Mecca, that suffered no man to pass till he had written down his own name and his father's, and from which of God's countries he came, and what was his business; and if any one was a friend of his, or one whom I suspected to favour his designs, I sent him away; if otherwise, I permitted him quietly to go about his concerns. However, you have now sent into my place Walid the son of Otbah, who in all probability will give you such an account of his administration as will justify my conduct, and convince you of the fidelity of my services." Yezid was very well satisfied, and told him, that he was an honester man than they that had incensed him against him, and that he should depend upon him for the future." In the meantime the new governor Walid was employing all his skill to ensnare Abdallah, who was always upon his guard, and was still too cunning for him.* At the same time Walid had to watch the movements of one Naidah, a Yemanian, who, upon the death of Hosein, appeared in arms with a body of men against Yezid; as for Abdallah, he and Naidah were so familiar that it was generally believed that Naidah would give him his allegiance. Quickly after Walid's arrival,† Abdallah sent a letter to Yezid, complaining that he had sent a fool of a governor thither, that was not worthy of so important a trust; that if he would appoint a man of a tractable disposition, their differences might be compromised as well for the good of the public as their own in particular. Yezid, desirous of peace upon any terms, indiscreetly hearkened to the voice of his mortal enemy, removing Walid, and sending, in his stead, Othman the son of Mohammed and grandson of Abu Sofian. This Othman was by no means qualified for a trust of that importance, being raw, ignorant, and altogether inexperienced. He sent ambassadors from Medina to Yezid, who received them kindly, and gave them presents; but they took such offence at his manners and conversation, that when they returned, they did all they could to inflame the people against him. They told the Medinians that their caliph had no religion at all; that he was frequently drunk with wine, and minded nothing but his Labors, his singing wenches, and his dogs; that he used to pend whole evenings in talking with vile fellows and singing girls. For their part, they declared they did depose him; in * MS. Laud, No. 191, A. + MS. Hunt. Naidah.

which action they were followed by a great many, who, as it is said, gave their allegiance to one Abdallah the son of Hantelah. One of the ambassadors, Almundir by name, did not return with the rest to Medina, but went to Obeidollah to Bassorah, who entertained him in his house, with a great deal of friendship, for they were old acquaintances. As soon as Yezid was informed how the rest of the ambassadors had used him at Medina, he wrote to Obeidollah to bind Almundir, and keep him close till further orders. This Obeidollah looked upon as a breach of hospitality, and instead of obeying the order, showed it to Almundir, and advising him when the people were come together, to pretend very urgent business, and in the presence of them all to ask leave to be gone. Accordingly the request was made and granted, and away goes Almundir full of resentment to Medina, where he confirms all that the other ambassadors had said before to Yezid's disadvantage; adding, that though he confessed that Yezid had presented him with a hundred pieces, yet that could not influence him so far as to hinder him from speaking what he was a witness of, his drunkenness, idle conversation, and neglecting prayers oftener than any of his men. Yezid was informed of all, and vowed to be revenged on him for his ingratitude.

Yezid now sent Nooman the son of Bashir to Medina to quiet the people, and persuade them to return to their duty and allegiance. When he came there, he represented to them the folly of their proceedings, and the danger they exposed themselves to by such seditious practices; assuring them that they were not a match for the forces of Syria. One of them asked him what motive induced him to come upon such an errand? Nooman told him, "Because he was loath there should be any blood shed between the two parties, and see these poor creatures (meaning the Ansars or inhabitants of Medina) killed in their streets and mosques, and at the doors of their own houses." They would not be ruled by him, and he left them; but they found afterwards to their cost that his warning was only too true.

The Medinians, in their obstinacy, having renounced all allegiance to Yezid, set over the Koreish, Abdallah the son of Mothi, and over the Ansars, Abdallah the son of Hantelah, a noble person of excellent endowments, very religious, and universally respected: he had eight sons, and they had all

gone along with him on the embassy, to Yezid, who presented him, besides vests, with a hundred thousand pieces, and each of his sons with ten thousand. In the beginning of the sixtythird year, the Medinians broke out into open rebellion, after the following manner :-Gathering together in the mosque round about the pulpit, one of them said, "I lay aside Yezid, as I lay aside this turban," throwing, with these words, his turban upon the ground. Another said, "I put away Yezid as I put away this shoe." Their examples were followed by others, till there was a great heap of shoes and turbans. The next step they took was to turn out Yezid's lieutenant Othman, and banish all the family of Ommiyah, together with all their friends and dependants, from Medina. The latter being in all about a thousand, took refuge in the house of Merwan the son of Hakem, where the Medinians besieged them so closely that they sent word to Yezid, "That unless they received speedy relief they must inevitably perish." Yezid, when he heard they were so many, wondered that they should have ever suffered themselves to be shut up without making the least resistance. He then consulted with Amrou, the son of Said, as to the fittest person to be sent upon this expedition; at the same time offering the commission to him. Amrou, however, excused himself, telling him, "That he had done him all the service he could there before, and yet he was pleased to remove him from his government; but now, since the blood of the Koreish was to be poured upon the dust, he begged that somebody not so nearly related to them as he was might be employed in that business. Upon this the caliph sent for Meslem, the son of Okbah, who, though very ancient and infirm, was willing to undertake the command of the forces, consisting of twelve thousand horse and five thousand foot. Meslem told Yezid that those thousand men who suffered themselves to be so distressed without fighting, did not deserve any assistance; that they had neither shown personal courage nor loyalty to their sultan; that they ought to be let alone till they had exerted themselves, and shown that they deserved support." But Yezid told him, "that his life would be a burden to him, if their safety were not provided for." Yezid rode about with his sword by his side, and an Arabian bow over his shoulders, viewing the troops, and giving directions to his general Meslem. Particularly he ordered

nim to take care of Ali, the son of Hosein, concerning whom he had been informed that neither he, nor any of his family were parties to the measures of the rebels, wherefore he commanded him to show him respect. As for the town, he was to summons it three days successively, and if it did not surrender upon the third summons, then, whenever he took it, he was to leave it for three days entirely to the mercy of the soldiers.

The Medinians, who had dug a large ditch round about the city, refused to surrender, and the general made preparations for a storm. He was advised to make his assault on the east side, that the besieged might have the sun in their faces this proved of service to him. The Medinians made a vigorous defence, and held out a considerable time. In the end, however, most of the Ansars and considerable men being killed, finding themselves hard pressed, they would have surrendered on terms, but Meslem, from whose hands they had refused peace at the beginning of the siege, would not receive them but at discretion.

At last, forcing an entrance into the city, sword in hand, he first of all sent for Ali, and treated him with respect; and, to quiet all his apprehensions, he dismissed him honourably, calling for his own camel and sending him home upon it. Then his men put all to the sword that they met, plundered everything that was valuable, and ill-treated the women. Without any reverence for its being the burying-place of the prophet, they sacked it for three days; and those that escaped the edge of the sword Meslem took under the protection of the government, but only upon this condition, that they should own themselves slaves and vassals to Yezid; upon which account he purchased the name of Musriph, which signifies in Arabic, "extravagant, exorbitant," because he had exceeded his orders.* This battle was fought when there were three nights left of the month Dulhagiah.†

Meslem, having thus severely chastised the insolence of the

Abulfeda

✦ When Meslem took the command he was obliged to take medicine, and was only allowed to eat a little, but he only followed the medical prescriptions until the taking of Medina. After that was captured he ate most voraciously, and said, "Now that the rebels are punished I am ready for death. In reward for having slain the murderers of Othman, God will forgive me my sins."-Weil.

Medinians, arched directly with his army towards Mecca. but died by the way, in the month Moharram of the sixtyfourth year. Upon his death, Hosein took upon him the command of the army, and besieged Abdallah in Mecca during the space of forty days, during which time he battered it so roughly, that he beat down a great part of the temple,* and burnt the rest; and this city had run the same fortune with Medina, if the news of Yezid's death had not recalled Hosein into Syria. †

Abdollah‡ heard of Yezid's decease before the Syrian army had received any intelligence of it, and called out to them from the walls, and asking them what they fought for, for their master was dead. But they, not believing him, continued their siege with great vigour, till they received further and authentic information. Hosein now told Abdallah that he was of opinion that it would be the best way to forbear shedding any more blood, and proffered him his allegiance if he would accept of the government; assuring him, that all this army, wherein where the leading men of all Syria, would be in his interest, and that there was no fear of any

Some authors, however, say that the temple was not set on fire by the besiegers, but that Abdallah, hearing in the night a shouting from the mountains of Mecca, and wishing to discover the cause, put some fire on the end of a spear, which, being wafted by the wind, the sparka laid hold first on the hangings, and then caught the wood-work.

+ An Abyssinian superintended the engines that were throwing stones and combustibles upon the city, and was delighted at the destruction of the place and the sacred temple, whose columns were completely shattered. He likewise filled several barrels with pitch, set fire to them, and threw them against the Kaaba, so that every thing around it was burnt. Here a miracle is related. One day, when this Abyssinian was about to send a number of these pitch-barrels against the temple, a fierce wind suddenly arose, the flames seized the machines, and burnt the black and ten of his companions. This took place on the same day that Yezid died at Damascus, The fire likewise pursued all those who assisted in assaulting the city, and consumed them altogether. When the Syrians beheld this manifestation of the wrath of God, they were struck with terror, and raised the siege, saying, "With God's temple we will have nothing more to do." Hosein, who as yet knew nothing of the death of Yezid, wrote to Damascus and described the position of Abdallah. On the following day the latter sent a messenger to Hosein, to ask him for whom he was fighting, as Yezid was dead. Hosein supposed the information to be false, and waited till Thabit Ebn Kais arrived from Medina and confirmed the news of Yezid's decease.- Weil. MS. Laud. No. 16',