loved above all other recreations, as would appear from the manner in which he treated the musician Zaryab.

Abdu-r-rahman died in the month of Rabil-akhar of the year 238 (June 22, A. D. 852), after a reign of thirty-one years. He was born at Toledo (Andalus) in the month of Shaban of the year 176 (November or December, A. D. 792); his mother's name was Halawah.

SULTAN ABDULLAH IBN MOHAMMED.

Abdullah was a very pious man; he regularly attended the mosque, and never made use of wine or other intoxicating liquors; he was eloquent and witty. Ibnu Hayyan has preserved us several of his verses composed extempore, among which are the following:

sums of money from his treasury, until the number of books thus conveyed to Andalus exceeded all calculations. He would likewise send presents of money to celebrated authors in the East, with a view to encourage the publication of works or to obtain the first copies of them. In this manner, knowing that Abu-l-faraj of Ispahan, who belonged to the [royal] family of Umeyyah, had written a book entitled Kitabu-l-aghani (the book of songs), he sent him one thousand dinars of pure gold, upon which the author forwarded him a copy of his work even before it had appeared in Irak. He did the same thing with Abu Bekr Al-abhari Al-maleki, who published a commentary on the Mokh

tassar of Ibn Abdi-l-hakem, and with other illustrious authors of his days. Al-hakem, moreover, collected around him and employed in his own palace the most skilful men of his time in the art of transcribing, binding, or illuminating books, and such literary treasures were amassed in Andalus as no

sovereign ever possessed before or after him, have been collected by [the sultan] Annasir, if we except the library which is said to son of Al-mustadhi-billah, of the house of Abbas. This immense collection of books remained in the palace of Cordova until, during the siege of that capital by the Berbers, the Hajib Wadheh, who was a freedman of Al-mansur Ibn Abi Amir, ordered them to be sold, the remainder being shortly after plundered and destroyed on the taking of that city by the Berbers. In order to give an idea of the number of books collected by Alhakem, we shall here transcribe the words of

IBNU-L-ABBAR IN HIS TEKMILAH:

'Abu Mohammed Ibn Hazm says, 'I was told by Talid the eunuch, who was

the keeper of the library and repository of the sciences in the palace of the Beni Merwan, that the catalogue only of the books consisted of forty-four volumes, each volume having twenty sheets of paper, which contained nothing else but the titles and descriptions of the books.'" Another historian, after transcribing the above passage, says: "Al-hakem was the most virtuous and liberal of men, and he treated all those who came to his court with the utmost kindness. He amassed such a collection of books that it is impossible to estimate even approximately either their value or their number, some writers stating that they amounted to four hundred thousand volumes, and that when they were removed [from the palace] six months were expended in the operation. Al-hakem was a man of irreproachable conduct; he was learned, and had a quick understanding." "To give an idea of Alhakem's immense erudition," says the historian Ibnu-l-abbar, "it will only be necessary to record here a well-ascertained fact that not one book was to be found in Al-hakem's library, whatever might be its contents, which the Khalif had not perused, writing on the fly-leaf the name, surname, and patronymic of the author; that of the tribe or family to which he belonged; the year of his birth and death; after which followed such interesting anecdotes about the author or his work as through his immense reading he had derived from other writers.'

Al-hakem died on the second day of Safar, A. H. 366 (September 29, A. D. 976), at the age of sixty-three, and after a reign of upward of fifteen years. He was born in the year 303 (beginning July 16, A. D. 915); his mother's name was Marjan. was Marjan. He left no

other male children except Hisham, whom he designated for his successor some time before he died. We have already stated that he used the appellative Abu-l-assin, and that on his accession to the throne he assumed the pious surname of Al-mustanser-billah (he who implores the assistance of God).

MOHAMMED AL-MANSUR.

Mohammed was born in A. H. 327 (A. D. 939). His mother's name was Boreyhah. His father, Abdullah, surnamed Abu Hafas, was born at Algesiras, but removed when young to Cordova. He died in Africa as he was returning from his pilgrimage; some say at Tripoli, others at a place called Arkadah. The year of his death is not stated, but it is generally believed that he died toward the close of An-nasir's reign.

CONQUEST OF THE GALICIANS.

In the year 375 (beginning May 23, A. D. 985) he made an incursion into the country of the Galicians, and took by storm one of their most populous and best fortified cities. Some time after he overran and wasted the districts of Alava and Pamplona, and in the ensuing year he took and destroyed the city of Zamora.

We should never have done,

were we to enumerate all the expeditions undertaken by Al-mansur to chastise the rebellious Christians of Andalus and to establish among them the supremacy of Islam. Suffice it to say that during the long period of his administration he never failed to conduct his army twice every year, either against the Franks or against the Galicians, and that in all his campaigns, which appear to have been fifty-two in number, God Almighty was pleased to grant victory to his arms and to

send down confusion and disappointment on the obdurate unbelievers. We cannot, however, dismiss this interesting subject without transcribing from the work of Ibnu Hayyan his account of Al-mansur's fiftieth expedition in the land of the infidels, which ended in the taking and destruction of their capital, as it will afford our readers an idea of the march and arrangements of Al-mansur's armies and the prosperous issue of all his military undertakings.

STATUE OF THE APOSTLE SAINT JAMES.

Shant Yakoh (Santiago) is a city in the most remote part of Galicia, and one of the sanctuaries most frequented, not only by the Christians of Andalus, but by the inhabitants of the neighboring continent, who regard its church with veneration equal to that which the Moslems entertain for the Ka'bah at Mekkah, for their Ka'bah is a colossal idol (statue) which they have in the centre of the church. They swear by it, and repair to it in pilgrimage from the most distant parts from Rome as well as from other countries beyond [that city]-pretending that the tomb which is to be seen within the church is that of Yakob (James), one of the twelve apostles, and the most beloved by Isa (Jesus). May the blessing of God and salutation be on him and on our Prophet! The Christians call this Yakob (a word which in their language means Ya'kub) the brother of Jesus, because while he lived he was always with him. They say that he was bishop of Jerusalem, and that he wandered over the earth preaching the religion [of Christ], and calling upon the inhabitants to embrace it, until he came to that remote corner of Andalus; that he then returned to Syria, where he died at

the age of one hundred and twenty solar years. They pretend likewise that after the death of Yakob his disciples carried his body and buried it in that church, as the most remote part where he had left traces [of his preaching].

THE POET SA'ID ACCUSED OF PLAGIARISM.

Ibnu-l-'arif took the verses and pasted them on the back of a book, written in the Egyptian hand, with the capitals and heads of chapters in red ink; he hastened with it to the presence of Al-mansur, who was waiting with the greatest impatience. No sooner had he perused the verses than his indignation was roused to the highest pitch, and he exclaimed, "To-morrow we will summon Sa'id to our presence, and unless he gives us a satisfactory answer to this charge he shall be banished the country." On the ensuing morning Al-mansur sent for Sa'id, who, in obedience to his summons, hastened to the palace. He found Al-mansur's hall thronged with courtiers and other persons who had been expressly invited for the occasion. In the middle of the hall a large tray containing compartments ornamented with every variety of elegant design had been placed by order of Al-mansur. On the roof of the compartments were toys of jasmine made in imitation of females, and under the roof a reservoir of transparent water, the bottom of which was paved with pearls instead of common pebbles; in the water was a snake swimming. When Sa'id entered the hall and had seen all these curiosities, Al-mansur said to him, "This day thou must either rejoice and be happy with us, or else thou must be miserable whilst we are rejoicing. There are people in this room who pretend that none of these verses thou recitest are thy own

composition, and certainly we have a proof that this is true with regard to some. Look at that tray, the like of which, I assert, was never placed before any other king but me." He then proceeded to enumerate every one of the curiosities that were on it, and continued, "If the charge brought against thee be false, prove it by describing to me in verse both the tray and its contents." Sa'id immediately said:

O ABU 'AMIR.

O Abu 'Amir! are not thy benefits always flowing, and thy enemies on earth always fearing?

[And why should they not] when the age brings thee every novelty, and presents thee with more wonders than can [easily] be described?

Here are the flowers which a fertilizing shower engendered, and the stocks of which are covered with fringes of yellow and bright green;

Which, to complete their beauty, have female slaves standing opposite [to them] with a variety of musical

instruments in their hands;

Seeking shelter under the roofs of jasmine, as the gazelle looks for a shadowy spot [among the trees].

But that most to be wondered at is, that the maids are looking over a lake enfolding every beauty,

At the bottom of which are pearls instead of pebbles, and

in the waters of which sports a poisonous, painted snake. Cast thy eyes around; thou wilt see its shores filled with animals, among which the turtle is one.

Such a composition, and in such a spot, at once established Sa'id's reputation as an extempore poet. Al-mansur was exceedingly pleased with the verses, which he immediately wrote down himself, for fear he should forget them. There was, however, among the curiosities in the tray one which Sa'id had not noticed; it was a ship in which was a maiden rowing herself with oars of gold. Al-mansur therefore said to him, "Very well, Sa'id; I am pleased with thy verses, only thou hast forgotten to mention the ship with the maid inside." Upon which Sa'id said immediately:

THE CROWNED MAIDEN

But what is most to be admired is the crowned maiden in the vessel, whose beauty no tongue can describe. If the waves rock her vessel, she fears for her anchor, and dreads the high winds, precursors [of the storm]. Beauty itself is the pilot of this vessel, holding in her right hand the oar to direct her with.

Certainly we never saw before this a palm-grove despoil itself of its trees to place them in the hands of maidens. No wonder if the upper regions [of thy throne] surpass a garden [in verdure], and are spread with glittering gold and myriads of flowers.

For thou art a man who has no sooner formed a wish than the necks are stretched out [to accomplish it]; and benevolence itself trembles for fear of thy displeasure.

If I utter a sentence or pronounce an extempore speech what else is it for but to sing thy praises?

So pleased was Al-mansur with the above two compositions that he ordered to be given to Sa'id one thousand dinars and one hundred dresses; he assigned him, besides, a pension of thirty gold dinars per month on his treasury and made him one of his common guests.

BUILDINGS ERECTED BY AL-MANSUR.

of

What shall we say of the stupendous buildings erected both in Africa and in Andalus during the administration of Al-mansur! What of his addition to the great mosque Cordova, which we have described elsewhere -a work so highly meritorious in the eyes of God that it would of itself have procured him a place in Paradise! What of the magnificent palaces and gilded pavilions erected at his command, and which equalled, if they did not surpass, those constructed by the sultans of the family of Umeyyah! We have alluded elsewhere to his having built on the banks of the Guadalquivir, at some distance from Cordova, a strong castle called Az-zahirah, whither he conveyed all the treasures of the State. In the course of time a beautiful palace was erected in the neigh

houses, too, were built for the officers of his household, as well as barracks for the troops of his body-guard, and Az-zahirah become, in a very short time, a large and populous city. Ibn Khakan, who alludes to it in the Mattmah, says that Al-mansur completed the building in A. H. 387, and that in the same year, having made, as usual, an incursion into the enemy's territory, he caused more havoc than he had ever done, penetrating into the most distant and retired districts of Galicia, and collecting more plunder than on any other former occasion.

MERITORIOUS ACTIONS OF AL-MANSUR.

Among the meritorious actions of Almansur the following are particularly recorded: He wrote with his own hand a Koran, which he always carried with him on his military expeditions, and in which he used constantly to read. He collected and kept all the dust which adhered to his garments during his marches to the country of the infidels or in his battles with them. Accordingly, whenever he halted at a place his servants came up to him and carefully collected the dust in kerchiefs, until a goodsized bag was filled, which he always carried with him, intending to have it mixed with the perfumes for the embalming of his body. He also took with him his grave-clothes, thus being always prepared to meet death whenever it should assail him. The windingsheet was made of linen grown in the lands inherited from his father, and spun and woven by his own daughters. He used continually to ask God to permit him to die in his service and in war against the infidels, and this desire was granted. He became

the knowledge of his own sins, his fear of his Creator, his numerous campaigns against the infidels, and many other virtues and accomplishments which it would take us too long to enumerate. Whenever the name of God was mentioned in his presence, he never failed to mention it also; and if ever he was tempted to do an act which might deserve the chastisement of his Lord, he invariably resisted the temptation. Notwithstanding this, he enjoyed all the pleasures of this world which make the delight of kings, with the exception only of wine, the use of which he left off entirely two years before he died. We might fill whole volumes with extracts taken from those works which have been exclusively consecrated to the history of that remarkable man.

HIS DEATH.

About two hours before Al-mansur died his son, 'Abdu-l-malek, rode in all haste to Cordova, where he arrived at the beginning of Shawwal (August, A. D. 1002), accompanied only by the Kadi Ibn Dhakwan. When the sad news was divulged [in Cordova], and the Khalif Hisham ascertained the state in which Al-mansur lay, he summoned to his presence a number [of civil functionaries], in order to announce to them the fatal news; but such was the excess of his grief that he could not utter a single word, and he stood speechless as a ghost, endeavoring to explain by signs to the assembly the fatal occurrence which he had to communicate. Abdu-l-malek then returned to the camp and found that his father was dead, and that, according to his last instructions, he had been interred in the spot where