[277] This is on the authority of one present:—‘We followed our husbands,’ she relates, ‘and no sooner was the Persian army routed than we (the women) tucked up our garments, seized clubs in our hands, and issued forth to the field of battle, which was strewn with the dead. Every Moslem still alive we raised up, and gave drink to; and every wounded heathen we despatched. And the children followed us, and were helpers with us in this service.’ (Tabari, iii. p. 73.)
A characteristic incident is mentioned. Among the slain was the Muedzzin of the army. There was a contention as to who should succeed to this post of honour. It came near to blows and bloodshed, when Sád interposed, and settled the matter by his authority.
[278] The captor received 30,000. Gibbon, resting on the authority of D’Herbelot, tells us:—‘The standard of the monarchy was overthrown and captured on the field—a leathern apron of a blacksmith who, in ancient times, had arisen, the deliverer of Persia; but this badge of heroic poverty was disguised and almost concealed by a profusion of precious gems.’ Our authorities simply describe it as made of panthers’ skins, richly jewelled.
[279] The vast import of the battle is signified by the tradition that the tidings of the victory were carried by the Genii to distant parts, long before it was possible for any human messenger to reach.
[280] Written Burs. There is a town Bûrsa on the Euphrates, four leagues below Babylon; but I take it that the ruin (Tower of Babel) is meant, which lay in the way.
[281] In these engagements, Sûra, Kûtha, and Sabât, towns situated on or near the Tigris, were either taken, or submitted themselves to the Moslem arms. While encamped at Babylon, Sád made a pilgrimage to the shrine (Majlis) of Abraham.
[282] Medâin signifies ‘Cities.’ It is said to have comprised a cluster of seven towns, but it is ordinarily taken to designate the twin cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon. The double bend of the Tigris, in the form of the upper part of the letter S (with the convex side to the west), incloses a considerable peninsula on the eastern bank, and on this stands the Tâk i Kesra.
[283] Geary, in the account of his recent journey, says it is fast falling into decay; but ‘the arch unequalled in the world’ is still nearly entire. Built of brick, it has a façade 450 long and 160 deep, and the niches and cornices and mouldings still remain. The vaulted arch is nearly 100 feet high, with a span of 80 feet.
[284] It is also called Nahr Shîr, and is described as beyond (i.e. to the east of) Sabât. In the earlier campaigns, this name of Nahr Shîr frequently occurs, as the point at which the pursuit of the victorious columns was stopped by the Persian outposts.
[285] Sura xiv. v. 44.