L. 125 CHAP. extend the religion which they had embraced. The clemency of the prophet was decided by his intereft, yet he feldom trampled on a proftrate enemy; and he feems to promife, that, on the payment of a tribute, the leaft guilty of his unbelieving fubjects might be indulged in their worship, or at leaft in their imperfect faith. In the first months of his reign, he practifed the lef fons of holy warfare, and difplayed his white banner before the gates of Medina: the martial apoftle fought in perfon at nine battles or fieges "; and fifty enterprises of war were atchieved in ten years by himself or his lieutenants. The Arab continued to unite the profeffions of a merchant and a robber; and his petty excurfions for the defence or the attack of a caravan infenfibly prepared his troops for the conqueft of Arabia. The diftribution of the fpoil was regulated by a divine law 126 the whole was faithfully collected in one common mafs: a fifth of the gold and filver, the prifoners and cattle, the moveables and immoveables, was referved by the prophet for pious and charitable uses; the remainder was fhared in ade, quate portions, by the foldiers who had obtained the victory or guarded the camp: the rewards of 2 125 Abulfeda, in Vit. Moham. p. 156. The private arsenal of the apostle confifted of nine fwords, three lances, feven pikes or half-pikes, a quiver and three bows, feven cuiraffes, three fields, and two helmets (Gagnier, tom. iii. p. 328—334.), with a large white standard, a black banner,(p. 335.), twenty horses (p. 322.), &c. Two of his martial sayings are recorded by tradition (Gagnier, tom. ii. p. 88. 337-). 126 The whole fubject de jure belli Mohammedanorum, is exhausted in 4 feparate differtation by the learned Reland (Differtationes Mifcellaneæ, tom. iii. Dert. x. p. 3—53) the L. the flain devolved to their widows and orphans; CHAP and the increase of cavalry was encouraged by the allotment of a double fhare to the horse and to the man. From all fides the roving Arabs were allured to the standard of religion and plunder the apostle fanctified the license of embracing the female captives as their wives or concubines; and the enjoyment of wealth and beauty was a feeble type of the joys of paradife prepared for the valiant martyrs of the faith. "The "fword," fays Mahomet, " is the key of heaven ❝and of hell: a drop of blood shed in the cause "of God, a night spent in arms, is of more "avail than two months of fafting or prayer: "whofoever falls in battle, his fins are forgiven: at the day of judgment his wounds fhall be re"fplendent as vermillion and odoriferous as mufk; " and the lofs of his limbs fhall be fupplied by "the wings of angels and cherubim." The intrepid fouls of the Arabs were fired with enthufiafm: the picture of the invisible world was strongly painted on their imagination; and the death which they had always defpifed became an object of hope and defire. The Koran inculcates, in the most abfolute fenfe, the tenets of fate and predestination, which would extinguish both industry and virtue, if the actions of man were go verned by his fpeculative belief. Yet their influence in every age has exalted the courage of the Saracens and Turks. The first companions of Mahomet advanced to battle with a fearless confidence: there is no danger where there is no chance they were ordained to perish in their beds; L. CHAP. beds; or they were fafe and invulnerable amidst the darts of the enemy 127 His defen five wars Koreifh of Perhaps the Koreish would have been content against the with the flight of Mahomet, had they not been pro voked and alarmed by the vengeance of an enemy, who could intercept their Syrian trade as it paffed and repaffed through the territory of Medina. Abu Sophian himself, with only thirty or forty followers, conducted a wealthy caravan of a thousand camels : the fortune or dexterity of his march escaped the vigilance of Mahomet; but the chief of the Koreifh was informed that the holy robbers were placed in ambush to wait his return. He dif patched a meffenger to his brethren of Mecca, and they were roufed, by the fear of lofing their merchandise and their provifions, unless they haftened to his relief with the military force of the city. The facred band of Mahomet was formed of three hundred and thirteen Moflems, of whom feventy-feven were fugitives, and the reft auxiliaries they mounted by turns a train of seventy camels (the camels of Yathreb were formidable in war): but fuch was the poverty of his first disciples, that only two could appear on horfeback in the field 128. In the fertile and famous vale of Beder, 127 The doctrine of abfolute predeftination, on which few religions can reproach each other, is fternly expofed in the Koran (c. 3. p. 52, 53: c. 4. p. 70, &c. with the notes of Sale, and c. 17. p. 413. with thofe of Maracci). Reland (de Relig. Mohamm. p. 61-64.) and Sale (Prelim. Dif course, p. 103.) reprefent the opinions of the doctors, and our modern travellers the confidence, the fading confidence, of the Turks. 128 Al Jannabi (apud Gagnier, tom. ii. p. §.) allows him feventy of eighty horfe: and on two other occafions prior to the battle of Ohud, he en lifts L. Battle of der, three ftations from Medina, he was in- CHAP formed by his scouts of the caravan that approached on one fide; of the Koreifh, one hundred horse, eight hundred and fifty foot, who advanced on the other. After a fhort debate, he facrificed the profpect of wealth to the pursuit of glory and revenge; and a flight intrenchment was formed to cover his troops, and a ftream of fresh water that glided through the valley. "O God," he exclaimed as the numbers of the Koreifh defcended from the hills, "O God, if these are destroyed, "by whom wilt thou be worshipped on the earth? "-Courage, my children, clofe your ranks; dif"charge your arrows, and the day is your own." At these words he placed himself, with Abubeker,on a throne or pulpit ", and inftantly demanded the fuccour of Gabriel and three thousand angels. His lifts a body of thirty (p. 10.), and of 500 (p. 65.) troopers. Yet the Mufulmans, in the field of Ohud, had no more than two horfes, according to the better fenfe of Abulfeda (in Vit. Mohamm. p. xxxi. p. 65.). In the ftony province, the camels were numerous; but the horse appears to have been less common than in the Happy or the Desert Arabia. 129 Pedder Houneene, twenty miles from Medina, and forty from Mecca, is on the high road of the caravan of Egypt; and the pilgrims annually commemorate the prophet's victory by illuminations, rockets, &c. Shaw's Travels, p. 477. 130 The place to which Mahomet retired during the action is styled by Gagnier (in Abulfeda, c. 27. p. 58. Vie de Mahomet, tom. ii. p. 30. 33. Umbraculum, une loge de bois avec une porte. The fame Arabic word is rendered by Reiske (Annales Moslemici Abulfedæ, p. 23.) by Solium, Suggeftus editior ; and the difference is of the utmost moment for the honour both of the interpreter and of the hero. I am forry to observe the pride and acrimony with which the Reifke chaftifes his fellow-labourer. Sæpe fic vertit, ut integræ paginæ nequeant nifi unâ liturà corrigi: Arabice non fatis callebat et carebat judicio critico. J. J. Reiske, Prodidagmata ad Hagji Chalifæ Tabulas, P. 228, ad calcem Abulfeda Syriæ Tabule; Lipfiæ, 1766, in 4to. eye Beder, A. D. 623, CHAP. eye was fixed on the field of battle: the Muful, mans fainted and were preffed: in that decifive moment the prophet started from his throne, mounted his horfe, and caft a handful of fand into the air; "Let their faces be covered with "confufion." Both armies heard the thunder of his voice their fancy beheld the angelic warriors: the Koreifh trembled and fled: feventy of the braveft were flain; and feventy captives adorned the first victory of the faithful. The dead bodies of the Koreifh were defpoiled and infulted: two of the moft obnoxious prifoners were punished with death; and the ransom of the others, four thousand drams of filver, compenfated in fome degree the escape of the caravan. But it was in vain that the camels of Abu Sophian explored a new road through the defert and along the Eu, phrates they were overtaken by the diligence of the Mufulmans; and wealthy must have been the prize, if twenty thousand drams could be fet apart for the fifth of the apoftle. The refentment of the public and private lofs ftimulated Abu Sophian to collect a body of three thousand men, seven hundred of whom were armed with cuiraffes, and two hundred were mounted on horfeback: three thoufand camels attended his march; and his wife 131 The Icofe expreffions of the Koran (c. 3. p. 124, 125. c. 8. p. 9.) alJow the commentators to fluctuate between the numbers of 10cc, 3000, of 5000 angels; and the smallest of thefe might fuffice for the flaughter of feventy of the Koreish (Maracci, Alcoran, tom. ii. p. 131.). Yet the fame fcholiafts confefs, that this angelic band was not visible to any mortal eye (Maracci, p. 297.). They refine on the words (c. 8. 16.), not thou, but God, &c." (d'Herbelot, Bibliot. Orientale, p. 6co, 601.). Henda, |