the way from Medina for that purpose. At
that time such were the customs among the Saracens, that it is said
the ambassador found the Caliph Omar asleep under the shadow of a
mosque. It is also said that he journeyed alone on a red camel,
carrying with him a bag of dates for his own food and one of corn
for his camel, a wooden dish and a leathern water bottle.
[Image: Damascus.]
After receiving the surrender of the city, Omar returned to Medina as
quietly as he had come.
Thus fell the Roman power in Syria and Palestine, after having ruled
those countries nearly eight hundred years. Thus {30} was transferred
without tumult or outrage the religious capital of the professedly
Christian world into the hands of the Caliph Omar. Thus, Jerusalem, so
long considered the birthplace of Christianity, the scene of its most
sacred and tragic memories, passed into the hands of the Mahometans.
Considerably more than a thousand years have elapsed since then, and
it is still under their dominion. The mosque of Omar now rears its
glittering dome where once stood the temple of Solomon.
Heraclius, the Roman emperor, struggled valiantly to retain his
possessions. He plainly saw that the corruptions of Christianity were
among the causes of Saracenic triumphs. He made a heroic attempt to
rouse the clergy to their duties, but it was then too late. Heraclius
himself was obliged to seek safety in flight. From the deck of the
little vessel that bore him homeward, he gazed intently on the receding
hills, and in bitterness of anguish exclaimed, "Farewell, Syria,
forever farewell!"
The remaining details of the Saracen conquest we need not here relate.
The naming of their victories is sufficient to indicate the greatness
of their triumphs.
The great cities of Tyre and Caesarea were captured. With the cedars
of Lebanon and sailors of Tyre they equipped a fleet that drove the
Roman navy into the Hellespont. Thus they gained undisturbed control of
the Mediterranean, and conquered or colonized the islands of Cyprus,
Candia, Rhodes, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and many others. A Saracen
naval expedition even appeared before the walls of Rome, and after
threatening the imperial city, carried away the altar of silver from
St. Peter's church, and gathered other relics from the tombs of St.
Peter and St. Paul.
One of the Saracen armies turned eastward, and on the battlefield of
Cadesia the fate of Persia was decided. After the battle of Neha-vend
the treasury and royal arms of Persia fell into the hands of the
Saracens.
After this battle the eastern army divided into two divisions. One
marched northward to the Caspian Sea and took possession of the
neighboring countries; another, southward to Persepolis, from whence
the king of Persia fled for his life across the drearv deserts of
Khorassan. The name of Saracen terrified {31} the wild tribes of
independent Tartary, and they hastened to pay tribute and accept the
faith of their conquerors.
The emperor of China, in his palace at Peking, heard of their exploits,
and sent ambassadors to them, craving their friendship. The kingdoms
now included in Afghanistan and Beloochistan surrendered at their
approach, and the Mahometan standard of the crescent waved on the banks
of the Indus.
Meanwhile important events were transpiring in the west. A large
proportion of the Egyptian people welcomed the Saracens. The Arabs of
the desert loitered in the palaces of the ancient Pharaohs. Alexandria,
aided by Roman troops, alone held out. After a siege of fourteen
months it also fell, and with it Egypt and Abyssinia were added to the
dominions of the Caliphs.
The most powerful religious empire that the world has ever seen had
suddenly sprung into existence. It stretched from the Great Wall of
China to the burning sands of Tripoli, and from the Caspian Sea on the
north to Abyssinia on the south. Yet this was but little more than half
the territory that it soon afterwards controlled. One of its armies
advanced on Constantinople. It did not fall then, but afterwards became
the capital of the Mahometan power in Europe. Another took possession
of the whole north of Africa, and, having consolidated its power there,
under the command of their general, Tarik, they crossed the straits
that separate Africa from Spain, and landing on the rocky clift of
Gib-el-Tarik, or mountain of Tarik (now called Gibraltar), unfurled
their green banner with golden crescent for the first time on the soil
of Europe.
Tarik was soon followed into Spain by his superior officer, the emir
Musa. They took possession of the whole southern portion of Spain
and Portugal, which in their own picturesque language, they named
Andalusia, or the region of the evening.
It was soon found that the whole peninsula was ripe for revolution. The
Jews comprised a large proportion of the Spanish people. They were, to
a great extent, the cultivators of the soil, which pursuit well repaid
their labors. They were {32} then, as now, famous as merchants and
money-lenders, and many of them held high positions in the government,
while thousands of them were scattered in every city, town and village,
as the physicians and teachers of the people.
Their wrongs had been accumulating for centuries. Bigotry, envy and
avarice had conspired to point them out as objects of persecution. Laws
were passed which were never intended to be executed. It was expected
that they would purchase a remission of the penalties by pouring their
hard-earned treasures into the lap of Rome. No doubt the Jews exulted
as the tide of Saracen conquest swept onward. They did not deplore a
change of masters for those who would leave them in possession of civil
and religious liberty.
Before long the whole Iberian peninsula fell into the hands of the
Mahometans. Not content with this, they crossed the Pyrenees, and took
possession of that portion of France that lies to the south of the
river Loire. All Central France was overrun. Castles, churches and
monasteries were despoiled. For a time they held undisturbed dominion.
The empire of the Saracens was then at its greatest extent. It reached
from the confines of China to the Atlantic ocean, and comprised within
its limits forty degrees of latitude and nearly one hundred and twenty
of longitude. In Western Europe alone it stretched in an unbroken line
more than a thousand miles northward from the cliffs of Gibraltar.
More than thirty-six thousand cities paid tribute to the successors of
Mahomet in the city of Medina.
In attempting to extend their conquests northward the Saracens were
met by an army under Charles Martel, king of France, A. D. 732.
Between Tours and Poictiers a terrible battle was fought, which lasted
seven days. The Franks and Goths lost so many that it was impossible
to tell the number of the slain. But these losses were more than
counterbalanced by the losses of the Saracens whose great general,
Abderahman, was found among the slain. Their previous successes
had filled them with pride. They looked with contempt upon their
enemies. For example, when the Roman emperor, Nicephorous, had sent
a threatening letter to the Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid, the latter
replied, "In the name of the most merciful {33} God, Haroun-al-Raschid,
commander of the faithful, to Nicephorous, the Roman dog! I have read
thy letter, O thou son of an unbelieving mother! Thou shalt not hear my
words; thou shalt behold my reply!" A few weeks later it was written in
letters of blood on the plains of Phrygia.
Although the Saracen empire had reached the zenith of its power, in
one sense Mahometanism had not reached its culmination. The day was
to come, when under the name of Ottoman Turks, it would expel the
descendants of the Caesars from their capital, hold the classic land of
Greece in subjection, and under the very walls of Vienna dispute the
empire of Europe in the center of that continent; and in Africa extend
its dogmas and faith across burning deserts and pestilential forests
far south of the equinoctial line.
It is a mistaken idea that the progress of the Saracens depended on the
sword alone. The causes of their success were many and various. One of
these, the paganization of Christianity, has already been noticed. The
long and desolating wars of the Romans had thrown the whole oriental
and African trade into the hands of the Arabs. Hence a commercial
interest and sympathy had grown up between these peoples. Another
reason was the mildness of the Saracen government in comparison with
that of the Romans. The only taxation was a single annual tribute,
amounting to less than one-half the various taxes by the Romans.
Another feature was complete religious toleration except to idolators.
The only creed required was simply, "There is but one God, and Mahomet
is His prophet." Still, another cause of Saracen success was the
effective plan adopted for the consolidation of their power. In battle
they were simply terrible, and the destruction of human life was in
some instances without a parallel; yet the widows and children of their
fallen foes were universally treated with kindness. As a consequence,
the children became ardent disciples of Mahometanism, and the widows
often married their former conquerors. This was all the more frequent
as polygamy was an established custom. The children of these unions
gloried in their descent from their conquering fathers.
{34} No wonder then, that in a little more than a single generation
Abderahman wrote to the Caliph that in North Africa and Andalusia all
tribute must cease, as all the children born in those regions were
Mahometans, and Arabic had become the language of the county.
But above all these causes, the careful student of history will
perceive the hand of Providence. Though Christianity was paganized,
and the priesthood and divine authority were taken from the earth,
God had put forth His hand, and through agencies the most diverse was
disciplining the minds of men for the reception of truth, and preparing
a place and a people for the coming of the Son of Man.