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20

their claim, in the reasonable hope that the eyes of the ca- CHAP. liph would be delighted with the splendid workmanship of nature and industry. Regardless of the merit of art and the pomp of royalty, the rigid Omar divided the prize among his brethren of Medina: the picture was destroyed; but such was the intrinsic value of the materials, that the share of Ali alone was sold for twenty thousand drams. A mule that carried away the tiara and cuirass, the belt and bracelets of Chosroes, was overtaken by the pursuers ; the gorgeous trophy was presented to the commander of the faithful, and the gravest of the companions condescended to smile when they beheld the white beard, hairy arms, and uncouth figure of the veteran, who was invested with the spoils of the great king. 26 The sack of Ctesiphon was followed by its desertion and gradual decay. The Saracens disliked the air Foundation

of Cufa. and situation of the place, and Omar was advised by his general to remove the seat of government to the western side of the Euphrates. In every age the foundation and ruin of the Assyrian cities has been easy and rapid : the country is destitute of stone and timber, and the most solid structures27 are composed of bricks baked in the sun, and joined by a cement of the native bitumen. The name of Cufa23 describes an habitation of reeds and earth ; but the importance of the new capital was supported by the numbers, wealth, and spirit, of a colony of veterans; and their licentiousness was indulged by the wisest caliphs, who were apprehensive of provoking the revolt of an hundred thousand swords: “ Ye “ men of Cufa,” said Ali, who solicited their aid, “

you “ have been always conspicuous by your valour. You con

quered the Persian king, and scattered his forces, till you “ had taken possession of his inheritance.” This mighty conquest was achieved by the battles of Jalula and Nehavendi After the loss of the former, Yezdegerd fled from Holwan, and concealed his shame and despair in the mountains of Farsistan, from whence Cyrus had descended with

66

26 See Gagnier, Vie de Mahomet, tom. i. p. 376, 377. I may credit the fact, without believing the prophec": 27 The most considerable ruins

of Assyria are the tower of Belus, at Babylon, and the hall of Chosroes, at Ctesiphon: they have been visited by that vain and curi us traveller Pietro della Valle (tom. i. p.713...718.751...735).

23 Consult the article of Coufah in the Bibliotheque of d'Herbelot (p. 277, 278), and the second volume of Ockley's II istory, particular p. 40. and 153.

VOI. VI.

TT

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a

CHAP. his equal and valiant companions. The courage of the na

tion survived that of the monarch; among the hills to the
south of Ecbatana or Hamadan, one hundred and fifty thou-
sand Persians made a third and final stand for their religion
and country; and the decisive battle of Nehavend was
styled by the Arabs the victory of victories. If it be true
that the flying general of the Persians was stopped and over-
taken in a crowd of mules and camels laden with honey, the
incident, however slight or singular, will denote the luxuri-

ous impediments of an Oriental army.29 Conquest

The geography of Persia is darkly delineated by the of Persia, Greeks and Latins; but the most illustrious of her cities ap637...651. pear to be more ancient than the invasion of the Arabs. By

the reduction of Hamadan and Ispahan, of Caswin, Tauris,
and Rei, they gradually approached the shores of the Cas-
pian Sea; and the orators of Mecca might applaud the suc-
cess

and spirit of the faithful, who had already lost sight of the northern bear, and had almost transcended the bounds of the habitable world.30 Again turning towards the West and the Roman empire, they repassed the Tigris over the bridge of Mosul, and, in the captive provinces of Armenia and Mesopotamia, embraced their victorious brethren of the Syrian army. From the palace of Madayn their Eastern progress was not less rapid or extensive. They advanced along the Tigris and the Gulf; penetrated through the passes of the mountains into the valley of Estachar or Persepolis; and prophaned the last sanctuary of the Magian empire. The grandson of Chosroes was nearly surprised among the falling columns and mutilated figures; a sad emblem of the past and present fortune of Persia : 31 he fled

1

29 See the article of Nehavend, in d’Herbelot, p. 667, 668; and Voyages en Turquie et en Perse, par Otter, tom. i. p. 191.

LI.

with accelerated haste over the desart of Kirman, implored CHAP. the aid of the warlike Segestans, and sought an humble refuge on the verge of the Turkish and Chinese power. But a victorious army is insensible of fatigue: the Arabs divided their forces in the pursuit of a timorous enemy; and the caliph Othman promised the government of Chorasan to the first general who should enter that large and populous country, the kingdom of the ancient Bactrians. The condition was accepted; the prize was deserved; the standard of Mahomet was planted on the walls of Herat, Merou, and Balch; and the successful leader neither halted nor reposed till his foaming cavalry had tasted the waters of the Oxus. In the public anarchy, the independent governors of the cities and castles obtained their separate capitulations: the terms were granted or imposed by the esteem, the prudence, or the compassion, of the victors; and a simple profession of faith established the distinction between a brother and a slave. After a noble defence, Harmozan, the prince or satrap of Ahwaz and Susa, was compelled to surrender his person and his state to the discretion of the caliph; and their interview exhibits à portrait of the Arabian manners. In the presence, and by the command, of Omar, the gay Barbarian was despoiled of his silken robes embroidered with gold, and of his tiara bedecked with rubies and emeralds : “ Are you now sensible,” said the conqueror to his naked captive ; " are you now sensible of the judgment of “ God, and of the different rewards of infidelity and obedi. " ence?” “Alas ! ” replied Harmozan, “ I feel them too “ deeply. In the days of our common ignorance, we fought es with the weapons of the flesh, and my nation was superior. “ God was then neuter: since he has espoused your quarrel,

you have subverted our kingdom and religion.” Oppressed by this painful dialogue, the Persian complained of intolerable thirst, but discovered some apprehensions lest he should be killed whilst he was drinking a cup of water. “ Be “ of good courage,” said the caliph, “ your life is safe till you

have drank this water:” the crafty satrap accepted the assurance, and instantly dashed the vase against the ground. Omar would have avenged the deceit; but his companions represented the sanctity of an oath ; and the speedy conversion of Harmozan entitled him not only to a

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33

Death of the last king,

CHAP. free pardon, but even to a stipend of two thousand pieces of

gold. The administration of Persia was regulated by an actual survey of the people, the cattle, and the fruits of the earth ; 32 and this monument, which attests the vigilance of the caliphs, might have instructed the philosophers of every age.

The flight of Yezdegerd had carried him beyond the

Oxus, and as far as the Jaxartes, two rivers of ancient and A. D.651. modern renown, which descend from the mountains of In

dia towards the Caspian Sea. He was hospitably entertained by Tarkhan, prince of Fargana, 35 a fertile province on the Jaxartes; the king of Samarcand, with the Turkish tribes of Sogdiana and Scythia, were moved by the lamentations and promises of the fallen monarch; and he solicited by a suppliant embassy, the more solid and powerful friendship of the emperor of China.36 The virtuous Taitsong, 37 the first of the dynasty of the Tang, may be justly compared with the Antonines of Rome: his people enjoyed the blessings of prosperity and peace: and his dominion was acknowledged by forty-four hords of the Barbarians of Tartary. His last garrisons of Cashgar and Khoten maintained a frequent intercourse with their neighbours of the Jaxartes and Oxus; a recent colony of Persians had introduced into China the astronomy of the Magi; and Taitsong might be alarmed by

de

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the rapid progress and dangerous vicinity of the Arabs. CHAP. The influence, and perhaps the supplies, of China revived the hopes of Yezdegerd and the zeal of the worshippers of fire; and he returned with an army of Turks to conquer the inheritance of his fathers. The fortunate Moslems, without unsheathing their swords, were the spectators of his ruin and death. The grandson of Chosroes was betrayed by his servant, insulted by the seditious inhabitants of Merou, and oppressed, defeated, and pursued, by his Barbarian allies. He reached the banks of a river, and offered his rings and bracelets for an instant passage in a miller's boat. Ignorant or insensible of royal distress, the rustic replied, that four drams of silver were the daily profit of his mill, and that he would not suspend his work unless the loss were repaid. In this moment of hesitation and delay, the last of the Sassani. an kings was overtaken and slaughtered by the Turkish cavalry, in the nineteenth year of his unhappy reign.38 His son Firuz, an humble client of the Chinese emperor, accepted the station of captain of his guards; and the Magian worship was long preserved by a colony of loyal exiles in the province of Bucharia. His grandson inherited the regal name; but after a faint and fruitless enterprise, he returned to China, and ended his days in the palace of Sigan. The male line of the Sassanides was extinct; but the female captives, the daughters of Persia, were given to the conquerors in servitude, or marriage; and the race of the caliphs and imams was ennobled by the blood of their royal mothers.39

After the fall of the Persian kingdom, the river Oxus di- The convided the territories of the Saracens and of the Turks. This

Transöxi. narrow boundary was soon overleaped by the spirit of the ana, A. D. Arabs: the governors of Chorasan extended their successive

: inroads; and one of their triumphs was adorned with the buskin of a Turkish queen, which she dropt in her precipi

,

quest of

710.