This was both the supreme council and court of justice, at which the caliphs of the race of the Abassides assisted in person, to redress the injuries of every appellant.—D’Herbelot, p. 298.
[ Page 206.] The officers arranged themselves in a semicircle
Such was the etiquette, constantly observed, on entering the divan.—Arabian Nights, vol. iv, p. 36. D’Herbelot, p. 912.
[ Page 206.] ... the prime vizier
Vazir, vezir, or, as we express it, vizier, literally signifies a porter; and, by metaphor, the minister who bears the principal burden of the state, generally called the Sublime Porte.
[ Page 207.] The muezzins and their minarets
Valid, the son of Abdalmalek, was the first who erected a minaret, or turret; and this he placed on the grand mosque at Damascus, for the muezzin, or crier, to announce from it the hour of prayer. This practice has constantly been kept to this day.—D’Herbelot, p. 576.
[ Page 210.] Soliman Ben Daoud
The name of David in Hebrew is composed of the letter ו Vau between two ד Daleths דוד; and, according to the Masoretic points, ought to be pronounced David. Having no U consonant in their tongue, the Septuagint substituted the letter B for V, and wrote Δαβιδ, Dabid. The Syriac reads Dad or Dod; and the Arabs articulate Daoud.