Hej. 20. A.D. 641.

THE ALEXANDRIAN LIBRARY.

husband their money, being at that time sumptuous in notning but their places of public worship. Their diet was plain and simple. Upon their tables appeared neither wine, nor any of those dainties, the products of modern luxury, which pall the stomach and enfeeble the constitution. Their chief drink was water; their food principally milk, rice, or the fruits of the earth.

The Arabians had as yet applied themselves to no manner of learning, nor the study of anything but their vernacular poetry, which, long before Mohammed's time, they understood very well, after their way, and prided themselves upon. They were altogether ignorant of the sciences, and of every Amrou, however, though no scholar, language but their own. was a man of quick parts and of good capacity, and one who in the intervals of business was more delighted with the conversation of the learned, and with rational and philosophical discourses, than it is usual for men of his education to be. There was at that time in Alexandria, one John, sirnamed "The grammarian," an Alexandrian by birth, of the sect of the Jacobites, and was the same that afterwards denied the Trinity, and being admonished by the bishops of Egypt to renounce his erroneous opinions, he was, upon his refusal, excommunicated.* He was, however, a man eminent for learning, and Amrou was greatly pleased with his conversation; not only taking delight in frequently hearing him discourse on several sciences, but also occasionally asking him questions. This person, perceiving the great respect shown him by Amrou, ventured one day to petition him for the books in the Alexandrian Library, telling him "That he perceived he had taken an account of all things which he thought valuable in the city, and sealed up all the repositories and treasuries, but had taken no notice of the books; that, if they would have been any way useful to him, he would not have been so bold as to ask for them, but since they were not, he desired he might have them." Amrou told him, "That he had asked a thing which was altogether out of his power to grant, and that he could by no means dispose of the However," books without first asking the caliph's leave. he said," he would write, and see what might be done in the

• Abulfaragius.

66

matter." Accordingly he performed his promise, and having given a due character of the abilities of this learned man, and acquainted Omar with his petition, the caliph returned this answer, What is contained in these books you mention is either agreeable to what is written in the book of God (meaning the Koran) or it is not: if it be, then the Koran is sufficient without them; if otherwise, it is fit they should be destroyed." Amrou, in obedience to the caliph's command, distributed the books throughout all the city, amongst those that kept warm baths (of which there was at that time no fewer than four thousand in Alexandria), to heat the baths with. And notwithstanding the great havoc that must needs be made of them at this rate, yet the number of books which the diligence of former princes had collected was so great, that it was six months before they were consumed. A loss never to be made up to the learned world! *

Amrou being now possessed of Egypt, began to look a little further towards the western part of Africa; and in a short time made himself master of all that country which lies between Barcah and Zeweilah; the inhabitants of Barcah bringing in the tribute imposed upon them punctually at the time prefixed, without any collectors going among them to gather

*It is needless to apprize the reader of the variety of controversy regarding this literary conflagration, some persons disputing even the existence of any great collection; but the testimony of antiquity, joined to the passionate desire of the Lagidæ to accumulate manuscripts, and their vast wealth and influence, render the circumstance a very probable one.

Gibbon says he felt strongly tempted to deny both the fact and the consequences of this irreparable shipwreck of learning, as being founded on the simple authority of Abulfaragius, whilst Eutychius and Al Makin are both silent on the subject. Mr. Milman, however, adds that since this pe riod several new Mohammedan authorities have been adduced to support Abulfaragius. That of, I. Abdollatiph, by professor White: II. Of Makrisi : III. Of Ibn Chaldedun ; and after them Hadschi Chalfa. See Von Hammer's History of the Assassins. Reinhard, in a German dissertation, printed at Gottingen, 1792, and St. Croix (Magasin Encyclop., tom. iv. p. 433), have examined the question. Among oriental scholars, Professor White, M. St. Martin, Von Hammer, and Silv. de Jacy, consider the fact of the burning of the library, by the command of Omar, beyond question. A Mohammedan writer brings a similar charge against the crusaders. The library of Tripoli is said to have contained the incredible number of three millions of volumes. On the capture of the city, Count Bertram of St. Gilles, entering the first room, which contained nothing but the Koran, ordered the whole to be burnt, as the works of the false prophet of Arabia. See Wilken. Gesch. der Kreuzzuge, vol. ii. p. 211.-Milman's Gibbon.

it. While these things were doing in Egypt, there was a dearth in Arabia; so that the inhabitants of Medina and the neighbouring country, were reduced to the greatest scarcity and want. Upon this Omar wrote to Amrou, and acquainting him with their extremity, ordered him to supply the Arabs with corn out of Egypt. This Amrou did so abundantly, that the train of camels which were loaden with it, reached in a continued line from Egypt to Medina; the foremost of them entering Medina, before the last of the caravans was yet out of the bounds of Egypt. But this way of conveying the provision being both tedious and expensive, the caliph commanded Amrou to dig a passage from the Nile to the Red Sea, for the more speedy and easy conveyance of their provision to the Arabian shore. Shortly after this Amrou took Tripoli. If we consider the extent of his success it alone is great enough to command our admiration even though nothing else had been accomplished in any other part. But in the east, also, their victorious arms made no less progress, and the Mohammedan crescent now began to shed its malignant influence upon as large and considerable dominions, as the Roman eagle ever soared over. About this time,* Aderbijan, Ainwerdah, Harran, Roha, Rakkah, Nisibin, Ehwaz, Siwas, and Chorassan, were all brought under subjection to the Saracens. In all these conquests, many noble actions, and well worth the relating, were without doubt performed; but the particular history of that part of their conquests not having reached my hands, the reader is desired to excuse my passing over them in silence.

About two years after this, Omar, the caliph, was killed. The account of his death is as follows:-One Firuz, a Persian, of the sect of the Magi, or Persees; as being of a different religion from the Mussulmans, had a daily tribute of two pieces of silver imposed upon him by his master, and made his complaint to Omar, demanding to have a part of it remitted. Omar told him, he did not think it at all unreasonable, considering he could well afford it out of what he earned. With this answer Firuz was so provoked, that he did as good as threaten the caliph to his face, who, however, took little notice of his passion. Firuz watched his opportunity; and not long after, whilst Onar was saying the mornHej. 21. A.D. 641.

ing prayer in the mosque, stabbed him thrice in the belly with a dagger. The Saracens in the mosque rushing upon him immediately, he made a desperate defence, and stabbed thirteen of them, of whom seven died.* At last, one that stood by, threw his vest over him, and seized him; when perceiving himself caught, he stabbed himself. Omar lived three days after the wound, and then died, in the month of Du'lhagjah, in the twenty-third year of the Hejirah, A.D. 643,† after he had reigned ten years, six months, and eight days, and was sixty-three years old; which is the same age, at which according to some authors, Mohammed, Abubeker, and Ayesha, Mohammed's wife, died.

He was of a dark complexion, very tall, and had a bald head. As to his behaviour in the government, the Arabic authors give him an extraordinary character. His abstinence and self-denial, his piety and gravity of behaviour, procured him more reverence than his successors could command by their grandeur. His walking-stick, says Alwakidi, struck more terror into those that were present, than another man's sword. His diet was barley-bread; his sauce, salt; and oftentimes, by way of abstinence and mortification, he ate his bread without salt: his drink was water. He was a constant observer of all his religious duties; and in the course of the ten years he reigned, went nine times on pilgrimage to Medina. His administration of justice was very impartial, his ears being always open to the complaints of the meanest; nor could the greatness of any offender exempt him from punishment. In his decisions he

• Ahmed Ebn Mohammed Abdi Rabbibi. M.S. Arabic. Huntingdon, No. 254.

History of the Holy Land, M. Arab. Poc. No. 362.

Masudi relates that Omar's governors lived as piously and simply as himself. The inhabitants of Hems once brought the following accusations against their governor. 1st. That he never granted an audience before sunrise; 2nd. That he never attended to any one during the night; and 3rd. That he was altogether invisible for one whole day in every month. When Omar desired him to explain his conduct, he replied, "In the first place as I have no servant, I am forced, early in the morning, to knead and bake my own bread; secondly, during the night, I pray to God, and read the Koran, until sleep overtakes me; and thirdly, as I have only one upper shirt, I cannot show myself on the day I wash, and dry it." Ömar made the governor a present of 1000 dinars, the greater part of which, however, he gave to the poor.-Weil, Geschichte der Chalifon

always kept punctually to the sense of the Koran and the traditions of Mohammed, in whose life-time Omar gave a signal proof of the sense he had of the duty of inferiors to their governors, on the following occasion:

An obstinate Mussulman had a suit at law with a Jew before Mohammed.* The Jew being in the right, Mohammed pronounced sentence against the Mussulman; who said, "That he would not be satisfied, unless Omar, who was then only a private man, had the rehearing and examining the cause. The plaintiff and defendant went both together to Omar, whom they found at his own door, and opening their case, and acquainting him with Mohammed's decision of it, desired him to examine it again. Omar going into his own house, bade them stay a moment, and told them he would despatch their business in a trice. Coming back, he brings his scimitar along with him, and at one single stroke, cuts off the head of the Mussulman, who had refused to be ruled by Mohammed's decision; saying, with a loud voice," See what they deserve, who will not acquiesce in the determination of their judges." It was upon this occasion that Mohammed gave him the title or surname of Farouk; intimating thereby, that Omar knew as well how to distinguish truth from falsehood, and justice from injustice, as he did to separate the head of that knave from his body.

The conquests gained by the Saracens in his reign were so considerable, that though they had never been extended, the countries they had subdued would have made a very formidable empire. He drove all the Jews and Christians out of Arabia; subdued Syria, Egypt, and other territories in Africa, besides the greater part of Persia. And yet all this greatness, which would have been too weighty for an ordinary man to bear, especially if, as in Omar's case, it did not descend to him as an hereditary possession, for which he had been prepared by a suitable education, but was gotten on a sudden by men who had been acquainted with, and used to nothing great before, had no effect upon the caliph. He still retained his old way of living; nor did the growth of his riches ever show itself by the increase of his retinue or expenses. He built a wall about Cufa, and repaired or ra

* D'Herbelot Bibliotheque Orientale.