[67] Chosroës had sent him forth with the significant instruction: “If you cannot conquer, you can die.”
[68] On the same ground in 750 was fought the great battle which transferred the Khalifate from the dynasty of the Omayyades to the Abbassides. There can be few spots on the earth’s surface which have seen three such decisive days.
[69] One of these marshy valleys is known locally as the Dungeon of Solomon, that potent necromancer having here imprisoned the rebellious Jann, by pegging them into the mud.
[70] The monastery of Sheikh Mattai, perched high up on the southern slopes of Jebel Maklub, is very similar to Rabban Hormizd in general situation, but consists of buildings, not of caves.
[71] Of course he was: though physically (and we hope morally) the accuracy of the description was not so striking as might be wished.
[72] A strong chain is advisable; for in one of the Tkhuma churches a lunatic who had been similarly tethered succeeded in wrenching the staple from the wall. The old priest entering next morning discovered him squatting on the altar, having torn up all the service books, and set the hangings on fire! He was further anxious to strangle the priest, who only just eluded him. Evidently this was a case of possession by Apollyon himself.
[73] The nearest village to these sculptures is Hinnis, upon the right bank of the river at the point where our road struck it; but they take their name from the larger village of Bavian, situated on the left bank a little lower down.
[74] There are several remains of reservoirs also, built on the southern side of the mountains by the Assyrians, and on the northern by the Urartians. In one instance (at Firek Gol, near Van) even the dam is still intact, but is no longer watertight.
[75] Abdul Hamid, for all his shortcomings, was apparently a pretty good landlord. Khalilka had to pay to him only one-third of its rice crop and one-fifth of its other produce; which is a considerably smaller proportion than local custom would justify.
[76] These trees are often “sacred trees,” from which no one will dare to take fuel. For there are still “sacred trees” in this country—as there were in the days when the bas-reliefs of Nineveh were carved.