And pleasant things which they enjoyed!
Even thus have We made another people to inherit the same.[292]
The booty was rich beyond conception. Besides millions of treasure, there was countless store of silver and golden vessels, gorgeous vestments and garniture, and precious things of untold rarity and cost.[293] A lucky capture of sumpter mules disclosed an unexpected freight—the tiara, robes, and girdle of the king. The Arabs gazed in wonder at the crown and jewelled swords and all the splendour of the throne, and, among other marvels, at a camel of silver, large as life, with its rider of gold; and at a golden horse, having emeralds for teeth, its neck set with rubies, and the trappings of gold. The precious metals lost their conventional value, and gold was parted with for its weight in silver. Works of art in sandal-wood and amber were in the hands of everyone, with hoards of musk and the spicy products of the East. Camphor lay about in sacks, and was kneaded with the cakes as salt, till the pungent taste revealed the mistake.[294] The agents of the prize had a heavy task, for each man’s share (and the army now numbered 60,000, all mounted) was twelve thousand pieces,[295] besides special largesses to the more distinguished warriors. The army could afford to be generous, and so they despatched to Medîna, over and above the royal Fifth, such rare and precious things as might stir the wonder of the simple citizens at home. To the Caliph they sent as a fitting gift the regalia of the empire, and the swords of the Chosroes and of Nómân, the prince of Hîra.[296] But the spectacle of the day was the banqueting carpet of the king, seventy cubits long and sixty broad. It was a garden, the ground of wrought gold and the walks of silver; green meadows were represented by emeralds, running rivulets by pearls; trees, flowers, and fruits by diamonds, rubies, and other precious stones. When the rest of the spoil had been distributed at the Great Mosque, and special gifts allotted to the more distinguished Companions, Omar took counsel what should be done with the royal carpet. The most advised to keep it as a trophy of Islam. But Aly, reflecting on the instability of earthly things, objected; and the Caliph, accepting his advice, had it cut in pieces and distributed with the other booty. The piece that fell to Aly’s lot (and it was by no means the richest) fetched Twenty thousand dirhems.
Sád establishes his head-quarters at Medâin.
As Medâin offered every convenience for the seat of government, Sád established his head-quarters there. The palaces and mansions of the fugitive nobles were divided amongst his followers. The royal residence he occupied himself. The grand hall, its garnishing unchanged, was consecrated to Divine worship, and here, as a cathedral service, the Friday ritual was first celebrated in Irâc.
CHAPTER XVIII.
BATTLE OF JALOLA—REDUCTION OF MESOPOTAMIA—KUFA AND BUSSORA FOUNDED.
A.H. XVI. A.D. 637.
Battle of Jalôla.
Omar was satisfied, as well he might be, with the success achieved. His old spirit of caution revived, and, beyond rendering Mesopotamia and the border-lands within the Persian mountain range secure, he strictly forbade any forward movement. The summer of the sixteenth year of the Hegira was, therefore, passed by Sád in repose at Medâin. The king, with his broken troops, had fled into the mountains, and thence into the plains of Persia. And the people on either bank of the Tigris, seeing opposition vain, readily submitted themselves to the conqueror. In the autumn, however, the Persians, resolving again to try the chance of arms, flocked in great numbers to Yezdegird, and an army was formed at Holwân, a fortress on the stream of that name a hundred miles north of Medâin. From thence Mehrân, with part of the force, advanced to Jalôla, a stronghold on the mountain range half-way to Medâin. Persians advance. A.H. XVI. Autumn, A.D. 637.This place, capable of accommodating an army, and almost impregnable to such an enemy as the Moslems, was defended by a deep trench, and all outlets or accessible places guarded by chevaux de frise and spikes of iron. The movement was reported to the Caliph, and, with his sanction, Sád pushed forward Hâshim and Cacâa at the head of 12,000 men, including the flower of Mecca and Medîna; and they sat down in front of the citadel. The garrison, reinforced from time to time by the army at Holwân, made an obstinate defence, and in frequent sallies attacked the besiegers with desperate bravery. Fresh troops had to be despatched from Medâin, and the siege was prolonged for eighty days. At length, on the occasion of a vigorous sally, a great storm darkened the air; and the Persian columns, losing their way, were pursued to the battlements by Cacâa, who seized one of the gates. Driven thus to desperation, they turned upon the Arabs, and a general engagement ensued, which ‘was not surpassed by the Night of Clangour, excepting that it was shorter.’ The Persians routed, and Jalôla taken. Dzul Cáda, A.H. XVI. December, A.D. 637.Beaten at every point, many of the enemy in the attempt to flee were caught by the iron spikes. They were pursued to some distance,[297] and the fields and roads were strewn (tradition tells us) with 100,000 corpses. Followed by the fragments of his army, Yezdegird fled to his northern capital, Rei, in the direction of the Caspian Sea.[298] Cacâa then advanced to Holwân, and defeating the troops which still held it, took possession of that stronghold, and left it garrisoned with Arab levies as the farthest Moslem outpost to the north.
The spoil.
The spoil was again rich and plentiful, for it embraced much that had been hastily carried off as most precious from Medâin, and (what was of the highest value to the army) a vast number of fine Persian horses. A multitude of women also, many of whom must have been of gentle and princely birth, unable to effect escape into the plains beyond, fell a welcome prize into the conquerors’ hands, and were distributed partly amongst the warriors on the spot and partly amongst the troops left at Medâin. The booty was valued at Thirty millions of dirhems, besides the horses, of which nine fell to the lot of every combatant. Ziâd deputed to Medîna with the Fifth.In charge of the Fifth, Sád despatched to Medîna a youth named Ziâd, of doubtful parentage,[299] but of singular readiness and address. In presence of the Caliph, he harangued the citizens, and recounted in glowing words what had been won in Persia, rich lands and cities, endless spoil, with captive maids and princesses. Omar praised his speech, and declared that the troops of Sád had surpassed the traditions even of Arab bravery. But next morning, when about to distribute the booty, the rubies, emeralds, and vast store of precious things, he was seen to weep. ‘What!’ exclaimed Abd al Rahmân; ‘a time of joy and thankfulness, and thou sheddest tears!’ ‘Yea,’ replied the simple-minded Caliph; ‘it is not for this I weep, but I foresee that the riches which the Lord hath bestowed upon us will become a spring of worldliness and envy, and in the end a calamity to my people.’