[130] I read ḥilálak. See Glossary to Ṭabarí.
[131] Ṭabarí, i, 940, 13.
[132] Another version says: "Whenever a man was struck sores and pustules broke out on that part of his body. This was the first appearance of the small-pox" (Ṭabarí, i, 945, 2 sqq.). Here we have the historical fact—an outbreak of pestilence in the Abyssinian army—which gave rise to the legend related above.
[133] There is trustworthy evidence that Abraha continued to rule Yemen for some time after his defeat.
[134] Ibn Hishám, p. 38, l. 14 sqq.
[135] Ibid., p. 40, l. 12 sqq.
[136] See pp. 48-49 supra.
[137] Full details are given by Ṭabarí, I, 1016-1037 = Nöldeke's translation, pp. 311-345.
[138] A poet speaks of three thousand Arabs and two thousand Persians (Ṭabarí, I, 1036, 5-6).
[139] Ibn Rashíq in Suyúṭí's Muzhir (Buláq, 1282 a.h.), Part II, p. 236, l. 22 sqq. I quote the translation of Sir Charles Lyall in the Introduction to his Ancient Arabian Poetry, p. 17, a most admirable work which should be placed in the hands of every one who is beginning the study of this difficult subject.