HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 329 & 331 PEARL STREET, Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840 by Harper & Brothers, In the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New York {v} We are accustomed to look upon the followers of the Arabian Prophet as little better than barbarians, remarkable chiefly for ignorance, cruelty, and a blind and persecuting spirit of fanaticism. As it regards the character of the Mohammedans at the present day, and, indeed, their

  The Origin of the Moors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19   The Arabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21   The Birth of Mohammed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23   Religion of Mohammed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23   The Progress of Islamism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25   Victories of the Mussulmans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26   New Conquests of the Mohammedans . . . . . . . ....

  The Kings of Cordova become the Caliphs of the West . . . 45   The Asiatic Mussulmans divide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46   The Dynasty of the Ommiades lose the Caliphate . . . . . . 48   Horrible Massacre of the Ommiades . . . . . . . . . . . . 52   An Ommiade Prince repairs to Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . 53   Abderamus, the first Caliph of the West . . . . . . . . . 53 {viii}   Reign of Abderamus I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54   Religion and Fêtes of the Moors of Spain . . . .

  The principal Kingdoms erected from the Ruins of the     Caliphate of the West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85   Condition of Christian Spain at this Juncture . . . . . . 88   The Kingdom of Toledo; its Termination . . . . . . . . 87, 88   Success of the Christians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89   The Cid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89   The Kingdom of Seville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91   The Dynasty of the Almoravides hold Supremacy in Africa . 92 {i

  The Kings of Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118   The Condition of the Moors; their Despondency . . . . . . 118   Mohammed Alhamar; his Character and Influence with his     Countrymen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119   He founds the Kingdom of Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120   Description of the City of Grenada and its Vega . . . . 121   Extent and Resources of this Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . 123   Reign of Mohammed Alhamar I. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Extending from the end of the Sixth Century to the middle of the Eighth. The primitive Moors were the inhabitants of the vast portion of Africa bounded on the east by Egypt, on the north by the Mediterranean, on the west by the Atlantic, and on the south by the deserts of Barbary. The origin of the Moors, or Mauritanians, is, like that of most other ancient nations, obscure, and the information we possess concerning their early history confusedly mingled with fables. The fact, however, appears t

  In a transport of jealousy and pride,   Zelinda spurned her lover from her side! {165}   His cruel doom Gonzulo heard   With bosom wrung; and disappeared!   But the fair maid soon deeply felt   The torturing wound herself had dealt;   As glides the snow from mountain crest,   So fled resentment from her breast.   They tell her that the Moor's proud heart   Is pierced by grief's most poisoned dart,   And that he'd doffed, when flying from her side,   The tender colours that were once his pride;

A, page 25. Until they embrace Islamism, &c. The word Islamism is derived from islam , which signifies consecration to God . The brief synopsis given in the text of the principles of the Mohammedan religion, is literally rendered by the author from several different chapters of the Koran. These precepts are there to be found almost lost amid a mass of absurdities, repetitions, and incoherent rhapsodies. Yet, throughout the entire work, there are occasionally bright gleams of fervid eloqu

A, page 46. He was soon after assassinated, &c. Three Karagites (a name applied to a pre-eminently fanatical sect of Mussulmans), beholding the disorders created in the Arabian empire by the contentions of Ali, Moavias, and {209} Amrou, believed that they should perform a service that would be acceptable to God, and restore peace to their country, by simultaneously assassinating the three rivals. One of them repaired to Damascus, and wounded the usurper Moavias in the back; but the wound

A, page 86. Three bishops of Catalonia, &c. These three bishops of Catalonia, who died fighting for the Mussulmans at the battle of Albakara, which took place in the year 1010, were Arnaulpha, bishop of Vic; Accia, bishop of Barcelona; and Othon, bishop of Girona. B, page 91. And equally ready, when enjoying the favour of the sovereign, to displease him, if it should be necessary to do so, &c. RODRIGUE DIAS DE BIVAR, surnamed the Cid , so well known by his affection for Chimena a

{229} Extent of the Arabian Empire.—Causes which led to that extent.—Continuance of Mohammedanism.—Decay of the Empire.—What led to it.—Spain revolts and sets up a separate Caliph.—Africa.—Egypt.—Bagdad.—Fall of the House of the Abbassides. The first battle in which the Arabs tried their power against the disciplined forces of the Roman empire was the battle of Muta. Though on that occasion they were successful, the most sanguine could not have ventured to predict that, before the close of a cen