OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 399 partition of the earth. The proposal was answered by Mahomet with contempt ; but the rapid progress of the impostor awakened the fears of his successor : forty thousand Moslems were assem- bled under the standard of Caled ; and the existence of their faith was resigned to the event of a decisive battle. In the first action they were repulsed with the loss of twelve hundred men; but the skill and perseverance of their general prevailed : their defeat was avenged by the slaughter of ten thousand infidels ; and Moseilama himself was pierced by an Ethiopian slave with the same javelin which had mortally Avounded the uncle of Ma- homet. The various rebels of Arabia, without a chief or a cause, were speedily suppressed by the power and discipline of the rising monarchy ; and the whole nation again professed, and more steadfastly held, the religion of the Koran. The ambition of the caliphs provided an immediate exercise for the restless spirit of the Saracens ; their valour was united in the prosecu- tion of an holy war ; and their enthusiasm was equally confirmed by opposition and victory. From the rapid conquests of the Saracens, a presumption will character of their c&liphs naturally arise that the first caliphs commanded in person the armies of the faithful, and sought the crown of martyrdom in the foremost ranks of the battle. The courage of Abubeker,^ Omar,^ and Othman, had indeed been tried in the persecution and wars of the prophet ; and the personal assurance of paradise must have taught them to despise the pleasures and dangers of the present world. But they ascended the throne in a vener- able or mature age, and esteemed the domestic cares of religion and justice the most important duties of a sovereign. Except the i)resence of (^mar at the siege of Jerusalem, the longest expeditions were tlie frequent pilgrimages from Medina to Mecca; and they calmly I'eceived the tidings of victory as they prayed or preached before the sepulchre of the prophet. The austere and frugal measure of their lives was the eflfect of virtue or habit, and the pride of their simplicity insulted the vain magnificence of the kings of the earth. When Abubeker as- sumed the office of caliph, he enjoined his daughter Ayesha to take a strict account of his private patrimony, that it might be •• His reign in Eutychius, torn. ii. p. 251 ; Elmacin, p. 18 ; Abulphnragiiis, p. 108; Abulfeda, p. 60; D'Herbelot, p. 58.
- His reign in Eutychius, p. 264 ; Elmacin, p. 24 ; Abulpharagius, p. no ; Abul-
feda, p. 66; D'Herbelot, p. 686. 'His reign in Eutychius, p. 323; Elmacin, p. 36; Abulpharagius, p. 115; Abulfeda, p. 75; D'Herbelot, p. 695.
