closed by Caled in person, with the standard of the black eagle. To the activity of Derar he entrusted the commission of patrolling round the city with two thousand horse, of scouring the plain, and of intercepting all succour or intelligence. The rest of the Arabian chiefs were fixed in their respective stations before the seven gates of Damascus ; and the siege was renewed with fresh vigour and confidence. The art, the labour, the military engines, of the Greeks and Romans, are seldom to be found in the simple, though successful, operations of the Saracens : it was sufficient for them to invest a city with arms rather than with trenches ; to repel the sallies of the besieged; to attempt a stratagem or an assault ; or to expect the progress of famine and discontent. Damascus would have acquiesced in the trial of Aiznadin, as a final and peremptory sentence between the emperor and the caliph ; her courage was rekindled by the example and authority of Thomas, a noble Greek, illustrious in a private condition by the alliance of Heraclius,[1] The tumult and illumination of the night proclaimed the design of the morning sally ; and the Christian hero, who affected to despise the enthusiasm of the Arabs, employed the resource of a similar superstition. At the principal gate, in the sight of both armies, a lofty crucifix was erected ; the bishop, with his clergy, accompanied the march, and laid the volume of the New Testament before the image of Jesus ; and the contending parties were scandalized or edified by a prayer that the Son of God would defend his servants and vindicate his truth. The battle raged with incessant fury ; and the dexterity of Thomas,[2] an incomparable archer, was fatal to the boldest Saracens, till their death was revenged by a female heroine. The wife of Aban, who had followed him to the holy war, embraced her expiring husband. "Happy," said she, "happy art thou, my dear; thou art gone to thy Lord, who first joined us together, and then parted us asunder. I will revenge thy death, and endeavour to the utmost of my power to come to the place where
thou art, because I love thee. Henceforth shall no man ever
- ↑ I Vanity prompted the Arabs to believe that Thomas was the son-in-law of the emperor. We know the children of Heraclius by his two wives; and his august daughter would not have married in exile at Damascus (see Ducange, Fam. Byzantin. p. ii8, 119). Had he been less religious, I might only suspect the legitimacy of the damsel.
- ↑ Al Wakidi (Ockley, p. 101) says, "with poisoned arrows"; but this savage invention is so repugnant to the practice of the Greeks and Romans that I must suspect, on this occasion, the malevolent credulity of the Saracens.
