In the first year of the first caliph, his lieutenant Caled, the Sword of God, and the scourge of the infidels, advanced to the banks of the Euphrates, and reduced the cities of Anbar and Hira. Westward of the ruins of Babylon, a tribe of sedentary Arabs had fixed themselves on the verge of the desert; and Hira was the seat of a race of kings who had embraced the Christian religion, and reigned above six hundred years under the shadow of the throne of Persia. (16) The last of the Mondars was defeated and slain by Caled; his son was sent a captive to Medina; his nobles bowed before the successor of the prophet; the people was tempted by the example and success of their countrymen; and the caliph accepted as the first-fruits of foreign conquest an annual tribute of seventy thousand pieces of gold. The conquerors, and even their historians, were astonished by the dawn of their future greatness:
"In the same year," says Elmacin, "Caled fought many signal battles: an immense multitude of the infidels was slaughtered; and spoils infinite and innumerable were acquired by the victorious Moslems." (17)
But the invincible Caled was soon transferred to the Syrian war: the invasion of the Persian frontier was conducted by less active or less prudent commanders: the Saracens were repulsed with loss in the passage of the Euphrates; and, though they chastised the insolent pursuit of the Magians, their remaining forces still hovered in the desert of Babylon.
Battle of Cadesia, A.D. 636
The indignation and fears of the Persians suspended for a
moment their intestine divisions. By the unanimous sentence
of the priests and nobles, their queen Arzema was deposed;
the sixth of the transient usurpers, who had arisen and
vanished in three or four years since the death of Chosroes,
and the retreat of Heraclius. Her tiara was placed on the head of Yezdegerd, the grandson of Chosroes; and the same aera, which coincides with an astronomical period, (18) has recorded the fall of the Sassanian dynasty and the religion of Zoroaster. (19) The youth and inexperience of the prince (he was only fifteen years of age) declined a perilous
encounter: the royal standard was delivered into the hands
of his general Rustam; and a remnant of thirty thousand
regular troops was swelled in truth, or in opinion, to one
hundred and twenty thousand subjects, or allies, of the
great king. The Moslems, whose numbers were reinforced from twelve to thirty thousand, had pitched their camp in the plains of Cadesia: (20) and their line, though it consisted of fewer men, could produce more soldiers, than the unwieldy
host of the infidels. I shall here observe, what I must
often repeat, that the charge of the Arabs was not, like
that of the Greeks and Romans, the effort of a firm and
compact infantry: their military force was chiefly formed of
cavalry and archers; and the engagement, which was often
interrupted and often renewed by single combats and flying
skirmishes, might be protracted without any decisive event
to the continuance of several days. The periods of the
battle of Cadesia were distinguished by their peculiar
appellations. The first, from the well- timed appearance of
six thousand of the Syrian brethren, was denominated the day
of succour. The day of concussion might express the disorder
of one, or perhaps of both, of the contending armies. The
third, a nocturnal tumult, received the whimsical name of
the night of barking, from the discordant clamours, which
were compared to the inarticulate sounds of the fiercest
animals. The morning of the succeeding day determined the fate of Persia; and a seasonable whirlwind drove a cloud
of dust against the faces of the unbelievers. The clangour
of arms was reechoed to the tent of Rustam, who, far unlike
the ancient hero of his name, was gently reclining in a cool
and tranquil shade, amidst the baggage of his camp, and the
train of mules that were laden with gold and silver. On the
sound of danger he started from his couch; but his flight
was overtaken by a valiant Arab, who caught him by the foot,
struck off his head, hoisted it on a lance, and instantly
returning to the field of battle, carried slaughter and
dismay among the thickest ranks of the Persians. The
Saracens confess a loss of seven thousand five hundred men;
and the battle of Cadesia is justly described by the epithets of obstinate and atrocious. (21) The standard of the monarchy was overthrown and captured in the field — a leathern apron of a blacksmith, who in ancient times had arisen the deliverer of Persia; but this badge of heroic poverty was disguised, and almost concealed, by a profusion of precious gems. (22) After this victory, the wealthy province of Irak, or Assyria, submitted to the caliph, and his conquests were firmly established by the speedy foundation of Bassora, (23) a place which ever commands the trade and navigation of the Persians. As the distance of fourscore miles from the Gulf, the Euphrates and Tigris unite in a broad and direct current, which is aptly styled the river of the Arabs. In the midway, between the junction and the mouth of these famous streams, the new settlement was planted on the western bank: the first colony was composed of eight hundred Moslems; but the influence of the situation soon reared a flourishing and populous capital. The air, though excessively hot, is pure and healthy: the meadows are filled with palm- trees and cattle; and one of the adjacent valleys has been celebrated among the four paradises or gardens of Asia. Under the first caliphs the jurisdiction of this Arabian colony extended over the southern provinces of Persia: the city has been sanctified by the tombs of the companions and martyrs; and the vessels of Europe still frequent the port of Bassora, as a convenient station and passage of the Indian trade.
Sack of Madayn, A.D. 637, March.
After the defeat of Cadesia, a country intersected by rivers
and canals might have opposed an insuperable barrier to the
victorious cavalry; and the walls of Ctesiphon or Madayn,
which had resisted the battering-rams of the Romans, would not have yielded to the darts of the Saracens. But the flying Persians were overcome by the belief, that the last day of their religion and empire was at hand; the strongest posts were abandoned by treachery or cowardice; and the king, with a part of his family and treasures, escaped to Holwan at the foot of the Median hills. In the third month after the battle, Said, the lieutenant of Omar, passed the Tigris without opposition; the capital was taken by assault;
and the disorderly resistance of the people gave a keener edge to the sabres of the Moslems, who shouted with religious transport,
"This is the white palace of Chosroes; this is the promise of the apostle of God!"
The naked robbers of the desert were suddenly enriched beyond the measure of their hope or knowledge. Each chamber revealed a new treasure secreted with art, or ostentatiously displayed; the gold and silver, the various wardrobes and precious furniture, surpassed (says Abulfeda) the estimate of fancy or numbers; and another historian defines the untold and almost infinite mass, by the fabulous computation of three thousands of thousands of thousands of pieces of gold. (24) Some minute though curious facts represent the contrast of riches and ignorance. From the remote islands of the Indian Ocean a large provision of camphire (25) had been imported, which is employed with a mixture of wax to illuminate the palaces of the East. Strangers to the name and properties of that odoriferous gum, the Saracens, mistaking it for salt, mingled the camphire in their bread, and were astonished at the bitterness of the taste. One of the apartments of the palace was decorated with a carpet of silk, sixty cubits in length, and as many in breadth: a paradise or garden was depictured on the ground: the flowers, fruits, and shrubs, were imitated by the figures of the gold embroidery, and the colours of the precious stones; and the ample square was encircled by a variegated and verdant border. The Arabian general persuaded his soldiers to relinquish their claim, in the reasonable hope that the eyes of the caliph 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, the 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. Foundation of Cufa. The Saracens disliked the air 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 structures (27) are composed of bricks baked in the sun, and joined by a cement of the native bitumen. The name of Cufa (28) describes a 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 a hundred thousand swords:
"Ye men of Cufa," said Ali, who solicited their aid, "you have been always conspicuous by your valour. You conquered 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 Nehavend. 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 his equal and valiant companions. The courage of the nation survived that of the monarch: among the hills to the south of Ecbatana or Hamadan, one hundred and fifty thousand 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 overtaken in a crowd of mules and camels laden with honey, the incident, however slight and singular, will denote the luxurious impediments of an Oriental army. (29)
Conquest of Persia, A.D. 637-651.
The geography of Persia is darkly delineated by the Greeks
and Latins; but the most illustrious of her cities appear 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 Caspian
Sea: and the orators of Mecca might applaud the success 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 profaned 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 with accelerated
haste over the desert of Kirman, implored 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 a
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 obedience?"
"Alas!" replied Harmozan, "I feel them too deeply. In the days of our common ignorance, we fought 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 apprehension 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 drunk 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 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. (33)
Death of the last king, A.D. 651
The flight of Yezdegerd had carried him beyond the Oxus, and
as far as the Jaxartes, two rivers (34) of ancient and modern
renown, which descend from the mountains of India towards
the Caspian Sea. He was hospitably entertained by Takhan,
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 hordes 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 the
rapid progress and dangerous vicinity of the Arabs. 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 Sassanian 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)
The conquest of Transoxiana, A.D. 710.
After the fall of the Persian kingdom, the River Oxus
divided the territories of the Saracens and of the Turks.
This narrow boundary was soon overleaped by the spirit of
the 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 dropped in her
precipitate flight beyond the hills of Bochara. (40) But the
final conquest of Transoxiana, (41) as well as of Spain, was
reserved for the glorious reign of the inactive Walid; and
the name of Catibah, the camel driver, declares the origin
and merit of his successful lieutenant. While one of his
colleagues displayed the first Mahometan banner on the banks
of the Indus, the spacious regions between the Oxus, the
Jaxartes, and the Caspian Sea, were reduced by the arms of
Catibah to the obedience of the prophet and of the caliph.
(42) A tribute of two millions of pieces of gold was imposed on the infidels; their idols were burnt or broken; the Mussulman chief pronounced a sermon in the new mosch of
Carizme; after several battles, the Turkish hordes were
driven back to the desert; and the emperors of China
solicited the friendship of the victorious Arabs. To their
industry, the prosperity of the province, the Sogdiana of
the ancients, may in a great measure be ascribed; but the
advantages of the soil and climate had been understood and
cultivated since the reign of the Macedonian kings. Before
the invasion of the Saracens, Carizme, Bochara, and
Samarcand were rich and populous under the yoke of the
shepherds of the north. These cities were surrounded with a double wall; and the exterior fortification, of a larger
circumference, enclosed the fields and gardens of the
adjacent district. The mutual wants of India and Europe were
supplied by the diligence of the Sogdian merchants; and the
inestimable art of transforming linen into paper has been
diffused from the manufacture of Samarcand over the western
world. (43)
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