THE INVASION OF FRANCE

[1Sidenote: [722-732 A.D.]]

2This celebrated emir commenced his second administration by distributing justice so impartially, that the professors of neither faith could find reason to complain. But these cares could not long divert him from the great design he had formed--that of invading the whole of Gaul. Though the Arabic historians conceal the extent of the preparations, for the natural purpose of palliating the disgrace of failure, there can be no doubt that those preparations were on an immense scale; that the true believers flocked to the white standard[39] from the farthest parts of the caliph’s dominions; and that the whole Mohammedan world contemplated the expedition with intense anxiety.

3Just before the Mussulman army commenced its march, Othman, who still continued at his station in Gothic Gaul, very near to the Pyrenees, received orders to lay waste the province of Aquitaine. But Othman, or Manuza, was in no disposition to execute the order; he had seen with envy Abd ar-Rahman preferred to himself; and his marriage with one of the daughters of Eudes, duke of Aquitaine, whom he passionately loved, rendered him more eager to cultivate the friendship than to incur the hostility of the Franks. In this perplexity, Othman acquainted Eudes with the meditated assault, and thereby enabled that chief to meet it. Abd ar-Rahman instantly despatched a select body of troops under one of his confidential generals, to watch the movements, and, if necessary, to punish the treason, of Othman, who, with his beautiful princess, sought for safety in flight. He was overtaken in the Pyrenees, while resting during the heat of the day beside a fountain. His head was sent to the emir, and his bride to end her days in the harem of Damascus.

4Abd ar-Rahman now commenced his momentous march, in the hope of carrying the banner of the prophet to the very shores of the Baltic. His progress spread dismay throughout Europe; and well it might, for so formidable and destructive an armament Europe had not seen since the days of Attila. Conflagrations, ruins, the shrieks of violated chastity, and the groans of the dying, rendered this memorable invasion more like the work of a demon than of a man. The flourishing towns of southern and central France, from Gascony to Burgundy, and from the Garonne to the Loire, were soon transformed into smoking heaps.

5In vain did Eudes strive to arrest the overpowering torrent, by disputing the passage of the Dordogne; his army was swept before it, and he himself was compelled to become a suppliant to his enemy the mayor of the Franks. That celebrated hero, Charles Martel, whose actions, administration, and numerous victories commanded the just admiration of the times, was no less anxious to become the saviour of Christendom; but he knew too well the magnitude of the danger to meet it by premature efforts; and he silently collected in Belgium and in Germany the elements of resistance to the dreaded inundation.

6When his measures were taken, he boldly advanced at the head of his combined Franks, Belgians, Germans, etc., towards the enemy, who had just reduced Tours, and who was soon drawn up to receive him in the extended plain between that city and Poitiers. After six days’ skirmishing, both advanced to the shock. The contest was long and bloody; the utmost valour was displayed by the two armies, and the utmost ability by the two captains; but in the end, the impenetrable ranks, robust frames, and iron hands of the Germans turned the fortune of the day. When darkness arrived, an immense number of Saracen bodies, among which was that of Abd ar-Rahman himself, covered the plain.

7Still the misbelievers were formidable alike from their numbers and from their possible despair; and the victors remained in their tents, under arms, during the night. At break of day they prepared to renew the struggle; the white tents of the Arabs, extending as far as the eye could reach, appeared before them, but not a living creature came out to meet them. It was at length discovered that the enemy had abandoned their camp, their own wealth, and the immense plunder they had amassed; and had silently, though precipitately, withdrawn from the field.

8Christendom was saved; pope and monk, prince and peasant, in an ecstasy of grateful devotion, hastened to the churches, to thank heaven for a victory which, however dearly it had been purchased by the true servants of God, had inflicted so signal a blow on the misbelievers, that their return was no longer dreaded.

9[Illustration: A FRENCH SOLDIER OF THE EIGHTH CENTURY]

10This far-famed victory, which was obtained in the year 732, spread consternation throughout the whole Mohammedan world. Fortunately for Christendom, the domestic quarrels of the Mussulmans themselves, the fierce struggles of their chiefs for the seat of the prophet, prevented them from universally arming to vindicate their faith and their martial reputation. Abdul-Malik ben Khotan was nominated by the African emir to succeed Abd ar-Rahman and to revenge the late disasters. The emir passed the Pyrenees; but a complete panic seemed to have seized on his followers, who soon retreated, but were pursued and destroyed. He was superseded by Okba ben al-Hajjaj. Feeling his mind and body alike exhausted by his harassing duties, he applied to the caliph for the restoration of Abdul-Malik.

11[Sidenote: [733-755 A.D.]]

12The restored emir had little reason to congratulate himself on his good fortune. The restless barbarians of Mauretania again revolted, and defeated and slew their governor who hastened to subdue them. The Syrians, under Thalaba ben Salama, and the Egyptians under Balej ben Besher, were expelled from the country, and induced to seek refuge in Spain. Their arrival boded no good to the tranquillity of the peninsula. Abdul-Malik tried negotiation in vain; the Africans invested him in his last hold, and the inhabitants hoping to obtain favour by his destruction, tied him to a post on the bridge of Cordova, and opened their gates to Balej. The unfortunate emir was speedily beheaded, and the inhuman victor tumultuously proclaimed the governor of the faithful.

13Balej did not long enjoy his usurped honours. Offended at the preference thus shown to another, Thalaba unexpectedly became the advocate of subordination. At the same time the son of Okba rallied the dispersed troops of the murdered Abdul-Malik, and marched against the usurper. Balej fell, pierced by the scimitar of Abd ar-Rahman; the tyrant’s forces fled, and the victor was hailed by the honourable surname of Al-Mansur. Thalaba from his viceregal throne was removed to a dungeon in the fortress of Tangier. Husam was not destined to be more fortunate than his predecessors. He was deposed by Thueba.

14During scenes of anarchy and of blood, there was a third party, which took no part in them, and which groaned over the disasters of this fertile land. It was agreed that the only means of ending the existing anarchy was to appoint an emir with sovereign power over the whole peninsula. After some deliberation the choice unanimously fell on Yusuf al-Fehri, of the tribe of Koreish, which was also that of the prophet. Yusuf was now compelled to enter on a ruinous civil war; and ruinous it was beyond example in this ill-fated country. To describe the horrors which ensued is impossible; it seemed as if one half of Spain had risen for no other purpose than that of exterminating the other half, and of transforming the whole country into a desert. Many cities, to say nothing of inferior towns and villages, disappeared forever from the face of the peninsula; leaving, however, melancholy mementos of their past existence in the ruins which remained.

15Above forty years had now elapsed since the first descent of the Mohammedans; and in the whole of that period there had been but few intervals of tranquillity, or even of individual security. So mutable had been the government, that twenty different emirs had been called, or had raised themselves, to direct it. About eighty chiefs secretly assembled at Cordova; when, laying aside all private ambition, they consulted as to the means of ending the civil war. They were addressed by Hayut of Emessa, who reminded them of the recent usurpation of the Abbasids; of the consequent massacre of the Omayyads; and, what was still more melancholy, of the fatal divisions among the partisans of those families throughout the Mohammedan world, and of the anarchy which was the inevitable result of those divisions. These chiefs agreed to establish a separate, independent monarchy, but the main difficulty still remained. What individual could be found in whose claims a whole nation could be likely to acquiesce, and who possessed the requisites towards that nation’s prosperity? It was removed by Wahib ben Zair, whose interesting relation is thus abridged:

16[Sidenote: [750-778 A.D.]]

17After the tragic massacre of the Omayyads, two sons of Merwan, the last caliph of that house, who had been so fortunate as to escape the destruction of their brethren, were foolish enough to reside at the court of Abul-Abbas, on his solemnly promising to spare their lives. Yielding at length to the repeated insinuations of a base spy, Abul-Abbas ordered their execution. Soliman, the eldest, was immediately taken and slain; but the other, Abd ar-Rahman, who was fortunately absent from Damascus, was seasonably informed of this second tragedy. Hastily furnishing himself with horses and money, he commenced his flight from Syria. He chose the most unfrequented paths, and safely arrived among the Bedouin Arabs. From Arabia he passed through Egypt into Africa, where new dangers awaited him. After some days of a fatiguing journey through boundless plains of sand, he reached Tahart in Mauretania, by the inhabitants of which he was received with joy. “Abd ar-Rahman,” concluded Wahib, “still remains there; let him be our sovereign!”

18The proposal of the sheikh was received with unanimous applause. Accompanied by Teman ben Al-Kama, he was instantly deputed by the assembly to pass over into Mauretania, and offer the crown to the princely descendant of Moawiyah. The prince immediately accepted the proposal. The youth of the whole tribe were eager to accompany him, but he selected 750 well-armed horsemen for this arduous expedition. Abd ar-Rahman landed on the coast of Andalusia in the early part of the year 755. The inhabitants of that province, sheikhs and people, received him with open arms, and made the air ring with their acclamations.

19His appearance, his station, his majestic mien, his open countenance, won upon the multitude even more perhaps than the prospect of the blessings which he was believed to have in store for them. His march to Seville was one continued triumph; twenty thousand voices cheered his progress; twenty thousand scimitars, wielded by vigorous hands, were at his disposal. The surrounding towns immediately sent deputies with their submission and the offer of their services. After a series of unsuccessful manœuvres, Yusuf fell in a battle near Lorca, and his head was sent by the victorious general to the king. According to the barbarous custom of the times, it was suspended from an iron hook over one of the public gates of Cordova.

20The very same year Narbonne fell into the power of the Christians, after a siege of six years. Gothic Gaul was now lost to the Moslems.

21[Sidenote: [756-796 A.D.]]

22The peace which the monarch enjoyed was destined to prove of short duration. While he continued at Seville, indulging alike in poetry and friendship, he received intelligence of an insurrection at Toledo, by Hisham ben Adri al-Fehri, a relative of Yusuf. Hisham with some other generals fell into the hands of Bedra, who, in the fear of their being saved by the clemency of Abd ar-Rahman, immediately struck off their heads. But he was now menaced by an enemy more powerful than any which had yet assailed him; and one of the last perhaps he would ever have dreamed of opposing. This was no other than Charlemagne, who poured his legions over the Pyrenees into the valleys of Catalonia.

23He himself headed the division which passed into Navarre through Gascony, and his first conquest was the Christian city of Pamplona. The walls he levelled with the ground; and thence proceeded to Saragossa. That city quickly owned his supremacy; and so also, we are told, did Gerona, Huesca, and Barcelona, the government of which he confided to the sheikhs who had invited him into the peninsula, and had aided him with their influence. The whole country, from the Ebro to the Pyrenees, in like manner owned his authority. How far he might have carried his arms, had not the revolt of the Saxons summoned him to a more urgent scene, it would be useless to conjecture.

24While in the defiles of the Pyrenees, between Roncesvalles and Valcarlos, his rear was furiously assailed by some thousands of Navarrese in ambush, who were justly indignant at the wanton destruction of their capital. That the injury inflicted on the emperor was serious, is apparent from the words of his own secretary, who tells us that the whole rearguard was cut to pieces, including many of his generals and chief nobles; and that not only the riches amassed in the expedition, but the whole baggage of the army, fell into the hands of the victors. Scarcely had Charlemagne passed the Pyrenees, when Abd ar-Rahman recovered Saragossa and the other places, of which that monarch had received the submission, and which he had, probably, been sanguine enough to hope would continue to acknowledge his supremacy. But if Abd ar-Rahman was thus freed from so formidable an invader, he was still subject to the curse of domestic sedition.

25During his long reign, Abd ar-Rahman had several transactions with the Christians of the Asturias. Under the viceroys his predecessors, the Mussulman arms had failed against both Pelayo and Alfonso I; but he was more successful. By Froila or Fruela I, indeed, one if not two of his generals were successively and signally defeated (760 and 761); but from the tenor of a treaty between the two kings, a treaty on which the early Christian writers preserve a deep silence, we may infer either that the Asturian ruler had sustained some reverse, or that he turned aside the storm of threatening vengeance by concessions.

26Abd ar-Rahman died in 787. The chief features of his character were honour, generosity, and intrepidity, with a deeply rooted regard for the interests of justice and religion. His views, for a Mussulman, were enlightened, and his sentiments liberal. Misfortune had been his schoolmaster, and he profited by its lessons. He was an encourager of literature, as appears from the number of schools he founded and endowed; of poetry in particular he must have been fond, or he would not have cultivated it himself. In short, his highest praise is to be found in the fact that Mohammedan Spain wanted a hero and legislator to lay the first stone of her prosperity, and that she found both in him.

27Hisham ben Abd ar-Rahman, surnamed Alhadi Radhi, the Just and the Good, was immediately proclaimed at Merida, whither he had accompanied his dying father; and his elevation was hailed by the acclamations of all Spain. The success with which Hisham crushed formidable insurrections of his two brothers roused within him the latent sparks of ambition. He now aspired to conquests not only in the Asturias, but in Gothic Gaul. He proclaimed the _al-jihed_, or holy war, which every Mussulman was bound to aid, if young, by personal service, if rich and advanced in years, by the contribution of horses, arms, or money. Two formidable armies were immediately put in motion; one thirty-nine thousand strong, which was headed by the hajib or prime minister, marched into the Asturias; the other, which was still more numerous, advanced towards the Pyrenees. The hajib laid waste all Galicia as far as Lugo, and obtained immense plunder; but Alfonso, surnamed the Chaste, had the glory of freeing the infant kingdom from the invaders. A second expedition, under the hajib’s son, was still more unfortunate. From this time may be dated the real independence of the Christians.

28[Sidenote: [796-815 A.D.]]

29The success of the other army was not very signal; it made no conquests, but shortly returned across the Pyrenees laden with immense plunder. In the seventh year of his reign Hisham caused his son Al-Hakem to be recognised as his successor, and died a few months afterwards, in 796, universally lamented by his subjects. The reign of Al-Hakem was one of extreme agitation. Barcelona, and many other fortresses of Catalonia, acknowledged the supremacy of Charlemagne.

30Whilst these transactions were passing in Catalonia, Alfonso the Chaste was naturally eager to profit by the division in his favour. To punish his revolt in 801, Al-Hakem ravaged his eastern territories. But on the return of the Mohammedan king, who left Yusuf ben Amru to prosecute the war, the Asturian entirely routed the forces of that general, whom he took prisoner, and for whose ransom he exacted a heavy sum. This very fact proves that the two kings were now placed on an equal footing--that the ties of vassalage had been burst asunder by the Christian hero. In 808, Alfonso crossed the Duero, invaded Lusitania, and took Lisbon. Al-Hakem hastened to the theatre of war, and obtained some successes. Abd ar-Rahman, Al-Hakem’s son, defeated Alfonso on the banks of the Duero, took Zamora, and compelled that king to sue for peace. However, hostilities soon recommenced, but with little advantage to either party.

31Internally the reign of Al-Hakem was no less troubled. Scarcely was the rebellion of his uncles repressed, when the tyranny of Yusuf ben Amru occasioned great disorders in Toledo. In 805, the inhabitants openly rose against the governor, whom they confined in prison. Al-Hakem invited the principal inhabitants--chiefly Mohammedans--to wait on the heir of the monarchy; but as they entered the palace, they were seized by his soldiers, were carried into a subterraneous apartment, and massacred. [More than seven hundred are said to have perished on this “day of the fosse” (807).] About the same time a conspiracy was formed in Cordova itself, the object of which was to assassinate Al-Hakem, and to raise a grandson of the first Abd ar-Rahman to the vacant throne. The fatal secret was revealed to the monarch’s ear. The very day on which this tragedy was to be perpetrated, three hundred gory heads were exhibited in the most public part of Cordova. Had his own been there, instead of them, no public sorrow would have been manifested.

32[Sidenote: [815-835 A.D.]]

33This incident was not likely to assuage his appetite for blood--an appetite which is believed to have been innate in his temperament, though education and circumstances had hitherto suspended its cravings. Commensurate with its increasing intensity was his passion for luxury. He no longer delighted in reaping “the iron harvests of the field.” Shut up in his palace with his female slaves, amidst the sweetest sounds of vocal and instrumental music, or witnessing the lascivious dance, he passed the whole of his time. If, however, his person was thus hidden from the eyes of his people, his existence was but too evident from the execution of his sanguinary mandates.

34That he might enjoy the pleasures without the cares of royalty, in the year 815 he caused his son Abd ar-Rahman to receive the homage of his chiefs as the wali alhadi, or successor to the throne, and on the shoulders of that prince he thenceforth laid the whole weight of government. But tyrants often tremble, as well as their oppressed subjects. To escape assassination, or the consequences of an open insurrection, he filled or surrounded his palace with a chosen guard of five thousand men, whose fidelity he secured by permanent liberal pay. To meet this extraordinary increase of expenditure, he laid an entrance duty on the merchandise which arrived in the capital.

35This measure excited indignation, not so much because it was oppressive as because it was novel; murmurs arose on every side, and even an open insurrection appeared certain. To crush it by terror, he ordered ten men who had refused to pay the duty to be publicly executed.

36A trivial accident, however, acting like a spark on the present inflammable spirit of the people, produced a general explosion; the guards of the ten prisoners were massacred; a few who wisely fled were pursued to the very gates of the palace, the multitude uttering terrific menaces against the author and advisers of so odious a novelty. The desire of vengeance roused the king from his unworthy lethargy. Seizing his arms, and followed by the cavalry of his guard, he charged the mob, which, as mobs always will do, endeavoured to escape when real danger approached. In a few minutes the streets of Cordova were strewn with dead bodies; such as could reach their habitations were safe; about three hundred were overtaken on the banks of the river, and were instantly impaled.

37But the effects did not end here; the numerous streets outside the walls of the city were levelled with the ground, and the surviving inhabitants were pardoned only on the condition of leaving Cordova forever. With loud lamentations, the unhappy exiles departed from the scene of their former happiness; a considerable number settled in Toledo; eight thousand accepted the asylum offered them by Edris ben Edris in his new city of Fez, and the quarter where they settled is at this day called the Andalusian quarter.

38The fate of the far greater portion was more singular; fifteen thousand proceeded to Egypt, seized on Alexandria, and there maintained themselves in spite of all opposition, until the wali, by the caliph’s permission, purchased their departure by a large sum of money, and by allowing them to reside on one of the isles of Greece. They chose Crete, and founded an independent government [which lasted till 961 when the Greeks recaptured it]. From this moment Al-Hakem, who acquired the surname of the Cruel, was torn by incessant remorse. In 821 he breathed his last.

39[Illustration: A SARACEN CHIEF]

40Abd ar-Rahman II had long made himself beloved, both in a private capacity and as the deputy of his father; happiness was as much hoped from his reign, and as much was it alloyed by many misfortunes. The first was the hostile arrival of his great uncle, Abdallah, son of Abd ar-Rahman I, who, though on the verge of the tomb, resolved to strike another blow for empire. He was speedily defeated. A salutary law was now passed, defining the right of succession to be inherent in the children of the natural monarch, according to their primogeniture; and, where the direct heirs subsisted, excluding the other branches of the family.

41In his transactions with the Christians of the Asturias and Catalonia, Abd ar-Rahman was more fortunate than his two predecessors. He did not allow either Alfonso or Ramiro to gain much advantage over him. Three armies of Franks successively appeared in Spain, but effected nothing; while a Mohammedan fleet burned the suburbs of Marseilles. Nor was the kingdom of Abd ar-Rahman free from internal troubles. Merida twice revolted; Toledo followed the example, and sustained a blockade of nine years against the royal forces.

42[Sidenote: [835-886 A.D.]]

43Scarcely were these domestic wounds closed, when a new and unexpected enemy appeared on the coast of Lusitania. The Scandinavian vikings, in fifty-four vessels, had spread terror along the maritime districts of France and the peninsula. These savage northmen landed wherever there was a prospect of booty; plundered towns and churches; consumed with fire everything which they could not remove; and put to the sword all, of every age and of either sex, who had the misfortune to fall in their way. In short, from the terrific descriptions given of them both in the Icelandic sagas and the Christian writers of the south, we should suppose them to have been demons rather than men.

44Thirteen days they assailed Lisbon, and that place would have fallen but for the seasonable march of the neighbouring walis to relieve it. The pirates re-embarked with their booty; landed on the coasts of Lusitania and Algarve, which they ravaged; and ultimately destroyed a great part of Seville. Such was their reputation for valour, that their retreat was seldom molested. To rebuild the ruined walls was the immediate work of the king, and to be prepared for resistance, in the event of future piratical descents, he established a line of forts from the principal seaports to his capital, with facilities for communicating rapidly with one another.

45To add to these internal calamities, a drought of two years withered the productions of the earth; or if anything was spared by the heat, it was devoured by clouds of locusts.

46These sufferings of his people must sensibly have afflicted the heart of Abd ar-Rahman; and he endeavoured to relieve them by importing corn from Africa, and by furnishing the unemployed with occupation. The works which he constructed in that city were of equal magnificence and utility. Mosques were erected; the streets paved; marble baths made for the convenience of the men; and, the most important of all his enterprises, water in abundance was brought from the mountains to the city by means of leaden pipes. Abd ar-Rahman was a man of letters as well as a man of science. In 850 he caused his son Muhammed to be acknowledged wali alhadi. In 852 he died, universally lamented by his people.

47The reign of Muhammed I contains little to strike the attention. He was always at war, either with the Asturians or his own subjects. Ramiro, Ordoño, and Alfonso III successively defeated his best troops, and gradually enlarged their dominions. He was ultimately more successful in his contests with his subjects than with his natural enemies. Of the difficulty, however, with which this success was obtained, Musa ben Zeyad, the wali of Saragossa, and Omar, a bandit chief, afford us abundant proof. Omar escaped into the Pyrenees, and offered his services to the Navarrese; gained them many fortresses, and received from them the title of king. He conquered the whole country as far as the Ebro. The king in person, with his son Al-Mundhir, and his best officers, hastened to the field.

48Omar was defeated and slain. But the rebels were not yet annihilated. Kalib ben Omar, who with the title inherited the warlike spirit of his father, was destined to greater things, and laid waste or rendered tributary the country on the banks of the Ebro. Al-Mundhir advanced to measure arms with the son of his old enemy; but a whole year elapsed before he could gain any advantage over Kalib. If to these agitating scenes we add a drought of a year’s duration, the third which had visited Spain within the short period of twenty years; an earthquake which swallowed several towns, and another invasion of the Normans, some idea may be formed of the disasters of this reign.

49[Sidenote: [886-939 A.D.]]

50The death of Muhammed was sudden. No sooner did Kalib ben Omar hear of Muhammed’s death than he descended from his mountains, was joined by thousands of partisans, and was successful beyond his most sanguine hopes. Huesca, Saragossa, and Toledo opened their gates to him. The whole kingdom was in consternation or in joy, according to the loyalty or disaffection of the people. It is certain that the new king, Al-Mundhir, had not many friends, and those few he soon lost. In the second year of his reign he fell in battle with the formidable Kalib.

51The reign of Abdallah, the brother and successor of Al-Mundhir, was destined to be as troubled as any of his predecessors. One of the first revolts was headed by his eldest son Muhammed. He was joined by his brother Al-Kasim; but he was defeated by his younger brother Abd ar-Rahman, was severely wounded in battle, and was consigned to a dungeon by the victor, until the king’s pleasure could be known. There he died, whether in consequence of his wounds, or by violence, is uncertain. But the greatest affliction of the king was the continued triumph of the rebel Kalib.

52On the death of Abdallah, the throne of Mohammedan Spain was filled by Abd ar-Rahman III, son of the rebel prince Muhammed, who had so mysteriously died in prison, and, therefore, grandson of Abdallah. Why the deceased king did not procure the elevation of his own son Abd ar-Rahman, surnamed Al-Mudafar, or the Victorious, surprised many, but grieved none. By universal acclamation the new king was hailed as Emir al-muminin, or prince of the believers, and An-Nasir lidini-l-lahi, defender of the faith of God. It is difficult to account for the yielding of this spiritual homage to the young prince; but the fact is certain that he was the first of his family to assume the title and honours of caliph.

53After labouring with success to pacify the partisans of the Abbasids, who at first regarded his assumption of the spiritual character as little less than blasphemous, Abd ar-Rahman resolved to exterminate the audacious rebels who had so long distracted the kingdom. The son of Omar ben Hafs still reigned at Toledo over nearly one-half of Mohammedan Spain. To contend with this formidable adventurer, Abd ar-Rahman assembled a select military force of forty thousand men, and took the field. In the end victory declared for the king; seven thousand of the rebel and three thousand of the royal forces were left on the field. The consequences of this success were important; the whole of eastern Spain submitted to Abd ar-Rahman. Kalib himself long held out against the power of Abd ar-Rahman.

54The pacification of his kingdom allowed Abd ar-Rahman leisure to dream of ambition, which opportunity seasonably aided. He came into conflict with the ruler of Egypt, over Fez, which he finally cleared of the Egyptians. But the most memorable of the warlike exploits of this king were against the Christians of Leon and the Asturias. Soon after the accession of Abd ar-Rahman, Ordoño II invaded the Mohammedan possessions, and, if any faith is to be had in the chroniclers of his nation, he obtained many advantages--advantages, however, of which not the slightest mention is made by the Mohammedan writers. In short, from the accession of Ordoño to some time after that of Ramiro II, not one of the successes derived by the Christians is acknowledged by the Moors.

55[Sidenote: [939-961 A.D.]]

56From the conflicting statements of the two hostile writers, it appears certain that in 934 Ramiro II made an irruption into the states of Abd ar-Rahman, and ruined Madrid, and that the king of Cordova, in revenge, sent Almudafar to invade Galicia. That hero, say the historians of his nation, made terrible reprisals on the subjects of Ramiro, thousands of whom he brought away captive, with an immense booty, and defeated Ramiro himself on the banks of the Duero. The Christians, on the other hand, tell us that their hero triumphed over the misbelievers on the plains of Osma (which is on the banks of that river), of whom he slew a great number, and made many thousands of captives. Abd ar-Rahman advanced to meet him with eighty thousand men.

57The combat [of Alhandega] which ensued was the most obstinate, and beyond comparison the most bloody, that had been fought between Christians and Moors since the days of Roderic. There can be no doubt that victory shone on the banners of the Christians, notwithstanding the assertion of the Mohammedan writers, who say that Ramiro was driven from the field. But that the success was so splendid as the Christians pretend, that eighty thousand of the Moors fell on this memorable day, is too monstrous to be believed. According to the Arabian writers, that number only--yet it is surely large enough--left Zamora, twenty thousand out of the original one hundred thousand remaining to invest that fortress.

58And if their account is to be credited--and the minute circumstances attending it give it all the air of truth--Abd ar-Rahman took the fortress on his return to Cordova.

59During the rest of don Ramiro’s reign one battle only is said by the Christians to have been fought between the Moors and him, in which he was of course victorious. But if the Mohammedans are to be believed, that hero was defeated in 941 by Abdallah, wali of the frontier; and again in 949 by Abd ar-Rahman in person.

60In his internal administration Abd ar-Rahman was distinguished for great capacity of mind, for unbounded liberality, for unrivalled magnificence, and for inflexible justice. The foundation of the palace and town of Medina-Azhara, about two leagues from Cordova--the former distinguished for all the splendour of art and wealth, the latter for a mosque which rivalled that of Cordova--attested his taste and luxury.

61The roof of the palace is said to have been supported by above four thousand pillars of variegated marble, the floors and walls to have been of the same costly material, the chief apartments to have been adorned with exquisite fountains and baths; and the whole to have been surrounded by the most magnificent gardens, in the midst of which arose a pavilion resting on pillars of white marble ornamented with gold, and commanding an extensive prospect. In the centre of the pavilion, a fountain of quicksilver, we are told, constantly played, reflecting in a new and wondrous manner the rays of the sun. The whole description reminds us rather of the creations of genii than of the labours of man.

62Of the justice of this great king the Mohammedan world had a fearful example in the fate of his son Abdallah. Many years before his death he caused his second son, Al-Hakem, to be recognised as wali alhadi. The choice gave umbrage to Abdallah, who at length entered into a conspiracy, the object of which seems to have been the assassination or perpetual imprisonment of Al-Hakem.

63The secret was betrayed by one of the number; Abdallah was suddenly arrested, confessed his meditated crime, and was suffocated, notwithstanding the entreaties of his intended victim Al-Hakem. “Thy humane request,” replied the king, “becomes thee well, and if I were a private individual it should be granted; but as a king, I owe both to my people and my successors an example of justice; I deeply lament the fate of my son; I shall lament it through life; but neither thy tears nor my grief shall save him!” The king seems ever afterwards to have blamed his excessive rigour. Though at the very summit of human prosperity, he was thenceforth unhappy.

64Accordingly, we need not be surprised to hear his own confession that during near fifty years of empire, his days of happiness amounted to no more than fourteen.

65The reign of Abd ar-Rahman III has been termed the most brilliant period in the history of the Spanish Arabs.[d]

66[Sidenote: [912-961 A.D.]]

67Among the Omayyad princes of Spain Abd ar-Rahman III incontestably holds the first place. His achievements bordered on the fabulous. He had found the empire in a state of anarchy and civil war, divided amongst a crowd of chiefs of different race, exposed to constant raids from the Christians of the north, and on the verge of being absorbed either by Leon or by the Fatimites. In spite of innumerable obstacles he had saved Andalusia both from itself and from foreign rule. He had given to it internal order and prosperity and the consideration and respect of foreigners. He found the treasury in disorder; he left it in the most flourishing condition.

68A third of the annual revenues, which amounted to 6,245,000 pieces of gold, sufficed for the ordinary expenditure; another third was kept as a reserve; the rest was devoted to buildings. The condition of the country was equally prosperous. Agriculture, industry, commerce, the arts and sciences, flourished together. The foreigner was lost in wonder at the scientific system of irrigation, which gave fertility to lands that appeared most unpromising. He was struck by the perfect order which, thanks to a vigilant police, reigned in the most inaccessible districts. Commerce had developed to such an extent that, according to the report of the superintendent of the customs, the duties on imports and exports constituted the most considerable part of the revenue.

69A superb navy enabled Abd ar-Rahman to dispute with the Fatimites the empire of the Mediterranean, and secured him in the possession of Ceuta, the key of Mauretania. A numerous and well-disciplined army, perhaps the best in the world, gave him a preponderance over the Christian of the north. The most haughty sovereigns were eager for his alliance. Ambassadors were sent to him by the emperor of Constantinople and by the sovereigns of Germany, Italy, and France.[e]

70Leaving for a while the Spanish Arabs, now at the height of their power, we return to the Mohammedans in the East.[a]